My disciples are all villains.

So far, the process of activating the fifth Birth Chart was rather smooth.

Lu Zhou wondered what kind of ability he would gain after embedding this life heart.

While he waited for the process to be completed, Lu Zhou picked up the map and carefully read the description for the Besieging Master position. Due to the size of the map, there were not too many words. There was only one sentence: The head of the country sits on his throne and guards the destiny of the nation while the ministers rejoice and celebrate. This should describe the ability to control or rule. There were the words 'head of the country' and 'control', he wondered if the ability was some bast*rd aura that could control or rule over others?

Lu Zhou was not interested in ruling over or controlling humans. However, it was a different story if he could control fierce beasts.

At this moment, he recalled the scene where Pu Yi was controlling the fierce beasts during the beast tide. Pu Yi should have the control ability as well even if it was not as strong as Ying Zhao's control ability.

With this ability, it would be easier to tame fierce beasts and make them his mounts. Moreover, he has many mounts.

Click!

Lu Zhou heard the sound that signified his Birth Chart was ready to be activated.

A distinct and angular pattern that flashed brilliantly could now be seen in his Birth Palace. He quickly took the life heart out before he confirmed his remaining lifespan again.

Remaining lifespan: 652,370 days (1787 years in which 263 years are from Reversal Cards)

He would need to give up 1,500 years, leaving him with almost 300 years. If he added the 500 years he would gain after successfully activating the Birth Chart, he would have nearly 800 years of life. 800 years were acceptable.

Following that, he would have to wait for the Birth zone to absorb his lifespan. He wondered how much pain it would bring this time. When he activated the fourth Birth Chart, he could still bear the pain. However, the pain would definitely increase with the fifth Birth Chart. The difficulty would only increase as time went on; it would not get any easier.

"Only through suffering can one rise above others."

Lu Zhou looked at the vortex above the Birth zone in the Birth Palace. It was churning at increasing speed now. Then, he saw his lifespan dwindling on the system interface.

-100 years

-200 years

-300 years

He did not want to waste time so he began to meditate on the Heavenly Writing. Meditating on the Heavenly Writing was different from cultivating. Cultivating required the use of one's avatar, Dantian's sea of Qi, Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and breathing exercises. However, all these things were not needed when meditating on the Heavenly Writing.

He looked at the latest Heavenly Writing scroll he obtained. He had only comprehended part of the power of smell previously, and he was not skilled enough yet. However, he needed to recover his supreme mystic power to check on his eighth disciple as well.

He did not summon Whitzard over since its ability was reserved for emergencies.

After activating the Purple Glazed Ceramic, Lu Zhou closed his eyes and entered his meditative state, allowing the scripts from the Heavenly Writing to appear in his mind.

…

The next morning.

Lu Zhou opened his eyes and gauged his supreme mystic power. He had recovered a small part of it; the speed was not too bad.

Lu Zhou looked at the vortex that was churning in his Birth Palace, absorbing his life. After checking the system interface, he found that it had absorbed 1,000 years of his life; there were 500 more years to go.

Perhaps, he was in his meditative state, he did not feel the pain from activating his Birth Chart this time. His speculation was confirmed soon after he emerged from his meditative state and the pain began to assault him. He could feel a burning sensation as though his Dantian's sea of Qi was being set ablaze. Overall, the pain was still bearable.

…

Meanwhile, after receiving news of their master's return, Si Wuya informed Mingshi Yin, who had rushed ahead first, about it before he led the others back to the Imperial City.

When Mingshi Yin, who was still running around in Southern Mountain City, heard the news, he shook his head and said, "I knew nothing would happen. Second Senior Brother might seem stubborn, but in fact, he knows his limit. He won't die so easily!"

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Qiong Qi that had shrunk back to its original size raised its head to the sky and barked a few times.

Mingshi Yin patted it and said, "Doggy, find a good place where people can't find me. I want to quickly form a Thousand Realms Whirling avatar."

Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!

Following that, a man and a dog rushed toward the mountains near the Southern Moutain City

…

The Imperial city in the red lotus domain.

Red Lotus Capital Imperial City.

Xiao Yunhe's interest was piqued when he heard the people from the Evil Sky Pavilion had returned. Currently, he was thoroughly convinced that Lu Zhou was a super big shot and viewed Lu Zhou as a very reliable person to cling to. Needless to say, the super big shot's disciples were extraordinary as well! Therefore, he searched for Shen Xi to probe him for information.

Shen Xi could see through Xiao Yunhe's thoughts; he had once been in the same position after all. He smiled and said, "Tower Master Xiao, you really came to the right person!"

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yunhe asked in confusion.

"Just remember this: The Evil Sky Pavilion can't be judged using common sense. This was what Brother Pan, one of the most senior members of the Evil Sky Pavilion, told me. The Evil Sky Pavilion originally had four elders and ten disciples…" Shen Xi slowly began his introduction of the Evil Sky Pavilion.

After Shen Xi finished speaking, Xiao Yun revealed a curious and baffled expression, "There are no Thousand Realms Whirling experts?"

"This is probably due to the heaven and earth shackles in the golden lotus domain that are worse than the heaven and earth shackles in the red lotus domain. Perhaps, as compensation from the heavens, their strength isn't to be underestimated even if they're not Thousand Realms Whirling experts. When we were in the Land of Chaos, you witnessed Mister Second's strength and swordsmanship for yourself…"

Recalling the scene where Yu Shangrong slew Xu Chen with his sword, Xiao Yunhe nodded. "Indeed… How strange..."

