Chapter 936: Deception Is Also A Skill
The clouds in the sky had blocked the blackguards’ visions earlier. They only saw lightning flas.h.i.+ng within the cloud before the sky calmed down again. In their opinions, the judge, the Eight Chart expert, must have already returned to the black lotus domain through the runic pa.s.sage.
‘Stay calm…’
‘It can’t be true!’
‘How can he kill Lord Wu?’
‘Impossible!’
The blackguards had fought Lu Zhou earlier. If they had given it their all, they might stand a chance of defeating him. His strength was a far cry from an Eight Chart expert! They could not believe the person in front of them had killed Wu Guangping.
At this moment, the captain of the blackguards standing on the left suddenly heard the rustling of the talisman from his body. He hurriedly brought it out and lit it up. Soon enough, a piece of paper appeared. There were two sentences written on it: Lord Wu’s life stone has shattered. Investigate this matter.
“…”
The captain’s eyes widened and his hand that was holding the paper trembled.
The other captain of the blackguards sensed the abnormality of his action and with a wave of his hand, brought the paper over to have a look. Upon seeing the message, he exclaimed in shock.
Following that, the two remaining took a look at the paper as well. Needless to say, they were not any less shocked than the two captains.
The Black Tower Council’s Eight Chart judge, Wu Guangping, had died… and the person who killed him was standing nearby and staring at them with a burning gaze. They felt incredibly uneasy and uncomfortable. It felt as though they had been drinking fine wine for a long time and were suddenly told that they had been drinking horse urine all along.
Lu Zhou and Si Wuya looked at the four blackguards.
After a moment, Lu Zhou said through voice transmission, “Follow me closely. Don’t make any unnecessary moves.”
“Understood.” Si Wuya’s expression remained calm as he followed his master and flew toward the four blackguards.
Similarly, Lu Zhou showed no changes in his expression as well. Although he knew danger lay up ahead, he still had to advance. He had to intimidate them.
Finally, Lu Zhou came to a stop a few dozen meters away from the four blackguards. His expression when he looked at them seemed to say, “What? Do you need me to invite you over?”
The four blackguards were not fools. They understood Lu Zhou’s meaning. They hurriedly flew out and stopped ten meters away from Lu Zhou. All of them wore varying expressions of embarra.s.sment on their faces. A moment ago, they were sworn enemies who fought each other, and now… now, it was as though they were reunited with an old friend.
Lu Zhou calmly asked, “Do you want to live?”
Si Wuya watched silently.
“If we don’t want to live, why would we heavily injure ourselves?”
The four blackguards pressed their hands against their chests, looking uncomfortable.
“If you want to live, you’ll answer my questions.”
The four blackguards exchanged a quick look before they nodded.
Lu Zhou asked one of them, “What’s your name?” He had noticed that this person had been leading the six blackguards since before.
“I’m Shen s.h.i.+, a captain of the blackguards,” Shen s.h.i.+ answered honestly.
Lu Zhou continued to ask, “That person earlier… He was a judge in the Black Tower Council?”
Shen s.h.i.+ replied, “Yes, he’s Lord Wu Guangping.”
Lu Zhou fell silent.
After Shen s.h.i.+ finished speaking, he felt that it was inappropriate to address Wu Guangpin as ‘Lord’ in front of an expert. He said, “Wu Guangping was very active in the Black Tower Council, and he was also one of the outspoken representatives from the radical faction. More than 1,000 years ago, he supported the plan to annihilate the red lotus domain but was opposed by the conservative faction. More than 300 years ago, he partic.i.p.ated in the Great Void Expedition and was one of the few who survived it. After that, he became even more zealous. He kept requesting the Upper Council to send him to the red lotus domain. Today… is his first day on his mission to the red lotus domain…”
‘He died on the first day of his mission? Well, there’s nothing I can do. If I didn’t kill him, he would’ve killed me. The strong prey on the weak. No one can be blamed for this…’ Outwardly, Lu Zhou asked, “The Great Void Expedition?”
Shen s.h.i.+ hesitated for a moment, looking to the left and the right before he finally said, “In the past, the Black Tower Council, the Imperial family, the Dark and Light Alliance, and few other forces selected a few elites to go to the Unknown Place to search for the Great Void Seed. It was a top-secret expedition. I wasted a lot of treasures back then and still could not find out much.”
