The next day...
Golden Court Mountain was extremely hot in August. Hence, Lu Zhou came to the gazebo to enjoy the cool air.
Since he had no need to cultivate, his days became extremely boring. He felt like an old man sitting under the shade of a large tree at the entrance of a village in his previous life.
His third and ninth disciples were standing guard outside like a pair of door gods. Since the incident of Zhou Jifeng's assassination attempt, the two of them dared not to be careless again.
Although they thought Lu Zhou was strong enough to fend off any assassins, it would be the negligence of duty if they let any of those rascals slip into Golden Court Mountain.
"Master, can Fourth Senior Brother really help them?" Little Yuan'er could not help but ask.
Lu Zhou smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry!"
"Little Junior Sister, although Old Fourth is playful and not so reliable at times, he always does his best to complete the tasks assigned to him. You don't have to worry!" said Duanmu Sheng.
"Well, I'm just afraid that Fourth Senior Brother would focus on playing and forget about the task."
"If he dares to forget about the task, I, as his Senior Brother, will teach him a lesson before Master does anything to him," said Duanmu Sheng honestly.
"If only Seventh Senior Brother were here..." murmured Little Yuan'er under her breath.
"Little Junior Sister, careful about what you say!"
Those who betrayed their sect were all rebellious and wicked. She was inviting a stern lecture by mentioning a traitor in the face of their master.
She immediately realized that she had said something wrong, and she quickly stuck out her tongue.
But, Lu Zhou just shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. Old Seventh is indeed a rare talent. He is good at scheming, but he is also too fond of playing with people's hearts and always takes unnecessary pains to study an insignificant problem."
A clever man was always cunning. Such people were difficult to control and deal with.
"Senior Sister's letter is here!" Little Yuan'er said as she pointed at a carrier bird in the sky.
This carrier bird was not an ordinary carrier bird. It was raised with spiritual energy on Golden Court Mountain and had already mutated. Some powerful carrier birds had become one of the tens of thousands of savage beasts in this world of Great Yan. Among wild savage beasts, there were others who could fly faster than carrier birds, such as swan geese and carrier fishes.
The carrier bird shook off the letter, which fell into Little Yuan'er's hand.
"Master!"
"Read it."
"Yes, Master!"
Little Yuan'er unfolded the letter and began reading it, "Master, since the top ten sects besieged Golden Court Mountain and Luo Changfeng died, the Heavenly Sword Sect is thrown into confusion and everyone is fighting each other to become the next sect leader.
"Zhou Jifeng did not succeed as sect leader after returning to the Heavenly Sword Sect. Meanwhile, their previous sect leader, Luo Xingkong, suddenly began cultivating in seclusion. I suspect that he is likely to take the opportunity to break through the Dao-fusing stage of the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm.
"When I was spying on them at night, I found that Zhou Jifeng has begun to grow disloyal to his sect."
When she finished reading, Little Yuan'er handed the letter to Lu Zhou. Shaking his head, the latter said, "It is a little bit too slow. Inform Zhao Yue to give him a push when necessary."
"Yes, Master!"
Duanmu Sheng was puzzled. He cupped his fist and asked, "Master, why are we helping Zhou Jifeng? He is only a cultivator who has just stepped into the Divine Court realm, not to mention he is also our enemy."
Lu Zhou did not answer his question. Before their loyalty was more than 80%, he had to be very careful with what he said.
When he saw his master not say anything, Duanmu Sheng turned away in embarrassment and did not dare to ask any more questions.
"Ding! Mingshi Yin has completed the task you assigned him."
"Ding! This task has rescued 105 members of the Ci Family, and you are rewarded with 1,050 merit points."
"Ding! You have received the devout worship of 105 people and are rewarded with 1,050 merit points."
"Ding! This task has slain 82 mounted brigands, and you are rewarded with 820 merit points."
...
Lu Zhou was surprised when he heard the prompts.
Could this be the right way to use the system?
Just this task alone had given him so many merit points. Together with a few balance points, he now had a total of 2,904 merit points.
"Master, Fourth Senior Brother's letter is here!" Little Yuan'er flew up in the sky as quickly as lightning.
"Read it!"
"Master, I've rescued all the kidnapped members of the Ci Family and slain the mounted brigands. Also, I found that the cultivators behind these brigands seem to be related to Old Eighth's Trigerridge Gang. I'll look into this matter."
The first half of the letter was to inform Lu Zhou that he had completed the task while the last part was purely an excuse to give him two days to play.
Lu Zhou was in a good mood, so he would naturally not quibble with the other. As they said, 'You cannot expect a horse to run fast when you don't let it graze.'
"Master, Fourth Senior Brother said this has something to do with Eight Senior Brother. How could Eight Senior Brother do this!" Little Yuan'er was very angry.
"Old Eighth is a Divine Court expert after all, so I don't think he would interfere with secular affairs. Most likely, the group of cultivators is using his name to do evil..." Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Whether he is involved or not, let Old Fourth investigate."
Since the master had reached a conclusion, the disciples naturally would not have any other opinions.
...
In the afternoon...
Lu Zhou did not receive the prompt about the completion of Zhou Jifeng's quest, so he returned to Evil Sky Pavilion. He glanced at his merit points once again to confirm its balance. Sure enough, he had 2,904 points.
"Shopping mall."
"I want to purchase a Two Transformed Powers avatar."
"Ding! 1,000 merit points are deducted. You have received a Two Transformed Powers avatar."
The moment he received the avatar, Lu Zhou felt his cultivation base soar rapidly from the Heart Aperture stage to the Mouth Aperture stage of the Mystic Enlightening realm.
Of course, the benefit brought by the avatar was much more than that, as he felt energy flow endlessly like a river in his dantian and meridians. In the blink of an eye, he had advanced from the Mouth Aperture stage to the Nose Aperture stage, approaching the Eye Aperture stage.
Of the five apertures of the Mystic Enlightening realm—the Heart, Mouth, Nose, Eye, and Ear—he had broken through four now.
Lu Zhou nodded with satisfaction as he sensed the energy in him. The rate at which he was progressing should be unprecedented, he reckoned.
"I want to buy two reversal cards."
"Ding! 1,000 merit points are deducted. You have received 2 reversal cards."
"Use them now."
A vortex suddenly appeared over Evil Sky Pavilion, sucking the surrounding life force over and pouring them into Lu Zhou's old body. He was rejuvenated once again, and there were more dark hairs on his head.
The two cards had made him younger by six hundred days.
Perhaps it was because he had gotten used to the slow rhythms of the old body, he felt refreshed now that he was younger by six hundred days. It was not too obvious, but he felt very comfortable.
No one on earth could enjoy a reverse growth experience such as this, which was probably what Lu Zhou felt right now.
"Two thousand merit points are gone in a flash...These points just can't get me too many things, can they?"
"Lucky draw."
"Ding! This lucky draw costs 50 merit points. Thank you for trying, you have received 1 luck point."
"Lucky draw."
"Ding! This lucky draw costs 50 merit points. Thank you for trying, you have received 1 luck point."
...
He got 'thank you for trying' five times in a row. Hence, Lu Zhou stopped trying his luck and glanced at his personal menu.
Name: Lu Zhou
Race: Human
Cultivation base: The Eye Aperture stage of the Mystic Enlightening realm
Avatar: Two Transformed Powers
Merit points: 654
Remaining life: 1,209 days
Items: Ji Tiandao Peak Form Card x 2, Critical Block Card (passive) x 5, Whitzard
"It seems that the merit points gained from completing tasks are not as rich as I had imagined," Lu Zhou muttered.