Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1253 - 1249: Unlocking Secrets

Chu Zhiyuan moved steadily, his speed incredibly fast, like a wisp of light smoke, and in the blink of an eye, he left the Imperial City.

After departing from the North City Gate, his figure flickered and vanished, appearing on the peak of a mountain a hundred miles away the next moment, and after another flicker, he disappeared again, appearing on the peak of a mountain two hundred miles away.

The opposite of this mountain peak was also another mountain.

The peak of the mountain stood a golden statue, glittering in the light, towering at sixty feet high, majestic and grand, standing firm against the wind.

The statue was of a middle-aged man, with a subtle smile, hands in a sealing gesture, gazing compassionately at the mountains.

A group of fierce beasts slowly emerged from the forest, approaching the statue.

A few hunters venturing deep into the forest were curiously approaching the statue.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned and glanced at the statue, sensing the distortion of light, the illusion of the statue.

With Super Sensing Illumination, he could see the statue emitting spiritual power, like ripples of water, enveloping everything within a ten-mile radius.

He now had a deeper understanding of the Undying Evil Venerable.

He knew that the range of the illusion realm of the Undying Evil Venerable statue, according to the Undying Evil Venerable, was their domain.

After descending here, it could envelop everything within a ten-mile radius, showing that this Undying Evil Venerable’s cultivation was considered mediocre.

The Undying Evil Venerable had nine grades: Upper Three, Middle Three, Lower Three. This Undying Evil Venerable was within the Middle Three.

The Upper Three could cover a range of a hundred miles.

Fortunately, he still hadn’t encountered an Undying Evil Venerable of the Upper Three grades.

The Golden Sword was already excitedly rushing out, drawing an arc in the air, tilting and sliding toward the statue’s forehead, like a wounded bird falling.

This arc was clumsy yet extremely subtle, aligning perfectly with the Heavenly Sword Secret Scripture’s sword intent, resonating naturally, like a thunderbolt descending.

It accurately pierced through the spiritual power’s defense, even though the statue’s golden light burst forth, forming a Golden Light Shield, it still pierced the statue’s brow unimpeded.

"Boom!"

"Bang bang bang bang..."

In the muffled sound of massive trees colliding, the beasts and hunters a hundred meters away all flew backward.

The spiritual power of the golden statue exploded suddenly, like angry waves crashing on the shore, flinging the beasts and hunters within like waves crashing.

The Golden Sword was bounced away.

"Buzz..."

It drew a peculiar arc again in the air, then trembled slightly, shaking off the spiritual forces vibrating within the sword.

It then tilted and descended again, sinking toward the statue’s brow.

Golden light burst forth again, the existing Golden Light Shield became even tougher.

But it was still effortlessly pierced by the Golden Sword, colliding with the brow.

"Boom!"

"Bang bang bang bang..."

In the muffled sound, the beasts and hunters who had just been flung away hadn’t yet gotten up, yet were once again thrown further.

The Golden Sword stabbed firmly into the brow of the statue, vibrating vigorously.

The sword trembled into a ball of light, its shape unclear.

Chu Zhiyuan made a sealing gesture with both hands, and simultaneously, the spiritual forces of Chu Liezhao and the other two also joined in.

The Golden Sword instantly stabilized, no longer trembling, then nimbly slashed from top to bottom around the statue’s body three times, then from left to right three times.

"Bang!"

Golden light burst forth, the statue turned into dust, exploding into a cloud of powdered mist.

The Golden Sword plunged into the dust, swiftly absorbing the Undying Golden Essence into the sword.

Chu Liezhao had already appeared, the Haoyang Demon-suppressing Mirror shone upon a mass of seven-colored light ascending to the void.

The ascent of the seven-colored light halted abruptly and then gently fell into the Haoyang Demon-suppressing Mirror.

Chu Liezhao stepped into the Light Gate, disappearing without a trace.

Chu Zhiyuan looked at the beasts and hunters around him, who had long since fainted.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded satisfactorily, flickered and vanished, returning to a bustling street within the Imperial City.

Dusk was falling, and the streetlights were just coming on.

