My Disciples Are All Villains

After Lu Zhou gave the order, Qiong Qi leaped forward with a swoosh and landed in front of the crowd. It bared its fangs and glared at them.

Mingshi Yin stood on Qiong Qi's back and stared at the crowd with a smile on his face. The Separation Hook in his hand glinted coldly.

Zhi Wenzi and Zhi Wuzi's cultivation bases were higher than Mingshi Yin's so they could definitely escape from him. However, they had not forgotten what had happened the last time they tried to escape. They could not bear the price of trying to escape again. Just a while ago, perhaps, they still had the support of the emperor of Great Qin. However, they had no one to support them now. Everyone saw the emperor run away.

After a brief moment, Zhi Wenzi and Zhi Wuzi dropped to their knees with a thud. They obediently surrendered.

"That's more like it," Mingshi Yin said with a smile.

Lu Zhou said, "Just detain two of them. Everyone else can scram!"

The cultivators were at a loss when they heard these words. They did not know if they should leave or not. After all, grand cultivators had strange temperaments. What if they were killed as soon as they turned to leave?

"My master has already shown mercy; why are all of you still here? Hurry up and scram!" Little Yuan'er said fiercely.

Except for Zhi Wenzi and Zhi Wuzi, the others hurriedly left.

All these weak underlings did not have any use as hostages. In fact, there might not even be any use in holding Zhi Wenzi and Zhi Wuzi hostage.

Lu Zhou landed and looked at the two brothers. "Did the emperor's 22 Birth Charts boost your confidence?"

Zhi Wenzi and Zhi Wuzi kept waving their hands as they said, "No, no! He's the emperor! We're only following orders! After all, even if he wants us to die, we can only acquiesce!"

"You're experts and masters of Great Jin. The emperor of Great Qin destroyed Great Jin so you should've held a grudge against him..." Lu Zhou did not understand why the two brothers would switch allegiance.

"A smart person knows how to choose who to follow. If you're willing to accept us, we'll follow you to death without any hesitation," Zhi Wenzi said.

"You've misunderstood. You're not qualified to join the Evil Sky Pavilion," Lu Zhou said.

"..."

If it was possible, Zhi Wenzi and Zhu Wuzi felt even worse than before. They were not like fishes on a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered.

Lu Zhou looked at the two brothers who wore unsightly expressions on their faces as he asked, "Tell me the truth. Did the emperor go to the Pillar of Destruction?"

Zhi Wenzi did not care about anything at this moment and hurriedly answer in full detail, "Yes. He went to the Pillar of Destruction in Bu Shi and obtained Great Void soil there."

"What else?" Lu Zhou asked.

"A lot of mystic life grass, profound microstones, fire lotuses, snow lotuses, blood ginseng, heavenly soul grass, illusion stones, the Great Void soil..." Zhi Wenzi kept rambling. He did not even miss the unimportant details.

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Yu said angrily, "Did you say he has a lot of fire lotus, snow lotus, and blood ginseng?"

Zhi Wenzi naturally understood why Zhao Yu was angry. He turned around and kowtowed to Zhao Yu as he said, "H-his Majesty... His Majesty prohibited us from talking about this! Young Master Zhao, please calm down!"

It was said that a tiger would not devour its own cub, but what the emperor of Great Qin did was even more infuriating than if he were to kill his son.

Zhi Wenzi did not say anything. In fact, he also did not know the reason behind the emperor's actions. He could only bear Zhao Yu's anger with an aggrieved expression on his face.

Mingshi Yin said angrily, "Why the hell do you look so aggrieved? Where's your confidence and arrogance from before?"

Lu Zhou asked, "Since the emperor is a Venerable Master, why didn't he try to get rid of the other four Venerable Masters and unify everyone under Great Qin's banner? After all, he's clearly very ambitious."

"The Equalizers from the Great Void serve as a deterrent. Previously, he relied on some ancient secret technique to suppress his cultivation base to the Seventeen Chart stage. However, after the imbalance, he no longer had any scruples. However, he didn't expect Venerable Master Tuoba and Venerable Master Ye to die," Zhi Wenzi replied.

"What's that white jade in his hand?" Lu Zhou asked.

"It's called the White Dragon Jade. It's a fusion-grade sacred relic," Zhi Wenzi said. Then, after sneaking a look at Lu Zhou, he added, "I don't know anything else about it."

"What else is there?" Lu Zhou asked.

Zhi Wenzi replied, "T-there's an ancient formation in the palace. If it's not necessary, I-I... I suggest..."

"Suggest what? Who cares about the formation? It's just like a piece of paper in front of my master. Who are you trying to frighten? You're just a frog living at the bottom of a well that's trying to give advice!"

The people from the Evil Sky Pavilion shook their heads speechlessly. They could all see how irritable Mingshi Yin had become ever since coming to the green lotus domain. Everything irritated him, and he was always angry. However, considering his identity, relationship with the Meng clan, and what some of the people here did to him, they could understand him.

"Y-you're right, you're right! Please forgive me, old sir!"

Lu Zhou continued to ask, "Are there any other experts in the palace?"

