Chapter 108: Of Captures and Lucky Draws
If a person had bad luck, even the gaps between their teeth would be clogged if they were only drinking cold water. Zhu Honggong felt that he was especially unlucky right now. He did not expect to run into his master at the Green Jade Altar so it was only natural that he was shocked and frightened.
At the same time, the cultivator who was chasing after Zhu Honggong came to a halt and looked up.
A square cage fell from the air and sailed toward Zhu Honggong.
‘I think it’s going to hit. My luck is good right now.’ Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction. He mumbled, “I should’ve tried the lucky draw…”
“Master, what are you trying to draw?”
Lu Zhou ignored Little Yuan’er. His attention was completely focused on the Binding Cage Card. A small frown appeared on his face when he saw the cage that had grown alarmingly big suddenly took a nosedive and disappeared completely. Yes, it vanished!
The cultivators who witnessed this were dumbfounded.
Lu Zhou’s expression was dark. The card had cost him 200 merit points, and it was wasted just like that.
‘Should I use another one? What if I miss again? This card only has a 30% chance of hitting after all. If they miss over and over again, I’ll be wasting too many of my merit points.’
While Lu Zhou was deliberating his options, Old Eighth, Zhu Honggong, was elated. He muttered to himself, “It seems like master intends to let me go!”
‘I’d better run, quick!’ Zhu Honggong dove deeper into the forest at lightning speed. His speed was comparable to a Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm cultivator!
Lu Zhou had the legendary mount, Bi An. If he gave chase, he would be able to catch up to Zhu Honggong. The problem was he needed to use item cards if he wanted to capture Old Eighth. Little Yuan’er was powerful, but she was not powerful enough to deal with Old Eighth. Moreover, he was wary of the current situation. He would need Little Yuan’er by his side for protection. The psychological trauma of the luck draw gave him a bad feeling about this. ‘Forget it. I’ll capture him next time. That rascal is lucky! I should try and capture him first before I try my luck at the lucky draw.’
It was not difficult if Lu Zhou wanted to capture Zhu Honggong. He had all the time and chances in the world. He would leave Zhu Honggong alone for now since he had more important matters to attend to
“Master! Master! Quick! The traitor’s getting away!” Little Yuan’er began shouting.
“It’s fine.” Lu Zhou waved his hand. “I have something else to attend to.”
“Oh.” Little Yuan’er looked at Zhu Honggong’s vanis.h.i.+ng back in the forest regretfully.
Lu Zhou was about to make his way to the Green Jade Altar when the cultivator who was chasing after Zhu Honggong earlier called out, “Grandmaster!”
Lu Zhou turned to look. “It’s you?”
A man stood near the battle. An air of arrogance emitted from his body as he stood unaffected by the chaos unraveling around him. The man was none other than Duan Xing, the third seat of Fiend Temple. Lu Zhou had previously met him at Runan’s holy altar. It was truly strange to see two individuals from the Fiend Path at the Green Jade Altar. They seemed out of place.
“Greetings, grandmaster. It is I, Junior Duan Xing.” When Duan Xing was chasing after Zhu Honggong, he had seen Bi An and the flas.h.i.+ng golden cage in the air. He instantly recognized the old man. With the Buddhist grandmaster around, he had no choice but to give up on his pursuit.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard calmly. “Fiend Temple has always been at odds with the n.o.ble Path, they’re like fire and water. Why are you here?”
Duan Xing replied respectfully, “My temple master has ordered us to come here because he and Sect Master Zhang are discussing ways to take down the villains. I’m only here to accompany him.” After he finished speaking, he looked to the left and to the right before continued to say, “I didn’t expect to see you here, grandmaster.”
Lu Zhou waved his hand. He looked at the ongoing battle. It seemed like it was almost over. The opposition was being pushed back.
“What happened here?” Lu Zhou asked.
