In Lu Zhou’s courtyard in the Thousand Willow Monastery.
Lu Zhou was cultivating.
At this moment, Xia Changqiu’s voice rang from outside. “Senior Lu, the Ninth Temple’s Temple Master Sikong has replied. He says that he’ll visit another day.”
“I see.” Lu Zhou’s reply was curt.
Xia Changqiu was thoroughly impressed. In his opinion, Lu Zhou was the only person who dared to treat Sikong Beichen in such a manner. With someone like Lu Zhou looking out for the Thousand Willow Monastery, who would dare challenge the monastery?
“Senior Lu, the Flying Star House’s Ye Zhen has gone to the Ninth Temple as well. I think he must have gone there prepared. Are you really not going?” Xia Changqiu asked. After all, Lu Zhou had reached an agreement to work with the Ninth Temple. Would they still be allies if Lu Zhou did not go?
“If Sikong Beichen can’t even deal with the Flying Star House, he’s not worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as me,” Lu Zhou replied in his usual indifferent tone.
Xia Changqiu nodded. “Understood.”
When Xia Changqiu left the courtyard, the disciples from the Thousand Willow Monastery sighed.
An elder walked over and said, “Monastery Master, let me send the flying letter. As the monastery master, you’re…”
“Nonsense!” Xia Changqiu immediately cut him short. “Do you think it’s as trivial as sending a flying letter? This concerns the survival of the Thousand Willow Monastery. We can’t be careless about this. Who do you think Senior Lu is sending the letter to? If something were to happen to the flying letter, can you bear the consequences?”
The others had no retort.
Xia Changqiu returned with his hands on his back.
…
In Lu Zhou’s room.
Lu Zhou folded his palms and closed his eyes. At the same time, he was thinking of ways to retrieve his memory crystal from the Flying Star House. ‘Should I go to the Ninth Temple again and take down Ye Zhen or Chen Tiandu? Indeed, this is a great opportunity.’
Lu Zhou slowly rose to his feet, preparing to head to the Ninth Temple.
At this moment, Xia Changqiu hurried back into the courtyard, clearly flustered. He bowed and said, “Senior Lu, this is bad.”
“What is it? Why are you making such a fuss?” Lu Zhou was puzzled.
“Meng Changdong is leading 1,000 cultivators toward the Thousand Willow Mountain. They’ll arrive in four hours.” Xia Changqiu did all he could to survive over the years. It was only natural that such ostentatious movements from a huge group of cultivators did not escape his notice.
Lu Zhou frowned slightly. ‘It seems like I’ve underestimated the Flying Star House. Are they going to attack on both fronts? Are they bullying me because I can’t split myself into two?’
Sikong Beichen was at the Ninth Temple, and he had his five First Seats. On top of that, the Ninth Temple was protected by powerful Formations. There should not be much of a problem there.
On the other hand, the Thousand Willow Monastery’s situation was on the other end of the spectrum.
Clearly, the Flying Star House was trying to pressure both parties at the same time or they came to annihilate the Thousand Willow Monastery.
‘Ye Zhen is truly something.’
“Senior Lu, what do we do now?”
“There’s no need to worry. Just leave this to my two disciples,” Lu Zhou said.
“As you command, Senior Lu.” Xia Changqiu turned around and left.
Lu Zhou sat with his legs crossed. He thought to himself with barely any changes in his expression, ‘In that case, let’s face them head-on.’
…
The Ninth Temple.
The red bird pulled the chariot to a stop in front of the Ninth Temple.
After projecting his voice twice, Ye Zhen turned around and bowed at the chariot when nobody came to greet him. “As I expect, none of the five can be relied on.”
An old and deep voice rang from the chariot. “Call out again.”
“Understood.” Ye Zhen turned around and faced the Ninth Temple. He said loudly, “The Flying Star House’s Ye Zhen requests an audience with Senior Sikong.” His voice was thunderously loud; it was much louder than before.
The Daoist veins above the Ninth Temple began to thrum.
