Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 528: Chapter 525: Stone Attack

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Chu Zhiyuan gazed with Insight, yet everything appeared blurry and indistinct.

It was as if shrouded in mist or viewed through rippling lake water.

The scene inside the valley was twisted and unclear.

He focused intently.

Faintly visible was a towering golden statue.

It stood as tall as the mountain walls, over thirty meters, imposing and grand.

It faced the valley entrance, gazing solemnly down at the entrance.

On its left and right were two more golden statues, each half its height.

Their faces identical, but their expressions varied: joy and anger on the left, sorrow and pleasure on the right.

Chu Zhiyuan continued using Insight as he spoke softly with Xu Haode.

”This is an heirloom from our ancestors,” Xu Haode said indifferently, waving his hand. ”There used to be seven of them, called the Seven-star Breaking Formation Stone, but now only one remains.”

”Why were they lost?” Chu Zhiyuan continued to focus, trying to discern more details.

Apart from the five golden statues, there was a grand hall, a row of houses, and over thirty people in the valley.

Among these thirty-odd people, there were two Great Grandmasters, ten Grandmasters, and the rest were in the Innate Realm.

”Breaking the array can suffer a backlash from the formation. The Huaisu Sect’s formation is just an Enchantment Formation, which is fine; some formations are very powerful, full of killing intent, and breaking such formations could directly destroy the Array Breaking Stone.”

”That would indeed be a pity,” Chu Zhiyuan said. ”Such treasures are hard to come by.”

These people seemed not to notice the formation being broken, each busy with their own task.

Some were practicing, some praying, some polishing the statues, and others were cooking.

Xu Haode said, ”Nowadays, spiritual energy is thin, and the power of formations is getting weaker; that’s how I managed to preserve this Breaking Formation Stone.”

Chu Zhiyuan asked, ”What about military arrays? Can they be broken?”

This indeed seemed like the Main Altar, but judging by the size of the valley and the number of people, it was hard to imagine the Huaisu Sect had so many disciples.

Xu Haode shook his head, ”This can only break formations arranged by nature’s spiritual energy. Human-constructed arrays are useless. Does the Princely Heir wish to break such formations?”

Chu Zhiyuan turned his gaze skyward as he spoke, ”The Lingshuang Iron Cavalry of Da Zhen and the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry of Da Meng are both military formations; if they could be broken...”

Xu Haode also glanced at the sky, seeing nothing, and said, ”To my knowledge, it seems there is no such treasure.”

”What a pity,” Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

He withdrew his gaze from the sky, sensing a faintly lingering scrutiny overhead.

”Human-constructed formations are often broken by other formations; it’s hard to be clever about it.”

”How to break the Lingshuang Iron Cavalry and Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry with formations, does Mr. Xu know?”

”I haven’t had the chance to witness these two formations, so I’m not really sure. Oh, someone’s coming out.”

The two immediately fell silent.

Chu Zhiyuan gave Xu Haode a sidelong glance.

Xu Haode hadn’t told the truth.

Clearly, he knew something about the formations to break the Lingshuang Iron Cavalry or Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry.

But such things evidently cannot be easily disclosed, or else he would face pursuit by both dynasties.

This would be a pursuit leveraging the power of an entire dynasty, far more daunting than the Evil Sect.

Two youths were seen drifting out of the valley, each carrying a bundle in his hand.

Xu Haode used Sound Transmission into Secret, lowering his voice, ”As soon as they turn around, they’ll discover the formation is already broken.”

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

”We each take one,” Xu Haode suggested.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, ”I’ll take care of it.”

Xu Haode looked at him.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded lightly.

Xu Haode nodded helplessly, nervously watching the two youths striding towards the valley entrance.

The two youths strode out of the valley quickly, stepping on bamboo tips, drifting away.

They grew more distant and gradually out of sight.

Xu Haode looked at Chu Zhiyuan.

His eyes questioned: letting them get so far, are we really going to let these two guys go?

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, using Sound Transmission into Secret, ”It’s not the right time to alert them, let’s move after they’re farther away.”

Xu Haode nodded helplessly.

Indeed, it wouldn’t be wise to lose more for less.

Yet letting those two go just like that left him feeling unsettled.

Not a single member of the Evil Sect should be spared.

”I’ll take care of them and be back,” Xu Haode hurriedly said.

Chu Zhiyuan replied, ”They’re already dead by my hand.”

”...Already dealt with?”

”Yes, resolved by the creek at the foot of the mountain.”

”I’ll go have a look.”

Xu Haode had heard of Chu Zhiyuan’s secret technique for killing silently and unheard, but had never witnessed it.

He believed that no matter how wondrous the secret technique, killing required power, and spiritual energy inevitably fluctuated.

But just now, everything seemed unchanged, and yet two Grandmasters were killed silently?

These were skilled grandmasters from the Evil Sect.

Evil Sect members could not be judged by age in terms of cultivation.

Some were young but Grandmasters, while others were old but only Innate, or not even Innate.

Xu Haode drifted away.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head with a smile, continuing to focus on the valley with Insight.

If not for the protection from an Outer Heaven Power within the valley, blocking his Insight, the Bright Moon Saber God could have easily wiped out these people.

This Outer Heaven Power distorted his Insight, preventing the Bright Moon Saber God from accurately entering the spiritual world of those in the valley.

The Bright Moon Saber God rises with spiritual power and returns to spiritual power; if spiritual power cannot lock on, even if the eyes can see it, it’s useless.

Xu Haode drifted back, cupping his hands toward Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head with a smile, using Sound Transmission into Secret, ”Mr. Xu, do you have any wondrous methods to break this Main Altar?”

