My disciples are all villains.

Yu Shangrong moved swiftly and decisively. As soon as he saw the ninth leaf that was shining with golden radiance like the other eight leaves, he clenched his hands. His avatar disappeared immediately.

He only needed a glance to see it was a Nine-leaf avatar without a lotus. He could sense there was something special about the avatar, but now was not the time to be studying his avatar so he retracted it. Moreover, he did not want to expose his avatar yet.

The dense vitality energy dispersed immediately.

At this moment, Elder Xu Su was upon him. "Surrender yourself!"

An energy sword shot forth.

Yu Shangrong moved his right hand slightly. His Longevity Sword vibrated as he swung it forcefully.

An energy sword swept out horizontally.

Bam!

Xu Su's energy sword was destroyed. There was a slight change in his expression. He was shocked. He pushed away from the ground and attempted to fly higher so that he could work with the beast to take down this cultivator who was attempting the Nine-leaf stage. He was barely a few meters from the ground when Yu Shangrong's silhouette shot past him.

There was a flash of light…

Swoosh!

Yu Shangrong did not even deign to look at Xu Su as he shot past. He gripped his Longevity Sword tightly as he shot toward the huge beast with a burst of movements.

The Thousand Willow Monastery disciples merely felt a breeze blowing past them when they saw shadows brandishing swords shooting in the air above them.

Every sword strike hit the beasts' vital points.

The Thousand Willow Monastery disciples were stunned by this.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Xu Su slowly looked up and saw the magnificent display of dancing shadows in the air. Then, he looked at the wound the sword left on his stomach. The sword strike had slit it open, and blood was gushing out, dyeing his robes red.

"This… Is he an Eight-leaf cultivator?" Xu Su's eyes widened as he fell backward.

Tian Buji saw this and shuddered. 'Elder Xu Su is… dead?!'

Among the people present at this moment, Yu Shangrong was the only one who could kill Xu Su effortlessly while he attacked the huge beast at the same time.

Tian Buji was shocked. He gulped. The battle was too intense, leaving him no time to think about too many things.

The other disciples did not have time to worry about Xu Su's death as well. They attacked the huge beast.

Yu Shangrong unleashed his Guiyuan Sword Technique without restraint.

The beast was a beast, after all. The colossal creature was nowhere as nimble as humans.

It flapped its wings but could not seem to hit its target.

Yu Shangrong went all out with his fighting style… He shot in all directions as he swung his sword around.

Feathers fell to the ground.

Tian Buji saw the opportunity and ordered, "Everyone, attack!" He joined his palms together and an energy barrier shrouded the Thousand Willow Monastery disciples, blocking the wind and rocks that were stirred up the beast's wings.

Hundreds of them attacked at the same time. None of them seemed aware that Yu Shangrong was now a Nine-leaf cultivator. His swift sword strokes that moved like the wind impressed the others.

Finally, after Yu Shangrong's series of attacks, the final dozens of energy swords landed on the huge beast's belly.

A deafening cry resounded through the forest.

The huge beast flapped its wings. It adjusted its direction and shot into the distance.

Yu Shangrong leaped back and hovered in midair.

The Thousand Willo Monastery disciples were delighted to see the effect of Yu Shangrong's attacks.

Tian Buji ordered, "After it!"

Yu Shangrong shook his head and said, "There's no need to chase after it."

"Why?" Tian Buji wondered. "This northern goshawk beast might drop a heart of life. One heart might be worth 200 to 800 years. It's a great treasure."

"Heart of life?" Yu Shangrong was puzzled.

Tian Buji explained, "Beyond human settlements, there are many unknown and powerful beasts. Humans are more insignificant than ants before them. They like to hunt humans, especially powerful ones, since feeding on such humans would improve their abilities. Some beasts would form a heart of life, and humans can replenish their lives if they consume the hearts."

Something stirred in Yu Shangrong. He was indifferent to most things, but as a member of the Melilot Nation, how could he remain indifferent to such an important piece of information.

The citizens of the Melilot Nation had tried to fight against their destinies of being short-lived for generations. Although Yu Shangrong was at the Eight-leaf stage previously, he only had 500 years to live, at most. Currently, he had lived for more than 300 years. Even with his master's longevity pill, he would not be able to overcome the great limit. He was now left with more than 100 years to live. Who would not want such a treasure?

However, Yu Shangrong had just attained the Nine-leaf stage. Perhaps, it was due to the lack of lotus, his Nine-leaf stage was extremely unstable. The Primal Qi in his sea of Qi was chaotic. At the same time, pulses of vitality energy leaked out. He would suffer a great loss if he gave chase now.

"If that's the case, won't everyone have long lives?" Yu Shangrong asked.

