Imperial Cultivation Chapter 1600 - 1596: Breakthrough

Xiao Mingyue finally looked at Chu Zhiyuan and shook her head. "This plan won’t do. It’s too easy for something to go wrong. The relationship between our two sects can’t withstand this kind of tossing."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Does Palace Master have another idea?"

He didn’t refute her, nor did he intend to persuade her.

If Xiao Mingyue felt it was unsuitable, then they’d just switch to another method.

Besides, he could see that Lu Wanshan didn’t much want to use this move either.

Xiao Mingyue said, "The Dao of the Spirit Venerable can only be sought within and cannot be transmitted outward. This has been the saying since ancient times."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Xiao Mingyue’s gaze flowed as she sized him up. "But this doesn’t apply to you."

Chu Zhiyuan couldn’t help but smile. "Palace Master, just speak plainly."

Xiao Mingyue said, "They’re all restless, wanting to rush into the New Cave Heaven to search for an opportunity—a chance to break through. Yet they don’t realize that the greatest opportunity is right before their eyes."

Qi Qingmei said, "Palace Master..."

Xiao Mingyue glanced at her.

Qi Qingmei shook her head.

Xiao Mingyue smiled. "Am I not allowed to speak?"

"Palace Master!" Qi Qingmei said. "This matter is not suited to be talked about too much."

This was the most core secret of the sect; how could it possibly leak out?

She was close to Chu Zhiyuan, yet she had never brought this up.

"Our relationship with Nephew Chu is different. We don’t need to be so taboo. Just say whatever needs saying." Xiao Mingyue said. "Nephew Chu, isn’t that so?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Palace Master wants me to lend them a hand?"

"You can help them, can’t you?" Xiao Mingyue said.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "I’m afraid it’ll be very difficult."

Xiao Mingyue smiled. "Difficult where? As far as I know, your wife from Profound Yin Palace stepped into the Spirit Venerable Realm together with her junior sister."

Chu Zhiyuan gave a small smile. "It requires all sorts of harsh conditions. If it really were that easy, all the seniors within the sect would already have entered Spirit Venerable."

It wasn’t strange that Guanghan Palace knew about Profound Yin Palace.

The Profound Yin Palace, like the Heaven-Reaching Sect, stood aloof, independent of all the various heavens and earths.

Whereas Guanghan Palace was merely rooted in Biyuan Heaven; on the surface, it seemed not as good as Profound Yin Palace.

But Guanghan Palace had extremely deep foundations. For them to obtain information about Profound Yin Palace didn’t really count as strange.

"What harsh conditions?" Xiao Mingyue asked.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "They must trust me enough and completely open their hearts. That alone is enough to block everyone."

Xiao Mingyue lightly knit her brows. "Trust enough... completely open their hearts..."

Qi Qingmei said, "That really is very difficult."

The higher one’s Cultivation and the older one was, the less they could trust others and the more they believed only in themselves.

Chu Zhiyuan was strong, and he had stepped into Spirit Venerable at a very young age.

But that didn’t mean he could make everyone genuinely submit.

Because stepping into Spirit Venerable often required enough luck, and Chu Zhiyuan had had extremely good fortune all the way.

So most people would chalk it up to luck.

They wouldn’t completely set their hearts at ease.

Xiao Mingyue said, "If one can completely open their heart, can they step into Spirit Venerable?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head. "That’s only the first step. After that, it still depends on comprehension. I can only transmit the Realm and insights of the Spirit Venerable through a special method of inheritance, mind-to-mind. But if the other party’s comprehension isn’t enough, then there’s nothing I can do."

Xiao Mingyue said, "Anyone who can reach Venerable Perfection shouldn’t be lacking in comprehension, right?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head. "This kind of comprehension isn’t Martial Arts comprehension, but comprehension of the world. If it’s only comprehension of Martial Arts, it actually makes things worse."

"Comprehension of the world..."

"Curiosity and being moved by all things in heaven and earth, the concept of Unity of Heaven and Man, and so on—all these determine whether the Spirit Venerable can be achieved."

"The concept of Unity of Heaven and Man?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "The human body is a little heaven-and-earth; with the outer heaven-and-earth it was originally one and the same. The inner heaven-and-earth and the outer heaven-and-earth mutually confirm and interact—this is the essence of achieving Spirit Venerable."

The two women were stunned for a moment, then became thoughtful, bright eyes flickering.

Chu Zhiyuan watched them with a slight smile.

The concept of Unity of Heaven and Man actually came from his previous life.

