My disciples are all villains.

Bi An slowed down. Its nose twitched. With its keen nose, Bi An was like an oversized hunting hound that was searching for its prey on the cliff face. It growled every now and then. If anyone showed up, it would pounce without any hesitation.

Lu Zhou was in no hurry. He allowed Bi An to do its thing.

It traveled downward along the cliff face and entered the forest again. The dense canopy had blocked out most of the sunlight.

Lu Zhou looked at the forest and found nothing odd about it. 'What a cunning man.'

Bi An continued moving forward, picking up speed.

Lu Zhou looked at the fallen trees in front of him. There were signs of them being rammed by a beast.

'He should be up ahead…' An entire row of trees had fallen.

Shortly after, Bi An stopped. It looked up and began growling at a huge tree stump.

Lu Zhou looked up as well. The energy from the technique had left a round clearing in its wake. Some clothes laid scattered beside the tree stump.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and nodded. "The cicada sheds its carapace."

Bi An's sense of smell would not fail. Since it stopped here, this meant that its target was here.

The surroundings were completely quiet.

Lu Zhou surveyed his surroundings for signs of movements.

'Alas… he has gotten away.' Lu Zhou frowned slightly. 'This can't be…'

He called up the system dashboard. He read the Improved Binding Cage Card's description again. Indeed, it had a sure-trigger rate. Also, the system had reminded him that the card would hit its target without fail. In that case, if Yu Zhenghai's cultivation base was sealed, how did he manage to control a feisty mount, clear the forest, and leave at such swift speed?

Lu Zhou leaped off Bi An's back and walked up to the pile of clothes. He stooped down and glanced at them.

"Yu Zhenghai's clothes." Lu Zhou remembered the sizes of Yu Zhenghai's clothes back when he was still cultivating on Golden Court Mountain.

'What a crafty escape plan.' Even so, it should have been impossible for Yu Zhenghai to make such a quick escape.

'Could it be that he's used some kind of ground escape technique like Yanzi Yunsan?' Lu Zhou raised his hand. Energy seals scattered in his surroundings like flower petals. These energy seals were not destructive. They were more like tracking seals. They were classified as beginner-level cultivation seals and were comparatively easier to master. They did not take up much of a cultivator's resources as well. When Little Yuan'er's clansmen were kidnapped back then, Murong Hai had used this technique to track down the hostages. At the same time, these seals could track down living beings in the vicinity. Naturally, if the target possessed a cultivation base, this technique would hardly be of any use as it would be blocked by a cultivator's protective energy. However, if the Binding Cage Card had successfully landed, the target's cultivation base should be sealed. There was no way to block the tracking seals without one's cultivation base. And yet, the seals flew throughout the forest for some time before vanishing like bubbles in the air.

There were no signs of movements, and Lu Zhou did not sense any living beings nearby.

"Did he make Kui Niu drag him away?" The records in the books stated that Kui Niu was also a legendary mount. If it traveled at full speed, it would have been difficult to catch up to it. However, it was slightly unbelievable for it to be able to leave without causing a commotion.

Lu Zhou looked at the bloodstains on the clothes. 'He must've used some other technique that didn't require his cultivation base to make Kui Niu leave.'

There were all kinds of sects under Great Yan's skies. The three teachings were the mainstream sects that included the majority of cultivators. There was also witchcraft, which required a long time to cast spells, therefore, people would generally prefer cultivating Daoist techniques instead.

Lu Zhou was knowledgeable enough to rule out some auxiliary items cultivators used such as the Cloud Feather Raiment, heaven-grade weapons, and Formation streamers that activated Formations.

"Rascal, looks like you picked up some skills after leaving the Evil Sky Pavilion." Lu Zhou slowly rose to his feet. He circulated his Primal Qi and condensed it into energy. With a wave of his arm, the energy spiraled and transformed into a mini Dark Heaven Starlight. Although he was only in the Divine Court realm, his mastery of the skill was evident.

