Chapter 1071: Secrets of the Blue Crystals
Gongsun Yuanxuan’s expression was even more unsightly than before. He hemmed and hawed before he finally said, “Pavilion Master Lu, I don’t even have 100 obsidian essences; how can I possibly have the blue crystals?”
Lu Zhou said, “Since you don’t have them, you can leave your life here.”
“…”
Lan Xihe said with a faint smile, “Grand Tutor, it’s not good to lie. You don’t have them, but the royal family has them, right? If I’m not mistaken, I remember the royal family obtained a blue crystal as well…”
Gongsun Yuanxuan knew Lan Xihe was trying to push him to his death. After all, during their earlier sparring session, they were fighting to the death. On the surface, the White Tower Council and Great Ming’s royal court seemed to have an amicable relations.h.i.+p, but the royal court had long wanted to destroy the White Tower Council.
“The royal family’s blue crystal is useless; it has been depleted of its Great Void energy. Isn’t the one in Pavilion Master Lu’s possession better?” Gongsun Yuanxuan asked, puzzled.
“Do I need to explain to you why I want the blue crystals? I’ve already made myself clear. Gongsun Yuanxuan, don’t step on my bottom line,” Lu Zhou said.
Gongsun Yuanxuan frowned. He was only left with 11 Birth Charts now. There was no doubt his status would decline when he returned to the royal court. Moreover, now that he was defeated, what right did he have to negotiate? After mulling over it for a moment, he said decisively, “Alright, I agree to Pavilion Master Lu’s request. However, I ask that word of what happened today be kept a secret. Otherwise, I won’t be able to get the blue crystal if the royal family finds out about this.”
“Very good.” Lu Zhou looked at Gongsun Yuanxuan and said, “Don’t try to play tricks. Otherwise, what happened to the Black Tower Council will happen to you.”
“…”
Gongsun Yuanxuan had long heard about the collective demotion of the Black Tower Council; it left a deep impression on him. Initially, he did not believe anyone was capable of defeating the Black Tower Council in such a thorough manner. However, after his sparring session with Lu Zhou, he knew now it was true. It was true that there was always someone stronger and better in the world. He knew very well if he did not agree to this request, he would not be able to leave the white tower today.
Lu Zhou waved his hand, signaling Gongsun Yuanxuan to leave.
When Gongsun Yuanxuan was walking out, he walked past the bag of obsidian essences.
Just when Gongsun Yuanxuan was about to bend down to pick it up, Lu Zhou raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”
Gongsun Yuanxuan stiffened and laughed awkwardly before he left in a hurry.
Lu Zhou allowed Gongsun Yuanxuan to live because there was more value to letting Gongsun Yuanxuan live compared to killing him. Moreover, he would not allow Lan Xihe to succeed in her plan. Great Ming could restrain Lan Xihe who had been invincible for such a long time. Apart from that, he wanted to use this chance to obtain blue crystals and strike at Great Ming.
Lu Zhou turned around and looked at Lan Xihe, “Did you obtain the blue crystal from the Great Void?”
Since there was no reason for Lan Xihe to hide this, she said, “Over 300 years ago, many cultivators went to the Unknown Land together. The environment in Unknown Land was very harsh and inhabitable. However, there were many treasures there. Some lucky cultivators had fortuitous encounters while others tried to look for the Great Void Seed. When the Great Void Seeds disappeared for unknown reasons, leaving only soil in the place where they grew. The ‘soil’ was the blue crystals. When the soil was brought out of the Unknown Land, they solidified into blue crystals. Only those who had seen this knew this secret.”
This was not the first time Lu Zhou heard about the Great Void Expedition from 300 years ago. Every time he heard about it, there would be new information, stirring up new feelings within him. He recalled the memory crystal; was it really a coincidence that the damaged part contained Ji Tiandao’s memories in the Great Void?
Ji Tiandao wanted the limits of the eight leaves. How could he contend with that group of people at the Thousand Realms Whirling stage for the Great Void Seeds? Moreover, when he went to the Unknown Land, his cultivation base was not even at the Eight-leaf stage. When he returned, even Luo Xuan was capable of stealing one of the Great Void Seeds from him.
After a moment, Lu Zhou asked, “Did you obtain the Great Void energy from the blue crystal?”
Lan Xihe nodded slightly. Then, she straightened her back before she asked, “Pavilion Master Lu, you won’t be angry because of this matter, right? I have no choice. I could only attract your attention in that manner…”
Lu Zhou asked, “You only have one blue crystal?”
