Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1539 - 1535: Advancement

Li Hongzhao watched him walk away cleanly and decisively, gave a soft snort, and her face blossomed into a smile.

To achieve Becoming Spirit Venerable and not go find Xiao Ruoling to reminisce was like wearing brocade at night where no one could see.

The senior sisters in the Phoenix Secret Realm had long since grown used to her talent, at most they’d praise her twice and treat it as nothing out of the ordinary.

Xiao Ruoling was different.

Her smile was like flowers in bloom, and she happily pictured the scene of meeting Xiao Ruoling again.

"Master." She suddenly sensed something, and turned her head toward the outside of the cave.

Song Chaoge approached with light steps, as if walking on lotus blossoms drifting over water.

"What’s with you...?" The moment she stepped in, she felt something was off.

Li Hongzhao smiled smugly.

"You really advanced to Spirit Venerable?" Song Chaoge sized her up from head to toe: "You little girl, your luck is too good!"

Li Hongzhao smiled sweetly and said, "Master, it’s because I worked hard at Cultivation."

"Hey!" Song Chaoge half-laughed, half-snorted in exasperation.

Her gaze fell on the Little Demon Suppression Divine Tree beside them: "Without it, could you have advanced this fast?"

Li Hongzhao said with a smile, "Master, we don’t need to guard this place anymore, just drop by and take a look from time to time."

Song Chaoge snorted, "So it really is aiding your Cultivation. You’ve made yourself a good friend!"

She very quickly understood just how great the Little Demon Suppression Divine Tree’s assistance to Li Hongzhao was.

Yet she kept her lips sealed.

Now that Li Hongzhao had achieved Becoming Spirit Venerable, she’d stepped into the top echelon of the Phoenix Secret Realm, and all sorts of miscellaneous voices naturally faded away.

"Master, he just left. He said the place to the north is very dangerous, going there is just going to your death."

"That dangerous?"

Li Hongzhao said, "Master, do you want to inform those three branches, remind them, so they don’t go over and throw away their lives?"

"...Mm, we should give them a warning." Song Chaoge nodded. "Exactly how dangerous?"

Li Hongzhao said, "According to him, it’s not something we can handle. Death is certain."

"What’s there that could be that terrifying?" Song Chaoge said solemnly.

She didn’t know the full extent of Chu Zhiyuan’s abilities, only felt they were unfathomably deep.

If even he said so, then it was absolutely an extremely dangerous place, not suitable to approach.

"He didn’t say. Only said not to go near."

"...I’ll go tell them." Song Chaoge slowly nodded, her expression heavy.

Seeing Song Chaoge leave, Li Hongzhao shook her head with a smile.

Though her master was the lord of the Phoenix Secret Realm, widely experienced and able to see through people’s hearts...

She still retained a bit of innocence in her bones, really treating those three branches as part of the family.

She had no idea that’s not how they saw it at all—they wanted to fight to the death.

Hopefully those fellows can recognize Master’s good intentions and not be so greedy.

Otherwise, that would be bringing disaster upon themselves, and they’d have no one else to blame.

...

Chu Zhiyuan appeared in his own small courtyard within Profound Yin Palace.

By now the sun was already setting in the west.

The courtyard was stained red.

Zhou Qingyu was alone, practicing fists on the small Martial Arts Training Ground before the flower beds.

White True Qi misted around her entire body, like she stood inside a steamer.

Her movements were slow and smooth; her punches were soundless, and her steps light as a civet cat.

With the flow of her fists, the white Qi gushed out even denser, almost drowning her figure, making her silhouette indistinct.

Chu Zhiyuan silently appeared inside the small pavilion, quietly watching her.

Externally she seemed gentle, but inside she was fierce; the Heavenly Five Mysterious Techniques’ True Qi was surging like a great river, endlessly washing through her Meridians and flushing her internal organs.

With each pass, her Meridians and organs grew a little stronger.

The increasingly thick white mist wrapped around her like a white cocoon.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded lightly.

She was gradually entering a wonderful state, truly practicing deep into it; Zhou Qingyu’s talent was indeed astonishing.

He took out a bowl of water from his sleeve, merging Super Sense and Divine Essence into the water.

The Divine Eye opened at once.

...

"Hoo—!"

With the soft whistle, the dense white Qi began to surge and whirl, forming a vortex that rapidly drilled into Zhou Qingyu’s clothes.

In the blink of an eye, the space around her was clean and clear, not a wisp of white Qi remaining.

She opened her bright eyes, radiant with light.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and nodded.

"Master!" She walked into the pavilion and poured tea for Chu Zhiyuan. "Can I go home today?"