"Tower Master Xiao, do you plan to join the Evil Sky Pavilion?"

"This..."

"With Tower Master Xiao's qualifications, if you join the Evil Sky Pavilion, the Pavilion Master definitely won't mistreat you," Shen Xi said.

Xiao Yunhe sighed and shook his head. "I still have many things to do. If I join the Evil Sky Pavilion, there'll inevitably be restrictions on the things I'm able to do. It's enough that I got to know Brother Lu…"

Everyone had their own aspirations, therefore, Shen Xi did not continue to persuade Xiao Yunhe. Moreover, Xiao Yunhe was a prominent figure in the past; he was the former Tower Master of the Black Tower Council. It was to be expected that Xiao Yunhe carried a lot of burden on his shoulders.

…

In the Preservation Hall.

Lu Zhou had not entered the critical period. He saw the years that had been absorbed were almost reaching 1,500 years.

- 100 days.

- 200 days.

- 300 days.

At the same time, the Birth zone continued to flash.

The system interface showed he only had 287 years left. Fortunately, he still had the years from the Birth Charts so his appearance would not be affected much.

At this time, the burning pain Lu Zhou felt grew stronger. At the same time, it felt as though someone was stabbing his Dantian's sea of Qi with a knife. Nevertheless, there was no change in his expression at all.

Click!

The Besieging Master position was completely formed. As soon as it was formed, a ray of light lit up the line that connected all the Birth Charts. With this, Lu Zhou had successfully activated his fifth Birth Chart.

He manifested his avatar. It seemed like it had grown darker. Moreover, his avatar had grown a crown as well. He recalled the first time he met Lu Li; it seemed like Lu Li's avatar had a crown as well. In other words, one's avatar would probably gain a crown after activating the fifth Birth Chart.

Lu Zhou nodded, satisfied. If it were not for the map, he truly would not know where to embed his life hearts.

Following that, he withdrew his avatar. This time, he did not plan to test his newfound strength in the Preservation Hall. Moreover, he did not what his control ability was like.

Earlier, he had noticed his Birth Palace seemed to have increased in size. It was obvious that his limit was not just five Birth Charts.

Apart from that, he could clearly feel the Primal Qi in his Dantian's sea of Qi was several times richer than before.

"Just one Birth Chart, but there's so much improvement?" Lu Zhou muttered to himself. This was just his fifth Birth Chart; he wondered how much bigger the improvement would be after he activated his sixth Birth Chart and passed the Birth Trial.

Following that, Lu Zhou put Ying Zhao's heart away. He would return Ying Zhao its life heart. If it did not show up, he would give it to his disciples to use.

Then, he studied Pu Yi's life heart. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to stabilize his cultivation base before he activated another Birth Chart.

Based on what he had read, the shorter the interval between the activations of Birth Charts, the higher the chances of failure. Conversely, the longer one waited, the greater the success rate. Apart from that was the pain. Continuously activating Birth Charts was like operating on unhealed wounds. Therefore, it was not wrong to liken activating Birth Charts to conducting surgeries; one needed to find the optimal time to conduct a surgery.

Subsequently, Lu Zhou checked on Dang Kang's status and found it was still resting. What happened to his eighth disciple?

He silently recited the mantra for the power of sight.

Lu Zhou saw Zhu Honggong gasping for air as he said, "It's… It's already the fourth one. It's useless; I don't feel anything. Old Lu, I don't think I have fate with the Thousand Realms Whirling…"

"Impossible! You have the Great Void energy; that alone is enough for you to activate at least eight Birth Charts. Since you managed to survive without your golden lotus, you'll definitely find a way to form the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar. Don't be discouraged. With your cultivation base, it won't be a problem for you to deal with low-level Birth Chart Beasts. Rest for now. After that, let Dang Kang lead the way and enter the depths of the forest again..."

Zhu Hong Gong shook his head vehemently. "I won't go even if you beat me to death. It's better if you change to another request..."

"It's fine if you don't want to go. I'll teach you how to inscribe talismans. Once you master that, I won't care even if you sleep every day."

Zhu Honggong felt like crying. "Uh… Let's go to the depths of the forest…" He sighed as he continued to say, "I was clearly living like an emperor before this, and yet, I'm tormented by you to this extent. I must have accumulated bad luck from eight lifetimes to have met you…"

"Then, should I leave?"

"No, no, no! I was just joking!" Zhu Honggong hurriedly said with a chuckle.

Managing the Flood Sect was not just about strength and cultivation base. Moreover, both of them had also extended their influence to the entire yellow lotus domain. For this reason, they had met many people with all kinds of schemes despite their inferior strength. If it were not for the knowledgeable and wise Lu Li helping him, Zhu Honggong knew he would not have been able to deal with those people.

Zhu Honggong sighed. There would be temptations in life and at least one of them would be deadly.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard in satisfaction after he cut off the power of sight.

"Is anyone there?"

A palace maid entered the hall. "Senior, your orders?"

"Summon my seventh disciple here."

"Understood."

It did not take too long before Si Wuya along with Xiao Yunhe walked into the hall.

Lu Zhou noticed that Si Wuya had brought the ancient goatskin map with him. He said, "There's no need for formalities. Is there any change to the map?"

Si Wuya nodded and placed the map in front of his master before he said, "Please have a look, master."

Lu Zhou looked at the ancient map. As expected, there were more changes compared to last time.