Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1372 - 1368: Treading on Clouds

Their gloomy gazes turned from the ravaged woods and gathered on Zhu Lingyun.

Zhu Lingyun showed a wry smile.

Jiao Hengtian frowned and said, "Junior Brother Zhuo, what exactly did you provoke?"

"I really don’t know." Zhu Lingyun sighed, "I was just having a meal in the city when suddenly I sensed something was wrong, danger approaching, so I hurriedly ran back."

Jiao Hengtian said, "You actually managed to escape back?"

"Didn’t I have a fortuitous encounter?" Zhu Lingyun said, "I became more sensitive, and my Qinggong is also more exquisite."

After he spoke, he flickered and appeared ten meters away, then flickered again to return to his spot.

In just the blink of an eye, he had gone back and forth as if he had never moved.

"Your fortuitous encounter..."

"Brother Qin, that I cannot say." Zhu Lingyun replied.

"Alright, then don’t say it." Another middle-aged man said enviously, "Why can’t I encounter such a fortuitous encounter?"

Zhu Lingyun said, "Brother Qin, you bury yourself in hard practice all day, staying in the cliff, not going out, how would you encounter such luck? The premise of fortuitous encounters is to go out, isn’t it?"

"Forget it." The middle-aged man Qin Yunfeng shook his head.

He felt it was more comfortable to stay at Wanxiang Cliff, finding the outside unsuitable; places were not clean, people were detestable, food was not to his taste.

Any one of these was extremely vexing, and the chance of all three being absent was slim.

Thus, he preferred to stay at Wanxiang Cliff, burying himself in cultivation to pass the time.

"You truly had great luck this time." Jiao Hengtian said, "None of us were able opponents."

"Brother Jiao, what was it? I didn’t see clearly."

"It should have been a Spiritual Treasure, capable of blocking our Cloud Stepping Leopard, its power comparable to a Spirit Venerable."

"Spirit Venerable..." Zhu Lingyun wryly smiled, "No wonder why, I almost lost my life!"

"Let’s go back and treat your wounds properly." Jiao Hengtian said.

Zhu Lingyun glanced around, "Brother Jiao, this..."

Jiao Hengtian said, "Running back to the cliff during danger was the right decision."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

If it were them, facing an undefeatable opponent, they would also run back to the cliff.

This time they blamed him for causing such a loss to the cliff, but what if it were them next time?

"If we have to resent, we should resent that Strange Treasure." Jiao Hengtian said, "It must have been controlled by someone; the Cloud Stepping Leopard might be able to identify, find him, and settle the score!"

Zhu Lingyun said, "Wouldn’t it be wiser not to provoke such individuals?"

"Junior Brother Zhuo, don’t you find it humiliating?" Qin Yunfeng said, "Not avenging this grudge?"

"If we are not Spirit Venerables, seeking revenge is courting death; wait until we become Spirit Venerables to talk about it."

"Spirit Venerable..."

Everyone fell into silence, heavy-hearted.

They stood out as Undying Divine Venerables, all longing to break through to Spirit Venerable.

Alas, this step was exceedingly difficult.

"Let the Cloud Stepping Leopard search for it then; if it finds it, remember the grudge."

"Exactly."

...

Zhu Lingyun returned to his small courtyard at Wanxiang Cliff and exhaled deeply.

This White Jade Rose should be somewhat weaker than the Crystal Rose.

Yet faced with Venerable Perfection, it still had a crushing momentum.

The Wanxiang Cliff’s Cloud Stepping Leopard truly was powerful.

His gaze was intense, lost in thought.

An hour later, he arrived outside a small courtyard and knocked on the door.

Jiao Hengtian’s voice came from inside the courtyard, "Junior Brother Zhuo, what’s the matter?"

Zhu Lingyun said, "Brother Jiao, I came to ask again, who said I practiced the Descent Technique?"

"Come in then."

"Yes."

Sitting in the pavilion atop the artificial mountain, overlooking the entire small courtyard.

The flower beds below the wall were blooming with three to five Strange Flowers, their fragrance rich.

The fish in the creek in front of the artificial mountain were clearly visible.

Jiao Hengtian, wearing a white loose robe, looked relaxed as he set down his tea cup.

Zhu Lingyun sat opposite him, also setting his tea cup down, with a tense face, "Brother, who exactly spread this rumor?"

Jiao Hengtian glanced at him sideways, then turned to look at the creek below the artificial mountain, "Don’t you know whether it’s a rumor?"

"Brother..."