Tian Buji shook his head and said, "Impossible… Based on current research, cultivators can only live for 3,000 years at most. Even hearts of life can't extend a person's life past that."

Yu Shangrong looked at the leaving beast silently.

If Yu Shangrong did not give chase, how could Tian Buji dare to give chase?

Tian Buji raised his hand. "Retreat."

His disciples bowed in the air. "Understood."

Wuwu wiped the sweat off her face and moved to Yu Shangrong's side. She blinked her huge eyes and said, "Big brother, you're amazing!"

Yu Shangrong merely smiled faintly at her and did not reply.

At this moment, a disciple cried out, seemingly flustered, "Elder Xu is dead! Elder Xu is dead!"

The disciples of the Thousand Willow Monastery landed and surrounded Xu Su's corpse.

As soon as Tian Buji heard these words, he instantly reprimanded the disciple, "Why are you making a ruckus?! Carry his body back! I'll personally explain this to the monastery master." He glanced at Yu Shangrong before he cupped his fists and flew back to the Thousand Willow Monastery.

…

"Ding! Killed a target. Reward: 1,500 merit points. Domain extra: 1,000 merit points."

When he heard this notification, Lu Zhou merely frowned slightly before he organized his thoughts again. He shifted his attention back to Mingshi Yin who was focused on sprouting a new leaf.

At this moment, Mingshi Yin's leaf-sprouting process was at a crucial point.

Naturally, he did not know that his disciple, Yu Shangrong, was already a Nine-leaf cultivator now. Moreover, his second disciple had broken through and sprouted the ninth leaf under difficult circumstances.

Mingshi Yin's golden lotus was spinning swiftly.

The leaf-sprouting process resembled Lu Zhou's determination.

The radiant energy rings continued sliding down.

Clearly, the power Mingshi Yin generated was not sufficient to make vitality energy and power surged out from the golden lotus, after which the energy rings would slide backward before sprouting the ninth leaf.

The members of the Evil Sky Pavilion looked at the golden lotus anxiously. They were more nervous than Mingshi Yin himself.

At this moment…

Mingshi Yin's hair whitened, and his skin wrinkled. The golden lotus had already devoured most of Mingshi Yin's longevity.

"Shu Si's Heart!" Lu Zhou reminded him.

Although Mingshi Yin was the disciple whom he worried about the least, his experience in attempting the Nine-leaf stage was still lacking.

Perhaps, due to his rapid aging, Mingshi Yin's attention was slightly divided. He grunted in response to his master's reminder. Then, he brought Shu Si's Heart out before he divided it into large chunks and consumed them quickly

The others were bewildered as they watched Mingshi Yin aged.

Those who had severed their lotuses sighed in relief while those who had not were beginning to worry about their futures.

This was especially true for Little Yuan'er. When she imagined herself being old and wrinkled, she felt a lump in her chest.

On the other hand, Si Wuya and Ye Tianxin accepted this more readily.

Ye Tianxin had experienced too many deaths and did not have much to ask from life. She would not be dejected even if she could not make it to the Nine-leaf stage.

Conch had never seen this before so she was curious about everything that she was seeing.

After consuming Shu Si's Heart, Mingshi Yin felt vast vitality energy expanding in his sea of Qi. However, that was swiftly devoured by the golden lotus. They negated each other.

Mingshi Yin felt his heart race. It was getting more and more intense by the moment.

The golden lotus became agitated after being supplied with longevity. It was nearing saturation.

At this moment, the four elders who guarded the four corners looked up.

"The beasts are here!"

"Everyone, get ready to defend!"

At the top of the Evil Sky Pavilion, the strong and healthy Hua Yuexing's expression was solemn as she pulled on her Falling Moon Bow. Her bow and arrow were wrapped in energy. It complemented her slender figure.

The magnificent energy arrow shot toward a flying beast in the air.

Lu Zhou's attention was caught by this as well.

Hua Wudao nodded and said, "As expected, the energy arrow of a Five-leaf grand cultivator is powerful."

Hua Yuexing gave a rare smile. She nocked another energy arrow and attacked the flying beasts in the air.

Zuo Yushu said, "A huge beast might show up. The four of us will have to work together when it comes."

"Alright."

Hua Yuexing could deal with the small flying beasts on her own.

Then, the four elders shifted their gazes onto Mingshi Yin…

Mingshi Yin felt his golden lotus was at its peak. The speed of his improvement slowed drastically.

"Clear your head of distracting thoughts and calm your heart," Lu Zhou said. His fourth disciple was young, after all.

Mingshi Yin drew a deep breath and stabilized his emotions.

Lu Zhou nodded. "Vitality energy is flowing out. Sprout the leaf."

"Understood."