Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The tail of Princess Mulberry’s dress was very long. It glittered as it fluttered in the air. She was as silent as a statue as she leaped down.
At this time, Lu Zhou felt as though time was flowing faster than ever. Three seconds passed in just a blink of an eye; the last grain of blue sand was about to hit the bottom.
Princess Mulberry looked around as her nose twitched slightly.
Swoosh!
After a moment, she leaped onto the white crane’s back and said icily, “Let’s go.”
Swoosh!
In just a blink of an eye, the white crane carried Princess Mulberry away into the distance.
“…”
Although it was just eight seconds altogether, time seemed to pass quickly and slowly at the same time.
Buzz!
The Hourglass of Time returned to its original state, and Lu Zhou cut off the power of concealment.
To the people of the Evil Sky Pavilion, they did not experience the excruciating time earlier. They looked at the black fog in the sky in confusion. The white cranes had all disappeared.
“Where are the white cranes?” Zhu Honggong asked curiously.
Kong Wen was puzzled. “Huh? This is really strange. How could they just disappear?”
After putting away the Hourglass of Time, Lu Zhou returned to his original position and activated the Purple Glazed Ceramic to recover his divine power.
Kong Wen said, “This is Princess Mulberry’s entourage. It doesn’t make sense, it really doesn’t make sense.”
Zhu Honggong rolled his eyes and said, “I’ve overestimated you.”
“I guess I was mistaken,” Kong Wen said.
Only Lu Zhou alone knew Kong Wen was not mistaken. He looked at the northern sky and whispered to himself, “Perhaps, it’s not a bad idea to avoid danger.”
No one knew that those eight seconds were Lu Zhou’s limit. Even Chen Fu would not be able to easily maintain the freezing effect for eight seconds. Lu Zhou had only managed to achieve this after using the sacred relic, the Hourglass of Time, and depleting more than half of his divine power.
Lu Zhou sighed. It was really difficult to control time. He wondered if there was truly no one in the world who could reverse time.
At this time, Zhu Honggong said, “Was I hallucinating?”
“You’re not. Perhaps, master beat them up,” Yu Zhenghai said, patting Zhu Honggong’s shoulder.
“…”
Then, Yu Zhenghai turned around said, “Alright. Rest here and cultivate! It’s time to increase your strength. We have so many life hearts here. How can you still have time to talk?”
With Yu Zhenghai showing his might as the first disciple of the Evil Sky Pavilion, no one dared to continue their discussion anymore. They scattered and found their own places to cultivate and attempt to break through.
After all, during this period of time, the members of Evil Sky Pavilion had improved their cultivation tremendously due to the effects of the Pillar of Impermanence.
At this time, Qin Naihe came to Lu Zhou’s side and asked in a low voice, “Pavilion Master, I keep feeling like something isn’t right. It’s like I missed something.”
Lu Zhou glanced at Qin Naihe and asked, “You felt it?”
Qin Naihe nodded. “It feels like something is missing.”
When time was frozen by the Hourglass of Time, only those who had comprehended the power of the Dao could sense it, and perhaps, they could offset the effect slightly. For example, the Hourglass of Time could freeze time for eight seconds. For ordinary Venerable Masters who had comprehended the power of the Dao, they could offset the effect by a second, which meant that they would be frozen for seven seconds instead of eight seconds.
In other words, Qin Naihe was already beginning to comprehend the power of the Dao.
Lu Zhou asked, “You’ve activated your 18th Birth Chart?”
Qin Naihe smiled and said, “Yes. Thanks to the blue crystal with the Great Void energy that you gave me, the process of activating the 18th Birth Chart was very smooth. Moreover, it even opened up the next region in my Birth Palace.”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Very good. The Evil Sky Pavilion will have another Venerable Master.”
Although Lu Zhou’s voice was not loud, everyone heard him. They looked at Qin Naihe in shock.
“Venerable Master?”
Kong Wen stepped forward and said, “Congratulations, Brother Qin!”
