Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1226 - 1222: Operation

As he had anticipated, after changing his appearance, he followed two young men delivering fragrant barrels back to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

On the way back, the two young men told him about his identity, his usual temperament, and his actions, along with the responsibilities he would handle.

They would provide him with cover, and he could just follow them and do the tasks.

Zhu Lingyun remained silent, just nodding absentmindedly.

He sat in the small courtyard of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, not activating his Super Sense, but simply using his Cultivation to sense his surroundings.

A cluster of pure light was already purifying his soul and aura, so he didn’t feel any rejection, instead, a subtle sense of belonging.

It was as if he originally belonged here, and felt extremely at ease and peaceful.

He found a stone bench to sit down, bathed in the morning sunlight, without Operating.

"Squeak..." The gate to the small courtyard opened.

The two young men entered quietly, carrying a lunch box.

"Time to eat..." one young man called.

They placed the lunch box on the stone table in the courtyard and opened it, revealing a rich array of six dishes and two soups.

"Today’s dishes are good," the other young man praised.

The two discussed the food, chatting about trivial matters, like who was caught slacking off and received what punishment, who had a mishap during practice and got injured...

Zhu Lingyun remained silent, only eating a few bites.

His intuition didn’t detect any danger, so he could eat without worry but didn’t eat much.

One young man chuckled, "Xiaozhuang, after the meal, let’s go clean the altar."

"It’s finally our turn to clean the altar, it’s a leisurely and great task."

Zhu Lingyun nodded without speaking.

"Once the altar is cleaned, we also need to sweep the leaves, can’t slack off today."

"More people should be recruited here, why won’t they? It’s the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Court wouldn’t neglect it, surely they would agree."

"More people would make it lively, losing the solemnity."

"Alas..."

Zhu Lingyun followed them after the meal, taking a broom towards the altar.

The altar was dew-covered, empty and deserted, with no Tribute keeping watch.

Only then did Zhu Lingyun realize that the previous appearance of the four Tributes when Chu Zhiyuan entered was intentional.

"Let’s begin!"

The three of them proceeded to the altar, starting the cleaning from top to bottom.

Zhu Lingyun stood motionless in the center of the altar with a broom, closing his eyes.

The other two young men pretended not to notice, focusing on sweeping.

Suddenly, Zhu Lingyun stomped his foot.

"Bang!"

The altar shook.

"Bang!"

He stomped again.

"Bang!"

He stomped once more.

The two young men frowned, glancing at him, then around.

They thought the noise was too loud.

Yet it seemed Zhu Lingyun had no intention to stop and was about to stomp again.

"Bang!"

He stomped again.

But the altar remained unmoved.

He shook his head in disappointment, picked up the broom, and began sweeping.

After cleaning the altar, Zhu Lingyun returned to the courtyard and shook his head at the two young men, "I’m leaving tomorrow."

"Did it work?" one young man asked eagerly.

Zhu Lingyun snorted, "Nothing at all!... They’re just toying with me!"

"Impossible!" the other young man said sternly.

Zhu Lingyun said, "I can sense that thing, but it’s beneath the altar, unless it’s dug out."

"Then dig it out."

"It’s too hard, can’t be dug." Zhu Lingyun shook his head, "You can only look at it greedily, can’t get it."

"Isn’t there another way?"

"I need to go out and ask properly if there’s a way, I have no solution now."

"I see..."

"The information is unreliable," Zhu Lingyun shook his head, "it’s too risky."

The two young men exchanged a helpless glance.

Zhu Lingyun said, "If you have a good idea, use it quickly, getting in this time was easy, next time might not be."

"...Let us think." The two young men nodded slowly after glancing at each other.

Zhu Lingyun raised an eyebrow secretly.

Indeed, there are other tricks.

The Evil Demon from Wanxiang Sect is truly terrifying, and these two haven’t even practiced Evil Skill.

Those who have practiced Evil Skill are probably more terrifying, better to eradicate them early.

...

Having just finished dinner, Chu Zhiyuan was in another courtyard cultivating the Second Layer of Earth Origin Technique when Lu Xiaolu found him.

Upon entering the courtyard, she urged him to depart immediately, not to waste time.

Finding the Evil Demon from Wanxiang Sect might take all night.

Chu Zhiyuan agreed readily.

He had cultivated hard all day, first refining the Golden Sword, then organizing the memories of He Lingchuan and Zhong Lingyun, arranging the Secret Technique of Feiling Cliff and Wanxiang Cliff.

Finally, he again cultivated the Second Layer of Earth Origin Technique.

He indeed needed a change of pace.

So, the two floated out of the Imperial City, heading north under the moonlight.

"The Evil Demon of Wanxiang Sect is in the north of the city?"

Lu Xiaolu’s green robe fluttered like Lingbo Micro-step, asking softly.

Under the moonlight, her face appeared as if carved from Mutton Fat Jade.

"Yes, to the north."

"How did you find it out, Junior Brother?" Lu Xiaolu was curious, "You didn’t sense it, did you?"

His sensitivity was extremely powerful, but sensing an Evil Demon couldn’t possibly specify from which Sect.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "I have a personal item from a Wanxiang Sect master."

As he said this, he pulled out a Longsword from his sleeve and tossed it to Lu Xiaolu.

Lu Xiaolu flicked her sleeve, directing the airborne Longsword back to Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan caught it with a smile.

"...No wonder!" Lu Xiaolu realized.

This made sense.

She then said in amazement, "Having it, there’s no need to chase right away, just hold it and follow it back to the lair."

Chu Zhiyuan said helplessly, "Beyond a hundred miles, it’ll be hard to sense."

"Then let’s find it quickly." Lu Xiaolu nodded.

This was reasonable.

After all, it’s just an item, sensing similar ones through its aura is difficult.

Detecting beyond a hundred miles was unrealistic.

The night was like water, moonlight clear and cold.

They ran for about forty miles towards the city’s north before stopping at the foot of a mountain.

Chu Zhiyuan motioned with his mouth.

Lu Xiaolu nodded and stealthily slipped into the woods.

Her eyes turned dim, her entire aura faded, blending into the night.

In the woods, nighttime insects and animals passed by her as if she were a tree, a blade of grass.

Her movement was silent, crisscrossing branches couldn’t stop her.

She either drilled or wound, stuck close or swept past, changing shapes silently as she approached three men deeper in the forest.

A middle-aged man and two young men were each sitting cross-legged on tree stumps.

Three freshly cut ancient trees, the stumps thick and flat, emitting a faint fragrance.

Suddenly, the middle-aged man opened his eyes.

The two young men opposite him followed suit.

"Elder?" a young man lowered his voice.

Another young man said, "Elder, where exactly is the Divine Venerable?"

The middle-aged man casually said, "You’ll know soon enough."

"What orders does the Divine Venerable have?" the young man puzzled, "Why so cautious?"

The middle-aged man shook his head without speaking.

The other young man said sternly, "The Divine Venerable is likely here to help us avenge!"

"This revenge will definitely be avenged." The previous young man was solemn.

They thought of the experts from the Sect and Feiling Sect who were deployed together, nearly annihilated.

Such a disastrous defeat hadn’t happened in recent years, causing them pain and anger, yearning to storm the Imperial City.

This hope rested on the Divine Venerable.

But the Divine Venerable’s movements suddenly turned secretive, requiring them to come in secrecy.

Lu Xiaolu stopped motionless.

She heard the words Divine Venerable and felt a slight chill.

Then she heard Chu Zhiyuan’s voice in her ear, "Let’s retreat a few steps first."

Lu Xiaolu nodded lightly, retreating quietly.