My disciples are all villains.

Lu Zhou had overlooked that important point. It should have been clear that the parchment drawing should be placed together with the Open Heavenly Writing. Whether it was the old drawing or the map, they had a common and important function, to mark geographical locations.

Lu Zhou bent forward and studied the old parchment drawing. After a moment, he discovered the blank parts of the old drawing were truly blank. There was nothing hidden there. Apart from that, the blurry parts were only outlines.

Fortunately, Lu Zhou was very familiar with Great Yan. Even if it was not shown on the map, he could make a rough guess based on the position of the palace.

"Yang Province, Jing Province, Liang Province, Yi Province, Qing Province, Yong Province…" Lu Zhou counted out loud, "Misty Forest. Rongxi, Rongbei… In the east, there are the seas, the great whirlpool…"

'Hm?' The borders were blank. Lu Zhou looked all the way to the edges and moved his eyes to the west. Beyond Liang Province was the western region where the Other Tribes dwelled… There was Rongbei as well. They were all blank.

Lu Zhou returned his gaze to Great Yan's Divine Capital. It was better to believe than to doubt.

"Zhao Yue." Lu Zhou's deep voice traveled out of the east pavilion with forceful Primal Qi.

Zhao Yue was cultivating in the south pavilion's courtyard. She hastily stopped what she was doing and hurried over to the east pavilion.

"Fifth Senior Sister." Little Yuan'er appeared in the air with her Nirvana Sash.

"Junior Sister, I have no time to spar with you now. Master just summoned me…"

"You've misunderstood me, senior sister. I want to go with you."

The two of them headed toward the east pavilion. Shortly after, they arrived in the east pavilion.

"Greetings, master."

"Greetings, master."

The two of them stood outside Lu Zhou's living quarters and greeted Lu Zhou in unison.

Lu Zhou walked out and glanced at them. Then, he said, "Send word to Jiang Aijian. I want him to search for an item that belongs to the Evil Sky Pavilion."

Zhao Yue said, "Master, I've been trying to contact Jiang Aijian in the past few days. He has yet to send a reply…"

Little Yuan'er said huffily, "I knew that shameless man can't be trusted!"

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and mulled over the matter. Based on his experience of dealing with Jiang Aijian, he did not think Jiang Aijian was someone who would betray his trust. Moreover, Jiang Aijian was someone who valued his life very much, and he was not one to go around looking for trouble.

Lu Zhou suddenly recalled that Jiang Aijian had previously mentioned Wei Zhuoyan was in Jing Province to quell a disturbance in his last letter. Perhaps, Li Jingyi was there as well. 'He can't have followed them there, right?'

"Since we can't contact him, we'll look for him. Zhao Yue, head to the palace," Lu Zhou said.

Zhao Yue's expression changed slightly. She spoke as though she was caught in a dilemma, "Master… uh, my cultivation base is still weak. Should we send Fourth Senior Brother instead?"

Lu Zhou looked at Zhao Yue suspiciously. She was usually eager to carry out missions. He did not expect her to have moments when she was afraid. "Are you scared?"

"I'm merely worried I would impede your plans, master," Zhao Yue replied.

Lu Zhou finally said, "Summon Old Fourth here."

"Yes, master." Zhao Yue hastily turned around and walked away.

Lu Zhou looked at Zhao Yue's retreating back. She seemed to be flustered and in a rush. 'This little girl seems to be hiding something.'

However, ever since the incident with Ye Tianxin ended, Zhao Yue's loyalty had been steadily increasing. In fact, it was still increasing. When the palace was mentioned, she seemed slightly afraid, 'Is she related to someone in the palace?'

Lu Zhou recalled the scene when he recruited her. He remembered that Zhao Yue came from humble beginnings. He saw that Zhao Yue's talent for cultivation was great and decided to take her in. She should not have any connection with the palace. 'Looks like I should pay more attention to her after this… For the time being, she can do whatever she wants.'

It would only do more harm than good by keeping them under strict supervision.

"Master, I've achieved some breakthroughs with my Nirvana Sash recently!" Little Yuan'er boasted.

