My disciples are all villains.

"Strange?" Duan Xihua asked, puzzled.

The subordinate then proceeded to describe the huge change in the golden lotus domain's Old Demon Ji.

Indeed, there were many changes. Even if Lu Zhou seemed to be on the side of justice now, in Duan Xihua's eyes, it did not mean Lu Zhou was not still a wicked person. For example, Lu Zhou occupied the Divine Capital and put his disciple in charge. No matter from which angle he looked at it, it seemed like Lu Zhou was only trying to maintain his power and control.

"There's a problem…" The more Duan Xihua thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss.

"My lord, what do you mean?"

"The golden lotus domain's shackle is eight leaves. How did he form the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar and activate 12 Birth Charts in just a few years? This is impossible," Duan Xihua said.

"Indeed."

Duan Xihui continued to say, "Therefore, it's likely that Old Demon Lu has always had at least 10 or 12 Birth Charts. He was hiding his strength in the golden lotus domain to fool the weak. Now that he's tired of playing with the weaklings, he has come for the strong…"

"You're wise, my lord."

"It's not enough to only injure Shen Xi. You have to be more ruthless. If Old Demon Lu doesn't come tomorrow, go to the golden lotus domain to look for his disciples. It's easy to dodge an open knife, but it's impossible to guard against a hidden knife all the time no matter how powerful he is. I won't fight him head-on," Duan Xihua said.

"Understood."

...

The next morning. The sun shining through the morning mist signified the arrival of a new day.

Lu Zhou opened his eyes and gauged his supreme mystic power; he was rather satisfied with it.

"The effect of the Purple Glazed Ceramic is very good; I wonder how amazing it would be once it's upgraded to the fusion grade?" Lu Zhou could not wait to upgrade his Purple Glazed Ceramic, but he knew he could be anxious. He still needed quite a lot of obsidian essence. As long as he won his bet with Lan Xihe and obtained 80 obsidian essences, he would have enough.

"Master, the royal court has sent 10 obsidian essences."

"Come in."

Yu Zhenghai pushed the door open and entered before he respectfully presented the obsidian essences.

Lu Zhou nodded. "Very good. King Chen of Wu kept his word."

"How could he dare to go back on his words?" Yu Zhenghai said with a smile.

"Where is Shen Xi?"

"He went to the Dark and Light Alliance to get the rest of the things. There should be no problem," Yu Zhenghai replied.

"Understood."

Lu Zhou said, "Also, Zhao Hongfu has just formed the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar; her combat experience is very weak. Keep an eye on her.'

"Understood," Yu Zhenghai said before he left.

…

Another day passed.

Lu Zhou continued staying in the small village, showing no signs of leaving.

The Dark and Light Alliance gave the promised items to Shen Xi.

Everything went without a hitch.

…

At the Evil Sky Pavilion in the golden lotus domain.

It was nighttime; the moon was bright, and the stars were few.

"Second Senior Brother, you just returned to Evil Sky Pavilion. Why are you here alone?" Zhao Yue came to the back of the mountain and found Yu Shangrong standing at the back of the mountain, overlooking the foot of Golden Court Mountain.

Yu Shangrong faced the moonlight and said with a faint smile on his face, "I'm just a little sad about the passing of spring and autumn."

Zhaoyue also sighed and stood next to him. "I agree…"

"Fifth Junior Sister, I remember you severed your lotus as well, right?" Yu Shangrong asked.

"It's all because I was moved by Fourth Senior Brother's nine leaves. In fact, it doesn't bother me that much if my cultivation improves or not. Therefore, Second Senior Brother, you should keep the life hearts for yourself…" Zhao Yue replied with a smile.

Yu Shangrong shook his head and said, "Including the life hearts I'd absorbed in the black lotus domain, I've already absorbed seven. If I use them again, I'm afraid it would be a waste. Although both of us have no Birth Palaces, we can still obtain the power of the life hearts. You just need to strictly follow my instructions."

Zhaoyue nodded and said, "I'll give it a try."

Whoosh!

At this moment, a violent surge of energy appeared in the distant mountain range.

Yu Shangrong and Zhao Yue turned to look in unison.

