Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1204 - 1200: Suppression

Once the trio had taken their seats, Zhu Lingyun spoke deliberately: "Listen carefully, I’ll only say it once."

The three nodded with grave seriousness.

Zhu Lingyun’s lips parted silently, employing the Sound Transmission into Secret technique.

Chu Zhiyuan arched his brows.

Through his Super Sense, the contours of the sound became vivid, allowing him to decipher its meaning via the vibrations.

Together with the movements of his mouth.

He meticulously analyzed their cultivation method, discovering it to be a Combined Attack Technique.

This deviated entirely from standard Cultivation Technique paths, forming a pure Spirit Secret Technique.

It transformed True Yuan into spiritual power, enabling unity against the statue.

Upon receiving the instructions, the three shut their eyes in deep thought before executing the technique.

True Yuan flowed within them, gathering an extraordinary force.

These three threads of peculiar power intertwined and floated towards the statue.

Chu Zhiyuan’s face grew grave.

The trio synchronized perfectly, each possessing Venerable Cultivation backed by profound foundations.

The odd aura derived from True Yuan was inherently overbearing, yet their close bond allowed seamless fusion.

Once the three threads of peculiar aura merged, they evolved into a superior form of anomalous energy.

Under their mental control, this peculiar aura gently approached the statue.

Suddenly, golden light erupted from the statue, but upon contact with their peculiar aura, it blended in, dimming the glow, fading the gold, and growing ever weaker.

In the end, it softened into a gentle white radiance, bereft of its blinding intensity or hallucinatory effects.

"Not bad." Zhu Lingyun clapped approvingly, nodding with pleasure: "Well done!"

The three lifted their eyelids, their eyes dulled.

In that brief instant, exhaustion overwhelmed them, nearly collapsing their endurance as darkness flickered in their sight.

They hadn’t anticipated such massive drain from the technique, as though it had sucked dry their True Yuan and mental energy in a flash.

Any further delay might plunge them into unconsciousness, with awakening far from guaranteed.

Zhao Ruilin glanced upward at the statue: "Venerable, does this mean the statue poses no threat now?"

"Temporarily dispelled its spirit light." Zhu Lingyun replied: "Recovery won’t take long."

"Then what’s our plan for it?" Zhao Ruilin inquired: "Can we shatter it?"

"In your dreams." Zhu Lingyun scoffed: "Abandon that idea, instead submerge it in the Blood Pool."

"Blood Pool?" Zhao Ruilin jolted in surprise.

Zhu Lingyun explained: "Capture a hundred individuals first, drain their blood to form a Blood Pool, then immerse the Divine Statue to hold it in check temporarily."

"...How long will it last?" Zhao Ruilin asked tentatively.

"Roughly a month." Zhu Lingyun stated: "Post-month, refresh it with a new Blood Pool."

Sun Haoyang blurted out: "A hundred slain in a month, over a thousand yearly?"

"That much?" Zhu Lingyun eyed him indifferently.

Sun Haoyang responded: "Not really, but channeling those thousand into our cultivation would yield greater benefits?"

"Fail to suppress it, and you’ll all perish swiftly." Zhu Lingyun sneered: "Think the Undying Divine Venerable would show mercy like me?"

"Hehe, merciful, Venerable?" Sun Haoyang chuckled lightly.

Zhu Lingyun uttered coldly: "Without my mercy, would you speak to me so boldly?!"

Sun Haoyang hastily saluted with clasped fists: "Subordinate dares not, merely inquisitive—how precisely does it endanger us? ...Wouldn’t it accept us as followers? ...Being superior, Venerable, why not yield to it yourself?"

Zhao Ruilin barked sharply: "Junior Brother Sun, hold your tongue!"

He promptly clasped his fists: "Venerable, pardon the rudeness; Junior Brother Sun speaks without filter."

Zhu Lingyun snorted icily: "I’d rejoice to serve it if possible, but unfortunately..."

He shook his head: "You may crave allegiance, yet it spurns you, intent on slaying and devouring your spirits for its growth."

He snorted: "When you extract Essence Blood from those experts, does it spare them for desiring entry into your Giant Spirit Sect?"

"...No." Zhao Ruilin shook his head.

Resources remain mere resources; appeals fall on deaf ears. Softness dooms the pursuit of Evil Skill.

"Now you grasp the task?" Zhu Lingyun snorted: "Hurry and prepare the Blood Pool to suppress it promptly."

Zhao Ruilin clasped his fists: "Subordinate shall dispatch men at once!"

"Make haste." Zhu Lingyun snorted: "Delay hardens suppression, demanding greater toil."

