Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1193 - 1189: Divine Statue

The Heaven-Reaching Spirit Talisman stands immune to worldly forces, capable of linking to everything regardless of its location.

Back when he first acquired the talisman, he employed it often, frequently delighted by the outcomes it delivered.

Over time, linking with trees and flowers became second nature to him, much like slaking thirst or drawing breath.

Yet with beasts, he made a point to use it sparingly, since their feelings could unsettle him and stir up chaos.

Excess chaos would disrupt his mindset, hindering the pace of his cultivation.

For inanimate objects devoid of souls, he had no reason to deploy the Spirit Summoning Talisman upon them.

He refrained from using the Spirit Summoning Talisman on the Golden Sword too, opting instead to refine it repeatedly, sensing its spirituality gradually awakening.

After some reflection, he shook his head and declared, “It’s not the right time yet.”

What she referred to wasn’t full mastery but rather complete integration, a method suited to the Emperor’s Sword brimming with spirituality.

However, the Golden Sword presently lacked sufficient spirituality for the talisman’s use.

The following phase involved persisting with gold dust infusions and further refining, to boost its spirituality.

Once that spirituality reached adequacy, the Spirit Summoning Talisman could fuse him entirely with it, propelling his realm forward.

All at once, a craving surged within him, an urge to encounter more statues of the Undying Evil Venerable.

Or perhaps clones projected by the Undying Evil Venerable.

After the Golden Sword obliterated a projection clone of the Undying Evil Venerable, its spirituality had surged dramatically.

His gaze ignited as he stared toward the Imperial City.

No one knew the Evil Suppressing Abyss’s location or what horrors it contained.

Whether statues of the Undying Evil Venerable or his projection clones, either would prove immensely beneficial to the Golden Sword.

“Decide the when and how yourself,” Li Hongzhao stated. “The Emperor’s Sword followed this route, though your Golden Sword might take another.”

Chu Zhiyuan nodded in agreement.

“By your next return, I reckon I’ll hit Nine Transitions,” Li Hongzhao laughed. “Progress accelerates more each day now.”

Chu Zhiyuan shot her a look and shook his head.

“What’s the matter?” Li Hongzhao inquired.

“Better to temper the pace,” Chu Zhiyuan advised, “or risk an unsteady foundation.”

“I once fretted over the speed,” Li Hongzhao replied, “but the divine statue’s aid transforms my body and spirit, broadening insight and wisdom—beyond just cultivation gains.”

“...Still not ideal,” Chu Zhiyuan insisted. “Way too rapid.”

Li Hongzhao’s brows knit slightly.

She studied Chu Zhiyuan, then shook her head: “Aren’t you approaching Nine Transitions yourself?”

“Indeed,” Chu Zhiyuan confirmed with a nod, “likely within two months.”

“And you call me fast!” Li Hongzhao shot him a playful glare. “Fine, I’ll ease up some.”

“Hold onto this jade pendant always, don’t set it down,” Chu Zhiyuan urged.

“Still wary of the divine statue?” Li Hongzhao probed.

“Not outright wary of it,” Chu Zhiyuan denied with a headshake, “though your cultivation approach is rather extraordinary.”

His own progress demanded multiple aids—clones’ assistance, arcane techniques; each step fortified him, elevating his cultivation.

Thus, swift as his advances were, they stemmed from immense toil.

She merely lingered on the mountain, meditating daily before the divine statue, and her cultivation rocketed toward Nine Transitions.

This defied all reason.

“Having wielded the Emperor’s Sword before, I can endure this power surge and advance so rapidly.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s according to the Sect Leader.”

“...Regardless, slowing is safer,” Chu Zhiyuan concluded.

Even if Lu Wanshan harbored no malice toward Li Hongzhao, he preferred his own instincts.

“Mm.” Li Hongzhao assented with a nod.

Over Lu Wanshan, she placed greater faith in Chu Zhiyuan.

Sensing something off herself, she had sought his view specifically.