In this world, although Martial Arts were developed and Cultivation theory was deep, the abundance of Spiritual Energy had actually suppressed attention to the external world, causing everyone to focus entirely on themselves instead.

Even if a hint of the concept of Unity of Heaven and Man had sprouted, it had never been deeply expounded.

Chu Zhiyuan, as a Spirit Venerable, had directly pushed Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue into the Spirit Venerable Realm, so they valued his words extremely highly.

Having raised it like this, the two women now pondered carefully, savoring it in detail, rather than letting it breeze past their ears.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "You can walk along this path and explore it yourselves. You may well be able to step into Spirit Venerable."

He looked at Qi Qingmei. "Senior Sister Qi, you’re about to reach Perfection, aren’t you?"

Qi Qingmei nodded. "More or less."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Actually, after Perfection, you don’t necessarily need to keep bitterly cultivating and endlessly accumulating. The key is still in your comprehension of heaven and earth, in pursuing the Dao of Unity of Heaven and Man."

"So you’re saying that after reaching Perfection, continuing to bitterly cultivate isn’t the right path?"

"Exactly." Chu Zhiyuan said. "Once you reach Perfection, you must begin to change your way of thinking. The most crucial thing is this change in concept."

Qi Qingmei nodded thoughtfully, repeating Chu Zhiyuan’s words over and over to herself, making sure she remembered them completely.

Suddenly, Xiao Mingyue closed her bright eyes.

Qi Qingmei was taken aback, looking at her in surprise, then turned her gaze to Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan slowly nodded and sent his voice via Sound Transmission into Secret, "Senior Sister, it looks like the Palace Master has attained insight—she’s about to break through."

"She’s just going to break through like this?" Qi Qingmei was astonished.

She knew how long Xiao Mingyue had been stuck in this Realm, and how much effort she’d spent.

Could it be that just based on a few sentences from Chu Zhiyuan, she had suddenly realized something in her heart and was about to break through into Spirit Venerable?

This was a bit inconceivable.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "The Palace Master was only one step away from the door. I’ve just lightly given her a push."

He vaguely guessed the reason.

Xiao Mingyue had always been comprehending, always experiencing heaven and earth; her direction was correct.

She’d only lacked a bit of summation, and the firmness and confidence.

She trusted Chu Zhiyuan, trusted that he wouldn’t lie to deceive her.

After hearing these few sentences from him, she immediately became steadfast, knowing that her path had not been mistaken. Once the concept of Unity of Heaven and Man struck her, all of her insights were instantly sublimated.

Quantitative change gave rise to qualitative change.

Qi Qingmei said, "Junior Brother, if the Palace Master really achieves Spirit Venerable, then your contribution will be great."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "You throw me a peach, I return a jade, courtesy demands reciprocity. Senior Sister Lu still hasn’t come out of seclusion?"

"She’s still in closed-door bitter cultivation. You stimulated her, and she’s more diligent than ever before."

"Once Senior Sister Lu gets diligent, she’s bound to advance by leaps and bounds."

Qi Qingmei said, "Mm, she really has been advancing by leaps and bounds. She’s likely to surpass me."

She reflected inwardly.

Xiao Lu’s aptitude could be called the absolute pinnacle, number one among all Guanghan Palace Disciples.

Previously, she’d been too fond of playing, her playful nature too strong, always dragging her feet; now, with just a bit of diligence, her Cultivation had been advancing by leaps and bounds.

At this rate of progress, she could also quickly step into Perfection.

More importantly, she trusted and believed in Junior Brother Chu completely.

Once she reached Venerable Perfection, she would be able to, under Chu Zhiyuan’s guidance, step into Spirit Venerable.

That alone was enough to make others envious.

As the two of them spoke, a violent power suddenly surged from Xiao Mingyue’s body.

Qi Qingmei instantly felt it hard to breathe.

Chu Zhiyuan flicked his sleeve and said solemnly, "Senior Sister, carefully sense the Palace Master’s aura."

Qi Qingmei immediately felt an aura envelop her, and the pressure around her loosened.

She regained her breath.

She then tried her hardest to sense the changes in the surrounding aura, staring fixedly at Xiao Mingyue without blinking.

Xiao Mingyue seemed to be growing taller, towering.

In a daze, Qi Qingmei felt as if a mountain peak were rising straight up before her eyes, and in the blink of an eye it reached the clouds, connecting heaven and earth, so that she could only look up to it.

A vast pressure rushed over her, and she even couldn’t help wanting to kneel down.

She felt that she was able to endure it only because of Chu Zhiyuan’s assistance; otherwise she would have already fainted.

She was endlessly moved: So this is the aura of the Spirit Venerable?