The street was bustling with pedestrians, vendors from both sides were shouting with one voice after another, children were playing, adults were both chasing and scolding, customers and vendors were haggling.

Various sounds mingled together, extremely lively.

Huang Zhengyang was hurriedly walking, suddenly seeing Chu Zhiyuan in the crowd ahead, surprised, he stepped forward.

Chu Zhiyuan cupped his fists.

"Brother Chu, solved?"

"Just solved, was close by, luckily discovered early, the Divine Statue was also secluded, only a few hunters got hurt, not too seriously."

"Brother Chu, your Qinggong is truly..." Huang Zhengyang was utterly envious.

If only he had this Qinggong, or if the entire Evil Extermination Department experts had this Qinggong, how powerful would the Evil Extermination Department become?

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled: "It’s a gift, nothing can be done about it... All right, Brother Huang, don’t worry any longer, I’m off to rest."

"Thanks much, thanks much." Huang Zhengyang repeatedly cupped his fists.

The Court Honored Experts of the Evil Extermination Department also had superb cultivation, but they simply couldn’t deal with the Undying Evil Venerable, so now they can only rely on his Demon Suppressing Saber and secret techniques.

The entire Evil Extermination Department, only the Director could really withstand the Undying Evil Venerable.

The Director is now in retreat, cannot run around dealing with these Undying Evil Venerables.

"Look at you, Brother Huang, being so polite!" Chu Zhiyuan smiled, shook his head, cupped his fists and departed.

...

Zhu Lingyun’s expression was grave, staring at the distant valley.

His looks were still strikingly handsome, but his hair at the temples was already frosted white, the passage of time etched in his brows could not be erased.

Ji Qingyun and Zheng Pingzhang stood beside him, glancing at the white hair at his temples, feeling a strange sensation.

They knew this was caused by the Golden Staff, not expecting such malice.

This was the price of power.

Each time Ji Qingyun saw the white hair by Zhu Lingyun’s temples, he felt a sense of relief.

Relieved that he himself had rarely used it, and relieved that Zhu Lingyun appeared suddenly and snatched the Golden Staff away.

Zheng Pingzhang was puzzled, "Divine Venerable, why don’t we just charge straight in? Do they also have a Divine Venerable descending?"

Zhu Lingyun glanced at him, "How do you know they don’t?"

"No way, if they really had one, could they hold back from attacking?" Zheng Pingzhang said, "How could they still be cowering?"

Why would these Divine Venerables descend?

Isn’t it just to enter the Imperial City? What’s the point of descending if they don’t enter?

Even if Divine Venerables want to enter the Imperial City, how could they let the disciples within the Sect cower inside without coming out?

Zhu Lingyun said lightly, "Maybe they’ve just descended... how are the experts within the Sect?"

Ji Qingyun said slowly, "They’ve more or less rested enough and are ready to charge!"

His expression turned solemn, with a faint heartache.

Even though the experts within the Sect were facing already defeated experts, they were still inevitably facing losses.

Faced with death, some went weak in the limbs, while others went mad, with desperate counterattacks being very fierce.

Coming and going, they’d wiped out three sects and had already lost a dozen experts.

This could be considered a severe loss of Primordial Energy.

Continue like this a couple more times, and the Wanxiang Sect wouldn’t be able to bear it.

So this time was the last sect; after destroying this one, they would stop.

The reputation of the Wanxiang Sect had already been established, enough to deter people and allow them to calmly recover, even becoming stronger.

"Then charge." Zhu Lingyun said calmly, "Kill all the experts, the rest can be spared and taken as disciples of the sect."

"Yes!"

Ji Qingyun solemnly cupped his fist.

Zhu Lingyun drifted towards the valley, like a wisp of smoke, while Ji Qingyun and Zheng Pingzhang turned to lead the disciples into the charge.

...

An hour later, when the valley returned to peace, Zhu Lingyun’s temples were even whiter.

Not just the temples, but his head was also covered with a layer of frost.

Aside from feeling sorry for the lost experts, Ji Qingyun was even more alarmed by Zhu Lingyun’s transformation.

Zhu Lingyun said casually, "I should be going back."

