Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1353 - 1349: Preparations

He turned his gaze to the six elders with radiant complexions, cupped his hands and smiled, "I have seen all the seniors, thank you for waiting for a long time."

"Cough, cough..." An elder cleared his throat and was about to speak, but was interrupted by Huang Zhengyang, "Brother Chu, let’s set off. We can talk on the way."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

The elder’s face turned red with anger, glaring at Huang Zhengyang in dissatisfaction.

Huang Zhengyang pretended not to see and raised his voice, "Let’s set off."

"Set off, set off."

"Let’s go..."

The other elders echoed in agreement.

Only the elder with the flushed face glared angrily at Huang Zhengyang and then at the other five elders.

Chu Zhiyuan did not provoke him and followed Huang Zhengyang out.

Huang Zhengyang activated Qinggong, turned into a wisp of light smoke, and the others followed suit.

...

Huang Zhengyang spoke to Chu Zhiyuan while hurrying along, "We finally found Black Tree Village, a small village of five hundred and sixty li, hidden within the mountains, not well-known."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

"If not for Brother Chu’s reminder, it would have been almost impossible to find it in a short time."

"It’s like finding a needle in a haystack, indeed not easy." Chu Zhiyuan nodded slightly.

In this era, unlike his previous life, searching for the name of a small village wasn’t as simple as inviting a Ministry of Revenue official for a meal and having him check at his convenience.

Even if the Ministry of Revenue wanted to investigate Black Tree Village, it would require a significant effort and deployment of manpower.

"This time, we must catch those demonic people of Dan Yang Heaven and interrogate them thoroughly!" Huang Zhengyang gritted his teeth.

If, after expending so much effort, they failed to catch them and obtain any useful intelligence, it would be a failure.

He glanced back at the bustling group of six tributes not far behind.

The elder with the flushed face questioned the other elders in dissatisfaction, but the others dodged the topic, arguing amongst themselves.

Huang Zhengyang helplessly shook his head and smiled bitterly at Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, unperturbed.

Old children, as people age, the more they return to the temperament of a child.

They must spend all day together, staying inside the Imperial City and not going out.

They bicker and quarrel to pass the time.

It’s a form of amusement in itself.

Moreover, at their level of status and cultivation, they hardly care about outsiders’ opinions.

...

The towering peaks formed a mountain range, stretching across the heavens and the earth.

Within these peaks, a small mountain village lay nestled in the valley between two peaks.

The village had over a hundred homes, scattered along both banks of a small river at the bottom of the valley.

At noon, cooking smoke curled upward.

The smoke drifted, forming a thin blue veil over the village.

The crowing of roosters and barking of dogs sounded from time to time, occasionally accompanied by loud yells calling children home for meals.

The group floated to a stop halfway up the mountain, observing through the gaps in the trees.

Huang Zhengyang lowered his voice, "Brother Chu, will he appear here?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded slightly.

His eyes turned hollow.

Huang Zhengyang shut his mouth quickly, remaining still for fear of disturbing him.

Chu Zhiyuan’s gaze quickly cleared, and he shook his head.

"What is it?" Huang Zhengyang asked eagerly.

"He’s indeed here, but there are not just one this time." Chu Zhiyuan said.

"How many?"

"Three."

"Three demonic people!" Huang Zhengyang’s face changed slightly, "Can we handle them?"

Chu Zhiyuan looked towards the opposite mountain peak and pointed, "They will appear there. Set up the array there."

"Alright." Huang Zhengyang said solemnly.

He floated off to the nearby forest, where six tributes were speaking in hushed tones, and said a few words to them.

"I say it’s safer to arrange the array in the village."

"Right, since it’s to protect the village, it’s best to arrange it there. Placing it elsewhere could risk not protecting the village, ... Xiaohuang, lives are at stake."

Huang Zhengyang said, "Elder Wu, let’s follow my plan."

The elder snorted, "If something goes wrong, how can you account for these lives?!"

