Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1245 - 1241: The Result

Li Hongzhao slightly closed her phoenix-like eyes, concentrating on sensing the surroundings.

Being born with the Phoenix Bloodline made her spiritual power immense and her perception keen.

She suddenly opened her bright eyes and glanced towards the southeast direction.

Ding Chonglou was also concentrating, his sword-like brows locked tightly, yet he gained nothing.

Li Hongzhao stepped forward and patted Chu Zhiyuan’s shoulder, pointing her red lips towards the southeast.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded and gestured with his hand.

Li Hongzhao and Ding Chonglou moved closer.

Chu Zhiyuan placed his hands on their shoulders and disappeared instantly.

Both of them only felt a blur before their eyes, and the next moment, the scene before them suddenly changed.

Before them was still the dense forest, but besides the thick wild grass and huge old trees, there were black-robed men leaning against the roots.

They widened their eyes, sprung up dramatically, and rushed forward, their right palms already launching a red light.

Chu Zhiyuan said in a deep voice, "Senior Brother, it’s them, right?"

He could tell from the look and expression in the eyes of these black-robed men that it was them.

Their gaze first fell on Ding Chonglou, revealing a strange expression.

Ding Chonglou shouted, "It’s indeed them!"

Although they were masked back then and now unmasked, their demeanor and their eyes left a deep impression on him.

Suddenly, nine streaks of light shot out from Chu Zhiyuan’s sleeve, piercing through their bodies in an instant.

The streaks of light directly broke through their protective true essence, pierced through their bodies, and halted mid-air with blood, giving a slight tremble that shook the blood off completely, revealing nine small, bright knives.

The nine black-robed men flew into the air and slammed hard against the trees.

They were too close, and the flying knife’s speed was too fast; they couldn’t even react in time.

Li Hongzhao swiftly moved forward, her red shadow flickering, whizzing past the nine black-robed men, sealing their acupoints in passing.

"Bang bang bang bang..."

The nine black-robed men fell heavily at Ding Chonglou’s feet.

Ding Chonglou glared angrily at these black-robed men and let out a cold sneer.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Senior Brother, an eye for an eye, you can deal with them as you see fit."

The nine small knives returned to his sleeve like homing swallows.

Ding Chonglou slowly nodded, his eyes blazing as he glared at these nine people.

Li Hongzhao clapped her hands, "What identity do these guys have after all?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Whatever their identity, anyone who wants to kill a Heavenly Sword Sect disciple deserves only one word—death."

Li Hongzhao nodded lightly, "They’re really commanded by the Undying Evil Venerable, but which one is it?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

Ding Chonglou said, "Junior Brother, let’s take these guys back to the sect and interrogate them thoroughly."

"Senior Brother’s thoughts are thorough," Chu Zhiyuan said, "but there’s no need to keep them all, leave two or three, kill the rest, to ease Senior Brother’s grudge!"

"...Forget it, after interrogation, it’s not too late to kill them."

Ding Chonglou found Chu Zhiyuan’s proposal extremely tempting, but his reason held him firmly, biting his teeth to suppress the strong impulse.

"Impressive." Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fist, "In that case, shall we take them back?"

Li Hongzhao said, "Why not call Elder Xu and the others over."

Nine in total, and with Ding Chonglou unable to travel long distances, moving them back to the sect would be a bit strenuous.

"Very well, I’ll call Elder Xu and the others." Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

He disappeared in a flash, reappearing on a mountain peak the next moment.

At the foot of the mountain was a large river, and a group of people sat by the river resting.

Sitting in the center of the group was a middle-aged man, handsome in appearance, staring blankly at the surging river, watching the waves roll.

The surrounding people, whether young or middle-aged, each sat silently on various strange stones by the river, either eating some dry food or closing their eyes to adjust their breaths for recovery.

The atmosphere was desolate.

The middle-aged man suddenly looked up, turned to look at the mountain peak, and said to those around him, "I shall go for a moment."

