Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Unknown Land was too vast. It would be hard to catch up to the other party. Hence, the method of the High Priest of the Void Chest tribes was the best. Since they were familiar with the Unknown Land, they hoped to wait for the other party at the destination. However, it was not easy to travel in a huge group in the Unknown Land. Nonetheless, even if they failed to arrive first, they would not lose anything.
Under the lead of their high priest, the Void Chest tribesmen changed their direction and cut across the inner area to go to Ji Ming.
…
On the other hand, the people from the Evil Sky Pavilion were not in a rush. After all, they did not have to reach Ji Ming at a specific time. Their main goal was to grow stronger; they were not in a rush to meet danger and confront the Great Void.
…
Five days later.
The people of the Evil Sky Pavilion stopped to rest near a rift valley.
After taking stock of their harvest over the past five days, Yan Zhenluo reported to Lu Zhou seriously, “Pavilion Master, we’ve obtained three beast kings’ life hearts, 15 high-grade life hearts, 58 mid-grade life hearts, and 120 low-grade life hearts. There’s also a small number of earthly treasures and divine materials.”
Lu Zhou nodded. The harvest was not too bad. After a while, he said, “The beast kings’ life hearts we have are still too few.”
Kong Wen, who was standing nearby, said, “We set off from the Misty Forest, and we’ve been walking around the periphery of the Unknown Land. Hence, the fierce beasts we encountered weren’t that powerful. If we want to harvest the life hearts of powerful fierce beasts, we’ll have to go to the inner area, but that’s too dangerous.”
Lu Zhou was not alone, after all. Almost all of the members of the Evil Sky Pavilion were with him. With so many people, it was inevitable that mistakes would occur. It was safer to stick to the periphery for now.
“Is anyone injured?” Lu Zhou asked.
“Just small scratches here and there. They’re not serious.”
Lu Zhou nodded before he walked to the side of the rift valley with his hands on his back. When he looked down the rift in the valley, he felt an inexplicable feeling. He frowned and asked, “There’s such a strange rift valley in the Unknown Land?”
Kong Wen said, “It’s very rare. This kind of valley can only be found in the outer area. The legend says this fissure was how the land split.”
“The land split?” someone asked.
“At the beginning, there were no nine domains; everything was one. When the land split, the nine domains were formed, becoming what they are today,” Kong Wen said.
Lu Zhou asked, “Is there water in the rift?”
“No one knows,” Kong Wen replied.
Lu Zhou waved his hand and brought a pebble into his hand before he tossed it down the rift.
Swoosh!
After some time had passed, there was still no sound of the pebble landing.
“Since the fissure was the cause of the land splitting, does the appearance of this fissure mean that a new domain is forming?” Lu Zhou asked.
Kong Wen was stunned. He did not expect Lu Zhou to be like Si Wuya, so filled with questions. After a moment, he said, “I apologize for my ignorance, Pavilion Master. This matter is beyond my understanding.”
“It’s fine. If Old Seventh were here…” Lu Zhou stopped speaking abruptly and did not finish his sentence. Then, he turned around and walked back.
…
At noon.
The Unknown Land was still dark. No sunlight could be seen at all.
Lu Zhou sighed. “The Great Void is high up, blocking the light from the world. This is the reason there’s no sunlight in the Unknown Land all year round.”
Kong Wen chuckled before he said, “I might not have a high cultivation base, but I do have a few words to say.”
“Speak.”
“The ancient Saints said there’s no such thing as eternal life or immortals. The Great Void is high up, but the people are still humans. The difference is our life spans are shorter,” Kong Wen said.
Lu Li seemed to be interested in this topic. He said, “That’s interesting. It’s just like how cultivators don’t harm ordinary folks. Ordinary people are the root and foundation of the land. They’re also where the cultivation world obtains new talents. This should be the reason why the Great Void tries so hard to maintain the balance in the nine domains.”
“The Great Void has always been like that. They would eliminate every factor that threatens their position so they can forever stay in their high and mighty position,” Kong Wen said.
“Perhaps, if we were in their shoes, we would do the same as well. As we are now, naturally, there’s no need for us to act the way they do,” Lu Li said.
Kong Wen was stumped.
Since ancient times, dynasties had been changing. The new rulers would repeat the same mistakes of the previous dynasties. History had a tendency of repeating itself.
In the end, Kong Wen only chuckled and said, “Well, if I’m ever in that position, I hope I won’t turn into a person I hate.”
Lu Zhou nodded upon hearing these words, but he did not express his opinion.
At this moment, Hua Wudao walked over from afar. He bowed and called out, “Pavilion Master.”
“What’s the matter?”
“During the years I was in the red lotus domain, I’ve been pain painstakingly cultivating the Six Compatible Daoist Seals and mastering the usage of the Square Box. Although I’m nowhere near the peak, I’ve made some achievements. Hence…” Hua Wudao stammered, “H-hence, I’d like to ask for Pavilion Master’s guidance.”
Back then, Hua Wudao had painstakingly cultivated his tortoise technique for twenty years before he challenged Lu Zhou.
