My disciples are all villains.

The witchcraft cultivator calmed his nerves. He had the impression that the Great Yan swordsman was rational and reasonable. He might have a chance to survive if he could explain the benefits and consequences of his actions. There was no need to grovel and beg.

"You can think of it as a threat." He looked at Yu Shangrong and raised his hand. He showed Yu Shangrong the pattern on his palm. "I'm Xien of the Bonar Family in Lou Lan's royal city. If you lay your hands on me, my family will surely get to the bottom of this. Why would you invite such trouble upon yourself, sir?"

Yu Shangrong nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, I don't like troubles."

"Besides, Lou Lan has always been on good terms with Great Yan. While it's true that there have been some unhappy incidents ever since the dawn of the Lotus-severing era, this doesn't affect the relationship between our countries… It's said that the Nether Sect is wreaking havoc in Great Yan and that the Divine Capital has fallen. I do feel sorry for that," the shaman, Xien, said.

"Alas… they're already dead." Yu Shangrong glanced at the corpses strewn on the ground below.

Xien shook his head and said, "I'll talk to the higher-ups… Naturally, everything depends on how you act."

Yu Shangrong nodded again. He stepped forward. The moonlight fell on the side of his face, highlighting his cold expression. "My stance has never changed since the very beginning…"

"Very good. I like people like you who adapt to the times… We'll meet again." Xien turned around. As soon as he turned around, a dark and vicious expression appeared on his face.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

All of a sudden, Xien heard the sound of energy swords whistling in the air ringing behind him.

'Hm?' His eyes widened in shock and anger as he cursed, "You… A sneak attack?!"

Countless energy swords merged into one in the air. They formed a long dragon that shot toward Xien.

Xien cried out and Xien struck with both palms, erecting a purple barrier around himself. Purple circles appeared around him like hula hoops.

Yu Shangrong did not even deign to look at Xien. He turned around indifferently as his energy sword moved at lightning speed.

Bang!

The energy sword pierced Xien's chest.

The Longevity Sword circled in the air once before flying back into the scabbard on Yu Shangrong's back.

Xien who was holding onto his sword plunged down into the forest below.

Yu Shangrong's movements were as smooth as flowing water. He did not fumble, always calm and composed.

Xien, on the other hand, was wide-eyed. He looked at the silent forest, at the starry skies, at the moon, at the quagmire… and at the scattered corpses of his comrades. He could keenly feel his life leaking out from his body. He did not even register the pain as he plummeted to the ground.

Yu Shangrong returned to the branch and lay down, considering his next move.

Those witchcraft cultivators had shown up at the Land of Buried Bones, of all places. Clearly, they had a mission. Now that they had all been killed by him, nobody would be reporting back. This would certainly draw attention. Lou Lan would certainly organize a search party. It was not difficult to locate this place. In that case, what should he do next?

Yu Shangrong hated troubles the most… He opened his eyes and looked at the pool of water. He said with a sigh, "If this were the past, I would never be bogged down by this problem." After saying that, he closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.

…

When he received the series of notifications, Lu Zhou thought that a battle had broken out in Liang Province. However, after further considerations, he thought there would be more notifications if the Roulians had attacked. Although the points were not high, they could not be considered as little.

Lu Zhou asked someone to send a letter to Liang Province.

Soon enough, Si Wuya sent a reply saying everything was peaceful and quiet in Liang Province. He reassured that there would not be a problem with him holding the fort.

"Looks like they're killed by Yu Shangrong…" After mulling over it, Lu Zhou told Old Eighth to contact Si Wuya and have his sources in Lou Lan assist Yu Shangrong from the sides.

He would have to pay a visit to Lou Lan sooner or later. According to Liu Ge, Ji Tiandao's memory crystal was most probably related to Lou Lan's royals.

...

In the afternoon, Duanmu Sheng hurried into Dazheng Palace. "Your orders, master?"

Lu Zhou glanced at Duanmu Sheng. Confused, he asked, "Where's Old Eighth?"

Duanmu Sheng replied, "Old Eighth has been working hard these few days. He's cooped up in his room practicing his breathing. I can handle his tasks for him!"

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Very well… Send word to Si Wuya. Tell him to think of some way to assist Yu Shangrong."

"Yes, master." Duanmu Sheng turned around and left.

...

Meanwhile, inside a certain room in Jinghe Palace.

"Ouch! Softer, will you?" Zhu Honggong cried out as he lay on the bed.

