Imperial Cultivation-Chapter 454 - 451: Ambush

"Finally, it’s snowing..."

Chu Zhiyuan pushed open the window.

Snowflakes like goose feathers drifted down, swirling from the sky.

They landed silently, layer upon layer piling up together.

In this short time, a small layer had already formed.

Chu Zhiyuan looked towards the pitch-black sky.

Layer upon layer of dark clouds obscured the dawn, clearly, this was going to be a heavy snow.

"Princely Heir..."

"Hmm, let them enter the passage, do not come out without my order." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Yes."

Chu Zhiyuan looked back up at the sky, his Super Sense already spreading out, everything within six thousand meters was within his Insight.

He deliberately isolated the Imperial Palace, not peering into it.

The Emperor’s Sword suspended above the Imperial Palace carried no pressure when he observed it now.

The Emperor’s Sword he initially saw was a great sword, several meters long.

Now, the Emperor’s Sword he saw was only a foot longer than the Qingying Sword, quietly suspended in the sky, with the sword covered in strange patterns.

These patterns could not be remembered; they faded from the mind upon closing one’s eyes.

These patterns gently flowed, absorbing peculiar forces from all directions.

Countless forces converged into this sword, causing its patterns to flow and its power to increase.

Despite the convergence of countless forces, the sword’s power did not grow much stronger.

It was known that the power on this sword was already exceedingly strong, with a massive base.

The power on this sword was so immense that even a brief Insight made him uncomfortable.

It felt as though this Emperor’s Sword could strike at any moment, and his little life would be forfeit.

This sense of danger made him feel as though pricked by needles, extremely uncomfortable, and it interfered with his Super Sense.

So he actively excluded it, turning his Insight elsewhere.

He disappeared from the bed in a flash, the next moment appearing in the front hall, coming before Chu Qingyan.

Chu Qingyan sat cross-legged on a hardwood divan in the front hall, as still as a statue.

Chu Zhiyuan cupped his fists, "Uncle, I’m going out for a while."

Chu Qingyan opened his eyes, his expression calm, "Going out to take a look?"

"To see if I can intercept them."

"Hmm, go on then."

Chu Qingyan knew that Chu Zhiyuan had already made arrangements, everyone had entered the underground secret passage.

The underground passage of Prince Qing Mansion was extremely deep, even if those Great Grandmasters of the Evil Sect broke in, they would not find anyone for a while.

It was enough for them to respond, as long as they held them off for a moment, the Emperor’s Sword from the Imperial Palace would be able to slash over.

It depended on whether these fellows dared to come.

Chu Zhiyuan floated out of the Prince Qing Mansion, closed his eyes, and began to sense.

Upon reaching the rank of Great Grandmaster, his intuition also strengthened, and the ability brought by the golden vertical pupils increased.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, revealing a cold smile.

He drifted south for about a kilometer before stopping on a rooftop.

The heavy snow, drifting and swirling, had already laid a thick layer on the surrounding rooftops and ground.

The capital city of Yujing was still brightly lit, with the main streets bustling and clamorous.

Even such heavy snow could not hinder the people’s festivities.

But the heavy snow made the surroundings much quieter, and the whispering snowflakes made the air feel crisp.

Chu Zhiyuan, clad in a Biluo True Robe, stood on a rooftop, arms folded, surveying the surroundings.

The snowflakes stopped a meter from his body, unable to approach.

This spot was four thousand meters from the inner zone’s South Gate and five thousand meters from the West City Gate, the best position to cover the West and South gates.

There was no North City Gate, and the East City Gate was too far to cover.

He had already intuitively sensed that they would enter from the South City Gate.

...

Time slowly passed.

The sky seemed even darker.

The snow fell heavier.

The ground had already accumulated over a foot of snow.

The song from a few taverns melodiously echoed across the night sky, traveling far.

Highlighting the surrounding quiet.

Chu Zhiyuan suddenly opened his eyes, laying his hand on the knife hilt.

Within his Super Sensing Illumination, he saw four elders drift down to the base of the city walls.

They seemed to meld with the surrounding snowflakes, making not a sound or disturbance.

After landing, they exchanged glances and then dispersed, heading in four different directions.

Some north, some south, some east, some northeast.

They moved slowly.

The snowflakes that landed on them turned them into four snowmen.

Through Chu Zhiyuan’s Insight, everything about them was obscure, showing no sign of energy flow.

Only at their feet was there a faint trace of Spiritual Energy circulating.

Apart from their feet, there was no energy flow throughout their bodies, no Dharma Form, no visualization.

They seemed like people who did not know martial arts.

If they didn’t use Qinggong and walked slowly, they could even momentarily deceive the Super Sense.

However, if he intentionally searched, they would still fail to escape the Super Sense.

There was a significant difference between bodies that had trained and those that had not.

Externally it was not visible, but beneath the skin, the muscles and bones had changed.

The most important were the meridians.

The meridians of a martial practitioner were worlds apart from those of ordinary people, and the Super Sense could discern this at a glance.

Meridians nourished by True Qi, by Gang Qi, and by Spiritual Energy were all different.

This was a kind of secret technique that could fool the Daluo Heavenly Plate but not the Super Sense.

These four elders were indeed Great Grandmasters.

Chu Zhiyuan drifted down, a tap of his toe on the snow, moving as if walking on air.

He soon came to the elder heading northeast, speaking lightly, "Members of the Yuding Sect, I’ve been waiting for you."

The elder looked up at him blankly, eyes somewhat dazed, as if he were senile.

Chu Zhiyuan snorted softly.

In his mind, the morning sun suddenly shot out a beam of light, illuminating the Bright Moon Saber.

His spiritual power instantly poured into the Saber Soul.

Immediately, the Bright Moon Saber Soul shot out of his mind, slashing towards the elder.

The elder employed a secret technique, hiding all his cultivation in a certain point.

With one slash of the Bright Moon Saber Soul, a Jade Giant Cauldron suddenly appeared in the void.

"Ding..." It seemed a clear chirp rang in his ears, yet it sounded in the spirit.

"Dang dang dang..." The Bright Moon Saber Soul instantly slashed a dozen times.

The body of the giant cauldron developed numerous cracks, then slowly fragmented.

The Bright Moon Saber Soul unhesitatingly sliced directly at the elder’s soul.

The soul of a Great Grandmaster was no different from that of ordinary people, all fragile under the Saber Soul.

Before the elder could react, the light in his eyes had already dimmed.

"Boom!" The elder slowly fell onto the thick snow, motionless, already lifeless.

His body didn’t bleed; when discovered the next day, he would be thought to have frozen to death.

The Bright Moon Saber Soul returned to the void in his mind, dimmed a little.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned slightly.

The morning sun again shot a beam of light onto it, causing it to shine once more.

But this light was a dim light.

Like light bulbs of different wattage, although making them bright, the wattage and brightness differ.

He seemed thoughtful.

Dispersing a visualization consumed not only mental power but also the Saber Soul.

The alleged sources of the Saber Soul are twofold, one from killing and the other from cultivation.

Having just killed someone, the Bright Moon Saber Soul was replenished, but it was still short of what was consumed.

This indicated that while it was indeed possible to kill a Great Grandmaster with the Saber Soul in his mind, it incurred significant consumption.

So let him see how it would be to kill using the actual Bright Moon Saber.

He drew the Bright Moon Saber, drifted forward, and approached the elder heading north.