Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1244 - 1240: Tracking

Ding Chonglou forced a bitter smile and replied, "Junior Sister, if anyone yearns to track them down the most, it’s undoubtedly me."

Dong Muyu asked, "Even the Sect Leader is powerless?"

"The Sect Leader’s urge to locate them matches mine intensely," Ding Chonglou answered, "but these assailants are truly elusive and shrouded in mystery."

"Senior Brother, they’re dead set on claiming your life, fully aware of your identity, aren’t they?" Chu Zhiyuan remarked.

Ding Chonglou confirmed, "I’ve already disclosed my origins." "Upon hearing it was the Heavenly Sword Sect, their assaults grew even fiercer, as though they targeted our Heavenly Sword Sect disciples on purpose."

"Could this be directed at our Heavenly Sword Sect disciples? ... Perhaps they’re targeting our other senior brothers and sisters too?" Dong Muyu furrowed her brow lightly. "We must probe into this without delay."

"The Sect Leader has issued a cautionary notice," Ding Chonglou stated. "He’s alerted our comrades venturing outside."

Dong Muyu breathed a sigh of relief. "The Sect Leader is truly wise."

Ding Chonglou turned to Chu Zhiyuan. "Junior Brother, I’m certain they’ll expose their weaknesses in time."

"If they’re purposely hunting down us Heavenly Sword Sect disciples, we have to uncover them swiftly... Senior Brother, why not head back to the ambush location once more?" Chu Zhiyuan suggested.

"Very well," Ding Chonglou consented without hesitation. "Elder Xu and the rest ought to have arrived by now."

"Let’s depart at once then," Chu Zhiyuan urged. "The earlier, the better."

"Let’s move out." Ding Chonglou rose to his feet. "We can head off immediately."

"In such haste?" Dong Muyu questioned. "Why not rest through the night to restore your strength first?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head firmly. "The quicker we go, the calmer we’ll feel, Senior Sister. Brother Ding and I will leave now."

"In that case... should we bring Junior Sister Hongzhao too? She’s reached the Nine Transitions stage as well." Dong Muyu proposed.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded in agreement.

With Li Hongzhao joining them, she bore Ding Chonglou on her back as the trio swiftly left Heavenly Sword Peak, racing northwestward like a gale.

...

As dusk fell, the final glow of the sunset bathed the verdant woods.

Weary birds flew back to their nests, filling the forested mountain summit with vibrant activity.

Chu Zhiyuan along with his two companions stood atop the peak, a soft evening breeze caressing them.

"This is the spot." Ding Chonglou’s gaze ignited as he gestured toward the base of the mountain. "I was on the verge of lighting a fire to camp when shadowy figures in black robes and masks burst forth, launching a ferocious assault on me."

"Looks like Elder Xu and his group have wrapped up their search," Chu Zhiyuan observed.

"No guards remaining?" Li Hongzhao wondered.

A site this crucial ought to stay under watch, even post-examination.

One purpose: to block any tampering; another: should the perpetrators revisit the scene.

"They lurk in the darkness," Chu Zhiyuan revealed.

"How many?" Li Hongzhao’s phoenix eyes gleamed while she surveyed the surroundings, shaking her head faintly.

She failed to spot the concealed Heavenly Sword Sect disciples.

"Four in total." Chu Zhiyuan declared.

Li Hongzhao whipped her lovely head around. "Four of them?!"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded with a grin. "Not a single one detected?"

Li Hongzhao huffed lightly.

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled. "A Nine Transitions Venerable unable to sense even one—our Heavenly Sword Sect’s aura concealment technique is impressively potent."

"Are there truly four?" Li Hongzhao pressed.

"Two to the northwest, two to the northeast," Chu Zhiyuan specified. "Three hundred meters off, perched on the facing hillside."

"Ah, no surprise—three hundred meters distant!"

Li Hongzhao let out a soft snort, her phoenix eyes flashing as she peered at the opposite ridge.

Ding Chonglou chuckled. "It’s hardly fair to Li; at three hundred meters, detection’s impossible."

Li Hongzhao beamed sweetly. "Brother Ding speaks justly."

While saying so, she cast a look toward Chu Zhiyuan.

She grasped Chu Zhiyuan’s aim: to douse her enthusiasm a bit.

Having advanced to Nine Transitions, the world indeed felt boundless with infinite potential.

Yet now she realized she hadn’t attained true liberation; her cultivation demanded relentless pursuit.

Ding Chonglou’s face grew grave as he clenched his teeth, eyeing Chu Zhiyuan. "Junior Brother, shall we descend for a closer inspection?"

