Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1415 - 1411: Taking Action

Shen Hanyue snorted. "They’re going to come again?"

Xiao Ruoling said, "Looks like they won’t give up."

"Heh, they can still run now—after another round, will they still have the strength to run?"

"They’ve gotten their tempers riled up," Xiao Ruoling said. "They just have to decide the winner, don’t they?"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

The Palace Master of the Profound Yin Palace clearly understood the temper of the Li Huo Palace.

The Black Tortoise Shield was displayed in a way that was practically a provocation, forcing them to not be able to back down—they just had to suppress the Black Tortoise Shield.

After that, the Red Sun Needle began to light up for the third time.

Chu Zhiyuan’s eyes suddenly turned vacant; a moment later they returned to normal. He said in a low voice, "This is a feint—they’re going to run!"

Shen Hanyue was startled.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Attack first to escape later... Don’t say the Li Huo Palace are all straightforward types who don’t play tricks."

"I’ll go tell the Palace Master." Shen Hanyue said hurriedly.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Shen Hanyue was like a startled swan, sweeping past in a flash, darting into the central great hall with astonishing speed.

Xiao Ruoling said, "Can we stop them?"

"They’ve come this far; they’ve already chosen the wrong path," Chu Zhiyuan said. "They’re in too deep."

If after failing the first time they had decisively pulled out, they might still have had a chance to retreat intact.

But once they came a second time, they stepped into a quagmire.

And this second attempt still hadn’t succeeded.

If they came a third time, they’d be lambs to the slaughter, so they could only retreat.

Xiao Ruoling nodded slightly.

Twice they’d gathered all their strength and both times it came to nothing; withdrawing really was the only option.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Their show of bluster is very convincing."

Xiao Ruoling said, "The Palace Master should be able to judge that they’re bluffing, right?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "If she can’t be sure of the odds, she can’t act decisively. And Li Huo Palace is using that very point to seize the moment to pull out."

This kind of opportunity vanishes in a blink.

If they didn’t catch this chance, Li Huo Palace could retreat intact.

But if the opportunity wasn’t absolutely certain, it was very hard to seize.

After all, this Red Sun Needle was executed too realistically; there was no flaw to see.

Just then, a clear, cold voice sounded in Chu Zhiyuan’s ear: "All Profound Yin Palace Disciples, anyone below the Fifth Transitions is not to act. Those at the Fifth Transitions or above, strike now."

Xiao Ruoling’s bright eyes flashed at once. She said softly, "Husband, you just watch the battle. I’ll go."

"Be careful," Chu Zhiyuan said.

Xiao Ruoling answered, then leapt into the air, flying out to rendezvous with the incoming Shen Hanyue, shooting toward the distance.

Graceful figures streaked out into the sky one after another, like birds returning to the forest, heading toward the snow peak.

"Clang..."

A dark shadow shot out in advance, blocking before the small sword, dimming its radiance.

"Go!"

A furious roar shook heaven and earth like a thunderclap.

Standing atop the snow peak in a line like a long snake, the experts of Li Huo Palace broke formation one after another.

An old man lying at the rear of the crowd tossed out a small boat, shimmering with blazing silver light, as though coated in quicksilver.

This red-robed elder had been hidden among the crowd, very hard to notice.

And this little silver boat inside the snow peak formed from white cloud was not conspicuous either.

"Pop!"

A streak of white light shot out from the central great hall of the Profound Yin Palace, freakishly fast.

It threaded precisely through the gaps between the Li Huo Palace experts; before that red-robed elder could react, it had already struck his chest.

After piercing through the red-robed elder, the white light curved in midair and shot back toward the central great hall.

"Brother Luo!"

"Elder Luo!"

...

The experts of Li Huo Palace all cried out in anger, worry mixed with disbelief.

This Chi Dragon Spirit Shuttle of Elder Luo was classified, almost unknown to outsiders.

Even those who knew of the Chi Dragon Spirit Shuttle didn’t know who its owner was.

Yet now this streak of white light had struck Elder Luo with uncanny precision.

This was extremely unbelievable. It was impossible there was a traitor in Li Huo Palace, so how had Profound Yin Palace learned of it?

Furthermore, more importantly, Profound Yin Palace had effectively sabotaged their plan.

According to the plan, everyone was to rely on the Chi Dragon Spirit Shuttle to get out and retreat safely.

Now that the Chi Dragon Spirit Shuttle could no longer be activated, it meant they could only rely on their own ability to escape.

