Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1678: Chapter 1674: Changes

The handsome young man’s eyes grew brighter and brighter, as the lotus slowly floated up and drifted toward the giant tower.

Everyone’s gaze was attracted to this lotus, watching it slowly approach the giant tower.

They inexplicably felt tense.

As the lotus neared, their mood grew increasingly tense.

It seemed that the success or failure of this lotus was tied to the ownership of the Divine Artifact.

The closer the lotus got to the giant tower, the slower it moved, as if drifting with the wind.

It floated to the spot where he had previously placed his palm against the giant tower.

Finally, the lotus gently adhered to the giant tower.

”Good!”

The burly middle-aged man suppressed his shout, his eyes lit up.

The handsome young man smiled.

The Four Spirit Venerables in the distance were astonished, not expecting him to truly succeed.

No matter what this lotus was, as long as it adhered to the giant tower, it meant breaking through the tower’s defenses.

This lotus belonged to the handsome young man; using it as a medium, he could adhere to the giant tower.

This was a decisive step.

The handsome young man sighed in relief, his pale face quickly regaining its rosiness.

Chu Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows.

This handsome young man possessed a Miracle Technique or Spiritual Artifact, allowing him to quickly recover from injuries and cultivate.

No wonder he had such cultivation at a young age; it seemed not only his aptitude was impressive, but his luck was exceptional too.

”Haha...” The burly middle-aged man couldn’t hold back his laughter, ”We did it!”

The handsome young man smiled, ”It’s too early to say it’s done.”

”Brother Meng, with your Red Lotus sticking to it, it can’t escape!... Which Spiritual Artifact has ever escaped once your Red Lotus stuck to it?”

”It’s a Divine Artifact, different from other Spiritual Artifacts,” said the handsome young man.

The Four Spirit Venerables in the distance frowned.

When they heard this, they felt uneasy; could it be that this Divine Artifact would ultimately be taken away?

They couldn’t obtain it, but they didn’t want anyone else to either.

It was best if no one could get it.

They unconsciously began to slowly approach, but were glared at by the burly middle-aged man.

”What are you four trying to do?! Do you have a death wish?!”

”We just want to see this miraculous object up close, what exactly is this Red Lotus?”

”Come and try to take it if you aren’t afraid of death!” the burly middle-aged man sneered, ”You’ve really gotten tired of living. Cultivating to this level wasn’t easy, the days ahead are still long, there’s no need to get yourself killed!”

”Isn’t your tone too grand? We’re four, and you’re just two, and badly injured,” they replied.

”How well are you four doing anyway?!” The burly middle-aged man sneered, ”Injured worse than me, I bet?”

One of the Four Spirit Venerables chuckled, ”There’s no need to be so confrontational. We aren’t here to hurt anyone. Even if this Divine Artifact were given to us, we couldn’t hold onto it... Do you really have confidence in refining this Divine Artifact?”

”Hmph, did you see that Red Lotus?” the burly middle-aged man boasted, ”That is the No-Tribulation Red Lotus, an Ancient Treasure!”

”Ancient Treasure...”

”Never heard of it!”

”With your limited experience, how could you have heard of it? It was obtained in a Grotto Heaven, an ancient Grotto Heaven!”

”What are its wonderful uses?”

”Infinite wonderful uses, heh, but what they are exactly is a secret!”

”You sly one!”

”In any case, this Divine Artifact is now Brother Meng’s; you should give up on the idea!”

”That might not be the case. This isn’t an ordinary Divine Artifact, not one of the Spiritual Artifacts you can handle!”

”Divine Artifact or not, in front of the No-Tribulation Red Lotus, it’ll obediently become Brother Meng’s!”

He looked at the handsome young man and smiled, ”Brother Meng...”

His expression changed slightly, ”Brother Meng?”

Then he shouted, ”Brother Meng!”

Yet he saw the handsome young man in a daze, on the verge of collapse, as if drunk.

He rushed forward to support the handsome young man, who suddenly fell backward.

