As far as the eye could see, there were people kneeling and worshipping Lu Zhou. Nobody seemed to care that he was from the Fiend Path.
Lu Zhou laced his voice with Primal Qi that spread out into the surroundings. His words reached everyone’s ears. His words were like a boost of confidence to the people.
The Evil Sky Pavilion’s cloud-splitting chariot was in the skies. When they saw the flying chariot, the cultivators who did not belong to the Evil Sky Pavilion had an expression of admiration and respect on their faces.
Chu Nan was no exception.
Only an individual, Xiao Yun, clutched his chest and staggered backward. He was in agony; his heart was in pain. He was so close to joining the Evil Sky Pavilion!
Lu Zhou stepped into the air with his hands on his back and boarded the flying chariot.
Si Wuya and the three elders boarded the flying chariot as well.
Zuo Yushu was the only one who cupped her fists at the flying chariot and said, “You should go ahead, big brother. I’ll head to the Divine Capital right away. Leave the Taixu Academy to me.”
“Alright,” Lu Zhou replied tonelessly.
The flying chariot adjusted its direction slowly. Without dallying, it departed for Liang Province.
During the journey, Si Wuya was still thinking about his master’s decision; he could not understand it. Hence, he bowed and asked, “Master, there’s something that I don’t understand.”
“I know what’s on your mind,” Lu Zhou replied calmly, “The reason I wish to preach to the people is so that there will be more Nine-leaf cultivators in Great Yan as soon as possible. The manmans are just the beginning. How are the people of Great Yan supposed to fight back if they don’t have the means?”
“However, the Other Tribes have the upper hand after their lotuses are severed… After they learn about the way to attain the Nine-leaf stage…” Si Wuya was never at ease when it came to the Other Tribes.
“After the 12 allied nations ended, most of the best Other Tribe cultivators have been gravely injured. They don’t even have time to look after themselves now. They won’t be making a move any time soon. Besides, the invasion of the beasts is a reality. The Other Tribes are experiencing a shortage of elites. They can’t possibly be eyeing Great Yan like prey. In fact, they’d have to submit themselves to preserve themselves,” Lu Zhou said.
“If they reach the Nine-leaf stage…”
“There’s no need to worry. Do you think the ten disciples of Evil Sky Pavilion are no match for them?” Lu Zhou asked.
Upon hearing these words, Si Wuya felt slightly emotional. “Since you have so much faith in us, we’ll certainly do our best not to let you down, master.”
“You’re always confident in everything you do… You should be confident in this as well,” Lu Zhou said.
“I understand… Thank you for enlightening me, master.”
“Ding! Disciplined Si Wuya. Reward: 200 merit points.”
Si Wuya asked, “Master, when are you planning on preaching? I’d like to prepare myself beforehand.”
Lu Zhou stroked his beard and pondered. He had earned a round of merit points. He believed that he was not far from reaching the peak of the Eight-leaf stage. What he should do now was to amass enough Reversal Cards.
‘Half a year? Is that too long? The dishes might turn cold by then.’
After pondering on it for some time, Lu Zhou said, “For now, let’s set it for three months later.”
“Understood.”
The three elders nodded as well.
Lu Zhou looked at the scenery outside the flying chariot and said, “Return to the Evil Sky Pavilion.”
“Understood.”
…
Meanwhile, news of the Evil Sky Pavilion dealing with the manmans spread like wildfire in the cultivation world.
The Evil Sky Pavilion’s Patriarch had fought back the tides of darkness on his own and killed the manmans.
At the same time, to aid the Great Yan cultivators to fight against the invasion of the beasts, the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Patriarch would preach about the method to reach the Nine-leaf stage in three months.
It became a hot topic in the relay stations.
“I heard that the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Patriarch is going to preach three months from now.”
“How magnanimous… It’s hard to imagine that they were once hated by everyone.”
“That’s because of the lies spread by the old Emperor. Even Liu Gu was an impostor.”
A young man with a red bandana who was sitting in the corner placed his cup on the table and asked, “Dear comrade, who’s this patriarch?”
Everyone turned to look at the man who had spoken instantly. They looked at him as though he was an idiot.
Nobody answered him.
The atmosphere was awkward.
The young cultivator with the bandana asked again, “I’m sorry. I’m new here. Is there anything… inappropriate about my question?”