The others congratulated Qin Naihe as well.
After all, everyone knew it was not easy to become a Venerable Master. Take the green lotus domain for example, after so long, they only had four Venerable Masters. Every time there was trouble, the four of them would have to step forward. Now that Tuoba Sicheng and Ye Zheng were gone, there was now Qin Naihe. Perhaps, this was heaven’s will.
“Thank you for your kind words. I’m only able to reach this stage because of the Pavilion Master’s care. If you need my help in the future, please don’t hesitate to speak to me,” Qin Naihe said modestly with a smile on his face.
“Hmm? You’re not putting on airs at all?” Mingshi Yin asked after he flew to Qin Naihe’s side.
“Mr. Fourth, don’t joke. I’m not that kind of person,” Qin Naihe said.
Everyone nodded, filled with praise. With the appearance of a new Venerable Master in the Evil Sky Pavilion, they were also greatly motivated to work harder. With this, they did not waste time and hurriedly returned to cultivate.
…
The next morning.
Since Lu Zhou had recovered his divine power, he continued to lead the others and flew toward Ji Ming.
The journey was smooth sailing.
Apart from divine beasts, the other fierce beasts were no match for the Evil Sky Pavilion at all.
With weapons of mass destruction like Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong, most of the time, they would easily sweep up the fierce beasts.
The more powerful fierce beasts could be dealt with by Qin Naihe.
Most importantly, they had Lu Zhou, the Great Venerable Master, who could deal with the powerful fierce beasts with just one palm seal.
Just like that, the people of the Evil Sky Pavilion spent each day in a boring and repetitive manner.
As they traveled, they would kill fierce beasts, harvest their life hearts and the cultivation treasures they encountered.
When they stopped to rest, they would cultivate diligently under the effect of Lu Zhou’s Pillar of Impermanence.
…
In just a blink of an eye, they had spent two months in such a way.
They were not too far away from Ji Ming now.
At this time, Yan Zhenluo seriously reported their harvest.
“Over the past two months, we’ve obtained about 25 beast kings’ life hearts, 65 high-grade life hearts, 156 mid-grade life hearts, 3 mystic microstones, 5 stalks of mystic life grass…”
Yan Zhenluo did not bother reporting the number of low-grade life hearts. With the current strength of the Evil Sky Pavilion, everyone could easily find low-grade life hearts.
Lu Zhou nodded. “Distribute them accordingly to those who need them.”
During the past two months, the cultivation of the people of the Evil Sky Pavilion had increased slightly. As long as they continued on this path and traveled to the other Pillars of Destruction, their cultivation would only continue to improve
“Understood.”
Over the past two months, Lu Zhou had used another beast king’s life heart to activate his 20th Birth Chart. The process was rather smooth, and with the Pillar of Impermanence, the difficulty was not high.
At this time, he was thinking about his blue avatar’s eighth leaf.
‘Is the blue avatar’s limit eight leaves as well?’ Perhaps, it was due to the shadow left over from the eight-leaf limit in the golden lotus domain, he could not help but wonder if his blue avatar would be restricted as well.
At this moment, Kong Wen and his brothers flew over from afar and landed in front of Lu Zhou.
Kong Wen said, “Pavilion Master, the Pillar of Destruction is about thirty miles to the north. This is a crude map that I’ve drawn.”
Then, Kong Wen laid the map on the ground.
Everyone gathered around him immediately.
After taking a look, Yan Zhenluo asked, “Is that a ring-shaped lake?”
“There are many lakes near the Pillar of Destruction. Some are big, and some are small, but this ring-shaped lake is rather special. It covers an area of 3,000 feet, and a huge mulberry tree stands in the middle of the lake. That should be where Princess Mulberry lives. I suggest we take a detour to avoid the ring-shaped lake during our journey to Ji Ming.”
Everyone nodded.
Lu Zhou recalled Princess Mulberry with her long dress and white crane before he asked, “Is Princess Mulberry human or a zombie?”
