Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 267: Chapter 264: Plague

”Why are you here again!” Li Hongzhao came out to meet him, her beautiful face showing no kindness.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”I’m here to see how things are progressing.”

Li Hongzhao snorted, ”It’s a minor issue; there’s no need to make a big fuss. You’re just here to watch the spectacle, aren’t you?”

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”I have a piece of news to share with you.”

Li Hongzhao gestured inside.

The two of them went to a small pavilion in the front courtyard.

Apart from two young maidservants, there was no one else in the courtyard. Even the Grandmaster Su Qiuyan was nowhere to be seen.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”Why is Mr. Su not here?”

Even when Su Qiuyan was not present, he could usually sense her presence, knowing where she was.

But this time, within a radius of five hundred meters, Su Qiuyan was genuinely absent.

This was indeed rare.

As Li Hongzhao’s guard, she should be inseparable from her, never leaving easily.

Normally, no one would dare to harm the Princess, but what if there was a master or grandmaster from an Evil Sect?

One can never underestimate the destructive power of these Evil Sects.

If something unfortunate happened to the Princess, no amount of revenge afterward could bring her back to life.

Moreover, the Evil Sects don’t care about revenge from the Imperial Family; the more they retaliate, the more excited they get, unfathomable.

”How do you know Mr. Su is not here?” Li Hongzhao glared at him, ”Alright then, let’s get to the point.”

Chu Zhiyuan speculated that Su Qiuyan probably went to investigate that matter, and then he spoke about the situation in Xunzhou City.

Li Hongzhao’s face darkened, ”Lu Yaofeng’s Cave Mansion has been exposed?”

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, ”Besides you, who else knows about Lu Yaofeng’s Cave Mansion?”

Li Hongzhao slowly shook her head.

After reading that travelogue, she remained silent, and hardly anyone paid attention to such ancient books anymore.

She was secretly investigating and finally confirmed that Lu Yaofeng’s Cave Mansion was near Yujing City.

For over a thousand years, no one mentioned Lu Yaofeng’s Cave Mansion, and few even knew of Lu Yaofeng.

Now, someone has mentioned Lu Yaofeng’s Cave Mansion.

She stared at Chu Zhiyuan intently.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”It didn’t leak from my side. I’ve never mentioned anything about the Cave Mansion.”

”You must have had someone investigate Lu Yaofeng, right?”

”⋯⋯”

”So maybe it’s your side that leaked, something went wrong on your end.”

”⋯⋯ This matter isn’t simple. Once it’s spread, it’s hard to quell.”

”They can’t possibly find it in Xunzhou City.”

”If they can’t find it in Xunzhou City, then could it be somewhere else?” Chu Zhiyuan snorted, ”Don’t underestimate the people of the world.”

”⋯⋯” Li Hongzhao thought for a moment, ”Then we need to speed up, lest someone else gets ahead of us.”

She hadn’t expected the matter to escalate like this; it was originally just a bait for eliminating Chu Zhiyuan, but now it’s growing out of control.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, ”We can’t rush either. If we don’t first uncover the troubles, what if we’re struck from behind?”

Li Hongzhao furrowed her slender brows and slowly nodded.

That made sense as well.

But it’s not easy to find out who swapped the Detoxification Pearl, and Mr. Su hasn’t found anything yet.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”Are you sure you don’t want my help? It’s not like the past now; don’t let someone else take the lead.”

”⋯⋯ No need.” Li Hongzhao snorted.

Since it wasn’t used before, she wanted to hold it together.

The more enthusiastic he became, the less she could agree.

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, ”Then let’s leave it at that. This matter of Lu Yaofeng’s Cave Mansion leaking should also be investigated.”

”You don’t need to tell me, I’ll naturally look into it,” Li Hongzhao snorted.

⋯⋯

Chu Zhiyuan met with the Grandmaster Chu Qingyan at the Sect Martial Department.

Seeing him, Chu Qingyan’s stern face immediately turned cheerful, ”Yuan’er, what brings you here?”

Chu Zhiyuan recounted the events.

Chu Qingyan furrowed his brow, ”These officials, occupying their posts without doing their jobs, deserve to be executed!”

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Because of their incompetence and facade, they missed the best time to suppress, causing more deaths.

Many of them were innocently caught up, becoming collateral damage.

”The Great Grandmaster going there? To investigate what?”

”Uncle Gong, we need to find out who is behind this and what they intend to do.”

”Do you think it’s the Yuding Sect and the Secret Shadow Sect?”

