My disciples are all villains.

Naturally, Lu Zhou was just venting.

He felt like he was truly old in the way he did things. Perhaps, he had transmigrated here for far too long. In this vicious and variegated world, one could lose their life if they were even slightly careless. Sometimes, he had even forgotten his original appearance. His initial urge to become young again when he transmigrated here was ebbing away.

If he did not attempt the Nine-leaf stage, he would have regained the appearance of a young man. Unfortunately, there was no rushing some matters. He would have to slowly accumulate the Reversal Cards.

Meanwhile, Whitzard hovered in the air obediently, not moving unnecessarily. It seemed to be showing its obedience and loyalty.

Lu Zhou glanced in the direction in which Ji Liang left. Then, he leaped onto Whitzard and returned to Cloud Mountain.

With the Violet Glazed Ceramic in his possession, Lu Zhou found his travels exceptionally easy. On top of that, he had a profound cultivation base.

After Lu Zhou returned to his room, he looked at his remaining merit points.

Merit points: 178,040.

After that, he looked at the item cards column.

Mentor and Eternal Paragon were placed at the most eye-catching positions. The two cards cost 60,000 merit points in total. They were expensive.

'Should I buy them?' Lu Zhou gauged his cultivation base. He was at the more advanced phase of the mid Nine-leaf stage. He would have to cultivate diligently to break through.

Thousand Realms Whirling cost 500,000 merit points.

After pondering on the matter, Lu Zhou decided to purchase the cards.

"Ding! Spent 60,000 merit points. Obtained Mentor and Eternal Paragon. Will you use them?"

'Parents worry about their children, and here I am, worrying about my disciples.'

"Use."

The two cards faded away at seemingly the same time.

After using the card, Lu Zhou did not feel any clear changes. He even stood up and moved around. There were no changes at all; he did not feel any different from before.

"…"

After a moment, he decided to try his luck.

"Lucky draw."

"Ding! Spent 50 merit points and 110 luck points. Obtained: Reversal Card x1."

"…"

He had just spent 60,000 merit points, and yet, the 110 luck points merely gave him a Reversal Card?

'Stay calm.'

He looked at his remaining merit points. 117,990 merit points.

"Lucky draw."

"Ding! Spent 50 merit points. Obtained mount, Dang Kang."

"Dang Kang is rare. It's still in its adolescence so it'll only hurry to the Evil Sky Pavilion in the near future."

Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction. 'Finally, something good.'

However, he could not help but wonder why the system was giving so many mounts? For a cultivator, one mount was enough, and yet, he had four mounts now. With the addition of Dang Kang, he now had five mounts.

'Am I supposed to open a zoo?'

Lu Zhou remembered Qiong Qi. Among his current mounts, Qiong Qi had the greatest combat power, but it was still young. It had great chemistry with Mingshi Yin; they seemed to be a natural pair.

In the end, he decided if he had no other uses for the mounts, it was not a bad idea to give them to his disciples as well.

…

Meanwhile, in a faraway and unknown mountain range, a green boar-like beast that was six feet in length and four feet in height with two big ears and four long fangs seemed as though it had been summoned as it left its pack and flew toward the horizon.

…

After obtaining the mount, Dang Kang, Lu Zhou gained 100 luck points again without obtaining anything else. He stopped trying and entered his meditation state.

After obtaining Dang Kang, he did not feel much pain over losing 500 merit points. Perhaps, the Violet Glazed Ceramic was working to keep his nerves calm as well.

As he breathed, his Primal Qi was clearly flowing much more quickly.

…

After being healed by Lu Zhou, Ji Liang was reinvigorated. It kept galloping toward the dark forest.

At this moment, Yu Shangrong was slowly walking in the forest. When he was young, he had crossed endless forests and braved winding mountain roads and rivers with his mortal body. He had also survived countless tribulations. He had enough experience to know how to deal with the beasts of the forests.

However, times were different. The environment here was much more complicated as well.

Yu Shangrong slowed down to lower his chances of running into a beast.

"A beast?"

Yu Shangrong saw a faintly shining light in the clearing before himself. However, his experience and instinct told him it was not a beast, but some sort of treasure.

This was a usual occurrence in the human cultivation world. Some cultivators would try to capture beasts but would be devoured instead, leaving their treasures behind. Then, those who were lucky enough would chance upon the treasures.

"It seems like I'm in luck." Yu Shangrong made his way over.

Huge boulders stood in his way in no apparent order. The area ahead of him seemed like a huge rock forest.