Still, nobody answered him.
He felt that his efforts were futile. He raised his teacup and drank from it. ‘The people from the golden lotus domain are hostile. Their eyes are filled with killing intent, and they seem to love fighting. I should be more careful. I can’t make enemies out of them, and I can’t expose myself.’
At this moment, a person who was sipping wine across the young cultivator with the red bandana said, “Hey, what’s with you? Don’t you even know who the patriarch is?”
“I’ve been living in the mountains all this time, and I haven’t paid any attention to worldly affairs. Hence, I have no idea…” the young man replied.
“No wonder… There’s not a single person who doesn’t know who the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Patriarch is. Care to listen?”
“Gladly. Please fill me in on the details, comrade… Your drinks are on me.”
The person sitting opposite him nodded in satisfaction and said, “We’ll have to begin from when the ten great sects attacked the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Patriarch in the past…”
…
After returning to the Evil Sky Pavilion.
The disciples in Liang Province returned to Evil Sky Pavilion as well.
In the eastern pavilion.
Lu Zhou’s gaze was trained on the parchment drawing. He was surprised to find changes in the drawing. To the right of the maps of Great Yan and the Other Tribes’ lands, there was an outline of a land that resembled Great Yan even though it was still blurry.
“The red lotus domain?”
This resembled the map Si Wuya drew the other day, but it seemed different at the same time. The difference was that the two maps overlapped; Great Yan was on top while the red lotus domain was below.
“Tectonic plate movements?” Lu Zhou did not know how to explain this.
He killed the red lotus envoy, Gu Ming, near Mo City. However, Gu Ming claimed he came from the Endless Ocean beyond the northern borders.
In other words, were the tectonic plates pressing against each other while the other locations were separated by the Endless Ocean?
“Columbus discovering a new continent?” Common knowledge only possessed by a transmigrator kept appearing in Lu Zhou’s mind.
For now, this was the only explanation he could come up with.
It had been a long time since he obtained more Open Heavenly Writing Scrolls. Of the Three Scrolls of Heavenly Writing, he merely obtained the Earth Scroll. Moreover, he was only beginning to understand the Earth Scroll.
In that case, where was the Heaven Scroll?
‘Forget it. I’ll leave it at that for now.’
Lu Zhou called up the system dashboard and looked at the remaining merit points.
Merit points: 42,893.
‘Not bad. If I purchase Reversal Cards that are sold at 500 merit points each, I can only get about 85 of them. That’s far from enough. Currently, I have 63 Reversal Cards. Let’s try the lucky draws.’
“Lucky draw.”
“Ding! Spent 50 merit points. Obtained Shining Stone x1.”
‘I think I’m getting the hang of this. This is better than the Reversal Cards.’
“Lucky draw.”
“Ding! Spent 50 merit points. Thank you for your participation. Luck points: +1.”
He was intent on trying again when he heard a voice from outside the eastern pavilion.
“Greetings, master,” Zhu Honggong said as he prostrated himself on the ground.
“Enter.”
Zhu Honggong opened the doors and went in.
Zhu Tianyuan followed closely behind him.
Lu Zhou turned to look at the duo. Then, he closed his eyes to rest his mind as he said, “What is it?”
Before Zhu Honggong could say anything, Zhu Tianyuan said, “Brother Ji, I’ve been away from the Ancient Saint Cult for a long time. If I don’t return soon, it’ll be taken away by someone else. I’ve helped out during the incidents in the Divine Capital and the Liang Province. Do you think… you can return my son to me?”
“The Ancient Saint Cult is no longer what it once was. Zhu Honggong has great talent and will surely achieve great things in the future. Are you sure you want him to return and inherit the Ancient Saint Cult?”
“It’s only natural for a son to continue his father’s legacy… However, since he’s your disciple, you call the shots,” Zhu Tianyuan said after he mustered up his courage. Beads of sweat could be seen on his face at this moment.
Lu Zhou opened his eyes and said, “Indeed, Zhu Honggong is my disciple. However, if he chooses to leave, I’ll respect his choice… Zhu Tianyuan, what do you think?”
“You have a point, Brother Ji. In that case, we should let him decide for himself.” Zhu Tianyuan had a good feeling about this. He had been having a great time with his son lately. He was sure his son would not hesitate to agree to return with him!