The Dark Heaven Starlight multiplied, in just a blink of an eye, the trees within 100 meters of him were cut down by the energy. Looking down from above, one could see a round clearing.

Lu Zhou sensed his dantian's sea of Qi. He nodded in satisfaction. As his cultivation base slowly recovered, he found it easier to cast his disciples' cultivation methods and techniques. The problem of being unable to cultivate his disciples' cultivation methods when he first transmigrated had also been solved with the gradual restoration of his life. It might not be as powerful as one unleashed by a Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm cultivator, but it was still a magnificent sight to behold. At the very least, it was no problem for him to cut down a few trees.

A moment later, Bi An followed Lu Zhou's orders. It swept the area but found nothing. It could only return empty-handed to its master.

Lu Zhou leaped back onto Bi An's back. He swept his gaze across the forest and said, "How long can you hide without your cultivation base?"

Lu Zhou did not think that there was anyone capable of breaking the Binding Mantra. Unless the Binding Mantra only lasted for a short period, he was confident that the rascal would come begging sooner or later.

"Return."

Bi An gave a low growl and shot toward the Clarity Sect's third peak.

The cloud-splitting chariot waited at the same spot before Lu Zhou left.

Lu Zhou returned to the prison. It was the same as when he left. Nothing had changed. He looked at the thousand-layered Restrictions that buzzed with electricity. Clearly, the Clarity Sect's Restriction was breaking.

The final survivors of the Clarity Sect had to be hiding behind the Restrictions. Otherwise, Yu Zhenghai would not have unleashed the Great Dark Heaven Memorial to try and breach the Restrictions.

Lu Zhou deliberately waited for a moment. Perhaps, he could obtain some information about Yu Zhenghai from these people.

At this moment, the thousand-layered Restrictions vanished. At the same time, a red-clad woman carrying a sword in her hand slowly walked out.

Several disciples behind her looked around warily. The seven of them arranged themselves in a semicircle. Every one of them was injured with various degrees of severity.

"The Nether Sect has left?" They looked around in confusion.

The woman in red was the last elite of the Clarity Sect, You Hongyi. At this moment, she noticed the old man standing on Bi An's back. She hastily said, "Look out, everyone."

The Clarity Sect's disciples noticed the old man on Bi An as well.

The legendary mount with a majestic air stared at them.

You Hongyi did not dare to let her guard down. She asked Lu Zhou, "Are you from the Nether Sect?"

Lu Zhou shook his head. "If it weren't for me, you would've all been sent to the Yellow Springs."

When You Hongyu heard this, realization dawned on her. She hastily bowed. "So you're the one who chased away the great villain, Yu Zhenghai."

The other Clarity Sect's disciples bowed as well. "Thank you for helping us, old mister!"

"How can we ever repay your kindness?"

"Ding! Received pious worship from 15 people. Reward: 150 merit points."

'Uh…' Lu Zhou was slightly stunned. 'I must have an air of benevolence about me. Alas, all your lives have nothing to do with me.'

You Hongyi looked at the surroundings. Then, she sighed and shook her head. "If you didn't come, old mister, I'm afraid that the Clarity Sect would've been…"

"The Nether Sect is an insufferable bully!"

"Yu Zhenghai is supported by the Evil Sky Pavilion's old villain and commits all sorts of wicked deeds wherever he goes. The Clarity Sect had attacked Golden Court Mountain before. It's to be expected that this calamity had befallen the sect."

The Seven Clarity Sons discussed among themselves emotionally.

"I wonder if Sect Master's here?"

You Hongyi said snappily, "Don't mention the sect master ever again! If he didn't collude with the factions within the palace, the sect wouldn't have ended up like this!"

The others lowered their heads and no longer dared to speak.

When Lu Zhou saw that they had relatively calmed down, he said, "I have some questions, and you'll answer them." When he spoke, he pointed at You Hongyi who was standing at the lead.