Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1181 - 1177: Enhancement

"The lives lost among these innocents signify a failure on the part of our Evil Extermination Department!" Huang Zhengyang declared, his expression grim.

The demise of these blameless victims, the sorrow of their loved ones, and the unease of the local populace will all be laid at the feet of the Evil Extermination Department.

Our department has no justification for this tragedy.

Chu Zhiyuan inquired, "Does this involve the statue of that same Evil Venerable?"

"I did not dare gaze upon it for too long," Huang Zhengyang replied with a shake of his head. "I could barely endure its presence, but I managed to discern that it possessed three faces."

Chu Zhiyuan gave a slow nod. "We were fortunate last time. We must proceed with our investigation deeper."

The three-faced statue of the Evil Venerable is incredibly malevolent, and its power is truly formidable.

It manifests in secluded mountains and forests, places far removed from human habitation.

As of now, it poses no immediate widespread threat.

When we destroyed the last statue, we could not pursue the matter further, clinging to the hope that it might have merely fallen here from some distant realm by pure chance.

However, it now appears the Evil Venerable did not wander here accidentally, but arrived by design.

A statue descending from the heavens is impossible to guard against. The only way to stop this is by addressing the root cause.

The priority is to locate that source.

Huang Zhengyang shook his head again. "It is not a matter of reluctance; I simply lack the power to dig any further."

Chu Zhiyuan breathed a sigh. "Let us attempt a different strategy. Where is Zhou Sizheng?"

"Zhou Sizheng will be unable to return anytime soon; we must rely on our own capabilities," Huang Zhengyang explained. "We cannot depend on the others within the department for this."

"There are many individuals of extraordinary talent. We lacked the time before, but what about now?" queried Chu Zhiyuan.

Huang Zhengyang signaled his defeat with a motion of his head. "I have attempted it, but it proved fruitless. The burden rests with you, Brother Chu."

"I shall exert all my strength," Chu Zhiyuan promised solemnly.

He rested his hand on his Golden Sword's hilt, finding a renewed sense of stability.

They glided across the landscape for over a hundred miles before arriving at the outskirts of a small town.

In the distance, a mountain peak was shrouded by a circular white curtain.

The fabric fluttered in the mountain breeze, making it impossible to miss.

His Super Sense alerted him to a gathering of people trapped at the mountain's base.

Dozens of young disciples clad in the Mystic Robes of the Evil Extermination Department were holding back the crowd.

Both commoners and martial arts practitioners were present, all eyeing the summit with wary curiosity.

Huang Zhengyang remarked, "If this statue remains uncontained, people will keep flocking here and losing their lives to its influence."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded slowly. "And the location of the other statue?"

"That one is slightly less dangerous, also nestled deep in the mountains. We must prioritize neutralizing this one first."

"When did it first surface?"

"Reports say three days ago," Huang Zhengyang replied, "though that may not be entirely accurate."

"Three days... the death toll must be quite high, then?"

"Over three hundred souls." Huang Zhengyang’s tone was heavy and somber.

This is the true terror of Evil Demons; when they strike, they rarely claim just one or two victims—they take many.

Chu Zhiyuan’s gaze glowed with intensity as he looked toward the white curtain. "I will destroy this statue first."

"Agreed," Huang Zhengyang nodded hastily. "We can save our research for the other one."

Upon reaching the mountain base, the disciples in Mystic Robes stepped aside to clear a path, offering deep bows of respect.

Huang Zhengyang and Chu Zhiyuan glided over the treetops, swiftly arriving beneath the white screen.

The curtain was held tight by a ring of disciples, each standing with their backs to the statue, maintaining a grave silence.

As the pair approached, the disciples shifted, revealing an opening.

Chu Zhiyuan instructed, "Brother Huang, you remain here. I will enter alone."

"Take care of yourself," Huang Zhengyang urged, showing no false bravado.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded and glided within. The curtains shut behind him.

He stood before the statue, scrutinizing the three-faced Evil Venerable with careful focus.

It was indeed the same entity as before, yet the features had undergone subtle transformations.

They had grown more refined and defined.

One face wore a smile, another was twisted in mourning, and the third remained perfectly indifferent.

At that exact moment, the smiling visage was the most vivid, unlike the other two, which mirrored the appearance of the previous statue.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned deeply.

A realization struck him immediately.

Is the smiling face becoming clearer because of the three hundred civilians who perished?

This Evil Venerable is truly malevolent.

Could the lives of these people be feeding the statue, allowing it to strengthen itself?

