‘What will the others think if any Dick, Tom, or Harry can just barge into the grand Evil Sky Pavilion? I’ll have to bear the consequences if master blames me for this!’
Mingshi Yin knew he was extremely fortunate that he was not blamed when the Golden Court Mountain’s barrier broke previously, giving the cunning Zhou Jifeng a chance to sneak up on master. However, if it were to happen again, he would feel annoyed at himself even if his master did not blame him.
Mingshi Yin had coincidentally passed by the back of the mountain.
Zhou Jifeng was once the grand disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect. He was a Divine Court realm cultivator and well-known among cultivators. He had felt the strange pulse from the Evil Sky Pavilion as well. When he saw Mingshi Yin shooting past, he could not help but call out, “Mister Fourth?”
“Get lost… I’ll beat you up if you dare return!” Mingshi Yin cursed.
Zhou Jifeng was startled into jumping. His ears went numb from the vibrations of the soundwave from the Primal Qi, causing him to stumble several steps back. Then, he stood as still as a wooden chicken. ‘I don’t think I’ve offended you, did I? Are there no normal people in the Evil Sky Pavilion?’
…
When Mingshi Yin finally arrived at the Evil Sky Pavilion, he saw Little Yuan’er. He walked up to her and asked, “Little Junior Sister, did you see any outsider sneaking into the Evil Sky Pavilion?”
Little Yuan’er replied with a puzzled expression, “I didn’t. What’s wrong?”
Mingshi Yin sped through the pavilion, looking like a phantom as he left afterimages in his wake.
Little Yuan’er found the sight dazzling. She clapped her hands and said, “Senior Brother, your Bluewood Heart Technique is truly amazing!”
Whoosh!
Mingshi Yin appeared before Little Yuan’er again, his afterimages disappearing. He looked at Little Yuan’er solemnly as he asked, “You’re certain you didn’t see anyone?”
“I’m certain…” Little Yuan’er tapped the tip of her left index finger with the tip of her right index finger together as she looked at Mingshi Yin in confusion.
“Where’s master?”
“He’s resting…” Little Yuan’er pointed in the direction of the hidden chamber.
The hidden chamber was where Lu Zhou rested. However, he spent most of his time in the east pavilion and rarely visited the hidden chamber.
“The hidden chamber?” Mingshi Yin looked in the direction of the hidden chamber with a perplexed expression on his face before walking over.
Little Yuan’er barred Mingshi Yin’s way and said, “Senior brother, master has said that he doesn’t want to be interrupted!”
Mingshi Yin raised a hand and gestured for Little Yuan’er to keep quiet. Then, he said in a hushed tone, “I’m just going to take a look. What if there’s an intruder here?” He proceeded to cautiously walk toward the hidden chamber. He was convinced the source of the aura earlier came from the hidden chamber.
As Mingshi Yin inched closer to the hidden chamber, he thought to himself, ‘Is it possible that someone’s trying to steal something from master’s hidden chamber? Maybe master isn’t in the hidden chamber at all. Is there another reason for this?’
…
Meanwhile, Lu Zhou was completely focused on the scroll and paid no mind to what was happening outside.
The hidden chamber was as quiet as a library. The burst of aura was from when Lu Zhou Primal Qi surged through his eight meridians. He was intrigued to find that the eight meridians were not as powerful compared to before even though it had been connected by Ji Tiandao when he was still alive. It felt as though a drain had been dug, but the Primal Qi he had obtained was only a bucket’s worth.
According to the normal cultivation sequence, the first meridians to be connected were the Ren and Du meridians, followed by the Chong, Dai, Yangwei, Yinwei, Yangqiao, and Yinqiao meridians. Lu Zhou’s cultivation base would have to be at a certain level before he would be able to connect all eight meridians. Every meridian required a more profound cultivation base than the previous one.
Lu Zhou was the exact opposite. His avatar’s level was too low, which restricted the amount of Primal Qi he absorbed. In the Brahman Sea realm, two connected meridians would enable him to cultivate the Five Energies Universe, four connected meridians would enable him to cultivate the Six Recombinant Trigram Lines while eight connected meridians, the peak state, would grant him the avatar, the Seven Star Soul. The great realm had three avatars, and the difference in their strength was immense. His avatar was only the Mighty Four Quadrants!
