My disciples are all villains.

The blood gushing from Wen Shu's neck wound stained his chest. When he felt he could no longer breathe, he felt as though his soul was being grabbed by an invisible hand from his dantian's sea of Qi. It seemed like it was pulled up from his heart before it was briefly lodged in his throat, and finally, escaped his body. He fell backward.

The sun shone on Yu Shangrong's face, illuminating his calm and stoic expression. Perhaps, he was used to seeing such a scene, he only felt apathy.

Yu Shangrong raised his palm. From the faraway tree trunk, the scabbard flew back to him, and he sheathed his sword. He suddenly wondered if his claim had been too audacious earlier? After all, there was still his invincible master!

…

At this moment, Lu Zhou was meditating on the Heavenly Writing scrolls since he had used up all of his extraordinary power.

The addition of 1,500 merit points left him puzzled.

Among his nine disciples, it was most likely that Yu Shangrong was the one who killed a grand cultivator. Yu Zhenghai had not yet returned, and Ye Tianxin was still banished. Wait, it could have been Mingshi Yin as well. During the battle at the Obedient Villa, Mingshi Yin had killed a Five-leaf cultivator when he was just a Three-leaf cultivator. However, Mingshi Yin did not leave the Evil Sky Pavilion… Who else could it be if not Yu Shangrong?

A Three-leaf Yu Shangrong with the experience and technique of an Eight-leaf cultivator would find it easy to kill a Five-leaf cultivator.

Lu Zhou did not dwell on it too much and closed his eyes to continue meditating on the Heavenly Writing scrolls.

…

After the battle, Jing Province City was no longer the flourishing city it was once.

The streets were occupied by the Nether Sect Members.

Only some houses were damaged. In general, the battle did not cause much damage to the city.

With an Eight-leaf cultivation base, it was normal for cultivators to fight for days on end. If there had been no Formation, it would not have been surprising for two Eight-leaf cultivators to demolish Jing Province City. It was clear that they had restrained themselves when they fought. Moreover, Jing Province City had activated its Formation as well, shielding it from damage.

At this moment, the Nether Sect disciples were everywhere; from the city walls to the city gates. Flies buzzed about busily above the corpses strewn on the ground.

The Formation area was also occupied by the Nether Sect's cultivators.

The smell of blood wafted through the streets to the top of the city walls.

...

Inside the General's Mansion.

Yu Zhenghai, Si Wuya, and Huang Shijie were discussing their next move.

"Wise brother, Liang Province, Yi Province, and Jing Province are now under the Nether Sect's control. Should we advance north?" Yu Zhenghai asked.

Si Wuya was about to reply when Hua Chongyang walked into the room. He quickly said, "Sect master, we've found Wen Shu's head at the northern city gate…"

Yu Zhenghai, Si Wuya, and Huang Shijie instinctively rose to their feet from the shock.

Huang Shijie, an Eight-leaf expert, frowned slightly and asked, "Who did it?"

Hua Chongyang shook his head and replied, "We're not sure."

With his hands on his back, Yu Zhenghai said, "Surely, it's the work of an elite since he's capable of killing Wen Shu… Is there anything else?"

"There's only Wen Shu's head… However, based on the cut, it seemed to have been made from a sword," Hua Chongyang replied.

"A Sword Path elite?" A smile bloomed on Yu Zhenghai's face as he said, "Well, it's no surprise. After all, as the saying goes, 'A just cause attracts much support, an unjust one finds little'. If I can meet this elite, I'll have to personally thank him." At the end of his sentence, his expression turned regretful as though he felt it was a pity he could not meet this mysterious elite who killed Wen Shu. In his opinion, there was no doubt the other party meant to help the Nether Sect by displaying Wen Shu's head near the city gate.

Huang Shijie cupped his fists and said, "You have the support of the people, Sect Master Yu. The world will one day belong to the Nether Sect."

Hua Chongyang added, "I've sent some men out north to investigate. Based on their observation, there had been a battle, and Wen Shu seems to have unleashed quite a bit of power. However, his opponent's sword skills were amazing. No energy swords were wasted. He relied mostly on his sword and didn't leave many marks behind."

Si Wuya said, puzzled, "Apart from Second Senior Brother, who else is capable of this?"

