My disciples are all villains.

Indeed, Mingshi Yin felt the vitality energy flowing out. Hence, he tried to exert force on the energy rings. As expected, the golden radiant rings slid up from the golden lotus and moved toward the avatar's waist. When they moved up, the avatar grew taller. The golden lotus enlarged as well.

An empty space between the eight golden leaves. When the energy ring shot back toward the outermost region of the golden lotus, there was a crisp sound.

Mingshi Yin could clearly see the ninth lift sprouting from the inner side of the golden lotus.

The ninth leaf had taken form!

In the air, there were flocks of flying beasts. Many beasts on the ground appeared around Golden Court Mountain as well.

The others were delighted.

"The huge beast is here…" The four elders looked up at the same time.

Mingshi Yin had already completed the sprouting of the ninth leaf so Lu Zhou stopped looking at him. He pushed away from the ground and shot into the sky. From up high, he saw the huge beast leading a flock of smaller beasts. Due to the distance, he could not tell what kind of huge beast it was.

They flew over the forest and the mountain peaks.

Golden Court Mountain was isolated to begin with. Where did these beasts come from? The Four Great Forests?

Moonlight Woodland was deep in the Misty Forest. Deep within Moonlight Woodland was a bottomless abyss. Ye Tianxin had seen countless beasts in the abyss and had obtained the fairfolk's inheritance there.

'Are these beasts… from the Moonlight Woodland?'

His host, Ji Tiandao, had been to the Four Great Forests before but not the deeper parts of Moonlight Woodland… It was too easy to lose one's direction there. It was a sure way to seek death.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and waited as looked at the incoming flock of flying beasts.

At this moment, Si Wuya exclaimed, "It's a Fei Yi bird!"

"Fei Yi?" Lu Zhou repeated.

Si Wuya explained, "It's recorded in one of the books in the western pavilion… This bird fights physically and is very fierce."

Ever since the appearance of the beasts, Si Wuya had pored over the books about beasts in the western pavilion and even those in the Divine Capital's Imperial city. Therefore, he was rather knowledgeable.

"Does it have a heart?" Lu Zhou asked.

"Every animal has a heart. However, this beast is mostly brawn. I don't think it's capable of forming a heart of life. I'm still searching for a concrete way to categorize them."

Lu Zhou nodded. He was glad that he had a disciple like Si Wuya who saved him a lot of trouble.

As a transmigrator, he had been tormented by books in the past. He would hardly take a look at books.

Without a heart of life, there was no benefit in fighting the beast. It would even be a loss if he had to use a Deadly Strike Card. He muttered to himself for a moment before he rose even higher in the air.

Whizz!

The Nine-leaf Golden Lotus avatar looked down proudly from the sky.

With the Evil Sky Pavilion in the center, his 150-foot avatar expanded. The golden flaming golden lotus released energy halos into the surroundings. Then, it shrank and dissipated.

Lu Zhou looked in the direction from which Fei Yi was coming. His display of avatar made the other winged beasts retreat. As he expected, Fei Yi turned around and flew away. It disappeared in an instant.

It was as silent as a graveyard at the bottom of the Evil Sky Pavilion.

The others looked at Lu Zhou with fearful respect.

Meanwhile, the four elders and Hua Yuexing were filled with envy. They would never grow sick of looking at the golden flaming avatar.

Mingshi Yin stood up. "Hey, hey, hey, I'm a Nine-leaf cultivator! I became a Nine-leaf cultivator!"

Nobody entertained him. They were still in awe of the golden flaming avatar.

"Little Junior Sister, would you like to look at my Nine-leaf avatar?" Naturally, Mingshi Yin was reveling in his delight from successfully breaking through to the Nine-leaf stage.

Conch ignored him. She did not seem impressed. She pointed at their master in the sky and said, "Golden flames."

With these two words, Mingshi Yin seemed to wilt.

Lu Zhou landed.

The others bowed.

Mingshi Yin cleared his disappointment away. Then, he bowed and said, "Master, I'm fortunate enough that I didn't let you down. I'm now successfully become a Nine-leaf cultivator."

Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. You're now a Nine-leaf cultivator, but why don't you look happy?"

"No, no, no… That's not it. I'm just feeling sad about you leaving, master." Mingshi Yin raised his sleeve and wiped away a drop of tear.

The other members of the Evil Sky Pavilion were speechless.

'How fake!'

Not to be outdone, Zhu Honggong stepped forward and exclaimed in shock, "Master, you're leaving?"

Lu Zhou looked at the others as he said. "There's now another Nine-leaf cultivator in Great Yan. I believe that more Nine-leaf cultivators will emerge soon enough. We can fend off beasts, but the hearts of men are what we should fear. With a Nine-leaf cultivator here, we can prevent the red lotus domain from invading."

The others nodded.

Lu Zhou looked at Mingshi Yin and said, "It's only a matter of time before the red lotus domain invades the golden lotus domain. I'm going to the red lotus domain mainly to retrieve your Eldest and Second Senior Brother. My other objective is to get to the bottom of Conch's origins. Also, I want to prevent the red lotus domain from continuing their invasion." Apart from that, he had another objective as well. He wanted to search for the other half of his memory crystal and learn about the void seeds, among others.