Huang Zhengyang said, "Arranging it in the village makes it impossible to annihilate these demonic people."

"Annihilate the demonic people, how many of them?"

"At least three."

"Three..." The elder frowned, turning to look at the other five.

"Are there really that many?"

"It’s not always just one?"

"How do you know there are three?"

A bluster of questions bombarded Huang Zhengyang.

Huang Zhengyang had already figured out how to deal with them and didn’t answer each question, just said, "We must prepare for the arrival of three. Seniors, let’s set the array on that peak."

"If those demonic people aren’t on the peak, the array can’t be changed on the fly. Don’t blame us if something goes wrong!"

"Naturally, I won’t blame the seniors. It will be my own incompetence as the Director to blame."

"Xiaohuang, you do take responsibility, fine, let’s set it on that peak."

"Thank you for your praise, Elder Wu. Seniors, let’s begin, don’t delay."

"Alright, let’s set it up."

...

Huang Zhengyang returned to Chu Zhiyuan’s side and whispered, "Can we win this time?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "Didn’t see clearly, only vaguely saw three demonic people."

"Three..." Huang Zhengyang shook his head, "That’s uncertain."

He didn’t feel confident.

"I’m afraid I can’t fully assist." Chu Zhiyuan calmly said.

The Golden Sword at his waist had already left its sheath, hovering above his head, skimming lightly above the treetop, slowly disappearing into the opposite mountain forest.

Chu Zhiyuan continued, "I need to prepare the Ascension Technique to see if I can follow them."

"Yes, yes, the Ascension Technique is crucial!" Huang Zhengyang nodded urgently.

It’s more important than interrogating demonic people.

To completely eradicate the threat of Dan Yang Heavenly Flower Divine Sect, their lair must be found.

Currently, in the whole of Biyuan Heaven, only Chu Zhiyuan could achieve this.

The six elders silently floated out of the forest, passing by, infiltrating the opposite forest, and continued upward.

Eventually, they surrounded the entire mountaintop, beginning to make arrangements.

Each dug into the rocks and buried a small item, a small animal carved from jet-black stone.

Each of these small animals was the size of a fist, intricately crafted, full of divine charm, and a faintly black sheen flowed over them.

Buried beneath the stones, they emitted no trace of breath, blending seamlessly with the earth.

The six floated back thirty meters, then sat cross-legged, each occupying a position, forming a surrounding force.

Huang Zhengyang pulled a small purple lacquer box from his sleeve and slowly opened it.

A piece of yellow jade the size of a thumb lay on red silk in the box, glowing with streaming light.

Chu Zhiyuan’s gaze paused on this yellow jade, discovering its peculiarity.

Vaguely, strange patterns appeared inside the yellow jade, hardly imaginable how they were carved inside.

More likely formed naturally.

But it was unlikely to be natural, the patterns contained strange power, vigorous and ready, poised to convert into even stronger power at any moment.

He stared at the yellow jade, his hairs standing on end, his intuition warning him to keep away.

"This is the God-Binding Rope," Huang Zhengyang said softly, "A rare spiritual artifact in the world, the most important treasure to deal with these demonic people."

Chu Zhiyuan said slowly, "Very powerful."

Huang Zhengyang stared at the God-Binding Rope, "Without it, I have no confidence dealing with the Flower God Sect demonic people. With it, they are sure to be bound beyond doubt!"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Let’s watch it display its divine power in a moment."

Through the Donghuan Saint Technique, he saw the power of the God-Binding Rope.

As expected of a spiritual treasure specifically restraining the masters of the Flower God Sect, when they used their Miracle Technique to escape underground, it could pull them back out.

Rendering the Flower God Sect’s Miracle Technique ineffective.

With this Earth Escape Miracle Technique, they could flee when they wanted and fight when they chose, coming and going unpredictably, impossible to defend against.

Swordsmanship, Sword Technique, and Hand Skills couldn’t do anything against it, but the God-Binding Rope could effectively restrain them.