My disciples are all villains.

After obtaining a Peak Form Trial Card, Lu Zhou was determined not to use it unless it was the end of the world. It was too rare of an item for him to use it recklessly.

Ever since the seven great sects laid siege on the Evil Sky Pavilion, he did not obtain another Peak Form Trial Card. Now that he finally obtained one, he wanted to be extremely cautious regarding its use.

After putting it away, he looked at the system dashboard and fell into despair. 503. The number of merit points he had was a sore sight. With the current prices of the item cards, 503 merit points could only be used for lucky draws and nothing else. Being poor was too miserable.

Lu Zhou felt there was no point in saving the merit points. The value of merit points lay in their usage.

"Ding! Killed a target. Reward: 1,500 merit points. Additional domain reward: 1,000 merit points."

"Uh…"

He suddenly felt reluctant to use the 3,003 merit points now. However, he could not buy anything with 3,000 merit points as well.

Lu Zhou hesitated. It was not practical for him to save up to 50,000 merit points in one go to purchase another Golden Lotus Leaf.

'Since I'm on a roll, I should continue with the lucky draws. Wouldn't it be great if I can obtain another Peak Form Trial Card?'

"Ding! Killed a target. Reward: 1,000 merit points. Additional domain reward: 1,000 merit points."

"…"

The additional domain reward increased his merit points by a lot.

'Forget it.'

He knew Yu Shangrong was in a difficult situation. He had just arrived in the red lotus domain. If he was safe, he would not have killed others without thinking. He had killed two Nascent Divinity elites in one go. He seemed to be in a considerably troublesome situation.

'My disciple is in danger, how can I happily do lucky draws? It seems inappropriate.'

Lu Zhou closed the system dashboard. He shifted his gaze down and saw the item card.

"Strengthened Reversal Card." He had never used this before. He wondered how many days of life it would give him. With the Reversal Cards at his disposal, it seemed pointless to keep Chi Yao's Heart for himself.

An ordinary Reversal Card would give him 500 days of life. How many days of life would the strengthened version give him?

Lu Zhou opened his palm. A Strengthened Reversal Card appeared in his hand.

He clenched his fist, shattering the Strengthened Reversal Card shattered…

In the beginning, he felt nothing. After a short wait, he felt as though he had been placed in a steam oven. He felt as though he was sitting above a fire pit as steam rose around him. As time passed, the sensation intensified.

"This feels completely different from before." The Reversal Cards he had used absorbed energy from his surroundings and collected vitality from the world. However, the strengthened version was generating its own vitality. He felt that the vitality was richer, and he did not feel uncomfortable.

There was another advantage. This process did not cause any change in the environment that usually attracted the attention of the others. This allowed him to stay inconspicuous.

Lu Zhou adjusted his breathing and focused his mind as he slowly absorbed the vitality. Soon after, the feeling of sitting in a steam oven vanished.

Lu Zhou looked at the system dashboard.

Remaining life: 36,531 days.

"An addition of 1,000 days?"

This was the equivalent of two Reversal Cards. He seemed to have overestimated it.

Lu Zhou was slightly disappointed. He thought a single card could reverse his life for eight or ten years.

Shortly after, Lu Zhou used four of his remaining Strengthened Reversal Cards.

Remaining life: 40,531 days.

He now had more than 40,000 days of life. This was the same as 111 years.

Lu Zhou had 33 Reversal Cards left, but he did not continue to reverse his life. Who knew if the price of the card would increase in the future?

Since reaching the Nine-leaf stage required 1,200 years of life, Lu Zhou would at least need 876 Reversal Cards to ensure he reached the Nine-leaf stage with his current condition.

He sighed. The road to youth was fraught with difficulties.

…

Ten days passed.

Lu Zhou's extraordinary power was already replenished. He spent five days testing the power of hearing. When he felt like he was in peak condition, he left the room and made his way to the meeting hall in the General's Mansion.

...

Inside the meeting hall.

Si Wuya, Huang Shijie, and two Evil Sky Pavilion elders were deep in discussion.

When he came in, Lu Zhou saw the map on the table.

"Greetings, master."

"Pavilion master."

"Brother Ji."

After greeting him, the others studied Lu Zhou. He appeared more lively and energetic bow.

