Zhao Yue smiled and said, "Old Eighth is cheeky enough to call himself the Evil King with his weak cultivation base."
Of Ji Tiandao's nine disciples, Zhu Honggong was only slightly stronger than Little Yuan'er. However, Little Yuan'er had just joined the sect for five years, and it would not take her long to surpass him. So, when Zhao Yue heard that their eighth junior brother, who was a little silly, called himself Evil King, she could not help but smile.
But Ye Tianxin said, "It is not that Old Eighth is too weak, but that old thing is too strong..."
What the world knew about Ji Tiandao came from all the 'amazing feats' he had done in those years, when he held sway in the world. But, only his disciples knew what the feeling of accompanying the old villain was.
...
After the people of the Ci Family were rescued, they knelt and kowtowed to Lu Zhou to express their gratitude. As expected, he received merit points from the worship of over a hundred people. He found that although many of them kowtowed several times, he did not get extra points, which told him that additional kowtows would not earn him more merit points.
Little Yuan'er had also reunited with her mother, and that excited her for quite a while. It was a pity that before they could talk further, Lu Zhou asked her to send all the people back to the residence. They still had someone to rescue: her father was still in the hands of that unknown but formidable cultivator.
After the brief battle of Bluesun Mountain, Murong Hai had a new understanding of Little Yuan'er.
"Old Mister, your granddaughter is probably the youngest eight-meridians Brahma Sea cultivator I've ever seen, and I'm certain that she will step into the Divine Court realm in less than three years," he praised sincerely.
Lu Zhou did not say anything but clasped his hands behind his back and walked away.
Twisting her hair with a finger, Little Yuan'er pointed at Murong Hai and said, "Bah! I remember you were scared out of your wits just now."
"Ugh..." Murong Hai looked embarrassed.
"Oh, you don't think so? Count yourself lucky that you still have some use to us. Otherwise, I would have killed you with a kick now..."
"..."
Murong Hai felt that he really could not handle this moody little girl. He did not understand how he had provoked her, even though he was just praising her. 'I think I'd better just shut my mouth...' he thought to himself. Then, he quickened his steps and caught up with Lu Zhou. 'Her grandfather is kinder and easier to talk to.'
After walking for a while, Murong Hai could no longer hold back his curiosity, so he asked, "Old Mister, why did you send the people of the Ci Family back to their residence? Wouldn't it be a waste of effort if they were kidnapped by someone again?"
Not waiting for Lu Zhou to answer, Little Yuan'er already said snappily, "Idiot! My Grandpa has the imperial token, which I've given to them!"
Murong Hai was almost choked to death by her words.
Lu Zhou said calmly, "Don't worry, these cultivators' target should not be the Ci Family."
"I agree," said Murong Hai while nodding. "If they wanted money, they would have asked it. But they didn't, and they did not kill a single hostage, which means what they want is something else. In that case, why did they do this?"
Right then, Little Yuan'er pointed at the sky and said, "A carrier pigeon!"
Swoosh!
She shot up like a bolt of lightning and caught the bird before bringing it down to the ground.
"It's from Fourth Senior Brother."
Lu Zhou did not ask her to read this time but beckoned her over. Little Yuan'er handed the letter to him, after reading which, he furrowed his brows slightly.
"What did the letter say, Grandpa?"
"Some trifling matters."
With a casual wave of his hand, the letter was pulverized and carried away by the wind. Murong Hai stood to the side in silence, not daring to ask anything about the letter.
Looking at the beautiful scenery ahead, Lu Zhou said, "Send a letter to Old Fourth and tell him to wait for my return."
"Oh!"
From the way they addressed each other, Murong Hai guessed that this pair of grandfather and granddaughter should be from some sect. The world of Great Yan was boundless, and it was perfectly normal to have one or two almighty hermits.
"Old Mister, the head of the Ci Family doesn't have a seal, so we can't track him. Why don't we just...go back?" Murong Hai suggested.
Lu Zhou gave him a look, and instead of answering, he asked, "Do you know anything about the imperial token?"
