Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1251 - 1247: Motivation

"Mr. Chu’s divine power!"

"I never thought destroying this Divine Statue would be so effortless, haha!"

The duo gazed at the barren ground, faces flushed with excitement and thrill.

Annihilating the Undying Evil Venerable without effort showed it was no longer a lethal menace.

All in the Evil Extermination Department would reap the rewards.

A faint tug curved Chu Zhiyuan’s lips, though his countenance stayed solemn.

"Mr. Chu, what’s the issue?" The plump-faced middle-aged Zheng Yongming questioned with a grin.

Shaking his head, Chu Zhiyuan replied, "Far too simple—something doesn’t sit right."

"Too simple? Isn’t that fortunate?" Square-jawed middle-aged Sun Jiafeng looked baffled. "Perhaps commanding so many powerhouses drained him excessively, letting you dispatch him with ease?"

Zheng Yongming furrowed his brows in contemplation. "Excessive drain? ...Could it be—?"

His eyes shifted northward.

Across a mighty river, fronting endless mountain ridges, sat a scenic little city.

It was Ben City.

Eyes filled with concern fixed on Ben City, he uttered slowly, "Perhaps the residents within have already met harm?"

"Shall we check it out?" Sun Jiafeng suggested.

Zheng Yongming glanced at Chu Zhiyuan. "Mr. Chu?"

"Yes, let’s investigate and uncover the truth." Chu Zhiyuan agreed.

"After you."

The moment the trio stepped into the city, lively clamor assaulted their ears.

Disregarding the hubbub, Chu Zhiyuan swept his gaze around and pressed straight through the masses toward the central City Lord Mansion.

Zheng Yongming and Sun Jiafeng kept pace at his side. Noting his stern visage, they queried, "Mr. Chu, anything amiss at the City Lord Mansion?"

Experts stood guard at the City Lord Mansion, yet in such a modest city, none ranked supreme.

Chu Zhiyuan sighed while shaking his head. "The Undying Evil Venerable truly possesses no shred of humanity."

"How so?" The pair pressed eagerly.

"It’s been massacred inside." Chu Zhiyuan declared.

Horror twisted their features; they vaulted over the walls and dropped directly within.

Shortly after, they returned, visages pallid and overcast.

Chu Zhiyuan had already pivoted, eyes roving everywhere across the throng.

The Golden Sword from his waist unsheathed itself and shot into the crowd.

"Ah!"

"Who!"

"Damn it!"

...

Furious yells and piercing shrieks rent the air.

Chu Zhiyuan stayed poised and aloof as the surrounding folk backed away successively, exposing a vast clearing.

Six men sprawled lifelessly, attired and featured diversely.

"Sir, these men...?"

"The culprits behind the slaughter." Chu Zhiyuan affirmed.

Sun Jiafeng’s expression darkened furiously. "Cursed scum!"

Frowning deeply, Zheng Yongming asked, "Were they manipulated?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded. "Very probably."

"Should we spare them?" Sun Jiafeng wondered.

These folk were victims themselves, bodies hijacked as instruments.

Still, their own hands had wrought the atrocities.

Assigning blame proved tricky; the Court alone could judge properly.

Shaking his head, Chu Zhiyuan stated, "Pointless. Once controlled, their doom was inevitable."

"What doom?" Sun Jiafeng inquired.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Deafening thuds boomed relentlessly, crimson vapors swirling about.

The crowd wailed and scattered.

The Golden Sword cleaved the sky, weaving a gleaming golden loop.

The detonating crimson haze stayed caged within one meter, barred from expansion.

A live soul burst abruptly into a scarlet fog plume.

Everyday townsfolk beheld no such terror before, fleeing in hysterical screams.

"Utterly vile!" Sun Jiafeng raged.

Face shadowed darkly, Zheng Yongming intoned, "Such a ruthless ploy!"

Displaying mild detachment, Chu Zhiyuan’s eyes kept combing the masses.

Measuredly, he declared, "Seal this zone immediately—no spread permitted."

"Got it." Zheng Yongming acknowledged gravely.

"Word will leak eventually." Sun Jiafeng noted.

"Not quite." Zheng Yongming countered. "Tales heard pale against eyes beholding... Old Sun, go back and brief the Director."

