Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1260 - 1256: The Source

"...Fine!" Huang Zhengyang clenched his teeth, "I'll accompany you!"

"Don't be silly, Brother Huang." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head smilingly.

Huang Zhengyang snorted coldly, "I'll take some elites with me, the finest Court Honored Experts of our department!"

"If danger wasn't so great, I'd welcome you bringing a few Court Honored Experts along. But right now, drop it."

"Do you see us as dead weight?"

"Without you nearby, I could flee even if I can't win the fight. You're aware of my Qinggong skills."

"Just leave us behind if things get tough!"

"Haha..." Chu Zhiyuan burst into laughter.

Huang Zhengyang rose to his feet, striding restlessly to and fro, his face twisting through various emotions.

Inwardly, he sighed, admitting Chu Zhiyuan spoke true.

Together, they would only drag him down.

Yet the idea of letting him confront peril solo gnawed at his heart.

Though the Unparalleled Light Skill let him slip away from threats promptly, it still sat wrong.

It painted the Evil Extermination Department as utterly worthless.

His gaze flicked toward the handsome youth.

The handsome youth wavered uncertainly.

"Out with it!" He shot a fierce glare.

The handsome youth stuttered, "Maybe we request aid from the Court?"

"Request aid from the Court?" Huang Zhengyang replied icily, "Terrible notion!"

"Yes," the handsome youth lowered his head.

Chu Zhiyuan grinned and remarked, "Brother Huang, I reckon it's actually wise."

Huang Zhengyang sneered, "Brother Chu, aren't you aware of the Evil Extermination Department's plight? We're swamped in backlash already."

Chu Zhiyuan responded, "The city's outer demons got handled—doesn't that count as the Evil Extermination Department's achievement?"

"Handling demons is our job, but dragging our feet on it is a grave fault!"

"That's overly severe."

"Countless folks in the Court eye the Evil Extermination Department closely, branding us as boozing failures and bunglers."

"We ought to ask for support when necessary."

"Asking won't do any good. They'll refuse—I understand them perfectly."

"No proof is the issue," Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Without evidence, just my gut and bare claims—how convincing is that?"

Huang Zhengyang gave a wry smile.

Chu Zhiyuan nailed the truth precisely.

Despite slaying hordes of demons and racking up triumphs, plenty in the Court still resented him, doubted him, eyed him suspiciously.

At the core was his status: Disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Too many Court members harbored suspicions toward the Four Great Sects, treating them like imminent rebels—a baffling stance to him.

The Four Great Sects had long aided the Court in quelling demons, posing no threat to its stability.

Why did the Court maintain such vigilant watch over the Four Great Sects?

Chu Zhiyuan suggested, "Let's attempt it. It could succeed."

"Very well, I'll make the attempt!"

Huang Zhengyang decided embarrassment mattered little now; summoning elite experts to uncover the truth took priority.

Chu Zhiyuan took his leave and departed.

He hurried back to his modest courtyard, strolling pensively with hands clasped behind under the moon's glow.

Zhu Lingyun had shown up in a nearby town, querying locals on Dongning City's whereabouts before pressing onward.

He morphed into a shadowy streak, vanishing rapidly to reappear over ten li distant, then flickered once more to dozens of li away.

Before long, he arrived at yet another town and kept asking directions.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded approvingly.

Zhu Lingyun moved with impressive swiftness; he'd reach Dongning City by midnight.

Where did this looming threat truly originate?

Was it an Evil Sect ambush, or did an Evil Venerable wield an Evil Artifact akin to the Seven Killings Sword?

He circled a bit more, then settled in his chamber, laying the Golden Sword across his knees to commence refining.

Miao Jing Spirit Water proved even mightier, silently cleansing and bolstering his spirit force.

Consequently, refining the Golden Sword proceeded far smoother and easier.

He merged seamlessly with the Golden Sword, sensing its spirit's evolving essence.

The Golden Sword's spirit now resembled that of a ten-year-old boy.

It probed the world with eager curiosity.

Perceiving and sensing reality via the Golden Sword itself.

The deeper its grasp of the world and heavenly laws, the better it synced to release greater might.

Chu Zhiyuan theorized the Golden Sword's power hinged on two elements: its spirit essence plus his personal merit and Faith Power.

Merit kept rising now, though Faith Power lagged, while the spirit essence grew stronger too.

The Golden Sword grows ever stronger.

Yet to evolve it into the Emperor’s Sword, merit and Faith Power stand as crucial alongside spiritual nature.

Power born from the fusion of merit and Faith Power will thrust the Golden Sword toward its Emperor’s Sword form.

Without those, even overflowing spiritual nature fails to trigger the transformation into the Emperor’s Sword.

Opportunities for massive merit and Faith Power remain scarce right now; slaying just the Undying Evil Venerable proves insufficient.

After refining the Golden Sword, he commenced cultivation of the Second Layer of the Human Element Skill.

Visualizing the Spiritual Abyss Twelve Peaks inside the Jade Sea and Sky at the Lao Gong Acupoint.

Using spiritual power to anchor the Spiritual Abyss Twelve Peaks so they neither recede nor dissolve achieves the Second Layer of the Human Element Skill.

For now, pulling back his spiritual power makes the Spiritual Abyss Twelve Peaks fade from the Jade Sea and Sky.

Success in this cultivation feels out of reach temporarily, with the leap from quantity to quality far too remote.

