"The Four Protectors of the Nether Sect pay respect to the Patriarch." Hua Chongyang, Bai Yuqing, Yang Yan, and Di Qing entered the main hall one after another.
"Huang Shijie of Penglai Island and Li Jinyi have come to visit Senior Ji." Huang Shijie and Li Jinyi, one old and one young, appeared in the main hall as well.
Lu Zhou was slightly surprised. He did not expect news of his return would spread so quickly.
At this time, all of the sect masters and prominent figures in Great Yan's cultivation world were present. When they saw Lu Zhou's black hair, they were in disbelief. However, when they thought about the shackles being broken and cultivators being able to sprout the ninth leaf, resulting in the restrictions on one's life span being lifted, they did not think it was too strange. No one bothered finding out why he had gotten younger.
Shen Xi was inwardly speechless when he saw the visitors standing at the side respectfully while they held their gifts.. He turned to Pan Zhong and asked discreetly, "The Pavilion Master is so highly revered?"
Pan Zhong smiled upon hearing Shen Xi's words before he replied, "Guardian Shen, you've just joined the Evil Sky Pavilion so it's only natural you don't know much about it. In Great Yan, the Evil Sky Pavilion is inviolable."
Shen Xi nodded, thinking it was reasonable. After all, the Pavilion Master was indeed someone with charm and vision. Most importantly, he was a prominent figure from the blue lotus domain. It was not surprising that so many important figures were here to curry favor with the Pavilion Master. As the saying went, 'It's better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix'.
After everyone had arrived, they bowed in unison.
Lu Zhou had placed too much importance on formalities so he waved his hand and said, "Dispense with the formalities."
Lu Zhou looked at the people present; there were many unfamiliar faces among the visitors. Fortunately, he had the Eye of Truth so he could see those who harbored malicious intentions. However, there was no one like that among the people present in the hall.
Zhu Tianyuan broke the silence first as he asked, "Brother Ji, how's my useless son doing recently?"
This question directly hit the nail on the head.
Lu Zhou answered honestly, "You should worry about yourself. His life is now much more comfortable than yours."
"Huh?" Zhu Tianyuan was puzzled.
Lu Zhou continued to say, "He's now the Sect Master of the Flood Sect and an overlord of a domain."
An expression of disbelief appeared on Zhu Tianyuan's face immediately. "Him? Brother Ji, there's no need to comfort me. If that rascal misbehaves, you can just beat him up. You don't have to care about my feelings."
"Do I look like a liar to you?" Lu Zhou said solemnly.
Zhu Tianyuan hurriedly said, "… That's great! My son is following in my footsteps."
After Zhu Tianyuan finished speaking, he grabbed the person next to him and said, "Mister Eighth of the Evil Sky Pavilion is my son!"
The person who happened to be standing next to Zhu Tianyuan was none other than the newcomer, Shen Xi.
When Zhu Tianyuan saw the unfamiliar face of the person next to him, he repeated himself, "Mister Eighth of the Evil Sky Pavilion in my son!"
Shen Xi was a little dumbfounded. 'Is this really Mister Eighth's father?' Then, he hurriedly looked at Pan Zhong for clarifications.
Pan Zhong, naturally, knew what Shen Xi was asking even if Shen Xi did not speak. He nodded, indicating Zhu Tianyuan was telling the truth.
Upon obtaining confirmation from Pan Zhong, Shen Xi did not dare to be negligent and cupped his fists together before he said, "Senior, nice to meet you."
"I don't think I've met you before. May I ask who you are?"
"I'm Shen Xi. I just joined the Evil Sky Pavilion," Shen Xi said. Then, he turned to the side before he continued to say, "This is my brother, Li Xiaomo."
Zhu Tianyuan smiled. "I see, I see."
The duo continued to exchange pleasantries for a brief moment before they fell silent.
At this moment, Lu Zhou swept his gaze across the crowd and said, "I've been away from Great Yan for a long time, and I wonder how much things have changed here? The Evil Sky Pavilion managed to gain a foothold in Great Yan due to everyone's help."
"No, no, no, Senior Ji is being too courteous," Nan Gongwei said, "In fact, we rely on the Evil Sky Pavilion, especially Miss Sixth and Cheng Huang. They often deal with the fierce beasts in Great Yan. Without the Evil Sky Pavilion, our cultivation bases wouldn't have improved so quickly."
Lu Zhou slowly rose to his feet. He placed one hand on his back as he stroked his beard and looked at Nan Gongwei. This was a good opportunity to understand their strength. Although this group of people did not represent the entire strength of the golden lotus domain or Great Yan, they were prominent figures from major sects.