"Apart from the two of us, there are four great guardians and Chief Eunuch Gao Cheng. Their strength isn't inferior to those of Free Men. However, in front of the old sir, they're not worth mentioning," Zhi Wenzi said.

There were no changes in Lu Zhou's expression, but inwardly, he was wondering how he should deal with so many experts. He knew this matter could not be rushed, and he had to consider everything carefully. Now that he had poked the hornet's nest that was the emperor of Great Qin, he had to carefully and completely solve this problem. Otherwise, the golden lotus domain would be in danger.

Finally, Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Considering your performance, I'll spare your lives for now."

Zhi Wenzi was overjoyed. "Old sir, why don't you take us in? We promise to do our best and stay loyal to the Evil Sky Pavilion!"

Lu Zhou said tonelessly, "Let alone both of you, even if the emperor of Great Qin kneels in front of me and begs me, I might not accept him. Moreover, you betrayed both Great Jin and the emperor; what do you know about loyalty?"

"..."

Zhi Wenzi was rendered speechless. Now that his character and loyalty had been proven to be problematic, who would dare to keep him by their side?

Lu Zhou did not understand why the emperor would keep these two people by his side.

"Take them away," Lu Zhou ordered.

"Wait!" Zhi Wenzi raised his hand.

Lu Zhou felt that Zhi Wenzi was still harboring secrets so he said, "Speak."

Zhi Wenzi gulped before he said, "I want to negotiate with you, old sir. I-I know I'm not qualified to negotiate, but I just want to live. If you kill me, you won't get anything, right?"

Mingshi Yin was about to curse. He could not believe there was such a shameless person.

Lu Zhou raised his hand to stop Mingshi Yin before he said, "I'll give you a chance. However, if the information you provide isn't valuable, you'll die."

Zhi Wenzi looked to the left and the right before he pointed at Mingshi Yin and said, "Tell him to leave."

"..."

Mingshi Yin was about to leap into a fit of rage when Lu Zhou said, "Leave."

"Alright! I'll obey you, master! If you need me, just call me! I'll come immediately," Mingshi Yin said as he retreated to the distance.

Zhi Wenzi hurriedly suppressed his aura before he transmitted his voice telepathically.

"I remember one time, I went to the palace to see the emperor. At that time, he had just finished showering and was about to change. I remembered smelling... smelling the smell of the Meng Residence."

'The smell of the Meng Residence?' Lu Zhou raised an eyebrow before gesturing for Zhi Wenzi to continue.

"I'll never forget that smell in my life. It was the smell of blood and death. Unfortunately, before I could smell it further, it vanished completely," Zhi Wenzi said.

"Are you saying that the emperor slaughtered everyone in the Meng Residence?"

Apart from the smell, the fact that the emperor had showered and was just about to change indicated that it was likely he was cleaning up the bloodstains.

Zhi Wenzi shook his head and said, "That's what I thought initially. However, when His Majesty summoned me into the room, I didn't find anything unusual."

Lu Zhou asked, "Is your sense of smell very good?"

Upon hearing these words, Zhi Wenzi could not help but swell with confidence. He said, "I have 14 Birth Charts, and seven of them are related to my sense of smell."

"Isn't that just wasting the space in your Birth Palace?"

"Although it's just one ability, it has many uses!" Zhi Wenzi said.

If it were a truly excellent ability, Lu Zhou might have taken it for himself. However, not only did he have the power of smell from the Heavenly Writing, even if he did not, he thought it was not worth it to sacrifice so many locations in the Birth Palace just to boost one ability.

Zhi Wuzi chimed in at this moment, "My brother once saw Bi An near a lotus pond in the southern mountain. Bi An has a keen nose and can be considered almost peerless. However, it's still no match for my brother!"

Lu Zhao naturally knew Bi An's abilities very well. Indeed, its sense of smell was exceptional. However, its sense of smell was still second to its defenses. In fact, since he did not think it would be of much help, he left it behind on Golden Court Mountain.

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "The emperor isn't stupid. If he killed those in the Meng Residence, how could he have revealed any clues in front of you? If what you said is true, it's likely that he slaughtered everyone in the Meng Residence."

Zhi Wenzi was stunned. He could not refute Lu Zhou's words. However, he really did not understand the emperor's thoughts. The emperor was prone to crazy and out-of-character fits sometimes. For example, that time when he severed his and his brother's arms. There was also Zou Ping whom the emperor widely acknowledged as his weapon. However, someone like the emperor must know that just one Zou Ping was not enough even if Zou Ping was strong.

In the end, Zhi Wenzi said, "I don't dare to make any more guesses. I can only tell you what I know."

Zhi Wenzi and Zhi Wuzi continued to kneel silently.

Lu Zhou waved his sleeves and said, "Leave."

Zhi Wenzi was overjoyed. He grabbed Zhi Wuzi and hurriedly flew away.

Lu Zhou turned and glanced at Ming Shiyin. He did not say anything and returned to his room.

...

Evening.

