Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 757 - 753: Harvest

As soon as Chu Zhiyuan stepped into the Grotto Heaven, everything before him suddenly darkened. He found himself standing amidst a towering and dense forest.

The sky was completely obscured, and the light that penetrated through the gaps failed to illuminate the forest interior.

Weeds were rampant, branches and vines crisscrossed, and there was no path.

He closed his eyes, his expression solemn.

He restrained his aura, focusing all his spirit on Super Sense, surveying the surroundings with Insight.

With several instances of soul augmentation and purification, his Super Sense inspection range had unknowingly expanded to fifty li.

Within that fifty li radius, he saw a group of people besieging six individuals.

The six had formed a small formation, unarmed, some utilizing palm strikes, others fist blows.

The shadows of fists and hand seals flickered, enveloping them.

They focused solely on defense, a brilliant radiance swirling around them, as flowing light circulated.

The sixteen others wielded swords, the sword light incessantly breaking through hand seals and fist shadows.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned.

This was the Flowing Cloud Treasure Clothes at work, fending off the invading power.

It possessed the unique ability to conceal auras, but as a Treasure Clothes, its basic defense was still formidable.

Far more robust than ordinary robes and armor, it could mitigate a portion of True Yuan and weapon attacks.

He did not rush to act.

Sure enough, they are Spirit Guards, Venerables of the Divinity Transformation Realm.

Far tougher than imagined, and skilled in combat, they showed resilience beyond expectation in adversity.

He quickly understood their mindset.

As Venerables, if they unleashed their true power, they’d be immediately expelled by the Grotto Heaven.

Where they’d end up is unknown, possibly thrown to the Outer Realm Battlefield, or perhaps to another Dynasty.

If it was merely to escape, the previous two needn’t have fought to the death, and these wouldn’t need to fight desperately.

They could easily leave the Grotto Heaven anytime, escaping danger.

The previous pair and the current six fought so hard, clearly unwilling to give up.

With their abilities, they couldn’t capture the Demon Clan, and the Divine Martial Bureau’s entrance could only admit eight people, with nine being the limit.

Why do they believe that bringing in one more would handle these Demon Clan experts?

Ultimately, they remain unwilling to give up.

He floated forward, gathering all his aura, a mystery of the Moon Silkworm Frost Robe.

Simultaneously, the Haoyang Demon-suppressing Mirror within him further restrained it.

He observed the situation with concentrated Insight, examining their circumstances.

The six formed a small formation of their making, connecting their forces as one, creating a unified strength.

This was the fundamental reason for their endurance.

Meanwhile, he noticed that the attacking Demon Clan experts weren’t coordinated.

Some had fair skin, others dark, and some reddish-brown.

These were three separate groups.

The snow-white ones were Heavenly Demons, the dark-skinned were Ghost Demons, the reddish-brown were Red Demons.

Four Heavenly Demons, six Red Demons, and six Ghost Demons.

The three groups weren’t aligned, each harboring their own thoughts.

This gave the six a chance to breathe.

Chu Zhiyuan pondered.

Is this a trap or reality?

After the Moon Silkworm Frost Robe carried him over ten li, the situation rapidly deteriorated.

A fair-skinned, slender, and handsome youth suddenly sneered twice, coldly saying, "If you want to die, then keep playing tricks!"

Among the four Heavenly Demons, he was the most handsome and the one with the strongest cultivation.

The six Ghost Demons and six Red Demons immediately turned pale, becoming swift as if they were different people.

That handsome youth sneered, "You think it’s certain they can be taken down? Playing lazy, trying to seize credit, foolish! Ridiculous!"

Eight of them attacked fiercely, causing Xie Zhuang and his six to rapidly deteriorate, teetering on the brink.

Chu Zhiyuan suddenly halted, stopping atop a peak.

Mountains towered around.

White clouds seemed within reach.

Each mountain resembled a floating island in a vast, silent ocean.

Chu Zhiyuan sat cross-legged, hands forming a seal, eyes slightly closed, like an old monk in meditation.

He was performing the Great Demon Suppressing Seal.

While changing the complex handprint, he silently recited in his heart.

Compressing the sound within his body into a sequence of rapid and precise chants, invoking a mighty power.

Moments later, he suddenly took a deep breath, pursed his lips, and let out a long whistle.

A bright golden light, the size of a fist, shot from his mouth, glaringly bright.

Wrapped in the whistle, it instantly shot in a direction.

In the blink of an eye, it appeared at the scene of the battle.

The golden light spread, turning into a whistle.

The whistle thundered in their ears.

All movements momentarily paused, as the sixteen Demon Clan experts felt an abnormal energy envelop them.

Like the burning sensation of flames, piercing their skin, set to ignite their insides.

Before them, a vast golden light, like a sun, shone overhead.

Their expressions turned momentarily dazed.

Meanwhile, upon hearing the thunderous whistle, Xie Zhuang and his six felt invigorated.

It was as if a sweet spring poured down on them, instantly clearing their minds.

They sensed Chu Zhiyuan’s presence, knowing he was nearby.

Xie Zhuang used Sound Transmission into Secret: "The Ninth Prince has arrived!"

His eyes sparkled, his previously drooping spirit revived, lively and with a smile on his lips.

The other five, seeing him so, also became enthusiastic, drawing more power from within, launching a fierce assault on the four Heavenly Demons.

They had realized that the brains behind the sixteen were the four Heavenly Demons.

If they could eliminate these four, their desperate battle wouldn’t be in vain.

The four Heavenly Demons, wounded, nimbly dodged, evading the six’s sneak attacks, while sharply commanding, "Stop them!"

