Imperial Cultivation-Chapter 1168 - 1164: Inside Agent

Chu Zhiyuan furrowed his brow.

He was sitting beside a stone table in a small courtyard of the Heavenly Sword Branch, sipping tea leisurely.

Upon hearing the news, his leisure disappeared, replaced by a chill in his heart.

Could there really be an internal spy from the Evil Sect within the Fuyun Sect?

It was truly unbelievable.

Judging from Zheng Ke’s expression, it didn’t seem like he was making it up.

But this was almost an impossible matter.

The mental method of an Evil Sect disciple couldn’t be concealed from the Four Great Sects, the Evil and Demon Extermination Departments, or even the Candle Demon Eye of the City Guards.

Zhu Lingyun said, "Senior Zheng, as far as I know, isn’t it true that our Evil Sect’s mental method can’t be hidden from the Four Great Sects?"

Zheng Ke chuckled, "Who said he practices our mental method?"

Zhu Lingyun said, "If it’s not our mental method, are they still our disciple? ... Besides, after entering the Four Great Sects, how could they be willing to still be our disciple?"

"There is naturally a way."

"What way?"

Zheng Ke laughed, "This is each party’s secret and cannot be disclosed."

Zhu Lingyun frowned.

Hu Chengxiang said, "It’s nothing more than they have a leverage point, afraid to reveal it to the Four Great Sects, thus being hunted down."

Zhu Lingyun said, "What if they confess proactively and act accordingly?"

"The Four Great Sects are not so generous," Hu Chengxiang shook his head, "Once they know there are ties with our Evil Sect, they would never keep them."

"Kill them?"

"If not killed, they’d still be sent down the mountain, to stay in the outer courtyards."

Zhu Lingyun curiously said, "Then the outer courtyards of the Four Great Sects, are they all filled with such punished disciples?"

"That’s not possible," Hu Chengxiang patiently explained, "These disciples are all trained in the mortal world, honing their character, facilitating their cultivation."

Zheng Ke chuckled, "A person, in a lifetime, can’t just stay on the mountain, can they? That would be too boring, and in old age they’d regret it, blaming the sect, it’s the same with us."

Zhu Lingyun realized, with a look of being instructed, "So that’s how it is!"

Zheng Ke laughed, "Xiaozhu, there’s plenty for you to learn in these twists and turns."

"Senior Zheng, I’m still more curious about the internal spy matter," Zhu Lingyun said, "If there really is an internal spy, wouldn’t they be able to directly learn the secrets of the Four Great Sects!"

Zheng Ke shook his head, "The secrets of the Four Great Sects... cannot be shared outside."

Hu Chengxiang snorted, "The secrets of the Four Great Sects are bound by an abnormal power, cannot be passed outside, and once passed, it would backfire."

Zhu Lingyun exclaimed in surprise, "Bound by an abnormal power?"

Even far away in the Heavenly Sword Branch, Chu Zhiyuan was astonished.

The Heavenly Sword Secret Scripture cannot be shared outside and is bound by an abnormal power?

He actually hadn’t sensed the existence of this power.

...

Hu Chengxiang said, "The reason the Four Great Sects have persisted to this day, do you think it’s because their cultivation techniques are unparalleled?"

"Isn’t that so?" Zhu Lingyun said.

Hu Chengxiang snorted, "It’s due to their divine artifacts, the Four Great Divine Artifacts are fundamental."

"Heavenly Sword, Bright Moon Divine Sword, Fuyun Divine Sword, Guiyang Divine Sword..." Zhu Lingyun said, "What are their extraordinary uses?"

"It’s hard to say," Hu Chengxiang shook his head and said, "In short, their uses are inexhaustible, with these four swords, even if their sect is breached, their legacy cannot be severed." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Zhu Lingyun frowned, "Wouldn’t that make them invincible? We could never destroy them?"

Zheng Ke laughed, "Haha, worthy of being the Divine Son, ambitious enough to want to destroy the Four Great Sects."

Zhu Lingyun said, "They want to destroy us, why shouldn’t we destroy them?"

"...That’s true as well," Zheng Ke laughed, "We should indeed have this courage!"

He turned to look at the other middle-aged and older persons, laughing, "Us old folks, have we lost our spirit?"

They all sneered continuously.

Thinking Zhu Lingyun was overestimating himself, being arrogant because he was the Divine Son.

Not knowing the true power of the Four Great Sects.

Once he experienced the might of the Four Great Sects, he’d realize how ridiculous this thought was.

Hu Chengxiang said, "Against the Four Great Sects, it’s fine to cut down their prestige a bit, as for destroying them, leave it to those demons, they hate the Four Great Sects even more than we do."

Someone hurriedly said, "That’s right, the primary target of the Four Great Sects remains the demons, not us."

"Countless demons have died under their swords, one could say it’s a deep sea of blood enmity... I heard this time the Heavenly Sword Sect nearly got breached by the demons from Qinglian Sea?"

"Nearly?"

