Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1506 - 1502: Tracing Back

"Who exactly are you?" The middle-aged man glared at him angrily.

Chu Zhiyuan burst into laughter.

The other two middle-aged men hesitated.

They felt that Chu Zhiyuan indeed recognized their friend, and his demeanor didn’t seem fake.

More importantly, Chu Zhiyuan was not someone who practiced martial arts, so he posed no real threat.

It was likely that their friend had simply forgotten him.

Their friend’s memory was notoriously poor, often forgetting things, losing track of time, and it was quite normal.

The two men cupped their fists and smiled, "Friend, friend, may we know your esteemed name?"

Chu Zhiyuan snorted, "The one named Wu, don’t you know who I am?"

The two men’s smiles widened.

That confirmed it; he even knew their friend’s last name.

The man with the surname was also half-convinced, glaring at Chu Zhiyuan, "You..."

The three of them had been speaking without mentioning surnames, addressing each other by courtesy names.

For him to mention the surname Wu, it was clear he recognized their friend.

Chu Zhiyuan snorted, patting the shoulder of the middle-aged man, "It’s true that important people often forget things, really forgetful... heh, I’m such a nobody, not worth remembering for sure."

He shook his head and stepped aside, staggering as he walked out.

"Hey, you!" The middle-aged man called out in dissatisfaction, "Who exactly are you?"

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand without turning back, "Then just leave it be, forgotten means forgotten, let’s pretend we never met."

As he spoke, he was already staggering towards the stairs, supporting himself as he descended, his figure gradually disappearing.

The middle-aged man looked displeased, his face sour, "That guy, so inexplicable!"

"Let it go, Yuanshan, you forgot about him first, it’s understandable he’s a bit peeved." Another middle-aged man patted his shoulder, consoling, "Next time you meet, maybe you’ll remember."

The other man chuckled, "If it were me, I’d be upset too, he remembers you but you don’t remember him, probably an acquaintance too."

"Impossible!" The man surnamed Wu shook his head, "If it were a real acquaintance, there’s no way I’d forget."

"Heh heh..."

The two men laughed.

Their friend’s memory wasn’t as reliable as he claimed, sometimes even when meeting them, he couldn’t recall their names right away.

Chu Zhiyuan walked out of the tavern, glanced around, and merged into the bustling crowd.

He walked slowly, swaying, appearing as if he might fall at any moment, yet he never did.

Super Sense was illuminating all around, with the waiter and Wu Yuanshan as the center, expanding layer by layer.

It expanded to a radius of twenty miles, not ruling out the possibility of Song Wantao observing from afar.

Meanwhile, within the Jade Sea and Sky, an aura diffused in the air, constrained by an invisible force, unable to fully disperse.

This aura came from Wu Yuanshan.

Through physical contact, a strand of Divine Essence drilled into his body, enclosing the aura returning to the Jade Sea and Sky.

If Super Sensing Illumination couldn’t work, then Divine Essence did, gathering it into the Jade Sea, comprehending it through the Jade Sea and Sky.

Being inside the Jade Sea meant entering his world, his domain.

Within this area, he was omniscient, fully aware.

The strange energy that had entered his body was different from the abnormal energy inside Wu Yuanshan.

Just like how the abnormal energy entering his body differed from that on the ladies.

Through the Jade Sea and Sky, he realized these different abnormal energies were actually transformations of the same source of abnormal energy.

The so-called myriad transformations, not straying from the root.

He traced it back to its root in the Jade Sea, attempting to capture its origin.

In the Jade Sea and Sky, four clusters of aura twisted and shifted, as if coming to life.

The reddish-brown cluster originated from Xiao Ruoling and them.

The pure white aura came from himself.

The dark green aura was from Wu Yuanshan.

The last faint purple aura came from the waiter in the tavern.

The red-brown, pure white, dark green, and faint purple auras continuously twisted, as if they had come to life.

With each twist, a strand of black thread floated out from them.

Resembling a long strand of green silk.

The four strands of green silk intertwined in the air, merging into one, yet seemingly just joined together, the lengths summed, the thickness unchanged.

It hovered motionlessly in the air, like a dead object.

But it couldn’t escape Chu Zhiyuan’s insight within the Jade Sea and Sky.

