My disciples are all villains.

Although some might consider what Lu Zhou was doing as a deception, he did not think so. After all, he did kill two blackguards and Wu Guangping. Based on these three deaths alone, he was certain the blackguards did not doubt his strength. Moreover, he was not entirely without means to fight now. He still had some supreme mystic power left, and he had more than 100,000 merit points. With these, it was not difficult to intimidate these four people.

Even Si Wuya was convinced of his master's strength. In the past, in order to deceive his enemies, he needed to consider many factors to ensure his success. He needed to know his enemies inside out to make good use of them. It was one of the reasons he had founded the Darknet in the golden lotus domain. Nevertheless, all his schemes and deceptions were nothing in front of his master's absolute power. Due to his master's peerless strength, his master's method was much more straightforward compared to his. After all, what need is there for his master to be deceptive when his master was so strong?

Shen Shi thought about it for a moment before he said, "We only know how to use the runic passage. We don't know how to build or create it."

"How do you use it?"

"In order to use the runic passage, one has to have three Birth Charts, at least. To gather Primal Qi to use the runic passage, one can use talismans to gather Primal Qi. One could use energy stones as well, but that would be too wasteful. Since the blackguards are always in groups of three, it's easy for us to use the runic passage. The higher the cultivation base, the smoother the journey will be. We don't get to choose the runic passage we use; it's all up to the Rune Masters to decide. As for the exact locations of the runic passages, no one knows for sure. This is all I know," Shen Xi said.

Lu Zhou turned and glanced at Si Wuya before he asked, "Do you have any questions for them?"

Si Wuya looked at Shen Xi and asked, "Is there a woman named Lian Xing in the Black Tower Council?"

Shen Xi shook her head and said, "No. Not that I know of."

"Are you sure?"

"The Black Tower Council keeps a record of its members. After joining the Black Tower Council, one's name will be recorded. I've seen the record before, and I don't remember seeing this name."

"Could it be an alias?"

"The Black Tower Council doesn't have the habit of using aliases."

Si Wuya frowned.

No one knew what he was thinking about.

Lu Zhou nodded. "Last question. What kind of formation flags did you use earlier in the Eastern Forest Mountain's basin?"

"The Eight Desolate and Six Harmony Flags," Shen Xi said as his eyes brightened, "To tell you the truth, the Eight Desolate and Six Harmony Flags should have eight flags occupying eight specific positions. However, since we had only five flags earlier, the strength was much weaker."

Lu Zhou's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Alright. That's all."

Lu Zhou, naturally, knew the implications behind Shen Xi's words. Shen Xi meant to say that no matter how weak the blackguards seemed, they were not completely useless. However, how could he be impressed? He had more than one universe-grade, or fusion weapon, in his hand. Just the Sea Spirit Pearl alone was enough to break their thousands upon thousands of energy swords earlier.

Shen Xi asked, "May I ask how I should address you, senior?"

"My surname is Lu."

"Senior Lu, we'll take our leave now. We've already told everything I know. There's a time limit given to use by the Black Tower Council so we have to return now to report to the council," Shen Xi said.

"Wait." Lu Zhou stopped them.

Shen Xi was taken aback. "Senior Lu, are you going back on your words?"

The three blackguards were instantly on guard. They looked at Lu Zhou and Si Wuya warily.

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "I always keep my word. When you return, pretend you don't know anything about Wu Guangping's matter."

Shen Xi said, "Of course."

They were not stupid. If they revealed what they had seen, how could they live? How could Wu Guangping, one of the four judges of the Black Tower Council, die when the blackguards survived? Even if they reported, they would have to provide concrete evidence. Otherwise, they would only be charged with dereliction of duty or something worse.

Lu Zhou waved his sleeves.

The four blackguards exchanged a look before they left.

…

An hour later.

The blackguards appeared in a forest.

The other captain asked, "Shen Xi, aren't you afraid the Black Tower Council will pursue this matter?"

"Things have already escalated to this extent, do we have a choice? Don't always think about your duty to the council. Remember that the Black Tower Council only treats us as chess pieces…"

"But..."