With that, he leaped up, stepping lightly on the treetops, ascending and arriving in front of Chu Zhiyuan in the blink of an eye.

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fists in salute, smiling, "Greetings, Elder Xu."

"Nephew Chu?" Xu Qianfan was curious, "How did you come here? I thought it was a senior brother arriving."

The unique perception of the Heavenly Sword Secret Scripture practitioners enabled him to accurately locate Chu Zhiyuan’s position.

Originally thinking it was another elder dissatisfied with their progress and coming to urge them, he hadn’t expected it to be Chu Zhiyuan.

"I came with Junior Sister Li Hongzhao and Senior Brother Ding to find those culprits."

Xu Qianfan shook his head, "Why put Chonglou through it again, he has suffered enough."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "We found them and captured them, ready to send them back to the sect for trial."

Xu Qianfan suddenly realized, "Found...found them? Found the culprits? ...No mistake?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Yes, we found them."

Xu Qianfan was amazed, "Really found them? Chonglou personally confirmed it was them?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile, "It was indeed them. Their acupoints are sealed, waiting for us to transport them back to the sect."

Xu Qianfan was curious, "How did you find them?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "At the ambush site, I found some clues, followed the trail, then ambushed and struck, succeeding in one blow."

"You found clues?"

"Elder, you also know that I’m more perceptive, that’s my biggest advantage."

"Your sensitivity is indeed acute," Xu Qianfan nodded, "but I didn’t expect it to be this keen... Let’s go, take a look at them!"

"It’s not far from here," Chu Zhiyuan said, "Shall we invite the senior brothers together?"

"Bring these useless fellows along too!" Xu Qianfan snorted.

As he walked alongside Chu Zhiyuan, Xu Qianfan occasionally turned to look at Chu Zhiyuan.

Only after truly experiencing those black-robed men’s concealment techniques does one understand how challenging it was to capture them.

They exhausted all their efforts, leaving them with nothing.

Such anger and despair made them both dejected and furious.

Furious at their own incompetence.

Little did they know Chu Zhiyuan would find them so effortlessly.

He shook his head privately.

The gap between people is vast. Some people, by birth, bring despair to others.

...

At dawn, as the sun rose, its golden rays illuminated Heavenly Sword Peak.

Chu Zhiyuan pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard, enjoying the fresh air.

The air at Heavenly Sword Peak was exceptionally crisp, refreshing the mind and body.

Last night, he slept at the Prince Qing Mansion; upon waking, he transported himself directly here.

For him now, the distance between the Prince Qing Mansion and Heavenly Sword Peak was but a step away, easily traversed back and forth.

He breathed deeply several times; the air on Heavenly Sword Peak far surpassed that of the Prince Qing Mansion.

He moved his limbs around the courtyard when Dong Muyu’s voice came from outside, "Junior Brother! Junior Brother!"

"Please come in, Senior Sister Dong."

"Creak..."

Dong Muyu pushed open the door, stepping lightly into the courtyard and approaching him, "Junior Brother, did you know all those guys are dead!"

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Were they killed after the interrogation?"

He wasn’t on the peak last night, being at the Prince Qing Mansion, unaware of the night’s events.

"They died before the interrogation was finished," Dong Muyu shook her head, "Nothing came out from the interrogation."

Chu Zhiyuan furrowed his brow.

Dong Muyu said, "All nine of them died simultaneously... They weren’t even held together, each was very far apart. It’s too uncanny! Is this the method of the Undying Evil Venerable?"

Chu Zhiyuan slowly nodded.

"Such methods are terrifying, impossible to guard against," Dong Muyu said, "It’s a good thing the other brothers and sisters weren’t ambushed... They were probably targeting Brother Qi Zhou; you arrived in time to save him once."

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "What did the Sect Leader say?"

"The Sect Leader said nothing," Dong Muyu said, "Judging by his expression, he looked very grave, so I came over to tell you."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "It’s indeed troublesome that we didn’t find out why the Undying Evil Venerable suddenly sent people after us."