Lu Zhou did not stop cultivating. He continued reading the Heavenly Writing. As usual, when he was focused on reading, he would immerse himself so deeply in the text that it was difficult to snap him out of it. Although the text was dry and boring, and he clearly could not understand it, he still enjoyed the feeling.
Shortly after, Lu Zhou felt a faint cooling sensation again. It came from his dantian’s sea of Qi and spread through his eight extraordinary meridians. His heart was as calm as a still lake, and his mind was clear and alert.
At this moment, Lu Zhou heard Mingshi Yi’s voice. “M-master?”
…
Mingshi Yin was, currently, standing at the door of the hidden chamber. He tried to peek inside through the gap in the door. However, the door of the hidden chamber was, naturally, different from ordinary doors. It was completely sealed, and he could not see a single thing. For this reason, he decided to call out to his master. Shortly after, he heard a grunt from the other side of the wall that reached his ears with a powerful soundwave from the Primal Qi.
Bang!
Mingshi Yin reeled from the impact, falling to the ground. His expression was one of fright as he stared at the sky. Even with his Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm’s cultivation base, he had fallen due to a soundwave. He did not even have time to react. ‘I-Impossible!’
Little Yuan’er looked at her senior brother in shock. He had flown back a few dozen meters before he crashed on the ground.
Although Mingshi Yin could have broken his fall, he did not dare to do it. He took the brunt of the hit before he got up on his knees and said pleadingly, “This disciple is wrong! I suspected that someone had infiltrated the Golden Court Mountain… Please forgive me, master!”
A silence hung over the Evil Sky Pavilion.
Lu Zhou was surprised by the strength of the soundwave. It was certainly not something that a cultivator who recently entered the Brahman Sea realm was capable of.
The Brahman Sea realm and the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm were two realms apart. How could he have possibly repelled Mingshi Yin?
Lu Zhou stood up slowly. He had a suspicion. ‘Is he putting on an act?’
Mingshi Yin was kneeling on the ground as he kept glancing at the hidden chamber. He was truly amazed by his master’s amazing strength, but he was curious why his master did not come out. At the same time, he sensed his surroundings. There were no enemies or any other signs of movement. How strange! All of a sudden, he heard the sound of moving machinery.
Bzzt!
The stone door of the hidden chamber slowly slid to the side, and Lu Zhou walked out with his hands on his back. His expression hid his emotions.
Mingshi Yin hastily praised Lu Zhou, “Your strength is truly unrivaled, master! I’m no match for your sound technique at all!”
Meanwhile, Little Yuan’er ran over and supported Lu Zhou. “Master, you’ve come out!”
Lu Zhou’s gaze fell on Mingshi Yin and said, “Old Fourth.”
“Hm?”
“Nice show,” Lu Zhou said knowingly.
Mingshi Yin was dumbfounded. ‘Nice show?’
Lu Zhou said coldly, “Since you like acting so much, go to the Cave of Reflection and stay there for three days…”
Mingshi Yin was truly bewildered. He tried to explain, “Master, I’m telling the truth. I didn’t put on an…”
Lu Zhou’s expression was cold as he interjected, “Are you questioning your master?” Did a master need an excuse to punish his disciples? Of course not!
“I dare not! I’ll accept the punishment! I’ll head to the Cave of Reflection now…” Mingshi Yin obediently accepted his punishment.
Lu Zhou thought he would obtain merit points from disciplining Mingshi Yi, but he did not hear a notification from the system. He thought to himself, ‘Dissatisfied? I’ll deal a heavier punishment next time!’…
Mingshi Yin kept shaking his head until he reached the Cave of Reflection. He could not help but sigh. “I thought master is different from before. It seems like I’m thinking too much. Master is still as unpredictable as ever!” He scratched his head, genuinely confused. “Nice show?”
Mingshi Yin quickly went into the Cave of Reflection. It was extremely cold and uncomfortable in there. As soon as he entered, he saw Zhao Yue shivering in the corner. ‘Zhao Yue’s cultivation base has been sealed. How can she resist the cold?’
Mingshi Yin pushed his dissatisfaction aside and said, “Junior Sister, don’t blame me for not helping you.”
“Senior brother, you’re doing more than enough by visiting me. I can’t possibly ask for more,” Zhao Yue said before turning to look at Ye Tianxin, “I’m just worried that Junior Sister Tianxin would not be able to hold on for much longer.”