Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1212 - 1208: The Struggle for Control

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head in dismay.

Zhao Ruilin and Qi Qingmei possessed matching cultivation levels.

However, Qi Qingmei wielded the Bright Moon Divine Sword, whereas Zhao Ruilin no longer had the Giant Spirit Sword.

Her rapid judgments resulted in this overwhelming result.

Observing their clash, it hardly resembled a battle between cultivators of equal rank and stage.

Zhao Ruilin faced nonstop pressure, unable to regain his footing until he suffered severe wounds with no chance of recovery.

Chunks of flesh in his vomit signaled his internal organs had ruptured, placing his life in peril.

Qi Qingmei abruptly pulled back, yelling, "Fall back!"

Zhou Chongming and his two companions noticed his dire state, wariness surging in their hearts as they hastily withdrew ten meters.

"Bang!" Zhao Ruilin slammed into a tree with force, sending leaves tumbling down.

"Bang!" A bird nest dropped from the branches, landing squarely on his head.

He "Wa" coughed up more blood, slumping weakly against the tree roots while glaring venomously at Qi Qingmei and the rest.

Chu Zhiyuan had already withdrawn behind him, positioned beyond his sight.

Lu Gengshen shook his head, "That’s all? Is this the prowess of the Giant Spirit Sect’s Sect Master?"

"Haha..." Zhao Ruilin burst into sudden laughter.

Fresh blood kept pouring from his mouth, soaking his collar and the withered leaves before him.

Li Xinhe remarked, "Unconvinced?"

"Convinced? Haha..."

Zhao Ruilin kept laughing maniacally.

An absurd confusion gripped him, as though the heavens themselves conspired against him.

He had meant to draw out the Evil Venerable, but instead pulled in four supreme powerhouses.

With the Giant Spirit Sword in hand, escape would have been effortless; without it, peril loomed large.

In mere moments, he lay critically wounded and helpless.

No matter how he pondered it, events unfolded with utter surreal folly.

Life had never twisted so bizarrely, plunging from peaks to valleys in an instant.

"What exactly are you laughing at?" Li Xinhe inquired.

"I laugh at how absurd and ridiculous this world is!" Zhao Ruilin cackled, "You truly believe you wounded me based on ability?"

"Isn’t that so?" Li Xinhe replied with a smile.

He maintained a safe distance from Zhao Ruilin to thwart any sudden outburst, particularly the Jade and Stone Burning Secret Technique.

Thus, he prolonged the moment, diffusing Zhao Ruilin’s frantic resolve, ideally letting him bleed out.

"Hey, if it wasn’t for another Divine Venerable stealing my Spirit Sword, who knows who’d die!"

Li Xinhe shook his head, "We are four, you are alone, it’s unwinnable."

"Haha..." Zhao Ruilin laughed while shaking his head, coughing up more blood.

Li Xinhe chuckled lightly, "Feeling aggrieved? We haven’t unleashed our ultimate techniques. Perishing at our hands is no injustice; rest easy, for once you’re gone, all Giant Spirit Sect disciples will join you shortly."

"Haha..." Zhao Ruilin laughed on, shaking his head relentlessly, "Go ahead, let’s see how you die, who says I’m done for?"

While speaking, he produced a jade vial, tipping a crimson pill onto his tongue.

His face transformed noticeably, from ashen pallor to rosy glow, shining with crimson radiance.

Blood ceased flowing from his mouth, his aura no longer dissipating but gathering inward, steady and contained.

Not only did his wounds rapidly subside, seeming fully mended, but his cultivation surged upward as well.

Qi Qingmei sneered, "Where did this Evil Pill come from again!"

These spirit pills demand rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, often hidden in remote ancient woods or the Court’s hidden realms.

Evil Sects frequently craft such pills using human Essence Blood.

The stronger the potency, the greater the number of lives sacrificed.

"Heh, Evil Pill—in your view, we’re all Evil Demons, so Evil Sect, and thus the spirit pill becomes Evil Pill too!"

"Isn’t that the truth?" Li Xinhe shook his head, "Given the atrocities you perpetrate, what else but Evil Demons?"

"Ridiculous!" Zhao Ruilin scoffed, "Survival of the fittest—that’s the eternal law; we simply follow heaven’s will, aligning with fate!"

As words left his lips, he geared up to unleash his secret art.

In that split second, golden light flashed; Chu Zhiyuan materialized soundlessly behind him, sword stabbing into his back.

Having reached Ninth Transitions Venerable Realm, armed with the Golden Sword and intentionally masking his presence.

Paired with the stealth method gleaned from the Evil Venerable, it successfully fooled Zhao Ruilin.

Right as the strike was imminent, Chu Zhiyuan caught a sharp command, "Fix!"

It boomed like thunder from the heavens, striking without warning.

Chu Zhiyuan’s forehead twitched, a glint flashing like sunlight on rippling lake waters.

Instantly after, the Golden Sword’s tip burst from Zhao Ruilin’s left chest.

