My disciples are all villains.

On the Evil Sky Pavilion's plaza.

The members of the Evil Sky Pavilion had gathered near the Sky Chariot. They did not dare to miss the pavilion master's departure to the red lotus domain.

Si Wuya, naturally, understood his master's intention when his master told him to summon Little Yuan'er and Conch. Clearly, his master intended to bring the two young girls with him.

Little Yuan'er had a profound cultivation base and had always been favored by their master. It was not surprising for him to bring her along. The others would not have any opinion about it.

Meanwhile, Conch was a red lotus cultivator. It was only natural that their master decided to bring along her as well.

After a brief wait, Lu Zhou appeared before them.

"Welcome, Pavilion Master."

"Welcome, Master."

Lu Zhou looked at them before finally shifting his gaze to the miniature Sky Chariot.

After inspection and cleaning, the Sky Chariot was now spotless. The Formation veins on its surface were painted over with black ink.

"There's no need for formalities."

Si Wuya said, "Master, I've inspected the Sky Chariot many times over and carved the red runes left by Jiang Wenxu on the helm. Most of the runes are damaged, but these can basically bring you to the red lotus domain."

"Very well." Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction. He did not hurry onto the chariot. Instead, he looked at Si Wuya and asked, "What's the situation like in Great Yan's nine provinces?"

Si Wuya replied, "There are more beasts now… Many flying beasts are disturbing the human settlements, but the new Formations are in effect now. On top of that, we have ballistae. We have no problem dealing with flying beasts and land beasts. For now, huge beasts are rare, but with Fourth Senior Brother here, we shouldn't have a problem."

Lu Zhou nodded and turned to look at Mingshi Yin.

Mingshi Yin's appearance had almost completely reverted to its original state. This meant that the outflow of vitality energy and the years from the golden lotus were taking effect.

"Show me your avatar."

"Yes, master!" Mingshi Yin chuckled inwardly. 'Finally, the moment to look cool has arrived!'

Mingshi Yin stepped forward and summoned his avatar.

Whizz!

His 150-foot avatar appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

The others looked up.

Lu Zhou initially intended for Mingshi Yin to show him the miniature version of his avatar. However, there was no helping it since Mingshi Yin had already manifested his full-size avatar.

He noticed that Mingshi Yin's golden lotus leaves were not flaming. 'There's no karmic power?'

"Alright. Withdraw," Lu Zhou said.

Mingshi Yin looked around himself surreptitiously. He saw the others were craning their necks to take a look. Some of them seemed envious as well. Hence, he said, "It's alright, master. I can maintain this for a while."

"Hm?" Lu Zhou drew out the syllable to sound stern and disapproving.

"Oh." Mingshi Yin retracted his avatar.

The others regained their senses.

Lu Zhou said, "You should keep a low profile after reaching the Nine-leaf stage. You mustn't brag about this everywhere you go."

"I'll remember your teachings, master," Mingshi Yin said.

Despite his words, Lu Zhou knew Mingshi Yin would only show off here. Mingshi Yin had always been dependable when completing missions so there was no need to worry too much about him.

"Old Seventh."

"Yes, master."

"Although Zhao Yue is supported by the Empress Dowager, her cultivation base is on the weak side. You should assist her from the side after my departure," Lu Zhou said.

"Yes, master."

The nine provinces were all under the Nether Sect's control.

Si Wuya's reputation among the Nether Sect disciples was comparable to Zhao Yue. He was the best man for the job.

Lu Zhou turned to look at the others and said loudly, "I'll leave the Evil Sky Pavilion in your care."

The others bowed.

"We'll await your return, Pavilion Master."

Lu Zhou leaped onto the miniature Sky Chariot. "Yuan'er, Conch."

Little Yuan'er and Conch were already prepared for this. They boarded the Sky Chariot as well.

Little Yuan'er stood beside the helm and waved at the others. With a bright smile, she said, "Goodbye."

The Sky Chariot rose into the air and left the barrier.

…

The miniature Sky Chariot was much smaller compared to the cloud-splitting chariot. It could only carry a handful of passengers. However, since there were only three of them, it was rather spacious.

Lu Zhou stood beside the helm and looked at the scenery below.

The Sky Chariot was flying at an acceptable speed. It was comparable to the cloud-splitting chariot. It soon left Golden Court Mountain's area and flew toward the northern border.

...

Five days later.

The Sky Chariot crossed Rongbei and the desert, drawing close to the Endless Ocean at the northern border.

"Master, we're at the Endless Ocean." Little Yuan'er who was manning the helm looked at the boundless sea before them.

To be honest, the vast ocean that seemed to go on forever was worrying.

