My disciples are all villains.

After all, it felt strange for Lu Qianshan to face someone whom he had been worshipping.

"This is my true appearance," Lu Zhou said. His back was straight and his expression was as calm as always.

Lu Qianshan. "..."

Si Wuya smiled and said, "General Lu, you already know my master's identity. Why bother beating around the bush?"

Lu Qianshan was taken aback; these words made sense

Lu Zhou noticed Lu Qianshan's awkward expression and asked, "Who did you say I look like?"

"Well..." Lu Qianshan hesitated. On second thought, if the Pavilion Master of the Evil Sky Pavilion harbored ill intentions, Lu Li would have died a long time ago. What's more, with Lu Zhou's cultivation base, there was no need for him to waste his breath talking if he truly wanted to act. Finally, he turned toward the entrance and said, "Old Jiang, bring the painting here."

"Understood."

Soon after, the old butler returned to the hall with the painting.

Lu Qianshan took the painting and unrolled it in front of Lu Zhou, holding it in the air.

When Lu Zhou and Si Wuya saw the painting, they were both taken aback.

Lu Zhou. "???"

Si Wuya. "???"

It was already a huge coincidence that they resembled each other so much, but they even shared the same surname.

Si Wuya, being the rational person he was, had already begun to analyze the situation. Did someone see his master and fake the painting? However, the ink of the painting did not seem fresh. Or, perhaps, this branch of the Lu family came from his master when his master was young? However, that seemed unlikely as well; this was the black lotus domain after all. When his master was young, his cultivation base was unlikely to be high enough to survive in the black lotus domain. After thinking for a long time, he still could not come up with a plausible theory.

"He is?"

"He's the ancestor of the Lu clan. His name is Lu Tiantong, and he's known as Daoist Master Lu," Lu Qianshan replied.

"..." Lu Zhou felt this matter was too bizarre as well; it was too difficult to understand. Moreover, the surname of the body he had transmigrated was Ji, not Lu. So what was this situation? At this moment, he recalled the memory crystals that had 26 scripts. What was that so?

Si Wuya asked, "So my master looks like your ancestor?"

Lu Qianshan said, "Strictly speaking, he's not my ancestor…"

"Tell me." Lu Zhou did not have any important matters to attend to at the moment, and he was curious.

"Patriarch Lu was born 30,000 years ago when the world was in turmoil and chaotic. He was from an ordinary family but was extraordinarily talented in cultivation. In less than 1,000 years, he shook the world and crushed countless enemies. Cultivators who shared the same ideals with him worked with him to bring the chaos and turmoil to an end, garnering them the worship of the following generations. He was a person who stood at the peak. That's all I know. My ancestors, the children, and grandchildren have all worshiped him since a long time ago. In my generation, he was highly revered as well. It was only about 10,000 years ago that the world gradually forgot about his achievements. Some people even covet the things he left behind. For the sake of the future generations' protection, we took on the surname Lu and regard him as our ancestor." As he spoke, he raised his hand in a gesture of reverence.

Lu Zhou asked, "So you're not real descendants of the Lu clan?"

Lu Qianshan shook his head and said frankly, "He is an old man who cultivated and wandered the world. How could he have useless descendants like me? On the contrary, the Patriarch has blessed and protected us; we need not worry about a roof over our heads, food, or clothing…"

Silence descended briefly in the hall.

After a moment, Lu Qianshan looked at Lu Zhou and said, "I was really shocked when I first saw Pavilion Master Lu earlier. To think there's another person who resembled him so much; that's why I lost my composure…"

"It's alright," Lu Zhou waved his hand and said, "There are all kinds of strange things in this world."

30,000 years ago was a long time. Perhaps, it was truly a coincidence. This kind of thing should only be treated as an anecdote.

At this time, Si Wuya asked, "What do you mean by the protection of the future generation? What are you protecting?"

"Faith," Lu Qianshan replied with his bright eyes, "One's life can't be without faith. The faith of the Lu clan is the Patriarch. Just like how ordinary families worship their respective ancestors, not everything has to be about benefits. Faith serves as a kind of spiritual comfort as well when times are tough…"

As though he realized he had spoken too fervently, Lu Qianshan smiled sheepishly before he said, "I apologize for getting carried away…" Following that, he waved his hand, indicating to Old Jiang to bring the painting back to the study.

Lu Zhou said, "There's nothing wrong with having faith or worshipping one's ancestors. Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, where's the blue crystal?"

This time, Lu Qianshan did not ask the old butler to retrieve it. Instead, he excused himself and told Lu Zhou to wait for a moment. He went to the back of the mountain and dove to the bottom of a lake to retrieve a specially-made brocade box. When he returned to the hall, he was still drenched from the lake water. He did not use Primal Qi to dry himself to show his sincerity.

Upon seeing the brocade box, Lu Zhou nodded slightly. "You're very cautious. Where did you find it?"

"300 years ago, I was lucky enough to encounter it when I was up north…" Lu Qianshan said.

"You participated in the Great Void Expedition?"

"No, I didn't go to the Unknown Land; I was only outside of it. At that time, cultivators were warring with the fierce beasts, and the casualties were high. My ambitions weren't that high; I only wanted to obtain life hearts. Who knew I'd encounter such a thing? I managed to obtain the blue crystal from a fierce beast. It was later on that I found out the blue crystal was once the soil from where the Great Void Seeds grew. Alas, as time passed, the Great Void energy in it depleted as well. Currently, there's not much value to it," Lu Qianshan explained.

"Why didn't you absorb the Great Void energy in it?" Lu Zhou asked.

Lu Qianshan laughed and said, "In fact, I originally planned to offer it to the Black Emperor, but…" He shook his head before he said, "In any case, it's not easy to absorb the energy in the blue crystal. I thought it was best to seal it…"

Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction. He opened the box.

Clack!

A blue crystal lay quietly inside the brocade box. It was crystal clear like the cloudless sky.

After he picked the blue crystal up, the quest on the system panel registered a change immediately.

"Second avatar: Collecting all the blue crystals (2/9)."

This time, everything went smoothly. Lu Zhou thought he would have to use force; he had even prepared an advanced enhanced Reduction Card. To think Lu Qianshan and Lu Li were so closely related as well.

After putting the blue crystal away, Lu Zhou asked, "Are you willing to give this to me?"

"I have no use for it. The Lu clan has lost power. It's not impossible that one day the Lu clan would be seized. I'll give this to Pavilion Master Lu as a way to repay you for saving Lu Li's life…"

"I've always appreciated tactful people. I won't just take without giving in return; this is my principle. Just leave the matter regarding the Black Emperor to me…"

Lu Qianshan was overjoyed. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Pavilion Master Lu."

Lu Zhou added, "Do you know where the other blue crystals are?"

Lu Qianshan said, "There are six blue crystals altogether. Lan Xihe has one; Great Ming's royal family has one. As for the other three, we'll have to speak to Xiao Yunhe, the former Tower Master of the BTC."

Lu Zhou cocked an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "The remaining three blue crystals are in his possession?"

Lu Zhou felt like he had really underestimated Xiao Yunhe. Even after losing five Birth Charts, Xiao Yunhe still managed to secure three blue crystals.

"He's the only one left whom I could think of. After all, he's one of the few survivors from the Great Void Expedition," Lu Qianshan replied.