Imperial Cultivation

Cheng Siyao’s face grew increasingly ugly.

He had originally thought only one or two would leave, yet in the end not a single person stayed.

Everyone was going to leave.

In such a situation, it was fated that they could no longer possibly refine the Divine Artifact to success.

But to watch the Divine Artifact right before his eyes, only to give it up like this, was truly hard to stomach.

"Old Cheng, let’s go!"

"Brother Cheng, when it’s time to cut, you must cut!"

Shouts carried over from afar.

Cheng Siyao glared at them, then twisted his head to look toward that giant tower.

He ground his teeth, finally snorted, turned, and drifted away, raising his voice to shout: "Wait for me!"

Chu Zhiyuan, watching from the mountaintop, was dumbstruck, utterly tongue‑tied.

He had never imagined that Cheng Siyao and the others would be able to resolutely abandon the giant tower.

In their eyes, this giant tower was not a Spiritual Artifact but a Divine Artifact, a Divine Artifact that could unify the myriad heavens.

Even though they were all Spirit Venerables, well‑informed and richly experienced, they should still find it hard to resist such temptation.

Yet now they had chosen to give it up.

Was it because the tower’s several transformations beforehand had forced them to restart the refining again and again, making them lose heart and fall into complete despair?

If they despaired so easily, they would never have become Spirit Venerables.

These Spirit Venerables had all been honed to steadfast character; they should not abandon something so lightly.

Or rather, had they already sensed something was amiss, felt danger, and so wished to withdraw in time?

He shook his head and looked toward the Biyuan Heaven Imperial Palace Tribute hiding within a grove of trees in the distance.

Even with Cheng Siyao and the others vanishing without a trace, this Imperial Palace Tribute still did not move in the slightest, shrinking there as steadily as a stone.

Chu Zhiyuan sighed inwardly.

These Spirit Venerables truly could not be underestimated; each had their own unique qualities.

He flickered and vanished from the mountaintop, appearing beside the giant tower the very next instant.

He appeared at a most exquisite angle, just so as to avoid the line of sight of both Cheng Siyao and the Imperial Palace Tribute.

Then the giant tower rapidly shrank, and together with him disappeared.

When he appeared on a distant mountaintop, his Inner Universe had gained another Stone Tower.

The addition of the fourth Stone Tower caused the Spiritual Energy within his Inner Universe to change even more rapidly, and his Realm of Nine Transitions climbed another tiny fraction.

This made him understand that there was still Nine Transitions Perfection ahead; he was still a step away from Perfection, that state where no further ascent was possible.

He could not help but wonder: if the Nine Transitions reached Perfection, could he rise another level still?

The giant tower vanished, leaving the Void empty but for billowing clouds and mist.

Chu Zhiyuan stood quietly on the mountaintop, closed his eyes, and continued refining the four Stone Towers.

After a quarter of an hour, a giant tower slowly descended.

It seemed to fall from the utmost heights, slowly probing into the sea of clouds.

Cloud‑mist coiled around, shrouding the giant tower and making its grandeur and mystery all the more striking.

Chu Zhiyuan’s brows twitched, and a smile appeared upon his face.

He was now very curious where this giant tower came from.

If this giant tower was a clone of the Taixu Tower, with one Venerable in each layer of heaven and earth, then whenever a tower was missing it would be replenished and no lack would be permitted.

Where, then, did this giant tower come from to appear here? Would its original heaven and earth not now be missing a tower?

Or perhaps it had not come from another heaven and earth at all, but had newly appeared?

That would mean that even after he absorbed four giant towers, there were still thirty‑six giant towers outside?

His curiosity only grew stronger.

As soon as this giant tower stabilized, he again caused it to shrink and vanish, entering his Inner Universe.

After five Stone Towers, he found that his Realm had only risen by a limited amount.

As the number of Stone Towers increased, the degree of improvement to his Realm rapidly attenuated.

It seemed unfeasible to rely on sheer quantity of giant towers to rapidly push his Realm forward.

He still had to slowly comprehend the world himself, to thoroughly penetrate Heaven and Earth.

And the most fundamental method remained observing his Inner Universe and, by comparing it to the Heaven and Earth outside his body, gaining deeper insight into the mysteries and laws of Heaven and Earth.

The deeper his comprehension, the faster his Realm would rise.

After another quarter of an hour, yet another giant tower appeared and was then taken into his Inner Universe.

Six Stone Towers.