The three of them stood atop the mountain, facing the wind, with Zhu Lingyun’s tone indifferent.

"Divine Venerable..." Ji Qingyun and Zheng Pingzhang were suddenly taken aback.

Zhu Lingyun said, "The backlash of that Golden Staff is too strong; I can only hold on till now."

"Is Divine Venerable all right?" Ji Qingyun hurriedly asked.

"The backlash of the Golden Staff is fiercer than I thought," Zhu Lingyun said lightly, "I’d better leave this physical body first... next time, I’ll descend into a different body."

"Divine Venerable, take care." Ji Qingyun cupped his fist.

"I won’t die," Zhu Lingyun said lightly, "From here on, all disciples return to the sect, and recuperate for a few years first."

"Yes." Ji Qingyun slowly nodded.

Zhu Lingyun said, "Do not underestimate those sects, especially since they might also have Divine Venerables descending. By that time, what will you do?"

"Divine Venerable, rest assured. We have secret passages and mechanisms built in the valley. If anything suspicious, we will leave via the secret passages at once."

"If it’s just secret passages, it’s not stable enough."

"We also have a backup main altar." Ji Qingyun said, "Some disciples secretly guard it there, so even if there is a catastrophe, they can continue the legacy and await the Divine Venerable’s next descent."

"Very well," Zhu Lingyun nodded in satisfaction, "Where is it?"

Ji Qingyun looked around, with a serious expression, and transmitted two sentences secretly through Sound Transmission into Secret.

Zhu Lingyun frowned in contemplation.

Ji Qingyun said, "No one would think of that."

Zhu Lingyun sighed, "Don’t underestimate the experts of the Court, and more importantly, do not underestimate the Evil Extermination Department. It is said that the department has recently invited a top expert."

"Yes, it’s Chu Zhiyuan of the Heavenly Sword Sect." Zheng Pingzhang snorted, "This guy is truly a jinx, sabotaging many of our plans."

Zhu Lingyun said, "Do you have a way to deal with him?... any special secret techniques?"

"Divine Venerable, rest assured," Zheng Pingzhang grinned confidently, "We’re prepared to give him a severe blow. Even if he doesn’t die, he’ll be incapacitated!"

Zhu Lingyun frowned, "He’s not easy to deal with; otherwise, he would have been dead long ago."

Zheng Pingzhang said, "We have a treasure of immense power that can kill him."

Zhu Lingyun looked at him.

Zheng Pingzhang confidently patted his chest, "He definitely won’t escape!"

Zhu Lingyun looked towards Ji Qingyun.

Ji Qingyun said, "This treasure can only be used once; it was crafted over a hundred years within the sect, and its power is astonishing."

"A hundred years..." Zhu Lingyun pondered, "Such a precious item, you really want to use it on him? Since you’ve decided to lay low and won’t meet him, there’s no need to use it, right?"

Ji Qingyun said, "He poses too great a threat. If we don’t get rid of him, we truly can’t have peace of mind."

Zhu Lingyun chuckled, "Is his threat greater than the Court’s honored experts?"

"In my view, his threat far surpasses the Court’s honored experts." Ji Qingyun nodded, "His talent is too astonishing, his advancement too rapid, rising uncontrollably... especially that Demon Suppressing Saber of his, it seems to specifically counter us. Letting him continue to live, who knows what he’ll become? It’s best to eliminate him early!"

Zheng Pingzhang nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, his Demon Suppressing Saber is terrifying, cutting down our disciples like mowing grass. If we don’t kill him, we can’t sleep soundly."

Zhu Lingyun said, "Other than you, the other sects think the same, don’t they?"

"So far as I know, everyone is trying," Ji Qingyun nodded slightly, "Now they are probing his reality, searching for his weaknesses, to deliver a fatal strike."

Zhu Lingyun nodded lightly, "If it weren’t for my current inability, I’d really like to teach him a lesson."

He showed a regretful expression, "Now it’s impossible, what a pity."

"Divine Venerable, we can handle him." Zheng Pingzhang laughed boisterously, "Once we return to the sect, once all disciples take action, we can activate that treasure."