My disciples are all villains.

Neigh!

Ji Liang turned and blew on Yu Zhenghai, seemingly trying to wake him up.

Alas, Yu Zhenghai's eyes remained close. He showed no signs of waking up.

"You agree with me, don't you?" Yu Shangrong smiled.

Neigh!

"Naturally… I'll do what I can." Yu Shangrong turned to look at the dim forest. "Saving someone is much more difficult than killing someone."

After a moment of rest. Yu Shangrong stood up and leaped onto Ji Liang's back. They continued their journey westward and left the dim and damp forest.

They maintained a low altitude as they flew west. They pass through a deserted valley and a vast, boundless plain.

As they flew, Yu Shangrong looked around at his surroundings. The flatlands meant that he would have a great view, but at the same time, it meant that it was easy for others to spot him as well. In the past, he would not have cared about this. However, since someone's life was on the line, he would rather avoid as much trouble as he could.

Ji Liang continued flying at a low altitude under the moonlight.

At this moment, Yu Shangrong saw a damp spot. "We're at the swamps. Ji Liang, fly higher."

Neigh!

Yu Shangrong had been here many years ago. However, back then, he was here to challenge elites. He was rather emotional now that he had returned.

Ji Liang crossed the swamps just as Yu Shangrong had instructed.

Lou Lan's royal city was in view now that they arrived at the land beyond the swamp.

From a distance, Lou Lan's royal city seemed mysterious and strange under the hazy moonlight.

"The Land of Buried Bones," Yu Shangrong murmured when he saw the bones sticking out of the ground.

Ji Liang's speed was incredible. After 15 minutes, they were drawing very close to the Land of Buried Bones. A quagmire lay before them.

"Let's stop here." Yu Shangrong stopped advancing. Dozens of miles ahead of him were the settlements of Lou Lan's citizens.

He looked at the quagmire in front of himself and softly sighed. "We're here. This is the place where you crawled out of death's grip for the first time…"

Behind him was the Land of Bones, where bones could be seen sticking out from the ground. It was a gloomy and stifling place.

With Ji Liang's legendary speed, they had only flown for 15 minutes. Back then, Yu Zhenghai had not started cultivating yet. How long did he spend traversing the Land of Bones? Even the experiences of every Evil Sky Pavilion disciple combined was difficult to compare to the pain Yu Zhenghai had endured.

Yu Shangrong was in no hurry to do what he came here to do. Instead, he flew above the quagmire for a while and surveyed his surroundings. When he was convinced that there would be no disturbances, he brought Yu Zhenghai down.

The moon shone on them and the quagmire. Without the Land of Buried Bones behind them, the quagmire alone would have made for a scenic view.

Yu Shangrong sensed the Primal Qi and the vitality in the surroundings. Indeed, he found them denser compared to other places.

The forest was to his right and the Land of Buried Bones was behind him. The river flowed before him. Further upstream was where Lou Lan's royal city was. They seemed to form a natural closed-ring Formation that could gather dense Primal Qi in the area.

Yu Shangrong looked at the quagmire. He hesitated slightly before he made up his mind. "This is your life and death tribulation. You'll have to face it sooner or later."

He spread his hands, and his Primal Qi surged. The energy propped Yu Zhenghai up.

Yu Shangrong waved his hand.

Swoosh!

Splash!

Yu Zhenghai flew toward the center of the quagmire before he dropped down.

Yu Shangrong straightened his hand.

Bam!

With a palm seal, he made sure Yu Zhenghai was buried in the quagmire. Then, he no longer paid any attention to the quagmire. Instead, he shifted his gaze toward Ji Liang and said, "Ji Liang… I'll be staying here for the next 49 days."

Neigh!

Ji Liang trotted up to Yu Shangrong, seemingly reluctant to part with him.

Yu Shangrong smiled and said, "You want to stay?"

Neigh!

Ji Liang trotted in a circle around him.

"Alright." Yu Shangrong patted Ji Liang. "You and I get along well. After I obtain master's permission when we return to the Evil Sky Pavilion, you'll be mine."

…

Meanwhile, it was silent in the Divine Capital after the spies were annihilated with the help of the Golden Taixu Mirror.

Hua Chongyang sent the Nether Sect disciples to guard the four city gates. All those who enter would be thoroughly investigated.

After this incident, the Divine Capital's residents lived the lives that they wanted.

The impressive feat of flushing out the spies were also spread among the people. The Evil Sky Pavilion was even referred to as the Holy Sky Pavilion by some people.

