Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1449 - 1445: Making a Move

Chu Zhiyuan stood up and walked to the bamboo grove in the southwest corner, breaking off a bamboo branch.

Guan Zhengying and Hu Qixuan stared at him curiously, their expressions showing confusion.

They couldn’t understand why Chu Zhiyuan broke a bamboo branch or what he intended to do with it.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, waved the bamboo branch, and found it quite handy, saying, "Not bad."

"Xiao Chu, what are you going to do with that?" Guan Zhengying asked.

Chu Zhiyuan replied, "To deal with that supernatural creature."

He knew that the creature should not be named, as speaking its name would only make it stronger each time.

This kind of creature was something he had never read about in any records.

He was genuinely curious about how they came to know of it.

"You’re going to deal with it using this bamboo branch?" Guan Zhengying laughed, "Isn’t that a bit trivial?"

Hu Qixuan frowned, "This bamboo branch is nothing special, just ordinary bamboo."

Chu Zhiyuan responded, "This bamboo branch is imbued with the aura of the Evil Suppressing Abyss, so it is naturally extraordinary."

Compared to the bamboos outside, this branch was different in texture, like jade, emitting a faint glow.

But it couldn’t change the fact that it was still a bamboo, incomparable to a treasure sword and lacking any real power.

"Stop fooling around!" Hu Qixuan snorted, "If it injures you, at least ten years of your lifespan will be gone."

Guan Zhengying said, "If it’s even fiercer, it could be a hundred years of lifespan, but Xiao Chu is a Spirit Venerable, so it’s not much of a concern."

Hu Qixuan snorted, "Regardless, you shouldn’t gamble with your lifespan!"

He valued lifespan greatly and couldn’t stand others being so indifferent to its loss.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Elders, I have recently realized a new swordsmanship move, and the power is even stronger when using the bamboo branch."

He wasn’t sure why this was so.

The Golden Sword, when applying this move, was less powerful than when performed with a branch.

This undoubtedly contained some profound mystery, worthy of his contemplation.

He had been pondering and reflecting on it, constantly trying to penetrate its mystery.

Guan Zhengying was intrigued, "Is there such a peculiar swordsmanship?"

Chu Zhiyuan lightly flicked his wrist, "Would you two elders like to give it a try?"

"Let’s go then!" Guan Zhengying chuckled, "Let’s spar a bit."

He was curious about what kind of swordsmanship it was and laughed, "But you mustn’t use the power of a Spirit Venerable."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "I won’t use spiritual essence, only swordsmanship."

Guan Zhengying turned and entered the hut, coming out with a longsword.

Drawing the sword from its sheath, the sword emitted a chilling light, causing the temperature in the small courtyard to drop significantly.

"Wait, let me try your swordsmanship too," Hu Qixuan said.

He stood up and leapt toward the nearby mountain peak.

Like an eagle soaring high, diving swiftly, he swooped over the abyss and landed on the mountaintop opposite.

Entering the hut at the mountain peak, he then flew back like an eagle once more.

Guan Zhengying and Hu Qixuan stood side by side, each holding a longsword shining with cold light, slowly lifting their swords.

The sword light suddenly surged, two streams of sword aura burst forth, extending the longswords as if lengthened by a foot.

The sword aura was no different from the longsword, consistent in width, bright and flawless.

The sword aura showed no fluctuation or variation, manifesting a remarkably stable state.

This was a display of pure sword qi and profound cultivation.

"Watch the sword!"

The sword aura transformed into a large mass of silver light, instantly enveloping the three-meter diameter in front of Chu Zhiyuan.

It was as if a three-meter-wide silver bowl descended from the air, leaving no escape except to retreat.

Chu Zhiyuan casually swung the bamboo branch, greeting the white sword aura.

The green bamboo branch was soft and slender, piercing into the sword aura.

It seemed as if, in the next moment, it would be shredded into fragments, pulverized beyond recognition.

The two elders showed no mercy, intensifying their strength, and the sword aura surged, expanding its coverage by another meter.

"Snap!"

Yet, two crisp sounds rang out almost simultaneously, merging into one noise.

The silver light vanished abruptly.

The two swords stopped in mid-air, blade appearing weak and limp.

"Snap!"

