Common sense told them it was impossible to cultivate more than one color at the same time. There were only a few factors that could affect that such as witchcraft or someone who had not completely assimilated to a domain. However, the two factors definitely did not apply to the blue astrolabe clearly.
Wei Jingye was a straightforward and brash person. He was completely dumbfounded when he encountered such a situation.
On the other hand, Wei Jiangnan was rational. After seeing the astrolabe, he began to think; confirming a few pieces of information.
First, Qing Moshang from the Qin clan was likely to be injured by the person in front of him. The two sides became enemies after Qin Moshang’s Birth Chart was destroyed.
Second, it was true that one should not judge a book by its cover. This applied to the woman. The pair of man and woman’s cultivation was not inferior to theirs.
Third, and most importantly, the person in front of them, Senior Lu, was truly mysterious. There was a possibility that he came from the Great Void.
Wei Jiangnan knew the importance of staying calm to avoid making mistakes and to do things well. This knowledge had helped him avoid the gates of hell several times in the past when he came to the Unknown Land. This time was no exception. Finally, he said, “That was truly an eye-opening sight…”
Lan Xihe’s feelings now were similar to that time when she was in the Black Tower Council. Just like Xiao Yunhe, they thought they were experts standing at the peak before this. However, that was clearly not the case.
“Have you seen such an astrolabe before?” Lan Xihe asked.
Wei Jiangnan shook his head and said, “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Then why aren’t you surprised?” Lan Xihe asked with a smile.
“A long time ago, there was a legend spread in Great Qin that said heaven and earth were originally one. However, due to some mysterious force, they were separated, causing humans from both places to be isolated from each other…”
Lan Xihe said, “Are you saying Pavilion Master Lu’s astrolabe contains the mysterious force? Then, what do you think about this?”
After she finished speaking, her hair fluttered in the wind as a white astrolabe appeared in her hands. A faint blue light appeared between her fingers, casting a faint light on the astrolabe. However, the faint blue light only lasted for a moment before it disappeared.
“This…” Wei Jiangnan was extremely surprised. He wondered if the man and the woman in front of him both came from the Great Void.
Lu Zhou glanced at Lan Xihe from the corners of his eyes. Her actions and words today were slightly strange; what was she trying to prove? Nevertheless, now was not the time to dwell on this matter.
Wei Jiangnan bowed again and said, “We really failed to recognize Mount Tai and almost offended another expert.”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “It doesn’t matter. I’m not a narrow-minded person. How did you come to the Unknown Land?”
Wei Jiangnan answered truthfully: “The two of us accepted a bounty mission. We came to the Unknown Land to look for the mystic life grass in exchange for high-grade cultivation methods, weapons, and pills. The Bounty Union has a runic passage that leads to the Unknown Land; it’s thousands of miles away from here…”
‘Thousands of miles? That’s so far…’
At this moment, Wei Jiangnan recalled Lu Zhou’s two requests and hastily said, “Senior Lu, please forgive us two brothers for being unable to help with your requests. When we return through the runic passage, there would be someone there who would search us. Therefore, if we possess any strange talismans or artifacts, they’ll definitely be found…”
Wei Jingye chimed in, “If we have a choice, we truly won’t risk our lives and come to this place…”
Even in advanced domains, cultivators were still divided between the mighty and the weak.
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Forget it. Things haven’t been easy for both of you. How long have you been in the Unknown Land?”
Wei Jiangnan replied, “Less than half a year.”
“Less than half a year?” Lu Zhou was surprised. Indeed, it was not easy to survive in such a harsh environment for half a year, constantly being on guard against fierce beasts. Let alone the Unknown Land, an ordinary person would have gone crazy if they were confined into a backyard for half a year. The duo’s situation could be perfectly described by the saying, ‘People die for money while birds die for food’. It was not easy for anyone to make a living in the world.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A flock of flying beasts gathered in the distant sky as the clouds roiled.
Wei Jiangnan looked back and said, “Now that the beast king is dead, a new beast king will take its place. We have to go; it’s very dangerous here.” Then, he turned to Lu Zhou and said, “Senior Lu, my brother and I will keep an eye on the matters you mentioned earlier. I hope we can meet again in the future.”
The duo bowed deeply before they flew to the distance.
“Aren’t you going to stop them?” Lan Xihe asked.
“What’s the point?” Lu Zhou said indifferently.
“The value of the mystic life grass isn’t small,” Lan Xihe said.
“The mystic life grass is useless to me. There’s no one in this world who’s capable of destroying my Birth Charts,” Lu Zhou replied.
“…”
Then, the duo looked at the rolling clouds in the distance. A cold wind swept over soon after.
