Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 456: Chapter 453: Serious Illness

He used his spiritual power to suppress Gao Jiuqu, making him operate within the spiritual domain.

Half a day later, after bidding farewell to Gao Jiuqu, he arrived at his own courtyard.

In the courtyard, Weng Qifeng was practicing martial arts in the front yard, motionless like a piece of dead wood.

Chu Zhiyuan entered silently, and Weng Qifeng didn’t notice.

When Chu Zhiyuan came close, he still didn’t notice.

Chu Zhiyuan stood quietly, watching until Weng Qifeng suddenly opened his eyes.

Seeing Chu Zhiyuan, he exhaled a long breath and said embarrassedly, ”Princely Heir.”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and asked, ”How is it going?”

”Almost there.” Weng Qifeng became excited, his eyes gleaming, ”It won’t take long to reach Great Grandmaster.”

Chu Zhiyuan encouraged him, ”Don’t rush, take your time. You’ve found the path; haste makes waste at this point.”

”Yes.” Weng Qifeng nodded excitedly.

Chu Zhiyuan asked, ”You have the cultivation method for Great Grandmaster, right?”

”Yes,” Weng Qifeng replied, ”once I reach Great Grandmaster, I will continue refining the heart.”

”What realm can you reach by refining the heart to the end?” Chu Zhiyuan asked.

”Nothing exists outside the heart,” Weng Qifeng said, ”They say if you reach the highest realm, when the heart moves, things come into being; when the heart is still, things perish. The life and death of all things rest between a single thought, the movement, and stillness of the heart.”

”That’s impressive,” Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”Has anyone reached that highest realm?”

”As far as I know, not yet,” Weng Qifeng replied, ”Reaching Great Grandmaster is already top-notch.”

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

It seems that the Bright Heart Sect does not have a way to advance further either.

Looking around, it seems the Phoenix Cry Nine Heavens Technique is more reliable. Must one really rely on external forces?

He thought of the Fearless Great Perfection Handprint.

Once the thought arose, he formed the handprint, and a vast power surged forth, directly flooding into the Labor Palace Acupoint of his palms.

The Labor Palace Acupoint stored this vast power.

With a slight thought, he first made all the spiritual energy in the meridians retract back into the Dantian.

Then, he divided a portion of this vast power into the meridians. It traveled from the palms up to the shoulder well, then from the shoulder well up to the brow center.

The power of the Fearless Great Perfection Handprint traveled unimpeded all the way to the brow center, crashing into the Golden Tower, yet easily passed through it.

The Golden Tower seemed to turn into an illusory object, letting the power of the Great Perfection Handprint pass through without any obstruction.

Chu Zhiyuan tried several times, regardless of whether it was a regular cycle or reverse cycle, no matter which route he took, he couldn’t touch the Golden Tower.

He very much wanted to let the power pass through the Dantian, but every time he had this thought, his instincts warned him of danger.

Clearly, the spiritual energy and the power of the Fearless Great Perfection Handprint would clash, leading to a life-and-death battle, bringing calamity upon himself.

This was extremely dangerous.

After trying every possible method, he had to acknowledge one fact: the path of external forces was blocked.

The so-called external forces here were purely external forces, and it was necessary to derive them from oneself.

They needed to be transformed into one’s own power to touch the Golden Tower.

Must one refine the power of the Fearless Great Perfection Handprint with spiritual power?

But spiritual power and this power were as incompatible as fire and water, impossible to integrate.

Refining it was out of the question. They could only stay separate like well water and river water; the power of the Fearless Great Perfection Handprint would forever remain an external power, never becoming one’s own.

He fell into deep thought.

Weng Qifeng was in shock, looking at Chu Zhiyuan in surprise.

Chu Zhiyuan, seeing his expression, knew that he had not left the house or gone out, unaware of his breakthrough to Great Grandmaster.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”Mr. Weng, I just broke through to Great Grandmaster a few days ago.”

”...As expected of the Princely Heir,” Weng Qifeng exclaimed in admiration.

He couldn’t quite describe his feelings at the moment—it was too complex.