Times had changed Hua Wudao. He had long accepted the reality. Now, he was sincerely asking for Lu Zhou’s guidance.
Everyone’s interest was piqued in just an instant. One by one, they gathered around Hua Wudao.
“Elder Hua, aren’t you just asking for a beating? Although your tortoise technique is very powerful, faced with the Pavilion Master…” Pan Litian said with a smile.
“Elder Pan, how can I be unaware of that? However, without suffering, there won’t be any improvement. Without the guidance of an expert, you’ll forever be stuck in a rut,” Hua Wudao said.
Leng Luo clasped his hands on his back and said, “It’s a good thing that you’re brave enough to challenge an expert.”
Everyone nodded. Most of them truly did not dare to ask Lu Zhou for guidance or a sparring session.
Lu Zhou nodded at Hua Wudao and said, “Alright. To be fair, I’ll suppress my cultivation base to that of a Three Chart cultivator.”
Hu Wudao bowed and said, “Thank you, Pavilion Master.”
Then, Hua Wudao took a step back.
Lu Zhou did not move.
Then, when Hua Wudao took a step forward, he formed the Eight Trigrams and Six Compatible Daoist Seals. Ten scripts flew out consecutively as he brought out the Square Box.
“Oh, the Square Box has been upgraded to the flood-grade.”
“Over the years, the Sky Martial Academy has accumulated a lot of forging materials. Moreover, we have many talented weaponsmiths. It’s normal that it’s been upgraded to the flood-grade. Moreover, it was already at the desolate-grade, to begin with,” Meng Changdong said.
“Elder Hua’s Six Combination Daoist Seal has already reached perfection.”
At the moment the ten golden scripts formed a circle, Lu Zhou took the initiative to attack. He pushed his hand out and unleashed the Great Seal of Fearlessness.
Everyone held their breaths when the Great Seal of Fearlessness shot out. Perhaps, they had gotten used to seeing Lu Zhou killing people with just a palm seal, they instinctively retreated as their hearts trembled.
Hua Wudao was also extremely nervous, but he kept cheering himself on, inwardly. He told himself he had to stand firm.
Boom!
The Great Seal of Fearlessness collided with the Six Combination Daoist Seal.
Energy rippled out in all directions.
Hua Wudao stumbled three steps back and barely managed to stabilize himself.
Lu Zhou said as he nodded, “Your defenses have improved a lot. Not bad.”
“Thank you for your praise, Pavilion Master,” Hua Wudao said. When he stepped forward, energy seals burst forth from his body.
Lu Zhou waved his hand and flew ten meters up in the air.
“Abandon Wisdom!”
The familiar golden palm seal appeared before everyone’s eyes. In just a second, it appeared in front of Hua Wudao. The ten golden scripts quickly converged, forming a strong defense.
Boom!
Energy rippled out again.
Everyone activated their protective energies immediately. They saw half of Hua Wudao’s legs had sunk into the ground. His Six Combination Daoist Seal only shook slightly, but he was otherwise unharmed.
“Elder Hua, you’re amazing! You managed to withstand the Pavilion Master’s palm seal,” Meng Changdong said as he clapped his hands.
Lu Zhou looked at Hua Wudao as he struck again.
“The Great Vajra Wheel Hand Sign.”
The golden palm seal was even faster than the one before.
Hua Wudao had just barely caught his breath, but he had no choice but to hurriedly lift his hands to support the Six Combinations Daoist Seal.
Swoosh!
The Six Combinations Daoist Seal expanded rapidly before…
Boom!
This time, the Six Combinations Daoist Seal shattered, and Hua Wudao was sent flying back.
Everyone: “…”
Everyone had their own thoughts at this moment, but outwardly, they were all smiling.
‘It seems like the Pavilion Master couldn’t stand the thought of losing. That doesn’t look like the palm seal of a Three Chart cultivator at all.’
‘The Pavilion Master still wants to maintain his dignity. In any case, uh… he was also… quite considerate by letting Hua Wudao withstand the first two moves…’
‘As expected of the Pavilion Master, he secretly increased the strength of the palm seal. Nevertheless, no one should be able to tell he had increased the force…’
After Lu Zhou descended, he asked, “Do you know where you made a mistake?”
Hua Wudao stood up and sighed. “The Pavilion Master’s final palm seal wasn’t as powerful as the first two palm seals, but it managed to shatter the Six Combinations Daoist Seal. This shows that the seal is reaching its limit. It’ll only become less and less useful in the Thousand Realms Whirling stage.”
Everyone: “…”
At this time, everyone shared the same thought: Elder Hua is really skilled at bootlicking!
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “At the Hundred Tribulations Insight stage, coupled with the Square Box, your Six Combinations Daoist Seals can indeed block all attacks. However, it’s of little use when you’re in the Thousand Realms Whirling Stage.”
Hua Wudao said, embarrassed and discomfited, “I’ve been looking for a breakthrough over the past two years, searching for a way to resolve this problem. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a solution.”
Lu Zhou clasped his hands on his back and said, “Originally, there were no paths in this world. Paths are created by people.”
Zhu Honggong clapped his hands and said, “W-what an amazing… poem!”