Si Wuya was puzzled. “You know about the Great Void Seeds?”
“It’s said to be some kind of precious treasure that’s beneficial to cultivation. It grows in the Unknown Place, and it’s said that if you have it, you can activate eight Birth Charts, at least. However, I’ve always suspected it to be a lie. The heavens set rules for humans; why would it give us a shortcut?” Shen s.h.i.+ opined.
Si Wuya smiled. “What do you think of me?” What he meant to say was, ‘I have the Great Void Energy. Are all of you blind?’
Shen s.h.i.+ looked at Si Wuya for a moment and nodded before he said, “You’re talented and have an imposing bearing. If I’m not mistaken, you cultivated some Confucian cultivation method…”
Si Wuya. “…”
‘Forget it. At least I can confirm they can’t sense the Great Void energy on me…’
Since Lu Li, Di Jiang, and Wu Guangping could sense the Great Void energy on him, Si Wuya wondered if only special mounts and cultivators with profound cultivation bases could sense the energy.
After a moment, Si Wuya replied, “I have cultivated a few techniques from the Confucian school, but I’ve also cultivated techniques from the Taoism and Buddhism schools.” Following that, he asked, “Do you know how to go to the Unknown Place?”
“No. All I heard is that there are many fierce beasts there. They’re extremely fierce and travel in groups. The ancient books have said that there are many fierce beasts in the world. No one knew the exact number. They walk on land, swim in the sea, and soar in the sky. Not only are they much more powerful than humans, but their numbers are greater as well…”
Lu Zhou asked, “How many life hearts does the Black Tower Council obtain each year?”
Shen s.h.i.+ replied, “Not many. Two or three are considered a lot. Some years, there’s none…”
Si Wuya found this strange. He asked, “If we calculate according to this number, after 2,000 years, there should be more Ten-leaf experts in the red lotus domain. Why are there so few now? Ten-leaf experts should have 3,000 years of life, at least.”
Si Wuya was reminded of the golden lotus domain. Back then, there was no Nine-leaf cultivator because attempting the Nine-leaf stage would drain one’s lifespan. Even if there were in the past, most of them died quickly. As time went on, the Nine-leaf stage became just a legend, with many people not believing it to be real.
Shen s.h.i.+ said with a sigh, “Some of them were killed and some were imprisoned in the Black Tower Council’s prison. It’s no longer easy to monopolize the Birth Chart Beasts here. Take today for example. There were so many Ten-leaf cultivators around. If this were in the past, the blackguards would’ve been waiting at the stone forest formation in advance with no one the wiser.”
Si Wuya asked confidently, “Let me guess. Is that why you appointed a contact person in the red lotus domain to tighten your control here?”
Shen s.h.i.+ and the other blackguards looked at each other awkwardly. They could not deny this.
Lu Zhou asked, “Did you use the runic pa.s.sage to come here?”
“T-this…” Shen s.h.i.+ stammered.
Lu Zhou said indifferently, “If I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done so earlier. Wu Guangping is dead, and the internal strife in the Black Tower Council will only intensify. The secrets you’re guarding will be made known sooner or later. Even if you don’t tell me, do you think no one else will tell me?”
Shen s.h.i.+ was taken aback. Indeed. If no one from the black lotus domain had spoken to the old man in front of him, where did the old man learn how to activate his Birth Chart? How did he know how to control the Birth Chart powers? How did he kill Yi Yao?
“Little blackguard, don’t think too highly of yourself. I’ve given you a chance so you must cherish it,” Lu Zhou said as he stood with his hands on his back.
Quack!
Di Jiang cried out at this moment as it circled the place where Wu Guangping had disappeared from.
Even one of the four judges, Wu Guangping, had died. What qualifications did the blackguards have to negotiate with the person in front of them?
In the end, Shen s.h.i.+ nodded. “Indeed. We came through the runic pa.s.sage.”
Lu Zhou waved his hand and said, “I’ve always been one to keep my words. Hand over the information related to the runic pa.s.sage, and I’ll let all of you leave.”