Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1491 - 1487: Reactions

"Director Huang!"

"Old Luo!"

"Old Meng!"

"You are indeed together!"

"Quick, tell us, what have you found!"

...

The crowd immediately gathered around, eyes shining with complex emotions.

Envy, jealousy, resentment.

Envy their good luck, jealous of their own lack of it, resentful of their existence.

If everyone had poor luck, and no one gained anything, it wouldn’t matter.

But their success makes one’s own failure stand out, feeling frustrated and unwilling.

Huang Zhengyang and the others looked puzzled, still not realizing what was happening.

Questions buzzed around them like noise, adding to their confusion and disrupting their thoughts.

"Silence!" Zheng Zhenxing shouted.

All activity came to a halt.

Soon after came more jeering: "Little Zheng, you’ve got quite the temper!"

"With a stroke of luck, you’ve grown more daring; this is the Imperial Palace, how dare you speak so loud!"

"Hehe, those who’ve had an adventure really are different!"

Everything was soon engulfed in strange comments, drowning them.

Zheng Zhenxing’s face turned blue with anger; he couldn’t help but swear: "Zhou Zi’an, you’re spouting nonsense, look at your pitiful state!"

He continued to curse: "Who said we’ve had a lucky encounter! If we had, I’d be keeping quiet!"

This made everyone perk up immediately.

A slender, monkey-like middle-aged man chuckled: "Oh, Old Zheng, no adventure, huh? What did you run into then, tell us!"

"Talk? About what?" Zheng Zhenxing glared at him angrily: "Want to rub salt into the wound?"

Attention shifted to Huang Zhengyang and the others, questioning them one by one.

Clearly, all four of them had come together, which meant they had probably encountered some major trouble and were forced out.

Huang Zhengyang shook his head.

He reached into his sleeve, feeling a smooth knife, icy yet comforting, putting his mind at ease.

He was under the watchful eyes of everyone around, not a single detail of expression or action escaped them.

Each of them were top-notch masters, keen observers who saw everything clearly.

"Director Huang, you’ve gotten hold of some treasure, haven’t you? Show us!"

"Director Huang, take it out and give us a look!"

"So far, no one’s been able to take anything from this Grotto Heaven, except Director Huang!"

Luo Yun, Zheng Zhenxing, and Meng Xianda hesitated, looking at Huang Zhengyang.

They were sure of gaining nothing, but had been in states of unconsciousness and confusion.

They knew nothing about others’ states or what was gained.

The three pondered, in term of cultivation, Huang Zhengyang was highest; in Spiritual Artifacts, he was the strongest.

They were unaware in unconsciousness, but Huang Zhengyang may not have been.

Their hands were empty, but Huang Zhengyang may have gained something.

Huang Zhengyang brushed his sleeve, grumbling: "I wish I’d gotten something, but flew out dazed, had no time for anything!"

"Director Huang, don’t hide your skills. We won’t snatch them from you."

"Yes, yes..."

Everyone assumed he gained something, coaxing him to take it out for a look.

Huang Zhengyang shook his head helplessly, casting a glance at an elder standing in front of the main hall in the distance.

On the steps of the North Main Hall stood a smiling, lean elder, the former Director Zhou Muyin.

He rushed forward briskly, over a hundred steps, cupped his fists and said: "Director."

Zhou Muyin replied irritably: "You are now the Director."

"Hehe, force of habit." Huang Zhengyang scratched the back of his head.

"Truly gained nothing?" Zhou Muyin asked.

Huang Zhengyang shook his head: "We were so close, fell at the door of adventure."

Then he narrated the peculiarities of the cave.

Zhou Muyin’s face grew solemn with his descriptions.

"Sir, is there something odd with this cave?" Huang Zhengyang asked after finishing.

Zhou Muyin sneered: "You couldn’t tell something was wrong?!"

"This..." Huang Zhengyang’s face turned crimson.

Zhou Muyin spoke coldly: "Greed blinds wisdom!"

Huang Zhengyang bowed his head in shame.

