Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 539: Chapter 536: Prediction

The sun shone brightly on a courtyard not far away.

Chu Zhiyuan sat in a hexagonal pavilion, his arms crossed, examining the Black Pearl placed in the center of the stone table.

The Black Pearl had been placed here all night.

Chu Zhiyuan had also observed it all night.

The result was no change.

This allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

What he feared most was that the Venerable of the Heavenly Heart Sect could still manipulate it.

Even though the Venerable’s power had no conduit to descend.

However, there is always a what-if in everything.

What if they could still manipulate the pearl and suddenly make it explode? The force would certainly be astonishing.

No matter how keen his intuition, by the time he realized something was wrong, it might already be too late.

Therefore, this risk had to be eliminated.

Now, it seemed that the power contained within this Black Pearl was fixed and not connected to the outside world.

Even so, caution was still necessary.

He took out a Sealing Spirit Box from his sleeve, placed the Black Pearl inside, put it back in his sleeve, and stored it in the Iron Ring.

The power contained within this Black Pearl was peculiar and had connections to the Venerable in the heavens, making it of great research value.

”Knock, knock!”

Shen Hanyue knocked on the door outside, ”Aren’t we setting out yet?”

Chu Zhiyuan raised his voice, ”Come in.”

Shen Hanyue, dressed in snowy white, with her face covered by a white veil, revealing only a pair of bright and enchanting eyes, said, ”Everything is ready, shall we set off?”

Chu Zhiyuan got up, left the small pavilion, and walked outside.

Shen Hanyue followed him, walking side by side out of the courtyard, ”We’ll make it in time, right?”

”Yes,” replied Chu Zhiyuan.

Zou Fang followed them quietly.

Instead of feeling the pressure from this Great Grandmaster, Shen Hanyue found him completely negligible.

”The Palace Master didn’t agree with this trip to Da Meng.”

”Hmm—?”

”It was Elder Sister Xiao who insisted, making it possible,” Shen Hanyue shook her head and said, ”I really don’t know why Elder Sister Xiao is so persistent.”

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, ”Maybe she isn’t reassured, worrying that the Evil Sect of Da Meng will threaten me.”

More likely, it was because of his personal invitation.

”They can’t do anything to you,” Shen Hanyue said, ”We’re just going to be scolded in Da Meng, so we shouldn’t get involved.”

Chu Zhiyuan glanced at her.

Shen Hanyue sniffed, ”Am I wrong? Do you think we can gain anything good in Da Meng? ... Ah—! We’ll certainly be scolded by the people of Da Jing when we return. You, the Princely Heir, are unlucky, and we’ll be dragged down with you.”

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”They’ll only scold me, not you.”

Shen Hanyue snorted, ”The people of Da Jing won’t, but the other three sects will, and they certainly won’t miss this opportunity!”

As they talked, they arrived at the front hall, where Xu Yingying and Xiao Ruoling were already prepared.

Xu Yingying had changed into a vibrant green gauze garment, exuding vitality.

Beside her was Xu Suying, the Great Grandmaster.

Xu Yingying waved her small hand cheerfully at him.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and nodded, then looked at Xiao Ruoling, still matchlessly beautiful.

The Great Grandmaster of Yao Yue Palace beside Xiao Ruoling was to stay behind and guard this separate courtyard, not following them.

”Let’s set off,” said Chu Zhiyuan, ”Ruoling goes first, then Yingying, and lastly Han Yue.”

——

The three women left one by one.

The crowd outside Purple Sun Villa was bustling and lively.

Yet they found it hard to blend in.

After all, their surrounding aura was different. Even with their faces covered, one could easily tell they were beauties.

Most people’s attention was captivated by the White Bone Tower.

The towers had increased from the original three to twelve.

Without many people around, twelve White Bone Towers would appear eerie and frightening.

But with so many people and such lively surroundings, the twelve White Bone Towers seemed irresistibly interesting instead of eerie.

Everyone seeing these felt either comfort in revenge or safety in fear.

