Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1185 - 1181: Jade Pendant

Since this power is forged from the will of the populace, it naturally demands the heart of the people. But how can one truly capture the common heart?

It is simply a matter of shared expectations.

Merely performing miraculous feats for the masses remains insufficient; one must also alleviate their hardships and rescue them from peril to genuinely earn their devotion.

The situation at hand perfectly illustrates this truth.

His gaze swept over the gathered crowd.

At last, his eyes locked onto a father and son standing amidst the throng.

Through his connection to the Golden Sword, he could perceive the intent residing within the collective hearts of the people.

Among the crowd, those two stood out as anomalies.

Rather than reflecting gratitude or reverence, they exuded blatant hostility.

Curiously, his Super Sense did not flag them as practitioners of dark arts or Evil Demons.

So, why would they harbor such malice toward me?

Could it be because I slaughtered these evil demons, thereby obstructing their path to securing the Lifespan Extension Pill?

Dismissing the corpses lying strewn in the woods, he approached Ding Huanchun with quiet steps.

Ding Huanchun let out a laugh, stating, "Mr. Chu, your abilities are truly peerless; you have brought both justice and a sense of relief to us all!"

Chu Zhiyuan replied with a smile, "These evil demons lacked any formidable mentors, making them quite simple to overcome."

Ding Huanchun shook his head in disagreement.

Even without engaging in combat himself, he could intuitively tell that these evil demons were far from weak.

Frail beings would never dare assault the city gates, nor would they throw their lives away so recklessly.

In the final analysis, it was Chu Zhiyuan’s unique cultivation technique that successfully suppressed those nightmares.

In the blink of an eye, he had executed over sixty of them, each a master in their own right.

With such lethal efficiency, not even the specialized Evil Extermination Department could hope to rival him.

He parted his lips, wanting to voice his dissatisfaction with the methods of the Evil Extermination Department again, yet Chu Zhiyuan spoke first.

"This was merely a stroke of fortune; they were grouped together. Had I been forced to hunt them one by one, the task would not have been completed so promptly."

"...True," Ding Huanchun sighed in resignation.

For Chu Zhiyuan, the greatest challenge wasn't the slaughter of evil demons, but rather the act of locating them.

The strength of the Evil Extermination Department, however, lay precisely in tracking such entities.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "As a lone cultivator, I have no use for the Lifespan Extension Pill, so I have no intention of competing for it. I will slay every one I encounter; it should be helpful enough to send the corpses your way."

"That would be perfect," Ding Huanchun replied. "These bastards are completely out of their minds!"

"Indeed, it is quite peculiar," Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

He refocused his gaze on the father and son as they moved beneath the illumination of the Candle Demon Eye.

The pair remained remarkably composed, showing no reaction whatsoever to the golden radiance of the eight Candle Demon Eyes.

Four city guards gestured for them to proceed.

As the pair stepped forward, Chu Zhiyuan suddenly darted behind them.

He lightly patted the younger man’s shoulder and asked with a grin, "Might I ask, what is your identity?"

A surge of energy from the Demon Suppressing Divine Tree flowed into the man’s shoulder upon contact.

Instantly, the young man’s body erupted with a golden glow, as if a defensive shield had manifested to repel his touch.

An ominous aura flared up suddenly, rising like a mountain.

Chu Zhiyuan’s eyes dropped to the man’s neck, where his Super Sense had already identified a jade pendant.

The accessory was currently reacting to the influence of the Demon Suppressing Divine Tree by emitting its own golden light.

Under this radiance, his Super Sense finally pierced through to the subject's true aura.

The young man and the elder both scowled at Chu Zhiyuan, their expressions turning hostile.

Chu Zhiyuan remarked, "This is an exceptional treasure protecting you both."

"What do you think you are doing!" the youth demanded in a gruff, jarring voice, his dark eyes fixed coldly upon him.

The elder frowned and inquired, "Sir, is there some misunderstanding here?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head. "It is startling that such a relic exists in this world, gifted with the power to mask one’s demonic aura!"

"An evil demon?!" Ding Huanchun exclaimed in alarm.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded curtly. "These two are both evil demons!"

"Absurd!" the elder roared in indignation. "You dare slander us! Perhaps you have simply taken a greed-filled interest in our heirloom!"

Chu Zhiyuan extended his left palm.

The youngster thrust his right hand forward, his fingers clawing the air like a beast, manifesting a subtle trace of dark energy.

Chu Zhiyuan’s left palm pulsed with a sudden flash of gold.

There was a dull thud—a muffled impact—and while the young man’s claw connected with Chu Zhiyuan’s palm, he found himself frozen in place.