Before Zhou Muyin, he was the same old Huang Zhengyang, only fit to be scolded.

Zhou Muyin said: "Anyone could see it’s malevolent, not worth entering. With your skills, escaping with your lives was sheer luck!"

"Yes." Huang Zhengyang sighed.

Thinking back, he realized he was incredibly fortunate, as after fainting, his life was out of his own control.

Though this time, he retreated, but what if he hadn’t, could he have survived?

Moreover, the memory of how he flew up and got out was still foggy to him.

As the two talked, the surroundings remained quiet, everyone listened intently.

After hearing all this, they turned towards Luo Yun and the other three.

They nodded slowly.

"Six Strange Beast patterns, one being the Ghostly Demon that consumes souls..."

"What do the other five patterns look like?"

"Almost forgot, Brother Meng, you’re an expert in ancient Divine Beasts and Strange Beasts. Right, let Brother Meng have a look."

"Little Luo, can you draw them?"

"No problem!" Luo Yun responded without hesitation.

He drew his sword, ready to sketch the five Strange Beasts onto the ground.

As the sword tip touched the ground, his face froze, furrowing his brow.

The crowd, seeing him still and seemingly lost in thought, began to urge him on.

"Little Luo, what are you spacing out for?"

"Old Luo, can’t remember?"

"Impossible, how could Old Luo forget in this short time!"

Luo Yun turned to Meng Xianda, grimly: "Brother Meng, can you remember clearly?"

Meng Xianda laughed lightly: "My memory’s excellent."

He placed his hand on the sword’s hilt, then paused, his expression shifting: "Eh?"

He turned to Zheng Zhenxing: "Brother Zheng, can you try to remember!"

Zheng Zhenxing focused intently, his narrow brows furrowed abruptly.

A burly middle-aged man chuckled: "I say, the three of you didn’t plan this, did you?"

Zheng Zhenxing’s face darkened, he snapped: "Get lost, Old Meng, what nonsense!"

"Such little time has passed, yet your memories are foggy?" The burly middle-aged man shook his head: "It’s not forgetfulness, it’s lack of willingness to remember, right?"

He turned to the crowd, smiling: "Need a quieter place for clearer memories?"

All eyes turned towards the trio.

As they glanced between the three of them, suspicion appeared.

Zhou Muyin, disregarding the fuss, continued speaking with Huang Zhengyang: "Since the Cave Mansion’s owner spared your lives with good will, you were lucky indeed."

Huang Zhengyang nodded quickly.

"Your luck has been good recently," Zhou Muyin remarked, "Are you familiar with Ghostly Demon?"

Huang Zhengyang shook his head.

"Had it been more than just its depiction, it would’ve devoured your souls, utterly disastrous."

Curiously Huang Zhengyang asked: "Sir, was the array using the Ghostly Demon’s power?"

"Perhaps," Zhou Muyin sighed: "The other five are surely malevolent too. You simply were lucky."

Huang Zhengyang smiled.

Zhou Muyin asked: "Can you remember the location?"

Huang Zhengyang nodded: "Along the way, I deliberately left behind items and markers."

Zhou Muyin nodded approvingly: "Not entirely muddled then!"Huang Zhengyang smiled.

Zhou Muyin turned to the others, speaking sternly: "Your opportunities are exhausted, maybe next time, see if there’s a chance, now disperse."

The burly Meng Hong chuckled: "Lord Zhou, how should we handle that cave?"

"The Court will take over the exploration, the distribution of findings will be discussed with them."

"Can we participate in the exploration? Not for anything else, just to broaden our horizons and gain insight."

"Heh!" Zhou Muyin laughed, a mocking grin on his lips.

Meng Hong, shamelessly laughing, said: "Can we go to gain insight? Absolutely won’t act recklessly nor fight for discoveries!"

Zhou Muyin shook his head: "We’ll see."

He looked towards the void, gazing at the Bright Moon in the sky: "You four should rest, no one is allowed to disturb you, return tomorrow morning."

"Understood!" Huang Zhengyang and the others cupped their fists.