It was unknown whether it was caused by the bone-chilling wind or the over-usage of Primal Qi, Lan Xihe coughed a few times.
Finally, the duo turned around and returned to the runic passage.
After a pillar of light soared into the sky, the duo vanished from sight.
…
In the Runic Hall in the White Tower Council.
The runic circle lit up and buzzed before a pillar light shot up.
Two female attendants waited at the side and bowed when Lu Zhou and Lan Xihe appeared in the runic circle.
“Tower Master, Pavilion Master Lu!” the two female attendants greeted the duo respectfully.
When the blue-clad female attendant raised her head and saw Lan Xihe, she exclaimed in surprise, “Tower Master?”
Lu Zhou turned to look at Lan Xihe and frowned slightly.
Lan Xihe’s face was as white as a sheet of paper. Nevertheless, she still put on airs and clasped her friends in front of her as she said indifferently, “I’m fine.”
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “Your situation isn’t optimistic.”
Lan Xihe said seriously, “Believe me; I’m fine now.”
Lan Xihe was already at this stage, and yet, she was still being stubborn.
Lu Zhou shook his head and walked out of the runic circle with his hands on his back.
Just as Lu Zhou was about to step out of the Runic Hall, Lan Xihe smiled and said, “I have one last request. I hope Pavilion Master Lu will agree to it…”
Lu Zhou stopped and said without looking back, “Speak.”
“I want to spar another time with Pavilion Master Lu.”
“Hm?”
“Let’s spar, fair and square,” Lan Xihe said.
Lu Zhou finally turned to look at Lan Xihe. He felt that Lan Xihe was getting weirder and weirder. He saw a hint of a smile, seriousness, and anticipation flashing in her eyes. It was as though she had figured out certain things, and thus, regained her confidence.
Lu Zhou clasped his hands on his back and asked, “Are you confident in defeating me?”
Lan Xihe first shook her head before she caught herself. Then, she nodded and said, “Although I’m not sure how you did it, I’m sure your cultivation base isn’t that of a real Twelve or Thirteen Chart expert…”
“Why do you say so?” Lu Zhou remained calm.
“The Unknown Land gave me the answer.” Lan Xihe raised her hand, and a blue light flickered on her hand briefly. Then, she said, “The power of heaven and earth?”
Lu Zhou said, “Energy barriers absorb the power of heaven and earth and appear blue as well… But, no, you’re wrong”
“Sacred items?” Lan Xihe continued to guess.
Lu Zhou did not bother to respond any longer. After all, Lan Xihe would not be able to guess the answer no matter what.
All experts had excessive confidence. Sometimes, the line between confidence and conceit could get a little blurry. Therefore, it was important to have clear judgment. It was unfortunate that not everyone had sound judgment. Not everyone was like Yu Shangrong who was almost always clear-minded and hardly made mistakes. However, there were also cases where one with clear judgment made them even more conceited. It seemed like Lan Xihe was teetering between confidence and conceit.
Lu Zhou turned around and walked out of the Runic Hall as he said, “Let’s skip the sparring. If it’s a fair fight, I’m afraid you won’t even be able to withstand a move…”
Lan Xihe. “…”
Her fingers trembled slightly.
The blue-clad female attendant hurried to Lan Xihe’s side and supported her. “Tower Master, are you… are you alright?”
Boom!
Thunder clapped in the sky.
Lan Xihe sighed as she murmured to herself, “Lan Xihe, it’s almost time…”
…
The sky was dark, the clouds covered the sky, the wind was strong, looking as though it was going to rain and storm at any time. The weather was rather bad.
Then, a shadow flashed and appeared in midair.
Buzz!
The hundred-thousand-foot-tall white tower trembled.
Lu Zhou raised his head and looked at the sky.
The clouds that swirled around the tall white tower slowly parted.
These movements attracted the attention of the white-clad cultivators.
The elders rushed over from afar.
Ye Tianxin, Si Wuya, and Little Yuan ‘er also flew out from the 72nd floor.
“Tower Master Lan, Master?” Little Yuan’er called out curiously.
Lu Zhou’s three disciples flew down, bypassing Lan Xihe who was acting strangely, and landed next to Lu Zhou.
Little Yuan’er asked, “Master, what’s wrong with her? Her face is even whiter than Sixth Senior Sister’s…”
Lu Zhou continued to observe with his hands on his back. He did know what was happening either.
At this time, Ning Wanqing flew down and landed at the side. His ears twitched before he shook his head and said with a sigh, “The Tower Master wants to use the white tower’s power and formations to defy the heavens and change her fate. This is the only way left.”