Their speed was nowhere near as fast as the Chi Dragon Spirit Shuttle; more importantly, they had to clash with the experts of the Profound Yin Palace.

As they were now, with only half their strength remaining, fighting the Profound Yin Palace experts put them at a great disadvantage.

While they were still in disbelief, the experts of Profound Yin Palace had already arrived and entangled them.

The Profound Yin Palace Disciples were all beauties; even if they lacked absolutely peerless looks, their temperaments were cold, pure, and elegant—beauties in their own right.

They looked cool and aloof, gentle and graceful, but anyone facing them felt nothing pleasant at all.

Their Palm Force was extremely Yin and extremely cold, icy to the marrow, as if countless small swords were hidden within their palms.

If not for the Supreme Yang and Firm power they carried in their bodies, which dissolved most of the extreme cold in the women’s Inner Strength, they would have been frozen stiff upon contact.

"Fight it out!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

...

Backed into a corner, the experts of Li Huo Palace instead stirred up the fierceness in their hearts, ignoring their own emptiness, going on a frenzied, desperate assault.

"Boom boom boom boom..."

The muffled impacts sounded like thunder, continuous and unending.

These delicate, tender women, when their Palm Force collided with the Li Huo Palace experts, exploded with astonishing momentum.

Palm Force turned into howling gales; the various wild winds tangled together, collided, interfered and neutralized each other, or merged into one.

This side of the Void was thrown into chaos.

Chu Zhiyuan stood on the roof, Super Sensing Illumination unfolding, taking in the entire battlefield at a glance.

The Profound Yin Palace experts had the advantage as soon as they entered—superior in numbers, and fighting in groups of two or three, besieging one Li Huo Palace expert—yet they still failed to form an overwhelming crush.

In the short term, the disadvantages of these Li Huo Palace experts had yet to fully show.

They too had rich combat experience; they rarely fought one against two or three, often pairing up in twos or threes, going two-on-two or two-on-three.

All of them were fighting as if staking their lives, barely managing to hold off the Profound Yin Palace experts.

Some Profound Yin Palace experts had chosen the wrong opponents and were even no match for the Li Huo Palace experts.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

The Profound Yin Palace was truly formidable: there were actually more than two hundred people at or above the Venerable Fifth Transitions.

And this didn’t even count the many who were on the Outer Realm Battlefield and had not returned.

Then he looked at the Heaven-Reaching Sect.

No wonder the Profound Yin Palace acted so overbearing; they truly had enough backing.

If not for the Heaven-Reaching Sect’s powerful legacy and their sufficient number of Spirit Venerables, they wouldn’t even be qualified to stand on equal footing with Profound Yin Palace.

As time passed, the slaughter grew ever more intense.

Every so often, a Li Huo Palace expert was wounded.

After being wounded, instead of retreating they became even more desperate, fighting like madmen, reckless and crazed.

For a time, the scene grew ever more tragic.

Frowning, Chu Zhiyuan looked toward the experts watching from not far away.

He saw the Tongming Spirit Shuttle of the Wu Gou Divine Palace rapidly pulling away.

The various sect experts inside the Spirit Shuttle had no intention of joining the battle.

Yet just as they had withdrawn a hundred meters, they were blocked by a group of women.

Five or six dozen women were standing on a Spirit Shuttle, glaring at them coldly.

Chu Zhiyuan suddenly flashed and vanished.

The next instant, he appeared in the Void beneath the white clouds. Reaching out, he swept up a pale-faced girl on the verge of unconsciousness into his arms, then flashed and vanished.

The next instant he appeared in Xiao Ruoling’s small courtyard.

Then he disappeared again, and once more in the Void beneath the white clouds, catching two women.

These two women were spitting blood, their bodies limp, cheeks flushed like they were drunk, the breath they exhaled scorching hot.

Chu Zhiyuan immediately began Concentrating, drawing out the rampaging burning qi within their bodies.

The Li Huo God Palm was pure and fierce, Supreme Yang and Firm, but before the True Yuan of the Taihao Jade Void Scripture, it was like a child meeting an adult, utterly unable to resist the Taihao Jade Void Scripture’s pushing and shifting.

...

An hour later, the slaughter in the sky had gradually thinned. The Li Huo Palace experts had either fled or fallen.

The Profound Yin Palace Disciples had either pursued outward or returned inside the Profound Yin Palace.

In Xiao Ruoling’s small courtyard, Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue were busy tending to twelve fellow Disciples.

Chu Zhiyuan, however, stood on the roof, expression grave as he gazed into the Void.