Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1282 - 1278: The Third

Xiao Ruoling was to enter seclusion to cultivate, and Chu Zhiyuan bid farewell to return to the Prince Qing Mansion.

After a night’s stay, thoroughly relaxed, and having had breakfast, he returned to the Heavenly Sword Branch.

He had just returned not long ago when Huang Zhengyang arrived again.

He sighed outside the courtyard: "Brother Chu, another Undying Evil Venerable has descended."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and opened the courtyard door, inviting him in.

Huang Zhengyang waved his hand: "Forget it, let’s not go in, we should hurry, it fell by the city again, we can’t delay."

Chu Zhiyuan stepped directly outside the courtyard, closing the door behind him: "How is it on the Dongning City side?"

"The eight tributes are still maintaining the array," Huang Zhengyang said.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "We should be cautious over there; I suspect there’s about to be a problem."

Huang Zhengyang’s expression turned grave: "Is the Undying Evil Venerable about to awaken?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded slowly.

Huang Zhengyang frowned, looking in the direction of the Imperial Palace.

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Where are we going?"

"To Sanhe City," Huang Zhengyang said, "You know, Brother Chu?"

"Yes, let’s go." Chu Zhiyuan said.

The two came outside the branch, leaving behind the waiting Evil Extermination Department experts, drifting away like a phantom.

The waiting experts were already accustomed to this, heading towards Sanhe City with unperturbed expressions.

Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Zhengyang reached a mountaintop, spotting the Undying Evil Venerable Statue from afar, with the Golden Sword shooting from its sheath.

Chu Zhiyuan and Huang Zhengyang chatted idly.

A gentle breeze stirred their clothes.

Huang Zhengyang said, "Brother Chu, don’t wander in the city for a while."

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled.

Huang Zhengyang said, "This secret technique was never meant to be completed; everyone’s hopes are too high, it’s not right."

He could immediately see someone was stirring trouble, deliberately putting Chu Zhiyuan on the spot.

As if Chu Zhiyuan could indeed master the secret technique bestowed by the Court and solve the threat of the Undying Evil Venerable.

Unbeknownst to them, this secret technique was never mastered by anyone, with no precedent for mastery.

Otherwise, the Undying Evil Venerable would have long disappeared from Biyuan Heaven, and not appeared.

A secret technique that no one could master, yet everyone was confident that Chu Zhiyuan could master it.

This was obviously not right.

He couldn’t think of anyone other than the Court to do such a thing.

He was extremely vexed about this but felt powerless.

"My reputation has indeed risen." Chu Zhiyuan laughed.

He could now feel the power of the Golden Sword was rapidly increasing.

Public support and merit were increasing rapidly, far exceeding his expectations.

To make people believe he could master this secret technique, one must first praise his achievements.

Saying how powerful his Demon Suppressing Saber was, how many great and giant demons he vanquished.

Speaking of how fast his cultivation progressed, surpassing millennia of others’ effort in less than a year.

This significantly increased public support for him, causing the Golden Sword’s power to surge.

Huang Zhengyang said, "The more famous you are now, the more trouble you’ll have in the future."

Chu Zhiyuan laughed, "I can’t just go out and say, I’m not that great, everyone is praising me too much, don’t expect me to master that secret technique, right?"

Huang Zhengyang sighed, "If you say that, people will think you’re humble and believe in you even more."

This was an open conspiracy, a form of praise that could be deadly, nearly unsolvable.

Unless news spread that Chu Zhiyuan was dead, people would feel regret and pity.

Otherwise, if Chu Zhiyuan failed to master the secret technique, they would become dissatisfied and resentful.

Ultimately, Chu Zhiyuan would become the villain.

But it’s hard to say if this was definitely done by the Court; it could also be others with ulterior motives.

"This matter is quite interesting," Chu Zhiyuan laughed, "I would like to master this secret technique too, but unfortunately..."

He shook his head, "This secret technique is very dangerous, not inferior to that situation in Dongning City."

