Chapter 114: I’m Not the Same Person Anymore
Inside the hidden chamber.
Lu Zhou continued bombarding the mysterious box with his energy blasts. The box remained unaffected, not even a scratch could be seen on it.
‘A box that can’t be opened… What’s the meaning of this? I spent 2,000 merit points for nothing?’ Lu Zhou bent down and studied the box carefully. Other than the grooves on the box, there was nothing special about it.
Lu Zhou remembered his weapon, Unnamed. ‘What will happen to this st.u.r.dy box if I use Unnamed on it?’ He raised his right hand slightly. The exquisite and refined sword, Unnamed, materialized in his hand. He waved it casually.
Bang!
Unnamed collided with the mysterious box.
Sparks flew everywhere!
Lu Zhou’s first reaction was to inspect Unnamed. There were no scratches on it. Then, he looked at the box. Just like Unnamed, it was untouched. The only change was a fine scratch on its surface. When Lu Zhou blinked, the scratch mark was gone. It was as though it had melted away. It was apparent that Unnamed was superior. However, this box’s material was extremely peculiar. It was capable of restoring itself.
Unnamed could even break the Dark Knight’s peak earth-grade weapon. This meant the material of this box was tougher than a heaven-grade material.
Lu Zhou stood up. He decided to give up on studying the box. Since the system sold him this box, it would certainly have its use. It was meaningless to be too anxious about this. When the boat reaches the head of the pier, it would straighten itself. He was certain he would eventually find a way.
“Heavenly Writing.” Lu Zhou sat with his legs crossed and began to comprehend the Heavenly Writing. During this time, he discovered it was extremely easy to immerse himself in comprehending the Heavenly Writing. Apart from that, he noticed that he no longer had to call up the scrolls. Once he calmed down, the words of the Heavenly Writing would appear in his mind. The scripts and symbols would move along and repeat where necessary as though he was watching a movie.
…
Meanwhile, in a meeting hall on the Green Jade Altar in the Righteous Sect.
The fifth elder, Zhang Chu, recounted with great detail everything that had happened to Zhang Yuanshan, the Sect Master of Righteous Sect. His face was wet with tears and snot as he recounted the events. The other elders could not help but shake their heads as they listened to him.
“Sect master, the Fiend Temple’s Ren Buping deliberately brought you away. This is clearly a plot of luring the tiger away from its mountain. Ji Tiandao seized the opportunity and killed Elder Zhang! I’ve said before that the people from the Fiend Path are not to be trusted!”
“Zhang Chu, are you sure it was the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Ji Tiandao and Sword Devil Yu Shangrong?” Zhang Yuanshan asked with his hands resting on his back.
“I’m absolutely sure… Even if I’m lying, there were many disciples on the Green Jade Altar at that time. They can all bear witness to this!” Zhang Chu raised his hand. “Look! My thumb was severed by the Sword Devil!”
The others were shocked.
“How did you survive an encounter with the Sword Devil?”
“I… I…”
“Enough.” Zhang Yuanshan snapped. The meeting hall fell silent.
The others did not dare to speak, they could only look at their sect master.
Zhang Yuanshan frowned as he said loudly, “There are many flaws in this matter. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we gain a better understanding of this matter. We’ll put Zhang Qiuchi’s death aside for now…”
“Did Elder Zhang die in vain?”
“Why? Are you going to avenge him?” Zhang Yuanshan retorted.
The meeting hall fell silent again.
Who would dare to provoke the Evil Sky Pavilion? Even the fates of the Divine Capital’s special forces, the Four Dark Knights, remained unknown ever since they entered the Evil Sky Pavilion.
The Fiend Temple’s Zuo Xinchan, the only elite in the world who entered the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm through the Fiend Zen died in the Evil Sky Pavilion. Who would dare to go there now? The only thing they could do was wait. They could only wait for Ji Tiandao’s life to run out! When that day arrived, the Evil Sky Pavilion would crumble.
…
Tangzi Town, dozens of miles away from Golden Court Mountain.
An old man and a middle-aged man were resting at a table with a pot of tea.
The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before saying, “Master, are we really going to the Evil Sky Pavilion? I heard that they’re all villains who are wicked and crazy. If anything were to happen to you…”
The old man sighed softly and shook his head. “I’ve hesitated many times over the past 20 years. Sometimes, I’m afraid; sometimes, I’m worried that I might disgrace the name of the Yun Sect. However, there are also times when I’m worried that Ji Tiandao will become too old to fight. At that time, I’ll have to carry this knot in my heart to the grave. If that happens, even if I die, I won’t be able to die in peace.”
