My disciples are all villains.

After Lu Zhou and Lu Qianshan returned from the black lotus domain to the Hall of Runes in Great Tang's royal palace in the red lotus domain, Lu Zhou returned to the Preservation Hall.

As soon as he settled down, he opened the book he obtained from the Nine Twist Illusionary Formation and continued to read.

"I saw the power of the Dao and focused on seeking the path of Supremacy. However, I was restrained by the heaven and earth shackles. Rumor has it that the secret to breaking the shackles is hidden in the Unknown Land. Hence, I went to the Unknown Land. After spending 30 years there, I killed two beast emperors, ten beast kings, and countless others…"

Lu Zhou. "..."

"All living things in heaven and earth should be protected. I obtained a part of the Heavenly Writing on Longevity Mountain and comprehended the Heavenly Dao. I'm only a step away from becoming a sage."

"The heavenly axiom is to maintain the balance. The Great Void will eliminate living beings in the nine domains."

"I'm leaving this book behind for the future generation."

After flipping to the last page, the book dissolved into specks of starlight before they formed the dazzling inscriptions of the Heavenly Writing.

Lu Zhou was surprised. "It's actually part of the Heavenly Writing?"

It seemed like he had hit a jackpot with the Nine Twist Illusionary Formation.

"Ding! Obtained an Open Heavenly Writing Scroll. Do you want to use it?"

Lu Zhou noticed the words 'Open Heavenly Writing Scroll' flashing on the system interface. Then, he shifted his gaze to the Upgrade Card.

Since he had upgraded the system once, he had a little experience regarding this matter. During the upgrading process, he would lose his five senses. He had to make sure he was at a completely safe place before he used the Upgrade Card.

Previously, when he was upgrading the system, he was a little lax, resulting in Liu Ge coming to find and almost killing his disciple. This time, he had to be more cautious.

After a moment, he dismissed those thoughts and focused on the Heavenly Writing.

"Use."

Lu Zhou discovered the words of the Heavenly Writing were no longer as alien to him as before. It was similar to when he was comprehending the Human Scroll of the Heavenly Writing. In the beginning, he could not understand anything at all. However, as time passed, he gradually grew familiar with it until he was able to understand it.

"I wonder what ability I'll get this time?"

With this, he hurriedly closed his eyes and meditated on the newly obtained Heavenly Writing Scroll.

Coincidentally, he needed to replenish his supreme mystic power as well. He had exhausted it with that one palm strike earlier.

Everything was difficult in the beginning; it was the same when comprehending the new Heavenly Writing Scroll. However, as time passed, it got better, and Lu Zhou fell into his meditative state.

Specks of starlight appeared around his body as he meditated on the Heavenly Writing.

…

The next morning.

Mingshi Yin and Zhu Honggong sat on top of the palace wall as they watched the battle in the training arena.

Zhu Honggong massaged Mingshi Yin's shoulders and said ingratiatingly, "As expected of Fourth Senior Brother. You managed to bring Eldest Senior Brother here…"

At this moment, Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai were locked in a stalemate in the training arena. Due to the differences in their realms, it was difficult for them to test their strength against each other. Therefore, they suppressed their cultivation to that of a Ten Worlds cultivator to fight. However, after fighting for two days and two nights, there were no conclusive results.

Mingshi Yin said with a smile. "What do you know? In fact, even if I didn't look for Eldest Senior Brother, he would eventually come…"

Zhu Honggong smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Fourth Senior Brother, you've truly widened my horizons. If I'm half as smart as you, I wouldn't be beaten up every day. Ouch! It still hurts!" He winced in pain when he touched his bruised and swollen face.

Mingshi Yin shook his head and said, "Although you've already sprouted the eleventh leaf, you should continue to cultivate diligently. Otherwise, you'd only continue to embarrass yourself…"

Zhu Honggong scratched his head and thought to himself, 'Isn't it because all of you are abnormally strong that I'm in such an embarrassing state?'

After a beat, Zhu Honggong said tentatively, "Why don't I look for the four elders to spar?"

As soon as the words fell, the sound of coughing rang from the bottom of the palace wall.

Zuo Yushu staggered slightly as she walked. "Ouch, my head hurts today…"

"My legs have been aching over the past few days as well… I'm really getting old. Old Leng, do you think the Evil Sky Pavilion's disciple will look for me to spar?"

Leng Luo replied, "I don't think so. The disciples are all kind. They're not the type to bully the weak and the elderly. Moreover, if your old bones are broken, it'd be shameful if words spread out…"

"You have a point. However, we're pursuing the path of cultivation, after all. Why don't we ask for the disciples' opinion?"

The four elders continued to chat as they walked away.

Zhu Honggong. "?"

Mingshi Yin nudged Zhu Honggong before he said, "Look for someone else to spar with. Obviously, they're not suitable sparring partners…"

However, Zhu Honggong chuckled before he said, "Fourth Senior Brother, you're wrong this time."