"Is that so?"

"Master… it's been a long time since you've given me some instructions." It was clear what Little Yuan'er wanted.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and nodded. He had been busy with other matters. It was true that he seldom taught his disciples. "Ask away."

Little Yuan'er bluntly replied, "I want to spar with you and see where I'm lacking through battle."

"…" Lu Zhou remained silent as he continued to stroke his beard. This kind of battle between a master and a disciple could not even be considered as a sparring session… Sessions such as these were only to instruct rather than defeat. This required a profound cultivation base on the master's part since the master would have to see through his disciple's tactics, understand their weaknesses, and consequently, instruct them.

Lu Zhou considered his own cultivation base. 'Forget it. I should just let her play on her own.'

At this moment, Mingshi Yin came in and said, "Greetings, master."

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Send word to Jiang Aijian… Tell him to find out if there's anything in the palace that belongs to the Evil Sky Pavilion. If he doesn't reply, you should go investigate it."

"Yes, master." Mingshi Yin turned around to leave.

Lu Zhou stopped him. "Wait."

"Your orders, master?" Mingshi Yin turned around.

"Your little junior sister has made some improvements lately. You should spar with her," Lu Zhou said slowly.

Mingshi Yin nodded and said, "Yes, master… I've been studying the Bluewood Heart Method lately and have improved as well. If there's a chance, I hope you can give me some instructions, master."

Lu Zhou said sternly, "Impudent!"

"I dare not… I've made a mistake." Mingshi Yin suddenly realized that he had spoken too boldly. His little junior sister was loved by their master so she could, naturally, make bold requests. He was seeking death by imitating her behavior.

Lu Zhou said indifferently, "Look for your Third Senior Brother."

"Yes, master."

Duanmu Sheng's talent and cultivation base were not inferior to Mingshi Yin. If wit was taken out of the consideration, Duanmu Sheng was, in fact, superior to Mingshi Yin.

'What if Duanmu Sheng comes to ask for instructions as well?' Lu Zhou thought to himself. Hua Wudao's face appeared in Lu Zhou's mind.

However, Hua Wudao was also very likely to ask to spar with him. After all, Hua Wudao had a knot in his heart ever since he had lost to him 20 years ago.

'Who would be fit to instruct Hua Wudao?' Leng Luo and Pan Litian would not be recovering anytime soon.

"Wait," Lu Zhou called out to Mingshi Yin again.

"Your orders, master?" Mingshi Yin turned around and bowed again.

"Elder Hua had contributed greatly in the battle on the Lotus Dais. If there's nothing important, let him rest."

'Hm?' Mingshi Yin was puzzled. Why did his master suddenly mention Hua Wudao? 'He's in perfect shape, right? Why would he need to rest?' However, since it was the disciple's duty to obey, he did not question his master. He hastily bowed and said, "I'll deliver the message to him."

Mingshi Yin looked at Little Yuan'er meaningfully. The two of them left the courtyard.

After that, Lu Zhou returned to his room. He glanced at the parchment drawing on the table before he turned around and went behind the screen where he sat down with his legs crossed. He called up the system dashboard again.

Little Yuan'er's request had reminded him that cultivation base was everything to a cultivator.

The problem was if he bought the Eight Methods Connected now, his cultivation base would improve, causing the prices of the item cards to increase. He should have bought more cards before this.

Lu Zhou tapped on the mall tab to check on the prices.

"Hm?" A plethora of curses appeared in his mind. 'When did the prices go up?'

He remembered checking the price not long ago. Were the opening of the box and the possession of the remnant piece the reason for the price hike? That was the only thing he did recently. If that was the case, his inferences before this were inaccurate.

In other words, the frequency of use, purchases, and the improvement of his cultivation base were only parts of the factors. Perhaps, the most crucial factor in determining the price hikes were the items he gained from the system.

Like a test, it was easy to raise one's marks from a low point to an average point. It would get progressively difficult to raise after that point.

'Forget it. It's a good thing that it increased. I'm only troubling myself by worrying about gains and losses.'