For twenty-five years, he had stepped into Grandmaster Perfection, yet after so many years, he still hadn’t fully advanced.

Was this the difference in natural talent?

He considered himself lucky; if it were someone else, they would likely find themselves speechless.

Chu Zhiyuan left with a smile.

He had insight into Weng Qifeng’s changes.

There was a faint hint of the Golden Tower at the brow center, hidden within thick clouds.

Thus, it could be concluded that the Golden Tower originally existed at the brow center, not added later.

The gate to the Great Grandmaster was to dispel the thick fog; once the fog was dispelled, one would step into Great Grandmaster.

But the problem now was, knowing this was useless because the method to dispel the fog might differ for everyone, and it might be a secret technique.

——

When Chu Zhiyuan returned to the Prince Mansion, it was already dusk.

The snow had been mostly cleared, leaving only the rooftops covered in white.

A family of four sat in the front hall eating, talking as they ate.

Chu Zhiyuan’s mood was heavy.

He received a letter from Chu Mingrui, mentioning that he was poisoned.

The poison was peculiar, the Spirit Pill was ineffective, and it lingered hard to cure.

They could only claim externally that it was a severe illness to prevent unrest in the military.

Lately, there were no outings, and no outsiders came close.

The news weighed heavily on Chu Zhiyuan’s heart.

This meant an internal traitor was at work.

And although everyone around Chu Mingrui was trustworthy, there was still a traitor among them.

This was the truly terrifying part.

The Spirit Pill was ineffective, which was another problem.

As Prince Ying, the Da Jing military god, the Heavenly Treasure Department’s Spirit Pills were definitely at his disposal.

If even the first-grade Spirit Pill from the Heavenly Treasure Department was ineffective, it was a major problem.

Great Grandmasters likely also intervened, yet couldn’t eliminate this poison.

Chu Zhiyuan immediately thought of the Wuyou Sect.

The Wuyou Sect excelled in poisoning and could be considered first in detoxification.

But the Emperor and the Wuyou Sect were currently at an impasse; he didn’t know if they’d invited an expert from the Wuyou Sect.

He thought about it, deciding to send over the Detoxification Pearl and also planned to discuss it with Meng Canglan.

If the Wuyou Sect getting involved was useless, they’d invite a Wuyou Sect expert to try.

The poison needed to be neutralized, and the traitor had to be eliminated.

But eliminating the traitor was a troublesome matter.

Bai Ningshuang said, ”I heard from the empress that the tenth prince is ill.”

Chu Minghou wondered, ”The tenth brother has always been strong, how could he fall ill?”

After Grandmaster Perfection, it was almost impossible to get sick.

But if one fell ill, it wouldn’t be easy to recover; often, the illness would be severe.

Bai Ningshuang said, ”Maybe he’s exhausted, he’s carrying the whole Northern Territory himself, and he’s always had a heavy heart.”

”No one to replace him either.” Chu Minghou shook his head helplessly, ”He’s indeed had a hard time.”

”The more capable, the more work; I’ve come to realize, one just can’t be too capable.” Bai Ningshuang lamented, ”The more capable you are, the more the Emperor commands you.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Yi giggled, ”Elder brother is the most capable, could it be he’s replacing the tenth uncle?”

Bai Ningshuang quickly said, ”Your tenth uncle is a General, and your elder brother has never been one, so naturally, he cannot.”

She was most afraid of Chu Zhiyuan going to the battlefield.

The battlefield was different from the Martial Arts world; no matter how strong one’s martial arts were, they were useless on the battlefield.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”Mother, don’t worry. I’m a Great Grandmaster now; I can’t go to the battlefield anymore.”

Bai Ningshuang was relieved, smiling sweetly, ”Who’s afraid of you going to the battlefield... It’s a pity your tenth uncle, so young and already so overworked, learn from this.”

”Understood.”

As they were talking, Feng Xi came in to report that the Great Sect had sent a box over.

Chu Zhiyuan quickly said, ”Bring it to my courtyard.”

He knew it was the Evil Sect Statue stored in the Forbidden Palace Secret Vault, his key in tracing the Evil Sect.

With them, he could sense the masters of the Evil Sect.