Lu Zhou’s ears twitched.
The silent palace made it even easier for him to use the listening power from the Heavenly Writing.
He opened his eyes and looked at the skies outside the palace.
A black figure appeared. The figure moved swiftly and nimbly as it snuck into the palace, traversed the corridors, and sniffed about like a dog. He seemed to have a unique talent for picking up scents. Whenever he stopped, a faint energy could be seen swirling around the tip of his nose before quickly disappearing.
At this time, several Imperial guards on patrol passed by outside the palace.
The black figure scurried into a room and hid behind a screen. Again, a faint energy swirled around the tip of his nose before disappearing. His nose twitched. “Who’s there?”
He spun around; his eyes widened in shock. He saw an elderly man sitting on a rush cushion inside the room. The old man appraised him, seemingly unafraid.
“What are you looking for, young man?”
The black figure’s heart was racing. He kept his eyes fixed on the old man. He gulped as his nose twitched again. He cried out, “F-five… Five… Five-leaf?”
Lu Zhou was taken aback. “You can tell that I’m at the Five-leaf stage?”
The black figure did not answer the question. Instead, he said, “That’s none of your business… From now on, you’re not to make any sound. Otherwise, I’ll kill you!”
Lu Zhou nodded. He stroked his beard and asked, “A Deep-eye Tribesman?”
The black figure was slightly taken aback. “Huh? You know about us?”
“I went to Rongbei when I was young. The Deep-eye Tribe isn’t outstanding among the Other Tribes. What gives you the courage to infiltrate Great Yan?” Lu Zhuo said casually as though they were discussing the weather.
The black figure chuckled and said, “Why not?”
Great Yan’s nine provinces were in turmoil; the Divine Capital had been reduced to rubble. The Imperial guards had suffered great losses, and the two academies were destroyed by the Nether Sect’s attacks. Indeed, this was the best time to infiltrate Great Yan.
Lu Zhou expected the Other Tribes to band together to invade the empire. He did not expect them to infiltrate Great Yan. It was no wonder that Liang Province was peaceful and without large-scale battles.
Lu Zhou asked nonchalantly, “What are you looking for?”
“Don’t ask about something that you shouldn’t ask about.” The black figure stood at a distance from Lu Zhou in a stance that showed he would attack at any given moment.
“A box?” Lu Zhou continued to bait him.
“How did you know?” The black figure was shocked.
“A box left by a Nine-leaf elite, right?”
The black figure’s eyes widened as he looked at Lu Zhou. He hurriedly said, “If you tell me where it is, I’ll spare you.” He was, naturally, clueless to the fact that the old man seated before him was a tiger more terrifying than himself.
With Lu Zhou’s strength, he had no trouble taking down these Other Tribesmen. However, since they were capable of sneaking into the palace, they had surely resolved to sacrifice their lives for this cause.
“If you tell me your objectives, I’ll tell you.” Lu Zhou’s attitude was calm and firm.
The black figure turned and looked out the window.
The night was getting late.
The Imperial city was too huge. It was a tall order to find one box. He considered Lu Zhou’s words before he finally said in a hushed voice, “There’s something we want inside that box… As for what it is, we don’t know as well. We’re only here on orders.”
“Whose orders?”
Alarm bells rang in the black figure’s mind when he heard this question. He looked at Lu Zhou and asked, “Are you trying to dig information out of me?”
“If you want the box, you’ll answer me…” Lu Zhou replied.
The black figure replied, “Fine. It’s General Karol.”
“Karol is only a general of the allied army of Lou Lan and Rouli. You’re a Deep-eye Tribesman… Why do you obey his orders?”
Upon hearing Lu Zhou’s words, the black figure was suddenly certain of the knowledge that the old man seated before him was not a simple person. He said, somewhat warily, “Is it strange for Rongxi and Rongbei to be allied?”
When Lu Zhou heard this, he stroked his beard and nodded. He said, “The palace has already been conquered by the Evil Sky Pavilion. You’ve got guts coming here.”
“Aside from Old Villain Ji, the others are a ragtag team of senior citizens and invalids. There’s nothing to fear about them,” the black figure replied.
