Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1208 - 1204: Redeployment

Sun Haoyang wore a look of utter shock.

Hu Chengxiang furrowed his brow. "Do such remarkable figures exist in this world? I’ve never heard anything about them."

Zhao Ruilin remarked, "Maybe it’s a concealed expert from the Court, or perhaps from one of the Four Great Sects."

Sun Haoyang added, "Senior brother, if such experts existed, wouldn’t our Giant Spirit Sect have been wiped out by now? The other sects would suffer the same fate, no?"

Hu Chengxiang declared, "He can’t be completely unbeatable; there has to be some deadly flaw."

"What kind of flaw?" Sun Haoyang looked baffled.

Hu Chengxiang shook his head while glancing toward Zhu Lingyun.

Zhu Lingyun’s face grew grave.

Zhao Ruilin spoke up, "Divine Venerable, I’ve got another theory."

"Out with it."

"What if he came down from the heavens?"

Zhu Lingyun snorted coldly. "From the same realm as I did?"

Zhao Ruilin replied, "Only those who grasp spirit secret techniques could counter the Divine Venerable’s own secret arts, correct?"

"That makes sense," Zhu Lingyun acknowledged.

"Are they from Wanxiang Sect or Feiling Sect?" Sun Haoyang fumed. "They dare to stir trouble and target us? Isn’t this just infighting?"

"You still dream of them banding together against outsiders?" Hu Chengxiang shook his head. "This was always a contest from the beginning."

He turned to Zhu Lingyun. "Divine Venerable, should it truly be a heavenly visitor, our only hope rests with you."

Zhu Lingyun snorted. "If he were truly capable of beating me, he wouldn’t have fled in such haste."

"Precisely," Hu Chengxiang nodded swiftly. "Since he’s inferior to the Divine Venerable, his scheme to tackle you involves striking at us first."

Sun Haoyang scratched his head in confusion. "By attacking us, how does that hurt the Divine Venerable?"

Hu Chengxiang glanced at Zhu Lingyun again.

Zhu Lingyun flicked his hand. "Assemble a squad of elite masters, prioritize capturing people, and prepare a Blood Pool!"

Zhao Ruilin stated solemnly, "With the Divine Venerable present, I’ll lead the effort myself to erect the Blood Pool at once!"

"Proceed." Zhu Lingyun gave a nod.

Zhao Ruilin eyed Sun Haoyang and Hu Chengxiang. "Come on, we’ll head there with our men personally."

"Understood." The pair replied in unison.

After saluting Zhu Lingyun farewell, the trio gathered twelve top masters and departed the valley as one.

Chu Zhiyuan knitted his brows.

He vanished abruptly, reappearing the next instant near the Undying Evil Venerable Statue.

The Golden Sword flew from its sheath, becoming a beam of golden radiance that swept across.

The eighteen Giant Spirit Sect experts encircling the statue at thirty meters distance froze solid.

By the moment they sensed danger, the Golden Sword had already closed in, impossible to evade.

Having slain them all in a single swift motion, he then struck at the Undying Evil Venerable Statue.

Three precise cuts later, the statue disintegrated into dust, and with a sleeve sweep, it spun into a whirlpool.

The Golden Sword whirled, drawing the golden dust into itself and fusing completely.

He neared one fallen master, using the Golden Sword to flick the bamboo tube free from the man’s chest.

As the tube emerged, a gigantic black palm materialized overhead.

The black palm rose vertically, its fingers indicating the precise spot.

Just then, Zhao Ruilin’s group had exited the valley, soaring over the woods toward the peak, where they spotted the looming black palm.

"Trouble’s brewing there!" Sun Haoyang exclaimed, eyes bulging. "It’s near the statue!"

Hu Chengxiang scowled, turning to Zhao Ruilin. "This feels off."

Zhao Ruilin’s visage darkened ominously.

He dimly suspected it was that same perpetrator’s doing, luring them over?

"Senior brother, what’s our move?" Sun Haoyang queried. "Do we head there?"

"Let’s check it out first," Zhao Ruilin intoned gravely.

With events unfolding there, they had no choice but to investigate, provided they stuck together—no issues would arise.

The Blood Pool’s purpose was to seal the statue; if disaster struck it now, constructing the pool served no point.

Upon arrival, they beheld a scene of scattered bodies, the statue’s pedestal barren.

"This..." Sun Haoyang blinked in bewilderment. "Did someone relocate the statue? Impossible!"

Zhao Ruilin and Hu Chengxiang scanned the area, assessing intently.

