My disciples are all villains.

Over the past week, Lu Zhou had been meditating on the Heavenly Writing scrolls in the eastern pavilion until his extraordinary power was completely replenished. After his extraordinary power was replenished, the only benefit from continuing to meditate upon was that he could increase the number of times he meditated upon them. However, Lu Zhou chose to stop.

He opened his eyes. He called up the system dashboard and looked at his remaining life.

6,574 days.

"Breaking through to the Nine-leaf stage would damage one's life… If I have enough Reversal Cards, can I overcome that?" Lu Zhou wondered out loud.

He had 22 Reversal Cards left.

Lu Zhou casually used one. Like before, the life energy around the eastern pavilion gathered around him. Shortly after, it was done. As he expected, his remaining life was now 6,874 days.

The Nine-leaf stage was related to his longevity… In that case, the Reversal Card would be much more important.

Lu Zhou looked at the price of the Reversal Cards again… Fortunately, it remained the same.

After that, he looked at the two missions related to Yu Shangrong. The first one was Life of the Melilot, and the second was the New Open Heavenly Writing Scroll.

Both missions were labeled as incomplete.

What he could be sure of was that the melilot was very much related to Yu Shangrong.

"Longevity Sword." Lu Zhou thought about the sword.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Cave of Reflection.

Yu Shangrong sat with his legs crossed. The peculiar thing was the Longevity Sword glowed with a red radiance as if it sensed something. Faint red energy would appear from it and enter his body.

Bzzt! Bzz! Bzzt!

The Longevity Sword vibrated slightly.

Night had fallen. The moon was bright.

The Longevity Sword quietened down and remained motionless after that.

Suddenly, Yu Shangrong gave a muffled grunt. A trail of blood appeared at the edge of his lips. He opened his eyes and sighed. He did not seem surprised by this. Like Si Wuya, he attempted to break the mantra after his cultivation base was restricted. Alas… it ended in failure.

Si Wuya could not even find someone to break it for him even though he was resourceful, let alone someone else.

However, this was the common fault of men. They would never turn back before hitting the southern wall.

Yu Shangrong looked at the Longevity Sword by his side. He shook his head and said, "I won't die yet."

He closed his eyes again, focusing on his injury.

"Ding! Punished Yu Shangrong. Reward: 300 merit points."

"Trying to break the mantra, are we?"

Yu Shangrong was startled by the voice. "Master?"

Lu Zhou walked through the barrier with his hands on his back. He saw Yu Shangrong sitting cross-legged with blood trailing down the side of his lips.

When Lu Zhou heard the notification from the system, he knew that Yu Shangrong had tried to break the Binding Mantra.

"It's futile," Lu Zhou said tonelessly.

"It's better than sitting here and doing nothing," Yu Shangrong replied.

Lu Zhou sat down slowly on the stone bench. He pointed at the opposite stone bench and said, "Sit."

Yu Shangrong was slightly taken aback. He was never treated this way throughout his time in the Evil Sky Pavilion before this. He looked at his master, who seemed calm and spoke in a largely different manner from before. He had trouble believing this. Finally, he rose to his feet before he sat on the stone bench opposite his master.

The moonlight shone on the stone table.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and said, "Since you address me as master, you'll answer my question honestly."

Yu Shangrong frowned slightly. He did not know what his master would ask. He was instinctively fearful. "Apart from the memories, I'll answer everything else."

Lu Zhou had expected this. In truth, even if Yu Shangrong did not tell him about the memories, he could make his own inferences. Therefore, there was no need to force him.

"Have you tried to enter the Nine-leaf stage?" Lu Zhou asked.

"I have," Yu Shangrong replied honestly, "As a cultivator… a peak Eight-leaf cultivator, I'm standing before the doors of the Nine-leaf stage. Nobody would be able to fight the curiosity to open the doors and sneak a peek… Alas, there's nothing but an endless night behind that door. I saw no future nor hope."

Lu Zhou nodded. "You're from Nobleman Nation. Your life is as fickle as the melilot."

When Yu Shangrong heard this, his heart skipped a beat. However, he quickly regained his composure. This was not some secret that he should be ashamed of.

The melilot was a plant unique to the Nobleman Nation to begin with. It had been mentioned several times lately. There was bound to be someone in the Evil Sky Pavilion who knew about it.

"At most, the Eight-leaf stage can give you 500 years of life…" Lu Zhou added.

Suddenly, Yu Shangrong picked up his Longevity Sword. He was about to stand up, but he realized that his master was still seated on the stone bench with no intention of snatching the Longevity Sword from him.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard. He had an expression that said that he had expected this much. "Who can stop me if I want to take your weapon?"

He raised a palm. A gust of energy wind entered the cave.

Yu Shangrong tightened his grip around the Longevity Sword. His cultivation base was sealed. How could he resist his master?

Although Lu Zhou's cultivation base was only in the Dao Transforming Divine Court realm, it was enough to deal with Yu Shangrong whose cultivation base was sealed.

Whoosh!

The Longevity Sword flew into Lu Zhou's hand.

Yu Shangrong lunged as he tried to take the sword back.

Lu Zhou waved his hand.

An energy wall kept Yu Shangrong at bay.

Zing!

Lu Zhou drew the Longevity Sword.

The blade had a faint reddish glow.

Shortly after, Lu Zhou felt the life energy on the Longevity Sword…

"The immortal ties my hair and wishes me a long life." Lu Zhou appraised the Longevity Sword.

It was said that the Longevity Sword would absorb some life energy every time it took a life.

Lu Zhou was now certain that it was true. It was no wonder that Yu Shangrong valued the Longevity Sword this much. He was depending on this sword to live… This sword was his life.

"Master!" Yu Shangrong fell to his knees.

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "Is this your secret to a long life?" When he gave Yu Shangrong the Longevity Sword, he did not know that it was capable of this.

Throughout the years, Yu Shangrong was, perhaps, the only person who knew how much time and effort he had put into this sword.

"The melilot blooms in the morning and wilts at night. I had no choice!" Yu Shangrong said.

"Do you really think that you can live a long life with the sword?"

"The Longevity Sword can't do that… All it can do is grant me the same lifespan as any other cultivator!" Yu Shangrong replied honestly.

To think that living for a millennium was also wishful thinking for an Eight-leaf cultivator.

Zing!

The Longevity Sword was returned to its scabbard.

Lu Zhou waved his arm.

The energy wall vanished.

Lu Zhou tossed the sword back to Yu Shangrong. He said with a sigh, "The Longevity Sword can't overcome the millennium limit as well."

Yu Shangrong caught the Longevity Sword and regarded his master with surprise. He did not expect his master to return the sword to him. He remained silent.

Lu Zhou turned to look at Yu Shangrong and said, "Do you despise me?"

"I dare not!" Yu Shangrong responded.

"Yu Shangrong." Lu Zhou suddenly called out his name.

Yu Shangrong's heart skipped a beat. He tightened his grip around the Longevity Sword again.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and said indifferently, "I can tell you now… that I'm going to kick the doors to the Nine-leaf stage open."

Yu Shangrong was stunned.

Lu Zhou waved his sleeve and left the Cave of Reflection.

At this moment… the Longevity Sword and vibrated before its power rippled into the surroundings.

Yu Shangrong's brows were tightly knitted together.