Stunned beyond belief, he stiffened, slowly twisting his head to glare.

"Swish!" The Golden Sword pulled free, plunging into his brow, tip emerging from the skull’s rear.

His upraised hand hung frozen midway, intent on acting yet devoid of strength, eyes rapidly losing luster.

The Golden Sword obliterated his mind in a flash, plunging him into eternal void, killing him outright.

"Ah—!"

A furious bellow echoed from the distance, followed by a shadowy figure hurtling near.

Chu Zhiyuan dodged sideways, narrowly evading a palm strike as he lunged with the Golden Sword.

The shadow evaded the Golden Sword, countering toward his rear.

He twisted aside once more, flipping the Golden Sword for a reverse stab.

The shadow evaded anew, attacked again; he sidestepped yet again, thrusting the Golden Sword forward.

Every palm strike sought to rip the soul, every sword aimed to slay.

Qi Qingmei and her companions furrowed brows, gripping their Longswords uncertainly, at a loss on intervention.

All they perceived were twin blurring silhouettes, forms impossible to discern.

Even sword thrusts would miss, targets too vague to pinpoint.

They surmised it was the Evil Venerable Chu Zhiyuan referenced, for none but him could boast such phenomenal agility.

Their sole option was to stay put, avoiding any interference with Chu Zhiyuan’s efforts.

Soon Chu Zhiyuan appeared to lag, fleeing afar while hounded relentlessly by the Evil Venerable, trapped in dire straits.

The quartet grew frantic yet powerless to help, frustration boiling within.

Chu Zhiyuan clashed with the shadow before plunging into the woods.

Blurs darted amid thick foliage, sword clanging against palm, yet no leaf or twig suffered harm.

They resembled genuine phantoms in motion.

This peerless movement art filled the four with hopelessness, a realm forever beyond their grasp.

Cultivation demanded not just might, but exquisite finesse and accuracy, forged through endless drills.

The Evil Venerable mastered it via origins beyond this realm, armed with superior Secret Skills and vaster power.

Yet how did Chu Zhiyuan pull it off?

Incredible beyond measure!

Chu Zhiyuan’s voice rang in their ears: "Senior Sister, Senior Uncle, and Elder, you go first, I’ll follow shortly."

Comprehension dawned immediately.

Chu Zhiyuan wasn’t genuinely outmatched; he deliberately drew the Evil Venerable away to shield them.

This averted the Evil Venerable turning desperate to slaughter the four instead.

Before the Evil Venerable, they’d prove sluggish and feeble, unworthy of a single blow.

Deeper into the woods Chu Zhiyuan ventured, his speed surging anew, vanishing in a blink to rematerialize thirty feet distant.

Zhu Lingyun shadowed him closely, sneering: "Where do you come from? Which sect did you descend into?"

Chu Zhiyuan snorted: "Where do you come from?"

"I hail from Giant Spirit Peak!" Zhu Lingyun snorted: "State your name!"

"Giant Spirit Peak? Never heard of it!" Chu Zhiyuan snorted, sword thrusting as he sneered: "A nameless place."

"What about you?" Zhu Lingyun snorted: "Could it be Heavenly Robbery Cliff?"

Chu Zhiyuan burned with intense curiosity.

Giant Spirit Peak, Heavenly Robbery Cliff.

Still, disdain masked his features: "You’re not worthy to know; I merely snatched a small bauble—if you persist in harassing, don’t fault my mercilessness!"

"You’re even mixing with those four—does that mean you joined the Four Great Sects?" Zhu Lingyun shook his head: "Certainly up to the standards of Heavenly Robbery Cliff!"

Should he be a Heavenly Robbery Cliff disciple, nothing would surprise; all events aligned perfectly.

Eluding even gods and ghosts, deceiving him thoroughly.

Only Heavenly Robbery Cliff acolytes could penetrate the Four Great Sects.

Chu Zhiyuan halted abruptly, proclaiming loudly: "Hold your hand!"

Zhu Lingyun ignored it, forming a seal that unleashed a crimson beam.

Chu Zhiyuan flickered away, materializing behind Zhu Lingyun moments later.

As he vanished, so did Zhu Lingyun, speed defying belief.

Chu Zhiyuan realized they’d unwittingly covered over ten miles.

Then Chu Liezhao emerged from the Light Gate, Swift Light Sword thrusting forth amid a soft call.

Resembling a dragon’s mighty roar.

Zhu Lingyun faltered, Chu Zhiyuan’s palm slamming his neck’s nape, brimming with Demon Suppressing Divine Tree’s potent aura.

Zhu Lingyun faltered once more.

Seconds later, Chu Zhiyuan, Chu Liezhao, and Leng Tieya—who just stepped from the Light Gate—focused intently together.

Zhu Lingyun shaped a seal with both hands, abruptly tapping his brow lightly.

His eyes flashed wildly, brightness and shadow alternating, face shifting from icy chill to grave dignity.

Chu Zhiyuan vied with the Evil Venerable for dominion over Zhu Lingyun’s form.