"There are no buts. If you want to live, just do as I say," Shen Xi said.

"Aren't you afraid that I'll tell on you?"

"If you want to die, you can report me to the council. In any case, do you think the council will believe you? Wu Guangping is dead. He's an Eight Chart expert. Do you really have the guts to say you were there to witness his death?"

"..."

Shen Xi said gravely, "Remember what should and shouldn't be said."

"Then, what about this Lu person?"

"I don't know," Shen Xi said, "Just treat him as a Birth Chart Beast that we lost to some other forces."

"Then what about our injuries?"

"Bear with it. Times have changed. Previously, I wanted to lead the conflict in the council to him. However, he's too terrifying..."

Black Guardian. "..."

'Doesn't this mean we injure ourselves in vain?'

…

Meanwhile, Lu Zho and Si Wuya made their way back to the Easter Forest Mountain.

Di Jiang quickly caught up from behind.

Before long, they saw thousands of cultivators standing near the stone forest in an orderly fashion.

Si Wuya looked over and said, "Master, there's movement over there."

When the thousands of cultivators saw Lu Zhou and Si Wuya flying back, they bowed almost at the same time.

"Greetings, senior."

Xuan Chengzi, Mo Xinglu, and Zeng Yan stood respectfully at the lead. Earlier, when Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong sprouted the tenth leaf, they had sensed the shift in energy and rushed over here.

Lu Zhou's figure flashed and appeared in front of the three sects with his hands on his back. "It's you?"

Xuan Chengzi, Mo Xinglu, and Zeng Yan wore sheepish expressions on their faces.

Mo Xinglu said, "It's a misunderstanding. It's all a misunderstanding. We came here to ask for forgiveness from senior."

"Ask for forgiveness?" Lu Zhou glanced at the trio.

"We were blind... If we knew it was Senior Lu, even if we had the courage of a lion, we wouldn't have dared to fight for the life hearts!" Zeng Yan said nervously.

Lu Zhou said, "I've always been a reasonable person. Of the three Birth Chart Beasts, two were attracted by my disciples, and one was attracted by your disciple. Do you want the life heart?" He lifted his hand, and Xi Qu's life heart appeared in his hand.

The crystal clear life heart attracted everyone's attention immediately.

At this moment…

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Qiong Qi began to bark when it sensed the life heart.

The people from the Evil Sky Pavilion looked over, inwardly amazed.

Lu Zhou extended his hand in front of Zeng Yan.

Upon seeing this, Zeng Yan kneeled on one knee and hastily said, "No, no, no. This doesn't belong to me. The beast should've been attracted by your disciples as well…"

"Really? Can two of them attract three Birth Chart Beasts?" Lu Zhou asked, puzzled.

Zeng Yan said, "There's nothing absolute in this world. Although Birth Chart Beasts are said to have territorial awareness, the two Shan Gaos and Xi Qu appeared in the same place. If it's your disciples, let alone three, it's even possible for them to attract five Birth Chart Beasts. My disciple hasn't even stabilized the Ten-leaf stage, he can't possibly attract so many Birth Chart Beasts…"

"I'm relieved to hear that. Then... I'll take the three life hearts." Lu Zhou nodded and longer dwelled on this matter. He tossed the life hearts to his disciples.

Yu Zhenghai caught the three life hearts immediately.

Zeng Yan hurriedly nodded and said, "It's a matter of course for you to keep the three life hearts. Our Seeking Heaven Sect is also very reasonable."

"Well said. However, it's a pity your disciple died in vain. You've sacrificed too much just to take down the Birth Chart Beasts," Lu Zhou said with a sigh.

"Taking down fierce beasts is the responsibility of all humans. How can we talk about dying in vain or sacrificing too much when we're doing our duty? Thank you for your concern, senior!" Zeng Yan said with a red face.

Following that, Lu Zhou shifted his gaze to Mo Xinglu and Xuan Chengzi. "Both of you..."

"Senior Lu, we... we've met before at the Sky Wheel Mountain Range!" Mo Xinglu took the initiative to say.

Lu Zhou nodded and asked, "Both of you are also looking for Birth Chart Beasts?"