Everyone turned to look at Zhu Honggong immediately.
‘How’s this a poem?!’
Zhu Honggong scratched his head awkwardly as he said, “Ahaha… I meant to say, master’s words are like golden pearls of wisdom! They’re capable of enlightening those who listen to them! They hold the meaning of life…” His voice grew smaller and smaller as he continued to say, “Uhh… They make people think deeply…”
Hua Wudao was puzzled. “Pavilion Master, what do you mean?”
Lu Zhou said confidently. “You have to be innovative. The cultivation methods in the golden lotus domain are different from the other domains. It’s the only domain where severing the lotus is a cultivation path. You don’t have to follow the old path; you can’t carve out your own path that suits you.”
“A path that suits me…” Hua Wudao fell deep into his thoughts.
The others nodded their heads.
Lu Zhou raised his hand and said, “For example, the red lotus cultivators can’t use their lotus as blades, but the golden lotus cultivators can.”
A miniature golden avatar appeared above Lu Zhou’s hand. The golden flames that burned around it were dazzling.
Then, Lu Zhou flicked his hand, sending the golden lotus out.
Boom!
The golden neatly cleaved a huge rock into two.
“The Six Combinations Daoist Seal is the same. There’s no need to follow the existing framework. Take this for example…” Lu Zhou said as he stepped forward.
As soon as Lu Zhou stepped forward, the ten scripts appeared one after another: heaven, earth, life, death, water, fire, being, non-being, separation, and union.
Hua Wudao thought this was the end.
However, as Lu Zhou continued to stride forward, the scripts continued to appear: heaven, earth, life, water, fire, being, non-being, separation, and union. They only came to a stop when there were 24 scripts.
Hua Wudao was stunned.
The people of the Evil Sky Pavilion were stunned as well.
“24 scripts seal?!” Hua Wudao exclaimed.
Pan Litian rubbed his eyes confirming there were 24 scripts before he said, “Although we should break the limit and innovate, isn’t it too exaggerated to raise the limit by forming 24 scripts at once?”
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “You’re wrong about breaking the limit. How can you break the limit if there’s no limit?”
Lu Zhou continued to walk forward as scripts began to appear again according to their order. He quickened his pace as more and more scripts surrounded him. When he finally arrived in front of Hua Wudao, the golden scripts had formed a huge golden sphere. He said, “There’s no limit.”
“…”
The golden lotus domain had already broken the shackles. The cultivators should not place another limit on themselves; doing so would be foolish.
When Lu Zhou placed his hands on his back, the scripts scattered all in directions looking like golden butterflies fluttering in the air. Wherever they flew, the plants, flowers, and trees were reduced to ashes. Under his perfect control, the golden scripts whizzed past everyone’s ears and bodies harmlessly.
When the golden scripts finally vanished, silence returned.
This was the end of the guidance from Lu Zhou for now.
Lu Zhou’s expression was calm as he looked at Hua Wudao silently. He could tell Hua Wudao understood his words. He saw the inspiration and enlightenment that flashed in Hua Wudao’s eyes. Before he turned to walk away, he said, “It can attack and defend; it has both offense and defense.”
After a moment of silence, when Hua Wudao regained his senses, he hurriedly said, “Listening to Pavilion Master’s words is better than studying for ten years. I’ve learned a lot from you today.”
Lu Zhou came to a halt. He turned around and swept his eyes across everyone as he said, “If any of you have questions, you can ask me. I will guide you.”
Swoosh!
Zhu Honggong fell forward suddenly, landing on his knees. He looked shocked; no one knew what he was thinking at this moment. Suddenly, he turned around and asked through gritted teeth, “Who the f*ck kicked me?!”
Lu Zhou furrowed his brows. “Someone kicked you?”
“Uh… No, no, no. I… I want to ask for master’s guidance,” Zhu Honggong said with a smile, changing his expression in just a blink of an eye.
Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction as he looked at Zhu Honggong. He placed his hands on his back and walked toward Zhu Honggong before he said, “You’ve been away from me for a long time. I do need to test your strength. Rise to your feet.”
“Ah? There’s no need to test my strength. I admit defeat!” Zhu Honggong said with an ingratiating smile, “Master, you can just tell me the key points, and I promise I’ll remember all of them! Don’t worry. I’ll cultivate diligently according to the key points!”
Lu Zhou shook his head and calmly said, “I can only advise you after I test your strength.”
“Ah?” Zhu Honggong’s mouth dropped open. He swayed slightly, looking as though he did not know if he should laugh or cry. Then, he reluctantly manifested his avatar.
Bang!
As soon as Zhu Honggong manifested his avatar, Lu Zhou pushed his hand out. It felt as though the mountains were collapsing and the earth was splitting.
Zhu Honggong yelped and leaped up in the air. “Master! I’m not ready yet!”
“You have to catch your opponent off guard,” Lu Zhou said as he flew forward and struck with his palm again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three palm seals landed consecutively on Zhu Honggong’s avatar.
Zhu Honggong did not even have an opportunity to land after leaping into the air before he was sent flying again.
“…”
‘What’s this move called?’
‘Taking advantage of the situation?’
