My disciples are all villains.

The Magistrate Brush that shone with golden radiance dimmed at once.

Liu Gu let go, and the Magistrate Brush returned to the inkstone.

The shining Golden Lotus fell to the floor after it was severed. Then, it vanished. Only the avatar remained. Just like the experiments, the eight leaves began to fade away. Seven-leaf, Six-leaf… His Primal Qi scattered. Everything had returned to square one.

Liu Gu felt a scorching sensation in his dantian's sea of Qi. The power urged his dantian's sea of Qi to withdraw the remaining avatar. The avatar returned to his body.

Liu Gu's face broke out in sweat. He sat down with his legs crossed. The pill was taking effect, and this comforted him. At long last, the years of tireless attempts had finally borne fruit.

His chaotic Primal Qi was gradually stabilizing. A faint smile appeared on his face as he said, "Men."

Another attendant entered. "Your Majesty."

"I'll be cultivating in seclusion from this day onward."

"Understood."

This meant Liu Gu would not be stepped forward unless it was something extremely important.

The attendant who served the emperor was not surprised. The emperor had rarely shown an interest in governance to begin with. Usually, it was delegated to the prime minister or the civil and military officials.

In Liu Gu's opinion, all he needed was to maintain a hold on the Imperial guards and the commander-in-chief of the three armies to defend the Divine Capital. With this, he would never be defeated.

Now that a Nine-leaf cultivator had emerged in the world, he had to attain the Nine-leaf stage as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the entire Divine Capital would fall into another person's hand sooner or later.

Even if there were no Nine-leaf cultivators from the Evil Sky Pavilion, the method of severing the Golden Lotus would certainly enable the other sects to improve their strength.

As the monarch of an empire, he had to stand at the peak, no matter what.

…

Inside the eastern pavilion of the Evil Sky Pavilion.

After confirming that there was no change in the old parchment drawing, Lu Zhou returned to the rush cushion and sat down with his legs crossed. At the same time, he glanced at the system dashboard.

Name: Lu Zhou

Race: Human

Cultivation Base: Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm, Dao Primal

Merit points: 21,000

Avatar: One-leaf Hundred Tribulations Insight

Remaining life: 12,750 days

Item: Deadly Strike Card x2, Critical Block Card x62 (passive), Binding Cage Card x4, Whitzard, Critical Heal Card x2, Strengthened Binding Cage Card x2, Strengthened Critical Heal Card x2, Thunderblast x1, Disguise Card x4, Reversal Card x 53

Weapon: Unnamed, Life Cutter, Jade Horsetail Whisk, Peacock Plume

Cultivation method: Three Scrolls of Heavenly Writing

The trip to the Three Sects gave him more than 20,000 merit points. This surprised Lu Zhou.

Naturally, most of the merit points came from the worshipping of the Three Sects' disciples. Unfortunately, there were conditions to earning merit points from being worshipped. Otherwise, he would have gone around and threatened the other major sects to kowtow to himself.

Lu Zhou cleared his mind. Without holding back, he did ten consecutive lucky draws and was thanked ten times. Then, he meditated on the Heavenly Writing scrolls.

Although the lack of reward from the lucky draws stung, he had already gotten used to i.

He noticed that he now had 53 Reversal Cards.

According to the outside world's understanding of the Nine-leaf stage, there should be no issues if he were to prolong his life slightly. He did not hesitate and used 10 Reversal Cards.

The vitality in the surroundings gathered around him.

Swoosh!

A strong gale appeared, and the vitality surged.

Lu Zhou felt that there were more effects this time around.

'Eh?' It felt more chaotic compared to his previous experiences.

When the vitality entered his wizened body, there was some slight agitation and resistance, but it melted into his body soon enough. He looked at his remaining life on the menu.

Remaining life: 16,750 days

"Every card added 400 days?"

Was that the reason for the agitation and resistance?

The number of added days exceeded Lu Zhou's expectations.

If this was the pattern, he would do well to stock up on the Reversal Cards in the future! Stocking up on cards could change his life. Their values appreciated over time! However, he did not dwell on this for too long before closing his eyes and meditating on the Heavenly Writing scrolls.

…

On the plaza in front of the southern pavilion.

Leng Luo recounted the main events that occurred recently in the cultivation world to Zuo Yushu.

Zuo Yushu was suitably shocked.

"That man who seems like a humble gentleman is the current sword path elite, the Sword Devil?"

"Yes."

"…"

"There's no need to be overly worried. Mister Second is an honest and easygoing man. He's not a narrow-minded character," Leng Luo said.

"When I was still living in seclusion in the valley, I learned some bits of information from the mouths of the Zhencang Branch disciples. I've heard about the Sword Devil before. The very mention of his name shocks the heavens. The hit list of the cultivation world was made by him. He's the reason why the cultivation world was restless." Zuo Yushu turned to face Leng Luo and said, "Thank you for telling me this, Elder Leng."

"You're welcome."

At this moment, the intense surge of Primal Qi outside the eastern pavilion drew their attention.

"Pay no heed to it. Whatever you do, do not go to the eastern pavilion," Leng Luo said at once After saying this, he turned and left.

Zuo Yushu nodded as she looked in the direction of the eastern pavilion. 'Curiosity kills the cat. This must be something cultivated by Nine-leaf cultivators. It's best to avoid that place for now.'

…

At noon, the next day.

The Core Yang Sect on Core Yang Mountain.

Clouds of smoke rose from the heaven memorial plaza.

A faint blue barrier enveloped the entire Core Yang Mountain.

Dozens of disciples formed a square formation on the plaza as they practiced their swordplay.

At this moment, a black dot appeared in the faraway skies. It was moving toward them.

"Enemy incoming! Prepare for battle!"

The Core Yang Sect disciples drew their swords and looked toward the skies.

Usually, anyone who came without warning and from another direction aside from the base of the mountain bore ill intentions.

The Core Yang Sect knew this was a tense and chaotic time as well. Hence, the entire Core Yang Mountain was guarded on all sides.

After the survival pill was made public, they had more visiting cultivators than they could count. If they had not employed the help of the elites from the Penglai Sect, the Core Yang Sect would have been plundered a long time ago. Just because they were skilled in refining pills, it did not mean that they possessed profound cultivation bases.

"Summon the seniors from the Penglai Sect here."

"Understood."

As they spoke, the black spot was already outside Core Yang Sect's barrier.

From this distance, the Core Yang Sect disciples could not see the face of the newcomer. However, anyone who could come to Core Yang Mountain should not be underestimated.

"Who goes there?" one of the disciples asked domineeringly as he pointed his sword at the newcomer.

"I'm Yu Shangrong," Yu Shangrong answered honestly.

As soon as Yu Shanrong revealed his name, the disciples on Core Yang Mountain were shocked speechless.

"How many times have someone impersonated an Evil Sky Pavilion disciple?" someone mumbled.

"Let's deal with him politely, just in case. So long as we refuse to give him our pills, he won't be able to get what he wants."

The others nodded.

Yu Shangrong observed the barrier. If he had his Eight-leaf cultivation base, he could have forced his way through a barrier like this with the power of his Longevity Sword and the runes. The problem was, he was only at the Three-leaf stage now.

"Comrade, how are you going to prove your identity?" The disciple in the lead was smart. With this, the conversation could go either way.

"Wu Dayong, the Sect Master of the Core Yang Sect, can verify my identity. If I didn't witness his dedication to refining pills years ago, his name would've been on my hit list as well." Yu Shangrong dismounted from Bi An and hovered in the air. He said in a casual tone, "I bear no ill will. Everything that I said is meant in kindness."

"…"