The five brothers looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions, unable to make up their minds.
Finally, Sun Mu took the lead and waved at the other four.
The other four brothers understood Sun Mu’s meaning and walked over.
Then, the five of them stood in a circle and lowered their heads together before they discussed in a low voice.
“He seems ridiculously strong.”
“He must be a Venerable Master since he’s able to kill Cao Zechun.”
“A Venerable Master?!”
“Why would a sect with a Venerable Master want us? Earlier, that kid said even a group of experts were rejected.”
“Although we don’t know the people that the kid named, they should be as strong as Xiao Yunhe. Moreover, their names sound grand as well…”
“There’s no need to belittle ourselves. What does it matter as long as the senior wants us to join him?”
“But… but he killed my idol, Cao Zechun…”
The other four brothers said in unison, “Scram!”
“Fine, fine. Cao Zechun wasn’t a good person…”
“Then, we’ll join him?”
After a beat, all five brothers said simultaneously, “Alright.”
The five brothers straightened their backs and stood in a row before Sun Mu stepped forward and said, “Kneel.”
All of them kneeled at once and said, “Senior, please take us in.”
Lu Zhou put the Saint Staff and the Wind Spirit Bow away before he stroked his beard and asked, “Have you thought this through?”
The five brothers nodded. “Yes.”
“The Evil Sky Pavilion is located in the golden lotus domain. The cultivators there are weaker. In the future, the Evil Sky Pavilion will encounter enemies 100 times stronger than Cao Zechun so you might lose your lives. I’ll say these words before someone joins the Evil Sky Pavilion. So, are you still willing to join the Evil Sky Pavilion?” Lu Zhou asked calmly.
“…”
‘Didn’t he say he’s going to give us a place to stay? A place to belong to?’
The reason the five brothers wanted a force or a place they could belong to was naturally for safety reasons. They did not have to live life on the edge and worry about losing their lives all the time. How could they not hesitate now that they heard these words?
The five brothers looked at each other with a what-to-do and dismayed expressions on their faces.
Lu Zhou added, “Once you join the Evil Sky Pavilion, I will, naturally, protect you.”
Sun Mu and the other four exchanged a glance before they tacitly raised their hands.
“We’re willing to join the Evil Sky Pavilion.”
“Ding! Recruited five subordinates. Reward: 5,000 merit points.”
Lu Zhou nodded his head in satisfaction. It was a pity that he could not see their loyalty. After all, human hearts were unpredictable. No matter their current attitude, he did not know anything about them.
Since Lu Zhou wanted to upgrade his system as soon as possible, it was best to rope in more experts.
Lu Zhou turned to look at Xiao Yunhe.
Xiao Yunhe walked over with a smile and cupped his fists together at Lu Zhou. “Congratulations, Brother Lu.”
Lu Zhou said to the five brothers, “Since you’ve entered the Evil Sky Pavilion, let’s forget about the matter regarding the mystic life grass and mystic microstones. What do you think?”
“We’ll leave it to the old senior to decide.”
Mingshi Yin corrected them immediately, “Pavilion Master.”
Lu Zhou stroked his beard and nodded.
Xiao Yunhe smiled, “Thank you, Brother Lu.”
Lu Zhou glanced at Xiao Yunhe and asked, “Heavily injured?”
Xiao Yunhe nodded helplessly and said, “Yes. Xia Zheng Rong and I fought for three days and three nights. I thought I’d be able to easily win; I didn’t expect him to possess armor with extremely high defense. After I barely won, he promised to leave the Black Tower Council. I didn’t expect to be ambushed while I was on my way back. It’s a pity that my brothers…”
Sun Mu shook his head. “We were only targeting you. We didn’t target your friends.”
“Your friends have nothing to do with us.”
“That’s right.”
Xiao Yunhe frowned. “You really have nothing to do with Xia Zhengrong?”
The five of them shook their heads.
Xiao Yunhe snorted and said, “Indeed, he has the ambition of wild wolves…”
At this time, Lu Zhou said, “Let’s return to Great Tang’s royal place first.”
“Yes.”
…
In Great Tang’s royal palace.
The Preservation Hall.
Sun Mu stood side by side with his four brothers.
Lu Zhou paced back and forth with his hands on his back as he said, “Someone will tell you more about the Evil Sky Pavilion and show you around in a while. Meanwhile, I have some questions that you have to answer truthfully.”
“I’ll tell you everything I know,” Sun Mu said.
This time, the others did not interrupt.
Lu Zhou asked, “Do you know Wei Jingye and Wei Jiangnan?”
Lu Zhou thought it was not a bad idea to dig up information about the duo since he was presented with an opportunity.
