When she heard that, Little Yuan’er dropped to her knees and said, “Master, let me handle it this time…”
After all, they were her family, so it was perfectly normal for her to be panicked.
But, Lu Zhou did not agree to her request immediately.
Mingshi Yin was indeed more experienced in handling this matter, and his cultivation base was stronger as well. It would seem safer to let him attend to this.
Just then, a carrier pigeon flew over.
“Yuan’er!”
At that, Little Yuan’er flew into the sky as swiftly as a swallow and caught the pigeon.
“Master, a letter from Third Senior Brother!”
“Read it.”
“Master, when I went to the Heavenly Sword Sect to investigate, I found that their sect leader position was temporarily vacant and that Zhou Jifeng had left the sect. After investigating further, I discovered that he had joined the Righteous Sect. The sect leader of the Righteous Sect, Zhang Yuanshan, appointed him as one of the sect’s four elders, making him the youngest elder of the sect. Due to Zhang Yuanshan’s profound cultivation base, I didn’t go deep into the Righteous Sect…But, from the information I gathered, Zhang Yuanshan publicly insulted Master several times and declared to the cultivation world that his sect was at odds with Golden Court Mountain.”
When she came to that, Little Yuan’er stopped reading and glanced at Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou’s face was calm, as if he were not surprised at all. ‘Too many people in this world hate me, and adding one more will not change that.’ He took that lightly. If he could solve the crisis of being besieged by the top ten experts, a Righteous Sect was nothing to be concerned about.
“When I was investigating at the Bamboo Mountain, the headquarters of the Righteous Sect, I fought a fierce battle with their second elder, Dhūta Fang, and won. A pity that I failed to kill that devious guy.” Little Yuan’er paused once again and furrowed her brows.
“As soon as I get my condition adjusted, I plan to visit the Righteous Sect at night and assassinate Zhang Yuanshan to help Master vent the anger.”
When she had finished, Little Yuan’er cupped her fist toward Lu Zhou and said, “Master, that Dhūta Fang is a Divine Court expert after all. I reckon Third Senior Brother must have been wounded by him!”
Mingshi Yin was somewhat surprised as well, and he said, “Third Senior Brother is risking his life!”
Under Zhang Yuanshan, Dhūta Fang was the strongest expert of the Righteous Sect. His cultivation base was at the perfected stage of the Divine Court realm, just one step away from the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm. When Ji Tiandao was jointly attacked by the top ten experts, he was the one who led hundreds of cultivators to attack Ji Tiandao’s disciples. Duanmu Sheng had always hated this man.
But, Duanmu Sheng was overreaching himself by planning to assassinate Zhang Yuanshan.
While stroking his beard, Lu Zhou said, “Old Third looks like a simple guy, but he is courageous, wise, and has his own ideas. The sect leader of the Righteous Sect, Zhang Yuanshan, had already stepped into the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm hundreds of years ago. Although your third senior brother is a Divine Court expert, he is one realm weaker from Zhang Yuanshan. He would be digging his own grave if he really carried out the assassination.”
“Then why did Senior Brother mention that?” asked Little Yuan’er.
Mingshi Yin said, “Zhao Yue has just deserted…I understand now! Third Senior Brother is using that to show his loyalty. Hehe! Master, you’re right. It seems that I’m a much simpler guy than him!”
“…”
“Oh!” Little Yuan’er did not fully understand.
It could be seen that Duanmu Sheng’s understanding of Lu Zhou was still based on Ji Tiandao’s image. If Ji Tiandao were still here, he would no doubt make Duanmu Sheng take risks and visit the Righteous Sect at night.
But, even if he really went, Duanmu Sheng would definitely put his safety as the utmost priority and pretend to be injured. In this way, the rift between the master and the disciple would grow larger, eventually forming a vicious cycle.
After considering for a moment, Lu Zhou said, “Old Fourth, I was going to make you fix the arrays of Golden Court Mountain, because the shield can stop experts of the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm…But now, Old Third has this task, and I want you to help him. After this is over, stay on the mountain and focus on your cultivation. I will give you all heaven-grade treasures.”
If the shield were still not repaired, the eldest and second disciple would most likely instigate orthodox sects to attack Golden Court Mountain again, and just those orthodox experts would be enough to give Lu Zhou a headache.