Chu Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment and said softly, ”The Yuding Sect and the Secret Shadow Sect don’t have such capabilities, it doesn’t seem like it’s the Evil Sect’s method.”

From the beginning, he ruled out the Yuding Sect and the Secret Shadow Sect.

As for the Yuding Sect, being straightforward, even the Secret Shadow Sect, they seem to act mysteriously, should behave this way.

In fact, the Secret Shadow Sect doesn’t change their Evil Sect nature, they are just adept at hiding in the shadows for assassinations, their martial arts are insidious but not deceitful, rather bold and reckless.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be helping the Yuding Sect.

The Yuding Sect wouldn’t trust them either.

”If it’s not the Evil Sect, then is it Da Meng?”

”Doesn’t seem like Da Meng either.”

”Then who is it?” Chu Qingyan was curious, ”Feel free to speak out, so I can have a direction.”

”Who does Uncle Gong think it might be?”

”Alright, Yuan’er, your old uncle doesn’t have as sharp a mind as yours, just tell me!”

”I think, it’s probably the Wuyou Sect.” At this, Chu Zhiyuan used Sound Transmission into Secret.

”Hmm—?!” Chu Qingyan’s expression slightly changed.

He turned to look in the direction of the Imperial Palace, lowering his voice, ”Yuan’er, don’t act recklessly!”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, continuing to use Sound Transmission into Secret, ”After thinking it over, the only possibility for leakage is when investigating Lu Yaofeng’s woman, it might have been detected. Other links shouldn’t have had issues, and even if they did, not this quickly.”

Chu Qingyan also used Sound Transmission into Secret, ”Though the Wuyou Sect’s actions are unconventional, they wouldn’t do such a thing.”

”Sending a Great Grandmaster to investigate should clarify.”

”... Alright, I’ll assign a Great Grandmaster to conduct an investigation.”

”Thank you, Uncle Gong!”

”You...” Chu Qingyan smiled, ”You truly have the makings of taking responsibility, too bad your ambitions aren’t here.”

In terms of cleverness and acumen, Chu Zhiyuan was the most outstanding among the officials he had seen, unmatched by anyone.

The Court most lacks not the competent, but exceptional talents like him who transcend mundanity.

But his ambitions lie in cultivation, and he only occasionally pays attention to court affairs, mostly focused on his own cultivation.

This was understandable.

Once reaching Grandmaster, with no further progress possible, he’d naturally want to find something to pass the long time.

He could either find something to do in the Grandmaster Mansion, or guard the Four Great Grotto Heavens and Four Great Secret Lands.

Actually, the two groups take turns, often one group rotates for a year.

As a Princely Heir, he could directly hold a position in the Court, become an Assistant Minister or even Chief of Staff.

By then, it would be a blessing for the Court.

Becoming Emperor wouldn’t be bad either.

But being the Emperor of Da Jing isn’t so easy, for now, the hope still leans towards Prince Ying.

⋯⋯

Chu Zhiyuan returned to the Listening Waves Courtyard, continuing his cultivation and refining, constantly running the Sword Nourishing Technique.

The Refining Membrane of the Fifth Layer unknowingly reached Perfection.

The Refining Tendons of the Sixth Layer of the Dragon Transformation Technique also began.

The golden aura of the Dragon Transformation Technique infused into the tendons between the bones, making each large tendon robust, allowing the power of the bones to be quickly transmitted and unleashed.

This further enhanced his speed and strength.

Feeling the intensified power, he was satisfied and more inclined to focus on cultivation.

When becoming engrossed, time would pass particularly fast.

It seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and three days had gone by.

On the evening of the third day, he went to the Sect Martial Department and met with Chu Qingyan.

Chu Qingyan’s serious expression indicated with a wave.

The two of them entered a secret chamber in the Sect Martial Department.

Seeing his expression, Chu Zhiyuan knew things were as he suspected, indeed it was the doing of the Wuyou Sect.

The ten-meter square chamber was clean, with only a bed and a table, nothing else.

Sounds from outside were blocked, silent enough to hear breathing.

”Indeed, it was done by disciples of the Wuyou Sect.” Chu Qingyan said slowly.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned, ”What is the Wuyou Sect trying to achieve?”

”And the situation is more severe than you know.”

”Hmm—?”

”Those disciples of the Wuyou Sect also poisoned, spreading a plague through those who died.”

”A plague? Are they crazy?”

”Indeed crazy.” Chu Qingyan couldn’t understand, ”Only lunatics would do such a thing!”

Chu Zhiyuan frowned and said, ”Isn’t this joining the Evil Sect?”