“Based on ancient books and word of mouth, she’s a zombie. However, not many people have seen her before,” Kong Wen said.
At this moment, Little Yuan’er said in a small voice, “Master, I think we should take a detour…”
Lu Zhou turned to look at Little Yuan’er before he said, “Alright, let’s take a detour then.”
With that, Lu Zhou leaped onto Whitzard’s back and flew north.
The others got on their mounts and followed suit.
With their strength and mounts, it would not take long for them to cover a distance of thirty miles.
…
On a cliff.
Lu Zhou sat on Whitzard’s back as he looked at the Pillar of Destruction that towered into the dense fog.
Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong stood at each of Lu Zhou’s sides and looked at the Pillar of Destruction as well.
“We’ve finally arrived at Ji Ming,” Kong Wen said, “It’s slightly brighter here since Ji Ming represents dawn. It’s also the place closest to the Red Line.”
“Where’s the ring-shaped lake?”
“We went around the lake previously. It’s about 30 miles to the west,” Kong Wen replied.
“30 miles…” Lu Zhou thought the ring-shaped lake was too close. After all, that girl’s cultivation base was not low. With only 30 miles between them, if there was a battle here, it would definitely attract her attention.
He could not understand. Her appearance and movement did not like that of a zombie at all. Moreover, she clearly had a will of her own. If she was not a zombie, it would be easy to suppress her with a Deadly Strike Card.
After a while, Lu Zhou said, “Lead the way.”
Kong Wen nodded before he and his brothers flew out in succession.
Since Kong Wen and his brothers joined the Evil Sky Pavilion, they had worked very hard and did their best at everything. Moreover, they did not complain no matter the task given to them. Everyone in the Evil Sky Pavilion acknowledged this so they were also given the corresponding respect. This was something they could not even imagine when they were solitary cultivators in the green lotus domain. Now, when they worked, they were no longer driven by profit alone.
Kong Wen tossed out a large number of tracking seals as he flew.
At this time, Lu Zhou turned to the side and looked at the towering ancient tree in the distance before he called out, “Hua Wudao, Hua Yuexing.”
“Your orders, Pavilion Master?”
“Both of you take to a higher altitude. If there are any strange movements from the fierce beasts, kill them without mercy. Nonetheless, remember that your survival takes precedent over the mission.”
“Understood!”
The duo cooperated very well; one would focus on offense while the other focused on defense. Hence, Lu Zhou did not think they would encounter a big problem
“Zhao Hongfu.”
“Yes, Pavilion Master,” Zhao Hongfu replied as she stepped forward.
“Build a runic passage in a hidden area. Can you complete it in three days?” Lu Zhou asked.
Zhao Hongfu smiled. “I can build a small one in two days, but I’d need a month for a large one.”
“A small one will do.”
“Understood,” Zhao Hongfu said confidently.
Lu Zhou nodded before he said, “The Left and Right Envoys, the three Guardians, and the four elders will be in charge of protecting Zhao Hongfu.”
“Yes, Pavilion Master!”
Lu Zhou began firing out instructions again after that. “Yu Zhenghai, Yu Shangrong, and Qin Naihe. The three of you have the highest cultivation base now so you will act as Free Men for the time being.”
The trio nodded.
Lu Zhou swept his gaze across the remaining people and said, “As for the rest of you, stay here with Lu Wu and Cheng Huang. Wait for my orders.”
“Yes.”
With Lu Wu and Cheng Huang, this group of people were the safest.
Lu Zhou leaped on Whitzard’s back and said before flying away, “I’ll go and investigate first.”
Swoosh!
Lu Zhou and Whitzard disappeared into the horizon in just a blink of an eye.
Everyone rubbed their eyes.
Zhu Honggong asked in confusion, “When did Whitzard become so fast?”
“It is rather fast now.”
Zhu Honggong grabbed Dang Kang’s ear and said, “Why aren’t you so fast?”
