Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1205 - 1201: Mobilization

He gently shook his head.

The wound caused by the Golden Sword will not leave any useful clues.

The Golden Sword possesses the subtlety of the Shadowless Divine Sword, its aura nearly invisible, infused with the will of the people’s hearts, confusing their perception.

No matter how advanced their cultivation is, they cannot sense me because of this.

Zhao Ruilin frowned as he stood up and said, "Let’s go, head back quickly."

"Junior Brother Lu, he...?" Sun Haoyang asked.

Zhao Ruilin shook his head, "We can’t find the murderer, let’s call the Divine Venerable."

"Right, with the Divine Venerable here!" Sun Haoyang clapped his hands, "I almost forgot about that!"

He excitedly said, "With the intervention of the Divine Venerable, we can surely find the murderer!... Senior Brother, gather the disciples, I’ll go invite the Divine Venerable over."

"...Let’s go together." Zhao Ruilin glanced around, speaking quietly.

He had a feeling of his hair standing on end, as if there was a danger lurking nearby, ready to strike at any moment.

The murderer is likely watching from the side; it’s best not to be alone.

He said solemnly, "Let’s go together, take Junior Brother Lu’s body to see the Divine Venerable."

"Alright." Sun Haoyang agreed, bending down to lift the body.

The three returned together, surrounded by the surprised gazes of everyone, standing before Zhu Lingyun.

Zhu Lingyun opened his eyes, frowned at the body, and summoned with a hand gesture.

The body swiftly flew up, landing heavily in front of him with a "bang."

He pressed onto the sword wound, closing his eyes.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, his gaze sharp, bright, like cold lightning cutting through the void.

The experts of the Giant Spirit Sect all avoided his gaze, dared not look directly.

"Hey, a good fellow!" Zhu Lingyun sneered, "This is a provocation to the present Venerable!"

Sun Haoyang was about to speak but was silenced by Zhao Ruilin’s glare.

Zhu Lingyun spoke slowly, "In that case, this Venerable shall meet him!"

"Divine Venerable, to be able to silently, kill Junior Brother Lu in one strike, is no ordinary expert," Zhao Ruilin said solemnly, "It’s likely a master of the Four Great Sects."

He considered whether it was a master from the Evil Extermination Department but ultimately dismissed it.

He had seen such experts from the Evil Extermination Department himself, but there was no sign of them.

And for those he couldn’t detect, possessing such cultivation, it’s likely they only appear from one of the Four Great Sects in the world.

After all, the Four Great Sects primarily deal with demons, constantly battling in the deep mountains and forests, rarely targeting the disciples of the Giant Spirit Sect.

"The Four Great Sects coming to join the fun?" Zhu Lingyun sneered, "Dare to kill my people, let him wish he was dead!"

His face grew increasingly somber.

He discovered something odd.

The aura swirling around the wound was a will, a power on a higher level!

He frowned and looked at the statue of the Undying Evil Venerable, his expression darkening further.

Hu Chengxiang spoke quietly, "Divine Venerable, could it be related to this Divine Statue?"

Zhu Lingyun’s face grew darker, remaining silent.

Hu Chengxiang understood this as tacit acknowledgment, inwardly sighing at the Divine Venerable’s apparent apprehension towards the killer.

Could the Divine Statue have a descendant, and the killer be this descendant?

Or perhaps the statue also possesses power that descends as if the Divine Venerable himself has arrived?

Zhao Ruilin said, "Divine Venerable, how should we respond?"

"What do you think?" Zhu Lingyun replied indifferently.

Zhao Ruilin said, "Since it’s sneaky, it’s likely he’s alone."

Zhu Lingyun neither confirmed nor denied.

Zhao Ruilin said, "He killed Junior Brother Lu, perhaps because of Lu’s identity, or to prevent Lu from killing those hundred people to create a Blood Pool... or fearing the suppression of the statue, or for innocence... if it’s the former, it should not be unrelated to this statue and the latter means a master of the Four Great Sects!"

