Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1206 - 1202: Obtaining the Sword

He darted forward, appearing outside the valley where the Giant Spirit Sect was located.

The valley was silent under the Super Sensing Illumination, with the disciples of the Giant Spirit Sect minding their own affairs.

Over thirty li away from the valley, Zhao Ruilin and two others were leisurely making their way.

And a li behind them, Zhu Lingyun drifted like a white cloud.

His movements seemed leisurely, yet his speed was incredibly fast, with his gaze quietly following them.

His ears tuned to their conversation.

Sun Haoyang suddenly broke the silence among them, puzzled: "That guy sees the three of us together, and dares not make a move?"

"Probably doesn’t dare to." Hu Chengxiang said, "After all, we’re not Junior Brother Lu, let alone three people."

The cultivation of the three of them surpassed that of Junior Brother Lu, especially when united.

No matter how formidable he was, he could only stealthily attack one person, and the other two would be ready.

Clearly, he couldn’t withstand two people teaming up.

"Humph, cowardly!" Sun Haoyang snorted coldly: "I wouldn’t mind if he came out now; I’d like to slay him and avenge Junior Brother Lu!"

"This revenge will be exacted sooner or later." Hu Chengxiang said: "The Divine Venerable will find him!"

"Doesn’t look like the Divine Venerable can handle it, though?" Sun Haoyang frowned: "That guy is truly troublesome, to even be able to hinder the Divine Venerable!"

Hu Chengxiang shook his head: "He’s leveraging the advantage of a Spiritual Artifact."

"Which expert from the Four Great Sects?" Sun Haoyang turned to Zhao Ruilin: "Senior Brother, what do you think? Truly not a Sect Master of the Four Great Sects?"

"Shouldn’t be." Zhao Ruilin shook his head: "If it were them, I could recognize them."

Sun Haoyang was curious: "Senior Brother, you’ve crossed paths with the Sect Masters of the Four Great Sects?"

Zhao Ruilin said: "Haven’t fought against them, but have seen the scars they’ve left."

Sun Haoyang was confused: "When did you see them?"

"Master died under the sword of the Guanghan Palace Master." Zhao Ruilin said coldly.

"Wasn’t Master killed by an obsession-induced frenzy?" Sun Haoyang was taken aback.

Hu Chengxiang looked at Zhao Ruilin with surprise.

Zhao Ruilin shook his head: "Truth I initially didn’t want to reveal, and Master forbade it."

Sun Haoyang didn’t believe it: "How could Master die under that Guanghan Palace Master’s sword?... Master’s cultivation was vast as the sea, and the Guanghan Palace Master had just taken position at that time?"

"Bright Moon Divine Sword." Zhao Ruilin shook his head: "The power of the Bright Moon Divine Sword is astonishing,.... the Sect Masters of the Four Great Sects are of the same level; if Bright Moon Divine Sword were in play, the scars on Junior Brother Lu wouldn’t be so mild."

"... Then who is it?" Sun Haoyang frowned.

He trusted Zhao Ruilin’s words, his previous skepticism stemmed only from his inability to comprehend.

Now, after Zhao Ruilin’s explanation, he fully believed.

Hu Chengxiang said: "Or did the Evil Extermination Department bring out some Spiritual Artifact?"

"Hard to say." Zhao Ruilin shook his head.

Sun Haoyang was somewhat disappointed: "Alas..., I thought this wouldn’t pose a challenge for the Divine Venerable."

"Junior Brother, shut your mouth!" Zhao Ruilin hastily ordered.

Sun Haoyang said: "I thought the Divine Venerable was omnipotent and invincible, yet now I realize..."

"The Divine Venerable has just descended, and his powers haven’t restored fully." Zhao Ruilin said: "Moreover, possibly constricted by Lingyun’s body or limited by our world, he can’t exert his full strength."

"That’s reasonable." Sun Haoyang nodded in agreement: "Having just arrived, he’s bound to be unaccustomed; after a few days, he’ll be stronger,... when that time comes, the Divine Venerable will act, and we will annihilate the Four Great Sects, even eradicate the experts in the Imperial City, becoming the number one sect!"

"You’re dreaming too beautifully!" Zhao Ruilin laughed.

"Imperial City maybe not, " Hu Chengxiang laughed: "But we should be able to wipe out the Four Great Sects, shouldn’t we?"

"... Difficult." Zhao Ruilin shook his head.

Sun Haoyang was greatly disappointed: "Not even the Four Great Sects?"

Zhao Ruilin said: "The Four Great Sects have Spiritual Artifacts safeguarding their mountains, very troublesome to deal with unless the Divine Venerable can find a Spiritual Artifact."

"What Spiritual Artifact does the Divine Venerable possess?" Hu Chengxiang asked: "Our Giant Spirit Sword?"

Sun Haoyang quickly asked: "Is the Giant Spirit Sword to be handed over to the Divine Venerable?"

Hu Chengxiang looked at Zhao Ruilin.

Zhao Ruilin narrowed his eyes slightly, pondering as he gazed toward the sky.

Hu Chengxiang saw his expression and knew he didn’t want to hand over the Giant Spirit Sword to the Divine Venerable.