Little Yuan'er, who had always been bold, felt slightly fearful as well.

Lu Zhou nodded. "Higher."

"Mhm."

The Sky Chariot was now at the altitude where Primal Qi was the thinnest. Then, it maintained the altitude and flew forward.

Shortly after, the coastline of the golden lotus domain vanished behind them. They were now surrounded by water as far as the eye could see.

"Master, the red runes are shining!" Little Yuan'er turned the helm. When she circulated her Primal Qi, the runes glowed with a faint red light.

"Adjust the direction and increase the speed," Lu Zhou said.

"Mhm." Although Little Yuan'er had little experience of flying a chariot, she had no problem maintaining the flight and altitude.

"Ninth Senior Sister, you can do it! I can feel it! This is the right direction!" Conch clapped her hands.

...

Another five days passed in just a blink of an eye.

The Sky Chariot continued flying above the Endless Ocean.

They could not see anything. There were the occasional cloud drifting by and sea beasts circling under the Sky Chariot, but there was nothing else.

In the beginning, Little Yuan'er had been excited about this new experience, but as time passed, she began to feel bored.

At this moment, a low noise sounded from up ahead.

Shocked, Little Yuan'er said, "Master, I hear something."

Lu Zhou heard the low and unique sound as well.

The deep sound was rather unique. It seemed to come from the Endless Ocean. Also, it sounded like it was made by a musical instrument.

"There's a cloud of mist. I can't see a thing." Little Yuan'er was slightly worried.

Lu Zhou walked up to her and held the helm. He said faintly, "I'm right here. There's no need to worry."

Little Yuan'er and Conch were young, after all. It was understandable that they were frightened under such circumstances.

The Sky Chariot entered the cloud of mist.

They could hardly see their hands even if they held them in front of their eyes.

Lu Zhou could only determine their direction from the red runes on the helm.

The low and deep rang again from below.

Splash!

The mist seemed to roil as the sound of waves accompanied it.

Little Yuan'er and Conch held each other as they looked around anxiously.

At this moment, Little Yuan'er's air as a little ancestor was completely gone.

Lu Zhou frowned slightly. He raised his left hand. His fingers shone with blue radiance. The scripts of Abandon Wisdom hung between his fingers.

Abandon Wisdom!

He pushed down. A palm seal several times larger than the Sky Chariot parted the mist below.

As the palm seal dropped, the mist behind the palm seal gathered and obscured it from sight.

Splash!

Lu Zhou felt puzzled. 'What's in the cloud of mist on the Endless Ocean?'

He wanted to go down and take a look, but when he thought about the huge Chi Yao in the dark space, he gave up on that thought. He had killed Chi Yao because he was driven by his instinct to survive. If the Deadly Strike Card did not work, and a Nine-leaf cultivator could not deal with this unknown creature in the sea, would he not be rushing to his death?

At this moment, a louder cry from before reached their ears.

"Master, this monster seems to be chasing us!"

"Don't fluster." Lu Zhou was calm and composed as he dealt with this. His attitude greatly boosted the two young girls' confidence. They calmed down as well.

The Sky Chariot continued to part the mist and flew faster.

Creak!

The Sky Chariot made a strange sound.

Lu Zhou frowned. He recalled Si Wuya had said the Sky Chariot could climb high enough, but defense was its weakness.

'Is it breaking?' Lu Zhou slowed down. The strange sound stopped.

However, a louder cry filled the air around the Sky Chariot. It was as though the colossal creature was right beside them.

To gain the power to hear everything so that we can hear voices in all realms at will.

This was the Clear Heavenly Ears.

Lu Zhou's ears glowed with a faint blue light that lit the surroundings.

He heard the sound of the seawater, huge waves, and the snapping of the beasts.

Lu Zhou stopped using his power.

The Eight Trigrams spread out from under his feet. Ten scripts emerged from his waist: heaven, earth, life, death, water, fire, being, non-being, separation, and combination. The ten shining golden scripts flew into the surroundings.

This was the Six Compatible Seal, an original technique developed by Hua Wudao.

The Six Compatible Seal formed a circle that continued to expand. The aim was not to inflict damage but to disperse the mist around them. Its range was good enough.

With Lu Zhou's Nine-leaf strength, the Six Compatible Seal's range was hundreds, or perhaps, 1,000, meters.

Lu Zhou looked down. He saw an unimaginably huge dorsal fin slide past his eyes.

"A whale?" Lu Zhou wondered.

Little Yuan'er and Conch were completely stunned. They had been flying for a long time. The beast was not chasing after them! It was just that it was so huge that all this time they had merely been flying from its tail to its head. Up until now, they had not overtaken the huge beast.