My disciples are all villains.

Wine was something that was tied to pleasure, after all. Since time immemorial, wine was consumed by scholars and poets alike. Even when martial men fought with their blades and words, wine was often considered an irreplaceable item.

Lu Zhou sat down slowly. He waved his arm. The wine jar filled the cups precisely under his control.

Two cups were filled.

The aroma of the wine permeated the air.

Pan Litian was nearly drooling at this point. If he did not know that the visitor had come with ill intent, he would have rushed over and drunk his fill.

Li Zhou raised the cup of wine… and took a sip.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The coffin made strange noises.

Gong Yuandu's lust for wine was not inferior to Pan Litian. The aroma of the wine that permeated the air filled him with the urge to drink.

Lu Zhou did not swallow the wine. Instead, he spat it out lightly.

Bzzt!

The wine formed three swords that shot at the coffin from the left, right, and middle.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Three energy blades stabbed into the coffin.

Hua Wudao praised. "I've almost forgotten the pavilion master's level of mastery in swordplay. I remember that the Yun Sect's Luo Changqing publicly praised Yu Shangrong's sword skills more than once. How can the disciple's skills be better than the master's skills?" If the disciple was so terrifying, the master could never be mediocre.

Gong Yuandu said in his hoarse voice, "I'm impressed. Ordinary sword path elites can only condense Qi into energy. A true sword path elite can turn anything into swords."

Lu Zhou was unmoved by these flattering words. Instead, he stroked his beard and said, "It's only an insignificant skill, it's too insignificant to mention. You could've easily blocked this attack."

'And yet, why didn't he?'

Creak!

The lid of the coffin swung open. A surge of energy rippled into the surroundings as a man emerged from the coffin.

In just an instant, Gong Yuandu appeared in everyone's sight. He resembled a prehistoric man with his disheveled hair and grimy face. A wiry beard covered his face. His clothes were in tatters. His arms were covered in dirt, almost no skin could be seen. This was the greatest sword path elite of the northern capital, Gong Yuandu's true appearance. He looked like a mummy.

The others took a step backward at the sight.

This was the result of living inside a coffin for too long.

Ordinary cultivators could reduce their need to eat in the Mystic Enlightening realm. In the Brahman Sea realm, a cultivator could survive on a single meal every three to five days. In the Divine Court realm, it was enough to eat once every ten days or once every fortnight. In the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm, the cultivator could subsist on the Primal Qi of the world. However, the cultivator would still need some actual food every now and then. It was difficult to imagine how Gong Yuandu managed to survive in the coffin all this time. Did he catch rats and insects in the crypt to eat?

Those who tried to imagine how Gong Yuandu had lived thus far shuddered in disgust. Fortunately, the stench from Gong Yuandu was blocked out by their protective energies. Everyone's attention was focused on him at this moment.

Gong Yuandu opened his eyes. He seemed to be disturbed by the glaring light. It took him a moment to acclimatize himself to the light again before he looked at the table that had been set up. Then, he glanced at Lu Zhou. As he slowly took his seat, he said, "You've changed, Brother Ji."

"Oh?"

"But I can't quite put my finger on it." Gong Yuandu raised his right arm. The jar of wine hovered above him as he looked up. The wine inside the jar poured down like a waterfall.

Glug! Glug! Glug!

"Wonderful!"

Compared to that, Lu Zhou's manner of slowly sipping from a cup seemed delicate.

The jar was emptied.

With a wave of his hand, the wine jar flew to the side. It landed slowly on the ground precisely at the spot where Gong Yuandu had intended for it to land. "Brother Ji… My cultivation base is not what it once was. If we fight with actual weapons, my defeat is certain." When he spoke, flakes of dirt fell from his face.

Lu Zhou sighed and said, "You know your limit is upon you. Why are you still being so stubborn?"

Gong Yuandu heaved a long sigh before he said, "Brother Ji, you're not like me."

"Oh?"

"You're not as merciless, decisive, or cold-blooded as I am. In a certain sense, kindness shown to the enemy is an act of cruelty against yourself. Back then, you could've killed me when I lost to you… If you'd done so, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Lu Zhou raised his wine cup and said slowly, "You don't understand."

Gong Yuandu was puzzled.

Lu Zhou continued, "If you were dead, I would no longer have any opponent. It's lonely at the top. I can't help but find it boring."

"You're too kind with your words, Brother Ji." Gong Yuandu was delighted to be considered an opponent by the greatest villain whose fame preceded his. However, due to the thick layer of grime on his face and his prolonged stay within the coffin, the changes in his expression were unnoticeable. He waved his arm. "More wine."

The female cultivators nearby swiftly brought dozens of jars of century-old wine over.

Pan Litian was beside himself with envy. He did not think there were enough jars of century-old wine in the Evil Sky Pavilion to sustain this manner of drinking.

Gong Yuandu, naturally, did not care about how Pan Litian felt. He started on another jar of wine and emptied it in no time at all. After that, he cupped his fists and said, "Brother Ji, can you fulfill this dying man's wish?"

"If that's the case, I will…" Lu Zhou calmly replied.

"As always, let's debate about the swords." Gong Yuandu glanced at Leng Luo, Pan Litian, and Hua Wudao when he spoke.

Hua Wudao stepped forward and recounted what had happened earlier.

Naturally, even without Hua Wudao's explanation, Lu Zhou understood what Gong Yuandu meant. He knew Gong Yuandu's cultivation base had greatly deteriorated when they met in the Mausoleum of Swords. Gong Yuandu could not possibly have any destructive skills that he could use against him at this point.

Smack!

Gong Yuandu flipped his palm around. The wine jar before him flew up. The wine poured out and transformed into energy. A Taiji seal similar to the one earlier appeared on the ground. Then, it formed the Two Instruments and the Four Phenomenon. When the seal was formed, energy blades materialized before him. It was the same technique

How would the greatest devil under the heavens deal with it?

Pan Litian, who was defeated by this move, widened his eyes. He wanted to take in all of Lu Zhou's actions. However, he noticed Lu Zhou merely kept his wine cup raised without any signs of moving. He could see a hint of confidence, or maybe conceit, in Lu Zhou's eyes.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

When the energy blades shot toward Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou suddenly flung the cup. It spun and formed a Taiji seal.

Pan Litian frowned. "My judgment's right…"

Bam!

When the Taiji seal blocked the energy blades, Lu Zhou slammed his palm.

Smack!

The Formation vein was destroyed. The Taiji seal vanished. The Four Phenomenon Sword Formation vanished as well. This time, Gong Yuandu did not have any energy blades left.

Leng Luo, with his hands on his back, said, "To think the same technique unleashed by different people has such a big difference."

Pan Litian's wizened face flushed red. He said, "Don't you have a go at me…"

Leng Luo would never let this opportunity slip by. Pan Litian did not cut him any slack earlier after all.

"The limits of the Mystic Enlightening realm has reached… a draw."

Gong Yuandu shook his head. "This time, it's my loss." He looked at Leng Luo and the others as he slowly said, "The Four Phenomenon Formation consumed at least four times more energy than the Taiji seal. Although Brother Ji unleashed a palm strike, the overall energy he spent was much lower than what I spent. Unleashing the greatest strength with the least amount of power… I willingly admit defeat…"

Lu Zhou seemed unmoved by Gong Yuandu's flattery. This was merely a portion of his knowledge and experience of cultivating the sword path. The only thing was that he did not expect it to be used in this situation.

Gong Yuandu raised a jar of wine and tossed it into the air…

Swoosh!

The wine spilled out.

"Again!"

The jar suddenly exploded. The wine transformed into sharp blades.