My disciples are all villains.

To rekindle a person's passion for life, it was imperative to tell the person to plow on even if the road up ahead was dark. Hope was the best motivator to keep someone going.

Lu Zhou felt slightly emotional when he saw Yu Shangrong prostrating himself in front of him. After a moment's silence, he said, "Get up."

Yu Shangrong sat up and took the black brocade box.

Lu Zhou said, "This pill is exceptional. You'll be granted with 200 years of life."

"200 years is enough." Yu Shangrong was not greedy. The power from the Longevity Sword that had dissipated when he killed Jiang Liang was equivalent to 200 years as well.

Lu Zhou said, "That's not enough, far from it. How are you going to attain the Nine-leaf stage in 200 years?"

Yu Shangrong was puzzled.

Lu Zhou continued to say, "You said there's nothing but an endless night behind the doors of the Nine-leaf stage… but I don't think so."

There were no easy paths. The journey from the One-leaf stage to the Eight-leaf stage was full of hurdles to begin with. How could it be easy to reach the Nine-leaf stage from the Eight-leaf stage?

Yu Shangrong felt shocked. He thought that his master's statement of intending to attain the Nine-leaf stage at the mouth of the Cave of Reflection was only said in the heat of the moment. It seemed like things were not as simple as he had thought.

Although Lu Zhou saw the confused expression on Yu Shangrong's face, he did explain himself. Instead, he pointed at the brocade box and said, "Take the pill."

Yu Shangrong opened the brocade box. A dark, gleaming longevity pill rested silently inside the box. When he opened it, a strong smell of medicinal herbs wafted into his nose. The smell was aromatic, and it warmed his heart. At the same time, there was an intense fluctuation of energy.

Yu Shangrong was slightly shocked. "A newly refined pill!"

The longevity pill could extend a person's life precisely because it contained a vast amount of energy. However, this energy would slowly seep away with time. This was not like wine that tasted finer as it aged. The longevity pill depreciated the longer it was kept. He did not expect this longevity pill to be this new. Refining a longevity pill required huge effort and investments. He was well aware of this.

"Eat it," Lu Zhou said.

Yu Shangrong did not hesitate. He placed the pill in his mouth. It felt warm at first, but when the pill touched his tongue, there was a scorching sensation. The pill seemed to have come to life as it slid into his belly. He did not even have the time to taste it when it passed his throat. He felt as if he had swallowed a large date whole. Shortly after, the scorching sensation permeated his belly. The pill efficacy was at work.

At this moment, Lu Zhou raised a hand and struck Yu Shangrong's body. "Don't move!"

Yu Shangrong could not move even if he wanted to. With his cultivation base gone and the energy bursting forth from the pill, he was immobilized.

Lu Zhou struck at the air.

A chilling breeze blew against Yu Shangrong, giving him respite from the heat. He knew his master was undoing the Binding Mantra.

With the palm strike, the Binding Mantra instantly vanished as the scorching sensation spread throughout his body.

Everything was silent again.

The nostalgic power erupted from his dantian. It surged forth like an erupting volcano. The power surged through his Extraordinary Eight Meridians and spread through his body. With his Eight-leaf power, the scorching sensation was now negligible. The effects of the longevity pill were manifested further. It permeated throughout his body.

Lu Zhou could see that Yu Shangrong's hair was slowly recovering its original color. This meant that the longevity pill was working.

Time ticked by.

Yu Shangrong was immersed in absorbing the pill's medicinal efficacy.

Lu Zhou also noticed that Yu Shangrong's had loyalty shown up when he prostrated before him. Currently, Yu Shangrong's loyalty was continuously increasing.

Men were strange creatures. A thought could mean the difference of a hair's breadth or worlds apart. Sometimes, a thought was all it took to change one's mind.

...

The second day. Dawn was breaking.

Yu Shangrong felt that he had absorbed most of the pill's medicinal efficacy. He opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he saw was his master who was resting with his eyes closed as he sat at the table opposite himself.

There were various kinds of books on the table. Yu Shangrong saw they were all related to the topic of lifespan. There was also a map and books about Eight-leaf cultivation. There were books of other genres on the shelves as well.