The remaining masters combed the surroundings, examining the slain on the ground.

Zhao Ruilin knelt by two bodies, probing them, his face turning pitch-black. "It’s him!"

"That fellow?" Hu Chengxiang inquired.

Zhao Ruilin nodded deliberately. "Absolutely him! ... What’s his game plan?"

Hu Chengxiang observed, "Shifting the statue demands power only at that caliber."

They had come to view Chu Zhiyuan as a Divine Venerable, a being from the upper realms.

"Senior brother, next steps?" Hu Chengxiang pressed. "Continue gathering folk for the Blood Pool?"

Zhao Ruilin pondered, expression steely.

Sun Haoyang suggested, "Report to the Divine Venerable first, hear his judgment."

"Leaning on the Divine Venerable for every crisis will irk him," Hu Chengxiang sighed. "He’ll see us as worthless."

Sun Haoyang insisted firmly, "This foe’s beyond our league—what choice do we have?"

Zhao Ruilin admitted, "We’ve become dead weight; bothering the Divine Venerable means facing his wrath and disdain."

"But hiding it isn’t an option, is it?" Sun Haoyang puzzled. "Even a Blood Pool now would prove pointless."

Zhao Ruilin heaved a sigh. "Dividing forces won’t work either... back to base for now."

Ideally, split: one team to seize people and raise the Blood Pool, the other to inform the Divine Venerable.

Yet with another Divine Venerable lurking like a predator, separation invited annihilation piecemeal.

This corpse-strewn battlefield attested to his lethal prowess and terrifying cultivation.

These guards were far from weaklings, yet they barely signaled before total extermination.

That signal itself might stem from the Divine Venerable, not them.

What infuriated Zhao Ruilin most was the Giant Spirit Sword.

He believed this Divine Venerable had pilfered it.

Silently he swore: Without slaying this Divine Venerable, how to reclaim my Giant Spirit Sword?

Thus, at all costs, enlist the Divine Venerable to eliminate him!

The party returned to the valley.

Zhu Lingyun emerged from the hall, eyeing them quizzically, his stare settling on Sun Haoyang.

Sun Haoyang reported, "Divine Venerable, regarding the statue..."

He detailed the incident, stoking Zhu Lingyun’s blazing fury.

Teeth clenched, he lashed a stone step with his foot, exploding it midair into fragments.

Crafted from unyielding black rock, the step shattered utterly from one strike, leaving Sun Haoyang wincing.

Should that blow hit him, survival seemed unlikely.

Hu Chengxiang questioned, "Divine Venerable, how could he transport the statue?"

Zhao Ruilin noted, "Hauling the statue demands unearthly might... a Divine Descender?"

"Indeed!" Zhu Lingyun gnashed. "None below could budge that statue except one from the heavens!"

Zhao Ruilin asked, "Can we recover it?"

Zhu Lingyun sneered, "My aura clings to that statue—he can’t purge it this time!"

Eyes shut, he pinched a hand seal, lifting it skyward before descending it like a blooming petal.

His hands halted at chest level, face frosting over as his eyes snapped open with chilling gleam.

The trio sensed his unease and watched puzzled.

Sun Haoyang blurted, "Did it fail? Can’t locate it?"

"No trace," Zhu Lingyun confirmed.

Sun Haoyang sighed dejectedly, "Divine Venerable, is he truly that formidable?"

"Junior brother, hold your tongue!" Zhao Ruilin snapped icily.

Sun Haoyang sealed his lips.

Cold fury flickered in Zhu Lingyun’s gaze.

Zhao Ruilin offered, "Divine Venerable, the statue’s loss is a boon—no more threat to us, no Blood Pool needed for suppression. We can charge straight for the Imperial City."

"Yes, yes," Sun Haoyang bobbed his head eagerly.

"Divine Venerable," Hu Chengxiang ventured, "Why steal the statue at all?"

"To enrage me on purpose," Zhu Lingyun ground out. "To disrupt my plans—the statue’s mere bait, worthless gain!"

"Then ignore it, push to the Imperial City," Hu Chengxiang urged. "Let it plague him instead!"

"Exactly," Sun Haoyang echoed vigorously.

Zhao Ruilin’s eyes glinted thoughtfully.

Without vanquishing that foe, how to reclaim the Giant Spirit Sword?

Zhu Lingyun fixed on Zhao Ruilin. "You possess a Giant Spirit Sword, yes?"

Zhao Ruilin jolted.

Zhu Lingyun commanded, "It’s awakened a spirit, hasn’t it? Fetch it—I must invoke a secret technique."