Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1505 - 1501: See Through

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Very well, I’ll first escort you home, Madam."

"I’m going back now?"

"Yes, I found that waiter."

"Then..."

"Didn’t sense that guy." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head and said, "Perhaps he’s concealing his presence nearby, or maybe he’s not here."

"...Husband, be extremely cautious." Xiao Ruoling said softly.

Chu Zhiyuan laughed and said, "Madam, take back the Spirit Shuttle."

A flash appeared before their eyes, and they were already outside, touching the outside air.

The Spirit Shuttle instantly shrank to finger size and she tucked it into her sleeve.

With another flash, the two returned to the small courtyard of the Profound Yin Palace.

The courtyard was lively, filled with chattering voices.

The ladies were chatting away in the courtyard.

Even the composed Hu Menghua was talking endlessly.

Seeing them return, all eyes turned to them.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, nodded, and vanished in a flash.

The ladies quickly surrounded Xiao Ruoling, questioning anxiously, and when they heard the waiter had been found, they discussed again.

The courtyard was bustling once more.

Zhou Qingyu was on the side serving tea and water, skillful and calm.

It was as if she was back at home, back to the scene of patients flooding in and her father working tirelessly.

...

Chu Zhiyuan reappeared in the city and arrived in front of the Chaoyang Restaurant.

He raised his head to gaze.

Under the high-hanging flags, the golden glazed tiles glistened in the sunlight.

Chaoyang Restaurant had four floors, each with a height of ten meters, and the stairs were wide and long.

One floor after another, stretching upwards, seemingly reaching the sky and intimidating to the eye.

Those with weak legs would struggle to climb to the second floor.

To reach the fourth floor, one had to be young and strong, or proficient in Martial Arts.

He used Insight to examine himself.

His appearance had already changed, becoming that of a burly middle-aged man with a lonely expression.

Like someone over fifty yet frustrated and unsuccessful.

The robe on him had become washed out and pale, showing signs of poverty.

His aura had entirely been restrained, not only his Divine Essence but even his Spiritual Essence.

His flesh and skin had become loose, lacking the marks of a Cultivator.

At this moment, he appeared as a non-cultivator.

Slowly, he walked to the fourth floor.

Unlike the noisy first and second floors, the third and fourth floors were suddenly quiet.

The noise from below wafted up, making the surroundings feel even quieter.

The fourth floor had twelve tables in total, each spaced far apart, creating a sense of spaciousness.

At this time, four of the twelve tables were occupied.

He came to a table by the window on the fourth floor and sat down, gesturing.

The waiter was a fresh-faced young man with a celebratory smile that seemed amiable.

Chu Zhiyuan glanced at him, ordered a few dishes, and a jug of wine.

While admiring the hustle and bustle below the street, he watched the busy waiter.

The street was filled with people coming and going, cars flowing continuously, creating a busy and prosperous scene.

He really didn’t know which Heaven this was; it shouldn’t be Biyuan Heaven, nor Glazed Heaven.

The Spirit Shuttle could ignore the boundaries and travel directly within them.

He shook his head, marveling at the wonder of the Spiritual Artifact.

A mouthful of wine entered his mouth, straight into the Jade Sea and Sky within the Lao Gong Acupoint.

Even though he didn’t sense any issue with the wine, he didn’t take the risk.

This mouthful of wine, once it entered the Jade Sea and Sky, was instantly thoroughly comprehended by him.

More profound and meticulous than Super Sense’s Insight.

The wine indeed had a problem.

The reason it could evade danger perception was because it was harmless.

Just a hint of abnormal energy was contained within, and this hint was not threatening, seemingly insignificant.

He drank it all in one go, then poured another cup, and while bowing his head to appreciate the bustling and lively street below, he drank cup after cup.

A jug quickly entered his Jade Sea and Sky entirely, with the abnormal energy gathered together.

Dispersed but not completely scattered, forming like a cloud.

Still no sign of danger.

Chu Zhiyuan got more acquainted and familiar with this energy.

This energy was extraordinarily marvelous, capable of concealing Spiritual Essence.

This was extremely remarkable.

Until now, he had only found Divine Essence to have this effect, no other Spiritual Treasure did.

To conceal Spiritual Essence meant that a Spirit Venerable could hide their energy, undetected by other Spirit Venerables.

