Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1430 - 1426: Acceptance

Zhou Qingyu glared at Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "You really don’t want to enter my tutelage?"

Zhou Qingyu snorted. "What kind of Major Sect would force someone to become a disciple?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "It’s hard to find a good master, and just as hard to find a good Disciple, especially for our Heaven-Reaching Sect, which has extremely high requirements for its disciples’ aptitude."

"Then how many disciples does Heaven-Reaching Sect have?" Zhou Qingyu asked.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head. "That’s classified. I can only tell you after you formally become my Disciple."

Zhou Qingyu snorted. "Don’t tell me it’s only a handful of people?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "There aren’t many, but an army values quality over quantity. Experts like me—there are at least ten."

Zhou Qingyu curled her lip.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "You understand the divisions of Cultivation Realm now, right?"

"Yeah. Qi Transformation, Intent Transformation, God Transformation, Spirit Transformation." Zhou Qingyu said.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded. "How many in the Spirit Transformation Realm are there in your Dan Yang Heaven?"

"...They’re legendary figures." Zhou Qingyu shook her head.

She didn’t know how many Spirit Venerables there were in the world, only that they were definitely very few, figures of legend.

She had never heard of any Sect that had a Spirit Venerable.

Aside from Flower God Sect, top-tier Sects like Star-picking Cliff and Dining Mist Valley were also said to have Spirit Venerables, but no one had ever seen one.

Even if ordinary people saw a Spirit Venerable, they wouldn’t recognize them.

She then said, "Mr. Chu, are you really a Spirit Venerable?"

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled. "Who would dare to falsely call themselves a Spirit Venerable?"

"Then how do you tell if someone is a Spirit Venerable?" Zhou Qingyu asked.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "If they can hover motionless in midair and ride the wind, then they’re a Spirit Venerable."

As he spoke, his feet gradually lifted off the ground, rising until he was floating in the air, about a foot up.

The people around still acted as if they didn’t see anything; their gazes slid right past, as though the two of them were invisible.

Zhou Qingyu’s almond eyes flickered.

Thinking back on everything Chu Zhiyuan had done earlier, she vaguely felt that he really was a Spirit Venerable.

She had just been hesitating all along.

She didn’t understand Chu Zhiyuan at all—how could she rashly acknowledge him as her master?

What if he was from an Evil Sect?

But she knew that at this point, she couldn’t refuse even if she wanted to.

If she truly refused, it probably wouldn’t just be a matter of having her Cultivation sealed.

Taking her little life would be as easy as turning his hand.

"Let’s go." Chu Zhiyuan continued forward.

He had noticed the shift in Zhou Qingyu’s mood.

Obviously, she had realized she was in a dangerous situation.

Zhou Qingyu followed his pace.

The further in they went, the more bustling it became. Various noises surged over them again.

But Zhou Qingyu had no mind to experience and enjoy this bustle; she was constantly pondering what choice to make.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "At this point, you can only gamble."

Zhou Qingyu sighed. "Mr. Chu, are you from an Evil Sect?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "If I were an Evil Cultivator, would I bother with all this trouble?"

He shook his head. "Up to now, the Evil Cultivators I’ve killed—if not ten thousand, then at least nine thousand."

Zhou Qingyu fell silent.

"Don’t believe me? You’ll understand later." Chu Zhiyuan said. "After you become my Disciple, you’ll have to leave home and follow me in Cultivation."

"Will I still be able to come home?" Zhou Qingyu asked.

"How about once a month?" Chu Zhiyuan said. "Or once every ten days... In the beginning, once every three days is fine too."

"Really?!" Zhou Qingyu blurted.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "If your progress is fast enough, going back once a day won’t be a problem."

Zhou Qingyu was half-convinced, half-doubtful.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "That depends on whether you make an effort or not."

Zhou Qingyu couldn’t help asking, "Is my aptitude really that good?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Your aptitude is extremely compatible with the Heavenly Five Mysterious Techniques. In the future, it’s not impossible for you to achieve Spirit Venerable."

Zhou Qingyu’s almond eyes sparkled. In the end, she gritted her teeth. "Alright, I agree to become your disciple."

She had thought and thought again, and finally made her decision.

Indeed, she didn’t really have a choice. Having trained in the Heavenly Five Mysterious Techniques, how could she not join Heaven-Reaching Sect?

Everyone knew that a Sect’s core mental method could not be spread outside; there were countless cases of people being killed over this alone.

Now she could only gamble that this Heaven-Reaching Sect was not an Evil Sect, that she wasn’t jumping into a pit of fire.

