Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 753 - 749: Abandoned

Chu Lixuan suddenly let out a cold laugh, shaking his head: "Third Brother, truly, your intentions are impure! That’s why you see everyone else as crooked!"

Chu Liyang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth fiercely, retorting with a cold laugh: "Second Brother, you’re utterly foolish!"

"Enough!" Chu Liechu said sternly: "After using your hands, you want to spar verbally. What is there to argue about?"

Chu Liyang turned his head and said: "Elder Brother, I was merely looking for a woman, yet I’m treated like this!...Eyeing my woman, who is truly the one with impure intentions?!"

"If you were merely finding a beauty, it wouldn’t matter," Chu Liechu shook his head: "The fault lies in finding a woman who resembles the Twelfth Princess too much."

"What if she resembles the Twelfth Princess!" Chu Liyang exclaimed excitedly: "What’s the crime in that?"

"Alas..." Chu Liechu said helplessly: "Third Brother, the world is vast, and there are plenty of women. Why must you be so enamored with the Twelfth Princess? She’s Nine Brother’s woman after all."

"..." Chu Liyang was momentarily speechless.

He could say they were not yet married, but a marriage agreement had already been set.

This matter could not be discussed openly, especially not as a romantic affair.

Otherwise, he would not be in the right.

One must speak of sacrificing oneself to gain Nine Brother’s freedom to take the moral high ground.

But with Ling Yun’s exposure, he could no longer stand morally justified.

His face darkened, feeling extremely aggrieved, as he looked around: "Where is Nine Brother?"

"Nine Brother should be talking with Uncle," Chu Liechu snorted: "You know his habits, so don’t drag Nine Brother into this!"

Chu Liyang gritted his teeth: "He’s the one causing trouble! I know, it’s surely him!"

He then glared at Chu Lixuan sideways, coldly laughing: "Being used as a tool by others and still thrilled about it, truly foolish!"

"Third Brother, you need some discipline!" Chu Lixuan said irritably: "Not being righteous yourself, yet blaming others, utterly ridiculous!...Even if it’s Nine Brother, why should only you be allowed to take his woman but he not allowed to complain?"

"It’s surely him!" Chu Liyang gritted his teeth: "Such a despicable, shameless fellow!"

Chu Zhiyuan floated in, appearing in front of Chu Liyang, frowning: "Who is despicable and shameless?!"

"You!" Chu Liyang glared at him, as if staring down a mortal enemy, eyes bloodshot: "You are despicable and shameless!"

"Nonsense!" Chu Zhiyuan frowned: "Third Brother, what madness is this?"

Chu Liyang pointed at him, gritting his teeth: "You two teamed up to frame me!...You’re quite something, Ninth Brother, I underestimated you!"

Chu Zhiyuan said: "It’s always been you scheming against me time and again, when have I ever schemed against you? A few words of reproach are meaningless to you."

Chu Liyang let out a snort.

Chu Zhiyuan glanced at Chu Lixuan, then at Chu Liyang: "As for claiming I teamed up with Second Brother to frame you, that’s pure nonsense, you must be feeling guilty, thinking I’m retaliating because you scheme against me!"

Chu Lixuan burst into loud laughter: "Right, right, this is indeed the guilty conscience of a thief!"

Chu Liechu and Chu Liexi both looked at Chu Liyang curiously as if waiting for his rebuttal.

Chu Liyang said coldly: "I..."

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand: "Enough, Third Brother, I don’t have many days left in the Imperial City, let’s not ruin our brotherly bond, stop causing trouble."

"You..." Chu Liyang opened his mouth, extremely aggrieved.

Chu Zhiyuan said: "Let’s leave it at that, if this goes on, we might alarm Father."

Chu Liyang closed his mouth.

Having just been severely reprimanded, if Father learns of his current behavior, another round of scolding is inevitable.

If he truly angers Father, it wouldn’t just be about scolding, but also facing actual punishment.

"Nine Brother is right, leave it at that." Chu Lixuan said: "I am magnanimous, and won’t hold this against you, otherwise, hmph hmph."

"..." Chu Liyang’s face turned unpleasant, yet he did not retort.

He now feared Chu Lixuan might run to the Emperor, adding fuel to the fire, making it hard to escape punishment.

Chu Liechu said: "Third Brother, let’s end this here, no more entanglements."

"...Yes." Chu Liyang said, gritting his teeth.

He felt as if swallowing broken teeth down his throat, overwhelmed by circumstances, forced to endure.

A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, eventually, the opportunity for proper retaliation will arise!

Chu Zhiyuan saw his expression, knowing his intentions, narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Enough rest, let’s continue practicing." Chu Liechu said.

The five returned to the True Martial Institute, resuming their training.

——

"Haha...hahahaha..."

Chu Lixuan laughed heartily in Chu Zhiyuan’s courtyard.

Chu Zhiyuan laughed along.

"Truly satisfying!" Chu Lixuan laughed: "I’ve been itching to laugh all day, couldn’t hold it back, especially seeing Third Brother’s aggrieved look!"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled: "Third Brother was infuriated."

"Heh heh, this struck his weakness!" Chu Lixuan laughed: "When it comes to scheming, you are indeed more crafty, Ninth Brother."

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head: "After Third Brother’s multiple attempts, had I not retaliated, he’d think I’m a pushover."

"Haha, everyone knows you’re tough, Ninth Brother, he’s just blinded by lust!"

"What about that woman?" Chu Zhiyuan looked toward Zhu Yijing and Li Ningcui.

Li Ningcui said: "She has already entered the Prince Mansion, quite a good fortune."

Being able to enter the Prince Mansion meant she gained status, securing her life’s future.

