Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 582: Chapter 578: Sudden Change

```html

Chu Zhiyuan raised his voice, ”Lord Qin.”

Qin Guanghe floated out of the military formation, leaping onto the tip of a bamboo and standing opposite Chu Zhiyuan.

His iron armor seemed weightless, only slightly bending the bamboo tip.

Chu Zhiyuan pointed across, ”Lord Qin, at the end is a valley protected by an array, there will be an invisible force preventing approach.”

Qin Guanghe solemnly looked towards the open plain’s end, slowly nodding.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”It’s a layer of white light like a glass cover, flexible and strong, with a recoil effect. When you charge, maintain maximum impact while paying attention to unloading force. After recoil, fly to the sides.”

He looked at the steeds clad in iron armor, and said sternly, ”To protect the warhorses, leave them early.”

”Understood!” Qin Guanghe nodded solemnly.

Chu Zhiyuan clearly stated the opponents they were about to face, which was very beneficial for adjusting their attack methods.

Chu Zhiyuan continued, ”I want the impact force of the iron cavalry, like a great river behind us, maintaining an endless impact force to exhaust the array’s energy within.”

”Yes!” Qin Guanghe replied solemnly, ”Princely Heir, rest assured, we will break this array!”

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, ”I believe this won’t daunt the iron cavalry, but don’t act too hastily. The goal this time is not just to break the array but also to accumulate experience to see how to break arrays faster. There will be many such arrays to break in the future.”

”Yes!” Qin Guanghe nodded solemnly.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”Then I leave it to you, Lord Qin. I will be on the side, intercepting any experts they send out, but you’ll need to be wary of their hidden weapons and other tactics.”

”Yes.” Qin Guanghe stared gravely at the opposite, ”We can handle it.”

The military formation charged into the battlefield, first meeting a rain of arrows, though there was a way to defend against it.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”After breaking the array, you don’t need to rush inside.”

”Yes.” Qin Guanghe secretly sighed in relief.

Inside the valley must be filled with traps.

This is not what the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry is adept at; once inside and caught in traps, losses would be severe.

This Princely Heir, Chu Zhiyuan, is still benevolent, not deliberately weakening the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry.

Li Biyang laughed, ”What about us Imperial Guard?”

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”The Imperial Guard has done enough already. The rest, after breaking the Main Altar, will still require them to clear out.”

”...Alright.” Li Biyang nodded helplessly.

After all that, the Imperial Guard really became the odd jobs crew.

He glanced at the Imperial Guards standing on the other side of the riverbank, each eagerly watching this side, looking like they’re enjoying a show.

They’re not nervous at all, which is really baffling.

These experts from the Evil Sect who come out seem weak, killed without any resistance.

But this doesn’t mean they can easily deal with them; the Imperial Guards will certainly have casualties.

The current situation is just fine.

If the Yuding Sect’s Main Altar can be broken so easily, that would be ideal.

He looked at those Imperial Guards, then at the solemn and heavy Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry, shaking his head, already abandoning the thought of having these Imperial Guards achieve merit.

Chu Zhiyuan looked opposite and calmly said, ”Then let’s begin!”

Qin Guanghe solemnly clasped his fists and then floated down from the bamboo tip, landing in front of the military formation.

He mounted his horse, raised his arm, and made a gesture with his fist.

Over a thousand Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry immediately changed formation from a fan shape with flying wings to a fish scale pattern, one layer after another.

There was a twenty-meter gap between each layer.

The cavalry began advancing, warhorses first at a slow pace, then slowly accelerated from a walk to a trot to a full gallop.

Within two hundred meters, they had formed a high-speed charge.

They first dragged long spears, holding up shields, and as the distance became sufficient, Qin Guanghe shouted, ”Raise spears!”

The long spears suddenly tilted upward, the spearheads emitting a chilling gleam in the sunset.

Chu Zhiyuan stood on the bamboo tip, keeping a close eye on the opposite side, observing the distance between the cavalry and the array.

He suddenly called out, ”Lord Qin!”

Qin Guanghe shouted thunderously as if a bolt from the blue, ”Flying Stab!”

The knights on horseback suddenly soared into the sky, striking fiercely towards the opposite side.

The warhorses immediately decelerated.

”Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang...”

The spear tips suddenly stabbed into a transparent light shield, faintly sinking before rebounding.

The spear tips were pushed back, and the force of the stab was repelled.

One by one, the knights flew out, slanting to both sides.

The warhorses immediately chased after them to catch their riders.

The next wave of cavalry arrived.

Spears stabbed out, men and spears flying obliquely to the sides, some injured, some nearly losing grip of their spears.

As the transparent light screen lifted, what appeared to be a bamboo forest ahead became a valley.

Layer upon layer of buildings were arranged harmoniously within the valley, a dazzling display.

Embedded in the stone walls of the valley were white jade cauldrons, some large, some small, the tallest reaching ten meters in height and five meters in diameter, truly massive, instilling a strong sense of insignificance.

The entire valley appeared as if it were in the shape of a white jade cauldron.

At this moment, beneath the largest cauldron, over a hundred people were kneeling on the white jade ground, murmuring softly.

Chu Zhiyuan’s gaze penetrated the light screen, seeing a pillar of light descending from the void, landing within the large jade cauldron, as if it was shot up from the cauldron.

The pillar of light was as thick as a fist, piercing into the void, as if connecting heaven and earth.

Chu Zhiyuan sensed the powerful force surging from this giant cauldron, flowing into the smaller cauldrons embedded in the stone walls, which then condensed the force into the transparent light screen.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned.

So it really was this move!

Yuding Sect disciples summoned the Outer Heaven Power to protect the valley.