Yu Zhenghai shook his head and said, "Wise brother, Wen Shu has been heavily wounded by me. If it was Second Junior Brother, Wen Shu wouldn't have had the chance to react all. It can't be him. Moreover, knowing him, he would wish for Wen Shu to survive."

When the others heard this, they nodded in agreement.

Si Wuya wondered if he should mention the matter about Yu Shangrong severing his Golden Lotus, but in the end, he swallowed his words. At this juncture, it was very possible that his Eldest Senior Brother did not want to hear about anything to do with severing one's Golden Lotus. The greater picture was more important. His Eldest Senior Brother had nothing on his mind now apart from conquering the world.

…

In the Eastern pavilion of the Evil Sky Pavilion.

After meditating on the Heavenly Writing scrolls for five days, Lu Zhou felt that his extraordinary power was nearly completely replenished. However, it was far from enough to merely meditate on the Heavenly Writing scrolls.

Now that the barrier had been restored, and the world was intimidated by the presence of a Nine-leaf elite in the Evil Sky Pavilion, this was the best chance for him to focus on cultivating. If he could progress from the One-leaf stage to the Two-leaf stage, there was a chance for him to progress from the Two-leaf stage to the Three-leaf stage.

Lu Zhou opened the system dashboard and took a look.

Remaining life: 16,744 days.

He had 48 Reversal Cards.

That amounted to about 45 years of life. His bodily functions were not at their best yet.

After thinking about it, Lu Zhou used 10 Reversal Cards. His lifespan increased by 4,000 days.

Lu Zhou did not use the remaining Reversal Cards. His instincts told him the value of these cards might appreciate after the Earth Scroll was activated.

"Master." Little Yuan'er's voice reached him from the outside, at this moment.

"Come in."

Little Yuan'er pushed the doors open and brought Conch into the room.

Conch appeared slightly shy. Perhaps, she was still shocked from consuming the leaf-sprouting pull.

"Let me see your hand," Lu Zhou said.

"Oh." Conch extended her hand in front of Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou placed two fingers on Conch's wrist.

'Hm?' Lu Zhou sensed that aside from her dantian's sea of Qi directly activated, there were now some Primal Qi flowing through her meridian vessels. Things seemed to have gotten stranger. If she had not cultivated in the past, how could she have entered the cultivating state? She had never gone through the conventional Body Tempering process. The flow of Primal Qi was no laughing matter. If it condensed into energy, she would certainly be hurt.

Lu Zhou lifted his fingers and stared at Conch intently as he asked, "Conch, answer me honestly… Do you really know nothing about cultivation?"

"Cultivation?" Conch blinked her huge eyes.

Lu Zhou flipped his palm. A miniature avatar appeared above it.

Two leaves spun under the avatar.

Little Yuan'er did not find this strange at all. It was no longer news to them that their master was skilled in controlling avatars of different realms.

"This," Lu Zhou said, "is what cultivation means."

"I've seen this before," Conch said curiously.

"Is that so?"

"Eight leaves, nine leaves, and ten leaves…" Conch extended her fingers as she happily counted the leaves she had seen as she looked at the leaves under Lu Zhou's avatar.

When he heard this, Lu Zhou felt slightly shocked. "Where did you see it?"

Conch shook her head and muttered, "I can't remember… Maybe I was dreaming."

"…"

Lu Zhou felt speechless. Did she just claim that she had seen something in her dream?

When he saw that Conch was back to normal and there were no other issues aside from the tempering of her Extraordinary Eight Meridians, he said, "Yuan'er."

"Yes, master."

"Tell everyone to focus on their cultivation for the next six months. They're free to choose to sever their Golden Lotuses or not. Everyone should help each other out, but we must be quick about this. Also, nobody is to teach Conch about cultivation in any way."

Little Yuan'er understood the first part of the instructions. The second part left her confused.

Just as Little Yuan'er was about to open her mouth to ask, Lu Zhou interjected, "If there's nothing else, you may leave."

"Yes, master." Little Yuan'er led Conch away from the eastern pavilion.

The eastern pavilion was quiet once more.

Lu Zhou was lost in his thoughts at this moment. If there were other Nine-leaf cultivators, or even a Ten-leaf cultivator, in this world, where would they be at this moment?

The Ten-leaf stage only existed in the old books, and there was the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar as well…

Lu Zhou checked the system dashboard. The price of a Thousand Realms Whirling avatar was 500,000 merit points.