"You're now a Nine-leaf cultivator… Look after Great Yan."

"I won't let you down, master." Mingshi Yin fell to one knee.

At this moment, the others looked at Mingshi Yin. Before they knew it, Mingshi Yin had become the strongest person in the Evil Sky Pavilion.

Lu Zhou continued, "You've just reached the Nine-leaf stage. Your vitality energy will flow out soon to restore your life… Give me your hand."

Mingshi Yin nodded and extended his hand.

Lu Zhou placed two fingers on Mingshi Yin's wrist. After examining Mingshi Yin, he was puzzled. Shu Si's Heart provided 800 years of life. If the golden lotus needed more than 1,200 years of life, Mingshi Yin would need to make up for more than 500 years with his own life span. However, it seemed like Mingshi Yin had only used up 400 years. With this, he speculated the years of life the golden lotus absorbed were not fixed. They ranged around 1,200 years.

"Reaching the Nine-leaf stage will grant you 200 years of life. From the One-leaf stage to the Eight-leaf stage, you'll gain 50 years at every stage. In total, you're given 600 years of life," Lu Zhou said.

Mingshi Yin was overjoyed. "Thank you for your teaching, master."

'Thank the heavens. If I have to put up with this old appearance, I'd have a mental breakdown!'

"I never knew that reaching the Nine-leaf stage with the golden lotus has this benefit," Duanmu Sheng said enviously.

Si Wuya shook his head. "Not exactly. After reaching the Nine-leaf stage, the great limit is no longer applicable. Since the beasts will drop hearts of life, those who severed their lotuses could hunt beasts to replenish their lives. There's not much of a difference between the two."

It was more difficult to reach the Nine-leaf stage with a golden lotus, and it was only natural for there to be some benefits.

After severing the lotus, it was much easier to reach the Nine-leaf stage, and it was only natural for cultivators to have to pay a higher price.

Lu Zhou flipped his palm. The Separation Hook appeared in his palm, and he sent it toward Mingshi Yin.

"I'm giving you the desolate-grade Separation Hook. I hope that you'll put it to good use."

The instant Mingshi Yin caught the Separation Hook, he sensed the changes in his weapon. He prostrated himself and worshipped his master as he said, "Thank you for the desolate-grade weapon, master!"

The others were so envious that their eyes nearly popped out from their sockets.

Lu Zhou had three more Shining Stones. Upgrading a weapon would reward him with 1,000 merit points. Therefore, he would gladly upgrade weapons. Before he had to leave, he was thinking about who to use it on to obtain the greatest value. He decided to use it to increase his disciples' strengths.

"You should go and stabilize your golden lotus now," Lu Zhou said.

"Understood."

The others cupped their fists at Mingshi Yin.

"Congratulations, Fourth Junior Brother."

"Congratulations, Fourth Senior Brother."

"Congratulations, Mister Fourth."

Mingshi Yin cleared his throat and puffed his chest as he said, "There's no need to be so formal… I'm still an easygoing person. If any of you wish to see a Nine-leaf avatar, all you have to do is tell me. By the way, did you manage to take a good look earlier? Should I manifest it again?"

Lu Zhou frowned. "Impudence." Usually, he did not have to worry about his fourth disciple. However, it seemed like his fourth disciples had already forgotten his place after his breakthrough.

"Uh… I'll return at once!" Mingshi Yin scurried back into his room.

Si Wuya bowed and asked, "Master, when are you planning to leave?"

Lu Zhou answered as he stroked his beard, "After three days."

"In that case, I'll check on the Sky Chariot."

Lu Zhou looked at the others again. 'Is Evil Sky Pavilion strong enough?' He felt their strength was far from sufficient.

If a karmic fire elite such as Fa Kong were to appear, it would be difficult for them to deal with such a person.

Fortunately, Si Wuya and Mingshi Yin were here to look after things. They would not be so dumb as to go head-on with such an elite.

As for the others…

"Pan Zhong," Lu Zhou said.

"Yes, Pavilion Master." Pan Zhong stepped forward.

"I'll give you Life Cutter. I hope that you'll put it to good use!"

Lu Zhou waved his sleeve. Life Cutter appeared in his hand and shot toward Pan Zhong.

Pan Zhong trembled. His eyes widened as he fell to his knees. He said excitedly, "Pan Zhong thanks the pavilion master for the gift of a heaven-grade weapon." After receiving Life Cutter, he let it drink his blood to claim ownership over it. He was greatly moved by this bona fide heaven-grade weapon.

"Ding! Life Cutter has acknowledged its owner. Reward: 1,000 merit points."

"Zhou Jifeng."

"I'm giving you High Void. I hope that you'll put it to good use." Lu Zhou waved his sleeve again.

'High Void? That's a super heaven-grade weapon!' The instant Zhou Jifeng was called, he felt as though he was electrocuted. He stepped forward and fell to his knees. He raised both hands and said, "Thank you for the heaven-grade weapon, Pavilion Master."

"High Void is actually a heaven-grade weapon. I've already destroyed the red runes, and it's no longer a super heaven-grade weapon. You shouldn't compare amongst yourselves," Lu Zhou said.