“That’s right,” Lan Xihe replied, “However, it was the only one that contained the most Great Void energy. The others are almost useless and the improvements they provided were limited.”
“Where are the others?” Lu Zhou asked.
Lan Xihe asked curiously, “Pavilion Master Lu, are you looking for the blue crystals to obtain the Great Void energy?”
“Is there anyone who doesn’t want it?”
Lan Xihe smiled and nodded before she said, “In the past 3,000 years, there were five Great Void Expeditions. The first and second time, humans suffered heavy losses and only managed to return with a few rare treasures. The remaining three times, humans brought back six blue crystals. I only know the location of three blue crystals. One is with the emperor of Great Ming; one is in the possession of Great Yuan’s Lu Qianshan; the final one is in Pavilion Master Lu’s possession.”
“Only six?” Lu Zhou frowned. The quest was to collect nine blue crystals. Only six were brought out of the Unknowland, and out of the six, three were missing. Was this the system’s way of pus.h.i.+ng him to go to the Unknown Land?
“Only?” Lan Xihe caught the peculiarity of Lu Zhou’s choice of words.
Lu Zhou casually came up with an excuse. “What I mean is that it’s a pity that after five expeditions, humans only managed to obtain six blue crystals.”
“The Unknown Land is too dangerous. Three hundred years ago, I was already invincible in the white lotus domain. Even then, it was difficult for me to contend with those beasts in the Unknown Land,” Lan Xihe said.
Lu Zhou thought of Qin Moshang whom he met by the Cold Pond at the peak of the snowy mountain in Cloud Mountain. “Perhaps, there are stronger cultivators in the Four Great Uncharted Lands…”
Lan Xihe did seem surprised by Lu Zhou’s words. “There have always been stronger cultivators, but they’ve long isolated themselves…”
“Isolated themselves?” Si Wuya asked curiously.
Lan Xihe nodded and said, “Yes. I don’t know if it’s their own decision or a shackle by heaven and earth. Think about the Kun in the Endless Ocean; no one has been able to kill it until now. The entrances to the Unknown Land are all littered with incredibly deadly fierce beasts or separated by moats or oceans that are impossible for humans to cross. However, there’s a place…”
Lu Zhou and Si Wuya looked at Lan Xihe, waiting for her to reveal the answer.
Lan Xihe smiled as her eyes moved between Lu Zhou and Si Wuya before resting on Lu Zhou. “The purple lotus domain…”
“The purple lotus domain?” Lu Zhou was not surprised.
“Strictly speaking, it’s not one of the Four Great Uncharted Lands. It’s not powerful. It’s also the first place the Black Tower Council and Great Yuan implemented the captive plan. They implemented the same plan in the red lotus domain and had planned to implement it in the golden lotus domain. The plan is the reason there are so many Thousand Realms Whirling cultivators in the Black Tower Council,” Lan Xihe said.
“What about the White Tower Council?”
“Originally, the White Tower Council wanted to monopolize the golden lotus domain but eventually gave up. Great Ming’s resources are bountiful, and there are many fierce beasts so there’s no need for us to monopolize another domain’s fierce beasts. Moreover, what’s the point when, at most, one would get one or two intermediate life hearts in a year? They’re not useful at all for cultivators above the level of a judge. Those who are truly strong and smart know the proper way to subjugate the weak…”
Lu Zhou did not expect these words from Lan Xihe. He remained silent. This reminded him of the ancient emperor on earth, the Emperor of Qin, who burned the works of scholars to make the common folk stay ignorant, destroyed city walls, killed heroes, and confiscated weapons to weaken the people’s resistance against the emperor. In any case, there was no point in talking about this matter.
Lu Zhou picked the blue crystal up and said, “Let’s talk about the blue crystal. Where’s Lu Qianshan now?”
He would obtain the blue crystals with known locations first.
“Pavilion Master Lu, you can go to Great Yuan and ask around. The Lu clan and the emperor of Great Yuan have a close relations.h.i.+p; I’m afraid it won’t be easy for you to obtain the blue crystal. Why don’t you stay in the white tower? When I recover, I’ll go to the black lotus domain with you. In order to thank you for your help today, I’ll help you obtain Lu Qianshan’s blue crystal.”
At this moment, Lu Zhou stood up and said, “There’s no need for that…”
When Lan Xihe saw that Lu Zhou was about to leave, she hastily said, “Pavilion Master Lu, I have a question I’d like to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“Which one is the real Pavilion Master Lu?” Lan Xihe asked.
Lu Zhou did not answer her immediately. He continued walking out of the training hall. Only when he reached the entrance of the training hall did he say, “Both are real.”