Lu Zhou was slightly angry. Once again, he erupted with energy seals.
The energy seals formed a halo and sent his ten disciples flying back. With this, they finally vanished without a trace.
A master was a master; a disciple was a disciple. To betray one’s ancestor and master, and to offend one’s elder was a line that should not be crossed.
However, this attack had backfired on him again. He bent his body before staggering three steps back. Those three steps felt as though he had crossed thousands of mountains and rivers, leaving the Evil Sky Pavilion far behind. As he spat out a mouthful of blood, he felt his Dantian’s sea of Qi shattering. His ears were ringing, and his mind was blank.
Then, the mysterious voice rang in the air again.
“Hurry up! Retreat!”
Lu Zhou inhaled deeply. His chest heaved up and down; he was out of breath. He was like an old man who had been farming the entire day and needed to sit down to have a rest. After his Dantian’s sea of Qi shattered, he had grown numb to the pain.
Lu Zhou sighed softly as he shook his head and looked up at the Evil Sky Pavilion. He murmured, “Maybe you’re right. Becoming a Venerable Master isn’t as easy as I thought. Is it the Impeccable Body?”
“What Venerable Master? What Impeccable Body? They’re just hurdles on the road of cultivation. Keep walking. Rest if you need. Get up again if you fall.”
…
The cultivators at the northern and southern Soaring Peaks looked at each other and frowned.
“This is bad! Is he possessed? It might affect his future cultivation!”
“Bring him back!”
On the northern Soaring Peak, Jie Jin’an’s expression was rather unsightly as he looked at Lu Zhou who was standing in the middle of the Sky Hook Ropeway. With the fierce wind and heavy snowfall, Lu Zhou looked as though he was going to be blown away at any moment.
Humans were ultimately too insignificant. It was simply too difficult for them to fight against heaven and earth.
“Retreat!” Jie Jin’an transmitted his voice again. When it reached the middle of the ropeway, it turned into a thunderous roar.
…
Lu Zhou was unmoved. He asked tonelessly, “Tell me. What’s a Venerable Master?”
…
No one at the southern and northern Soaring Peaks could answer Lu Zhou’s question.
At this time, Lu Zhou’s figure was becoming blurry amidst the wind and snow.
…
That voice transmitted to the middle, forming a thunderous roar.
Lu Zhou was unmoved. He said indifferently, “Tell me… What is a real person?”
…
On the northern and Southern Soaring Sky Peak, none of the cultivators could answer.
They couldn’t see Lu Zhou’s figure clearly anymore. They could only see his blurry figure struggling in the wind and snow.
“The ancient Venerable Masters didn’t sleep or dream. They lived a carefree life, ate without feelings, and breathed deeply. They were born to the heavens and were known as Venerable Masters. Venerable Masters are one with the heavens. Those who cultivate their inner selves were known as sages. In ancient times, there were Venerable Masters who seized the heavens and earth, grasped the Yin and Yang, breathed the essence, and guarded the spirit. With these, they lived forever until the end of time. Venerable Masters do not die, do not live, and do not exist.”
…
“???”
Jie Jin’an did not understand why Lu Zhou was struggling and persisting. After all, Lu Zhou could try again. With experience and mental preparation, it would be easier for Lu Zhou to succeed the next time.
If this continued, if Lu Zhou was injured by his inner demon, it would be harder for him to advance. At worst, he might even lose his cultivation, and it would be impossible for him to advance even half a step in the future.
…
At this moment, Lu Zhou’s eyes suddenly lit up. With a flash, he advanced another third of the distance.
Upon seeing this, everyone cried out in surprise. They could hardly see him at this time; they could only vaguely see his figure moving forward.
“The backlash is so powerful! How’s he still able to mobilize his Primal Qi?”
No one knew the answer to this question.
Jie Jin’an no longer persuaded Lu Zhou to retreat. Instead, he watched silently. After a long while, he muttered, “It’s still the same…”
…
Lu Zhou arrived in front of Golden Court Mountain again. Forcefully mobilizing his energy was just his blue avatar’s final struggle. When his Dantian’s sea of Qi shattered, he would lose his cultivation, avatars, and energy.
Figures flashed in the sky as they attacked from all directions.
Yu Zhenghai, Yu Shangrong, Duanmu Sheng, Ming Shiyin…
Lu Zhou sighed softly and said, “As the ancient saying goes, ‘To raise but not teach the child is the father’s fault; to educate but not be strict is a neglect by the master.”
Lu Zhou stopped moving and stopped mobilizing his vitality energy. The vitality energy in his Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Dantian’s sea of Qi vanished before the sea of Qi vanished.
Lu Zhou closed his eyes.
The sound of the wind on Golden Court Mountain was getting further and further away.
“Master…”
His disciples’ voices were also growing fainter and fainter.