Duan Xing chuckled. The Fiend Temple was trying to keep this a secret since they did not want people to find out about this. They had been careful during their journey, but their movements were still discovered. With Zhu Honggong’s attack, it was almost as good as announcing the secret to the world. At this point, it was futile to keep this a secret. For this reason, he bowed and said, “The Fiend Temple’s movements have been exposed. The Evil King tried to sow dissension by bringing many n.o.ble Path’s cultivators here to take down the Fiend Temple. The Evil King even deliberately exposed his whereabouts to attract more n.o.ble Path cultivators here. That’s why the situation is so chaotic. The losses are heavy as well.”
Lu Zhou nodded. ‘There’s no way Old Eighth could’ve come up with a plan like this. There’s no need to guess. Old Seventh, Si Wuya, must be behind this.’
Lu Zhou looked at the cultivators who were still fighting. Based on their auras and cultivation methods, indeed, there seemed to be many cultivators from the n.o.ble Path fighting among themselves.
Duan Xing spoke up again, “Why didn’t you take the Evil King down in one strike, grandmaster? If we can capture him, my temple’s name will be cleared!”
“Clear your name?” Lu Zhou asked indifferently.
“The Fiend Temple belongs to the Fiend Path. Now that we’re colluding with the Righteous Sect, we’re sure to become a laughingstock to other people. If we can capture the Evil King, it’ll be a great achievement! The n.o.ble Path’s attention will also be on the Evil King at that time.”
Lu Zhou’s expression was neutral. His emotions were indecipherable. He stroked his beard and said, “Good plan. A member of the Fiend Path catching another member of the Fiend Path. The thief crying, ‘Thief!’. Interesting.”
Duan Xing felt slightly embarra.s.sed when he heard Lu Zhou’s words. He scratched his head and said, “Grandmaster, the Evil Sky Pavilion has killed our second seat in the past. We’re only getting even by capturing the Evil King. I don’t think we’re like a thief crying, ‘Thief!’.”
Little Yuan’er placed her hand on her hips and said, “You’re a thief!”
If any other cultivator had humiliated Duan Xing in this manner, he would have jumped in anger. However, with the grandmaster here, it was not wise for him to behave in such a way. The only thing he could do was laugh awkwardly and say, “You’re right, you’re right…” He was a tactful person and not as detestable as those hypocrites. After a while, he asked, “What brings you to the Green Jade Altar, grandmaster?”
“Where’s Hua Wudao?” Lu Zhou asked calmly.
“Hua Wudao? Yun Sect’s elder? He’s here?” Duan Xing appeared surprised.
“The Fiend Temple doesn’t know about this?”
“I’m only accompanying my temple master. I wasn’t informed about this,” Duan Xing replied.
Lu Zhou looked at the top of the Green Jade Altar and said, “Are they all up there?”
Duan Xing shook his head and said, “When Evil King caused the disturbance, my temple master left.”
Lu Zhou shook his head. ‘That rascal has ruined my plans.’ He waved his hand, and Bi An flew toward the Green Jade Altar.
…
Meanwhile, in a corner of the forest around Green Jade Altar.
Zhu Honggong, Old Eighth, slumped to the ground. He kept wiping the sweat off his face. He panted heavily as fear lingered in his heart. A gloomy expression could be seen on his face when he finally calmed down. He wondered out loud, “Why is master here?! I didn’t sign up for this! Seventh Senior Brother, show yourself!”
Old Seventh, Si Wuya, walked out slowly from the dense forest. He shook his head and said, “This is unexpected. I didn’t think master would appear at the Green Jade Altar as well.”
“I don’t care. This your plan! I want compensation!” Zhu Honggong straightened his arm and put his hands out as though demanding for something to be given to him.
Si Wuya smiled. He put his palms together and said, “Alright, alright… It’s all my fault. The Darknet will cover the Tiger Ridge’s expenses for a year.”
“That’s more like it.” Zhu Honggong felt much better now. He scratched his head and said, “Seventh Senior Brother, we’ve gone through much trouble to come up with this plan, but what is it for?”