Yu Shangrong was stunned. It had been dim last night, and he could not see clearly. Now that he had a better look, his master seemed to have prepared for this all along. What made his heart stirred was the sight of his master standing before him. This indicated that his master was watching over him the entire night.

Yu Shangrong felt that he had recovered almost all of his strength. The remaining issue was his condition. He kowtowed at Lu Zhou again. Without saying a word, he picked up his Longevity Sword, turned around, and left the room. He was barely out of the eastern pavilion when an imposing voice reached him. "Go to the southern pavilion."

"Understood," Yu Shangrong said.

Lu Zhou opened his eyes slowly. Last night's meditation was ordinary. However, he noticed that the mission, Life of the Melilot, was now completed. As he had guessed, the melilot referred to Yu Shangrong.

The mission rewarded him 2,000 merit points.

As for the other mission, the new Open Heavenly Writing Scroll, the ancient parchment drawing showed that it was on the northwestern corner. 'Looks like it's over there…'

As it was still very early in the morning, Lu Zhou shut his eyes again and continued to meditate on the Heavenly Writing scrolls.

…

The southern pavilion.

Duanmu Sheng carried his Overlord Spear and stood outside Mingshi Yin's room. "Old Fourth, be my sparring partner…"

Mingshi Yin. "…"

After stalling for a short while, Mingshi Yin walked out of his room and said, "Third Senior Brother, we're not at the same level, you and I… I suggest that you find Old Eighth, he's a good match for you. He has the zen tunic and his boxing gloves. He's tough."

"He has only just sprouted one leaf…" Duanmu Sheng stepped forward and yanked Mingshi Yin forward.

"How about Elder Hua?!"

"His tortoiseshell technique irritates me to no end!"

Mingshi Yin felt speechless. He wondered, 'Aren't you irritated that I keep running away?' Outwardly, he said, "No, no, no… I'll have to visit Second Senior Brother. Once Second Senior Brother's problem is solved, you can spar with him."

"Second Senior Brother? His cultivation base has been sealed at the moment, he's no match for me." Duanmu Sheng felt his words did not sound right so he said again, "I can't unleash potential if I engage in a battle without Primal Qi."

"You're right, Third Senior Brother. Second Senior Brother is no match for you."

Boom!

There was a loud sound of an explosion.

The two of them were stunned. They looked cast beyond the southern pavilion.

'What happened?'

'Who dares to cause trouble in the Evil Sky Pavilion?'

Even Zhu Honggong, Old Eighth, who was sleeping like a dog jolted awake.

"Which daredevil is it… Let's check it out." Mingshi Yin and Duanmu Sheng rushed out of the southern pavilion.

When they were outside the southern pavilion, they saw many female disciples gathered at the edges of the plaza and watching something.

"Second Senior Brother?"

"No way…"

In the middle of the plaza, Yu Shangrong stood atop the root-shaped pillar. He stood there against the wind with the Longevity Sword in his arms. His white hair was now black.

Those who saw this were shocked.

"His sword is very cold…"

"So is his air…"

"He must be cold, standing up there…" Pan Zhong mumbled.

Zhou Jifeng gave him a nudge. He rolled his eyes and said, "Shut up! Didn't you see what happened to Elder Hua? His cultivation base is restored. There's no way that he'll feel cold!"

Another person stood before the pillar… It was none other than Elder Hua, Hua Wudao, the person most skilled in defense in the Evil Sky Pavilion.

Hua Wudao had appeared in the southern pavilion's vicinity earlier on. When he saw that Yu Shangrong's cultivation base was restored, he wanted to challenge him. He knew that he could not win against Yu Shangrong, but he wanted to test the defensive strength of his Six Compatible Seal. However, he could not even withstand a single hit.

Hua Wudao looked up at Yu Shangrong with a pained expression. He said determinedly, "Again."

Yu Shangrong smiled faintly. His voice rang from above. "You're weak, so weak that… you should work harder."

Hua Wudao said awkwardly, "I don't think that I can't withstand two hits." He unleashed his Six Compatible Seal again. The nine scripts spun.

The others scattered.

The Six Compatible Seal enveloped Hua Wudao. The Eight Trigrams appeared beneath his feet.

"Have your standards dropped so much, Elder Hua? Two hits are all you asked for?" Mingshi Yin suddenly said.