”Puff!”

A blood arrow spouted out like a column, rising three meters high.

He hurriedly supported the handsome young man and retreated, avoiding the falling blood column.

”Brother Meng!”

”Brother Meng?”

”Brother Meng?”

He lowered his voice, calling softly, increasingly gently.

The Four Spirit Venerables watched with wide eyes, a smile on their lips.

Seeing the handsome young man’s setback, they couldn’t help but smile.

They harbored deep resentment toward the handsome young man, who, at such a young age, had such high cultivation—not merely due to aptitude but likely also good fortune, possibly both.

Such a fellow was truly infuriating.

Moreover, he was about to take the Divine Artifact they couldn’t touch, making them even more unhappy.

”Go,” the handsome young man squeezed out the word, then heavily closed his eyes.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, scattering the lotus adhered to the giant tower into powder, which drifted away soundlessly, disappearing into the mist.

The burly middle-aged man stared incredulously at the empty, still grand and mysterious giant tower.

He had originally thought the giant tower couldn’t withstand the No-Tribulation Red Lotus.

But in the blink of an eye, everything reversed; the No-Tribulation Red Lotus not only failed to conquer or refine the giant tower, but disintegrated silently!

If the No-Tribulation Red Lotus couldn’t withstand the giant tower, then no Spiritual Artifact could!

Does this mean the Divine Artifact is an unattainable, distant object?

Even if found, is it impossible to obtain?

Or does it mean he and Brother Meng lack the power, unworthy of this Divine Artifact?

Filled with despair, he turned and floated away with the handsome young man, not glancing at the Four Spirit Venerables.

The Four Spirit Venerables watched them leave, the smile on their lips fading unknowingly.

”Even such formidable people couldn’t claim the Divine Artifact...”

”We have no hope.”

”Others will hear the news and come here; let’s see if they can succeed.”

”Or should we first recover from our injuries, then return to observe?”

”...Sounds good.”

All four agreed with the suggestion.

Previously, they had almost fought with those two Spirit Venerables; the handsome young man was suspicious, so hadn’t acted first.

Next time, encountering the Spirit Venerables, they might start a fight.

Their injuries were severe now, not recoverable within one or two hours; if any Spirit Venerable struck while they were vulnerable, they’d suffer greatly, possibly even face death.

So, the four of them floated away without bothering the Tributes hiding halfway up the mountain.

Soon, the area around the giant tower returned to emptiness and silence.

The straightforward old man no longer hid and flew away.

Chu Zhiyuan stood atop the mountain, carefully scrutinizing the giant tower.

The giant tower had changed now.

His eyes were clear, the Divine Eye opened.

In his sight, the golden light in the tower patterns rapidly traversed.

Compared to before, the golden light in the patterns was twice as dense, and moved twice as fast.

This indicated the giant tower had become stronger, its power increased.

It was the Spirit Venerables’ strength that had enhanced the giant tower’s power.

He also saw the tower’s Spiritual illumination, a cluster of golden light flickering inside the tower.

Blinking like stars.

The tower’s Spirituality was also strengthening, even four times what it was.

Compared to the tower’s power, its Spirituality was growing faster; was it due to the Spirit Venerables’ proximity, absorbing their spirit?

He shook his head.

This Spirituality still couldn’t communicate with the Twelve Stone Towers, refusing to interact, not recognizing the Twelve Stone Towers.

Chu Zhiyuan had a vague suspicion: the Divine Race might have already known that he had acquired the Twelve Stone Towers, thus specially making this tower’s Spirituality independent, not drawing close to those Twelve Stone Towers.

In this way, he couldn’t seize this giant tower.

Did the Divine Race act?

His expression became serious.

If the Divine Race intervened to prevent him from acquiring more stone towers, he might be thwarted.

A small arm can’t twist a big thigh; no matter how strong he was, he might not be a match for the Divine Race.

Fortunately, the Divine Race only acted through the tower, not appearing directly.