My disciples are all villains.

How could he be a disciple of the Zhencang Branch? He feigned a shocked expression before he smiled and said, "Eh? You survived a blow from my Separation Hook?"

"Who are you?" Feng Qinghe took a step back and glanced at the valley.

"That's not important. You're going to die, anyway." Mingshi Yin sneered as he raised his hand. The Separation Hook returned to his grasp. In truth, he had been among the disciples of the Zhencang Branch, from the very beginning. He wanted to infiltrate the enemy's ranks and look for an opportunity to deal a critical blow on his enemies. However, he did not expect to witness that unforgettable scene. Before he could continue to admire his master's shocking and grand power, he tailed Feng Qinghe all the way here. He knew Feng Qinghe was not a simple character.

"Do you think you're Old Villain Ji?" Feng Qinghe said in a disapproving tone.

Mingshi Yin only clicked his tongue and said, "It's no wonder you managed to withstand my master's energy swords. Is it something you're wearing?"

When Feng Qinghe heard this, his heart skipped a beat. "An Evil Sky Pavilion disciple?"

Mingshi Yin could not help but flip his hair and said, "Alright, I'll drop the act."

Feng Qinghe looked over Mingshi Yin's shoulder. He was worried Old Villain Ji would show up. Then, he said, "Comrade, let's talk this over. What do you say to letting me go, and I'll repay your kindness in the future?"

"There's no need for the future."

"What?"

"Remove your clothes, then, allow my Separation Hook to plunge mercilessly into your heart," Mingshi Yin said with a smile.

"You…" Feng Qinghe scowled. "I've already burned my sea of Qi anyway. If you want to die so badly, I'll grant you your wish!" He raised his hand and struck his dantian twice, releasing his meridians. Half of his burnt sea of Qi resumed burning.

…

At this moment, almost all of the disciples from the seven great sects on the battlefield near Golden Court Mountain had been cleared by Duanmu Sheng and the others.

Lu Zhou looked at the time. He had more than ten minutes left. Everything progressed more or less like he had expected them to. He looked around himself before he finally looked at his disciples and calmly said, "Clean this up."

"Yes, master!"

"As you command!"

"Your awesome might know no bounds. May you live to see… Master, you actually attained the Nine-leaf stage! I dreamt about it the other day… Eh? Master? Where did master go?" Zhu Hongong was midway through his ramblings when he discovered his master had disappeared. Then, he cried out, "Third Senior Brother, Little Junior Sister, Fifth Senior Sister… do-don't ignore me!"

Everyone busied themselves and had no time to entertain Zhu Honggong.

Lu Zhou unleashed a grand technique and reached the top of the Evil Sky Pavilion. He found the eye of the Formation and slammed a hand on it, channeling his power into it!

The moon was setting.

"Avatar!"

Lu Zhou activated his Nine-leaf Golden Lotus avatar and stood above the Evil Sky Pavilion.

"What's master doing?" Little Yuan'er pointed toward the Evil Sky Pavilion.

"… He's announcing that he's the greatest elite of all time, of course! There's no one greater than him! Master… your Nine-leaf stage is too cool! From this day on, you'll be my… Ow! Little Junior Sister, you pinched me again…" Zhu Honggong said, cradling his cheek.

When Lu Zhou was channeling his Primal Qi, he looked at the Golden Lotus under his Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar. He studied it for a moment, puzzled. According to the current cultivation theory, it was difficult for cultivators to break free of the restrictions imposed by the great limit.

Judging from what happened to Yun Tianluo, the Golden Lotus would absorb one's cultivation base and life, and it would take at least 1,000 years off one's tab. By severing the Golden Lotus, this could be overcome.

However, when Lu Zhou used the Peak Card, he was at the Nine-leaf stage. He began recalling the events when he had just transmigrated over. When he used the Peak Card for the first time, he was only granted the Eight-leaf stage. The second time he used it was when he captured Ye Tianxin. There were nine leaves back then. However, he did not understand much about the Golden Lotus back then and did not dwell on it. This was his fourth time using the Peak Card. Indeed, it was a Nine-leaf Golden Lotus.

Item Card: Ji Tiandao's Peak Trial Card.

Note: Ji Tiandao's peak state only lasts for 30 minutes.

In other words, Ji Tiandao was already at the Nine-leaf stage back then! However, due to his great limit, he dropped back to the Eight-leaf stage. After Lu Zhou used the Reversal Cards, his physical body was once again back at the state where it could support the Nine-leaf stage. If Ji Tiandao had attained the Nine-leaf stage long ago, how could he be heavily injured by the elites from the ten great sects during the siege? From this, he could infer that Ji Tiandao had attained the Nine-leaf stage after his battle with the elites of the ten great sects and before Lu Zhou transmigrated over.

After a moment, a huge question popped up in Lu Zhou's mind. 'Where did Ji Tiandao obtain 1,000 years of life needed to attain the Nine-leaf stage?'

Whizz!

Boom!

The Formation shook.

This brief tremor pulled Lu Zhou out of his thoughts and back into reality. He looked up at Golden Court Mountain's Formation. The barrier was lighting up. He continued to channel his Primal Qi at full force into it. Due to the Nine-leaf stage, the Formation was being repaired at an alarmingly fast speed.

…

Inside the Cave of Reflection, Si Wuya was awakened by this huge commotion. He rushed to the mouth of the cave before his path was blocked by something.

He was flustered by the cacophonous sounds of battle and the flashes of light that meant the Evil Sky Pavilion was under threat!

Bam!

He lost count of the times he rammed into the Cave of Reflection's barrier. He had to get out, locate Pan Zhong, and restore his cultivation base.

"Master, oh, master… You're a stubborn, old…"

Bam!

Si Wuya staggered out of the barrier. He did not break the barrier with his strength. It was due to violent tremors from Golden Court Mountain's Formation. The powerful fluctuations had affected the Cave of Reflection's Formation. It was as if the entire mechanism was rebooted. The instant it rebooted, the barrier vanished.

After a moment, the barrier reappeared.

SI Wuya turned around to look, perplexed. He did not have the time to think about the reason behind this. He hastily got to his feet and sprinted into the forest behind the forest.

"I'm the only one… who can save the Evil Sky Pavilion."

Si Wuya had barely made it out of the back of the mountain when the darkened skies suddenly lit up. It was as though dawn had arrived!

The entire Golden Court Mountain, the back of the mountain, the Cave of Reflection, the Evil Sky Pavilion, the forest, and mountain ranges nearby were illuminated.

Golden Court Mountain's barrier had been restored.

Si Wuya stood riveted on the spot. He was awestruck. 'What's happening? What happened to Golden Court Mountain?'

Under normal circumstances, it would take five Divine Court realm cultivators decades to mend the Formation. It would take Nascent Divinity realm elites years if they worked at it every day. Even Eight-leaf elites needed about six months if they worked at full strength. Why did the barrier suddenly appear, fully mended?

Si Wuya walked out of the forest. He looked up and saw a huge avatar towering above the Evil Sky Pavilion. It shone with a dazzling golden radiance!

Under the avatar, a Golden Lotus was spinning slowly. Nine leaves spun with the lotus.

SI Wuya stumbled back in shock. Every time one of the nine leaves pointed at him, he felt as though he was being slapped. He mocked himself inwardly, 'How foolish. My hubris has blinded me. I thought I was the only one who could save the Evil Sky Pavilion. I even said master is a stubborn old man...'

Si Wuya prided himself on his judgment and intelligence. However, at this moment, they seemed to be mercilessly shattered and trampled on by the nine leaves.