Returning here inevitably revived the harrowing recollections—shock, dread, hopelessness, fury—all surging through his chest.

"After you, Brother Ding," Chu Zhiyuan invited.

Ding Chonglou executed Qinggong personally, gliding across the treetops to arrive at the mountain base.

He halted at the forest's edge and gestured toward the woods, "They came out from here!"

Chu Zhiyuan stepped forward into the trees, advancing slowly while his eyes scanned around.

From the woodland's outer edge, he covered more than a hundred steps, then veered right for another hundred, turned left for yet another hundred, eventually surmounting the hill to reach the facing summit.

On the mountainside halfway up, a cavern held remnants of ash from a campfire.

Next to the ash lay fragments of small bones.

"This spot is...?" Ding Chonglou furrowed his brow, gazing intently at the cave.

It appeared to serve as a temporary refuge for hunters.

Chu Zhiyuan remarked, "They must have rested here and consumed some food."

As he spoke, he crouched to grasp a nearby twig, employing it to raise a small bone fragment and inspect it closely before his eyes.

"Was this their meal?" Li Hongzhao inquired.

Chu Zhiyuan affirmed with a nod.

Ding Chonglou’s gaze gleamed sharply, "Elder Xu and the rest haven’t discovered this place!"

Li Hongzhao questioned, "Can these remains lead us to those culprits?"

Chu Zhiyuan contemplated silently.

Li Hongzhao continued, "Since these hold traces of their aura, surely we can track them?"

Ding Chonglou explained, "Elder Xu mentioned their auras are unusual and undetectable."

Li Hongzhao showed intrigue, "An aura that evades detection? ... Perhaps some artifact conceals it?"

Ding Chonglou responded, "Their True Yuan possesses an odd quality. It left no residue inside me and vanished entirely. Simply put, these foes defy ordinary logic."

Chu Zhiyuan inquired, "Senior Brother, do you believe they aim to slay you or take you captive?"

"Take me alive?" Ding Chonglou paused in surprise.

His thoughts delved back into the agonizing memory of before.

After a brief pause, he denied it with a shake of his head, "I sense they intended my death; no sign of wanting me alive."

Chu Zhiyuan appeared deep in reflection.

Li Hongzhao probed, "Have you uncovered something?"

Chu Zhiyuan discarded the twig, knelt once more, retrieved a minuscule bone by hand, then another.

He examined every small bone scattered on the ground, rose to his feet, accepted the handkerchief from Li Hongzhao, cleaned his hands, and exhaled, "I detected a faint aura trace, oddly familiar."

Li Hongzhao perked up eagerly, while Ding Chonglou’s eyes sparkled at once.

Chu Zhiyuan declared, "It belongs to the Undying Evil Venerable."

The Undying Evil Venerable’s aura embodies spiritual power, a refined will exceeding the might of present-day Venerables.

With his formidable spiritual strength and familiarity from the Evil Venerable Heart Method, he identified it instantly upon touch.

Li Hongzhao and Ding Chonglou displayed confusion.

"You’re unfamiliar with the Undying Evil Venerable?" Chu Zhiyuan queried.

They both shook their heads.

Chu Zhiyuan then recounted the Undying Evil Venerable’s background and terrifying prowess.

Li Hongzhao wondered, "So the Undying Evil Venerable orchestrated this? ... But why us, instead of striking the Evil Extermination Department?"

Chu Zhiyuan turned his gaze to Ding Chonglou.

Ding Chonglou looked down at himself in bewilderment.

Chu Zhiyuan dismissed it, "Other motives may exist; we must locate them first."

"How can we track them?" Li Hongzhao pressed, "Is it even possible?"

"We’ll attempt it," Chu Zhiyuan resolved.

He shut his eyes and shaped a hand seal.

From above his head, the Demon Suppressing Divine Tree materialized gradually, bursting through the cave ceiling and burrowing into the rock.

Shimmers of crystalline glow descended from the stone, settling upon him.

A grave look crossed his face as he molded another hand seal.

The Golden Sword slipped from his waist, hovering gently above the earth.

From the Sword radiated white luminescence, enveloping the tiny bones and instantly pulverizing them.

In the following instant, the Golden Sword soared away.

Chu Zhiyuan’s eyes snapped open; he dissolved the seal and commanded gravely, "Pursue it."

His palm rested on Ding Chonglou’s shoulder as he levitated from the cave, trailing the Golden Sword.

Li Hongzhao cast a final look at the cavern before dashing out to join them.

After two hours, spanning dozens of peaks, they reached a woodland.

Without a word from Chu Zhiyuan, Li Hongzhao and Ding Chonglou instinctively steadied their breaths.