Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1418 - 1414: Spirit Venerable

The stones on the mountain peak where he stood were white, resembling white jade.

The adjacent peaks were different; the east was dark green, the west was crimson, the south brown-gray, and the north golden.

This sparked his curiosity.

These stones contained spiritual energy, similar to jade.

Compared to the jade he saw outside, these stones were richer in spiritual energy and thus more valuable.

If one casually carried a stone out from here and polished it, its value would be astounding.

He shook his head, and a flying knife shot from his sleeve towards the nearby stone.

The knife pierced it easily, as if stabbing into tofu, with only a shallow mark visible as the handle sank into the stone.

Chu Zhiyuan sensed the spiritual energy inside the stone through the knife.

The energy was dense and pure, as if possessing a spirituality, difficult to absorb.

This was not merely jade; its utility was likely greater.

He vanished suddenly.

The next moment, he appeared in the Profound Yin Palace.

Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue had just sent twelve senior sisters off, closed the courtyard gate, and turned back to see Chu Zhiyuan reappear.

"Princely Heir, you timed it perfectly," Shen Hanyue giggled.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "There were too many people earlier; some words were hard to say."

Xiao Ruoling approached him, her bright eyes like water: "Husband, what happened?"

Chu Zhiyuan pointed to the small pavilion.

The three of them went to sit in the pavilion, and Shen Hanyue brewed tea and handed it to them.

Chu Zhiyuan took the teacup, sipped the tea slowly, and put it down: "I plan to enter closed cultivation and strive for a breakthrough to Spirit Venerable."

Shen Hanyue was instantly delighted, her eyes shining: "Princely Heir, you’re going to become a Spirit Venerable?"

Xiao Ruoling’s beautiful eyes became dazzlingly bright.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "I feel it’s about time to give it a try."

"Then there must be no problem," Shen Hanyue said, "You’re going to be Spirit Venerable!"

Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile, "But it may not succeed."

Shen Hanyue waved her hand and laughed: "Princely Heir, you wouldn’t say it if you weren’t confident."

She understood Chu Zhiyuan’s temperament.

If he wasn’t extremely confident, he would rarely mention it.

He would certainly wait until it was accomplished to talk about it.

Xiao Ruoling said, "Husband, what will you do after becoming Spirit Venerable?"

She knew the dangers of becoming Spirit Venerable and furrowed her brows slightly: "How about coming here after your retreat?"

The Profound Yin Palace had Spirit Venerables stationed.

With considerations of their relationship and past credits, the Profound Yin Palace would surely protect him.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled: "I have a place of refuge; the Heaven-Reaching Sect has somewhere suitable."

"Better come here," Xiao Ruoling said.

Shen Hanyue said, "If the Princely Heir doesn’t come, the senior sisters would definitely worry."

Xiao Ruoling nodded earnestly, her bright eyes fixed on him.

Chu Zhiyuan looked at her and nodded gently: "Okay."

Xiao Ruoling smiled.

Shen Hanyue said, "Princely Heir, how long will your closed cultivation last?"

"Hard to say," Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "It could be a month or one to two years, it’s unpredictable."

"One or two years..." Shen Hanyue was astonished: "It can’t be that long, can it?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head: "I heard from my brother that a senior once meditated in retreat for ten years and came out as a Spirit Venerable."

"Ten years, that’s even scarier." Shen Hanyue looked at Xiao Ruoling.

Xiao Ruoling said, "Husband, take care."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, his eyes suddenly becoming vacant, regaining clarity a moment later.

He said softly: "You shouldn’t head to the Outer Realm Battlefield or enter Grotto Heaven; consolidate your cultivation first."

"Is there danger?" Shen Hanyue asked curiously.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded: "If you go to the Outer Realm Battlefield or the newly discovered Grotto Heaven, bad luck could lead you to fierce adversaries, resulting in injuries."

"We’re Nine Transitions now," Shen Hanyue said, "Still could get hurt?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Amongst the strong, there are always stronger ones,... you should announce your retreat."

Shen Hanyue readily agreed: "Alright."

