Ming Xin’s actions clearly did not match that of his high status.
‘What’s Ming Xin planning?’
“Master?” Zhu Honggong interrupted Lu Zhou’s thoughts. “I’ll take my leave first then…”
Lu Zhou waved his sleeve and said, “Go.”
Without any warning, Zhu Honggong leaped forward and hugged Lu Zhou’s thigh before he said with a bitter expression, “Master, I can’t bear to part with you! The two of us have just met, and we haven’t had enough time to catch up yet, but we have to part again! My heart aches!”
“…”
“Master…”
Lu Zhou frowned as goosebumps erupted on his skin after he listened to Zhu Honggong’s words. He raised his leg unhesitantly and kicked Zhu Honggong away. “Get lost.”
Zhu Honggong stopped crying immediately and sucked the snot back into his nose. Then, he wiped his tears and said, “Yes, master!”
Subsequently, Zhu Honggong took a deep breath, straightened his back, and walked out with his hands on his back. As soon as he walked out, he saw many people outside the hall. All of them looked at him strangely.
Little Yuan’er, Conch, Shang Zhang, Zhang He, Li Chun, and many Dark Guards looked suffocated and amused at the same time. It was as though they were trying their best not to laugh.
Zhu Honggong frowned and said, “Laugh! Laugh all you want! When my master finds out that you disrespect me, let’s see what happens then!”
Everyone stopped laughing immediately. Instead of being afraid or nervous, their expressions seemed to say, ‘Why is this person so silly? Why did Pavilion Master Lu accept him as a disciple?’
After Zhu Honggong finished speaking, he flew away with a smug expression on his face.
Everyone looked at each other.
“He left just like that?”
“What happened?”
At this time, Lu Zhou finally walked out of the hall. He did not say anything and made his way to the Dark Hall.
Xuanyi hurried over and asked in a low voice, “Pavilion Master Lu, why did you let him leave?”
Lu Zhou did not reply to the question. Instead, he said, “Make sure what happened in Xuanyi Palace today stays a secret. Don’t let word of it leak out.”
“I’ve already passed down the order,” Xuanyi said.
“There are some things I’m not at liberty to say. Zhi Guangji must be feeling extremely suffocated after being slapped by me. He won’t be coming back any time soon,” Lu Zhou said.
Xuanyi smiled. “Pavilion Master Lu’s strength is as shocking as always! I’m impressed!”
Little Yuan’er, Conch, and Shang Zhang; the attendant, wanted to follow Lu Zhou back to the Dark Hall’s Dao hall, but Lu Zhou dismissed them. He needed to confirm an extremely important matter regarding the resurrection technique.
…
As the sun set, the last ray of light shone into the Dao hall.
Lu Zhou brought the Scripture of Sermons out and placed it in front of him.
It had been quite a while since he studied the Scripture of Sermons after he brought the Qin Yuan’s daughter back to life. Prior to that, he had tried to use the Resurrection Scroll in the Scripture of Sermons to bring Si Wuya back to life. At that time, he thought he had failed, but now, he was not so sure.
Lu Zhou placed his hand on the Scripture of Sermons. A strand of his consciousness moved as his vitality energy surged.
Swoosh!
Lu Zhou felt as though his strand of consciousness was being pulled into a tiny vortex at this time. It was as though he had been pulled into the darkness of the vast universe.
The surroundings changed. The darkness melted away, and he saw birds and beasts. The stars dotted the sky, but the moon was nowhere to be seen. This was the picture depicted in the Resurrection Scroll.
“Where is this place?”
Lu Zhou flew past the birds and the beasts in the forest. No matter how long or how fast he flew, it seemed like he could not leave this place. It felt like he was flying without actually moving.
‘Am I in the Resurrection Scroll?”
Lu Zhou stopped moving. With just a thought, the strand of consciousness returned to his body.
Then, he mobilized his Primal Qi and let a strand of his consciousness drift out.
Just like before, a tiny vortex appeared again, pulling his consciousness inside.
Swoosh!
This time, Lu Zhou found himself at the bottom of the deep sea. It was dark. He could hardly see anything; there were no sea beasts. He swam against the waves in the endless darkness. After a while, the voice of the Unholy One finally rang in his ears.
A familiar voice said reproachfully, “What Dao are you preaching?”
The Scripture of Sermons was left behind by the Unholy One, after all. It contained accounts of his cultivation experience and the secret of the Dao. The secret might be the key to breaking the shackles of heaven and earth.
Lu Zhou continued flying in the darkness. As expected, he saw a square object shining with a dazzling golden light up ahead.
‘Merit stone?’ Lu Zhou’s heart moved, and he continued to fly forward.
Just like before, after flying for a while, he heard a warning.
“Don’t approach if you’re not strong enough!”
“Don’t approach if you’re not strong enough!”
“Don’t approach if you’re not strong enough!”
Lu Zhou was warned thrice in a row.
At the same time, Lu Zhou felt an invisible force blocking his way. No matter how hard he tried to move forward, it was futile. His instinct told him that the secret of the resurrection method was up ahead.
“Do I really have to stop here?” Lu Zhou looked at the golden merit stone with a hint of unwillingness.
“Is the merit stone in the Resurrection Scroll a projection sealed in the scroll?” Lu Zhou wondered.
When Lu Zhou recalled the three warnings he received, he looked around. “The sea? Is the merit stone hidden in the sea?”
This guess made Lu Zhou’s heart skip a beat.
He looked at the merit stone. On each of the surfaces, there were nine palatial squares, and they were engraved with a golden character. Unfortunately, he was too far away so he could not see the characters clearly.
Lu Zhou tried again to move closer, but the result was the same as before: he could not proceed.
‘Is it possible that when the Unholy One was looking for the merit stone, he had stopped here as well? Is that why I can’t proceed any further because his memories stop here?’
Following that, Lu Zhou’s consciousness returned to his body. When he opened his eyes, the sky was already bright.
The morning light shone on the floor of the Dao hall.
Lu Zhou felt slightly groggy. It was as though he had slept for a long time and had just woken up from a long dream.
After a moment, he muttered to himself, “Defying heaven to gain heaven-defying power. The resurrection technique… Did Old Seventh really come back to life?”
…
Zhu Honggong returned to the Sacred Temple through a runic passage.
That night, Zhu Honggong did not look for Qi Sheng.
As a result, the next morning, Qi Sheng came to Zhu Honggong’s residence.
A voice rang from outside.
“Mr. Zhu, the Commander of Tu Wei Hall requests to see you.”
“No!” Zhu Honggong rejected without any hesitation. A hint of impatience and indignance could be heard in his voice.
As soon as Zhu Honggong’s voice fell, Qi Sheng had already walked in with his hands on his back. He asked, “What happened? Why are you so irritable?”
Zhu Honggong leaped up in fright before he scolded, “What’s wrong with you? How can you barge in just like that? Leave!”
Qi Sheng ignored Zhu Honggong and took a seat before he asked, “What about the task I entrusted you?”
Zhu Honggong said seriously, “I’m done. Do you really think you can fool me?”
“Huh?” Qi Sheng could tell Zhu Honggong had changed.
“Put away your petty thoughts! For the sake of the Temple Master, I don’t want our relationship to worsen,” Zhu Honggong said solemnly.
“I don’t understand what you mean,” Qi Sheng said, puzzled.
