Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1503 - 1499: Bait

Xiao Ruoling said, "So you’re saying this ambush by Li Huo Palace’s masters on Senior Sister Hu was instigated by him?"

"Very likely."

"If we track him down..." Xiao Ruoling hesitated, "What should we do?"

"If there’s a chance, we’ll naturally eliminate him," Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile, "Why keep him alive?"

"I’m just worried the seniors in the palace might not listen to you, husband," said Xiao Ruoling.

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, "If they don’t listen, so be it, I’ll handle it myself."

"..."

"It doesn’t matter if we can’t defeat him, as long as we capture his essence, it will be easier next time."

"...That’s true."

Thinking of Chu Zhiyuan’s escape spiritual treasure, Xiao Ruoling felt reassured.

Chu Zhiyuan reached out to hold her delicate hand and smiled, "Don’t worry, my lady."

Xiao Ruoling clasped his hand in return.

Then she glared at Zhou Qingyu, who was staring at them with sparkling eyes.

Zhou Qingyu turned her gaze away quickly and pretended to look towards the sky.

Chu Zhiyuan laughed helplessly.

A moment later, Shen Hanyue and four girls landed gracefully in the courtyard.

"Brother-in-law, we’re here," leading the group was Meng Yunyin and Sun Jing.

Behind them were two unfamiliar young women, one was calm and collected, while the other had a dignified appearance and a steady presence.

They appeared to be older than Meng Yunyin and her group, and upon landing, they clasped their fists, saying, "Mr. Chu."

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fists with a smile, "Senior Sister Hu and Senior Sister Luo, no need for the formalities, we’re all family here."

"Absolutely," Meng Yunyin giggled, "Brother-in-law isn’t an outsider, Senior Sister Hu and Senior Sister Luo, no need to stand on ceremony."

"Alright then," Hu Menghua smiled, "Brother-in-law, take care."

Luo Xiaonan nodded with a smile.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head.

The four girls’ attention was quickly drawn to two floating brown-tinted objects the size of pinky nails.

They observed them curiously, turning to look at Shen Hanyue and Xiao Ruoling.

Shen Hanyue snorted, "These are what infiltrated our bodies!"

"Really terrifying!" Sun Jing shook her head, "We did everything to guard against them, yet we still failed."

Hu Menghua said solemnly, "It managed to deceive our spiritual artifact, which should have blocked it from entering when returning to the palace!"

During their return to the Profound Yin Palace, the Guardian Spiritual Artifact would scan them thoroughly.

If there were any unusual essences, entry would be denied.

She once picked up something from the Evil Sect, and it barred her from entering the palace.

Shen Hanyue was curious, "Senior Sister Hu, so our spiritual treasure has such capabilities?"

Hu Menghua replied, "If it’s of the Evil Sect, there’s no way it can enter our palace."

Meng Yunyin laughed, "Our Profound Yin Palace is truly exceptional!"

The Guardian Spiritual Artifact provided her with a strong sense of security, as she smiled charmingly.

"It’s a pity I’ve never encountered those Evil Sect folks to test it, wait, something’s wrong!"

"What’s wrong?" Meng Yunyin asked, "Shen?"

Shen Hanyue said, "Didn’t we capture a guy from Forget Sorrow Valley last time? How could he have been brought in?"

Meng Yunyin said, "That’s because we’ve crippled their cultivation, right?"

She turned to Sun Jing.

Sun Jing nodded.

Chu Zhiyuan seemed thoughtful.

Xiao Ruoling said, "So, was Song Wantao aware of this? Is that why this object could evade the Guardian Spiritual Artifact?"

"Yes, exactly," Hu Menghua said solemnly, "This is quite frightening."

A malicious object that can evade the Guardian Spiritual Artifact highly threatens general evil entities.

The damage it causes is surely extraordinary.

Their eyes quickly shifted from these objects to Chu Zhiyuan.

A quarter-hour later.

In the sky, six segments of red-brown pinky finger joints were slowly gathering together.

They seemed to gain spiritual awareness, floating slowly in the air, afraid of being noticed.

Meng Yunyin pointed at them, "They seem to have spirituality, don’t they?"

Hu Menghua solemnly said, "The spirituality is definitely substantial... No wonder it could evade our Sect’s Spiritual Artifact."