At this moment, another golden light shot out, spreading and enveloping them, accompanied by a sound like thunder.

The actions of sixteen Demon Clan experts stalled again, while the spirits of six Spirit Guards were revitalized, becoming increasingly aggressive, relentlessly pursuing the Heavenly Demon.

In their ears came the voice of Chu Zhiyuan: "Escape! Head towards me!"

Xie Zhuang shouted decisively, "Retreat!"

Taking advantage of the Demon Clan experts’ setback, he rushed in the direction of Chu Zhiyuan.

The other five followed closely behind.

"Chase—!"

The handsome young man gnashed his teeth.

Sixteen Demon Clan experts chased Xie Zhuang and the other five, drawing closer and closer.

Xie Zhuang’s group couldn’t match the Qinggong skills of the two who fled earlier, and the Demon Clan’s Qinggong was exceptional.

The distance quickly closed, just as they were about to catch up, another golden light shot out from afar.

This golden light carried a sound like thunder and strange power.

The sixteen Demon Clan experts slowed down, helplessly watching the distance widen again.

Laughing heartily, Xie Zhuang’s group continued to race forward.

Chu Zhiyuan increased his speed, already approaching without a sound.

The previous howls were variations of the Great Demon Suppressing Seal.

They were changes of the Great Demon Suppressing Seal, the Demon Suppressing Thunder Sound.

Though not as powerful as the original Great Demon Suppressing Seal, it merely had a deterrent effect.

With the Haoyang Demon-suppressing Mirror’s empowerment, the Great Demon Suppressing Seal’s power was even more astonishing.

——

"Haha... Let’s see where you can escape to!"

Xie Zhuang’s group eventually got caught, surrounded by the sixteen.

The six were already at their limit but persisted, knowing Chu Zhiyuan would soon arrive.

"How many of you can get in?" The handsome young man sneered, his eyes cold: "One or two? You’re dead today!"

"It’s you who will die!" Xie Zhuang sneered.

"Ha, then let’s see who will die!" The handsome young man sneered back.

Xie Zhuang’s ear heard Chu Zhiyuan’s voice, his spirit rejuvenated, and he scoffed: "How could you possibly get in with so many?"

The handsome young man boasted, "That’s the power of our Demon Artifact!"

Xie Zhuang said, "Just sixteen, not enough for us to kill!"

"Haha..." The handsome young man laughed loudly, "You’re really stubborn. Are you waiting for the one who killed our Demon Clan before?"

"That’s right!" Xie Zhuang scoffed, "He’s coming soon, you’ll be in trouble!"

The handsome young man sneered, "If he doesn’t appear it’s fine, once he does, there’ll be no way back!"

Chu Zhiyuan had been observing with Insight, finding that even though the young man appeared arrogant, his eyes remained calm.

Clearly, this was intentional, intended to lure him into appearing, thereby using a trump card.

What was their trump card?

He was extremely curious but had no time to wait, otherwise Xie Zhuang’s group might be in mortal danger.

His figure suddenly accelerated, silently appearing a hundred meters from them, concealed in a forest, with hands forming a Sealing.

A stream of golden light shot out.

The group engaged in battle noticed the golden light; it was too late to dodge.

Though the sound was loud, and the energy invasive, it wasn’t lethal, and once endured, it would pass.

Thus, they barely dodged, directly withstanding it.

As the golden light approached, it suddenly transformed into a golden net, enveloping them all.

Including Xie Zhuang’s group, everyone was trapped in the net.

Another golden light flashed, another golden net appeared, once more enshrouding them.

As the golden net touched their bodies, it instantly penetrated them.

When they operated their powers, intricate independent golden nets surfaced, like countless tiny golden ropes binding them.

Xie Zhuang’s group too was penetrated by the golden light; their operating was ineffective at making the golden net manifest.

Momentarily stunned, they quickly retreated, distancing themselves from the sixteen.

The sixteen’s expressions were grim, desperately operating their powers, trying to break free from the golden net’s binding.

They wished to exhibit Qinggong, but their demonic breath was severed by the golden net, making it difficult to continue.

Not to mention executing Qinggong, they couldn’t even operate their powers against the golden net.

They could only watch as strands of golden light fell, layers of golden nets wrapping around them, growing denser.

They couldn’t even separate their souls.

The faces of four Heavenly Demons were unsightly.

The most handsome young man gnawed his teeth, struggling to take out a pitch-black round bead from his bosom.

The bead was about the size of a Dragon Eye, deeply black as if it was about to devour surrounding light.

A white light shot out, the white light transformed into a Fist Seal, striking the bead.

The pitch-black bead immediately flew, before being struck by a piece of wood in the air and knocked away.

It embedded into the wood, carried away for more than ten meters, and landed among a pile of rocks.

"No—!"

The handsome young man shouted incredulously.

He staggered to chase it, moving with difficulty, his body wrapped in dense, incredibly bright golden nets.

With every move he made, the golden net brightened.

His facial muscles twisted, terrifyingly hideous, no longer retaining any handsome features.

Yet he was determined to get closer to that wood, closer to that bead.

After three steps, getting closer, Chu Zhiyuan appeared before him.

With a light punch.

"Bang!" He flew away.

Chu Zhiyuan swiftly punched.

White fist seals rained down densely, most striking the handsome young man.

The remaining half, blasted the remaining fifteen Demon Clan members away.

He didn’t relax, continuing to punch, determined to wipe out these Demon Clan experts.

His heart filled with excitement.

This was an enormous harvest!