Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1376 - 1372: Test

Jiao Hengtian smiled and shook his head, saying, "It’s useless."

Zhu Lingyun said, "This documentation about the Spirit Venerable is common to all our Wanxiang Cliff disciples, so why can’t we view it?"

Jiao Hengtian replied, "Rules are rules, we can only follow them."

"Is it possible that Master Ma is the Spirit Venerable?"

"He should not be the Spirit Venerable."

"That’s strange," Zhu Lingyun said. "Can Master Ma just decide on a whim who can and cannot view them? That’s too unfair, isn’t it?"

"Junior Brother Zhuo, there’s no such thing as fairness or unfairness here," Jiao Hengtian shook his head. "Besides, these records are useless."

"Not useful at all?"

"They can only cause confusion and are of no use."

"Brother Jiao, have you seen them?"

"Yes, I have. There’s no difference between seeing and not seeing them."

"But I still want to have a look."

"...Then go see Master Ma again."

"I’ll go right now."

He turned and left.

Jiao Hengtian shook his head helplessly.

Master Ma won’t bend the rules. The reason for his refusal might very well be because he senses the essence of the Ascension Technique.

So no matter how he tries, it’s in vain.

He will still be rejected by Master Ma.

What a pity, eager for instant success, insisting on using the Quick Method, he isolates himself from the Spirit Venerable.

...

Chu Zhiyuan walked with his hands behind his back in the great hall and turned towards the Ten Thousand Knowledge Tower.

Inside the Ten Thousand Knowledge Tower, he unleashed his Super Sense, quickly scanning over all the books and items within.

Searching for similar patterns and texts.

But he found nothing.

Although the Ten Thousand Knowledge Tower houses numerous ancient books and a wide variety of items, none of them contained these kinds of texts or patterns.

He shook his head in disappointment.

Then he appeared outside Li Hongzhao’s small courtyard on Heavenly Sword Peak.

Li Hongzhao’s lazy voice sounded, "Come in."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled as he pushed the door open and entered, finding Li Hongzhao reading under the setting sun.

The sunset dyed her red robe an even deeper hue, and her White Jade face glowed with a layer of red, radiant and dazzling, almost impossible to look at directly.

Li Hongzhao gently put down the scroll and clapped her hands, "Shall we begin?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Please!"

A Seven-Colored Phoenix suddenly appeared above Li Hongzhao’s head, looking down at the world with regal disdain.

She lightly struck with her hand, a red glow emanating from her palm, forming into a phoenix that pounced toward him.

He met it with his left hand, letting the Phoenix Palm Seal silently penetrate his palm.

It entered the Jade Sea and Sky at the Lao Gong Acupoint and charged toward the red sun above the Spiritual Abyss Twelve Peaks.

After thirty-six palms in one breath, she retracted her jade hand and clapped, "Alright."

At this moment, her jade face was pale, her eyes cold, like the phoenix in the Void above her head.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "You’re progressing fast."

"Thanks to Master’s Jade," she smiled sweetly.

Her cold demeanor made her sudden smile appear like ice and snow melting away, a sign of spring returning, with bright sunshine pouring down.

The atmosphere of the entire small courtyard became bright and clear.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, "Senior Song’s treasure is indeed extraordinary, but your advancement in hand skills is also impressive."

She had been diligently practicing at Heavenly Sword Peak these days, focusing on cultivating the Phoenix Divine Palm, progressing rapidly.

Li Hongzhao, smiling, went to the small pavilion to make tea and handed it to him.

Chu Zhiyuan sat down, took out a booklet from his bosom, and handed it to her.

Li Hongzhao glanced at it and raised her brows, "Is this the Great Wilderness Text?"

Chu Zhiyuan’s spirit was lifted, "Great Wilderness Text?"

"The script from the Ancient Times," Li Hongzhao said. "That period seemed to be very short, and then came the Divine Language, after which various strange texts emerged, almost impossible to know them all."

Chu Zhiyuan looked at her curiously.

"Knowing you’re interested in texts, I specially asked my master," Li Hongzhao said.

Chu Zhiyuan sighed, "As expected of the Holy Vein."

Even disciples of the Heaven-Reaching Sect don’t have such a broad perspective.

Li Hongzhao added, "Knowing this is useless since no one recognizes them; the most valuable to know would be the Divine Language, but it has long been lost. There’s no need to learn the chaotic scripts that followed."

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Do you recognize the Great Wilderness Text?"

Li Hongzhao shook her head.

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "What about Senior Song?"

