Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 164: Chapter 162: The Agreement

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The two women were delighted, then turned to look at Chu Zhiyuan.

Four bright eyes were cast over, seeing Chu Zhiyuan with a seemingly playful smile.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”Miss Xu, I’m afraid you are celebrating too early. I am now an Assistant Minister of Rites and must attend court every day, rarely leaving the capital.”

”Can’t you occasionally come out for some fun?” Xu Yingying said, ”Don’t you esteemed young masters like to go out for spring outings and hunts?”

Chu Zhiyuan replied, ”I don’t like leaving the capital because I find Yujing City more intriguing, with its endless food, entertainment, and excitement. It’s the most prosperous place in the world, so why leave?”

”...Then what do you want?” Xu Yingying asked discontentedly.

Innocent yet astute, she sensed Chu Zhiyuan was trying to drive a hard bargain.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”I have no desire to make things difficult for you, Miss Xu, but it’s indeed impossible for me to leave the capital just for you, which would be time-consuming, exhausting, and somewhat dangerous.”

”What do you want in return?” Xu Yingying squinted at him, pretending to see through his intentions: ”Come on, what would it take for you to help me practice?”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled silently.

”...A Spirit Pill?”

”What kind of Spirit Pills are there?”

”Which type of Spirit Pill do you want?”

”A Spirit Pill that strengthens the meridians,” Chu Zhiyuan said. ”Ordinary Spirit Pills are useless; it must be a third-grade or higher from the Heavenly Treasure Department.”

”You...” Xu Yingying’s big eyes widened further, exclaiming, ”You’re really greedy, asking for third-grade and above!”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”For someone like you, are third-grade and above Spirit Pills not within reach? Besides, are third-grade Spirit Pills as valuable as a Spiritual Pearl?”

”Third-grade Spirit Pills, you have some nerve!” Xu Yingying said irritably, ”Where would I get a third-grade Spirit Pill!”

Chu Zhiyuan remained silent.

”You think we’re like the Court with endless Secret Cave Heavens!”

Chu Zhiyuan’s heart fluttered.

Lacking an abundance of Secret Cave Heavens suggests they do have some. Could it be that the four major Demon Sects also have Secret Cave Heavens?

So there must be at least one.

Xu Yingying snorted, ”Fine, fine, I have only one Heavenly Ganoderma Building Jade Pill.”

Chu Zhiyuan quickly searched his mind for information about this pill but had never heard of it.

”This pill is considered third-grade by the Court, capable of opening and strengthening the meridians, one of the strongest Spirit Pills for Foundation Establishment. You’re lucky to have it!”

”Have you taken it, Miss Xu?”

”Of course,” Xu Yingying said smugly. ”I took one when I was little... but you can only take one, or else there are dire consequences.”

”What consequences?”

”Your meridians will turn to stone, leading to instant death!”

”If you’ve taken a meridian-strengthening Spirit Pill in the past and then use it...”

”That’s not a problem,” Xu Yingying said. ”Otherwise, I wouldn’t be alive now!”

”Has Miss Xu used many Spirit Pills?”

”Obviously, Pills for strengthening meridians, expanding the Dantian, increasing strength and speed, just don’t use those for boosting energy or cultivation, or you’ll never reach Great Grandmaster!”

Chu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow.

”Really? You didn’t know this?” Xu Yingying’s bright eyes widened, ”If you didn’t know, you would be doomed! Unable to become a Great Grandmaster!”

She wanted to see Chu Zhiyuan panic.

Instead, she found Chu Zhiyuan calmly nodding, ”I knew, naturally. I am the Princely Heir! The Fourth Prince of Da Jing!”

Xu Yingying snorted, ”And yet you pretended not to know!”

This obnoxious Princely Heir was mocking her!

”Did you want to see me fail to become a Great Grandmaster? Miss Xu, you’re not as kind as you seem,”

”Nonsense, I’m very kind-hearted!” Xu Yingying refused to admit.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”Since you can only take one, are there any more?”

”You want more meridian-strengthening ones?” Xu Yingying tilted her head and said, ”Are you planning to constantly rely on meridian-strengthening Spirit Pills to break through levels?”

Chu Zhiyuan asked, ”Is that not feasible?”