When the two elders remembered the surging vitality energy from the Evil Sky Pavilion in the past, they could roughly guess the pavilion master had mastered some skill that was greater than healing…

Lu Zhou asked, "What's this?"

"It's a map of the red lotus domain based on my conjectures…" Si Wuya replied.

Lu Zhou looked at it and nodded. This reminded him of the old parchment drawing in the Evil Sky Pavilion. He wondered if it had changed at all.

"All of you know about this?" Lu Zhou looked at everyone present in the hall.

The others nodded.

Lu Zhou said, "Don't announce the information about the red lotus domain to the public. We don't want a mass hysteria."

"Understood."

"Si Wuya." Lu Zhou looked at Si Wuya.

"Yes, master?"

"Inform Lou Lan that I'll be going there in three days."

Everyone looked at Lu Zhou in shock. They did not expect this day to arrive so soon.

Lu Zhou, on the other hand, felt well-prepared. There was no need to put this off any longer.

The lotus-severing era was in full bloom. The 12 allied nations were eyeing Great Yan like a predator eyeing its prey. They would march against Great Yan sooner or later. It might be a good idea to bring the fight to them.

It was ordinary for envoys to travel between two nations. Lou Lan would still have to receive him hospitably. After all, their two nations have not fallen out completely.

Since the others were also here, Lu Zhou added, "Who do you think I should bring with me to Lou Lan?"

The others exchanged a look before they shifted their eyes to finally Si Wuya.

Si Wuya said, "I'm willing to go with you, master."

Lu Zhou glanced at Si Wuya before he said, "You'll stay here and look after Liang Province."

If Si Wuya left Liang Province, it would be terrible if the Other Tribes snuck in and started a war.

Si Wuya nodded and said, "Yes, master. I'm not worried that Lou Lan would pull something unexpected during your visit. Currently, Lou Lan has suffered heavy damages. It is the weakest among the 12 allied nations. You can go there and intimidate Lou Lan. However, we should pay attention to the Imperial tutor, Jiang Wenxu. He's always kept a low profile. He says he's in Lou Lan, but he might actually be elsewhere. We must guard against him."

The others nodded.

Si Wuya had a point. If there were no Nine-leaf cultivator, Lou Lan could not do anything against the pavilion master even if he went there alone.

However, Jiang Wenxu was a hidden and unknown variable.

Lu Zhou was only concerned about Jiang Wenxu as well.

Si Wuya said, "Why don't you visit Lou Lan as an envoy, Master? We don't have to send too many there. It's easy to attack and retreat."

"Alright."

If there were too many of them, Lu Zhou would have to expend much more energy to protect them. The more people he had by his side on the trip, the more restricted he would be.

Quality was more important than quantity.

...

Two days later.

Lou Lan sent a reply in the name of the royal family.

Si Wuya brought the official document to his master's room.

"Master, Lou Lan has replied saying the kingdom welcomes you. They're willing to receive you at any time to discuss any upcoming cooperation and exchanges between our nations," Si Wuya said.

"I see."

"I'll take my leave."

The nature of the reply made it seem as though Lu Zhou was the emperor. It was only natural, since in Lou Lan's eyes, the only Nine-leaf cultivator in Great Yan would represent Great Yan.

After a moment's silence. Lu Zhou muttered to himself, "Jiang Wenxu... I'm just worried you don't show yourself…"

…

Early the next morning.

The cloud-splitting chariot departed from Liang Province and headed for the western regions past Heaven's Moat.

…

Meanwhile, in the land of the red lotus.

Yu Shangrong's expression remained indifferent even after killing two Nascent Divinity realm elites.

By now, he was certain he was no longer in Great Yan that he was familiar with.

In this place, everyone cultivated the red lotus. His Golden Lotus was an abnormality here. His scarlet Longevity Sword was the best item for him to conceal his identity and kill his enemies.

At this time, he finally encountered a human settlement. It was one that he had never seen before.

The relay stations were always the best place to obtain information and news.

Yu Shangrong sat in the corner as he observed cultivators with various appearances. Although they were humans, he felt a natural sense of estrangement toward them.

When the people here unleashed their power, it was always in the form of red energy.

"Did you hear? Three days ago, the Flying Star House gravely injured the luan!"

"The luan isn't a beast that should be taken lightly. Half of the men from the Flying Star have died. Even the Nine-leaf elite, Ye Zhen, was injured."