"Senior Brother..." Hu Chengxiang said: "Does the Divine Venerable know about the Giant Spirit Sword?"

"Naturally, he knows." Zhao Ruilin replied slowly: "Nothing in our Giant Spirit Sect can be concealed from the Divine Venerable."

"Then the Giant Spirit Sword..." Hu Chengxiang hesitated: "Will it work if not handed over to the Divine Venerable?"

"For the Giant Spirit Sword to change hands, it needs to be refined again." Zhao Ruilin frowned: "It’s not that I can’t part with the Giant Spirit Sword, it’s that after the Divine Venerable leaves, I’ll need to refine it again, whether the Divine Venerable refines it or I do, it will take quite some time."

He shook his head: "Fear is that during this time, a formidable enemy approaches, which would be a major trouble!"

"Makes sense!" Sun Haoyang clapped.

Hu Chengxiang said: "It’s just that the Divine Venerable might think you’re reluctant on the Giant Spirit Sword and misunderstand you more."

"I’ll report it clearly to the Divine Venerable." Zhao Ruilin said.

Hu Chengxiang said: "I think, Senior Brother, you’d better hand over the Giant Spirit Sword,... hand it over first, then remind the Divine Venerable."

"Hmm, sounds reasonable." Sun Haoyang quickly said: "I think the Divine Venerable is not too pleased with you right now, better to be accommodating."

"... All right, that works." Zhao Ruilin nodded: "Don’t worry, the Divine Venerable understands things clearly, won’t act impulsively."

He realized the Divine Venerable wanted to deal with him but was forcibly suppressing.

...

Chu Zhiyuan pondered.

He finally unearthed their trump card, the Giant Spirit Sword!

Now, since no sign of the Giant Spirit Sword has been noticed, it’s likely not Zhao Ruilin’s longsword at his waist; where is it hidden?

If he snatched away the Giant Spirit Sword, he’d have nothing to worry about and could attack freely.

He watched Zhu Lingyun a li behind, had recorded these words into memory, eyes narrowed slightly, remaining impassive.

Uncertain what Zhu Lingyun thought of it, what arrangements would be made for Zhao Ruilin.

Zhao Ruilin and his group arrived in the valley but did not gather all disciples, only summoned fifteen individuals to the Sect Master Hall.

Zhao Ruilin sat behind the Purple Sandalwood Pavilion table, calmly said: "The reason I’ve called you here today is due to a major task that needs execution."

"Sect Master, please direct us!" A middle-aged man leading them clasped his hands.

Zhao Ruilin said: "Each of you fifteen people is to capture ten people, alive."

"Sect Master, do you need men or women, and how strong in cultivation?"

"Preferably young adult males, cultivation doesn’t matter."

"If cultivation doesn’t matter, then it’s a minor affair." The middle-aged man smiled: "Find a small village and you’ll gather dozens of strong young men."

"Scatter in different directions, don’t go to one place; we don’t want to draw suspicion," Zhao Ruilin waved his hand: "Quickly go and return, the faster, the better."

"Yes." The fifteen experts stood up, clasped hands solemnly, then filed out.

Once they departed, Hu Chengxiang frowned: "Senior Brother, the guy outside..."

Zhao Ruilin said: "He can kill one, two, but not ten or eight."

These fifteen experts will each go in different directions, while that expert is but one man, stretched too thin to kill all fifteen simultaneously.

No matter how fast he is, at most he could kill five, leaving the ten abducted young strongmen sufficient.

This would expose the assailant, leaving more traces, aiding the Divine Venerable in pursuit.

If a single Elder died, the Divine Venerable might let it pass, but five deaths without catching the killer would be very disgraceful.

He believed it wasn’t that the Divine Venerable couldn’t find the killer but hadn’t exerted full effort.

Possibly there was some concern, top-secret techniques had remained unused.

Need to apply pressure.

...

Chu Zhiyuan had already infiltrated the valley, insighting the scene in the hall.

Simultaneously, he quietly approached a small courtyard, precisely Zhao Ruilin’s courtyard.

After Zhao Ruilin returned to the valley, his first action hadn’t been to visit the hall but to first return to his courtyard to change clothes and simultaneously spat out a Black Pill.

He washed the Black Pill, returned it to the bottle, and stashed it away.

Then he opened a Black Iron Small Box, scrutinized the small sword inside the box, then closed the box, setting it back by the bedside.

Chu Zhiyuan had already appeared in the small courtyard, soundlessly entered the room, and directly stored the Black Iron Small Box into his silver ring.

Then quietly departed the courtyard, left the valley.

In the next moment, appeared ten li away, and retrieved the Black Box from his sleeve.

He tapped several spots on the box surface, then opened the Black Box.

Inside lay a small sword quietly, with tiny characters etched on the sword: "Giant Spirit."

Chu Zhiyuan revealed a smile.

Unexpectedly, he obtained the Giant Spirit Sword so effortlessly.

This surely was a Spiritual Artifact, presumably possessing spirituality, how could it be taken so easily?

He glanced down at the Golden Sword at his waist.