Initially, Meng Changdong intended to join the discussion. Although Si Wuya’s plans were not fantastic, they were good. At the very least, they were safe and feasible. However, when he remembered Lu Zhou’s unreasonable cultivation base, he had no choice but to swallow his words. Indeed, a strong man could defeat ten martial artists. No matter how good a plan was, it would be rendered useless in the face of absolute power.
Si Wuya understood this more than anyone in the Evil Sky Pavilion.
Lu Zhou nodded and asked, “How’s the Evil Sky Pavilion recently?”
Si Wuya replied, “The four elders are now Nine-leaf cultivators. Third Senior Brother is facing some slight difficulties, but he’s already an Eight-leaf cultivator. He’s been working diligently. In my opinion, he should be able to reach the Nine-leaf stage soon. Eight Junior Brother… he’s at the Five-leaf stage. Senior Sister Zhao Yue is busy with governance and has only raised her cultivation base by one leaf. I think that’s strange so I’ll head to the Divine Capital soon to find out more about it.”
The four elders of the Evil Sky Pavilion were geniuses in their own right, to begin with. Before they severed their lotuses, apart from Hua Wudao, they were already famous individuals in the golden lotus domain. They were Eight-leaf elites as well. It was not surprising for them to have reached the Nine-leaf stage.
Si Wuya continued to report to his master, “Also, Penglai Island’s Huang Shijie attempted to reach the Nine-leaf stage previously, but he did not have a life heart. Therefore, I decided to give him two life hearts.”
Lu Zhou said, “You did well. Penglai Island had helped the Evil Sky Pavilion on numerous occasions. Two life hearts are nothing. You can make the decisions on such minor matters, and there’s no need to report to me.”
Si Wuya nodded. He continued, “Jiang Aijian stopped by a few days ago…”
“What business does he have?” Lu Zhou wondered out loud.
“He says he wants to meet his grandmother, but he doesn’t want to ally with the palace. He wants Senior Sister Zhao Yue to give him a token that would grant him access to the palace. However, I turned his request down since the situation in the Divine Capital hasn’t fully stabilized yet. I’ll allow him to have the token when the time is right,” Si Wuya said.
If Lu Zhou had been in the golden lotus domain, he would have given the token to Jiang Aijian without much thought. However, he had been away from the golden lotus domain for a long time so he did not know much about the current situation there. He was sure Si Wuya had his own concerns. As Si Wuya’s master, he could not be too controlling.
“Alright.” Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction. With Si Wuya taking care of things in the golden lotus domain, there did not seem to be huge problems. “I have one other thing to ask.”
“What is it, master?” Si Wuya bowed.
“I’m getting old. There are many things that I can’t do on my own. Great Tang’s emperor, Li Yunzheng, is well-read and has a wide view of the world. He’s clever and eager to learn. He’s a rare talent so I’ve decided on your behalf and accepted him as your disciple.”
Si Wuya was slightly taken aback. He looked up and pointed at himself with a shocked expression on his face. “Master, you… you recruited a disciple… for me?”
“Are you opposed to it?” Lu Zhou asked.
Si Wuya immediately waved his hands and said, “I dare not. I’m just worried I might lead him down the wrong path. After all, this is the monarch of an empire we’re talking about. If anything untoward happens, my name will be cursed for an eternity.”
“I believe in your abilities. After all, you were once the grand tutor. You should have confidence in yourself. It’s decided then. Don’t disappoint me,” Lu Zhou said with a slight frown
“Understood…” Si Wuya replied with a bow.
“Guardian Meng will send you some information about the red lotus domain. If there’s nothing else, that’ll be all for now.”
Meng Changdong and Si Wuya said at the same time, “Understood.”
Meng Changdong ended the connection. Then, he cupped his fists at Lu Zhou and took his leave.
After that, Lu Zhou sent for Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai.
Lu Zhou’s two eldest disciples were puzzled. They wondered what their master wanted with them. After they entered the side hall, they stood respectfully at the side.
“I summoned you here because there’s something I’d like both of you to do.”
“What is it, master?” Yu Zhenghai asked, “If it’s about Sky Wheel Mountain Range, you can leave it to me and Second Junior Brother. We’ll make sure to get it done.”
Lu Zhou shook his head. “That’s not it… I want both of you to head to the Sky Martial Court and secretly investigate Yu Chenshu. Don’t engage in a fight with him. All you need to do is find out if he’s there”
Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong were puzzled by their master’s orders.
Lu Zhou raised his palms and pushed them forward.
Two marks flew toward his two disciples.