“But the n.o.ble and Fiend Paths do not tolerate each other.”
“If it weren’t for my status as a Yun Sect elder, why would I delay the matter until this day?” the old man said. When he saw the middle-aged man had nothing more to say, the old man sighed and said, “You’re still young. There’s no need for you to dwell on complicated matters… When you’re at my age, you’ll come to understand everything.”
“I truly don’t understand any of this, and I don’t think I want to.”
“Evil creature! I’ve made up my mind. Don’t bring this up ever again,” the old man said as he lowered his cup on the table.
The middle-aged man kept his thoughts to himself.
…
Two days pa.s.sed in just a blink of an eye.
During this time, Lu Zhou continued to comprehend the Heavenly Writing in the Evil Sky Pavilion. The familiar and comfortable mental state was restored.
He opened his eyes slowly and looked at his remaining merit points on the system dashboard. He had 3,862 points left.
‘Relying on missions to earn merit points seems to be too slow.’ Lu Zhou suddenly recalled he could earn merit points if someone devoutly wors.h.i.+ped him! He thought it was high time for him to give his disciples something to do.
Lu Zhou was about to get up when he heard Little Yuan’er’s voice.
“Master, someone’s at the foot of the mountain, asking to see you.”
“Who is it?”
“Hua Wudao.”
Lu Zhou was slightly surprised. He did not expect Hua Wudao to show up so soon. ‘If he’s here at the Evil Sky Pavilion despite being afraid of people stronger than him, he’s quite brave.’
Creak!
Lu Zhou pushed the hidden chamber’s door open and emerged with his hands on his back.
“Master, you’ve become younger again,” Little Yuan’er said with a smile.
Lu Zhou chided her, “If you have the time to flatter me, you should be spending them cultivating. You should follow your Fourth Senior Brother’s example.”
“Oh, alright.” Little Yuan’er nodded obediently.
The duo entered the Evil Sky Pavilion’s great hall.
Zhou Jifeng, Pan Zhong, and the Derived Moon Palace’s female cultivators were present in the great hall.
Duanmu Sheng and Mings.h.i.+ Yin were standing at the side.
“Pavilion Master, Hua Wudao will be here soon,” a female cultivator said with a bow.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard calmly. He suddenly remembered that Zhao Yue was still inside the Cave of Reflection. He asked, “How’s Zhao Yue’s repentance coming along?”
Mings.h.i.+ Yin bowed and said, “Fifth Junior Sister has been reflecting on her past conducts daily.”
“Did the witchcraft spell worsen?” Lu Zhou was more interested in this.
“Not for now.”
Lu Zhou nodded. The power of witchcraft was peculiar. For the time being, it only seemed to be suppressing Zhao Yue’s cultivation base. However, the elite from the palace might have planted something else. “Keep a close eye on her.”
“Understood.”
At this moment, a female cultivator led an old cultivator and a middle-aged cultivator inside the great hall, catching everyone’s attention immediately.
The old man who looked to be in his 70s had a slight hunch. His appearance was extremely ordinary. The man who stood next to him was only slightly younger than him and carried a huge blade with him.
The middle-aged man was clearly nervous. He kept glancing around his surroundings as soon as he entered the great hall.
The old man, on the other hand, was unperturbed. His expression was solemn as he moved at a neither slow nor rushed speed.
‘Is this Hua Wudao who fought the Evil Sky Pavilion’s patriarch many years ago?’
As they walked to the center of the great hall, the old man did not kneel. Instead, he cupped his hands together and said, “We meet again.”
The other disciples frowned at this.
Lu Zhou looked at the old man. “You may sit.”
Hua Wudao took him up on his offer. He sat down and said, “I should’ve paid you a visit earlier. However, I was tied up by other matters and delayed my visit to this day.”
Lu Zhou stroked his beard. He was in no hurry as he spoke indifferently, “Hua Wudao, you’re from the Yun Sect. The n.o.ble and Fiend Paths have never tolerated each other since ancient times. Aren’t you afraid that I might kill you for coming to the Evil Sky Pavilion at a time like this?”
Hua Wudao replied calmly, “I might be afraid if this had been in the past… However, I’m not the same person anymore. I’ve been through life and death… If I were afraid, I wouldn’t be here today.”