”Lure them out?” Xu Haode whispered.

Chu Zhiyuan could kill them so effortlessly; it would be better to lure them out and kill them all.

There must be traps or mechanisms set up in the valley, all lethal moves, best not to enter if possible.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”Let’s use boulders to drive them out, and see if we can destroy those Venerable statues too, as they’re the source of power.”

”Boulders?” Xu Haode paused.

He hadn’t thought of this tactic.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”The larger the boulder, the better.”

Xu Haode looked around with difficulty.

The place was full of bamboo forests, mostly soft soil, and rocks were rare.

Large boulders were even rarer.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”Follow me.”

The two drifted out of the woods, quickly crossing three mountains, arriving at a rugged rocky mountain.

The Bright Moon Saber silently sliced through rocks as if cutting through tofu with ease.

The two began moving stones to the mountain opposite the Huaisu Sect’s Main Altar valley.

Each stone had to be at least as big as a man could embrace, and they moved thirty-two stones, raising the opposite mountain a notch.

Chu Zhiyuan looked at these boulders around and nodded with satisfaction.

Xu Haode nervously watched the opposite valley.

”Let’s begin.” Chu Zhiyuan said in a low voice.

He lifted a huge stone with one hand, as if it was made of paper.

With a sharp throw, he lifted and threw another, then a third.

The stones arced across the sky, crashing toward the valley.

”Boom, boom, boom...”

The dull sounds echoed unceasingly.

A black circular shield appeared above the valley.

The stones hit the shield, causing it to waver, but the stones slid to the sides, unable to fall into the valley.

Chu Zhiyuan’s hands were in constant motion, stone after stone descended from the sky.

His stones were infused with spiritual energy and sword intent, causing the black shield to flicker incessantly.

Xu Haode cursed, ”Damn it, it’s the Outer Heaven Demons, probably can’t break it!”

This was definitely not an array; otherwise, the Array Breaking Stone would have already shattered it.

It wasn’t an array, yet it had such defensive power, clearly due to the Outer Heaven Demons’ power.

The power of these Outer Heaven Demons was uncanny and not easy to deal with.

”Give me a hand!”

Chu Zhiyuan said in a deep voice.

He switched from throwing to pushing, and with each boulder he pushed, his feet sank a layer.

This was a sheer mix of power and spiritual energy, leaving Xu Haode amazed.

Xu Haode partnered with him, injecting spiritual energy into the boulders as well.

The stones propelled forward carried greater spiritual power, sword intent, and force.

After several boulders, the black shield flickered violently, its frequency increasing, and Xu Haode was overjoyed, seeing hope for breaking it.

The people inside the valley had long reacted, yet they remained unpanicked: some ran to the valley entrance, others knelt beneath the largest statue.

Only eight stood guard at the valley entrance, all were Grandmaster experts.

The remaining twenty-six knelt by the large golden statue, murmuring and forming seals with their hands.

The golden statue began to glow.

The previously flickering black shield turned golden, solid and stable.

The boulders landed on it as if on a solid gold shield, even bouncing away.

Chu Zhiyuan threw the last four boulders.

The stones were one by one bounced off, the golden shield as steady as a rock, immovable.

”Again!” Chu Zhiyuan declared.

Xu Haode said, ”It seems useless?”

The golden shield showed no signs of damage; it seemed no number of boulders would suffice.

”It is useful,” Chu Zhiyuan said, ”These powers come at a cost.”

Xu Haode immediately understood, ”Yes, at a cost, let’s go again!”

The two then continued to move boulders from another mountain.

The people inside the valley already noticed them but had no intention of coming out, merely standing at the valley entrance glaring coldly.

Chu Zhiyuan knew they had surely sent signals to summon nearby Huaisu Sect disciples for aid.

”Still not coming out!” Xu Haode gritted his teeth.

These fellows were overly cautious, not a single one dared to come out to investigate, just remaining hidden in the valley.

Did they think the valley was an impregnable turtle shell, absolutely safe?

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”This time, bring more.”

Xu Haode muttered resentfully, ”We’ll crush these damn turtles dead!”

The two chatted idly while moving stones.

Chu Zhiyuan laughed, ”Is Mr. Xu seeking to devour the Outer Heaven Power?”

”...The Princely Heir is astute,” Xu Haode replied somewhat helplessly, ”At my stage, to progress further, devouring the spiritual energy of Great Grandmasters is futile, unless they’re of the Second Layer or higher, where to find such? My only hope lies in the power of these Outer Heaven Demons.”

”Isn’t that dangerous?” Chu Zhiyuan asked.

Xu Haode smiled, ”I have some confidence.”

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, ”Then that’s good... How about you go along with the boulders to see if you can absorb the power of the shield directly?”

Xu Haode thought it reasonable and said, ”I’ll try it then.”

The two moved sixty-six boulders in one go, piling them up to form another hilltop, and then began throwing them again.

When tossing high, they threw individually, but for pushover pushes, they worked together to push one boulder.

They alternated between high throws and direct throws, creating a rain of stones.

After more than forty boulders, the golden shield remained firm, showing no signs of damage.

”Damn it, what a bother!”

Xu Haode cursed angrily, leaping into the air to land on a boulder, falling with it toward the golden shield.

He clung to the stone, reaching out to touch the shield as it bounced back, letting out a strange cry and retracting his hand quickly as if scalded.

Chu Zhiyuan’s Insight saw everything clearly.

The shield’s power entered Xu Haode’s palm, igniting instantly into a burst of flames.

Xu Haode rallied all his spiritual energy to quench the fire, but it was like adding fuel, only increasing the blaze.

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