Imperial Cultivation

Possessing divine essence and able to speak the language of the Divine Race.

This is certainly an indisputable Divine Race.

Chu Zhiyuan believes it would judge this way.

But he still wondered why this Divine Race was so weak.

This is the nature of the Elephant Beast: suspicious.

So when dealing with it, one should remain indifferent.

The more indifferent one is, the less suspicious it becomes; otherwise, it would never be easily fooled.

He turned and walked away.

The Elephant Beast hovered above the grass tips, staring motionlessly at his back, its eyes burning.

Until Chu Zhiyuan’s figure disappeared into the greenery, it remained still.

The entire green grassland was within its sight.

Chu Zhiyuan continued another mile or so before stopping, once again encountering the Elephant Beast.

This time, Chu Zhiyuan ignored it and continued walking forward.

The Elephant Beast followed him, getting closer and closer.

Chu Zhiyuan still paid no attention and continued westward.

He kept a consistent direction using the direction previously seen by the Divine Eye.

The boundary seen by Super Sense earlier, beyond the grassland, was different from what the Divine Eye saw.

Now, around the Super Sensing Illumination, all he could see was lush green grass and nothing else.

This was the same as what the Divine Eye saw.

But the differences in boundaries made him doubt whether what Super Sense saw was real.

Following the direction seen by Super Sense, he kept moving west.

...

He suddenly stopped, sensing something amiss.

The view before his eyes was misaligned with what Super Sense saw.

Before his eyes was still flat green grass, but what Super Sense saw was a dirt pit.

This dirt pit looked familiar.

At a glance, he knew it was the den of Elephant Beasts, a series of burrows below, resembling gourds.

He halted, turning his head to look at the Elephant Beast five meters behind him.

The Elephant Beast stopped on the grass tips, looking at him without expression.

He smiled, shook his head, bypassed the dirt pit, and continued west.

The Elephant Beast still followed him.

Under the Super Sense’s illumination, he constantly adjusted his route, keeping the direction consistent but winding around, avoiding each pit.

Eventually, he reached the edge of the grassland.

He took a long breath and didn’t rush to step out. First, he took out a bowl of Abyss Water from his sleeve and once again condensed the Divine Eye.

A moment later, he shook his head, put the water bowl back into his sleeve, and disappeared within the Jade Sea and Sky.

What Super Sense saw was a hill, but the Divine Eye saw a great river.

To deceive Super Sense, indeed, it was worthy of being a mountain range transformed by a dragon.

He turned to look at the Elephant Beast, waved his hand, then turned to step out.

"Wow!"

The Elephant Beast suddenly cried out.

Chu Zhiyuan reached out his hand, looking at it with a smile.

It hesitated for a moment, then leapt up and landed in the palm of Chu Zhiyuan.

A flash of the Heavenly Spirit Talisman in his mind.

Chu Zhiyuan transmitted his thoughts into its mind: "Do you really want to follow me?"

"Are you of the Divine Race?" a strange voice sounded.

Crisp yet soft, difficult to discern gender.

"No," Chu Zhiyuan replied.

"Impossible!"

"I understand the Divine Language and cultivate the Divine Clan’s martial arts, but I am not a Divine Race."

"Outsiders couldn’t possibly understand Divine Language or master Divine Martial Arts."

"Maybe I have a peculiar bloodline?"

"Hmph, your Divine Martial Arts practice is incorrect."

"You understand Divine Clan Martial Arts?"

"I’ve seen it; you’re not practicing correctly."

"Then I would appreciate your guidance." Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said.

"...I’ll follow you, but I won’t be your pet."

"That’s fine," Chu Zhiyuan smiled: "I’ll consider you a friend, not a pet."

"Alright," the Elephant Beast said: "Show me that Divine Martial Arts again."

Chu Zhiyuan extended his left palm, and a small white dragon condensed and flew towards it again.

It leapt up, striking the small white dragon with its forepaw.

After the small white dragon collided with its left forepaw, it suddenly brightened and turned into a ball of white light.

The Elephant Beast was flung into the air and hovered there.

And the small white dragon turned into white light and dissipated.

Chu Zhiyuan looked at it.

The Elephant Beast flew towards him, landing in his left palm, and their heart and spirit connected again.

"With your Fist Technique, this white dragon shouldn’t dissipate."

"Originally, it wouldn’t dissipate. Did you scatter it?"

"Even if I hit it, it shouldn’t dissipate. I once encountered a Divine Race practicing your fist technique, and the white dragon never dissipated, instead becoming stronger."

"I see..." Chu Zhiyuan pondered.

He never thought that he might be practicing the Cloud Dragon Fist incorrectly.

"Do you understand now?"

"I know it’s incorrect, but I don’t know how to correct it," Chu Zhiyuan said: "I only obtained this Divine Clan Martial Art."