After a moment, Lu Zhou asked, "What's your cultivation base?"
Nan Gongwei replied with a hint of pride, "I've only just sprouted the ninth leaf."
Feng Yizhi chimed in, "I've broken the shackles in the golden lotus domain and has obtained nine leaves."
Li Jinyi also replied and said she had nine leaves.
Shortly after, Zhou Youcai cupped his fists together and said, "The Big Dipper Academy has five Nine-leaf cultivators, but I'm the only one who's present today."
After Zhou Youcai finished speaking everyone looked at him in surprise.
It seemed like most of the visitors were at the Nine-leaf stage.
On the other hand, the Four Protectors of the Nether Sect looked embarrassed.
Hua Chongyang said, "I'm lucky to have sprouted the ninth leaf. However, my three brothers were heavily injured during the battle in Yu Province. It took a long time for them to recover. In fact, it's considered quite good that they're able to preserve their Dantians' seas of Qi. Although they only sprouted six leaves, there's no doubt that they've cultivated diligently."
Upon hearing this, Huang Shijie said, "This isn't your fault, and it's understandable. These things can't be forced."
Everyone nodded. They did not look down on the Four Protectors of the Nether Sect.
At this moment, Lu Zhou asked, "There are no Ten-leaf cultivators?"
Everyone. "…"
The hall was as silent as a graveyard.
Lu Zhou's question stumped everyone. In fact, it could be seen on their faces that they were skeptical about sprouting the tenth leaf.
Meanwhile, Shen Xi was surprised. He did not know much about the golden lotus domain; he only knew that the Black Tower Council planned to implement the captive plan here. After a moment, he looked at Lu Zhou and said, "Pavilion Master, this is actually a good thing."
Lu Zhou asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"The Black Tower Council and the White Tower Council have always monopolized Birth Chart Beasts. Before implementing the captive plan, they would inspect a domain in advance. Although Nine-leaf cultivators aren't strong, they're the key to attracting elementary Birth Chart Beasts. We'll be one step ahead of them if we monopolize the Birth Chart Beasts here first."
'Nine-leaf cultivators aren't strong?'
These words caught everyone's attention immediately. In Great Yan, Eight-leaf cultivators were top experts. However, this person just said that Nine-leaf cultivators were not strong? The Nine-leaf stage was what every cultivator dreamed of in the golden lotus domain.
At this moment, Shen Xi seemed to realize the error in his words. He hurriedly bowed and explained, "It was a slip of the tongue. It's not my intention to belittle everyone. I hope you can all forgive me."
Pan Zhong and Zhou Jifeng. "…"
"It's okay. We're not petty people," Zhu Tianyuan said with a smile.
Everyone nodded in agreement. They were all experienced people; how could they get angry over a few words?
At this moment, Lu Zhou said in a slightly raised voice, "Shen Xi is the new Guardian of the Evil Sky Pavilion. Although his words might sound unpleasant, I agree with what he said. Nine leaves are indeed too weak…"
"…"
Since the Pavilion Master of the Evil Sky Pavilion had spoken, the others could only accept it
Lu Zhou called out, "Shen Xi."
"Your orders, Pavilion Master?" Shen Xi bowed.
Lu Zhou waved his hand, signaling Shen Xi to reveal his cultivation base.
Shen Xi understood Lu Zhou's intention and nodded. "Understood."
A look of anticipation could be seen on everyone's faces as they looked at Shen Xi who had just joined the Evil Sky Pavilion.
All of a sudden, Primal Qi surged and Shen Xi disappeared from the main hall, leaving an extremely faint afterimage in his wake. Following that, he reappeared outside of the hall. He raised his hand and pushed it skyward.
Everyone hurried out of the main hall to have a better look.
Buzz!
An astrolabe appeared in the air. Initially, it only had a diameter of a few meters. However, it rapidly grew in size, and it did not take long before it covered the sky. The black astrolabe and its Birth Chart disk caused the entire place to darken immediately.
At this moment, Shen Xi withdrew his hand, and the black astrolabe disappeared, allowing light to return.
Shen Xi felt rather proud. Ever since he joined the Evil Sky Pavilion, this was his most glorious moment. From what he gathered, apart from the Pavilion Master, he had the highest cultivation base.
Similar to earlier, Zhu Tianyuan was the first to break the silence. He nodded as he walked over and said, "Not bad, not bad. Your energy seal can even cover the sky. It's comparable to mine."
Shen Xi. "???"
Zhu Tianyuan nudged Shen Xi and asked in a low voice, "Is it the Demonic Zen? How did you manifest that huge disk? Will you teach me?"