"Hm?"

Swoosh!

Without another word, Zhu Honggong leaped down from the palace wall and chased after the four elders.

Ming Shiyin. "..."

Ming Shiyin stumbled and almost lost his footing. He really had to give it to Zhu Honggong. He continued to bask in the sun until he saw a black avatar appearing near the forest north of the capital.

He straightened his back and revealed a sly smile on his face. "You have quite the guts to show up here…"

It had been a long time since unwanted cultivators had come to the capital of Great Tang. The capital had its rules after all.

"Doggy, let's go!"

Woof!

Qiong Qi barked and flew over.

Then, the duo made their way toward the forest at the north of the capital.

…

In the forest north of the capital.

"It doesn't matter if you won or lost the battle at Black Wind Cliff. No matter what, you have to die today."

"We've been looking for you for a very long time."

"You're very good at hiding."

At this moment, several black figures hovered in the air, surrounding Xiao Yunhe.

Traces of blood could be seen on the corner of Xiao Yunhe's mouth as he sneered. "Xia Zhengrong must be behind this…"

"Who's Xia Zhengrong?"

Xiao Yunhe scoffed. "When I was the Tower Master of the Black Tower Council, all of you were still playing with mud. Tell me, who sent you?"

During the battle at the Black Wind Cliff, Xiao Yunhe and Xia Zhengrong fought for three days and three nights. Both sides had exhausted their energy, and in the end, Xiao Yunhe had won. As they were making their way back, they were ambushed by this group of mysterious people. At that time, Wu Chao had led them to a runic passage to the red lotus domain. However, the group of people seemed to have expected that as well; they had seen through Wu Chao's witchcraft techniques. Along the way, several of his brothers were killed, and Wu Chao's current whereabouts were unknown. He was the only one left who had escaped to the red lotus domain.

Xiao Yunhe did not recognize these people. They disguised themselves as black lotus cultivators, but their energy seals indicated they were not pure black lotus cultivators.

Upon hearing Xiao Yunhe's words, the five cultivators spoke up one after another.

"You stole something from us, and you forgot about it just like that?"

"He's pretending!"

"Why don't we kill him first before extracting a confession from him?"

"How are we going to extract a confession from him if we kill him?"

"By whipping his corpse?"

"..."

"..."

Xiao Yunhe chuckled and said, "I'm afraid only your corpses will be whipped…"

"You still refuse to admit defeat even though death is at hand?"

"This place is less than five kilometers away from Great Tang's royal palace. Don't tell me you're unaware of this? If you dare to make a move, my friends will rush over immediately."

The five black-clad cultivators exchanged a look before they began to speak one after another again. It was as though they were robots.

"He said he has friends here!"

"They sound like experts…"

"Maybe he's just bluffing?"

"It's possible he's telling the truth as well. We have to end this quickly."

"Alright!"

Following that, one of them waved his hand.

Then, the five of them drew a circle with their fingers.

Five rings of light that glowed green and black appeared immediately.

Woof!

The five black-clad cultivators looked up in unison.

"Who is it?"

Soon enough, Mingshi Yin appeared on Qiong Qi's back before everyone's eyes. "It's really lively here."

The five black-clad cultivators exchanged a look before they looked at Qiong Qi. Then, just like before, they spoke up mechanically one after another

"You have no business here."

"It's best not to interfere with other people's affairs."

"Meddlers often have miserable ends."

"You're not even as strong as Xiao Yunhe."

"That's right. Leave."

The five of them spoke a sentence each.

"No, no, no, how can you say I have no business being here? Isn't that Tower Master Xiao?" Mingshi Yin said,

Upon seeing Mingshi Yin, Xiao Yunhe was overjoyed. "Mr. Fourth? How's your master?"

"He's doing well. How did you get injured??" Mingshi Yin asked.

"They're just minor injuries. It's not a big deal."

Seeing the duo chatting enthusiastically, the five black-clad cultivators frowned.

Mingshi Yin said, "That's right. My master mentioned something a few days ago. He wants to know who won between you and Xia Zhengrong?"

Xiao Yunhe sighed. "Although I won, I ran into five rats on the way back."

Mingshi Yin shifted his gaze to the five people before he said with a smile, "Why don't you forget about this matter for my sake? I'll treat all of you to a cup of tea later."

The five black-clad cultivators discussed among themselves in a low voice for a moment.

The five greenish-black rings of light flew out following that.

Xiao Yunhe cried out, "Hurry up and leave!"

"Leave this to me!" Mingshi Yin flipped in the air. Bluewood began to grow rapidly before the vines shielded him.

The five black-clad cultivators flashed. Three of them rushed into the forest while the other two looked at Xiao Yunhe.

"Keep an eye on him. We'll deal with the other one first!"

"Alright."