"Can you handle him?" Zhu Lingyun asked.

Zhao Ruilin sighed, "This wound is peculiar, there’s no way to sense his location."

"Will interference, naturally you cannot sense," Zhu Lingyun snorted.

Zhao Ruilin said, "Could the Divine Venerable remove this interference so that we can sense him?"

Zhu Lingyun placed his palms together, closed his eyes, murmured under his breath, while his palms formed seals, slowly unfolding like a blooming lotus.

At first glance, it seemed he was gracefully plucking a flower in bloom, serene as a figure from folklore.

Forming seals, he gently touched the wound from the Golden Sword.

"Buzz..."

A muffled sound came from the void.

As if a giant copper bell was struck, the sound resonating through the air, vibrating their blood and vitality.

Their vision blurred, vaguely seeing a golden light appearing at the back of the body’s head.

Once the golden light touched his palm, it condensed into a dazzling, threatening little sun.

It instantly exploded.

"Bang!"

Zhu Lingyun leaned backward, the forming seals in his palms scattered, his previous composure and elegance suddenly turning into disarray.

"Divine Venerable!" Sun Haoyang hurried forward, reaching out to support.

Zhu Lingyun steadied himself, glared at him, with a stern expression shouted, "Shut up!"

Sun Haoyang immediately shut his mouth, withdrew his hands, and looked at the body and him, puzzled.

Everyone around was curious.

It was clear Zhu Lingyun suffered a hidden loss, yet they were extremely curious as to how it was done.

Sun Haoyang’s curiosity was even harder to suppress.

Zhao Ruilin said solemnly, "Divine Venerable, is there something odd about this person’s sword?"

Zhu Lingyun snorted, "A will stronger than I imagined!... Could it be the Sect Masters of the Four Great Sects doing this?"

"This..." Zhao Ruilin hesitated.

He thought it unlikely.

The Sect Masters of the Four Great Sects usually remain within the mountains, would not leave without matters of life or death.

Moreover, would not secretly assassinate an elder of the Giant Spirit Sect.

"This is definitely not just swordsmanship, it is a higher level of power." Zhu Lingyun snorted, "His sword should be a spiritual artifact!"

"Then what should we do?" Sun Haoyang hastily asked, "Can we catch up to him?"

Zhu Lingyun gave him a sideways glance.

He brought up the wrong topic at the wrong time, truly an indiscreet fool!

Hu Chengxiang said, "Senior Brother, the three of us will move together, he won’t dare to make a move after finishing."

Zhao Ruilin nodded, "Divine Venerable, then we’ll go gather people to build the blood pool first."

"Go ahead." Zhu Lingyun waved his hand, staring absently at the corpse.

The aura from the sword wound on the corpse had completely dissipated, no trace left, the clues were cut off.

This made him both angry and wary.

Chu Zhiyuan was lost in thought.

It seems that restraining this Divine Venerable, his Golden Sword holds great hope.

The three floated away.

Zhu Lingyun glanced at the surrounding Giant Spirit Sect experts, saying sternly, "Do not approach within ten meters of this statue!"

"Yes." Everyone answered with clasped fists.

Zhu Lingyun’s figure flickered, turning into a wisp of breeze, disappearing before everyone’s eyes.

He had secretly followed Zhao Ruilin and the others.

Chu Zhiyuan stood atop the mountain with arms crossed, hidden by stones, withdrawing his gaze and revealing a smile.

This Divine Venerable doesn’t seem as powerful, his spiritual power couldn’t suppress the people’s power of the Golden Sword.

This presents an opportunity for a fight.

With confidence bolstered, he was in no hurry to strike, contemplating a foolproof plan.

With this thought, his figure flickered and disappeared, reappearing next in a forest.

Zhou Chongming, who was resting, raised an eyebrow, whispered a few words to the Heavenly Sword Sect experts beside him, then floated up, leaving the ranks of the Four Great Sects’ experts.

This drew the attention of others.

Earlier he left for a while and returned, then changed direction.

