The sudden merit points stupefied Lu Zhou.
“Devout worship? Are all those villainous disciples going out to do kind deeds now?”
He was thinking about it when Little Yuan’er ran in from outside.
“Master, Fourth Senior Brother killed someone!”
Lu Zhou straightened up and said lightly, “What happened?”
Little Yuan’er told him what she heard and saw at the foot of the mountain. After listening to her, Lu Zhou frowned slightly. The female cultivators of Derived Moon Palace were Ye Tianxin’s subordinates. They were leaderless now with her locked up in the back of the mountain, and yet they still dared to come to Golden Court Mountain. It seemed that they were bolder than some men out there.
However, they were just a group of female cultivators, with the strongest ones being Divine Court cultivators. Lu Zhou thought that it would be very tiring for someone as old as him if he had to handle everything himself.
“It is only a minor thing you can handle yourself,” he said softly.
“Oh! Have a good rest, Master! I’ll keep an eye on Senior Brother,” Little Yuan’er said.
Lu Zhou leaned back in the chair and rested his forehead on a hand as he continued resting. “My head is already reeling from all the lucky draws these days, and I need to take a break. If I have the time to handle such a minor thing, I might as well use it to figure out the pattern of the lucky draws.”
At the foot of Golden Court Mountain…
Mingshi Yin grinned wickedly and said, “Why? Are you not happy with me?”
That took the black-clad cultivator aback. He was about to say something when a clear bell rang out of the ink-colored dragon chariot behind him. He choked back his displeasure and flew back toward the chariot while the other black-clad cultivators formed up in orderly ranks and waited quietly for orders.
Then, a voice echoed out of the chariot, “Mister Fourth, may I see your master?” The voice was not loud, but the energy that came with it could make an eight-meridians Brahma Sea expert suffer.
Mingshi Yin replied disapprovingly, “My Master will not entertain a nobody like you.”
“…”
The chariot fell silent. Although the other black-clad cultivators did not move, he could feel that they were all fuming.
“Since I’m in a good mood today, you’re all allowed to go back to where you come from now.” Mingshi Yin was truly in a good mood today, and he was telling the truth. Yet, the remark sounded like an insult in their ears.
Just when he was about to turn around and pass through the shield, he heard a resonating sound of energy.
Buzz!
The female cultivators of Derived Moon Palace slumped to the ground as they stared at the black avatar over the dragon chariot in horror.
“Hmm?” Mingshi Yin looked up and saw an ink-colored Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar, which stood about fifty feet tall with a four-leaf lotus beneath it. Under the avatar’s power, a magical resonance occurred with the black-clad cultivators around the chariot, causing their auras to grow a few times stronger.
“Mister Fourth, am I qualified to meet your master now?”
Mingshi Yin frowned slightly. The man was very strong, and he knew that apart from his master, only his eldest and second senior brothers were strong enough to deal with him. However, Golden Court Mountain had long since lost its glory.
“Ah, a Nascent Divinity Tribulation expert! If you are here to show off your prowess, I’m afraid you have come to the wrong place,” he said coldly.
“I’ll never dare to do that,” the voice grew louder. “I’m Zuo Xinchan of Fiend Temple, and I’m here to beg an audience with Old Senior Ji. I hope Mister Fourth can bring me to your master.”
When the voice faded, the surrounding black-clad cultivators began to descend, and then the ink-colored dragon chariot followed to land on the ground. Soon, Zuo Xinchan walked slowly out of the chariot. He had a black and haggard face, as well as a pair of deep eyes, which made him look like a malnourished little old man.
“I hope this will show you my sincerity,” he said as he waved a hand. At the gesture, dozens of black-clad cultivators around him stepped back, leaving only four of them standing to his left and right. After that, he stared fixedly at Mingshi Yin.
Mingshi Yin shook his head and thought, ‘Is he trying to threaten and scare me?’ Just when he was about to reject, however, he heard Little Yuan’er’s voice. “Fourth Senior Brother…” Little Yuan’er appeared outside the shield and said, “Master asks you to bring them up the mountain.”
Zuo Xinchan looked up slowly. When he saw Little Yuan’er floating in midair, he nodded and said admiringly, “Ah, Mister Ninth! I’ve heard a lot about you!”