Soon enough, a person appeared outside of the Evil Sky Pavilion's barrier. It was none other than the new Guardian, Li Xiaomo.

Li Xiaomo said, "Mister Second, Miss Fifth, I'll go and have a look. It's likely a Birth Chart Beast."

"Be careful," Yu Shangrong said.

About 15 minutes later, the top of a mountain slid to the side. Lights from energy seals bloomed in the sky.

Soon enough, an eye-catching black astrolabe appeared in the sky.

Zhao Yue said anxiously, "It seems serious…"

"Fifth Junior Sister, I'm going to take a look," Yu Shangrong said.

"But… You only have ten leaves…"

Yu Shangrong turned to look at her and smiled faintly. With a tap of his foot, he shot up into the sky and flew toward the battle.

…

Yu Shangrong maintained a low altitude. When he was almost nearing the battle, he saw the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar illuminated by the bright moon.

Boom!

A black astrolabe blocked the beam of black light.

"Guardian Li," Yu Shangrong called out.

"Mister Second, run!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Energy seals collided as Li Xiaomo withdrew his avatar and flew to Yu Shangrong's side. He grunted and spat out a mouthful of blood. He said with great difficulty, "The opponent is very strong; he has five Birth Charts…"

Yu Shangrong flashed and moved to stand in front of Li Xiaomo. He looked ahead and said indifferently, "Tell me your name. I won't kill someone without knowing their names…"

Li Xiaomo. "..."

How could a Ten-leaf cultivator be so pretentious? This would have been Li Xiaomo's thought if he had not been warned by Shen Xi and Pan Zhong.

A voice rang in the darkness. "I'm only here to kill Old Demon Lu's disciple. Mind your own business, Li Xiaomo."

Li Xiaomo was taken aback. "You know my name?'

The cultivator in the dark knew he had misspoken and immediately said, "Get lost!"

Li Xiaomo said, "Mister Second, don't bother with him." Then, he said to the cultivator, "If you have the guts, come to the Evil Sky Pavilion. The Evil Sky Pavilion already has a runic passage. The Pavilion Master can come whenever he wants. Do you dare?"

Yu Shangrong and Li Xiaomo could vaguely see the black shadow retreating slightly. This meant that Li Xiaomo's bluff had worked.

Yu Shangrong smiled indifferently. "A mere Five Chart cultivator isn't worthy of my master making a move…"

"..."

Yu Shangrong rushed over.

The cultivator said clearly, "You thought I'd fall for your trick? Old Demon Lu is now in the black lotus domain. I'm afraid he doesn't have time to return to protect you…"

Swoosh!

Yu Shangrong unsheathed the Longevity Sword. He held his sword and advanced in the air.

The cultivator did not attack. Instead, it suddenly turned around and ran.

"Mister Second, don't chase after him!" Li Xiaomo cried out.

Nevertheless, Yu Shangrong did not heed Li Xiaomo's advice. His gaze was locked on the black figure, not letting external factors affect him.

The two opponents were incredibly fast. They shot past mountains, cities, and rivers.

Yu Shangrong could absorb life hearts, but he did not have the power of the Birth Charts. Every time he drew close to his opponent, his opponent would use the power of the Birth Charts to widen the distance between them. It was clear his opponent possessed the power of a speed-type Birth Chart.

…

The bright moon hung in the sky, shining down on the Heavenly Moat's mountain range.

Buzz!

The black figure finally came to a stop above the Heavenly Moat. He turned around to look at Yu Shangrong who was chasing him in shock. "Is this still the Hundred Tribulations Insight's speed?"

Seeing that his opponent had stopped moving, Yu Shangrong came to a stop thirty meters away.

"Why aren't you running?"

"I've arrived at my destination…" the black figure said.

"I know that you deliberately lured me to the Heavenly Moat. Well, I have to say this place is a good burial ground for you," Yu Shangrong said.

The black figure. "..."

'Weirdo! The master is strange, the disciple is strange as well!'

The black figure said, "I don't know where you get your confidence from. Today I'll show you the difference between the Hundred Tribulations Insight and the Thousand Realms Whirling…"