Chapter 138: Yin Harvesting
"I'm still a kid, how would I know?" Mo Hua said righteously.
Zhang Lan froze, looking helpless, and had no choice but to explain:
"The so-called yin harvesting is actually a type of dual cultivation."
After saying that, he paused, then added, "You at least know what dual cultivation is, right?"
Mo Hua's face flushed red. "Just... a little bit."
Zhang Lan couldn't tell whether he truly didn't know or was just pretending, so he continued,
"In essence, it's a matter between a man and a woman, nothing mysterious. But dual cultivation can slightly increase one's cultivation, and the process is... rather pleasurable, so many cultivators get obsessed with it."
Mo Hua had a question: "Can dual cultivation really improve one's cultivation?"
"It can improve it a little, but barely. Better than nothing, I suppose. If one has time to study such side paths, it's better spent meditating and cultivating properly," Zhang Lan said.
"Then what's the difference between dual cultivation and yin harvesting?"
"Dual cultivation is still acceptable. Yin harvesting, on the other hand, is malicious. Demonic cultivators use it to absorb another person's life force, essence, and spiritual power. The victim's cultivation will regress at best; at worst, their foundation collapses, or they die outright. Such things happen often."
Mo Hua felt a chill in his heart. "The pervert you're chasing, did he kill people through yin harvesting?"
"He's definitely done that sort of thing before, but not this time. The reason we're hunting him is that, last month, he drained a perfectly healthy female cultivator until she was nothing but skin and bones. Her Qi Sea was completely destroyed, and she's been delirious and terrified ever since…"
Zhang Lan sighed, his teeth gritted in anger.
Mo Hua's heart ached for the woman. "When you catch him, will he be sentenced to death?"
Zhang Lan nodded. "The Dao Court Division has always punished yin harvesting harshly, minimum sentence of a hundred years, maximum of death. This one will definitely be executed."
Mo Hua finally felt relieved.
Zhang Lan thought for a moment, then added, "Oh right, I forgot to mention, dual cultivation is also forbidden."
Mo Hua looked puzzled.
(Why are you telling me this? I'm still a kid!)
Zhang Lan felt a little awkward under that stare, but since he'd started explaining, he forced himself to continue:
"Normal relations between men and women aren't our concern. But dual cultivation is different. Any dual cultivation techniques or secret arts, once discovered, are immediately burned and destroyed…"
"If a cultivator engages in dual cultivation and the Dao Court Division finds out, they'll be recorded in the criminal registry. The punishment isn't as severe as yin harvesting, but it'll affect their chances of finding a master or even marriage in the future."
Mo Hua tilted his head. "Didn't you just say dual cultivation isn't harmful? Why ban it then?"
"The reasoning sounds fine, but in practice, it's another story."
Zhang Lan sighed. "Dual cultivation itself isn't wrong, nor does it violate the Dao Laws, but if it's not banned, people will use it as an excuse for yin harvesting. That would indirectly allow the practice to spread. And if we didn't ban it, we'd have no way to investigate cases, every time someone gets caught, they'd just claim it was consensual dual cultivation, not yin harvesting, and we couldn't prove otherwise."
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. "What's worse, some cultivators get harvested and don't even realize it! They even enjoy it, defending the very one draining them, utter fools!"
Mo Hua blinked. "If they say it was mutual, then you can't do anything, right?"
Zhang Lan snorted coldly. "Before the Dao Laws, there is no such thing as 'mutual consent.' Break the Dao Laws, and you'll be punished, no exceptions."
Mo Hua nodded.
"That's the first reason," Zhang Lan said.
Mo Hua blinked. "There's more?"
"Of course," Zhang Lan said. "The cultivation world has existed for over twenty thousand years, with countless cultivators. What kind of nonsense haven't we seen?"
"Ohhh."
"The second reason," Zhang Lan continued, "is that even between Dao partners, dual cultivation can turn into yin harvesting."
Mo Hua's jaw dropped. "But aren't Dao partners supposed to be close and loving?"
"What do you know?"
Zhang Lan gave him a "you're too young to understand" look.
"The closer Dao partners are, the easier it is for resentment to arise. Today they're madly in love; tomorrow they might want to kill each other. Once enmity forms, what was once dual cultivation can turn into yin harvesting…"
Mo Hua's eyes widened with new understanding. "Uncle Zhang, you know so much about this... you weren't, uh, harvested, were you—"
Zhang Lan immediately tugged Mo Hua's ear. "Don't talk nonsense! I'm a proper cultivator!"
Mo Hua rubbed his ear and muttered softly, "Who knows if you're proper or not…"
Zhang Lan sighed helplessly, then looked Mo Hua up and down.
"You should be careful in the future."
"Careful about what? It's not like I'll go harvesting anyone."
Zhang Lan smirked. "Maybe not, but you might get harvested."
Mo Hua froze. "No way…"
"Of course. It's not just female cultivators who get targeted, male cultivators can be harvested too." Zhang Lan's grin widened. "Especially ones like you, handsome and adorable."
Mo Hua's mouth fell open.
Zhang Lan patted his shoulder. "So if you ever see a seductive, charming female cultivator, be alert. She might just want to harvest you."
Mo Hua thought for a long time, then nodded solemnly.
After a while, he suddenly had another question. "If female cultivators can harvest men, and male cultivators can harvest women… can male cultivators harvest other men, or female cultivators harvest other women?"
Zhang Lan nearly blacked out.
What in the heavens is this kid thinking?!
What's in that little head of yours, that you can come up with questions like this?!
Zhang Lan was silent for a long time, then sighed wearily. "Go to sleep. I'm exhausted."
He closed his eyes and stopped responding.
Mo Hua wanted to ask more, but seeing Zhang Lan's tired expression, he sensibly stayed quiet.
The campfire flickered, and the night gradually grew still.
Mo Hua read his formation manual for a while, then at midnight entered his Sea of Consciousness to practice formation arts. After that, he rested briefly.
...
At dawn, Mo Hua awoke.
As he rose, Zhang Lan and the other two also opened their eyes.
After a simple breakfast, they packed up the camp and continued their journey.
When they reached Lone Cloud Peak, Mo Hua examined the terrain and marked several locations on the map.
Those spots were hidden, rarely visited by beasts or other cultivators.
Zhang Lan instructed, "Be cautious and keep hidden, don't alert the enemy. If you find the culprit, don't act rashly. Watch from afar and wait for us to regroup before striking."
Everyone nodded and split up to search the areas Mo Hua had marked.
Mo Hua, naturally, stayed with Zhang Lan.
Zhang Lan's cultivation was higher, it was safer that way.
After circling the area, they gathered again in a mountain forest. Not far ahead was a camp.
Mo Hua said, "There are traces around that camp. The culprit is likely hiding there."
"Could it be other monster hunters?" asked Situ Fang.
Mo Hua shook his head. "That camp's been abandoned for a while. Monster hunters wouldn't stay there."
Zhang Lan nodded. "Then we'll surround it and strike together. Mo Hua, it might get dangerous here, run some distance away."
"Okay."
Mo Hua nodded and immediately ran far, far away.
(End of Chapter)