"Terrifying!" Sun Jing shook her head.

Thinking of how spiritual items invaded her body unnoticed.

The potential of what it might do sends shivers down her spine.

Should they suddenly enter her mind or plunge into her heart while asleep without defense.

No matter her skills, it would be life-threatening.

Just imagining it made her hair stand on end, emitting a cold air.

"That wretched creature!" Meng Yunyin said angrily.

Shen Hanyue said, "This isn’t about tracking us; it’s about trying to kill us!"

Sun Jing said, "He holds our fate entirely."

"Hateful!" Meng Yunyin grit her teeth, angrily said, "We must deal with him!... Brother-in-law?"

Chu Zhiyuan solemnly nodded, his eyes suddenly becoming empty.

Xiao Ruoling helplessly shook her head.

Despite instructions not to use it, he frequently used the secret technique.

The Profound Yin Palace indeed was not a place to linger; letting her husband stay more in the Heaven-Reaching Sect would be wise.

No such distractions existed there.

A moment later, Chu Zhiyuan’s eyes returned to normal, his expression serious.

"Princely Heir, have you located him?" Shen Hanyue quickly asked.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, "Yes, found him."

Meng Yunyin rejoiced, "What are we waiting for? Let’s eradicate him!"

The other girls’ spirits lifted, igniting a fierce drive.

Whatever it takes to destroy this troublesome character.

No matter if he was a Spirit Venerable, he could still be eliminated.

Just a Spirit Venerable, and the Profound Yin Palace had three stationed Spirit Venerables.

Three versus one, plus Chu Zhiyuan as a Spirit Venerable, that made four versus one.

Chu Zhiyuan pondered, shaking his head.

Meng Yunyin said, "Brother-in-law, didn’t you say you could find him?"

Chu Zhiyuan gradually said, "What I found was the innkeeper, the one you’ve seen."

Shen Hanyue said, "Is he not Song Wantao’s disguise?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "I fear he is not."

"This guy is devious!" Meng Yunyin said angrily, "Never showing himself, always manipulating others!"

Shen Hanyue said, "Should we at least eliminate the innkeeper to vent our frustration?"

Sun Jing frowned, "But he likely isn’t at the original location anymore?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "He’s still in an inn, probably the inn you visited."

"Bold, isn’t he, not escaping!" Meng Yunyin snorted, "Does he really think we can’t track him down?"

Sun Jing said, "Such methods, if it weren’t for brother-in-law, surely unnoticed."

Xiao Ruoling said, "Husband, could he be bait?"

Chu Zhiyuan sighed, "Most likely."

Xiao Ruoling hit the nail on the head.

This innkeeper staying and having Song Wantao’s aura, presented two possibilities.

One possibility: assured the Profound Yin Palace couldn’t detect the method, remaining there, gambling on disciples returning.

The second: anticipating palace detection but purposefully staying, baiting the palace experts along.

They wouldn’t show up irrespective, just observing from afar.

"Bait? Isn’t this guy arrogant!" Shen Hanyue snorted, "Provoking you, Princely Heir?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "I’ll go take a look."

"Since it’s bait, you can’t go," Shen Hanyue quickly said.

Meng Yunyin said, "Bait or not, why not go with the ancient masters?"

Strength prevailed, several Spirit Venerables together, even bait could be easily crushed.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "I’ll check from afar, if it’s bait I’d avoid, unlikely involving palace Spirit Venerables."

"Brother-in-law, no need to stand on ceremony," Sun Jing said, "Ancient masters consider you part of the family."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Too many Spirit Venerables might scare them off, who knows what they’ll do next."

"Then..." Meng Yunyin looked at Hu Menghua.

Hu Menghua calmly watched Chu Zhiyuan, "Brother-in-law, you’ve always been prudent, we’ll follow your lead."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "I’ll go take a distant look. If Spirit Venerables are present, I’ll quickly avoid them."

Hu Menghua said, "First contact the ancient masters to prepare for support?"

"No need," Chu Zhiyuan said, "My escape skills are sufficient."

With that, he waved and smiled, "I’ll go take a look, wait a bit, I’ll be back shortly."

With that, he vanished in a flash.