My disciples are all villains.

Zhu Honggong was all smiles. He stood behind Si Wuya and massaged Si Wuya's shoulders with great care. He pounded on Si Wuya's back softly with his fleshy fists from time to time as he asked, "Rongxi? Seventh Senior Brother, with your brains, it shouldn't be difficult for you to retrieve the crystal for master, right?"

Si Wuya turned to look at Zhu Honggong. He said, "Old Eighth, have you become unswervingly loyal to the Evil Sky Pavilion already?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Honggong chuckled and said, "I think the Evil Sky Pavilion is a much better place compared to before… Look at the four pavilions. There are more people here now. There are food, drinks, and places to sleep. If you so wish, you can have a young lady by your side to accompany you to watch the sunrise or the sunset. There are also a few shameless old farts who brag every day…"

Si Wuya regarded Zhu Honggong with skepticism and did not say anything. Based on his expression, he clearly did not understand Zhu Honggong's words.

Zhu Honggong continued to say, "I like the way things are right now."

Si Wuya pushed Zhu Honggong's fleshy hands away and said, "Are you trying to find out about crystal's location from me?"

"I'm not. Honest."

Si Wuya said, "There are five nations in Rongxi. There are Wuxian, Lou Lan, Sushen, Changgu, and Qigong. Master was the one who lost the crystal. Where are we supposed to begin looking for it among the five nations? Besides, nobody can guarantee that the crystal hasn't been opened. Perhaps, it has already found its way to the seven nations of the Other Tribes in Rongbei."

"If master's the one who sealed it, I think it won't be easy for anyone to unseal it," Zhu Honggong said as he scratched his head.

"As Fourth Senior Brother has said, how can any of you be sure that your judgments aren't wrong? Nothing is certain in this world," Si Wuya said.

Zhu Honggong nodded his head in agreement. However, he soon found a flaw in this reasoning. "In that case, why didn't you tell the truth? Master won't deliberately make things difficult for you."

"The truth might sound offensive in master's ears," Si Wuya replied.

"…"

Si Wuya's voice had barely faded when a cold scoff rang from outside the cave. "Seventh Senior Brother, to think that I'd spoken in your favor… Is that what you think of master?"

Little Yuan'er appeared at the mouth of the cave in green robes. She looked at Si Wuya with a slightly annoyed expression as she said, "If it weren't for master, you would've died!"

"Little Junior Sister?" Si Wuya seemed awkward. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Sure you did." Little Yuan'er's breathing seemed to grow heavy with rage as she said, "You pompous prick!" Then, she spun on her heels and left without waiting for an explanation from Si Wuya.

Zhu Honggong and Si Wuya exchanged a glance.

Si Wuya sighed and said, "Even Little Junior Sister misunderstood me…"

Zhu Honggong did not dare to say anything.

Si Wuya shook his head. Another person made no difference. He was used to this. "Old Eighth, tell me about the current situation of the Evil Sky Pavilion."

"Oh," Zhu Honggong scratched his head and said, "Let's start with the old farts, then…"

…

Inside the eastern pavilion.

After meditating on the Heavenly Writing scrolls, Lu Zhou sensed that his extraordinary power was almost replenished. He felt slightly relieved. He stood up and looked at the old parchment drawing on his table. Apart from the clearly labeled locations, the rest were still a blur. He could not see anything. However, the outline of Wuxian Mountain was much clearer now.

'Is Yu Shangrong on Wuxian Mountain?' Lu Zhou thought to himself as he stroked his beard. After pondering about it for a moment, he decided that there was no point dwelling on it for now. Hence, he turned around and sat with his legs crossed again. He opened the system's dashboard and checked his remaining merit points.

Merit points: 44,200.

He needed more than 50,000 merit points to purchase the Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar. Without putting much thought into it, he said in a low voice, "Lucky draw."

"Ding! Spent 50 merit points. Obtained Reversal Card x10."

Reversal Cards?

Lu Zhou understood now. In the early stages, the rate to win a grand prize was high in lucky draws. Now, it was providing rewards in line with the user's needs.

'Would you give me an avatar?'

Lu Zhou did 20 consecutive draws. He was thanked for his participation 20 times. Feeling helpless, he gave up trying. It had been a long time since he had won something of value from the lucky draws. Recently, he had been getting Reversal Cards.

Lu Zhou checked his item column. He gritted his teeth and bought two Deadly Strike Cards. With that, he had spent 6,000 merit points. 'As for the others… Forget it!' He did not think that they were worth buying compared to the Deadly Strike Cards. The Deadly Strike Card was his true trump card for now.

Lu Zhou was still mulling over his next move when Zhao Yue appeared outside the eastern pavilion. "Master, a letter from Jiang Aijian."

"Read it."

Zhao Yue unfolded the letter and read aloud, "Old senior, there are two things that I wish to clarify. First, I've made some headway with the investigations of the palace's Nine-leaf research. Indeed, someone's been researching the Nine-leaf stage in the palace. However, it's being done with great secrecy, and my sources can't seem to find out anything else. The only thing we know is that there's a huge dark faction in the Divine Capital doing it, and they're very guarded. In my opinion, they must be annoyed to no end when you spread word about severing one's Golden Lotus to attain the Nine-leaf stage, old senior. Second, the Noble Path is starting their Fiend Extermination Plan. You should be careful. Lastly, what did you think of Li Jingyi's presence in Liang Province's city? Ha ha ha."

Zhao Yue's expression turned slightly unnatural after she finished reading the letter. She said, "Master, Jiang Aijian's letter reminded me of something."

"Let's hear it."

"When I was in the palace, I heard someone say that the current Emperor has never appeared in court. When my royal grandmother was sick, not once did I see the Emperor. Eunuch Li told me that the Emperor is tied down with various affairs and important matters. I wonder what could be more important than the situation in Liang Province City and my royal grandmother's health?" Zhao Yue was clearly puzzled.

Lu Zhou's voice rang from inside. "Indeed. He has more important matters to attend to." There were always those who valued a certain thing over others. Sometimes, they would even sacrifice the people around them.

When Zhaoyue heard this, she shuddered inwardly. She recalled her time in the palace. Apart from rules and restrictive etiquettes, there was nothing but coldness. It felt like there was no human touch in the palace at all.

...

Ten days later.

The news about severing one's Golden Lotus to attain the Nine-leaf stage spread further and further away.

After a period of quarrels and arguments, the lie faction grew larger.

The lie faction was of the opinion that severing one's Golden Lotus was a big hoax. The basis for their opinion was that as many as ten cultivators had died after severing their Golden Lotuses during the past ten days.

The trial faction insisted those people had died because they were on the brink of death anyway. Those people could not survive the damages incurred from severing their Golden Lotuses since they were weak to begin with.

Both factions were firm in their beliefs.

There were also cultivators who proposed more advanced theories about severing the Golden Lotus. The theories were along the lines of severing a Golden Lotus before it sprouted leaves or shattering the avatar and abandoning the Golden Lotus, among others.

…

Under the Melilot Graveyard, it was pitch-black.

Yu Shangrong had forgotten how long he had been here.

He flipped his hand, and a little golden avatar appeared above his palm. He felt he had enough Primal Qi to attempt sprouting the second leaf. 

"Open."

A radiant circle appeared around the avatar and traveled downward. Unlike before, the radiant circle did not drop all the way to the base of the avatar's feet.

Yu Shangrong had understood an important point. Since he would sprout leaves without a Golden Lotus, he could just disregard the Golden Lotus.

As his Primal Qi surged, the radiant circle seemed to be filled with energy. His avatar completely illuminated the dry well!