Imperial Cultivation

“Alas!”

Xiao Ruoling sighed softly, “I'm just afraid the Emperor will really take action.” Chu Zhiyuan said, “He won't act easily.”

Having witnessed the number of Grandmasters in the Moon Invitation Palace, and considering the remaining three Demonic Sects, one understands why the emperors of past dynasties have always hesitated to act.

The number of Grandmasters in the four Demonic Sects combined far exceeds that of the Imperial Court, and most of the Imperial Court's Grandmasters are tied down in the Four Great Heavens and Four Great Secret Lands, unable to spare themselves.

In this way, taking action against the four Demonic Sects is just wishful thinking; they can't win.

Chu Zhiyuan said, “The struggle for the throne is not something I can just contend for if I want to. The key is still the Son of Heaven Sword.”

“The Son of Heaven Sword's choice of master actually follows a pattern.”

“Oh?”

“Cultivation, achievement, and temperament, possessing all three is the standard for the Son of Heaven Sword's choice of master.”

“I don't excel in any of the three.” Chu Zhiyuan smiled.

His cultivation is not as good as Tenth Uncle's, nor is his achievement, and his temperament is probably not as good either.

Tenth Uncle is upright and honorable, has made great contributions, and is a Grandmaster at the peak, only one step away from becoming a Great Grandmaster. He looks like the next emperor in every way.

Xiao Ruoling said, “The Palace Master and several elders all think you have the most hope.” Chu Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head, “Forget it, let's just leave it to fate.”

He understood that the Moon Invitation Palace treated him so well also because of this factor.

Otherwise, they wouldn't easily let him stay in the Guest Peak, and they wouldn't easily break the rules.

Xiao Ruoling nodded, “The throne does require some fate.”

Chu Zhiyuan gently embraced her, smiling, “You don't want me to be the Emperor, do you?”

Xiao Ruoling nestled in his arms, her jade face pressed against his chest, and sighed softly, “Naturally, I'm unwilling.” If he becomes a Prince, he'll have at most two concubines, but if he becomes the Emperor, he'll have three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two consorts.

She might not even see him a few times a year.

For her, the difference between a Princess and an Empress isn't that great; a Princess is actually more free. But because of the Moon Invitation Palace, she feels conflicted.

Chu Zhiyuan said, “It's too early to talk about this now. It's not too late to talk about it after becoming a Grandmaster. Who can predict the future? Just live in the present.”

“Yes.” Xiao Ruoling leaned against him, feeling peaceful and serene.

In the following two days, Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling entered the Secret Land again.

They explored the Secret Land for a day, not killing many demonic beasts, mainly searching for natural treasures and cave dwellings. But the Secret Land was vast, and apart from the twelve Heaven-Reaching Grasses, they gained nothing else.

No natural treasures, no cave dwellings.

He couldn't help but sigh. Is there some kind of newbie bonus for entering the Secret Land? It was really lucky to encounter a cave dwelling the first time.

The Secret Land was vast and boundless. Even with his lightness skill, and even taking the Heavenly Dragon Divine Steed and galloping with Xiao Ruoling for a day, they still found nothing. He galloped while sensing the surroundings for five hundred meters, covering more than a thousand miles in half a day, but still found nothing.

He felt that even if he ran for a few more days, he probably wouldn't reach the edge of the Secret Land. Its boundlessness filled him with awe.

Could the size of this Secret Land be comparable to the outside world?

“How big is it anyway? I don't even know.”

While eating dinner in the evening, Chu Zhiyuan and Xiao Ruoling chatted, expressing their helplessness about this question.

How big the Secret Land is is an unsolvable question; even Grandmasters haven't been able to explore it.

“You can only stay in the Secret Land for a month. You can only go forward for half a month, and you have to spend the remaining half a month going back to avoid going mad and dying.” Xiao Ruoling said helplessly, “In half a month, entering from different places, I haven't seen the edge.”

Chu Zhiyuan asked, “How far can a Grandmaster travel in half a month?”