With this thought, he reached out and pressed his palm against the golden surface. A strange Qi flowed from his Lao Gong Acupoint, burrowing into the statue.

Upon contact with this Qi, the previously impenetrable golden sculpture underwent an instant transformation.

His Golden Sword unsheathed, turning into a streak of amber light that danced across the statue's surface.

Wherever it struck, golden dust rained down.

In a heartbeat, the Golden Sword retreated to hover above his head, and the statue, once golden, had turned as black as ink.

The golden powder gathered into a high pile at his feet.

He knelt, touching the heap, which immediately began to emit a soft, pulsing gleam.

The sword descended until it floated just above the ground.

The luminous dust pulsed, drifting upward to merge with the weapon.

Like streams flowing into the ocean, the dust vanished into the sword, coating the blade in a gentle, warm luminescence.

Chu Zhiyuan gripped the hilt, focusing his mind and refining the energy.

The light of the Golden Sword intensified with every passing moment.

Concurrently, the ink-black statue began to radiate its own faint glow.

A beam of energy formed above the statue’s head, rising as if to meet the point of his sword.

The light around the sword began to flicker unstable, causing Chu Zhiyuan to frown.

Within the void of his consciousness, a three-faced image slowly manifested. Its features blurred, and its lips began to move, emitting faint, murmuring voices.

Strange, discordant sounds filled his ears, causing his spirit to shudder.

Suddenly, a sun-like brilliance flared within his mind.

The golden statue instantly vanished.

The strange murmurs dissolved into nothing, as if they had been mere hallucinations.

Chu Zhiyuan commanded, "Remove the curtains." Huang Zhengyang nervously called out, "Did it work?" "Just open it," Chu Zhiyuan replied.

Huang Zhengyang signaled the disciples: "Take it down!"

The white sheets were pulled back, displaying the jet-black remnants of the statue.

The youths holding the fabric kept their backs turned, unaware of the change.

However, those lingering at the bottom of the mountain witnessed it clearly.

Even those deep within the city could see the transformation.

Immediately, a surge of people rushed toward the site.

Chu Zhiyuan leaped into the air. His Golden Sword flared with blinding light, splitting into three distinct beams that sliced across each face of the statue before diving into the ground.

A sharp crack echoed out.

Innumerable fissures radiated from the centers of the brows, tearing across the entire statue until it crumbled into dust.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, satisfied.

Huang Zhengyang inspected the black fragments, finding no trace of the golden essence he anticipated.

He felt a moment of unease.

If the onlookers had witnessed the statue reassembling itself, it would have caused widespread panic and bolstered the Evil Demon's reputation, undermining the Court's authority.

But as time ticked on, the fragments remained inert.

He turned to Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "I have discovered how to destroy it completely." Huang Zhengyang clapped his hands, laughing, "Marvelous, as expected of Brother Chu!"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head. "Let us inspect the other site to see if we can find further clues." "Agreed." Huang Zhengyang’s expression turned serious. He gestured to his subordinates. "Collect these fragments carefully and bring them back!" "Understood!" a middle-aged disciple replied with a fist salute.

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Why are Elder Yu and Elder Guo not here?" "They are stationed at the other location. We should head there now."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, ascending into the air alongside Huang Zhengyang.

"Who is that?" a voice whispered from the crowd.

"That is Chu Zhiyuan of the Heavenly Sword Sect, a close friend of Director Huang." "Ah, Mr. Chu!"

"He truly lives up to his fame!" "A grave burden has finally been lifted!" The entire Evil Extermination Department had been helpless, unable to move or break the statue, forced to hide it with a simple curtain. Remembering the innocent citizens who had died, they had felt deeply humiliated.

As he moved, Chu Zhiyuan kept his hand on his hilt, contemplating the shift in his sword.

He could sense the blade growing more potent, though the exact cause remained elusive.

A strange, vital energy was now flowing through the metal, resident within its structure.

He recognized this sensation well—the power associated with the Emperor’s Sword!

It was only after the curtains were pulled and the public witnessed the destruction that this power surged within him.

Is this the strength of the public's will, or the power of collective belief?

Must the sword transform into a true Emperor’s Sword, capable of shifting the hearts and minds of the people?

This is a pivotal moment.

From this point onward, he has stepped onto a radically different cultivation path.

Compared to the legacy of the Taiqing Primordial Sect, is this route superior or inferior? The answer would only come through practice, testing its strengths and weaknesses through the crucible of conflict.