"The Heavenly Sword Sect was too complacent, they sent most of their elites to besiege Qinglian Sea, and as a result, the demons from Qinglian Sea took advantage, if not for support from experts of the other three sects, this time their gate would have been breached!"

"They say it was far from being breached."

"Didn’t they say it was nearly?"

"How significant is this ’little’, who knows? The Heavenly Sword hasn’t even made a move yet."

"Qinglian Sea should have intercepted the other three sects in advance, or also attacked the gates of the other three sects."

"These demons probably don’t have enough skill; there aren’t many experts."

"Not enough numbers, attacking the mountain gates of the other three sects is just suicide."

"Daring to attack the mountain gate of the Heavenly Sword Sect, bold enough, almost like seeking death."

"Rumor has it that many have died."

"Four Great Sects..."

They all showed expressions of helplessness and resentment.

Zhu Lingyun said, "Doesn’t this mean having insiders is useless?"

He looked at Zheng Ke, "Can’t spread Absolute Skills, nor collude from within and without, so what’s the use of insiders?"

Zheng Ke laughed, "To relay messages, ambush lone disciples, weaken the Heavenly Sword Sect."

"A few disciples dying doesn’t matter to the Heavenly Sword Sect, right?"

"Heh..." Zheng Ke looked at Hu Chengxiang, "The Divine Son’s appetite is too big, huh?"

Hu Chengxiang snorted, "How can the Divine Son be like us, so lifeless? ... Old Zheng, you don’t have to hide it, isn’t it just having insiders in the Fuyun Sect."

Seated in the Heavenly Sword Branch, Chu Zhiyuan sipped a bit of tea and raised his brows.

Hu Chengxiang apparently also noticed Zheng Ke’s change in expression.

They must be very familiar and understanding with each other, evident from their observation.

"I didn’t say it’s the Fuyun Sect," Zheng Ke hurriedly waved his hand.

Someone asked, "Old Zheng, since there are insiders, can this information’s authenticity be verified?"

Zheng Ke waved his hand, "It’s the Wanxiang Sect, not our Qianye Sect."

"Your Qianye Sect and Wanxiang Sect are as close as brothers, everybody knows that!"

"Then you have to ask the Wanxiang Sect." Zheng Ke laughed, waving his hand, "But don’t say I told you!"

"Alright, won’t say it was from you." The impatient middle-aged man said, "Quickly let the people from Wanxiang Sect inquire."

"... Alright." Zheng Ke slowly got up and left.

Zhu Lingyun said, "Elder, then I..."

Hu Chengxiang said, "It’s a bit late for you to go back now, can you still enter the city?"

"I’ll give it a try," Zhu Lingyun said, "If I can get in, I’ll find an inn, go to the tavern and gather some news."

"Go ahead, be careful." Hu Chengxiang said.

Zhu Lingyun bowed to everyone, then drifted away, soon heading towards the city gate.

Upon reaching the South Gate, there were still commoners queueing to enter the city.

He stood at the end of the line, slowly moving forward.

When the four City Guards with gold eyes scanned over, he remained calm.

The four City Guards glanced at him, gestured it was fine, signaling him to pass.

Zhu Lingyun calmly entered the city, then found a tavern to sit down and listen for news.

...

Meanwhile, Chu Zhiyuan put down his tea, his Super Sense had already locked onto Zheng Ke.

After Zheng Ke left the campfire, he floated out of the forest, reached the nearby mountain, entering a forest.

In this forest, a group of youths were lazily lying in the tree branches or leaning against the tree roots, utterly bored.

Seeing him come, the crowd surrounded him.

Zheng Ke said to one of the youths, "Xiaogao, quickly head back once and let your sect inquire if the news about Feixue Cave Mansion is true, whether the Treasure was taken, whether it’s going to the Imperial City."

The ordinary-looking youth seriously clasped his fists, "Yes, Master Wu."

Zheng Ke waved his hand, "The sooner the better, if the news is true, we must seize this treasure!"

The mediocre youth clapped his fists and immediately turned to leave.

At this time, in the Heavenly Sword Branch, Chu Zhiyuan put down his tea cup, stood up, and paced with hands behind his back.

He was pondering how to release this information.

The biggest question is how he received the news of Fuyun Sect having insiders.

Fuyun Sect has a traitor, but does Fuyun Sect know it?

Fuyun Sect has a traitor, then what about the Heavenly Sword Sect and Guiyang Sword Sect?

Guanghan Palace is almost impossible.

After pacing several times, he arrived in front of Gu Junqi.

Gu Junqi happened to not be in the front hall, but in his own courtyard.

A courtyard similar to Chu Zhiyuan’s, simple and plain.

When the two sat at the stone table, talking about the traitor issue, Gu Junqi shook his head dismissively with a smile.

"Zhiyuan, you’re overthinking; our Four Great Sects couldn’t possibly have traitors sneaking in."

"But according to the information I gathered, Fuyun Sect has a traitor, a traitor from Wanxiang Sect."

"Haha... That’s impossible." Gu Junqi shook his head.

Seeing Chu Zhiyuan’s serious expression, he slowly reined in his smile.