With Chu Zhiyuan echoing her doubts, it solidified her caution.

“May I view this divine statue?” Chu Zhiyuan requested.

“This way.”

Li Hongzhao guided him from the small courtyard into a vast hall—the Scripture Pavilion.

Through the main hall she led him to the back chamber.

Chu Zhiyuan had never entered this rear hall, merely observed it via Super Sense before.

Hall upon hall aligned by cardinal directions, enclosing a square plaza at the center.

Red clay tiled the plaza, where disciples drilled in martial forms.

They traversed the Martial Arts Training Ground and stepped into the principal western hall.

Inside, everything gleamed pure white.

White jade, lustrous and seamless, clad the walls and floors—pristine, unblemished, utterly flawless.

In the hall’s heart burned a blaze, at first appearing utterly lifelike, radiating genuine warmth in shape and substance.

Closer scrutiny exposed it as a statue of fire.

The flames danced as if in a breeze, shaping into phoenix forms, evoking rebirth through nirvana.

Every hair on Chu Zhiyuan rose; he involuntarily retreated a step.

Li Hongzhao turned, eyeing him with curiosity.

The hall stood empty of others at that moment.

Chu Zhiyuan scanned about: “Is it truly just you in the sect cultivating the Phoenix Burning Heaven Scripture?”

“Yes.” Li Hongzhao nodded softly. “A senior sister once did, but she vanished long ago, her fate unknown.”

“Alive or dead?” Chu Zhiyuan pressed.

“Alive, though location unknown.” Li Hongzhao shook her head faintly. “Over a millennium past.”

“Fascinating,” Chu Zhiyuan murmured.

“Something amiss?” Li Hongzhao wondered.

“If a disciple goes missing, wouldn’t the sect investigate relentlessly? Surely they could locate her,” Chu Zhiyuan pointed out.

“Certain realms bar entry,” Li Hongzhao explained. “Biyuan Heaven teems with forbidden zones, hidden realms, perilous domains. She likely ventured into one.”

Chu Zhiyuan nodded thoughtfully. “Understood... this divine statue radiates grave peril.”

Across from him loomed an oppressive aura, fixated intently, poised for a lethal assault.

Earlier Super Sense insights had shown it as a mere lifeless statue.

Now, face-to-face, it pulsed with vitality.

Had it lain dormant then, or hoodwinked his Super Sense?

He mulled it over calmly, fixing his gaze on the statue: “Here before it, do you comprehend the flame’s profound path?”

“Absolutely.” Li Hongzhao beamed. “Gazing into the flames lets you immerse within, becoming the blaze itself, one with heaven and earth—cultivation advances unwittingly, body transforms subtly.”

Chu Zhiyuan focused on the statue, and a flame ignited vividly before his eyes.

At once, vague agony flared as fire invaded his mind, scorching wildly, devouring his soul.

His hands flashed seals; Demon Suppressing Divine Tree’s vital breath poured forth.

A cool essence then drenched his mind, soothing the inferno and snuffing the blaze.

“What happened?” Li Hongzhao asked, noting his ashen complexion.

Chu Zhiyuan shook it off. “It lives up to its bloodline legacy.”

“Hurt?” Li Hongzhao teased with a smile.

Half-joking, Chu Zhiyuan retorted, “Nearly so. Testing my endurance, were you?”

Li Hongzhao giggled. “Just letting you feel its power firsthand, for deeper understanding.”

“No common treasure, that’s certain.” Chu Zhiyuan looked skyward.

Its might arose not from nowhere, but the void itself.

Prior to the flame’s vision, before his soul’s searing, Super Sense missed the phoenix overhead in the void.

Yet now, a phoenix hovered starkly in the emptiness, akin to the Sky Dragon crowning Chu Liezhao’s clone.

Against the Sky Dragon, this phoenix brimmed with greater vigor, superior might.

Instinctively, Chu Zhiyuan sensed the Sky Dragon as youthful, the phoenix as seasoned sage.