“At least ten thousand miles.” Xiao Ruoling said, “And every time you enter, it's in a different place… The elders and the Palace Master suspect that this Secret Land is constantly changing, constantly expanding.”

Chu Zhiyuan asked, “Will it merge with our world?”

Xiao Ruoling shook her head, “It's difficult. There's an invisible force separating them. If they were really going to merge, they would have merged long ago.” The two chatted idly. After dinner, Xiao Ruoling reluctantly left.

The next morning, fourteen girls stood in his courtyard, making the small courtyard lively.

Chu Zhiyuan reached out and closed his eyes. A girl placed her fair wrist in his hand.

After a moment, Chu Zhiyuan opened his eyes and slowly said, “Continue to maintain the original training method. Don't add or subtract anything on your own. I estimate that you'll be able to see the path of a Grandmaster tomorrow.” The round-faced girl's bright eyes lit up.

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand and beckoned again.

Another girl stepped forward and offered her fair wrist.

Chu Zhiyuan closed his eyes to observe for a moment, then opened his eyes and said, “You need to change your training method. Change two hours of the Red Sun Art to one hour of the Red Sun Art, and add one hour of the Sharp Gold Art.”

The Red Sun Art, Thick Earth Art, Sharp Gold Art, Black Water Art, and Evergreen Art are all mental cultivation methods he created. They are the essence he extracted from various mental cultivation methods, focusing on the cultivation of a certain type of energy.

The disadvantage is that they are singular and lack power. The advantage is that they are simple, fast, and effective, and cultivation is extremely fast.

After three days of adjustments, they have already changed drastically, and they themselves can feel it.

This is a feeling of tending towards perfection and completeness.

Chu Zhiyuan corrected the fourteen girls' exercises one by one, nodding in satisfaction, “If nothing unexpected happens, they will all step into the Grandmaster realm within three days.”

“All of them can step into the Grandmaster realm?”

“Yes.” Chu Zhiyuan nodded, “The Moon Invitation Palace's disciples have high requirements for aptitude, and the Moon Invitation Palace's mental cultivation methods are also extreme, making adjustments easier and less complicated.” The Moon Invitation Palace practices the ultimate Yin method, which greatly changes the body, making it less difficult to harmonize.

If it were the experts from the Four Great Sects and the army, the harmonization would be much more complicated, and might even have to change every day.

He could understand the difference between the Moon Invitation Palace and the Four Great Sects. Judging from the mental cultivation methods alone, the Moon Invitation Palace was on a higher level. The Four Great Sects' own mental cultivation methods are not as good as the Moon Invitation Palace's, so it's no wonder the Four Great Demonic Sects are so feared.

In the following two days, howls rang out from Moon Invitation Peak one after another.

The fourteen girls broke through one by one and entered the Grandmaster realm.

In six days, from the perfection of the Acquired realm to stepping into the Grandmaster realm, this progress was beyond everyone's imagination. Even Shen Hanyue made a special trip to thank him.

...

In these two days, Chu Zhiyuan had to go to the Secret Land once a day, but still gained nothing.

He originally thought that after entering the Secret Land, with his extrasensory perception and good luck, he would gain a lot every time. But reality gave him a blow.

The Secret Land was not as full of natural treasures and cave dwellings as he imagined. The Secret Land was even larger than the real world.

Apart from the trees being older and the demonic beasts being stronger, it was similar to the real world.

It's not easy to encounter natural treasures in the real world, so why would it be easy to encounter them in the Secret Land? The ones that are easy to encounter have already been picked.

He also couldn't figure out what substance could drive people mad. His extrasensory perception didn't detect anything.

Early this morning, just after he finished practicing the Purple Sun True Scripture and finished the Purple Sun Stance, Zou Fang suddenly floated out. A moment later, he floated back in front of Chu Zhiyuan and said in a low voice, “Young Master, someone from the Worry-Free Sect has come to visit.” Chu Zhiyuan nodded, “Please invite them in.”