“They’re sectless green lotus cultivators as well. We met them a few times…” Sun Mu replied.
Lu Zhou nodded and asked, “Do you know where Qin Moshang is now?”
“The Young Master of the Qin family?!” Sun Mu was shocked.
“He’s a domineering and arrogant person,” Zhan Jin said.
“He has a terrible personality.”
“He said he went to the Unknown Land, and his Birth Chart was destroyed by fierce beasts. Later, he went to Venerable Master Qin’s training hall and hasn’t appeared in public since then.”
This was in line with what Lu Zhou had learned previously. This proved the five brothers did not lie.
Lu Zhou clasped his hands behind his back and said,
“As the first group of green lotus cultivators to join the Evil Sky Pavilion… I hope you’re up to date with the current affairs in the green lotus domain’s cultivation world.”
Recently, there was a significant influx of green lotus cultivators, Free Men or not, in the red lotus domain.
Lu Zhou had a strong feeling that the balance of nine domains was teetering.
“How many Venerable Masters are there in the green lotus domain?”
Xiao Yunhe and Mingshi Yin looked at the five brothers curiously upon hearing this question.
To ensure victory, one must know one’s enemy.
They knew too little about the other side. With the five brothers, perhaps, they would gain a deeper understanding.
Sun Mu said, “No one knows for sure how many Venerable Masters there are. Legend has it that there’s a sacred relic in the Great Void that can sense the balance between heaven and earth. Once the balance is broken, the Equalizers will be sent out to deal with the problem.”
This was the law of conservation.
Lu Zhou suddenly recalled that Lan Xihe said similar words before she left.
No wonder she wanted to look for someone to take over the position of the Tower Master of the White Tower Council. No wonder she said the problem with her lifespan could not be solved. They all had something to do with the Balance.
What was the secret behind the Balance?
Lu Zhou thought there was a chance that Lan Xihe had to leave because he was getting stronger to keep the balance. If that was really the case, his disciples with Great Void Seeds would sooner or later affect the balance. This was a big problem.
Sun Mu said, “What’s publicly known is that there are four Venerable Masters. They’re all from prominent clans. There’s the Ye clan’s Venerable Master, Ye Zheng; the Qin clan’s Venerable Master, Qin Renyue; the Tuoba clan’s Venerable Master, Tuoba Sicheng; and the Fan clan’s Venerable Master, Fan Zhong.”
Ye Zheng and Qin Renyue were the two people Lu Zhou needed to pay attention to. Whether the duo knew it or not, there was enmity between them.
“How’s the relationship between the four Venerable Masters?” Lu Zhou asked.
“Their relationships are… indeterminable… Sometimes they’re on really good terms, and sometimes they would have a big fight. Outsiders don’t understand them at all. Moreover, we’re just sectless cultivators who lived in the Unknown Land. How would we know what their relationships are really like?”
At this time, Si Wuya walked in. He was in the Sky Martial Academy as usual when he received news from Meng Changdong and rushed over immediately. He had just arrived at the Preservation Hall when this discussion was going on.
Lu Zhou raised his hand, indicating that there was no need to bow.
Si Wuya moved to stand in front of the five brothers and cupped his fists at them before he said, “I have a question I’d like to ask. The world is divided into nine realms. All the other domains aside, there are still two unknown domains…”
Sun Mu was slightly surprised. “You know that the world is divided into nine domains?”
Si Wuya smiled but did not say anything.
Sun Mu sized up Si Wuya. After a moment, he said, “Legend has it that the domains were originally one with the Unknown Land at the core. Later on, they separated and changed colors. The remaining two domains are also green lotus domains. Due to historical reasons, these two domains have merged…”
“They’re green as well?” Si Wuya’s heart moved.
Sun Mu continued, “That’s right. However, the greens are in different shades. For example, our energy is dark green…”
Sun Mu raised his hand. A miniature avatar appeared above his palm.
Indeed, the avatar was dark green.
Sun Mu continued to explain, “The other two domains’ colors are more like a bamboo green and light green. They’re apparently the purest form of Primal Qi.”
Si Wuya frowned. “The domains have merged…”
“The two domains were far from each other. I heard there was a huge war so they merged. In any case, they don’t have a habit of intervening with the other domains’ affairs. They keep to themselves.”
Si Wuya nodded. Then, he took out a piece of white paper from his sleeve and asked someone to bring him a pen. He quickly sketched something before he presented it to Lu Zhou. “We can basically confirm it now.”
Lu Zhou took a look and nodded.
The drawing was not complicated. Si Wuya had drawn a huge lotus… A lotus that overturned his worldview and knowledge.