…

Early next morning, as he swung open the courtyard door, a knock echoed from outside.

He advanced to unlatch the courtyard gate, revealing Huang Zhengyang dressed in a mystic robe.

Huang Zhengyang's face, flawless as crown jade, bore a grave expression while he cupped his fists in greeting.

Chu Zhiyuan cupped his fists in return and remarked, “Brother Huang, so early? Have you had breakfast?”

“Not yet,” Huang Zhengyang entered the courtyard, shaking his head, “There’s no ambush over there.”

Making a beeline for the stone table, he took a seat and spoke gravely, “I sought aid from the Court and arrived with four Honored Experts. They scouted last night, verifying no ambush—probably not an Evil Sect plot.”

Chu Zhiyuan laughed, “The Court even dispatched top Honored Experts?”

Huang Zhengyang's rigid features softened into a grin, “I was shocked too. The moment they learned you detected danger, they accepted it outright and sent four elite Honored Experts without delay. Incredibly peculiar!”

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, “Seems they know me quite well.”

Huang Zhengyang nodded.

The Court’s reach extends everywhere. They certainly grasp Brother Chu’s formidable strength.

That explains their constant withholding of the secret technique.

“No ambush…”

Chu Zhiyuan contemplated deeply.

Zhu Lingyun stood atop a mountain peak, hands clasped behind his back, his Insight sweeping fifty miles around.

No other figures encircled the Undying Evil Venerable Statue.

The Undying Evil Venerable Statue appeared as swirling golden mist, pulsing between brightness and shadow like a fetus drawing breath in the womb.

Truly, no ambush existed, nor any evil demons nearby.

As a clone, Zhu Lingyun wielded Super Sense paired with acute danger instinct.

He perceived peril radiating from this tranquil, serene Undying Evil Venerable Statue.

Against every other Undying Evil Venerable Statue he’d witnessed, this danger loomed tenfold or a hundredfold fiercer.

A powerful instinct urged him to flee as far as possible from the statue.

Huang Zhengyang watched Chu Zhiyuan expectantly.

Chu Zhiyuan spoke deliberately, “The danger originates from the Undying Evil Venerable Statue.”

“Simple fix!” Huang Zhengyang declared, “Seal off the ten-mile zone around the Divine Statue, bar all from nearing it, and we stay away too.”

Chu Zhiyuan pondered.

Crude though this approach may be, it holds merit.

Locking down a ten-mile perimeter demands considerable manpower and authority, feasible only for the Court.

Huang Zhengyang snorted, “Can it truly threaten beyond ten miles?”

Zhu Lingyun blinked into view ten miles from the statue, then vanished instantly, rematerializing sixty miles distant.

Super Sense no longer revealed the statue.

After reflection, he blinked back to ten miles out, sensing the Undying Evil Venerable Statue anew.

The Undying Evil Venerable Statue persisted in flickering golden glow, akin to an unborn child’s respiration.

He trembled, quelling the flight impulse.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, “Ten miles isn’t enough—at least fifty miles.”

“Fifty miles… Dongning City lies just fifteen miles off, I fear…”

“That’s why I must go,” Chu Zhiyuan sighed, “Lest Dongning City falls victim.”

Huang Zhengyang snorted, “Evacuate Dongning City’s populace immediately!”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head.

Pure fantasy; wholly impractical.

Huang Zhengyang stated, “With this Divine Statue as the danger’s root, have the Honored Experts shatter it.”

“Can they even destroy it?”

"The Court possesses Spiritual Treasures. I cannot summon those Spiritual Treasures myself, but they certainly can."

"Let's give that a shot then," Chu Zhiyuan replied.

He had felt the peril from the Undying Evil Venerable Statue firsthand through Zhu Lingyun, refusing to charge ahead blindly.

"Excellent, I'll handle it!" Huang Zhengyang declared. "Rest up for now."

Chu Zhiyuan cupped his fists in salute.

As Huang Zhengyang prepared to depart, a crisp voice called out, "Director, urgent report incoming."

"Enter!" Huang Zhengyang bellowed.

A striking young man strode across the courtyard threshold—the very same handsome youth from earlier.

He offered a fist salute, his gaze briefly meeting Chu Zhiyuan's.

Huang Zhengyang dismissed concerns with a wave. "Brother Chu's one of us. Out with it—what's the news!"

Worry etched the handsome young man's face. "Director, rumors are flying outside about a Cave Mansion just fifteen miles from Dongning City."

"What sort of Cave Mansion?" Huang Zhengyang demanded.

"They call it Golden Sun Cave Mansion," the young man explained, "packed with ancient inheritance that grants invincibility."

"And folks are buying this nonsense?!" Huang Zhengyang scoffed.

Chu Zhiyuan interjected, "Fifteen miles from Dongning City?"

The handsome young man nodded firmly. "Spot on, just like the talk."

Huang Zhengyang scoffed over and over, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of such a preposterous claim.

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "What's the distance from the statue to Dongning City?"

"Fifteen miles," Huang Zhengyang answered.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head in amazement. "Incredible—this has to be demon handiwork, right?"

Huang Zhengyang halted abruptly, then growled, "It's gunning for the Divine Statue?!"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded deliberately. "Without a doubt."

Huang Zhengyang gnashed his teeth in rage. "Utterly vile and treacherous!"