Being kept outside, one never knew when she’d be abandoned.

Zhu Yijing handed a booklet to Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan took it, smiled: "Though Third Brother is malicious, he wouldn’t harm a woman essentially, he maintains that bit of principle."

He flipped through the booklet pensively, glancing at Li Ningcui.

Li Ningcui said helplessly: "Your Highness, we just discovered this."

Chu Lixuan asked curiously: "What’s the matter?"

Chu Zhiyuan handed the booklet to him.

Chu Lixuan quickly flipped through it, looking up in surprise: "It’s a disciple of the Cangming Sect, turned out to be a Demon Sect disciple?"

He frowned: "Third Brother couldn’t have been unaware, could he?"

Li Ningcui said: "Third Prince, this Cangming Sect mental method is so wondrous that outsiders cannot detect it."

"Can it be fooled?"

"Yes." Li Ningcui said: "If it weren’t for Cangming Sect informing us, we wouldn’t know she was a disciple of Cangming Sect."

Chu Zhiyuan pondered.

Chu Lixuan laughed with a chuckle.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head and said: "Let Cangming Sect remove her name, from now on, consider her not a disciple."

"This..." Chu Lixuan was puzzled: "What a good opportunity, why expel her from the sect?"

Chu Zhiyuan said solemnly: "Once this matter is leaked, she might not survive."

"Isn’t that going too far..."

"We cannot gamble with her life, ... Can Cangming Sect’s news be locked down?"

"That..." Li Ningcui said softly: "She has been away from the sect for five years, and Cangming Sect has very few disciples."

"Then it cannot be, ... let her directly confess to Third Brother, let her become Third Brother’s assistant, and obtain information from Qianji Tower."

"This..." Li Ningcui hesitated.

Chu Lixuan hastily said: "You want to let the third one also intervene in Qianji Tower?"

Chu Zhiyuan said: "Not now, in the future, well, that depends on his abilities."

Chu Lixuan looked helplessly at Chu Zhiyuan: "Ninth Brother, you really are compassionate."

For the sake of a woman’s life, to invite such trouble, is indeed kind-hearted.

He really didn’t know before that he was so kind-hearted.

Chu Zhiyuan said: "Let’s do it this way, Lord Li?"

"Yes!" Li Ningcui lightly nodded, her eyes sparkling brightly.

Zhu Yijing also looked at him intensely.

Chu Zhiyuan knew their thoughts, preferring to be soft-hearted rather than ruthless.

Chu Zhiyuan looked up at the direction of the Imperial Palace.

All of this probably won’t be hidden from the Emperor, or from the Observatory’s eyes.

...

Qingfeng Cliff

Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Honglin gathered again for a chat.

"Yesterday’s matter eventually passed by without incident, it’s best not to cause a big commotion."

"No one wants a big commotion, it won’t become one."

"Sigh... However, this time when the grotto heaven opens, you won’t be needed."

Chu Zhiyuan raised his sword-like eyebrows.

"Elder Brother doesn’t want to rely on you too much, after all, you are someone who will be leaving."

"Hmm, that’s true, with the Soul Pearl, they can be sensed, I can also handle it myself."

"Found some masters with Perfection of Transformation Intent Realm, and a few Spirit Guards."

"The Spirit Guards should be trained well, practice fighting under the cover of secret technique to conceal aura, otherwise, entering is in vain."

"Yes, exactly, the two Spirit Guards going in this time have undergone such training."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled: "Then we await the good news, see how many Demon Clan members can be captured."

He couldn’t hide his disappointment.

He originally thought about using those Demon Clan souls to enhance himself.

Especially with the existence of the Haoyang Demon-suppressing Mirror, it made sensing the Demon Clan simpler, and dealing with them easier.

He was prepared to seize the opportunity to advance, possibly even break into the Eighth Transition upon hearing this bad news.

Chu Honglin said: "The preparation this time is very thorough, there should be no problem."

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head: "Not twice, not thrice, not four times, this time in the grotto heaven, the Demon Clan will definitely have countermeasures."

"It’s nothing more than sending in more Demon Clan members, with the Soul Pearl, enemy clear and us hidden, their greatest advantage is gone, it’s our territory!"

"It’s not that simple, ... what if they don’t separate?"

"Their goal is to explore the grotto heaven, how can they explore if they don’t separate?"

Chu Zhiyuan said: "First ensure self-preservation, then exploration, this time they will definitely retaliate, severely damaging us."

Chu Honglin laughed: "Do you think they’ll suffer losses?"

Chu Zhiyuan said slowly: "I hope I’m overthinking it."

Chu Honglin frowned.

Chu Zhiyuan said: "Are they going in tomorrow?"

"Hmm, it’s tomorrow."

"A reminder isn’t too late; stay alert, don’t be careless."

"Hmm, I will remind them." Chu Honglin solemnly nodded.

He was a little uneasy from what Chu Zhiyuan said.

If it really is as Chu Zhiyuan said, their meticulously prepared plans might not be enough.

Perhaps, they need a few treasures for protection.

He looked at Chu Zhiyuan: "Zhao’er, your heart is indeed extraordinary."

If it were anyone else, being kicked out would certainly harbor resentment, and even if danger was foreseen, they wouldn’t bother to mention it.

They would hope for these people to return defeated from the grotto heaven, thus understanding his importance.

Chu Zhiyuan said: "Uncle, I just don’t want the Demon Clan to take advantage."

"Understood, understood." Chu Honglin laughed.

Chu Zhiyuan couldn’t be bothered to explain.

This is the Realm of Light, one cannot act against it, but rather align with it, cultivation progresses faster, insights deepen.

It’s not about having a broad mind, but about cultivation.