Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1458: Chapter 1454: First Appearance

He wore a mystic robe, blending seamlessly with the night, as the night wind gently lifted him higher and higher.

He felt as if there was no need to exert power, only letting the strange energy flow through his body, with a slight movement of thought, he could merge with the night wind and keep rising.

It seemed as if the strange energy was transforming him into the wind, ascending with its power.

Throughout this process, the strange energy did not deplete, as if it could float endlessly without exhaustion.

As time passed, he continued ascending, spiraling above the Imperial Palace as if he were a whirlwind.

After rising to one hundred meters, he still hadn’t seen the shadow of the Divine Artifact, kept ascending another hundred meters, and then another hundred meters...

When he reached a thousand meters, the entire Imperial City lay beneath his feet, resembling the stars in the night sky.

The sky was dark, and the ground was dotted with lights.

As if heaven and earth were reversed.

He felt a sense of unrestrained freedom as if the Divine Artifact suddenly became less important.

Even though he had come so high without locating the Divine Artifact, he didn’t feel disappointed.

He vaguely understood.

That Divine Artifact does not exist in this realm, like the Void Divine Flower, hidden in another world.

When it needs to exert its influence, it crosses the void, appears here, and then returns to its original void.

To see such a Divine Artifact, one must find the person who wields it.

He couldn’t help but think of his targets: the four princes.

To find the Divine Artifact, keeping a close watch on the four princes is essential.

Only through them can the Divine Artifact be found, can the reason for its malfunction be known.

Super Sense instantly enveloped the four princes.

Each of the four princes went about their business.

Prince Zhuang was reading in his mansion.

Prince Su was practicing martial arts in the backyard.

Prince Cheng was drinking and discussing matters with several advisors.

Prince Ying was scolding his son.

The small martial arts training ground of the Prince Ying Mansion was brightly lit.

Aside from the father and son, there was no one else.

All the attendants and guards kept their distance.

Lanterns were hanging high, illuminating the training ground brightly.

Prince Ying stood with his hands behind his back at the center of the training ground, coldly glaring at the handsome yet somewhat frivolous young man before him, and said solemnly, ”You think you don’t need to cultivate just because you’re the Princely Heir? Wasn’t the last lesson enough?”

”Father, I was unlucky once, how could I be unlucky a second time? It’s someone else’s turn, right?” The handsome young man laughed cheekily.

Clearly, he wasn’t afraid of Prince Ying.

Prince Ying sneered, ”Ridiculous. You’re relying on luck?”

”Father, it’s already too late for me to start cultivating now. No matter how hard I work, I can’t become a master.”

”That’s nonsense!” Prince Ying said solemnly, ”Effort is never in vain; cultivating is never too late.”

”That’s just self-deception.” The handsome young man shook his head.

Prince Ying sneered, ”Self-deception? You’re like a frog in a well, ignorant of the vastness of the world!”

The handsome young man pursed his lips indifferently.

Prince Ying said, ”Not to mention others, just take Chu Zhiyuan as an example, do you know when he joined the Heavenly Sword Sect?”

The handsome young man said, ”It’s said that Mr. Chu hasn’t been in the Heavenly Sword Sect for long, right?”

”He joined the Heavenly Sword Sect just a year ago and began cultivating. Do you think it’s late?” Prince Ying said, ”If he thought like you, believing it’s too late to put in the effort, would he be who he is now?”

”Mr. Chu is different.”

”His aptitude may be slightly better, stronger than yours, but your aptitude is already top-notch. As long as you focus on cultivating earnestly, your achievements might not be inferior to his!”

”Father, do you really believe that?” The handsome young man laughed, ”Mr. Chu’s aptitude is beyond human.”

”Mr. Chu’s aptitude is formidable; your bloodline is formidable!” Prince Ying said, ”You may not be inferior to him!... Besides, even if you’re not equal to him, as long as you become Venerable, your bloodline is enough to protect you without worrying about assassins.”

”Assassins...” The handsome young man shook his head and laughed, ”The assassins have scared Father out of his wits!”

”Shut up!” Prince Ying said solemnly, ”If you don’t cultivate properly, don’t even think about roaming around!”

”Father!”

”Practice!” Prince Ying said coldly, ”From today, you’re confined to closed cultivation. Don’t think about leaving until you become Venerable!”

”Father—!”

”If you dare go out, watch me break your leg!” Prince Ying flicked his sleeve and strode away.

Leaving the handsome young man seething, clenching his teeth, yet eventually starting to practice martial arts.

Chu Zhiyuan watched him diligently practicing martial arts step by step, unable to help but laugh and shake his head.

Prince Ying’s son was merely tough-talking, arguing with his father. Ultimately, he knew he needed to properly cultivate.

After all, having recently survived an assassination attempt, how could he not feel fear and desire to enhance his cultivation?

Chu Zhiyuan continuously observed Prince Ying, watching him return to the study and take out a jade pendant from his sleeve.

The dark green jade pendant appeared ordinary, only carved with a flying tiger.

The fierce tiger with wings seemed ready to soar into the sky at any moment.

He closed his eyes and pressed the jade pendant against his forehead.

The flying tiger began to glow softly, in the gentle light, it seemed to move.

As if flying within the jade pendant.

When Super Sensing Illumination took place, he found the jade pendant unfathomable, unable to see through it.

Super Sense was not blocked; it could enter the jade pendant.

But inside, it gave him a sense of vastness, like an endless void, with no visible end.

And in this vast void, a fierce tiger emitted a gentle light, flying through the air.

The moment Super Sense touched the flying tiger, it retracted as if struck by lightning.

His brain felt a tingle.

For the first time, he encountered such a peculiar situation.

Super Sense was originally shapeless and intangible, yet in front of the flying tiger, it became real and solid.

Its energy could be transmitted to himself through Super Sense, including his brain.

Super Sense withdrew but did not leave.

It simply avoided the flying tiger, observing its movements and habits.

The flying tiger ignored the Super Sense and kept flying in the void until beams of light descended into the void.

It then flew towards the light.

Super Sense saw it fly for about a quarter of an hour and finally reached a peak.

In this boundless void, a series of peaks emerged.

Seemingly endless peaks, stretching hundreds or even thousands of miles.

Super Sense couldn’t completely encompass all the peaks.

The flying tiger drifted towards a peak and stopped atop the highest point, a round boulder.

This boulder resembled a pebble, polished smooth and rounded, where the flying tiger comfortably perched, gazing into the distance.

Super Sense followed its gaze and observed that three hundred meters away on another mountain peak, a black bear was slowly descending.

As the black bear descended, a seven-colored phoenix descended atop a peak two hundred meters to the left.

Then a green lion descended.

Chu Zhiyuan suddenly realized.

These four divine beast bloodlines gathered here, indicating this space is extraordinarily special.

And the entrance to this space is that dark green jade pendant.

Prince Ying was placing the jade pendant against his forehead, while at the same time, the other three princes did the same.

They each had a dark green jade pendant, but the pendants were carved with a black bear, a green lion, and a phoenix.

Chu Zhiyuan suppressed his excitement, Super Sense maintained Illumination but stayed far away to avoid disturbing them.

He felt this might involve the Divine Artifact; were they using this method to stimulate the Divine Artifact?

As soon as this thought arose, each beast rose lazily, and their bodies began to emit light.

The light grew more intense, until suddenly disappearing, by which time they had grown ten times their original size.

Then they soared into the sky.