"Missing home so much you can’t hold back?" Chu Zhiyuan said.

Zhou Qingyu let out a helpless sigh.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Then let’s go, we’ll go take a look."

"But..." Zhou Qingyu hesitated.

She wanted badly to go back, to step into her own family’s courtyard, return to that cramped side room of hers, listen to her mother and father’s nagging, and scold her naughty little brother.

But she knew it wasn’t suitable to go back right now; she might invite disaster upon them.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "As your master, I can protect your family now."

Zhou Qingyu’s bright eyes immediately widened. "Really?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Come on, let’s go and see."

Upon stepping into Fifth Transitions, his spiritual power had skyrocketed by a huge margin, and was still surging upward.

So when the Divine Eye observed Song Wantao again, everything was already crystal clear; all the fog had dispersed.

That Treasure could no longer shield her; he had seen it clearly.

It posed no threat to Zhou Qingyu’s family.

"Thank you, Master!" Zhou Qingyu shouted in excitement.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "Then let’s go."

"I’ll go tell Mistress and Aunt Shen." Zhou Qingyu cheered and ran out.

She had just reached the door when the courtyard gate opened and Shen Hanyue and Xiao Ruoling walked in.

She immediately ran over and shouted happily, "Mistress, Auntie, I can go home tonight!"

"You can go back tonight?" Shen Hanyue exclaimed in surprise. "It’s alright now?"

She looked toward Chu Zhiyuan. "Princely Heir, you can deal with that fellow now?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile.

Xiao Ruoling gave him a once-over, then pursed her lips with a smile. "Looks like you’ve made further progress."

Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile, "This time the gains in the New Cave Heaven were immense. I’ve advanced another First Transition. Madam, let me lend you a hand."

"Me—?" Xiao Ruoling said. "My accumulation isn’t deep enough. I still need some time before considering a breakthrough."

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head with a smile and stretched out his hand.

Xiao Ruoling glanced sideways at Shen Hanyue and Zhou Qingyu, then shot him a reproachful look.

Chu Zhiyuan couldn’t help but chuckle, and extended his hand again.

Xiao Ruoling had no choice but to offer her jade-like hand, letting him clasp it.

Her vision suddenly blurred.

In an instant she appeared in a stretch of Void, in an ethereal, vast heaven and earth, the world before her shrouded in chaos.

Suddenly, a white light cleaved through the chaos of the world; the clear rose and the murky sank, and heaven and earth were formed.

Then came mountains and rivers, trees and birds and beasts.

...

Shen Hanyue and Zhou Qingyu watched her stand motionless, curiosity overflowing.

Seeing tears well up in her bright eyes, they grew even more curious.

Very soon Xiao Ruoling’s face was streaming with tears, and the aura around her body was surging wildly.

Shen Hanyue’s eyes immediately widened, and she forcefully suppressed the urge to cry out.

Senior Sister Xiao and she were already at Nine Transitions Perfection, with nowhere further to go.

For her aura to suddenly swell like this, it could only mean a great leap in cultivation, which could only be Spirit Venerable.

Chu Zhiyuan released her jade hand and nodded in satisfaction.

The Heaven-Reaching Spirit Talisman truly had boundless wondrous uses.

Through this talisman, he passed to Xiao Ruoling what he had seen when he observed the Divine Language.

The marvel of the Divine Language lay in this—it could directly transmit images and scenes, not just words.

Only the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Talisman could accurately and fully convey the information carried by the Divine Language to Xiao Ruoling.

Chu Zhiyuan was not entirely certain whether Xiao Ruoling would be sufficiently moved, whether she would gain enough insight.

But Xiao Ruoling’s comprehension and luck were both excellent; with a single impact, she directly pushed herself into Becoming Spirit Venerable.

Shen Hanyue hurriedly looked at Chu Zhiyuan and used Sound Transmission into Secret: "Princely Heir, has Senior Sister... become Spirit Venerable?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Shen Hanyue’s eyes lit up, staring at Xiao Ruoling with fiery excitement she could barely contain.

Zhou Qingyu grinned.

Shen Hanyue was squeezing her hand hard enough to nearly crush it, and she quickly jolted it.

Only then did Shen Hanyue snap out of it, hurriedly releasing her grip, lifting Zhou Qingyu’s hand to blow on it, and said softly, "I got carried away."

Zhou Qingyu shook her head.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Hanyue, you come as well."

Shen Hanyue lowered her voice in haste. "Princely Heir, can I become Spirit Venerable too?"

"We’ll see what fortune you yourself have." Chu Zhiyuan said. "Open your heart and don’t resist."

As he spoke, his left hand rested on her right shoulder, and the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Talisman flared to life once more.