"The token belongs to Great Yan's emperor, and it can be used to mobilize the imperial army of one hundred thousand elites," said Murong Hai. "The army has eight commanders, who guard the eight sides of the capital city. It is said that four of them are Nascent Divinity Tribulation experts and are stationed at the north, south, east, and west of the capital, forming the strongest shield. The eight commanders report directly to the emperor, and the only thing that can command them besides the emperor is this token. It has a unique dragon carving, which makes it very easy to identify."
Lu Zhou nodded. What he said was basically correct. It was after hearing about its uniqueness that Ji Tiandao had sneaked into the palace and stolen it. Since then, time had passed and circumstances had changed. No matter how stupid the imperial family was, they would not let a lost token continue to have the ability to muster the imperial army. Nevertheless, the symbolic meaning of the token remained.
"Since you know about this token, why did you still dare to hold Wang Fugui captive?"
With a sad face, Murong Hai said, "I was careless and failed to notice the dragon carving."
Lu Zhou did not question him further. Just then, Little Yuan'er pointed to the front and said, "Grandpa, it should be ahead."
"Alright."
The three of them skirted a lake to an empty field surrounded by mountains. There was no one around. After carefully studying the environment, Lu Zhou said in a deep voice, "Show yourself."
No one answered him save for the sound of birds calling in the mountains and woods. For some unknown reasons, Murong Hai felt uncomfortable. A chill ran down his back, and he had a feeling that something bad was about to happen. So, he took a step back.
Swoosh.
Suddenly, the animals and birds in the woods scattered and fled in all directions while an evil laugh rang out, echoing in the woods. Right then, a black figure flew from the mountains. He had a man held beneath one arm, but he landed slowly like a feather.
Murong Hai stepped back some more. "What a strong aura! A Divine Court expert! This is not good, he may be a villain from the Golden Court Mountain! Run for your life!" He turned and ran. However, he was not far away when an invisible layer of energy blocked his way.
"It's too late to run away now." The black figure's husky voice sounded terrible.
"Save me, Old Mister!"
Lu Zhou stood unmoving with his hands clasped behind his back. Judging from the fluctuation of the man's aura, he was stronger than an eight-meridians Brahma Sea expert: he should be a Divine Court expert. Lu Zhou did not think that this man was worthy of him using a peak-form experience card.
The man's long black hair had covered his cheeks, making it difficult for anyone to see his face.
"The fact that you managed to escape the trap at Bluesun Mountain proves that you are pretty strong. But unfortunately...that is far from enough."
"A two-apertures Mystic Enlightening cultivator, an eighth-tier Body Tempering cultivator..." Through the gap between his hair, the man glanced at Murong Hai and Lu Zhou, and then his eyes rested on Little Yuan'er. "...and an eight-meridians Brahma Sea cultivator. Tsk, tsk, this seems like a fair deal."
Little Yuan'er's eyes lit up, and she chuckled. "This one should last a little longer."
The man roared with laughter.
Little Yuan'er was about to rush up, but Lu Zhou raised his hand and stopped her. While stroking his beard, he said, "You are too impatient. He's merely a Divine Court cultivator. You will have your chance to fight."
"Oh!"
Murong Hai was speechless. 'Old Mister looks kind in terms of looks, but why is he so arrogant in speech? Is it because he has a granddaughter who has opened all eight meridians of the Brahma Sea realm?'
"Do you know who you're talking to, old thing?" The black figure raised a hand and pointed at Lu Zhou.
"The Three Yin Styles of the Daoist Societies?" Lu Zhou's tone remained calm.
That gave the man a pause, and he moved his eyes from Little Yuan'er to Lu Zhou. His intuition told him that this old man was not an eighth-tier Body Tempering cultivator, but had used some means to conceal his aura. And the fact that he could tell his sect with a glance proved that he was not as simple as he looked.
"Who are you?"
"You are practicing a reverse breathing method, which absorbs the energy essence of the heaven and earth through the Laogong acupoints in your arms and accumulates them in your dantian. The method is very easy to master, but it has a flaw—your bones will be filled with chills, and you will be in extreme pain for at least ten days a month."
Lu Zhou paused before continuing, "You only have three months left to live!"