Lu Li was confused when he saw the abrupt change in Zhu Honggong's disposition.
Zhu Honggong transmitted his voice to Lu Li at this moment, "Senior, don't underestimate me. In the past, I was a leader of a gang of more than 100,000 members. I even helped Eldest Senior Brother to take down the Divine Capital in the past. If it weren't because my interest lies in cultivating, I could've easily gotten a post in the Divine Capital."
Lu Li nodded and said, "It's good you decided to focus on cultivating…"
Meanwhile, Tao Jing, the new first elder of the Flood Sect, straightened his back and ordered his disciples to tidy up the best residence on Howling Wind Island for Zhu Honggong and Lu Li.
The duo did not stand on ceremony either and stayed in the center of the island.
…
In the evening.
Lu Li and Zhu Honggong gathered the core disciples from the Flood Sect on Howling Wind Island to discuss their next move.
The difference between their strength and ideas led to visions that were as different as heaven and earth.
"I summoned all of you here because I have a few simple missions for you. If you complete your missions well, it'll take less than five years to make the Flood Sect the number one sect in Great Qing. It might take three years, maybe two years, and who knows, maybe even one month?" Lu Li said with a straight face.
"…"
Tao Jing bowed and took the initiative to say, "Senior, Great Qing is vast, and there are many sects. To become the number one sect, we… we would need some time. However, please feel free to tell me what I can do for you…"
As long as they cooperated, Lu Li would not make things difficult for them. He said, "First, list down all the forces in Great Qing. Second, list all the top cultivators in Great Qing whom you know of. Third, recruit more experts by promising to pay them handsomely."
Tao Jing nodded. "No problem."
Xu Wanqing asked in confusion, "Senior, are you planning to defeat them one by one?"
Everyone had seen Zhu Honggong's cultivation earlier. They had no doubt he would be able to defeat all the experts in the world. However, the world was vast, would it not be slow if they challenged the forces and experts one by one? Apart from that, cultivators who did not see Zhu Honggong's 120-foot avatar with their own eyes, naturally, would doubt his strength.
Lu Li shook his head and said, "In Great Qing, which forces are trying to attempt the Seven-leaf stage? Spread the news that the Hong Sect on Howling Wind Island has found a way to do that…"
Upon hearing this, Tao Jing bowed immediately as he said, "Senior, you're wise."
Subsequently, Lu Li dismissed everyone. "All of you can leave."
Tao Jing and the others left immediately.
Once everyone had left, Zhu Honggong said, "I'm a little weak for this…"
"Why do you say that?"
"Although I have close to nine leaves, what if there's a hidden master here? What if he's unreasonable like my master and can kill with just a slap?" Zhu Honggong made a slapping motion with his hand.
Lu Li looked at Zhu Honggong with a complicated expression on his face. He could no longer count the number of times Zhu Honggong had mentioned his master. He asked, "How many leaves does your master have?"
Zhu Hong touched his chin. He recalled his master's demonstration in the Evil Sky Pavilion and said, "Nine leaves. He's a karmic fire user as well."
Lu Li shook his head. "When I meet your master, he'll realize the huge chasm between us. Naturally, at that time, you'll understand as well."
…
Two days later.
Lu Zhou did not check in on Zhu Honggong after he replenished his extraordinary power. With Lu Li by Zhu Honggong's side, Zhu Honggong should be safe. At the very least, Zhu Honggong was currently much safer than when he was flying above the Endless Ocean.
"The first Birth Chart has already stabilized. I should get started on the second one…" Lu Zhou muttered to himself as he brought out the life heart of the ferocious beast and put it in front of him.
"Birth Chart Heart. Ability: Fire resistance, Assault."
Following that, he brought out the piece of cloth Lu Li had given him that contained the layout of the 36 Birth Charts.
The 36 Birth Charts were divided into three grades: heaven, earth, and human. Each category had 12 Birth Charts.
"This Birth Chart is human grade…"
According to the ancient books, one could only activate human-grade Birth Charts first. If one activated the wrong Birth Chart, there was a possibility of damaging one's Birth Palace. Without the piece of cloth to consult, was there anyone bold enough to try and activate their Birth Charts?
There were names, explanations, and directions on the cloth. To put it bluntly, the cloth's role was to help one locate the correct position in the Birth Palace.
If the life heart was placed in the wrong position in the Birth Palace, the effect would naturally be greatly reduced.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard and wondered out loud, "Why is there a limit on the number of Birth Charts each person can activate?"
Theoretically speaking, as long as there were enough Birth Chart Hearts, one should be able to activate all of the Birth Charts.
However, even Lu Li could only activate five Birth Charts.
Would it be difficult to activate a higher number of Birth Charts than that?
"Does it have something to do with the size of the lotus seat and the Birth Palace?"
Lu Zhou waved his sleeve and manifested the miniature version of the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar. Then, he increased its size until it was the size of an adult.
Following that, he picked up the life heart of the ferocious beast and looked at the positions of the Birth Chart on the cloth.