...

Chu Zhiyuan reappeared in Cangshi Cave Heaven.

He let out a sigh.

Even without leaving that flying knife, he could relocate here again.

This meant he could come at any time, thus evading Spirit Venerable’s assassination.

Super Sense spread out again and began illuminating the surroundings.

The stones saturated with spiritual energy couldn’t block the Super Sensing Illumination, making him see each inch within the mountain and the Strange Beasts inside.

There were a dozen kinds of Strange Beasts, bizarre in shape, all feeding on stones.

Chu Zhiyuan felt these Strange Beasts were not easy to provoke, all extremely formidable.

Their defense was astonishing, their speed also extraordinary; these two points alone were enough to be troublesome.

Yet they posed no threat to him now.

More importantly, the mountain he was on emitted an invisible force, repelling the Strange Beasts from surrounding peaks.

They all stayed far away, seemingly afraid of this pervasive force touching them.

He closed his eyes, focusing his heart and spirit inward.

Mystically, a small point of light appeared in the void within his body.

The light point initially didn’t appear, gradually manifesting as he concentrated.

With deeper concentration, the light point grew larger, transforming into a ball of light, and continued expanding into a halo.

The fist-sized light ball eventually became a football-sized halo.

Inside the halo was pitch black, like the pupil of an eye.

Once his heart and spirit saw the halo, they inevitably moved forward, drawing closer to it.

Closer, ever closer.

It didn’t change further, instead radiating an endless allure.

His heart and spirit suddenly dove into the halo, and golden light burst in front of him.

The next moment, the ground shook.

Thunder shock roared in his ears, golden light flickered chaotically before him.

A tumultuous force instantly surged from within the halo, crashing into his mind and permeating his entire body.

This tumultuous force was vast and mighty, insurmountable; before it, he was defenseless, and blackness clouded his vision as he was about to faint.

Chu Zhiyuan immediately understood why the Cloud Stepping Leopard said Spirit Venerable breakthrough felt like dying once.

Under such impact, nearly inevitable fainting followed, whether to live or die depending on fate.

He instinctively felt if he truly blacked out, he’d never wake again.

Thus, he couldn’t afford to faint.

Yet this massive force surged relentlessly, like endless angry waves assailing him.

He had never encountered such vast and pure powerful force, including Spirit Venerable.

He feared he wouldn’t endure, unable to avoid death.

He forcibly rallied his spirit, dispelling weakness and decadence, and activated the Heavenly Yuan Technique.

Simultaneously, he expelled fatigue, drowsiness, and the sensation of weakness, striving to invigorate his spirit.

Meanwhile, his clones transferred vast amounts of spiritual power, flowing like springs of aid.

In the Lao Gong Acupoint’s Jade Sea and Sky, the sun and moon simultaneously radiated bright light.

The floating Divine Flower flickered, the Moonlight Butterfly danced.

This revitalized his spirit.

He felt he might not hold out for long; against vast force, he was too insignificant, utterly vulnerable.

Yet a voice from within told him he couldn’t faint, as death was certain.

To avoid death, he had to endure.

He had no choice but to grit his teeth, resisting the urge to faint, while concentrating to delve further into the halo, not escaping but diving deeper.

He wanted to understand what this force was.

As time passed, he felt the opposing force gradually weakened.

Eventually, his mind and spirit wavered, on the verge of fainting the next moment.

Facing the vast tumultuous force, his heart and spirit was like a small boat in a turbulent sea, about to be destroyed.

While struggling to resist, his heart and spirit continued to delve deeper, seeking the root of the vast tumultuous force.

Just when he was about to collapse, a strange sound suddenly echoed in his ears.

Immediately, the vast tumultuous force disappeared, as though it never emerged.

Within him arose an unusual sensation, mystically merging with heaven and earth.

A wondrous revelation naturally surged in his chest.

The Spirit Venerable is achieved!

The entire world was utterly transformed.

Though his feet were still on that mountain and surrounded by those peaks, it felt like entering a new world.

As if reborn with a new body, reincarnated beautifully.