The bamboo branch struck again.

They instantly released their grips, and the longswords dropped from their hands.

Feeling as if struck by lightning, their whole bodies went numb; they intended to grab the swords again but lacked the strength, forced only to watch as the swords fell to the ground.

Just as the swords were about to hit the ground, the bamboo branch appeared and gave them a gentle tap, sending them flying back up.

The sword hilts accurately entered their palms, once again grasped securely in their hands.

At that moment, the numbing sensation in their bodies vanished, their strength returned, and they gripped the sword hilts tightly once again.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled at the two.

"Good swordsmanship!"

Guan Zhengying examined the bamboo branch with surprise, then looked at Chu Zhiyuan, "Isn’t this the power of a Spirit Venerable?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, lightly shaking the branch.

Instantly, seven-colored light burst from the bamboo branch, wrapping around it, forming a seven-colored light saber.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "This is spiritual essence, the power of a Spirit Venerable."

As he spoke, he lightly waved his hand.

"Woo..."

The sound whistled like a ghost’s wail as a black line appeared in the air, as if slicing through space.

"Such power!" Guan Zhengying admired.

Indeed, this was the power of a Spirit Venerable, overwhelmingly formidable, not to be directly confronted.

Hu Qixuan frowned, "This swordsmanship, if driven by spiritual essence, would be even more terrifying."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Elder Hu, this swordsmanship move cannot be driven by spiritual essence."

"If you can’t drive it with spiritual essence, aren’t you giving up your greatest advantage?"

"This swordsmanship move has its unique wonders, and I want to test it on that supernatural creature."

"First, you have to catch up with it," Hu Qixuan shook his head, "Without using spiritual essence, it would be impossible."

The power of a Spirit Venerable was disregarding the void, and Qinggong was extremely astonishing. Without spiritual essence, it would be as if his hands and feet were tied.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, rose into the sky, and hovered mid-air as if walking on solid ground.

He turned his back on the two elders, his eyes suddenly becoming hollow, and after a moment, they returned to normal.

He descended to the edge of the peak, stepping onto a rock protruding from the cliff.

This rock was two meters long and one meter wide, just above the surface of the abyssal water by a foot.

The water gently undulated and could lap at the bottom of this rock, covering it with moss.

He stood on the rock, gazing into the abyssal water, with the bamboo branch dipped into the water.

It looked like he was fishing.

The two elders stared at him curiously, their hearts growing more tense with the passage of time.

Chu Zhiyuan, however, remained relaxed, showing no signs of tension, simply waiting quietly.

Time flowed by slowly, and he remained motionless.

The two elders increasingly felt like he was fishing, patiently waiting for the bird to take the bait.

But this supernatural creature wasn’t a fish; instead, it was highly alert and remarkably nimble.

Waiting like this, it was unlikely to catch it.

Just as they thought, Chu Zhiyuan suddenly swung his arm, and the bamboo branch danced.

"Snap!"

A shadow flew through the air.

It resembled a slender snake-like shadow, yet upon close inspection, it was impossible to see clearly.

"Snap!"

The shadow was struck again by the bamboo branch in mid-air.

It suddenly doubled in size.

Even after enlarging, the two elders still couldn’t discern the true nature of the shadow, as if it was enveloped in a misty glow.

"Snap!"

The shadow quivered in the air, receiving a third strike.

It grew larger by twice again.

From a small snake, it became a giant serpent, and then morphed into the shape of a fierce beast.

Guan Zhengying and Hu Qixuan still couldn’t make out its form and resisted the urge to rush forward, refraining from drawing their swords.

They knew the power of this creature and felt that only an array could deal with it; individuals were powerless and engaging it would only result in injury and the loss of lifespan.

"Snap!" The fourth strike.

The shadow shook violently, emitting a strange sound.

Guan Zhengying and Hu Qixuan’s vision blurred, and everything suddenly became distorted, turning into a scene of twisted light and shadow.

When everything returned to normal, the shadow was nowhere to be seen.

Only Chu Zhiyuan remained standing there in a daze, his gaze directed toward the distant sky.

"What happened?" Guan Zhengying hurriedly asked.

Hu Qixuan simultaneously inquired, "What happened to that creature?"