Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 190: Chapter 188: Secrets

Xiao Ruoling saw her smile and couldn’t help but smile back.

Her mentor was too stern.

Her beautiful face was always tense, rarely smiling, which made people inexplicably nervous and pressured.

Could this be because of practicing the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman Technique?

Would she become like this in the future?

Thinking of this made her inexplicably anxious, feeling it was too terrifying.

But when she thought of Chu Zhiyuan, she felt much more at ease.

With his Qionghua Nine Chapters Record to harmonize, her current Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman Technique was gentle and peaceful, no longer as cold as before.

As her aura changed, her whole being transformed.

Her mood brightened, and her complexion became rosy.

Her skin still maintained the lustrous and crystal-like quality of mutton fat jade but with a touch of rosy color, white with a hint of red.

Zeng Yuan praised her good fortune.

With the Qionghua Nine Chapters Record, she had more confidence in competing for the Saintess position.

”Master, what kind of heavenly treasures are there in our secret land?”

”Heavenly treasures...” Zeng Yuan took a white towel from a nearby palace maid and wiped her forehead. ”There are quite a few, what are you looking for?”

Xiao Ruoling smiled and said, ”What do you think, Master, which one should I look for?”

”You practice the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman Technique, untouched by worldly desires, so these heavenly treasures don’t have much effect on you. The best would be the Qionghua Nine Chapters Record.”

Xiao Ruoling’s deep and bright eyes flickered.

Zeng Yuan looked at her and shook her head, ”You really are lucky. Do you know why the Qionghua Nine Chapters Record was lost?”

”Wasn’t it because the palace no longer wanted to recruit male disciples?”

”It’s not that we don’t want to; even if we recruit them, it’s futile.” Zeng Yuan snorted, ”These insider details are kept secret; don’t spread them around.”

”Yes,” Xiao Ruoling said.

”Don’t even tell your Princely Heir.”

”...Yes.”

”Yao Yue Palace lost face, and you would lose face too,” Zeng Yuan said. ”Like how the Duke An Mansion has a bad reputation, you would also be looked down upon, even by your husband.”

”He wouldn’t.”

”Isn’t he human?” Zeng Yuan snorted, ”People tend to flatter and trample; it’s human nature, more or less. Some just disguise it better.”

Xiao Ruoling did not refute.

However, in her heart, she disagreed.

She thought that Chu Zhiyuan, being proud and arrogant, wouldn’t care whether the Yao Yue Palace was strong or weak, whether the Duke An Mansion was strong or weak.

With the situation of the Prince Qing Mansion, he remained unperturbed, calm and composed.

This came from his unwavering confidence in himself.

Zeng Yuan shook her head, ”When you’re young, you think the person you love is perfect, without knowing everyone has flaws. Nobody is that perfect; it’s just being infatuated, blinded by love.”

Xiao Ruoling laughed, ”Master, were you also infatuated?”

”After practicing the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman Technique, no man in this world could make my heart flutter.”

”But Master, I’ve also practiced the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman Technique.”

Yet, she was deeply moved by the Princely Heir, feeling as if he shone, standing there overshadowing everyone else.

”That’s why I say you’re lucky.” Zeng Yuan snorted, ”You encountered him before entering the stage of Grandmaster, and with him mastering the Qionghua Nine Chapters Record, there have been only a handful of disciples in the history of Yao Yue Palace with such fortune.”

”Our palace originally had the Qionghua Nine Chapters Record inheritance.”

”Does having the inheritance mean you can master it?” Zeng Yuan snorted, ”Naive! ... The reason we don’t recruit male disciples is that they all prove to be useless, only disgracing our Yao Yue Palace.”

Xiao Ruoling slowly nodded, ”Unable to master the Qionghua Nine Chapters Record, without any other top-class techniques to practice, they were cast aside...”

”Ruoling!” Zeng Yuan glared at her.

Xiao Ruoling smiled sheepishly, ”Slip of the tongue.”

She understood why Yao Yue Palace no longer recruited male disciples.

The Qionghua Nine Chapters Record could only be practiced by men, but the male disciples who were recruited couldn’t master it, and they couldn’t practice any other top martial arts of the Yao Yue Palace.