This time, the improvement to his Realm was vanishingly small, practically negligible.

He shook his head; this thoroughly severed any shortcut.

Yet these six Stone Towers were transforming his Inner Universe ever more quickly; its Spiritual Energy grew increasingly abundant.

He felt that the Spiritual Energy density within his Inner Universe had already surpassed that of Biyuan Heaven.

If he brought in another six Stone Towers, could the Spiritual Energy density reach the level of Outer Heaven?

If it could reach the level of Outer Heaven, then his Inner Universe would be extraordinary indeed.

He could not help but let his imagination roam.

Afterwards, the giant tower appeared once more and was again taken into his Inner Universe.

As time flowed by, when he had taken in the twelfth Stone Tower, no new giant tower appeared.

Chu Zhiyuan was taken aback.

The Biyuan Heaven Imperial Palace Tribute, who had been huddled halfway up a mountain, could no longer remain.

This Imperial Palace Tribute was a middle‑aged man, a Venerable of Perfection, his aura so restrained there was not the slightest trace, merged as one with the peak.

He watched for quite some time; mist swirled through the Void, but no more giant towers appeared.

A vague intuition arose in him: the giant towers would likely not appear again.

This meant the Divine Artifact had utterly disappeared.

A Divine Artifact discovered with such difficulty, and they had even spread the news.

In the end, the Divine Artifact had actually vanished.

What consequences would this bring?

His expression changed.

Most likely everyone would suspect that the Biyuan Heavenly Court had obtained the Divine Artifact!

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

Would the giant tower truly never appear again?

Was it because too many Stone Towers had disappeared, and so there would be no further replenishment?

He flicked out a Jade Pendant, causing it to embed itself into the crown of a tree within the mountain forest, then vanished and appeared on Dragon Mountain.

As he transported a Spiritual Mountain, he simultaneously refined the Twelve Stone Towers.

Refining all Twelve Stone Towers at once, he discovered the wondrous connection among them.

Though they looked similar externally, their inner Spiritual qualities were all different: some light and lively, some steady and composed, some irritable and quick to anger, some joyous and elated.

Because he possessed the Heaven‑Reaching Spirit Talisman, he could communicate with them and apprehend their differing Spiritual natures, thus prescribing the right treatment for each.

With the Heaven‑Reaching Spirit Talisman assisting him, his refining progressed at astounding speed.

Through the refining, he discovered a special linkage among the Twelve Stone Towers.

If the Twelve Stone Towers were placed according to particular positions, the aura they emitted could merge into one.

The moment this aura manifested, the Taixu True Scripture began to circulate at a tremendous pace.

If the aura of the Stone Towers was a catalyst for Spiritual Energy, causing it to rapidly become more pure.

Then this merged aura was a catalyst for the Taixu True Scripture itself, allowing the Taixu True Scripture to swiftly refine.

Once the Divine Essence of the Taixu True Scripture had fully stabilized, its refinement was as though he had cultivated for several hundred years.

This was equivalent to saving several centuries’ worth of bitter cultivation.

The advancement of the Taixu True Scripture caused the Realm of the Spirit Venerable to rise sharply in turn.

This strange aura did not only purify the Taixu True Scripture; it was also purifying the Spiritual Energy of the Inner Universe.

Moreover, using this strange aura as a medium, the aura of the Taixu True Scripture and the aura of the Inner Universe actually began to blend together.

The Spiritual Energy condensed by the Twelve Stone Towers, the Spiritual Energy of the Inner Universe, and the Spiritual Energy of the Taixu True Scripture—these three merged, transforming the Inner Universe’s Spiritual Energy toward an even denser state.

He already felt that this was even more pure and abundant than the Spiritual Energy of Outer Heaven.

This meant the living beings of the Inner Universe would grow more robust and stronger than those of Outer Heaven.

The Inner Universe was also a better sanctuary for cultivation than Outer Heaven.

White light flashed at his left shoulder, and the Elephant Beast appeared.

Its face was still drowsy, tail gently swaying, as though not yet fully awake.

Chu Zhiyuan watched it with a smile, not disturbing it.

After a while, the Elephant Beast sobered, its tail stopped swaying, and it asked Chu Zhiyuan curiously: "What’s going on in here?"

"The Twelve Spirit Towers have produced such changes; this Taixu Tower is truly profound."

"Twelve Stone Towers..." The Elephant Beast sighed, staring at him in amazement.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "I’m planning to send someone in to have a look."