"Stop." Jiao Hengtian raised his palm, "I’ve checked many going down the wrong path over the years, I’ll know with one touch if it’s practiced."

Zhu Lingyun had no choice but to change the topic, "Brother, may I see the Cloud Stepping Leopard up close?"

Jiao Hengtian frowned and said, "Why do you want to see it?"

"Isn’t the power of near Spirit Venerable level curious, brother?"

"The Cloud Stepping Leopard is an ancient variant; it’s not the same as our cultivation."

"The power is connected, isn’t it?"

"But it dislikes people and doesn’t allow them near." Jiao Hengtian shook his head.

Zhu Lingyun said, "Brother, I want to try."

He wanted to understand the power of Spirit Venerable more closely, more thoroughly, and more deeply.

Jiao Hengtian said, "It has no regard for light or heavy, if provoked, one swipe of its paw, and how severely you’re injured depends entirely on your luck."

"I won’t die, right?"

"Brother Ding lost his left arm and it never healed."

"It strikes so fiercely?" Zhu Lingyun was puzzled, "Isn’t it supposed to protect us?"

Jiao Hengtian hesitated.

Zhu Lingyun smiled, "Could it have hidden matters? I’m also an inner disciple of the cliff, I won’t spread rumors."

Jiao Hengtian thought for a moment, then slowly said, "Don’t let it be known, ... I once heard the Cliff Landlord say, the Cloud Stepping Leopard doesn’t guard us, but Wanxiang Cliff instead. If there’s an external force that invades, it will either drive it away or destroy it; whether we live or die, it doesn’t care."

"Is it really so?" Zhu Lingyun asked in surprise, "How could it be? ... The Cloud Stepping Leopard is so strong, why does it obediently guard our Wanxiang Cliff? Hasn’t it been a long time?"

"Over ten thousand years." Jiao Hengtian said, "As for why it is, that is a secret within secrets, even I don’t know."

Zhu Lingyun looked up at the sky.

There in that direction is where the Cloud Stepping Leopard is.

It was floating in the air, concealing its form, hiding its appearance.

It even had the ability to become invisible.

Under Super Sensing Illumination, it still could not be seen; one could only judge it was there by the aura.

The position where it was twisted with shadows, pitch-black, with nothing to be seen.

Suddenly, he felt two gazes fall upon him from the Void.

The Cloud Stepping Leopard was watching him.

Zhu Lingyun became startled immediately.

Evidently, it heard his words and therefore looked at him.

It could become invisible, communicate spiritually, its hearing was remarkably sharp, not to mention its powerful force.

He felt those two gazes seemed to penetrate every wonder of his body.

Not only seeing through his heart, spleen, liver, stomach, and lungs, but also the deepest and most hidden corners of his heart.

Jiao Hengtian saw his complexion change and asked, "What’s the matter?"

"Brother, it won’t harm people on purpose, will it?"

"No, it’s disdain for that; we might seem like insects to it, too lazy to deal with."

"Yet doesn’t mind stepping on us, right?"

"Haha... It won’t, unless provoked; after all, it’s very spiritual, with wisdom comparable to ours."

"That’s good." Zhu Lingyun stood up, walked outside the pavilion, cupped his fists toward the southeast Void, and loudly said, "Senior, this disciple is grateful."

Jiao Hengtian was puzzled, then his expression slightly changed, guessing who Zhu Lingyun was thanking.

The pavilion abruptly changed.

Jiao Hengtian felt the air freeze instantly, unable to breathe, True Yuan couldn’t circulate, his heartbeat even seemed about to stop.

His body felt as though a mountain was pressing down, hearing the creaking of bones, ready to break anytime.

From head to toe, only his eyes and thoughts could move.

But soon, even the eyes became stiff, thoughts slowed, everything before him slowed down.

Everything in the world slowed down, slower and slower, like a camel trudging far, just short a straw to completely halt.

Zhu Lingyun felt the same.

But unlike Jiao Hengtian, a gurgling stream in the depths of his mind kept his thoughts clear, continuously functioning as usual, even faster than usual.

He slowly and arduously lifted his hand, making a fist, issuing a strange awkward voice, "Meet, the, Senior!"

At this time, Chu Zhiyuan in the main hall of Heaven-Reaching Sect suddenly stood up, his expression solemn.

He seemed to be looking at the Cloud Stepping Leopard through Zhu Lingyun.

The Crystal Rose from the Flower God Sect could pursue him from afar, what about the Cloud Stepping Leopard?

Thus, he couldn’t leave the Heaven-Reaching Sect.

Zhu Lingyun’s clone reached the brink of life and death.