Dang Kang snorted before it lay on the ground, pretending to be dead.
Yu Zhenghai patted Bi An and said, “Bi An doesn’t specialize in speed.”
Yu Shangrong added, “It’s the same for Ji Liang.”
Little Yuan’er looked around before she said, “My little Fire Phoenix can’t fly yet so I won’t compare with you old people.”
“…”
Lu Wu, Cheng Huang, Ying Zhao, and Di Jiang turned to look at Yuan’er.
‘Little ancestor, what’s the meaning of bringing up your divine beast? Isn’t this an overkill?’
Then, Di Jiang cried out twice. After all, in terms of speed, if it claimed second place, no one would dare to claim the first place.
On the other hand, Ying Zhao looked at the Pillar of Destruction uneasily.
Zhao Yue, who had been traveling with Ying Zhao, could sense Ying Zhao’s uneasiness. Hence, she asked, “Tenth Junior Sister, what’s wrong with it?”
Ying Zhao raised its head and made a few strings of noises.
After that, Conch said, “Ying Zhao came from the core area of the Unknown Land. Although this is just the outer area, it said that the pressure and dangerous aura of this place are similar to those at the core area. That’s why it feels uneasy.”
“Don’t worry. With the Pavilion Master around, everything will be fine.”
Everyone nodded.
…
At the same time.
Lu Zhou and Whitzard passed through a forest. In order to avoid falling into formation traps, he brought the Golden Taixu Mirror and shone it forward.
“Whitzard, raise the altitude.”
Whitzard obeyed immediately.
When they were about 100 meters in the air, the range of the Golden Taixu Mirror widened. It revealed the true forms of everything it shone on.
One after another, traps were exposed.
“As expected, there are formation traps.”
Lu Zhou and Whitzard avoided the traps and flew through a jagged stone peak before Lu Zhou called out, “Stop.”
Lu Zhou observed the formations again. If it were left by Saints or people from the Great Void, they should not be so new.
“Are the other people here?”
Lu Zhou immediately brought Whitzard to a lower altitude before landing on a huge boulder.
The Pillar of Destruction stood not far away. The roiling black fog was reflected on the pillar, looking like the rippling shadows of waves.
The surroundings were completely silent.
Lu Zhou silently recited the mantra for the power of smell. Soon after, he frowned, “Void Chest tribesmen?”
Lu Zhou had smelled the familiar pungent and slightly sour stench he had smelled back in the ruins of Transient City.
“500 meters ahead,” Lu Zhou said.
Whitzard understood immediately. It flew out and came to a stop after crossing 500 meters.
When Lu Zhou looked down from the sky, he saw a huge group of Void Chest tribesmen lying silently on the ground like dried loaches. A few of them wore clothes. Most of them were dark and bald.
Lu Zhou wondered inwardly, curious, ‘Why are the Void Chest tribesmen here?’
Lu Zhou looked at the Pillar of Destruction before he said in a low voice, “Go around them.”
Lu Zhou did not want to alarm the Void Chest tribesmen and decided to go around them to investigate the situation at the Pillar of Destruction.
Whitzard turned around and began to fly around the Void Chest tribesman.
It did not take long before they arrived at the Pillar of Destruction.
The Pillar of Destruction in Ji Ming was basically the same as the one in Yu Zhong.
Lu Zhou saw a few fierce beasts resting nearby.
‘There should be a beast emperor guarding this place…’
Lu Zhou was not in a hurry to enter the Pillar of Destruction. He wanted to check the surroundings before making plans. Soon after, he saw a ring-shaped lake.
The ring-shaped lake covered an area of 3,000 feet; it was not too big. In fact, in the Unknown Land, it was considered insignificantly small. In the middle of the lake stood a huge mulberry tree in full bloom. Golden spots of light flickered around it, and they were reflected in the lake. The scenery completed the gloomy dark fog quite well. It looked like a scene out of a dark fairytale.
“Princess Mulberry,” Lu Zhou murmured softly to himself.
