Lu Zhou. “…”
In fact, Lu Zhou had two purposes for revealing his identity as the Pavilion Master of the Evil Sky Pavilion. First, he did not want to be mistaken for Lu Tiantong. If word spread out, it might attract the attention of the green lotus cultivators or the Equalizers. After all, he had not figured out why Lu Tiantong vanished. Second, the situation had escalated to such an extent that there was no way to remain low profile so it would be so counterproductive to do so.
The commotion from below had yet to cease, but Lu Zhou could not be bothered with these people. Hence, he said, “This place is dangerous. Hurry up and leave.”
Everyone hurriedly stood up.
“With Senior Lu’s presence, we feel at ease now.”
“Senior Lu, don’t hesitate to tell us if you need anything. We’ll retreat first, but we won’t go too far…”
After the cultivators bowed again, they rushed into the distance, including the middle-aged Thousand Realms Whirling cultivator.
When everyone had left, Lu Qianshan suppressed the excitement in his heart and flew toward Lu Zhou. Then, he said solemnly and respectfully, “Greetings, Venerable Master Lu.”
“Hm?”
When Lu Qianshan raised his head again, his eyes were red and shone with unconcealable excitement. He said, “Only Venerable Master Lu can break the Nine Twist and Turn Formation and the Nine Twist Illusionary Formation.”
“…”
In fact, Lu Zhou had found it strange as well. When he had touched the huge stone pillar earlier, the blue avatar in his Dantian’s sea of Qi seemed to change. Moreover, the huge stone pillar seemed like it was choosing its target… as though it was looking for or waiting for its master’s return.
In the end, Lu Zhou said, “Let’s go down and have a look first.”
“Understood.”
The duo flew down the cliff.
Many inscriptions were floating in the air at this moment.
Lu Zhou stopped to study the inscriptions.
‘Heavenly Writing?’
At this moment, it suddenly clicked in his mind that the inscriptions and patterns on the huge stone pillar and in the air resembled the ones in the Heavenly Writing.
“…”
Lu Zhou remained expressionless as he continued his descent.
Lu Qianshan, who was unaware of what was going on, followed Lu Zhou obediently to the bottom of the cliff.
The bottom of the cliff resembled the Cold Breeze Valley.
“The Nine Twist Illusionary Formation reflects the environment below… What an exquisite formation. The person who created this formation is really a peerless genius.”
“Uh…” The corners of Lu Qianshan’s twitched upon hearing these words.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“N-nothing. Your humble servant is very surprised by how exquisite the formation is as well…”
“Your humble servant?” Lu Zhou frowned.
“Under our ancestors’ orders, the Lu clan has been honoring Venerable Master Lu for generations. Now that you’ve returned, I’ll continue to follow you, and I’m willing to be your slave. In fact, the Lu family’s surname isn’t Lu. From now on, we’ll revert to our original surname, Dongri.”
“Your surname is Dongri?” Lu Zhou asked.
Lu Qianshan nodded.
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “There’s no need for that. Let’s put the matter of Venerable Master Lu aside for now. I don’t have a habit of depriving others of their names or surnames…”
Since Lu Qianshan was already used to his name, he did not refuse. “Thank you, Venerable Master Lu.”
“Hm?”
“Right, right. I mean, thank you.” Lu Qianshan straightened his back. Whether Lu Zhou admitted it or not, he knew the truth in his heart.
Lu Zhou flew toward the center of the valley. It was a place that was obviously different from the illusion earlier.
There was a stone plate in the middle of a huge circle; a brocade box was placed on top of the stone plate.
Lu Zhou finally found it; it should have been left behind by Lu Tiantong. He said, “Since it’s left by a Venerable Master, there should be a powerful restriction to keep others away. Stand back.”
“Understood.” Lu Qianshan obeyed without any questions.
As soon as Lu Zhou stepped into the huge circle, the stone plate shone faintly before the brocade box clicked open.
“…”
With this, even if he jumped into the sea, he would not be able to clear his name. Who would believe he was not Lu Tiantong?
At the same time, Lu Qianshan nodded to himself. This was as it should be. Since its master had returned, the box would naturally open up for its master.
Lu Zhou walked over, and he saw a book in the brocade box. Under the book was a blank Heavenly Writing Scroll.
“Heavenly Writing Scroll?” Lu Zhou was shocked. Then, he brought the blank scroll out of the box.
At the same time, the inscriptions flying in the air seemed to have sensed something and gathered from all directions. One by one, they flew into the blank scroll.
“Ding! You’ve obtained the second half of the Open Heavenly Writing Scroll.”
“Ding! Would you like to merge it?”
‘Merge.’
With that, the Heavenly Writing Scroll dissolved into specks of starlight before merging with the first half of the Heavenly Writing Scroll in his system. Then, it appeared in the Three Scrolls of Heavenly Writing.
“Ding! You’ve successfully merged the scrolls and obtained a Heavenly Writing Scroll. Bonus reward: Upgrade Card.”
“Ding! The Upgrade Card allows you to increase the system and the Heavenly Writing’s power. Reminder: Upgrading will take a long time. Please choose wisely.”
Lu Zhou nodded. Then, he opened the book in his hand. The introduction read:
“The ancient Venerable Masters didn’t sleep or dream. They lived a carefree life, ate without feelings, and breathed deeply. They were born to the heavens and were known as Venerable Masters. Venerable Masters are one with the heavens. Those who cultivate their inner selves were known as sages. In ancient times, there were Venerable Masters who seized the heavens and earth, grasped the Yin and Yang, breathed the essence, and guarded the spirit. With these, they lived forever until the end of time. Venerable Masters do not die, do not live, and do not exist.”
Lu Zhou did not understand the words at all. He flipped to the next page. It read:
“I obtained a Great Void Seed. After cultivating, I became the world’s first Venerable Master in Great Yuan. I turned the tide, killed hundreds of thousands of barbarians, slaughtered millions of fierce beasts, and brought peace and prosperity to the world.”
“…”
After the book’s introduction, it was nothing more than Lu Tiantong bragging about how he defeated his opponents, how he shocked the world, and how brilliant he was.
Lu Zhou felt his hair standing on end reading these words of self-praise. Lu Tiantong was really good at bragging. Nevertheless, he continued reading. The following page read:
“I once defeated a Venerable Master in the northern territory at the foot of a snow-capped mountain with just a palm strike. With that, I single-handedly submitted the northern territory. I once killed over 10,000 cultivators in a kingdom to the south with a single sword strike. Rivers of blood flowed…”
Lu Zhou flipped to the next page. It read:
“In the entire world, the only one who’s worthy to exchange blows with me is Venerable Master Duanmu.”
“…”
“The path of cultivation is endless. I have pursued the path of cultivation all my life, seeking the path of supremacy until I comprehended the power of the Dao.”
“…”
“A Venerable Master’s physique allows me to see through the void and merge with the Dao. It’s one with nature. What is the Dao? All things in the world should follow the Dao. The great Dao has no name and sustains all things.”
Lu Zhou’s frown deepened when he read this. He really did not understand what he read at all, apart from Lu Tiantong’s bragging. He could read the words, but it did not make sense to him at all. What did they mean?
Swoosh!
Lu Qianshan said, “Someone’s here!”
Lu Zhou put the book away and waved his hand. “Follow me closely.”
The duo flew away toward the nearest jungle at a high speed.
At this moment, a voice rang in the air.
“Please wait.”
Lu Zhou descended. He stopped and turned around; he could tell the person was nearby. Then, he shifted his eyes to the entrance of the valley. As expected, he saw a person dressed in a gray robe hovering in the air.
