Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1388 - 1384: Using the Needle

Chu Zhiyuan frowned.

They actually want to restore the Array leading to Biyuan Heaven.

These bastards really are courting death.

A cold killing intent surged in his chest.

Yet his mind was perfectly clear, not affected by this blazing bloodlust.

On the contrary, he became even more cautious, thinking it through in detail.

They want to rebuild the Array in order to slaughter the common folk in Biyuan Heaven to their heart’s content.

Don’t they stop to think why those Elders were reduced to ash?

Or rather, do they already know the reason, and want to set a trap to fish him out?

Now that they no longer have a Divine Flower Master, what other trump cards do they have?

These thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind as Super Sense followed the roots of the ancient tree inward and began to Insight.

He ended up shaking his head to himself.

The flower-shaped central great hall was still shrouded in a mass of light, impossible to spy into.

And it gave him a sense of danger; instinct warned him to stay away from this place.

However, their greatest threat was still the Void Divine Flower.

Would the Void Divine Flower still attack him now?

...

Nine middle-aged men gathered in front of the central great hall, looking at a middle-aged man in the lead.

"Junior brothers, your task is to re-inscribe our Void-breaking Array."

"You already know how to inscribe it. The Sect Hierarch demands it be completed as soon as possible—the faster the better."

"Elder Lu, the Array inscription can’t be rushed."

"I’m not telling you to slap it together; I’m telling you not to dawdle—go as fast as you can."

"Yes, we will do our utmost."

"Hurry it up, the faster the better."

"Elder Lu..."

"I know, I know, no rushing, no rushing—just don’t drag it out. Get to it."

"Yes."

Just then, several streaks of light flashed past. The next instant, their movements froze, their eyes bulged, their gazes rapidly dimmed, and they died on the spot.

Even the leading middle-aged man, Elder Lu, was not spared.

His face was filled with disbelief, his eyes glaring wide, yet he could not stop the light in them from fading.

He was the strongest among them, yet still could not block a single strike from the Golden Sword.

They stood rigid and motionless, as if turned into statues.

The people around them were each busy with their own tasks and failed to notice anything amiss over here, thinking they were just deep in thought, searching for inspiration.

These nine were all adept at arranging Arrays; to the Flower God Sect they were all top-tier, rarely seen talents, with quite exalted status.

Chu Zhiyuan’s face showed a smile.

One hand pressed to the ancient tree, he watched the situation within the valley.

The Flying Knives and the Golden Sword had already returned.

The Golden Sword returned to its sheath, while the Flying Knives slipped into Jade Sea and Sky, sinking into the seawater.

He was very satisfied with the power of this strike.

As the Heavenly Yuan Technique Second Layer advanced, his spiritual power grew purer and more formidable; the Flying Knives’ power soared, and the Golden Sword’s power likewise surged.

These nine experts, plus Elder Lu, had all failed to withstand even a single blow.

"Ah—!"

A scream suddenly rang out, shattering the valley’s calm.

Then came a burst of furious shouts, and Flower God Sect Disciples came running from all directions.

They soon saw the tragic scene.

Ten experts, including one Elder, stood upright and rigid, dead without a sound, without a clue as to how.

This inexplicably made them think of the previous ambush—the one that had turned the entire valley into a wasteland.

They had originally thought that man was already dead, slain by the Sect Hierarch driving the Divine Flower to its limit.

But now it seemed that despicable, shameless bastard wasn’t dead at all—and the Sect Hierarch had died in vain!

This filled them with both fury and terror.

The scenes of the earlier carnage were still vividly clear in their minds.

That terrifying man wasn’t dead; was he going to unleash another brutal slaughter?

"It’s that guy, isn’t it?"

"It’s him!"

"Find him! This time we absolutely have to butcher him!"

Their enraged shouts echoed through the valley.

Standing by the ancient tree, Chu Zhiyuan shook his head and chuckled.

Their shouts were loud, but looking at the expressions of those Flower God Sect Disciples in the valley, there was a faint trace of fear on every face.

Their former high morale had completely vanished.

Over thirty Flying Knives shot out from his sleeve, lightly merging into the Void and disappearing.