Is this the backing behind Song Wantao’s reckless actions?

This strange aura can conceal the Heavenly Mechanism, not being seen by the Donghuan Saint Technique?

He lightly shook his head.

This is not enough; it can obscure the Spiritual Essence, but can’t conceal the Heavenly Mechanism.

He seemed as if he were drunk, looking at the busy waiter with bleary eyes.

His gaze slowly became hollow.

The hollow gaze first looked at his wine cup and jar, then raised his head to look at the waiter, then glanced at the other tables.

Finally, he closed his eyes and drank it all at once.

When he opened his eyes, his gaze had returned to normal, landing on a table.

Three people were sitting at that table, all middle-aged.

They were talking and laughing, eating meat and drinking wine in large gulps, very boldly.

As the wine flowed, their voices grew louder.

Chu Zhiyuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

This waiter was implanted with this strange aura, but the aura in the wine jar was planted by another person.

This person was one of the three middle-aged men, the one laughing heartily.

But he was not Song Wantao.

Chu Zhiyuan’s gaze turned hollow again.

To outsiders, he was leaning on the wine cup with one hand, his face expressionless, his eyes bleary and vacant, already drunk.

Some people don’t show it on their face when they drink. His condition was also normal, not arousing suspicion.

The three people drinking felt something unusual, turned to look, met Chu Zhiyuan’s hollow eyes, shrugged it off as nothing, and continued eating and drinking.

Chu Zhiyuan suddenly swayed, hurriedly sat up straight, and his gaze returned to normal.

He shook his head as if trying hard to stay awake, his gaze clearing and hollowing in turns.

His mind rapidly worked, pondering the current situation.

Through the Donghuan Saint Technique, he saw that the waiter and the middle-aged man were not Song Wantao.

Moreover, they didn’t know Song Wantao, acting purely on impulse.

The waiter didn’t tamper with the wine, and the middle-aged man casually touched the wine jar unintentionally.

Yet the strange aura penetrated the wine jar through his palm, blending into the wine.

All of this happened silently and inexplicably, as if an invisible hand was manipulating.

Chu Zhiyuan vaguely saw a shadow, sensing that aura.

Song Wantao’s aura.

It was Song Wantao manipulating them to perform these actions.

But how did Song Wantao accomplish this?

He thought and thought again, deducing that Song Wantao’s method was this strange aura.

It was likely this strange aura drove them to make these moves.

This strange aura was different from the aura of the women of the Profound Yin Palace, yet had similarities.

Chu Zhiyuan’s heart grew vigilant.

Why did this waiter and the middle-aged man tamper with his wine jar?

They didn’t tamper with others’ wine jars.

Clearly, it was intentionally aimed at him.

Did he expose a flaw?

He considered himself flawless.

No aura at all, his stocky yet not overly strong build signaled someone without cultivation.

Even if he replaced himself, without Super Sense, it would be hard to see through.

How did Song Wantao see through?

He had vaguely guessed before that Song Wantao also possessed a secret technique or spiritual artifact for glimpsing the future.

Now, it seems, he unfortunately predicted correctly.

Song Wantao knew he would come, recognized him, so trapped him.

But if he could see the future, he should know this strange aura was useless against him.

Besides this, what other methods?

He did not underestimate Song Wantao’s methods, his heart cautious, he lazily got up, took a silver ingot from his sleeve, tossed it on the table, and prepared to leave.

No matter what methods, they must keep him here first, and push to see.

He swayed a couple of times, shook his head, trying to stay clear-minded, slowly walking outside.

Gradually approaching the table of three.

The three continued eating meat and drinking wine heartily, ignoring Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan walked, but began heading straight towards them.

The three then looked at Chu Zhiyuan, puzzled.

They saw Chu Zhiyuan lacked Cultivation, appeared dazed, in an unclear state.

A middle-aged man chuckled, "Brother, what’s your business?"

Chu Zhiyuan pointed at the middle-aged man who had moved, "Who are you?"

The middle-aged man was stunned, pointed at himself, "Me—?"

"Yes, you." Chu Zhiyuan widened his eyes, snorted, "What do you want?"

"Do we know each other?" The middle-aged man asked, puzzled.

"You don’t know me?" Chu Zhiyuan snorted, "How forgetful the honorable are!"