“Master, please accept my bow.” There was Yu Zhenghai who had just entered the Evil Sky Pavilion and acknowledged him as his master.
“I’ll keep my promise for the rest of my life.” There was Ye Tianxin who made a promise when she had just returned to the Evil Sky Pavilion.
One by one, the voices gradually disappeared.
The Eight Extraordinary Meridians had become ordinary meridians while his Dantian’s sea of Qi was just flesh and blood.
‘What’s a Venerable Master?’
Lu Zhou felt as though his soul had been pulled out of his body and that he was floating in the universe aimlessly. He could sense the gossamer-like power of heaven and earth, suffusing the mountain, the land, humans, birds, and beasts.
The blood flowing in his meridians stopped. His heart stopped beating. His body temperature plummeted.
Swoosh!
A thin layer of frost covered Lu Zhou’s hair, face, and body.
Then, it was as though his soul dove back into his body. He struggled to open his eyes. The gossamer-like power obeyed his will and converged from all directions.
Crack!
The layer of frost shattered.
The ordinary meridians were once again the Eight Extraordinary Meridians as blood swiftly flowed through them. At the same time, his Dantian’s sea of Qi was rewoven. It was even deeper and more vast than before.
Primal Qi burst like spring water in his Dantian’s sea of Qi before surging into his body, dispelling the cold instantly.
Lu Zhou’s eyes suddenly snapped open. When he looked ahead, his inner demon and the illusions were no longer there. He had returned to the Sky Hook Ropeway and the northern and southern Soaring Peaks.
Between heaven and earth, Primal Qi surged and converged like a hurricane with Lu Zhou at the eye of the hurricane in the middle of the Sky Hook Ropeway.
“Heavens! It’s done!”
“He… He must be the first person to rise from the dead! Is he a Venerable Master?”
“Don’t be noisy! This is a critical moment!”
Everyone waited with bated breath. They all wanted to witness the birth of a Venerable Master.
At this moment, a white figure suddenly appeared in the sky.
“The Equalizer!”
“The Equalizer?!”
“Back off!”
The white-clad cultivator unleashed his grand technique twice and appeared in front of everyone in just a blink of an eye. He said tonelessly, “I’ve finally found you.”
The white-clad cultivator held his halberd horizontally and thrust it at Lu Zhou.
Just as the halberd was about to pierce Lu Zhou’s face, Jie Jin’an’s figure appeared, shielding him. Jie Jin’an raised his hand, blocking the halberd.
Bang!
Energy surged, shooting up to the heavens and cleaving the land.
Jie Jin’an asked with a smile. “What’s the matter? Why are you acting so rashly?”
The white-clad cultivator frowned. “Who are you?”
“I’m just a human.”
“It’s best if you don’t interfere in the work of an Equalizer,” the white-clad cultivator said.
“It’s just another Venerable Master. I’ve never seen any of you make a move when it came to those four Venerable Masters. Why are you in such a hurry to act now?” Jie Jin’an asked, puzzled.
The white-clad cultivator scoffed before he said through voice transmission, “He was in contact with Ying Gou. I have reason to suspect that he’s the Unholy One, a demon!”
Jie Jin’an did not know whether to laugh or cry. “You’re really funny. How many years has it been since all of you are talking about the Unholy One? It’s been 100,000 years! In those years, have you even seen the Unholy One once? Scram!”
Jie Jin’an pushed his hand out.
Bang!
The white-clad cultivator was actually pushed back by Jie Jin’an. He tasted something sweet and metallic at the back of his throat before he spat out blood. He looked at Jie Jin’an and exclaimed in shock, “Who are you?”
“I thought you Equalizers have the ability to see through a person? I’ll give you a chance…” Jie Jin’an said as he spread his arms.
The white-clad cultivator put away his halberd and suppressed his anger before he said, “I’ll be reporting this to the Sacred Hall. You can protect him for now, but you won’t be able to protect him forever.”
Jie Jin’an frowned. “How troublesome.”
Buzz!
A strange energy resonance sound came from behind.
Jie Jin’an turned around in surprise. He found that Lu Zhou had vanished. When he faced the front again, he saw that Lu Zhou had already appeared in front of the white-clad cultivator. Through the snow, he could see Lu Zhou’s body glowing with a faint blue light.
Lu Zhou grabbed the white-clad cultivator as he said, “You want to report this? You can’t leave.”
Lu Zhou raised his other hand, launching a blue Abandoned Wisdom that had been imbued with the divine power.
The white-clad cultivator struggled but found that he could not move at all.
Bang!
The palm seal landed on the white-clad cultivator’s chest. He fell like a shooting star toward the ground.
Boom!
In just a blink of an eye, the white-clad cultivator landed at the foot of the Soaring Peak.
Jie Jin’an exclaimed in surprise, “Great Venerable Master?!”