He muttered to himself, "This life heart that has offensive and killing attributes is compatible with the Seven Killing Techniques."
Now that Lu Zhou had decided on activating this Birth Chart, he looked at the Birth Palace on the lotus seat again before he finally placed the ferocious beast's life heart in the compatible position.
Swoosh!
As soon as the ferocious beast's life heart touched the Birth Palace, a wave of fierce killing intent surged out immediately.
Soon enough, the energy from the life heart surged out. Subsequently, a distinct Birth Zone appeared.
"As expected of an offensive-type Birth Chart Heart."
After a moment, the Birth Palace seemed to expand like the sea encroaching on the beach during high tide.
"Huh?" Realization dawned on Lu Zhou at this moment. "So the surface area of the Birth Palace determines the number of Birth Charts one can activate?"
He looked at the surface area of his Birth Palace. Based on his calculations, it seemed like he should be able to activate more than eight Birth Charts. However, after activating the second Birth Chart, the Birth Palace looked like it could accommodate roughly nine Birth Charts.
"Does this mean that I have a chance to expand the Birth Palace every time I activate a Birth Chart?"
At the same time, when vitality energy entered the life heart, the lotus seat would expand as well to accommodate the Birth Palace. After that, the avatar would gain 50 feet in height.
Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction now that some of his questions were answered. 'As it turns out, it's like this…"
As Lu Zhou looked at the spinning lotus, Lu Zhou's mind began to stray to other matters.
Now that the Sky Martial Court had been dealt with, the next order of business was Great Tang's royal court.
He wondered why Xiahou Sheng had yet to show up?
Apart from that, it was still uncertain if Great Tang's Ten Path Great Generals would listen to Li Yunzheng and the four Grand Dukes.
Fortunately, Si Wuya was already in the red lotus domain. Lu Zhou wanted to see how he would deal with the palace affairs.
Soon after, Lu Zhou's thoughts strayed again.
The black lotus domain was hidden in the shadows while the golden lotus domain and the red lotus domain were out in the open. If the golden lotus domain and the red lotus domain went to war, it would only benefit the black lotus domain.
The supreme art of war was to subdue the enemy without fighting, after all.
Time continued to fly by as Lu Zhou fell deep into his thoughts.
…
About an hour later.
The surface area of the Birth Palace seemed to have calmed down and stabilized.
Without the need to manifest his Thousand Realms Whirling avatar, he could sense that it had grown taller. To be precise, his avatar had already reached 350 feet.
It seemed like activating a Birth Chart was much less chaotic compared to sprouting leaves. It did not cause any disturbance in the world.
In the Birth Palace, two distinct areas flashed with light.
This meant that Lu Zhou was now a Thousand Realms Whirling cultivator who had activated two Birth Charts.
After a while, he looked at the system interface.
Remaining lifespan: 961,410 days
916, 410 days equaled to 2,634 years, out of which 110 years came from the Reversal Cards.
This was within his expectations. Sprouting the tenth leaf increased one's life by 1,000 years; activating a Birth Chart increased one's life by 500 years.
Now that Lu Zhou had used up two Birth Chart Hearts, he was faced with another problem. "Where do I find more Birth Chart Beasts? The Sky Wheel Rift Canyon? The Black Mystic Water Cave?"
When he recalled the lava in the valley and the dark water in the cave, he thought it was highly likely that there were Birth Chart Beasts there. As for the other known areas, there was no need for him to investigatethem. He believed that Yu Chenshu must have searched even more meticulously than he did.
Previously, he was in a rush, and his cultivation base was not high enough. Perhaps, he should explore those two places again.
With this thought in mind, Lu Zhou rose to his feet and put the Purple Glazed Ceramic away. Then, he left Literary Star Hall in just a flash.
His body was as light as a swallow as he flew past the Literary Star Gate toward the semicircular pool.
At this moment, under the evening light, a melodious tune played in the air. The surroundings of the semicircular pool were peaceful and tranquil.
Lu Zhou was about to leave when the tune sped up; it was as though the person playing the instrument was impatient or angry. The longer it continued, the more erratic the tune became. It sounded like thousands of horses stampeding across a plain or the raging waves of the sea.
Splash!
The water from the pool splashed out suddenly, startling the Sky Martial Court female disciples in the surroundings. They were frightened out of their wits.
"Miss Tenth, please calm down!"The female disciples were scared out of their wits.
"I'm fine." The person who replied to these female disciples was none other than Lu Zhou's youngest disciple, Conch.
During this time, Conch had been practicing the Pilgrim Song. However, no matter how much she practiced, her progress was slow. For this reason, she had been feeling frustrated.
Conch rose to her feet and raised her head to look at the setting sun.
Lit by the gradually disappearing sunlight, Conch saw an old man standing in the air with one hand resting on his back while he used his other hand to stroke his beard.
Conch turned pale in fright when she saw her master looking at her. She fell to one knee immediately and greeted her master. "Disciple greets master."
With just a flash, Lu Zhou appeared in front of Conch. Then, he looked at the Nine String Zither and the Pilgrim Song's music score on the table.