As a result, these male disciples found themselves in an awkward position.

So they simply stopped recruiting male disciples to avoid any word that the female disciples of Yao Yue Palace couldn’t do without men, tarnishing the palace’s reputation.

Zeng Yuan snorted, ”The ones recruited back then were all geniuses, but mastering the Qionghua Nine Chapters Record was almost impossible, only he managed it.”

The entire Imperial Family knew of Chu Zhiyuan’s unparalleled insight, rare in the world.

Since the creation of the Jade Lock Gold Barrier Skill, he’s been the only one to truly master it.

Others only somewhat grasped it, never truly mastering it.

His progress was so rapid it reached an unfathomable degree, yet it was not unfathomable.

Xiao Ruoling couldn’t help but smile.

Zeng Yuan secretly shook her head.

Among all the previous disciples of Yao Yue Palace who mastered the Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman Technique, none fell into love like her.

”Master, I’ve heard there’s Sky-reaching Grass in the secret land?”

”Sky-reaching Grass... hmm, there is,” Zeng Yuan said. ”Why, do you intend to get the Sky-reaching Grass for him?”

”I’ve heard it works wonders in strengthening meridians, with some becoming a Great Grandmaster because of it.”

”That’s not wrong.”

Xiao Ruoling was instantly invigorated.

Zeng Yuan said, ”But he only knows someone became a Great Grandmaster after taking Sky-reaching Grass and not that this Great Grandmaster eventually committed suicide.”

”Ah—?”

”It’s best not to touch the Sky-reaching Grass,” Zeng Yuan said, ”Each Great Grandmaster has a harmonious and carefree mental state, but that founding master was the only one who committed suicide.”

”Was there another reason?”

”He stayed in seclusion day after day, reportedly living in extreme pain, worse than death until he finally ended his suffering.”

Xiao Ruoling’s face slightly changed.

”Some spiritual medicine can be taken to aid cultivation, but this aid must be within one’s capacity, otherwise...” Zeng Yuan shook her head. ”Any power beyond oneself is liable to spiral out of control, and uncontrolled power will ultimately kill oneself.”

”Yes,” Xiao Ruoling said solemnly.

”Of course, he cannot be judged by ordinary standards,” Zeng Yuan said.

Xiao Ruoling said, ”So, I’ll see if I can find the Sky-reaching Grass.”

Whether to take it, how to take it, and whether a way to mitigate the dangers of Sky-reaching Grass can be found will all be left to Chu Zhiyuan to decide.

”You may try,” Zeng Yuan said. ”There are quite a few Sky-reaching Grass in the secret land, and anyone vying for the Saintess position knows this secret. Outsiders don’t know, they naively think Sky-reaching Grass is a great spirit grass to treasure.”

Xiao Ruoling slowly nodded, ”He heard this news from the Nine Princess of Da Meng and felt it couldn’t be ignored.”

”Da Meng has always been eager to glean information of Da Jing, and being one of the Four Great Sects, it’s not surprising they know this. But she certainly doesn’t know the dangers of the Sky-reaching Grass.”

Yao Yue Palace could never penetrate Da Meng with spies.

”So you’re saying the Ninth Princess didn’t mean any harm?”

”This Ninth Prince, well, it’s hard to say,” Zeng Yuan pondered, ”he’s full of tricks, so it’s better to be cautious.”

Xiao Ruoling completely agreed, pondering, ”Last time...”

She spoke about Li Hongzhao’s previous intrigue against Cheng Tianfeng, which made Zeng Yuan purse her lips, a cold smile at the corners of her mouth. ”The Cheng Family, each one of them is a notorious lecher. If they weren’t talented enough, the Da Zhen dynasty would have changed surnames long ago!”

Xiao Ruoling showed a look of disgust.

Her dislike for Cheng Tianfeng was immense.

Zeng Yuan said, ”Able to contend evenly with this Ninth Prince, your Princely Heir is not simple.”

Xiao Ruoling immediately smiled.

Her deep eyes shone bright, envisioning obtaining the Sky-reaching Grass.

At this time, Chu Zhiyuan, however, sat solemnly in a room of the Inspection Department, listening to Ma Tianhe speak about the Princely Heir of Da Lie.