"Understood." Zhao Ruilin nodded gravely, eyeing Hu Chengxiang and Sun Haoyang.

At last, his stare shifted beyond them to a middle-aged man: "Junior Brother Lu, gather men and seize a hundred sturdy youths along the path."

"Yes." The square-faced middle-aged man saluted: "Any cultivation standards?"

Zhao Ruilin shook his head: "Sturdy and young suffice; non-cultivators preferred."

He turned to Zhu Lingyun: "Venerable, no cultivation specs needed, correct?"

"Ideally higher cultivation," Zhu Lingyun noted. "Greater cultivation extends suppression duration."

Zhao Ruilin declared, "For caution, avoid high cultivators initially. Non-martial artists ideal."

"Yes." The square-faced man cupped his hands, then again toward Zhu Lingyun: "Sect Master, I’ll depart now."

Zhu Lingyun dismissed with a wave: "Swiftness paramount. No procrastination."

"For urgency, Sect Master’s right—low cultivators suit best."

Zhu Lingyun dismissed lazily with another wave.

The square-faced middle-aged man bowed and withdrew, bound for the Giant Spirit Sect’s valley.

Chu Zhiyuan knitted his brows, expression stern.

No matter feelings, evil demons embody harm at core.

Slaughtering a hundred innocents without hesitation.

This Divine Venerable shares the trait; prolonged existence breeds endless carnage.

Such thoughts intensified his killing intent.

The square-faced man’s motion art blazed swift, akin to fleeting smoke.

Entering the woods, a faint golden gleam abruptly streaked through the trees.

Dim and wavering, present yet elusive, it subtly pierced his skull from behind.

Reaction came too late; the golden light had burrowed through, sword point emerging from his brow.

Chu Zhiyuan emerged from the foliage, perched on branches, observing the man topple backward into thick weeds with a thud.

The Golden Sword retracted autonomously, quivering mid-air before sheathing at Chu Zhiyuan’s side.

Chu Zhiyuan vanished in a flash, reappearing atop the peak, remotely observing the Undying Evil Venerable Statue and Divine Venerable.

Zhu Lingyun meditated cross-legged, eyes shut.

Zhao Ruilin and companions suffered vertigo and pallor, resting with closed eyes.

Chu Zhiyuan mulled Zhu Lingyun’s declarations.

Does the Undying Evil Venerable Statue crave only massacre and spirit harvest, shunning discipleship?

Truth or deception?

Typically, Evil Venerables nurture adherents, grant might, harvest via loyalty.

Standard path for Evil Venerable empowerment—yet unique for Undying?

Curiosity burned, though veracity eluded judgment now.

...

Fifteen minutes passed; Zhao Ruilin’s eyes snapped open, brow furrowed.

Zhu Lingyun remained poised, lids sealed, statue-still.

Zhao Ruilin rose, breath steadying, weariness easing.

Softly, he uttered: "Divine Venerable, something feels amiss; I’ll investigate."

Eyes shut, Zhu Lingyun murmured faintly: "Proceed."

Zhao Ruilin saluted, pivoting to depart.

Hu Chengxiang and Sun Haoyang rose in unison, fists clasped hastily: "Senior Brother, we accompany you!"

Zhao Ruilin glanced at Zhu Lingyun.

Zhu Lingyun instructed: "Go all; erect the blood pool swiftly, no delays."

"Yes," Zhao Ruilin affirmed deeply.

Leading them, he soared toward the valley.

Midway, they halted abruptly.

Zhao Ruilin peered at the forest below, inhaling sharply: "You catch the scent too?"

"What?"

"Death’s odor... a fresh kill nearby."

"Junior Brother Lu?" Sun Haoyang jested.

The pair’s faces hardened further, unamused.

Sun Haoyang paled: "No way, Senior Brother—Junior Brother Lu can’t be dead here."

Zhao Ruilin descended gracefully, treading weeds, eyes scanning, nose questing as he advanced.

He halted at the square-faced man’s body, voicing deeply: "Junior Brother Lu!"

Sun Haoyang checked the corpse, shaking head: "Stone cold... who slays Brother Lu without a sound?!"

A Giant Spirit Sect elder too, Eighth Transition Venerable Cultivation, felled soundlessly so close.

Undeniably ambush; attacker’s power vastly superior.

They fixed on the injury, countenances gloomier than storm clouds.

Chu Zhiyuan held back, sword undrawn, unsure of felling the trio.

From afar, Super Sensing Illumination tracked them inspecting the gash, aura probing.