The Elephant Beast scoffed: "Divine Clan Martial Arts are not recorded in books, but passed down individually."

"It was a fortuitous encounter; do you know the Divine Clan Martial Arts?"

"How could I possibly know? The Divine Clan Martial Arts have never been shared with outsiders."

"What a pity... I’ll have to ponder it myself."

Chu Zhiyuan fell into deep thought.

It’s not difficult for the White Dragon to remain condensed without dispersing, but after leaving my palm, it grows on its own.

This is the absorption of external power, but Divine Essence is not the same as the spiritual essence of the outside world.

On the contrary, Divine Essence expels spiritual essence, absolutely not allowing it to come close.

So what is being absorbed is not spiritual essence, but some other power.

What kind of power is this?

Could this be the fundamental difference between the Divine Race and other races?

No matter how deeply I practice, it still differs from the Divine Race’s practice and is far less powerful?

If it is truly so, it is indeed frustrating.

While pondering, he noticed the Elephant Beast had climbed onto his shoulder, squatting on his left shoulder.

Its slender tail swayed, the ink-dipped tip drawing circles.

Chu Zhiyuan tilted his head to look at it: "I’ll go up to the mountain over there."

"You’d better not go there."

"Those mountains are formed by giant dragons, right?"

"They are Dragon Mountains."

"Very dangerous?"

"No one dare approach Dragon Mountain; enter, and you can’t come out."

"Have you ever been inside?"

"Once, out of curiosity, I wanted to take a look, and as soon as I reached the foot of the mountain, I knew it was bad and quickly ran back."

"What’s inside?"

"I’ve never been inside, how would I know what’s in there, but it’s best not to go."

"I’ll go to the foot of the mountain and sense it first."

"Then go."

A white light shot into the distance, and the Elephant Beast disappeared.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head with a smile, indeed a suspicious creature.

He stepped forward, reaching the vast river, not fooled by the hills it transformed into, nor rashly stepping onto the water.

He had a vague feeling that since Dragon Mountain was dangerous, these rivers might not be simple either.

What if they, like Snake Mountain and the mountain walls on either side, disturb one’s aura?

While Divine Essence could withstand the interference of Snake Mountain and its flanking rock walls, these rivers might not be defensible.

Hence, a backup plan was needed, to test it first.

What the Super Sense perceived was nothing but a vast expanse, sensing nothing.

He could feel that these forces greatly interfered with the Super Sense.

Once stepping in, he could not completely rely on the Super Sense.

"Swoosh!"

A stone drifted out of his sleeve, gliding over the vast river.

"Pop!"

A crisp sound, and the stone exploded into fragments in mid-air.

Chu Zhiyuan’s expression changed slightly.

This stone came from his Jade Sea and Sky, of which he had complete knowledge.

He was also familiar with its changes.

When it was in mid-air, suddenly invaded by an aura, it shattered into powder afterward.

The fine powder was so delicate that even without the assistance of Jade Sea and Sky’s power, he could not achieve this with his Divine Essence alone.

"Swoosh!"

"Pop!"

"Swoosh!"

"Pop!"

...

Several stones shot out from his sleeve, sweeping across above the river, exploding into powder one by one, falling with a rustle into the rushing waters below, disappearing completely.

In a blink, twelve stones vanished, yet he had gleaned some understanding.

Through these small stones, he sensed the characteristics of these forces: abrupt, rapid, explosive.

Like nothing but thunder.

This suddenly appearing aura had actually always been there, densely spread above the river, akin to a network of thunder.

These small stones seemed to collide with a thunder pool, instantly pulverized.

If not for these stones paving the way, encountering such a strange force himself, he might not withstand it.

He attempted to infuse the stones with Divine Essence, only to find no difference.

Divine Essence could not withstand this strange power.

So he should obediently leave?

He pondered, truly unwilling to concede.

But there seemed no good methods.

If even Divine Essence couldn’t resist this force, none of his Spiritual Artifacts would likely hold up either.

He considered his Autumn Water Divine Blade and Phoenix Feather Blade but dismissed the idea with the Elephant Beast watching from behind.

Seeing these Flying Knives, with its wisdom, the Elephant Beast would instantly deduce who had killed it back then.

No matter how good its temper, it could not suppress its anger and would seek revenge.

The Elephant Beast’s wrath would not be easy to handle.

So he absolutely couldn’t use the Flying Knives.

Lost in thought, he suddenly reached out and grabbed.

A streak of dark green light was caught in his hand, a piece of ancient, profound jade.

The Elephant Beast perched proudly on a blade of grass, gazing at Chu Zhiyuan with smug satisfaction.

Chu Zhiyuan looked down at the ancient jade, then looked up at it.

The Elephant Beast let out a "wa" sound.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, infused the ancient jade with Divine Essence, and his vision blurred.