"...Alright." Sun Jiafeng conceded grudgingly. "Mr. Chu, all clear now?"

Retracting his stare, Chu Zhiyuan nodded. "Cleanup complete."

"So, totally finished?" Sun Jiafeng pressed anxiously.

"Your swift alert saved the day—Ben City’s fate hung in the balance otherwise." Chu Zhiyuan remarked.

Zheng Yongming let out a heavy sigh. "I only regret how feeble our cultivation is. Had we managed to halt it, those people might not have perished."

Sun Jiafeng replied, "Old Zheng, stop talking such nonsense! How on earth could we have blocked the Undying Evil Venerable! ...Fine, we gave it our all, life and death depend on fate. I’m going to make the report."

He bounded away.

...

With hands clasped behind his back, Chu Zhiyuan strode solemnly through Ben City.

The Golden Sword, transformed into a streak of light, zipped back and forth without stopping.

It occasionally plunged into a side alley or swooped into a courtyard.

Those strange energies got obliterated by the Golden Sword.

Having circled the city once, he departed Ben City straightaway, assigning Zheng Yongming to watch over the City Lord Mansion.

In an instant, he arrived back at Heavenly Sword Peak.

...

Within the Sect Leader’s Hall, he detailed the events to Lu Wanshan.

Upon hearing it, Lu Wanshan shook his head and spoke gravely, "Zhiyuan, you’re wasting your time. The Court won’t hand over their supreme secret technique to you."

Chu Zhiyuan responded, "I need to give it a shot first, to check if the Court truly possesses such a secret technique."

"The Court definitely holds ancient legacies," Lu Wanshan stated solemnly.

Chu Zhiyuan inquired, "Yet they refuse to share it with me?"

"Were you a Court powerhouse, there could be hope. Or even a martial expert from a Martial Arts Sect, a faint possibility might exist. But as things stand..." Lu Wanshan shook his head. "Being a Heavenly Sword Sect disciple makes it utterly impossible."

Chu Zhiyuan pressed, "Faced with this crisis, would they let the Undying Evil Venerable wreak havoc rather than grant me the secret technique?"

Lu Wanshan affirmed with a nod. "The Undying Evil Venerable’s rampage is but temporary. Should you master that secret technique, none could restrain you—it’d pose an enormous danger."

Chu Zhiyuan sighed deeply. "The Undying Evil Venerable grows ever bolder, just massacring a City Lord Mansion—and that with our swift arrival. Had we been delayed, the entire city might have been wiped out."

The peculiar energies the Golden Sword eradicated appeared to be setting up an array.

Clearly, the Undying Evil Venerable sought not just slaughter but to enact some forbidden technique, likely a sacrificial rite.

These energy spots blanketed all of Ben City.

This endangered every soul in Ben City, and a sacrificial ritual would doom the whole population.

Such barbarity was unthinkable.

Success would sow terror and chaos among the masses, dealing a severe blow to the Court.

The Imperial City’s Town Guardian Divine Artifact remained faulty, unrestored to full power, and with rising panic, it would worsen matters catastrophically, yielding dire outcomes.

"The Undying Evil Venerable is truly loathsome!" Lu Wanshan growled deeply. "Death a thousand times wouldn’t absolve him!"

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "In this dire state, will the Court still hoard their secret technique?"

"They will," Lu Wanshan confirmed with a nod.

Chu Zhiyuan sighed.

Lu Wanshan consoled, "Don’t feel let down—the Court’s worries aren’t baseless."

"Must we await a massive disaster before they regret it and pass the secret technique to me?"

"Even then, amid catastrophe, they’re unlikely to give it to you," Lu Wanshan replied.

Chu Zhiyuan gave a bitter smile. "Sect Leader, don’t we possess any ourselves?"

"We have no such secret technique," Lu Wanshan declared.

"What of Guanghan Palace?" Chu Zhiyuan probed. "Their legacy stretches even further back."

Lu Wanshan answered, "They likely lack it too."

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head with a sigh.

Lu Wanshan advised, "Zhiyuan, the world doesn’t revolve around you alone—do what lies within your power."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

While he harbored true compassion, the crux lay in the Golden Sword and his own cultivation.

Power of Merit and Faith Power held vital importance for both the Golden Sword and himself.