"My son, did Old Villain Ji beat you again? See? You should've left with me. Why are you staying here? You're only suffering!" Ever since Zhu Tianyuan entered the palace, he had been following Zhu Honggong around like a bum beetle.

"Don't insult my master… This was Third Senior Brother's doing."

"In that case, he should take responsibility for his actions! I won't say anything if it was your master who hit you… but how can your Senior Brother be this domineering, beating people up as he pleases?"

At this moment, the door creaked as Duanmu Sheng entered the room. He held his Overlord Spear in his left hand and a vial of liniment in his right. He said, "Old Eighth, here's something for you."

Zhu Tianyuan turned to look at Duanmu Sheng's muscular body. Each of Duanmu Sheng's movements radiated terrifying power. He asked in confusion, "You are?"

"Duanmu Sheng… Zhu Honggong's Third Senior Brother," Duanmu Sheng replied.

Zhu Tianyuan was taken aback. He hastily said, "Oh, it's you, Evil Sky Pavilion's Mister Third. My son can be stubborn sometimes. I hope that you can look after him as his Senior Brother in the future. If he does anything wrong in the future, you can just hit him! Don't hold back because of me!"

Zhu Honggong. "???"

Duanmu Sheng had already heard about Zhu Honggong's matters. Hence, he cupped his fists and said, "Uncle, this is nothing. I won't hold anything against my junior brother."

"To have a reasonable and magnanimous senior brother like you must be Zhu Honggong's reward after eight lifetimes' of hard work!"

"Don't mention it… Apply this liniment three times a day. He'll be healed in three days. I have something else to attend to. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Mister Third."

Zhu Honggong. "???"

…

Seven days later.

In the morning.

Across the quagmire, Yu Shangrong flew out of the forest as he usually would. He observed the changes in the bubbles and sensed the situation under the surface. Compared to seven days ago, he could clearly sense the aura of life now. This meant Yu Zhenghai was another step closer to being resurrected.

After observing this, Yu Shangrong drew his Longevity Sword and practiced his swordplay.

He saw Ji Liang looking for food in the nearby mountains and smiled.

Soon after, he saw three purple-clad cultivators flying toward Ji Liang.

Ji Liang was alert. When it sensed people approaching, it immediately returned and hid among the trees in the forest behind Yu Shangrong.

The three purple-clad cultivators flew over as well. When they saw Yu Shangrong hovering in the air, they bowed and greeted him.

"There's someone here! My friend, have you seen our comrades? They wear the same clothes we do," the purple-clad cultivator standing in front asked.

Yu Shangrong was honest. He pointed at the corpses near the quagmire, among the weeds and the trees of the forest, as he said, "You mean, them?"

The three purple-clad cultivators looked down… They were greeted by the sight of corpses. They were shocked and quickly descended. They flew around and began to gather corpses using witchcraft. An incredulous expression appeared on their faces after they counted the number of corpses.

The leader of the three purple-clad cultivators asked, "My friend, did you see the murderer?"

Yu Shangrong smiled. "I see that they're your comrades. I'm sorry for their deaths… as for the murderer, he must've gone to the royal city."

"Thank you, my friend!" The purple-robed cultivator raised his hand. A purple witchcraft net wrapped around the bodies and lifted them up. He said, "Let's report back. Quickly!"

"Understood!"

The three cultivators left the Land of Buried Bones with the corpses.

Yu Shangrong looked in the direction of the quagmire. He shook his head and said, "If it weren't for you… I would never stoop so low and lie." Then, he smiled and added, "However, one must do a few dumb things throughout his life."

After saying this, he flew into the forest.

...

Night fell.

The bubbles on the surface of the pool of clear water grew larger and larger. The gurgling sounds turned louder and louder as well.

When midnight arrived, it had become rather noisy.

Yu Shangrong flew out of the forest and inspected the quagmire. He said, "You might be dead, but your temper is still something to reckon with."

He returned to the forest.

...

Fortunately, nobody else came close to the quagmire over the next five days. Everything proceeded smoothly.

"22 more days to go." Yu Shangrong would scratch a mark on the tree trunk with his Longevity Sword to mark the passing days.

At this time, the gurgling sounds were much louder than before.

Yu Shangrong looked at the skies through the canopy. He glanced at the quagmire. The pool of clear water was still bubbling. With so much activity, it would be troublesome if someone were to come.

…

Yu Shangrong spent ten peaceful days before the pool of water finally stopped bubbling.