Leaving again this time, did he receive a secret message again?

Zhou Chongming appeared in front of Chu Zhiyuan, smiling, "Zhiyuan, any news?"

Chu Zhiyuan said softly, "Master Zhou, I found the location of the Giant Spirit Sect’s sect."

Zhou Chongming’s spirit was lifted.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Should we go directly to annihilate them?"

"With this opportunity, we should certainly take action!" Zhou Chongming’s eyes flashed with brilliance, he said deeply, then reconsidered, "But our numbers might not be enough."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "I’ve already reported to the Sect Leader, he is ready to act."

Zhou Chongming smiled, "The Sect Leader detests these evil demons deeply. If there’s a chance to destroy their lair, how can we let it pass?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "I’ll act in secret first, while you and others take the lead, the Sect Leader will send experts to aid us, that should be enough."

Zhou Chongming asked, "How do we deal with that Evil Venerable?"

"I have been probing his reality and have almost figured it out." Chu Zhiyuan said.

Zhou Chongming’s spirit was lifted.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Possibly due to just descending, he’s not as strong as imagined... The Sect Leader will invite four court honored experts from within the sect, along with my Jade Heaven Sword, it should suffice."

Zhou Chongming said slowly, "Killing one Evil Venerable is as good as eliminating countless demons, this is truly the way to eradicate the source of evil demons!"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Zhou Chongming said, "In this case, ... still best to personally tell them, it’s a significant matter, my words alone aren’t enough."

"Yes." Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

He appeared with Zhou Chongming before the Four Sects’ experts, and bowed in greeting to each.

Li Xinhe from Fuyun Sect led the team, and Lu Gengshen from Guiyang Sword Sect led the team, both knew Chu Zhiyuan.

They laughed and joked with Chu Zhiyuan, teasing him for being sneaky, not open and straightforward enough.

Chu Zhiyuan now had quite a reputation within the Four Sects, with boundless prospects, naturally, everyone wanted to build good relationships with him.

Qi Qingmei from Guanghan Palace frowned slightly, somewhat complaining, "Junior Brother Chu, you..."

"Senior Sister Qi, forgive me..." Chu Zhiyuan quickly smiled and apologized, then explained his discovery.

Qi Qingmei’s jade face turned somber, "Having found the evil demon’s lair, it must be destroyed, just like last time we destroyed Myriad Blood Sect’s lair."

"Exactly."

"Right."

Experts from the other two sects agreed one after another.

The previous destruction of Myriad Blood Sect’s lair, with only two sects teaming up had left them quite dissatisfied.

Now having found another evil demon lair, they definitely won’t pass up this chance.

"We should head over directly, no need to hurry to Imperial City."

Lu Gengshen from Guiyang Sword Sect was eager, wishing to strike immediately.

Li Xinhe from Fuyun Sect laughed, "I’ve been worrying about not having a good opportunity to kill more demons, and this opportunity has presented itself!"

Zhou Chongming then explained a few things.

First, he spoke of the descent of the Evil Venerable, then the plan of the Heavenly Sword Sect: having this group be the vanguard, with Heavenly Sword Sect sending experts to aid them.

Chu Zhiyuan went on to detail what he had seen earlier, including how the Evil Venerable handled the Undying Evil Venerable Statue and intended to build a blood pool.

This statement drew Lu Gengshen’s dissatisfaction.

Lu Gengshen felt that not only should Heavenly Sword Sect send court honored experts, but the other three sects should also dispatch them.

Consider the enemy broadly, in case this Evil Venerable is unfathomably strong or deeply hidden, or has an unimaginable trump card?

Court honored experts should not be wasted.

Even Qi Qingmei advocated for more court honored experts to be dispatched.

Zhou Chongming, feeling helpless, had to report to the Sect Leader.

This matter could be postponed, but now they must immediately head to the Giant Spirit Sect lair.

Prevent them from building the blood pool first.

With the map drawn by Chu Zhiyuan, they hurried.

Chu Zhiyuan, however, set off ahead.