Mingshi Yin was overjoyed, and he hurriedly went down on his knees and said, “Yes, Master!”
“I understand, Master.”
If he could get a heaven-grade treasure, he would be more than willing to stay on the mountain for five years or even ten years, not to mention just three years. Many cultivators had failed to obtain a heaven-grade treasure until their death. His eldest senior brother, Yu Zhenghai, owned the Jasper Saber, and had used it to lop off the heads of tens of thousands of cultivators, making a name for himself. It was said that the difference between a cultivator with and without a heaven-grade treasure was like a grandfather and a grandson, where the former could easily teach the latter a hard lesson.
For many years, Ji Tiandao had been extremely cautious about giving out heaven-grade treasures, and Mingshi Yin did not expect that he would promise to reward them with heaven-grade treasures at this critical moment.
How could he not be excited?
His loyalty increased by 5% instantly.
“Master, what about Little Junior Sister’s family?”
“This matter is not simple. I’ll make a decision after discussing with Little Yuan’er.”
“I understand! I’m leaving now to support Third Senior Brother. When we complete the task, we will return to Golden Court Mountain at once to repair the shield.”
“Go now.”
Mingshi Yin turned and left, and at the same time, Lu Zhou saw the task appear in the task menu.
“Master, why do you seem to take that Zhou Jifeng seriously? There’s nothing special about him,” asked Little Yuan’er curiously.
“The reason I spared his life when he tried to assassinate me is that I want him to find out the Heavenly Sword Sect’s true colors, so that he can become a great threat to them when he grows stronger. Even if he chooses not to submit under Golden Court Mountain, he will be at odds with the Heavenly Sword Sect sooner or later. I just want to make sure he’s still alive.”
Little Yuan’er smiled and said, “Master, you used to finish your enemy by killing them directly, but now you…”
“Now I know how to use my brain, is that what you are trying to say?”
Little Yuan’er stuck out her tongue and did not dare to continue.
Lu Zhou laughed. “Well, I’m not blaming you.”
He was killing two birds with one stone by doing so. The first thing he wished to achieve was discipline his villainous disciples with carrots and sticks and pull them over to his side, while the second was to preserve Golden Court Mountain’s strength. Although his disciples were evil, Golden Court Mountain’s strength would greatly reduce without them. If he did not give them weapons, they would be like toothless tigers.
As for dealing with the top ten sects, it was far too early to do that right now.
“Master, are you going to let me handle the matter of the Ci Family?”
Lu Zhou said in a faint voice, “This matter is not as simple as it seems. The reason why I didn’t let your fourth senior brother handle it is that I’m worried that he would solve it too simply and crudely.”
He learned that from the way Mingshi Yin handled the previous kidnapping. The fourth disciple was almost imitating Ji Tiandao in the way he handled it: he killed all the mounted brigands, rescued the people, and that was it. He was not even serious about finding out the culprit behind the incident.
“Master, please help my family!” Little Yuan’er knelt and pleaded.
Apart from Little Yuan’er, Lu Zhou had no one else he could use on Golden Court Mountain. So, he said, “I will go to Anyang myself.”
“What? Master, you want to handle this yourself?” Little Yuan’er was taken aback.
The master had not left Golden Court Mountain for a long, long time. Although nobody had said anything, everyone vaguely guessed that it was due to physical reasons. She did not expect that he would leave the mountain because of the Ci Family!
As a result, Little Yuan’er’s loyalty increased by 5%.
“This matter must not be leaked out. Also, leave a letter to inform your senior brothers that they must keep it a secret, and that if there’s anything else, I will send them letters with carrier pigeons.”
“I understand, Master!”
By doing so, Lu Zhou could not only send orders to his disciples across long-distance, but also put himself in a safe place.
As long as he slightly tidied up his current appearance, no one would know or believe that he was the old villain of Golden Court Mountain. Besides, with Little Yuan’er following him, he would be much safer than staying on the mountain.
“Whitzard!”
At the call, a sheet of auspicious light lit up the sky, and then a magnificent mount appeared, wheeling in the air for a moment before slowly descending.
“Master, you have changed your mount?” Little Yuan’er blurted out.
Lu Zhou said calmly, “Come on up!”
“Ah? I…I dare not ride on Master’s mount.”
“It’s fine. You can sit in front of me. We can arrive at Anyang in less than two hours.”