"A wise choice." Chu Zhiyuan smiled.

Zhou Qingyu let out a long breath.

Once her resolve was set, she completely gave up agonizing over it and no longer hesitated.

Seeing her like this, Chu Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head. "Tell your parents tomorrow morning. Tonight, let’s go take a look at something first... Want to go see Flower God Sect?"

"Flower God Sect?"

"The top-tier Sect you know of."

"We can go see it?"

"Then let’s go." Chu Zhiyuan said.

Zhou Qingyu’s vision blurred; light and shadow flowed and twisted, and then everything opened up before her.

She found herself once again standing atop a mountain peak, a Bright Moon hanging high and clear above her.

It was still that same Bright Moon, but the place beneath her feet had already changed.

Though she hadn’t really trained in Qinggong, she’d heard many stories about Cultivators and knew what Qinggong was like.

This clearly surpassed the scope of Qinggong.

Chu Zhiyuan pointed at the valley opposite them. "See over there? That’s where Flower God Sect is."

Zhou Qingyu widened her eyes and looked. Under the moonlight, the valley only had a ring of lanterns illuminating it.

In the center of the valley, a flower-shaped White Jade grand hall radiated a gentle glow that seized the eye.

She stared at that grand hall in amazement.

"That’s the central grand hall of Flower God Sect. Pretty, isn’t it?"

"Very beautiful."

"Want to go inside and take a look?"

Zhou Qingyu looked at him in astonishment. "We can?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "Come."

Zhou Qingyu felt herself float up again, gliding toward the valley.

In midair, everything suddenly flashed, and they vanished without a trace.

The next instant, they were already inside the grand hall.

The hall was empty and spacious, lit by more than ten flower-shaped lamps that made it bright as day.

She immediately understood why the hall had given off such a gentle glow.

It wasn’t entirely due to the material; it was also because the light inside was bright, illuminating the hall.

Her almond eyes widened.

Two middle-aged men sat cross-legged in the hall. The moment they noticed their arrival, they stared wide-eyed and were about to speak.

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand.

The two middle-aged men’s bodies went limp, their eyes closing as they fell still and silent.

Zhou Qingyu’s heart jumped. "They...?"

"Not dead." Chu Zhiyuan said. "Just fainted."

Zhou Qingyu let out a breath of relief.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "You can’t bear it?"

Zhou Qingyu said, "You can’t just kill people for no reason."

"What do you think of Flower God Sect?" Chu Zhiyuan paced with his hands behind his back inside the hall.

Zhou Qingyu said, "Flower God Sect is a Major Sect of the righteous path, with a good reputation, just very secretive in its actions, rarely appearing in public."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Since they act in secret and rarely show themselves, how can you be sure whether they’re righteous or evil?"

"They haven’t harmed anyone." Zhou Qingyu said.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "The truth is the exact opposite. They use an Array to enter another heaven, which is my original world, Biyuan Heaven, where they slaughter wantonly and advance their Cultivation by devouring souls."

"That’s impossible, right?" Zhou Qingyu said in shock.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "That’s how the world is. What you hear is false, what you see is real—and even what you see with your own eyes isn’t necessarily the truth."

Zhou Qingyu looked around the grand hall.

The hall was exquisite and lavish, with White Jade walls that seemed to emanate a sacred aura.

It was hard for her to believe that in such a beautiful hall lived people so evil.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "You can’t judge a book by its cover. It’s the same with Sects and with the world. Before you understand the whole story, don’t make rash judgments—assuming you ever get the chance to understand the whole story."

"...Mm." Her almond eyes shone as she looked at Chu Zhiyuan.

"Now that you’ve seen Flower God Sect, doesn’t it seem nothing special?"

Zhou Qingyu shook her head.

Her feelings were complicated; she didn’t know what to say.

She didn’t completely believe Chu Zhiyuan’s words either. Just like he’d said, before understanding the whole story, she couldn’t make a rash judgment.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Let’s go outside and take a look."

He walked out of the hall and came to the nine high platforms in the plaza before it.

Looking at the nine platforms, he sighed. "This is their Array."

Zhou Qingyu was puzzled.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "They each stand on one of these platforms to activate the Array and then enter Biyuan Heaven—our world."

"Biyuan Heaven?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "From now on, you’ll be spending most of your time cultivating over there."

"Alright."

"Let’s go. I’ll send you back." Chu Zhiyuan said.

Before Zhou Qingyu could even feel happy, her vision flashed, and she was already back in her own little courtyard at home.

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand and disappeared before her eyes.