“You’ve investigated the Evil Sky Pavilion?” Lu Zhou was curious now. How did this man know that the Evil Sky Pavilion was nothing but a group of old people and invalids? Although it was grating to his ears, he was forced to agree with the black figure’s description when he thought about it.
“That’s easy… To tell you the truth, we have eyes inside and outside the Divine Capital,” the black figure said.
Lu Zhou was slightly speechless. Although it was common to plant spies in an enemy nation, it was rare to see a nation sending this many spies out.
“Very well.” Lu Zhou stood up slowly.
His movements startled the black figure. He said with a gruff voice, “Don’t move!”
“Hm?”
“Old geezer, where’s the box?” The black figure’s voice was low and hoarse.
“I have it…”
When the black figure heard this, a delighted expression appeared on his face. “Nice. Give me the box, and I’ll spare you.”
“You? You’ll spare me?”
“You’re refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit.” In truth, the black figure had never intended to keep his words. After answering so many questions, he had long made up his mind to kill Lu Zhou. He stomped his feet and drew his dagger at lightning speed! He had to deal with his enemy in the shortest time possible to prevent a commotion.
Lu Zhou raised his palm and pushed it forward, launching a Great Seal of Fearlessness that shone with a brilliant golden light. A hint of blue light could be seen around it as well. It looked extremely eye-catching in the dark.
The black figure was caught off-guard by this.
Bam!
The Great Seal of Fearlessness struck his face, and he reeled back.
Bam!
The hand seal’s impact pushed the black figure out the door, causing him to roll down the stairs outside. His internal organs were heavily injured. He grunted before he turned to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood.
“He’s really strong!” The black figure pressed a hand to his chest as he struggled to rise to his feet. Then, he quickly sped off.
“I’d like to see how far you can run!”
Lu Zhou flew out. He summoned his Five-leaf avatar!
Whizz!
His shining golden avatar immediately illuminated Dazheng Palace and the plaza before Dazheng palace.
Drawn by the commotion, the Imperial guards and the cultivators inside the palace who were nearby rushed over.
Lu Zhou flew at lightning speed. He looked down and saw the Deep-eye Tribesman flying at a low altitude. Then, he sent another palm seal out.
A frightened expression appeared on the Deep-eye Tribesman’s face as he summoned his avatar.
It was a Six-leaf leopard king!
“I see.”
Bam!
The palm seal hit the Six-leaf leopard king.
At this moment, several figures shot up in the skies.
Lu Zhou’s disciples were drawn and alerted by this commotion and had rushed over.
The Deep-eye Tribesman continued keeping low as he fled. He looked behind him and said, “Unfortunately, you’re not Old Villain Ji! You have no hope of capturing me!”
The Deep-eye Tribesman’s voice had barely faded when Lu Zhou raised his hand and launched a Binding Cage Card. The card only had a 30% hit rate.
When the Binding Cage Card sailed out in the air, Lu Zhou threw a second card into the air.
Two square cages doggedly pursued the Deep-eye Tribesman.
The Deep-eye Tribesman looked back and exclaimed in shock, “What are these things?”
As soon as the Deep-eye Tribesman finished speaking, one of the two cages dropped down on him. Then, a shining golden net appeared on the ground.
Bam!
The first card shattered.
Soon after, the second cage dropped and missed its mark as well.
The Deep-eye Tribesman was stunned. When he regained his senses, he said with a smile, “You’re all bark but no bite. It’s just a flashy technique. Old geezer, we’ll meet again! Farewell!”
Lu Zhou felt slightly speechless when he saw this. ‘That fellow is incredibly lucky.’
Lu Zhou flipped his hand, and Unnamed appeared in his hand. He rose into the air above Dazheng Palace. He looked at the Deep-eye leopard king running toward the distance under the moonlight.
At this moment, his disciples were already here.
The Imperial guards and the elites of the inner palace had also arrived.
They arrived just in time to witness this scene.
After Unnamed turned into a bow, Lu Zhou calmly pulled on the bowstring until the bow resembled the full moon. Soon after, an energy arrow appeared between his index and middle finger.
Swoosh!
The energy arrow flew out at the Deep-eye Tribesman’s back.
There was no doubt about the outcome. The black figure was struck by the energy arrow and fell down from the skies.
