Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1000: Chapter 996: Bestowing the Robe

He closed his eyes and pieced together the patterns in his mind.

These patterns formed a design he didn’t recognize.

It resembled a fierce beast.

The moment this thought came to mind, he shivered, as if a beast had set its sights on him.

He frowned, opened his eyes, and once again observed the peak before him.

Besides the internal patterns, there was nothing unusual about the peak.

If it weren’t for his large increase in spiritual power, enhanced Super Sense, and elevated Essence Qi, it would have been very difficult to notice these patterns.

Hidden within the mountain rock, their power was weak and secretive, nearly impossible to discover.

He swiftly returned to the Demon Suppression Divine Palace, consolidating the First Form while preparing to practice the Second Form.

...

Leng Tieya came to the Wanxiang Hall once again.

He was searching for the Strange Beast pattern he had seen within the hall.

With Super Sense having evolved a layer, he no longer needed to look through the books one by one.

As Super Sense swept over, the content of the books imprinted itself into his mind.

This scanning was highly mentally taxing.

By dividing his Super Sense into many parts, he instantaneously split it into dozens of sections, each scanning a page.

He then arranged these pages sequentially in his mind before integrating them.

He had yet to achieve the skill of scanning and storing the entire hall’s books in his mind in one sweep.

This scanning appeared complex but was completed almost instantaneously.

The moment he raised his hand, even before touching this book, Super Sense completed the scan.

Thus, it was dozens or even a hundred times faster than flipping through the books one by one.

Though his spirit was strong, he still needed Chu Zhiyuan’s help to support his spiritual power.

By the time he finished scanning all the beast-related books in the hall, half a day had passed, and his face was pale.

Fortunately, the books in Wanxiang Hall truly recorded that Strange Beast.

This was the Qing Beast.

The Qing Beast had the ability to disrupt the mind.

Disruption of the mind meant disturbing the spirit, preventing spiritual power from operating normally.

To experts of the Demon Clan, this Qing Beast didn’t hold much power, but it was the bane of Demon Clan experts.

He frowned in thought for a moment, then went to the Nine Abyss Hall to see Zhou Jiangming.

...

Zhou Jiangming happened to have finished reading all the documents at hand, rose from beside the desk, and came over with his hands clasped behind his back.

Following him was Zheng Shanggong, with hair and beard completely white.

Zhou Jiangming frowned as he looked at Leng Tieya, ”Are you planning to back out?”

”Chief, since I took the Tracking Bead, I naturally won’t back out,” Leng Tieya said, ”I just wanted to gather some information in advance, to gauge the situation.”

Zhou Jiangming smiled, ”The palace has already sent experts to gauge the situation, and you still want to check again?”

He knew Leng Tieya felt a sense of foreboding and didn’t want to take the risk.

And this was understandable.

After all, the life of a Great Sky Demon was more important and more cherished.

It had been extremely difficult to cultivate into a Great Sky Demon, requiring countless lifetimes to succeed just once. How could he pass on the chance to become a Supreme Heavenly Demon?

Especially since he was so young, his chance to become a Supreme Heavenly Demon was far higher than others’.

Therefore, he cherished his life even more.

Leng Tieya said, ”I still feel more at ease taking a look myself.”

”Hmm, very well,” Zhou Jiangming nodded, ”With your higher cultivation, you might see more.”

The Great Heavenly Demon Palace sent numerous experts to investigate and understand the details of the Ghost Bone Sect.

But among these experts, there was no Great Sky Demon.

Leng Tieya, being a Great Sky Demon and investigating personally, was beneficial for the entire Great Heavenly Demon Palace.

The gap between a Great Sky Demon and an ordinary Heavenly Demon was significant, especially in terms of sensory ability.

Leng Tieya clasped his hands, ”Then please give me the location, and I’ll go take a look.”

Zheng Shanggong chuckled, ”Cold Nephew, this location of the Ghost Bone Sect’s Secret Land is highly confidential and absolutely cannot be revealed.”

Leng Tieya raised an eyebrow.

Zheng Shanggong continued, ”Including that Nephew Song, it cannot be disclosed.”

He was aware of Leng Tieya’s close relationship with Song Lianshuang, involving personal affections.

Such a relationship often meant sharing everything without reservation.

But as an Outer Palace Disciple, Song Lianshuang had no right to know this information.

”Rest assured, Elder, I understand,” Leng Tieya nodded solemnly.