"Master probably doesn’t recognize it either. Where did you get it from? Is it important?"

"Yes, it’s important."

"I’ll go back and ask Master then," Li Hongzhao said. "It’s time to visit Master anyway."

"Let’s go."

Chu Zhiyuan placed his hand on her fragrant shoulder, and in a flash, they disappeared, reappearing in the Phoenix Secret Realm.

Her small courtyard remained clean and tidy.

This is the characteristic of the Phoenix Secret Realm, lush and almost dust-free.

Li Hongzhao took the booklet and went to find Song Chaoge.

...

Zhu Lingyun stood in front of a short, fat old man with white eyebrows, solemnly clasping his fists, "Master Ma, I want to enter the Qiling Tower."

This kindly and amiable old man with white eyebrows was none other than Elder Ma Yunfan, who guarded the Qiling Tower.

He took a glance at Zhu Lingyun, from top to bottom, the eyes beneath his frosty brows gradually becoming stern.

Zhu Lingyun looked at him calmly.

Ma Yunfan indeed had some peculiar skill, his eyes seemingly able to see through him.

However, now he had no weaknesses from top to bottom, calm and unafraid.

Ma Yunfan’s frosty brows furrowed.

Zhu Lingyun asked, "Master Ma, can I not enter the Qiling Tower?"

Ma Yunfan coldly replied, "Unclean individuals are not fit to enter the Qiling Tower!"

He looked at Zhu Lingyun with disdain and contempt, a stark contrast to his kindly and amiable demeanor.

"Master Ma," Zhu Lingyun protested, "How am I unclean?"

"Practicing the Descent Technique renders you unclean!"

"How does practicing the Descent Technique make one unclean?"

"If your mind is tainted, how can you become the Spirit Venerable? Ridiculous! Dream on!"

"Master Ma, I haven’t practiced the Descent Technique!"

"Heh heh..." Ma Yunfan chuckled, filled with disdainful sarcasm.

He shook his head, "Do you really think mastering Concealment Technique or obtaining some Treasure to hide your aura can deceive me?"

Zhu Lingyun shook his head, "Master Ma, you’re getting old, and starting to become muddle-headed!"

"You brat!" Ma Yunfan swung his palm down.

Zhu Lingyun stepped to the side, flexibly dodging it.

As the palm swept past his face, it suddenly expanded, about to touch his cheek.

Zhu Lingyun dodged once again.

When his movement technique stopped, he initiated it again, turning impossibility into possibility, dodging the palm once more.

Although this palm did not use palm strength, it was merely a flesh palm.

However, the skill and precision of the hand techniques were so exceptional, they were unavoidable.

Yet Zhu Lingyun forcibly evaded it.

That is the Insight derived from the Super Sense.

"Good boy!" Ma Yunfan retracted his palm, giving him a sidelong glance, "I underestimated you."

"You’re flattering me, Master," Zhu Lingyun said with a smug smile, "I really haven’t practiced the Descent Technique; you’ve got it wrong."

"Such a hard mouth, do you truly believe you can test whether someone has practiced the Descent Technique?"

"If Master can test it, I’d be willing to try," Zhu Lingyun replied calmly.

"Heh, laughable," Ma Yunfan judged that he was still pretending, acting frank and unafraid, strong in appearance but weak in reality.

He took out a round bead from his bosom.

Zhu Lingyun frowned, observing this round bead the size of a Dragon Eye, watching it rapidly brighten in Ma Yunfan’s palm.

"Come, grip it," Ma Yunfan said coldly. "I’ll tell you, this is a Soul Cleansing Pearl. Once you have practiced the Descent Technique, touching it will attack you. At best, it’ll ruin your cultivation; at worst, it’ll cost your life, depending on how deep you’ve fallen into evil and how dirty your soul is!"

Zhu Lingyun’s spirit soared, "Is it really so terrifying?"

"Some defy warnings to try it; you’ve probably heard of them, like a boy with the surname Hu ten years ago, and a boy with the surname Meng fifty years ago."

Zhu Lingyun swiftly searched his memory, frowning, "Junior Brother Hu Chen? Senior Brother Meng Zongbai?"

"Yes, they were lucky, only having their cultivation ruined. A hundred years ago, there was one surnamed Huang who directly died."

Zhu Lingyun suddenly laughed, "Master Ma, since you have such a Treasure, why not let everyone try it? ... Test every year, so no disciple dares to practice that Descent Technique!"

Ma Yunfan glared at him in defeat, "You think this old man doesn’t want to?"