My disciples are all villains.

Si Wuya stepped forward and placed two fingers on Yu Zhenghai's wrist. He channeled some Primal Qi into Yu Zhenghai's Extraordinary Eight Meridians that eventually flowed into his sea of Qi. He seemed reluctant to accept this reality. His fingers trembled as he removed them from Yu Zhenghai's wrist.

"Seventh Senior Brother, what's wrong with Eldest Senior Brother?" Little Yuan'er asked anxiously.

"Let me take a look." Pan Litian waded through the crowd and examined Yu Zhenghai's pulse as well. He was initially optimistic… After all, the Evil Sky Pavilion was powerful. It had endured many tribulations throughout the years. With the pavilion master's shocking methods, it was not surprising for him to be able to save someone's life. After he examined his pulse, the expression on his wizened face turned as grim as the one on Mingshi Yin's face. His brows were tightly knitted together.

"How did this happen?" Pan Litian said incredulously. "Back off!"

The others retreated.

Pan Litian raised a hand. His Golden Gourd Bottle flew out.

The Golden Gourd Bottle hovered above Yu Zhenghai's head for some time. A faint radiance from the gourd shone onto Yu Zhenghai's body.

"Stay calm. I brought this gourd bottle back from the Blackwood Forest. It has amazing vitality. I've always been reluctant to use the final sliver of vitality inside the gourd bottle. Looks like I have no choice now."

The others looked at the Golden Gourd Bottle. They did not expect Pan Litian to be willing to give this up.

The golden radiance continued to shine on Yu Zhenghai.

Pan Litian stooped down and examined Yu Zhenghai's pulse again. At this moment, his face was already glistening with sweat. He did not expect this seemingly simple method of releasing the vitality from the Golden Gourd Bottle would take such a huge toll on him.

"Old Pan!" Pan Zhong stepped forward and supported Pan Litian.

"I'm alright. I'm just slightly tired." After examining Yi Zhenghai's pulse, Pan Litian added, "I can only help him last longer… I've tried my best."

The others seemed worried and regretful.

Duanmu Sheng was fiddle with self-blame. He stood up and said, "I'll head down and look for master. You guys look after Eldest Senior Brother."

"Third Senior Brother, don't be reckless… Don't you think you've caused enough trouble as it is with that temperament of yours?" Si Wuya frowned.

"I… ah!" Duanmu Sheng sighed heavily.

"This isn't your fault… Eldest Senior Brother doesn't have much vitality, to begin with. It was out of pure luck that he was reborn this time. Your sparring session with Eldest Senior Brother merely hastened the problem. This might not be a bad thing entirely," Si Wuya said.

Although Si Wuya's words made sense, Duanmu Sheng would not have any of it. He felt incredibly guilty, but there was nothing he could do.

At this moment, Conch pointed at Heaven's Moat and asked, "What's that?"

The others turned to look. They saw auspicious Qi heading toward them.

Little Yuan'er who had keen eyes cried out excitedly, "Master!"

In the air, Lu Zhou stood on Whitzard's back. It gradually descended as it flew toward the crowd.

Their expressions differed as they looked at Whitzard that was wrapped in auspicious Qi. After that, they turned to look at the 100,000-foot-deep abyss nearby. They were shocked, intrigued, and surprised. Why did the pavilion master not return from the abyss but from Heaven's Moat?

Si Wuya looked up. After a brief moment of shock, he looked in the direction of the peak of Heaven's Moat.

"Welcome back, master!"

"Welcome back, pavilion Master!"

The others bowed.

When Lu Zhou descended lower, he saw Yu Zhenghai lying on the ground. He sighed inwardly. ''Can't I have even a moment of rest? They can't let me be at peace.'

Whitzard slowly landed.

Little Yuan'er ran up to Lu Zhou. "Master, quick, take a look at Eldest Senior Brother!"

Lu Zhou removed the items he had been carrying in his makeshift sack.

The other disciples were stunned to see him like this.

Lu Zhou walked up to Yu Zhenghai and began to examine his pulse. Without a second thought, he raised his hand, and a blue lotus appeared in his hand. The lotus landed on Yu Zhenghai. 'Fortunately, I have half of my extraordinary power left.'