Zheng Shanggong looked at Zhou Jiangming, and when Zhou Jiangming nodded, he approached a nearby cabinet and pulled out a small box.

The dark green box, about a foot square, was handed to Zhou Jiangming.

Zhou Jiangming pressed his palms onto the box, gently operating it, a crisp ”snap” echoed shortly after.

As the box opened, it contained a letter, which he handed to Leng Tieya.

Leng Tieya took it, glanced at the wax seal on the envelope, and gently operated, causing the wax to melt instantly.

He pulled out the letter inside the envelope.

A quick glance at the contents of the letter, and Leng Tieya’s brow furrowed immediately.

”What’s wrong?” Zheng Shanggong asked.

While speaking, he moved a candle holder from the nearby desk, resealed the letter after putting it back inside the envelope, then placed it back into the box.

The dark green small box was closed again and returned to the cabinet.

Leng Tieya said, ”Chief, is there only one Secret Land of the Ghost Bone Sect?”

Zhou Jiangming responded, ”Could it be you discovered another?”

Leng Tieya slowly nodded and recounted the peak he had discovered.

Zhou Jiangming’s expression turned stern.

Leng Tieya further detailed the contents of the cave within the peak, the number of Ghost Bone Flowers, and that the patterns within the peak were of the Qing Beast.

Zhou Jiangming and Zheng Shanggong listened with increasingly serious expressions.

Zhou Jiangming coldly remarked, ”The Ghost Bone Sect indeed has more than one Secret Land.”

”Alas—!” Zheng Shanggong sighed, shaking his head, ”This complicates matters!”

Leng Tieya said, ”Chief, Elder, I suspect they not only have two Secret Lands but possibly three, four, or even more!”

”Hmm, quite possible,” Zhou Jiangming slowly voiced, ”I had suspected this earlier, but the information from the Outer Palace didn’t support my suspicion.”

Zheng Shanggong stated, ”This means the Ghost Bone Sect we are facing is not as weak as we imagined.”

Zhou Jiangming nodded.

Zheng Shanggong said, ”We need to quickly inform the Outer Palace and deploy more experts, maybe even more Great Sky Demons.”

He looked at Leng Tieya, smiling, ”It’s thanks to your cleverness, Cold Nephew.”

Leng Tieya, having obtained the Tracking Bead, showed a completely different attitude compared to before.

This was a good thing, indicating Leng Tieya’s commitment to his promise, proactive nature, and reliability.

Leng Tieya said, ”If we are to take action, naturally, we must understand the situation thoroughly, ... Chief, Elder, I’ll first head over there and see if I can find more clues to locate their other Secret Lands.”

”That would be best,” Zhou Jiangming slowly said, ”Junior Brother Zheng, give him that Cloud Concealing Treasure Robe.”

”Yes,” Zheng Shanggong happily agreed, ”Please wait a moment.”

He recognized this as Zhou Jiangming’s reward for Leng Tieya’s intelligence and proactive attitude.

There must be rewards for contributions; even if not in merit, other compensations would follow.

Zhou Jiangming warned, ”The Ghost Bone Sect might also have a Great Sky Demon, so you need to be careful.”

Leng Tieya nodded solemnly.

A moment later, Zheng Shanggong returned to the main hall, carrying a purple lacquer box similar to the previous small box.

He handed it to Zhou Jiangming, who personally opened it with his power.

Inside was a bright light, akin to a bright moon reflected in a lake.

Zhou Jiangming reached in and, with a gentle shake, caught the light.

The light expanded, forming a luminous gray robe.

Encased in brilliance, the gray robe’s peculiarity was obvious at first glance.

He handed it to Leng Tieya, ”This is the Cloud Concealing Treasure Robe, a Treasure from the Human Race. Try it on.”

Curious, Leng Tieya took it, its silken feel akin to satin, seemingly deriving its brilliance from this unique material.

Once he donned it, the luster quickly diminished, transforming into an ordinary gray robe, devoid of its smooth satin essence, appearing as typical fabric instead.

Zhou Jiangming and Zheng Shanggong observed him with satisfaction, smiling.

The effectiveness of the Cloud Concealing Treasure Robe was indeed linked to spiritual power: the stronger the spirit, the greater the effect.

After wearing the Cloud Concealing Treasure Robe, Leng Tieya’s aura diminished rapidly; when gazed upon, it no longer commanded attention as before.