Lu Zhou scanned the prices.

Deadly Strike Card: 1,500

Impeccable Card: 1,000

Critical Heal Card: 600

Thunderblast: 500

Cage Bind: 800

'Since the prices have already risen, it wouldn't rise again so soon, right?'

Finally, Lu Zhou decided to buy the Eight Methods Connected.

"Ding! Obtained the avatar, Eight Methods Connected. Spent 20,000 merit points."

"Equip."

Lu Zhou closed his eyes and remained silent as he felt the changes in his body from the Eight Methods Connected.

For cultivators, using an avatar for the first time was also an opportunity to cultivate the body. The cultivator's physical body and mind would undergo a transformation. The transformation of the avatar was also the transformation of the cultivator.

Eight Methods Connected were tempered and transformed from the cold, the heat, the incorporeal, the solid, the surface, the inside, the Yin, and the Yang.

Once the Eight Methods Connected avatar was formed, the cultivator would gain a high resistance toward the factors mentioned above.

In other words, the cultivator would become healthier and would not easily fall sick. It would be easier for him to survive in harsh environments. Throughout the transformation process, if there was a single step where the cultivator failed to endure it, then, the transformation would fail.

However, for Lu Zhou, there was no such worry. His unique cultivation method meant that he was fated to have a different experience compared to others.

...

Meanwhile, in a certain hall of the palace in the Divine Capital.

A woman dressed in extravagant scarlet robes was looking at her reflection in the mirror. Then, she coughed softly.

On the other side of the screen, a man in black with a strange mask on his face appeared with his hands on his back.

"Junior Brother Mo Li… You really gave me a difficult task," the masked man said.

"It's junior sister to you…" Mo Li retorted.

The masked man's expression was indiscernible. He turned away and looked at the scenery outside as he said, "Just because His Highness the Second Prince has this fetish?"

Mo Li was silent. After a long pause, she said, "As long as I can achieve my goals, I'll do whatever it takes."

"The Great Yan's Imperial Family isn't as simple as you think. The Fourth Prince is back… His Highness has another rival now," the masked man said.

"That's why I'm asking for your help, senior brother," Mo Li said.

"I've fought that old villain before… My Tianyu Beast is heavily wounded and won't be able to fight for some time," the masked man said.

Upon hearing this, Mo Li said with a sigh, "I didn't expect the old villain to be capable of that… However, I still believe in you, senior brother… You're the greatest witchcraft genius of Loulan in 300 years. You're currently in your prime… On the other hand, look at that old villain. Everyone in the cultivation world is waiting for his time to run out… Once he's dead, nobody will be able to stop my plans."

The masked man remained silent.

Mo Li continued to say, "My injuries aren't healed yet… I'll have to trouble you for this, senior brother."

At this moment, the voice of a female servant rang in the air. "Milady, His Second Highness summons you."

"Understood."

"His Second Highness said that he would like to meet the genius cultivator you'd mentioned," the servant girl said.

Mo Li chuckled and said, "Senior brother, didn't I tell you? You'll definitely be able to show your might in Great Yan."

…

Two days later. In the Evil Sky Pavilion.

Inside the east pavilion.

A surge of unique energy fluctuated constantly. Sometimes it was cold, and sometimes it was hot.

Zhao Yue, Little Yuan'er, and Duanmu Sheng felt the fluctuations so they had gathered in the east pavilion.

"What's happening?"

"This energy fluctuation... It seems like someone's forming their Eight Methods Connected avatar," Duanmu Sheng said with a frown.

Little Yuan'er placed a finger on her lips and shushed him before she said. "Fourth Senior Brother has said that no matter what strange things happen around master, we should never speak about it and act like we're unaware!"

Zhao Yue nodded and said, "You've got a point… We should act like we didn't see anything."

Whizz!

A more powerful surge of energy rippled out into the surroundings.

After a brief moment, Hua Wudao appeared with his hands on his back. He was knowledgeable and experienced, he, naturally, knew what these energy fluctuations meant.

"Eight Methods Connected?"