“Oh? Am I so famous?” Little Yuan’er laughed.
“Mister Ninth is more than famous,” Zuo Xinchan said unhurriedly. “After joining Golden Court Mountain at the age of ten, Mister Ninth had used only ten days to step into the Mystic Enlightening realm, three months to step into the Sense Condensing realm, two years to open all eight meridians of the Brahma Sea realm, and three years to enter the Divine Court realm. I’m certain that there is no one else in this world who can be a greater genius than Mister Ninth.”
Mingshi Yin was speechless as he thought, ‘Is he really an expert who has an avatar with a four-leaf golden lotus? Why is he so good at flattering others?’
Little Yuan’er was very happy when she heard that, so she said while smiling, “You have a glib tongue! Master says he will meet you in the great hall.”
Zuo Xinchan nodded slightly and glanced back over his shoulder. With that, the dozen cultivators moved back one more step.
After that, led by Mingshi Yin, he brought four of his men and walked into the shield. When he was stepping through it, he stopped for a brief moment, causing the female cultivators of Derived Moon Palace to tremble with fear. He snorted at them before ascending the mountain.
…
In the great hall of Evil Sky Pavilion, Lu Zhou sat on the throne that overlooked the audience. It had been a long time since he last sat on the seat, and he found it rather cold and uncomfortable. Duanmu Sheng, Zhou Jifeng, and Pan Zhong stood to his left and right.
Before long, Mingshi Yin led Zuo Xinchan into the great hall.
“Zuo Xinchan of the Fiend Temple offers greetings, Old Senior Ji!” he cupped his fist as he said that.
Lu Zhou glanced at him and did not say a word. The great hall was silent. Since the villainous patriarch did not speak, no one dared to make a sound or even move.
After a while, he finally said, “Have a seat.”
“Thank you!”
Zuo Xinchan sat down in a chair, and he finally had a chance to look up at the villainous patriarch who shook the world. He dared not to actively sense the mighty expert’s cultivation level, so he just briefly judged it with his intuition. It seemed to him that the villainous patriarch’s aura was somewhat ordinary. However, it was a common practice to hide one’s cultivation base in the cultivation world, so he was not surprised.
Then, he glanced at his surroundings. The great hall was not luxurious or majestic. In fact, it looked just like an ordinary sect without anything unusual.
This was the Evil Sky Pavilion, the lair of villains that frightened countless people.
“What do you want from me?” Lu Zhou stroked his beard and asked.
Zuo Xinchan cupped his fist and said, “I’ve long heard of Golden Court Mountain’s great reputation. There are three things I wish to discuss with Old Senior today. In the past, Derived Moon Palace had attacked Fiend Temple many times. I’m glad to learn that Old Senior has captured their palace master. She deserves all the punishment from her master. However, I hope Old Senior can let me have the other female cultivators.”
He paused, but before he could continue with the second thing, Duanmu Sheng shook the chain that bound him and said, “Derived Moon Palace is founded by a traitor of the Golden Court Mountain. You have no right to punish them.”
“Mister Third has a point…” Zuo Xinchan did not refute that. Instead, he went on, “The second thing is a task entrusted to me by Clarity Sect. Pan Zhong is a traitor of Clarity Sect, and they have given Fiend Temple the right to deal with him. Perhaps you don’t know, but Pan Zhong was showing interest in joining the Fiend Temple not long ago. A man who changes his mind constantly is not qualified to stand inside the Evil Sky Pavilion…”
Duanmu Sheng wanted to refute Zuo Xinchan again, but Lu Zhou slowly raised a hand and stopped him. “Continue.”
Zuo Xinchan bowed slightly and said, “If we can both agree on the third thing, we can forget about the first two things.” As he said, he rose to his feet and his voice grew louder. “We, the Fiend Temple and the Golden Court Mountain are on the same boat, hated by those so-called righteous sects. Their top ten experts have fought many battles with Old Senior, and their powers are increasing instead of decreasing. If Evil Sky Pavilion is willing to join hands with Fiend Temple…no one in this world will be a match for us.”
“Bullsh*t!” Duanmu Sheng suddenly cursed.