This was the miraculous potency of the Demon Suppressing Divine Tree’s influence, which effectively nullified the power inherent to Evil Demons.

With ease, Chu Zhiyuan snatched the jade pendant from the man’s neck.

The moment the artifact was removed, the youth’s presence surged with malevolent intensity.

The four city guards operating the Candle Demon Eye immediately bellowed, "An evil demon!"

Golden rays lashed out from the artifacts, hitting the youth and revealing a churning mass of black energy.

It was the unmistakable signature of the Evil Demons.

"You seek death!" the youth shrieked, lunging at Chu Zhiyuan.

The elder followed suit, charging forward as well.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, drawing his Golden Sword to carve a graceful arc through the air.

Flashing gold skimmed across their brows.

Their movements stiffened, the fury within their eyes freezing before dimming into nothingness.

Chu Zhiyuan stepped aside, watching as their momentum carried them crashing to the ground ten meters away.

He then sheathed his blade.

The strange energy contained within the Golden Sword grew slightly more potent.

This revelation dawned on him: popular sentiment was not a finite, singular surge, nor was its value static.

In fact, it could fluctuate and manifest repeatedly.

The approval from the citizens surged once more, intensified by their realization of exactly what would have happened had these evil demons breached the city gates.

The entire Imperial City would have been plunged into a nightmare, and none of them would have been spared.

This reaction was far deeper than when they were merely under the protection of the guards.

As their apprehension grew, the power they contributed increased in tandem.

Chu Zhiyuan pondered these mysteries in silence; there was clearly much to learn, and he knew he would need to consult Li Hongzhao upon his return.

He glanced toward Ding Huanchun.

The guard leader’s stern features relaxed as he ordered, "Don't just stand idle! Resume the entry protocol!"

"Understood," the city guards replied in unison.

After casting a wary glance at Chu Zhiyuan and the two corpses, several guards moved to retrieve the remaining bodies from the woods, stacking them neatly by the gates.

The sight of over sixty corpses arrayed in a row left a profound impact on the onlookers.

Ding Huanchun approached the elder’s body, drawing his blade to retrieve the pendant, holding it up for inspection.

It appeared to be a common, unremarkable trinket, roughly the size of a finger.

Beyond a singular, simple pattern, there was no craftsmanship to speak of.

He tried pouring his own True Yuan into the object but found it as useless as a common stone.

He looked at Chu Zhiyuan for guidance.

In Chu Zhiyuan’s hand, the pendant suddenly glowed with a golden light.

Ding Huanchun handed over the one he held, and when Chu Zhiyuan took it, it also erupted with that same golden brilliance.

"This is...?" Ding Huanchun asked in shock.

Chu Zhiyuan explained, "It requires a specific aura to trigger its power; otherwise, its function remains suppressed. Brother Ding, observe my presence now."

"Truly mind-blowing!" Ding Huanchun marveled.

Upon closer inspection, the Chu Zhiyuan standing before him no longer felt like a powerful Venerable but rather a common man with very low-level martial ability.

Chu Zhiyuan handed the item back and slipped the other into his sleeve. "Brother Ding, we are facing real trouble."

With a grave expression, Ding Huanchun accepted the jade. "Mr. Chu, how did you discern their true nature?"

"I suppose it was mere intuition," Chu Zhiyuan replied. "I sensed something was wrong—the strength of these evil demons was logically insufficient to breach such a strong fortification."

Ding Huanchun narrowed his eyes.

"You possess an entire battalion of city guards, and the ability to retreat behind defense barriers," Chu Zhiyuan continued. "If they weren't entirely confident, why provoke an attack that would only put you on guard and potentially reveal their presence?"

"So... the chaos was merely a diversion to smuggle these two into the city?"

"That thought occurred to me as well. I scrutinized the civilians entering behind them until I suspected these two. I wasn't certain, but in such matters, I'd rather act on a mistaken suspicion than let a real threat slip through. The test proved my concerns were valid."

This was a deduction made in hindsight, of course, which made it far simpler.

He could hardly explain that his Golden Sword was capable of detecting hostile intent and identifying their sub-human nature.

The mastermind behind this plot had been far too cautious, but as the old saying goes, human plans cannot account for divine intervention.

Had they simply smuggled these two in without the violent diversion, Chu Zhiyuan might never have had the chance to draw his sword and expose them.

The jade pendants they carried were truly dangerous artifacts if they could hide the demonic aura so completely.

How many other demons might have already entered the capital using the same method?

Thinking of the potential infiltration and the devastation they could unleash, Chu Zhiyuan felt his spirit grow heavy.

Looking at the somber expression on Ding Huanchun's face, he knew the guard commander felt the weight of the potential disaster just as acutely.