Lu Zhou brought out the two life hearts he had obtained from the emperor of Great Qin. He could not identify them until Kong Wen had taken a look at them.

The one with rich energy and a strong aura was a great life heart which came from He Luoyu, a beast emperor. The other one was the life heart of Zhu Huai, a beast king.

The emperor of Great Qin had 22 Birth Charts, and the Reduction Card helped him obtain the emperor's 21st and 22nd life hearts.

Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction; his luck was rather good. The 22nd life heart was the beast emperor's life heart. Generally speaking, the closer the Birth Charts got to a Birth Trial, the stronger the life hearts that activated them would be. On the other hand, the life hearts that activated Birth Charts soon after a Birth Trial were generally weaker. For example, the life heart of the sixth Birth Chart was slightly better than the life heart of the seventh Birth Chart.

Since the emperor of Qin had passed three Birth Trials, his strongest life heart should be the one that was used to activate his 18th Birth Chart. Nevertheless, Lu Zhou was quite satisfied with the beast king and beast emperor's life hearts that he obtained.

Subsequently, Lu Zhou used his remaining divine power and activated the Pillar of Impermanence, increasing its speed to 100 times faster. Any faster, and it would not benefit his cultivation much. After all, this did not truly control time but the speed of circulation.

Following that, he brought his Birth Palace out and placed Zhu Huai's life heart.

Zhu Huai's life heart hovered above his Birth Palace for a moment before it began to sink into it, starting the process of activating his 14th Birth Chart.

Since he had just passed a Birth Trial not long ago, the pain of activating the Birth Chart was not much. All he had to do now was wait. With the effect of the Pillar of Impermanence, he should be able to complete the process within two days.

After that, he no longer paid attention to the activation of his Birth Chart. Instead, he brought out his blue Five Leaf Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar.

After activating the 14th Birth Chart, he would gain another 3,000 years of life. In total, he would have 16,000 years of life.

"Sacrificing the years of my life to upgrade the blue avatar isn't worth it. I might as well give it to the Pillar of Impermanence..."

"Lightning tribulation?"

Lan Xihe had deliberately attracted the lightning tribulation using the 30,000 Dao inscriptions on the white tower. However, It could only be triggered by using the Sun, Moon, and Star Wheel that served as the anchor and the guide.

"That's a good way to upgrade my blue avatar..." Lu Zhou muttered to himself. Not only could the lightning tribulation upgrade his blue avatar, but he could also raise his lifespan. However, he could only attempt this after passing his next Birth Trial. At this time, he still had to activate another four Birth Charts before he had to pass his third Birth Trial. He was not in a rush anyway.

...

At noon, the next day.

Lu Zhou heard a crisp sound.

Zhu Huai's life heart was completely embedded into the Birth Palace, and there was now a distinct pattern where it used to be.

It took longer than Lu Zhou expected. Based on the 100-time increase from the Pillar of Impermanence, it meant that it would have taken him 100 nights and mornings just to reach this stage without the Pillar of Impermanence.

When it came to activating Birth Charts, there were three stages: early, middle, and late. In the early stages, it was not suitable to activate Birth Charts without a long period of rest in between due to the instability of the realm. The best time to activate Birth Charts was at the later stage.

Currently, after activating 13 Birth Charts, Lu Zhou was still at the middle stage.

However, due to the Pillar of Impermanence and the Divine Soul Pearl, he had smoothly activated his Birth Chart and passed his second Birth Trial. Apart from that, he also managed to strengthen his Birth Palace.

Now that the activation of the Birth Chart had proceeded to the next stage, a vortex formed above the Birth Palace.

Lu Zhou closed his eyes again and continued to cultivate.

...

At the same time.

In the palace.

Splash!

The emperor of Great Qin sat in a medicine tub as he hit his hand against the hot water and angrily said, "Bring me more mystic life grass!"

"Y-your... Y-your Majesty... I've placed all ten stalks of mystic life grass into the tub," Gao Cheng said fearfully.

The emperor was perplexed. He had spent two days soaking in the medicine tub, but there was no sign of him recovering his Birth Charts.

After a brief moment, the emperor asked in a low voice, "Then why is there no effect? Are the stalks of mystic life grass fake?"

"Of course, they're real! Your Majesty, please calm down!" Gao Cheng said, "You can't rush the process of recovering your Birth Charts."

The emperor said through gritted teeth, "Originally, I only wanted to test his strength. I didn't expect..."

"This cultivation base of this person from the golden lotus domain is unfathomable. It's best to avoid him. If Your Majesty wants to vent your anger, we can send some men to kill a few of his disciples," Gao Cheng said.

The emperor did not respond to these words. Instead, he glanced at Gao Cheng from the corners of his eyes and asked, "Zhi Wenzi and Zhi Wuzi haven't returned yet?"

"I'm afraid they won't be returning," Gao Cheng said.

"Send Bai Yi to the Zhao Residence. I don't care what methods he uses, but he has to bring me a few of their heads," the emperor said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

...

The next night.

Bai Yi, who was far away from Xiangyang City, received an order. He rode on his flying sword and shot toward the Zhao Residence like a streak of light.