”It seems you have a way to gather immense power simultaneously, a secret technique to develop a new Dantian?”

”Is there such a secret technique?”

Xu Yingying boasted, ”Our Jiuli Divine Sect has it, but it’s a closely guarded secret!”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled.

Unexpectedly, a technique in the world parallels his Jade Lock Gold Barrier Skill, which uses the Binding Dragon Rope to conceal energy and release it simultaneously.

This Jiuli Divine Sect’s secret technique allows the creation of another Dantian to store energy, which can also be released simultaneously.

Indeed, the world is vast, filled with countless extraordinary talents, and one cannot underestimate its heroes.

Xu Yingying grew even more proud, ”And I’ve mastered it! The last time someone mastered it was three hundred years ago, one of our ancestral masters.”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”Miss Xu, you’re truly a genius.”

”That’s right, I’m the number one genius of the Jiuli Divine Sect.”

”Yingying.” Xu Suying coughed lightly.

Xu Yingying immediately reined in her smugness and said solemnly, ”Alright then, in a month, we’ll meet on the outskirts of the city. I’ll send a message to you.”

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”In a month... we’ll see.”

”See what?”

”If something comes up or there’s another duty, I might not be able to leave,” Chu Zhiyuan said. ”I wouldn’t want you to resent me if I can’t make it.”

”Chu Zhiyuan, you’re so long-winded!” Xu Yingying pouted, humming, and waved her jade hand, ”Until we meet again!”

With that, she turned and left.

Xu Suying smiled gently, ”Fourth Prince, sorry for the disturbance.”

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fists, ”Miss Xu, you’re too polite.”

Xu Suying nodded gently to Song Feiqiong, then departed with Xu Yingying, gracefully fading into the twilight.

Chu Zhiyuan let out a sigh of relief, touched his back, and joked, ”I’m sweating all over; it was terrifying.”

Song Feiqiong laughed, ”That Grandmaster Xu is quite formidable, I’m no match for her.”

”Jiuli Divine Sect...” Chu Zhiyuan said, ”Do you know much about it, Mr. Song?”

”Very little; the four major Demon Sects are very mysterious,” Song Feiqiong said, ”It’s best to have as little contact with them as possible.”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”Unless there are sufficient benefits.”

With my Super Sense, I’ve mastered techniques from the Dragon Subduing Sect, Taiqing Primordial Sect, and Yu Xu Sword Sect that others cannot, so I don’t need to follow the conventional arduous cultivation path.

For me, using cultivation resources to aid in Body Refinement and strengthen the meridians, thereby advancing realms faster, is the best path.

I once thought only the Emperor and I were on this path.

Now it seems Xu Yingying is too.

If the Jiuli Divine Sect has one Xu Yingying, what about the other three major Demon Sects? Perhaps they also harbor such talents and secret skills?

At this moment, he couldn’t help but wonder why the Emperor created the Jade Lock Gold Barrier Skill. It might have been inspired by the Jiuli Divine Sect’s secret techniques.

Yao Yue Palace, Yongling Divine Sect, and Wuyou Sect might all have such magical skills, at least equal to the Jiuli Divine Sect in power.

Standing in the twilight breeze, he thought about the four grand Cave Heavens and four major Secret Lands.

If the Jiuli Divine Sect has a Cave Heaven or Secret Land, then the other three sects probably do too.

So, Da Jing has more than just the four great Cave Heavens and Secret Lands; there are also the four locales of the four major Demon Sects.

Granting them territories is essentially granting them Cave Heavens or Secret Lands, isn’t it?

Their contributions to the Grand Ancestor must have been significant for him to grant them these places, essentially giving them sources of power.

No wonder they’ve remained independent of the Court, not needing its cultivation resources.

He then thought about his fusion with the Miao Ling Pearl, realizing he could serve as a Miao Ling Pearl.

Then, would only Xu Yingying harness it?

That seems unlikely, right?

Could his younger sister Chu Yi use it?

And what about Xiao Ruoling?

Xu Yingying wants to use the effects of the Miao Ling Pearl, while he seeks the method Xu Yingying uses with the Miao Ling Pearl to enable Chu Yi and Xiao Ruoling to use it too.

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