In a forest three miles away, Chu Zhiyuan and Xu Suying were waiting.

Once the three women arrived separately and gathered with Chu Zhiyuan, they all employed Qinggong to travel.

”Are we really traveling over there just by using Qinggong?” Shen Hanyue asked, puzzled, ”No horses?”

”It’s a perfect chance to practice your Qinggong,” said Chu Zhiyuan, ”Running more won’t hurt.”

Shen Hanyue said, ”Training like this is too slow, ... how many days will it take?”

Chu Zhiyuan was already gracefully gliding ahead, followed by the three women, while Great Grandmaster Xu Suying had vanished.

”With our current speed, it will take about ten days.”

”So far?”

”If we were Great Grandmasters, we could travel back and forth in a day.”

”Great Grandmasters are indeed remarkable!” Shen Hanyue sniffed, ”We’ll soon step into the Great Grandmaster Realm ourselves!”

These days of cultivation at Purple Sun Villa, with Chu Zhiyuan observing the Moon Phase, allowed their cultivation to advance rapidly.

Experiencing multiple breakthroughs, they truly realized the wonders of the Taiyin Great Refining Form.

The speed was beyond their imagination, the fastest in the history of Yao Yue Palace.

Chu Zhiyuan was also astounded, not expecting their progress to be so rapid.

He felt their speed surpassed even his own.

He himself had multiple Miracle Methods stacked together, yet the Taiyin Great Refining Form achieved such swift results with just one mental method, truly a rare Miracle Method.

”Then go as quickly as you can.”

”We’ll break through this time!” Shen Hanyue was full of confidence.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded lightly.

He now had experience in breaking through to Great Grandmaster, guiding them in this wasn’t difficult.

The four of them glided along, cheerful and chatty at first.

The novelty of the surrounding beauty filled them with curiosity, but an hour later, the conversation dwindled to only a few sentences.

Focusing solely on the road, they lost interest in appreciating the scenic views along the way.

Only Chu Zhiyuan remained relaxed and content, wearing a look of admiration.

Zou Fang silently followed the group.

——

Xiao Ruoling softly said, ”Will the Ninth Prince make things difficult for us this time?”

”For sure,” Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, ”The Emperor sending me over wouldn’t just result in no benefits; it’ll make things worse.”

”Then why not tell the Emperor?”

”To tell the truth, the Emperor would only think I’m shirking responsibility.”

”...Still, you should mention it, no?”

”Better not to,” Chu Zhiyuan said, ”When you enter Tianjing City, there’s no need to follow me and suffer any grievances; you can wander around instead.”

”Forget it, grievances are still grievances,” Xiao Ruoling said softly, ”The Ninth Prince wouldn’t go too far, right?”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head, ”Now that she’s the Emperor, who can control her? She’ll be unrestrained, and of course she’ll be excessive.”

Li Hongzhao had been humiliated by him too many times and was too wronged, she would surely seize the chance to vent.

You reap what you sow.

The past joys and satisfactions were now today’s troubles.

This is how the cycles of fate revolve.

Xiao Ruoling said, ”As the Emperor, wouldn’t she maintain some decorum and grace?”

Chu Zhiyuan laughed, ”Judging by my understanding of her, she absolutely wouldn’t; she’d just want revenge.”

Xiao Ruoling smiled, pursing her lips, ”That indeed sounds miserable.”

For some reason, instead of worrying, she felt an urge to laugh.

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, ”Whose side are you on?”

”I think she won’t go too far,” Xiao Ruoling shook her head slightly.

”Let’s take your words as a good omen,” Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

...

Originally, they thought there would be an ambush on the way, but nothing unusual occurred.

At dusk on the eighth day, Chu Zhiyuan led Da Jing’s delegation to a post station 20 miles outside Tianjing City and chose to stop.

They had already sent out a message, planning to set off again the next morning and enter the city by mid-morning.

By then, the Ministry of Rites of Da Meng would also be ready to welcome their group into the city.