He was not reckless. He picked up a pebble and tossed it toward the boulders. When he saw that nothing happened, he advanced carefully, skirting around the boulders to get to the clearing.

"Veins?"

Usually, Formation veins would have to be activated by someone for them to glow. Clearly, someone was here.

Yu Shangrong's sensitivity toward danger was greater than the others. He immediately noticed that something was amiss. He pushed away from the ground and shot into the air with what little Primal Qi he had left to try and leave the rock forest.

He was about to escape when the rocks in the forest suddenly gathered and formed a net.

Yu Shangrong scowled as he descended. 'I can't leave?'

He tried to walk away. Whenever he was about to leave the periphery of the rock forest, the rocks would gather and block his way.

"I can get in, but I can't get out? Forget it. I'll just cultivate here. I'll be able to leave once I'm healed."

Yu Shangrong leaned against one of the boulders and closed his eyes as he adjusted his breath.

At this moment, a guttural laugh rang from outside the forest.

"This is karma… I didn't think this day would come so soon."

The voice belonged to none other than Jiang Xiaosheng, Ye Zhen's disciple.

Yu Shangrong had been trying to track Jiang Xiaosheng earlier.

Yu Shangrong opened his eyes and looked at the shadow veiled in the darkness as he calmly said, "Are you thinking about killing me?"

"You killed my master; it's only right that I kill you."

"Did you set this Formation up?" Yu Shangrong asked.

"I'm not that skilled, but I can tell you this Formation is left behind by the predecessors. They can be found in many forests and have been around for millennia. There are 361 rock pillars in every area that form a heavenly net that only allows entry but not exit. The bones you see around you are the best proof of this. You're out of luck," Jiang Xiaosheng said smugly.

"You think this Formation can keep me here?" Yu Shangrong asked nonchalantly.

Jiang Xiaosheng chuckled. "My master was even more confident compared to you. However, out of his nine lives, he lost five to this Formation. He had to devour other cultivators to regain his sixth life," Jiang Xiaosheng said.

Yu Shangrong slowly rose to his feet. With his remaining Primal Qi, he shot toward the periphery of the rock forest. Dozens of energy swords formed above his head.

Jiang Xiaosheng staggered backward in fright. Then, he quickly retreated to the far back.

At the same time, the net formed by the rocks stopped Yu Shangrong, separating him from Jiang Xiaosheng.

"Do you think your master can compare to me?" Yu Shangrong shook his head and said evenly, "You have no need to be afraid. I've used up all my Primal Qi. I'll give you a chance to avenge your master. Do you dare to come in?"

It was easy for a confident person to become conceited. However, when used correctly, it could be a terrifying weapon as well.

Jiang Xiaosheng gulped and retreated further. He said indignantly, "Don't even think of scaring me! You can't even protect yourself right now. You'll join the pile of bones soon enough. One day, I'll become an expert that surpasses you!"

"One day?" Yu Shangrong smiled faintly as he looked at Jiang Xiaosheng in slight derision. Then, he returned to the rock pillar and sat down to adjust his breathing. He did not plan to escape this place now. His priority was to recover his cultivation base.

Jiang Xiaosheng said, "We'll see."

Neigh!

At this moment, above the dark forest, Ji Liang dove with its shining hooves.

Neigh!

Jiang Xiaosheng started. "A beast?" He turned around and fled immediately.

Deep within the rock forest, Yu Shangrong called out, "Ji Liang?"

Neigh!

"Don't come in!" Yu Shangrong hovered in the air at half the height of the rock pillar. When he saw Ji Liang flying toward him, he flashed a surprised smile. "I told you, we're fated."

Neigh! Neigh!

Yu Shangrong could not keep himself afloat for long. He had no choice but to descend. "Did master send you?"

Ji Liang nodded.

Yu Shangrong said with a sigh, "You should return for now. This is a great place. I'm going to cultivate my sword path here."

Neigh!

"Return." To Yu Shangrong, asking for help from others was an extremely difficult task. He would rather Ji Liang return to his master.

Ji Liang neighed twice before it flew toward the rock forest.

Yu Shangrong frowned. "You're not going back?"

Ji Liang neighed and dove. After it entered the rock forest, the rocks gathered again, and what looked like a translucent spider web flashed briefly before disappearing.

Ji Liang trotted to Yu Shangrong's side.

Yu Shangrong was not angered; he did not even reprimand the beast. Instead, something stirred in him. He smiled and tossed his Longevity Sword on the ground. He patted Ji Liang's mane. "Alright. When I regain my cultivation base back, I'll bring you out of this rock forest."