Eventually, Yao Qingquan appeared at the entrance of the Ninth Temple. He glared at Ye Zhen before he said, “Ye Zhen, do you think the Ninth Temple is a place where you can act as you please?”
Ye Zhen cupped his fists. “Kindly forgive our intrusion.”
Nobody knew what Ye Zhen was thinking about.
Yao Qingquan was currently the leader of the First Seats. When he saw Ye Zhen, he was shocked. He would rather have a verbal quarrel since it would help him learn about Ye Zhen’s character. However, it seemed like Ye Zhen was rather flexible. This meant Ye Zhen would not be easy to deal with.
“The temple master extends his invitation.” They had made a promise three days ago so Yao Qingquan could not keep them waiting for too long.
An old man dressed in white robes with his face hidden flew out of the chariot. He did not even deign to look at Yao Qingquan. He entered the Ninth Temple at lightning speed.
All the disciples on the ground looked up.
This was Flying Star House’s Master, Chen Tiandu.
Shortly after, Chen Tiandu and Ye Zhen landed in front of the Holy Palace.
Two female attendants at the side bowed.
Chen Tiandu walked into the hall.
Swoosh!
A cup of wine flew toward Chen Tiandu.
“Allow me.” Ye Zhen stepped forward and raised his hand. His slender fingers were like a palm-leaf fan as he pushed them forward.
The cup of wine froze in the air.
Splash!
Wine spilled from the cup. The droplets instantly solidified into nails that shot forward.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The nails seemed to strike an invisible wall before they evaporated into thin air.
“Are you the Flying Star House’s Ye Zhen? The one whom people say is a great talent in recent years?” The voice was stable and imposing.
Ye Zhen bowed. “Greetings, Senior Sikong.”
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The nails appeared and spun around to face Ye Zhen before they shot out.
Ye Zhen was slightly annoyed. He was about to raise his hand when Chen Tiandu said tonelessly, “Enough.”
A warm and moist wave of air rolled out and caused the nails to evaporate.
“You old geezer. Your cultivation base has improved again after all these years.”
Chen Tiandu sauntered in.
There was a table, two rush cushions, and four female attendants. It was simple and elegant.
Sikong Beichen sat cross-legged on the other side of the table. He made an inviting gesture.
Chen Tiandu faded out of focus and appeared opposite Sikong Beichen. He raised his arms, and his white cloak slid off.
When Ye Zhen saw this, he hastily stepped forward and picked it up.
Both Sikong Beichen and Chen Tiandu had white hair and wizened faces.
Chen Tiandu raised the teacup and took a sip. He looked up and said, “I heard you killed Chen Beizheng. How could I not visit after hearing that?”
Sikong Beichen was not surprised by this. Instead, he smiled and shook his head lightly. “You flatter me.”
“Oh?”
“Chen Beizheng is only 1,000 years old… Both of us are in our old age now, how could I have killed him?” Sikong Beichen said.
Chen Tiandu’s eyes gleamed. He said, “Why are you in such a hurry to shirk off the responsibilities? Are you worried that I’ll hold you accountable for that?”
Sikong Beichen shook his head and said, “Chen Tiandu, if I truly killed him, I would be happy that you came all the way here to throw your life away…”
Ye Zhen took a step forward.
Chen Tiandu raised a hand.
At this moment, the five First Seats appeared at the door. If Sikong Beichen gave the order, a huge battle would commence immediately.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Ye Zhen smiled and said, “Since the house master is here, it’s only natural that we’re well-prepared.”
Sikong Beichen only glanced at Ye Zhen before he returned his attention to Chen Tiandu.
Chen Tiandu smiled and calmly asked, “If you didn’t kill Chen Beizheng, who did?”
Sikong Beichen had been waiting for this question. He feigned an extremely obvious expression of fear and respect as he said, “It’s a senior with the surname Lu.”
“Lu?”
Chen Tiandu and Ye Zhen searched their brains for a cultivator with the surname Lu but did not find anything. Among the elites they knew, there was no one with the surname Lu.
Then, Sikong Beichen continued to say, shocking the duo from the Flying Star House, “Senior Lu has initiated his Birth Chart…”