This was simply a process of attrition, to see who could outlast the other.

Compared to throwing giant boulders, grinding a little at a time, over a thousand Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry amplified the force by hundreds of folds.

The Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry concentrated their force into one point, even magnifying it several times over.

This was the power of the military formation.

The light screen grew brighter, thicker, and the descending force from the void became stronger.

Xu Haode floated up onto a bamboo tip, standing beside Chu Zhiyuan, filled with emotion, ”This is way faster than the two of us breaking the array ourselves!”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”This is the Court’s power.”

Xu Haode slowly nodded, solemnly gazing at the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry.

...

Chu Zhiyuan suddenly looked towards the Imperial Guards by the river, seeing they too were eager to act.

The experts in the valley no longer emerged, all cowering within.

Chu Zhiyuan judged that they had great confidence in the Outer Heaven Power and didn’t want to come out to die.

Chu Zhiyuan turned and said, ”Seventh Prince, do your Imperial Guards want to try?”

”Is it possible?” Li Biyang quickly asked.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”Looking at it now, the danger is low, it’s worth a try.”

”That couldn’t be better!” Li Biyang also felt that under these circumstances, deploying the Imperial Guard was fine.

After all, the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry had charged several rounds, being counterattacked by the light screen, they’d sustained injuries and should rest.

Chu Zhiyuan called out, ”Lord Qin, rest for a moment, let the Imperial Guard charge for a while.”

”Yes.” Qin Guanghe sighed in relief, waving his hand.

The Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry reassembled by the river, standing quietly in place to rest.

Some took out healing medicine, took spirit pills to heal, while others held their long spears in their arms, calming their breath.

The Imperial Guards cheered, grouping together in threes and twos, charging at the light screen outside the valley, some swinging palms, others punching, and some using weapons.

In an instant, the light screen brightened again, enduring the assault of over a hundred experts.

They too divided into waves, when one wave was fatigued, another switched in.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded in satisfaction.

Strength in numbers, although their cultivation wasn’t strong, and their attacks weren’t powerful, so many people exhausting the array had an effect.

As time passed unnoticed, night had deepened, and a bright moon had risen.

Outside the bamboo forest, numerous torches were lit, casting brilliant light.

Li Biyang stood beside Chu Zhiyuan, asking, ”Princely Heir, with this situation, how long until we break through?”

He too tried attacking the light screen, finding his own strength woefully insignificant.

At the same time, a sense of despair arose.

It seemed no matter how furiously they attacked, they couldn’t break through this hand-thick light screen.

This Yuding Sect Main Altar’s array was very mysterious, far too formidable.

He could hardly imagine how to break such an array, how to enter the valley.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”By dawn, it should be about enough.”

”Attack all night?” Li Biyang asked, shocked.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, ”It’s a process of wear and tear, no other way.”

Unless one practiced the Yuding Sect’s mental method, entering the valley instantly, otherwise, without it, you’d be blocked outside when approaching.

As for the array, there’s no use trying to break it.

Their array isn’t subtle; it’s simply an Outer Heaven Power formed light screen enveloping the valley.

If you want to destroy the array, you’d have to destroy the jade cauldrons or the Venerable Statues inside the valley.

To destroy them, you’d need to enter the valley, and to enter, you’d be blocked by the array.

He had tried before, sending flying knives in first.

But the array reacted quickly, blocking the flying knives as they neared the valley.

If even a flying knife can’t force its way through, let alone himself; he gave up on the thought.

It’s about relying on a grind, counting on the Court’s numerical advantage to create an overwhelming force.

Li Biyang sighed, ”Attacking all night, they might not hold out.”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”With spirit pills, and resting intermittently, it’s about right.”

”This tactic...” Li Biyang shook his head.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”Seventh Prince, do you have any bright ideas?”

”We should think of a more clever method.” Li Biyang said.

”This method is a shortcut.” Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”Sometimes the simplest method is the shortcut.”

Li Biyang always felt there should be a better way to break the array, just hadn’t found it.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, not trying to persuade him.

The methods thought of long ago, finding the best is grinding.

And this often is the method people first discard as the simplest.

This forms a blind spot, resulting in no one breaking the Main Altar’s array of the Evil Sect until now.

The only time it was broken was when the Emperor used the Emperor’s Sword.

Chu Zhiyuan thought of the Emperor’s Sword, unknowingly shaking his head.

Every time the Emperor’s Sword is used, there’s a price. Using it to break the Evil Sect’s array seems wasteful, like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Time slowly passed, the bright moon moving from east to west in the sky.

With the last batch of knights weakly charging, the light screen vanished with a ”pop”.

This batch of knights expected to be repelled, but unexpectedly the light screen disappeared. Caught off guard, they flailed into the valley.

Waiting inside the valley, Yuding Sect experts immediately charged in to engage in combat.

Then, a bright moon flashed before their eyes, transforming into a blade light, and the next moment, they were swallowed by darkness.

In a blink, all Yuding Sect experts in the valley had their gazes dim and extinguished swiftly.

Xu Haode charged into the valley, heading directly for the largest jade cauldron, aiming to destroy it first, cutting off the Outer Heaven Demons’ power.

Halfway there, he was suddenly thrown back, spraying a jet of blood in mid-air.

Chu Zhiyuan quickly caught Xu Haode, his expression changing slightly, and focused on the largest jade cauldron.

It was slowly lighting up.

Beneath it, over a hundred Yuding Sect disciples had already turned to skeletons, far faster than other places’ corpses.

Chu Zhiyuan called out, ”Everyone, immediately retreat from the valley!”

His voice was calm, unwavering, and transmitted into everyone’s ears with a convincing power.

```