The Heaven Writing's healing power stabilized Yu Zhenghai's life aura.

Thud!

At this moment, Duanmu Sheng fell to his knees. He said, "It's all my fault. Please punish me heavily, master."

Lu Zhou did not have the time to entertain Duanmu Sheng. He opened his sack...

The others looked over.

The glowing Red Fish Heart, the red fish, and the fist-sized Chi Yao's Heart were revealed.

Everyone was shocked by these things.

"What are these?" Little Yuan'er wondered curiously.

Conch pointed and said, "Red fish, red fish… Chi Yao, Chi Yao…"

Lu Zhou glanced at Conch. He did not expect her to recognize them. It was clear that Conch was from the red lotus domain. Chi Yao and red fish must have appeared in the red lotus domain before. He was certain of his speculation now.

"Chi Yao? Red fish?"

Even the two knowledgeable elders did not know what they were.

Lu Zhou said, "This is the Red Fish Heart. It grants a person 100 years of life."

He flipped his palm. The Red Fish Heart floated.

The heart of the red fish provided a person with life. This was a rare treasure.

In the cultivation world, methods of extending a life were few and far between. The Longevity Pill was one of them, but it could do nothing against the great limit.

"Can the Red Fish Heart surpass the great limit?" Si Wuya wondered.

"I'm not sure," Lu Zhou replied.

According to the records in the notebook, the cultivators in the red lotus domain cultivated with a red lotus. The red lotus would not shorten their lives. In that case, they did not have the great limit of 1,000 years.

Mingshi Yin propped Yu Zhenghai up.

Lu Zhou pushed forward with his palm.

The Red Fish Heart sailed into Yu Zhenghai's mouth.

Then, Lu Zhou channeled Primal Qi into Yu Zhenghai's body.

A while later, Lu Zhou said, "Return to Liang Province. Keep a close eye on his condition."

"Understood!"

…

The General's Mansion in Liang Province City.

After freshening up, Lu Zhou summoned Si Wuya for a discussion.

Si Wuya was curious about his master's experience in the abyss. He stopped everything he was doing and went to meet his master.

"Master." Si Wuya entered the room.

Lu Zhou pointed at the notes and the letter left behind by the Imperial tutor on the table on the side. "Take a look at these two items when you have the time."

"Understood." Si Wuya collected the notebook and letter. Then, he said, "Master, what did you see in the abyss?"

Lu Zhou gave Si Wuya a general account of what he had seen.

After listening to it, Si Wuya trembled. An expression of disbelief could be seen on his face.

"Although I've guessed that there must be something behind all this, I never expected there to be an alternate world!" Si Wuya said.

"It's all just speculation for now… Do you know who I met at the peak of Heaven's Moat?"

"Kindly enlighten me, master."

"Great Yan's Imperial tutor, Jiang Wenxu," Lu Zhou said.

"The imperial tutor?" Si Wuya was shocked.

"That letter in your hand was written by him…" Lu Zhou said.

Si Wuya immediately opened the letter and read it. His brows knitted together. "The appearance of a Nine-leaf cultivator will bring forth disaster… But, master, you're already at the Nine-leaf stage since a long time ago. Where's this so-called disaster?"

Uh… Lu Zhou felt helpless as well.

He passed these items to Si Wuya in the hopes that Si Wuya would put his intelligence and abilities to work and find more information about the red lotus domain. 'I didn't give him those items so that he can probe my secrets.'

Lu Zhou cleared his throat and said, "There are always exceptions… I'll leave the investigation of the red lotus to you."

"I'll do my best."

"If there's nothing else, you may leave."

Si Wuya was about to turn around and leave. Then, he suddenly remembered the issue of the 12 allied nations. "Master, the alliance of the 12 nations has been established. I'm afraid they'll be invading Great Yan in the future."

Lu Zhou remembered what Jiang Wenxu said. This might just be him pulling the strings behind the scene. "I see."

"I'll take my leave, master."

...

Early next morning.

Lu Zhou had just finished meditating on the Heavenly Writing scrolls when Mingshi Yin bowed outside and said, "Master, Eldest Senior Brother is awake."