This strand of green silk was extremely peculiar.

It was immensely spiritual and possessed a unique quality.

It appeared real, yet was between real and illusory.

If touched by hand, it was a shadow, impossible to grasp.

If touched with Primordial Energy or True Essence Spirit Yuan, it could be felt.

Yet even when felt, its existence couldn’t be sensed.

This strange object was something Chu Zhiyuan had never encountered before.

Driven by curiosity, he constantly delved deeper, tracing it further.

While he was walking down the street, swaying in the crowd, as he turned into an alley, he suddenly disappeared.

The next moment, he appeared in the Heaven-Reaching Sect.

Inside the Tongtian Hall, Zhang Ji Yuan and Ning Dongge were about to sit cross-legged.

Seeing Chu Zhiyuan suddenly appear, they didn’t sit down, but approached him.

Zhang Ji Yuan scrutinized him and smiled, "Junior Brother, what are you busy with?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, cupping his fists, "Just busying myself aimlessly, what about you, Senior Brother?"

"Heh, we went out for a stroll, to unwind," Zhang Ji Yuan laughed, "How’s Little Qingyu doing?"

"Progressing quite fast." Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "She might catch up with you someday."

Zhang Ji Yuan seemed unconcerned, "That doesn’t matter, if we can’t advance to Spirit Venerable, she’ll catch up eventually."

Ning Dongge said, "Has there been any trouble recently? You seem in a rush, something urgent?"

"Yes, a bit of trouble."

Chu Zhiyuan sighed.

He recounted his recent troubles.

He always trusted these two brothers, and after all, they had lived long enough, with ample experience.

No matter how meticulously he thought things through, he realized gaps existed, while Xiao Ruoling and others, being Profound Yin Palace disciples, had limited perspectives.

Their mindset as Heaven-Reaching Sect disciples was different.

"Forget Sorrow Valley..." Ning Dongge’s face darkened, "Forget Sorrow Valley is quite troublesome."

Zhang Ji Yuan snorted, "I think they just need to be taught a lesson, give them a good beating and they’ll behave... they’re always like this, getting arrogant from time to time, a suppression can keep them quiet for a few years."

"Senior Brothers Ning and Zhang, do you know the background of this Song Wantao?"

"Song Wantao... seems like we haven’t heard much about him."

"Junior Brother, if this guy is so troublesome, why not let a few Grandmasters handle him?"

"Yes, if he’s truly this troublesome, don’t handle it alone."

"Finding him isn’t easy." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "He possesses miracle techniques, concealing energy signatures."

"That’s indeed a problem." Zhang Ji Yuan frowned, stroking his jaw, "Forgetting Sorrow Valley’s evil demons, even if you wiped out the whole Forget Sorrow Valley, you might not force him out, let alone, Forget Sorrow Valley’s location keeps shifting, hard to find."

Ning Dongge nodded, "Forget Sorrow Valley is difficult to track, otherwise, it would have been destroyed long ago... Therefore, this Song Wantao truly is a major nuisance."

Chu Zhiyuan slowly nodded.

Ning Dongge said, "Ask the Sect Master if there’s a spiritual artifact designed for such situations."

Chu Zhiyuan’s spirits lifted, "There’s such an artifact?"

"Only by asking the Sect Master." Ning Dongge said, "Don’t worry if the Sect Master is in seclusion, go directly to him."

Zhang Ji Yuan said, "Indeed, such a person poses too great a threat, especially targeting you from the shadows, must be eliminated, let’s find the Sect Master."

So the three of them went to the main hall behind the Heaven-Reaching Hall and knocked on the hall door, meeting Sect Master Lu Tiancheng.

Lu Tiancheng’s originally white hair had begun to turn black, from silver hair to grizzled.

He suddenly appeared much younger.

Chu Zhiyuan speculated he must be practicing some sort of life-extending secret technique.

Heaven-Reaching Sect truly lived up to its reputation, possessing miracle techniques unimaginable to outsiders.

"Able to hide Spirit Venerable’s aura..."

Lu Tiancheng’s expression became solemn as he stroked his mixed white and black beard, pacing in the hall.

Chu Zhiyuan and the other two watched him intently.