…

Inside Dazheng Palace.

Hua Chongyang completed his report of the incident in the Divine Capital.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and nodded. "You can decide on the Divine Capital's matters."

Lu Zhou was not an expert in governing an empire. He decided that it was better to leave this matter to someone else.

Hua Chongyang scratched his head. "Senior Ji, I'm not skilled in this as well!"

At this moment, the Big Dipper Academy's Zhou Youcai said, "Senior Ji, there are a few things on my mind."

"Let's hear it."

'A wise man submits to circumstances. Anyone useful to me must be treated kindly.'

Zhou Youcai said, "We'll need the court officials to govern the empire… What they need is just an opportunity and an excuse. From what I know, the Evil Sky Pavilion's Miss Fifth, Zhao Yue, is Princess Yun Zhao's orphan. She can present herself as the Imperial family's orphan while the Nether Sect keeps the provinces in check and the court officials manage the empire's governance. When everything is back to normal, it won't be too late to pick a new monarch."

The others beamed when they heard Zhou Youcai's words.

"Can you persuade the court officials?" Lu Zhou asked.

"Don't worry, Senior Ji. Leave this to me. I'll take care of it."

Under normal circumstances, they would be difficult to persuade. On second thought, it had always been difficult to persuade others to take part in a grand scheme.

Hua Chongyang said, "Things will proceed much more smoothly with the help of the court officials. The nine provinces will stabilize soon."

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and nodded. "I'll leave the matters in the Divine Capital to you. I won't meddle unless necessary."

Everyone present knew that the old man was more interested in cultivating. A person like him would not want to waste time on such matters.

After Lu Zhou finished speaking, he rose to his feet, intending to leave...

At this moment, a voice rang from outside Dazheng Palace. "Greetings, master."

Zhu Honggong deliberately clapped his hands together to catch everyone's attention. Then, he kneeled three times and kowtowed nine times.

The others were stunned by this.

Clang!

Duanmu Sheng struck the floor with his Overlord Spear.

Old Eighth was frightened to his feet. His extremely sincere acts of kneeling and kowtowing had been interrupted.

"Old Eighth, what are you doing?" Duanmu Sheng asked.

"Huh? No-no-nothing… I was just thinking about how shiny the floor of the palace is. I think it's a shame if I don't greet master with great fanfare…"

The others. "???"

Lu Zhou looked at Zhu Honggong and asked, "What's it?"

"Master, there's a letter from Fourth Senior Brother. Kindly have a look."

"Bring it here."

Zhu Honggong presented the letter respectfully.

Lu Zhou opened the letter and read it. After reading it, he said, "Yu Shangrong went to Lou Lan?"

When Ye Tianxin heard this, she was slightly shocked, "Master, Second Senior Brother has severed his lotus and is re-cultivating. His cultivation base is far from its peak. I'm afraid he might be in danger, going so deep into Lou Lan's territory at this moment. Should I go and have a look?

Zhu Honggong commented, "Second Senior Brother is too reckless. He's also very stubborn. I have a bad feeling about this. Master… I feel that Senior Sister Tianxin is right. At the very least, Senior Sister Tianxin is at the Eight-leaf stage…"

Duanmu Sheng said, "Sixth Junior Sister's condition is not too good as well."

Zhu Honggong said, "Master, why don't you go there? The Divine Capital is doing fine now."

The others looked at Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "Since he has departed, and he has help from Ji Liang, we'll let him be."

"Master, Second Senior Brother…"

"I believe in him."

The others bowed and no longer commented on the matter.

…

In the afternoon. In one of Dazheng Palace's side halls.

Lu Zhou opened the system dashboard.

Merit points: 62,053

Remaining life: 35,584 days

Lu Zhou looked at his merit points that had exceeded 60,000 and nodded in satisfaction. After completing the mission of dealing with the spies, he gained about 50,000 merit points.

"Let's try some lucky draws."

"Ding! Spent 50 merit points. Thank you for your participation."

Then, he did ten consecutive draws, and he was thanked ten times.

Lu Zhou was slightly bewildered. "Are you going to troll me again?"

"Lucky draw."

"Ding! Spent 50 merit points and 11 luck points. Obtained Strengthened Reversal Card x5, Shining Stone x1."

"Strengthened Reversal Card. Every use would reverse 1,000 days of life."

"Shining Stone has a chance of raising a weapon's quality during the refining process."