“If you don’t see Yu Chenshu, remove the marks and deal with the situation.”
“Yes, master.”
Lu Zhou decided to follow Si Wuya’s plans after he modified them slightly.
The red lotus domain was not the golden lotus domain where he could do as he pleased, after all. The Sky Martial Court held great power in the red lotus domain, and he was not certain if they had hidden trump cards or Formations that would be troublesome to deal with.
Before the lotus-severing era dawned in the golden lotus domain, Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai were peak Eight-leaf elites. They could roam freely everywhere. Even sects with formidable Formations and barriers did not pose a threat to them. However, this was not the case in the red lotus domain.
“Remember to prioritize your safety. Go, then,” Lu Zhou said.
Yu Zhenghai said with a smile, “Don’t worry, master. If I can’t even escape from a troublesome situation, then I would’ve been a sect master for so long in vain.” However, after he finished speaking, he felt that he had misspoken so he hastily said, “I mean, I’ll be sure to complete the mission.”
In truth, Yu Zhenghai was not wrong. Although he was a Nine-leaf cultivator, he was already used to sparring with Qingyun, a Ten-leaf cultivator. His real combat experience was not inferior to all Nine-leaf cultivators. Ordinary Nine-leaf cultivators would have a hard time trying to capture him and Yu Shangrong. Moreover, it was not like Lu Zhou was sending them to a fight to the death.
With that, the two left and prepared to leave Cloud Mountain.
Following that, Lu Zhou rose to his feet and walked to the back of the hall. He called out, “Whitzard.”
Upon hearing its master, Whitzard flew over from the nearby forest.
“Use your ability.”
Whitzard obeyed Lu Zhou’s order and brought auspicious rain to Cloud Mountain.
Lu Zhou closed his eyes. The Heavenly Writing’s extraordinary power was being replenished at an extremely quick rate. Soon enough, his extraordinary power was fully replenished.
After Whitzard used its ability, it lay on the ground to rest.
After checking the system dashboard, Lu Zhou discovered he had more than 100,000 merit points left. He could use them to purchase item cards at the final moment if he needed to. There was no need for him to stock up on item cards now.
When he completed his preparations, Lu Zhou left the side hall and activated the Purple Glazed Ceramic. He left Cloud Mountain silently and flew toward where the Yong fell.
Since Nie Qingyun was on Cloud Mountain, even if the other factions were to attack at the same time, he could fend them off for some time. Not even Ye Zhen could take the mountain before, let alone now.
…
When Lu Zhou reached the spot where the Yong fell, he studied the huge carcass. Without any hesitation, he shoved the life heart back into the carcass. Subsequently, he waved his hand, condensing Primal Qi was condensed into energy, and mended the carcass.
Although the carcass was huge, it was not immovable for the Ten-leaf Lu Zhou. When Lu Zhou was an Eight-leaf cultivator, he already managed to prop a floating island up with one hand. Moving the Yong that was much smaller than the floating island was not difficult at all.
“Let’s go.”
The Yong flapped its wings and rose into the air, controlled by Lu Zhou’s energy.
Compared to the Yong, Lu Zhou was insignificantly small. Most people would not discover him as long as he hid behind the wings.
…
Meanwhile, the Cloud Mountain disciples jumped in shock when they witnessed this scene. They hurried to the main peak immediately.
“Sect master! This is bad! The Yong came back to life! The Yong came back to life!”
Nie Qingyun’s eyes widened in shock when he heard these words. He hastily rose to his feet as he said, “Impossible!”
“It’s alive! You’ll be able to see it if you go out and have a look.”
With a burst of movements, Nie Qingyun flew above the main peak. He looked at the Yong that was leaving. His eyes shone with complicated emotions as he murmured, “How… how’s this possible?”
Nie Qingyun had personally witnessed Lu Zhou take out the Birth Chart Beast’s heart. His common sense told him regardless of the type of beasts, it was impossible to live without a heart. He hastily landed and hurried to the side hall to find Lu Zhou.
When Nie Qingyun arrived at the entrance of the side hall, he bowed and said, “Nie Qingyun requests an audience with Senior Lu.”
There was no reply.
Nie Qingyun raised his voice and tried again. “Nie Qingyun requests an audience with Senior Lu.”
It was as silent as a graveyard. There was no reply, just like before.
In the end, Nie Qingyun had no choice but to give up. After a moment, something stirred in his mind when he recalled the Yong’s movements earlier.
“Could it be… That’s wonderful, Senior Lu!”
After realization dawned on him, Nie Qingyun behaved as though nothing had happened and swiftly returned to the main hall.