At the same time, the new Sect Hierarch and the Elders had already arrived before the ten corpses.

Seeing those ten corpses, the new Sect Hierarch let out a sigh and withdrew his gaze, sweeping it over the surrounding Disciples.

"Sect Hierarch... how can we find that bastard?"

"Sect Hierarch, this hatred must be repaid!"

"We swear not to rest until this thief is slain!"

"Avenge the former Sect Hierarch!"

The crowd all spoke at once, agitated and enraged.

The purple-faced old man slowly swept his gaze across them; his eyes were like still water, calm and composed.

Their anger slowly dissolved under his tranquil gaze, losing all momentum.

The purple-faced old man said slowly, "This thief is skilled at ambush and deceit. But since he resorts to ambush and deceit, that shows he has no confidence in facing us head-on; he is no match for us."

"But Sect Hierarch..." someone said anxiously.

The purple-faced old man waved a hand. "What we must do is hold fast and remain still. We must not lose formation."

"Sect Hierarch, then how should we respond? How do we find him and kill him?" a middle-aged man said in a deep voice. "We can’t just let him run rampant, striking from the shadows at will, can we?"

"I have decided to employ another Divine Object to find and execute him."

"Sect Hierarch, which Divine Object?"

"The Heart Inquiry Needle!" the purple-faced old man said slowly. "Once this needle is unleashed, that thief will surely die!"

Someone asked, "Sect Hierarch, doesn’t this require that thief’s Essence Blood as a guide?"

"Humph." An old man said in a deep voice, "He has already left traces behind!"

He pointed at the ten rigid figures and said solemnly, "On their bodies is that thief’s aura!"

The purple-faced old man said slowly, "We must take advantage of the fact that his aura has not yet dispersed and use the needle at once."

As he spoke, he came up to that middle-aged man, stretching out a hand to press on his heart.

A moment later, he took out a small sword from his robe.

The small sword was thin and long, about as thick as a finger and as long as a palm, its whole body pitch-black and lusterless.

He pressed the small sword to his brow.

A moment later, the small sword began to change; the pitch-black rapidly faded, turning into warm White Jade, then continued changing, becoming crystal clear and translucent.

It looked like a small sword carved from ice.

The crowd stared wide-eyed as the purple-faced old man’s face rapidly turned pale.

The purple hue on his face was fading, leaving him paper-white.

Meanwhile, the aura around his body first surged, then rapidly transferred into the small sword.

The small sword’s aura slowly grew stronger, like a mountain rising straight up from the ground.

Its presence gradually became impossible to look at directly.

The crowd stared wide-eyed at the purple-faced old man, waiting to see what this sword would accomplish.

They had heard of the Heart Inquiry Needle’s reputation as well.

Though called a needle, it was actually a sword, already beyond the realm of True Yuan, mysterious to the extreme.

It was said that anyone whose aura was locked onto by the Heart Inquiry Needle would surely die, with no way to dodge.

The purple-faced old man’s eyes turned vacant. He pinched the small sword between his fingers, flung it into the air, and barked, "Go!"

The small sword hovered in the air and flashed once.

Then, with the purple-faced old man’s handprint, it suddenly shot off, Breaking Sky.

The next moment, Chu Zhiyuan sensed danger.

He did not hesitate to extend his palm, Divine Flower surging out of his palm to meet the small sword that was Breaking Sky toward him.

"Ding..."

The White Jade Rose and the small sword clashed.

Chu Zhiyuan revealed a smile.

As expected—though this sword was powerful, it was still inferior to the Divine Flower. Blocked by the Divine Flower, it posed no threat.

"Ding ding ding ding..."

The small sword and the White Jade Rose clashed dozens of times in the air, yet neither could gain the upper hand.

The small sword could not break through the White Jade Rose’s defense, and the White Jade Rose could not knock the small sword down.

The two fell into a stalemate.

Chu Zhiyuan remained calm and unruffled; the White Jade Rose almost didn’t require any expenditure of his spirit, and could defend on its own.

But the purple-faced old man, by contrast, was swaying as if about to collapse.

The small sword was continuously draining his spirit, and he was already unable to bear the burden.