Huang Zhengyang’s expression changed slightly, "That dangerous?"

He only thought the secret technique was hard to master, almost impossible.

Recklessly practicing it might lead to backlash, driving one into madness, but he hadn’t expected it to be this dangerous.

That was a life-and-death risk.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "So I can only take it slow; if it doesn’t work, I won’t practice it."

Huang Zhengyang solemnly said, "Then don’t practice it... at most, they’ll complain about you, nothing too serious."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled slightly.

It seemed like it indeed wasn’t a big deal, just a tarnished reputation.

But for him, reputation was related to public support and couldn’t be abandoned.

Even if he reached Ninth Rank Perfection, there were still the Undying Evil Venerable and other Perfect Venerables to fight.

The power of the Golden Sword was too tempting, capable of overwhelming other Perfect Venerables.

The Golden Sword suddenly broke through the sky, lightly floating into the sheath at his waist.

The distant, glittering statue had disappeared, as if it had never appeared.

"Let’s go, Brother Huang." Chu Zhiyuan put his hand on his shoulder.

The two vanished instantly.

Returning to the Heavenly Sword Branch, Chu Zhiyuan continued refining the Golden Sword.

At the same time, he pondered the Ascension Technique.

He read the thin booklet again and again, flipping through it countless times.

The ten small patterns continuously captivated his heart and spirit.

Although they weren’t as all-encompassing as the Divine Language, they had a unique wonder, becoming more articulate the more he studied them.

Studying these ten small patterns gave him a strange sense of enlightenment.

He gradually developed a new understanding of heaven and earth, sensing a different power beyond merit, though still unclear, requiring a slow approach.

If there were more patterns for him to study, it would surely accelerate his comprehension.

Unfortunately, there was only one Secret Manual of this kind, with only one from the Heaven-Reaching Sect.

As for the origin of the Secret Manual, it was said to have come from a Cave Mansion, not known to the Heaven-Reaching Sect.

The Court’s Imperial Treasury also had no records of the Heaven-Reaching Sect.

...

In the evening, as the setting sun cast its remaining glow, Huang Zhengyang came again.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he took out a small sword from his coat, handing it to Chu Zhiyuan: "This is another item from that Cave Mansion."

Chu Zhiyuan reached out to take the small sword.

A mere foot-long small sword, grey and as if covered with dust, ancient and simple in style, with only a few patterns.

Chu Zhiyuan’s spirit was invigorated.

He saw a pattern on each side of the sword’s spine, sharing the same origin as the patterns in the Ascension Technique Secret Manual.

He smiled, waved the small sword, and simultaneously activated it with True Yuan.

Once True Yuan entered, it remained motionless.

Huang Zhengyang asked intently, "Brother Chu, is there anything mysterious about this sword?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, "It shares the same origin as the Secret Manual; it should be a sword from the Heaven-Reaching Sect."

"But there’s nothing peculiar about it," Huang Zhengyang said, "It’s quite ordinary, except for its hard material, having withstood so much time without decaying."

If it were an ordinary sword, after thousands of years, it couldn’t be so intact.

Yet the rust on this sword was too solid, impossible to remove.

True Yuan concentrated in the sword felt unresponsive, just an ordinary Treasure Sword of hard material.

Chu Zhiyuan concentrated.

The sword began to faintly glow.

As his concentration grew more profound and pure, the glow intensified.

The dust on the sword quickly disappeared, as if solid ice was melting.

Huang Zhengyang’s eyes widened.

Chu Zhiyuan took that thin booklet from his sleeve, placing it on the stone table.

One hand held the sword, while the other pressed on the thin booklet, which also began to glow.

He slowly laid the short sword across the booklet, allowing the two clusters of light to merge.

Huang Zhengyang’s eyes widened further.

Chu Zhiyuan closed his eyes, remaining completely still.

In the void of his mind, the text in the thin booklet began to distort, revealing different content.

This was the third version of the Secret Technique.