My disciples are all villains.

The cultivators in the vicinity who were healing their injuries widened their eyes when they saw the black avatar that emerged out of the depths of the Sky Wheel Rift Valley.

Under the setting sun, the black light was dazzling. It covered the sun like how dark clouds covered the sun.

"It's a Thousand Realms Whirling avatar! It's a Thousand Whirling Realm avatar! Hurry! Retreat!"

The cultivators did not have time to dwell on the shock nor did they have time to continue healing their injuries. All of them hastened to retreat at this moment.

Compared to the Thousand Whirling Realm avatar, they were like flies.

When the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar broke out from the depth of the valley, it caused the lava to overflow out. Just like that, the lava destroyed all the trees within a radius of a few kilometers. The valley was instantly turned into a sea fire.

"It's a black lotus Thousand Realms Whirling avatar! It's over for our red lotus domain!"

The cultivators fell into despair when they witnessed this scene. They acutely felt their insignificance and helplessness.

At this moment, there were a few observant cultivators who saw an avatar and the Golden Buddha Body standing on the palm of the Thousand Realms Whirling Avatar. From afar, it looked like Buddha was holding the Golden Jade Bottle in his palm.

Someone cried out, "Hey, it's that elite who defeated Yu Chenshu!"

"I can't believe he survived an encounter with the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar!"

"It doesn't matter. Now that the black lotus Thousand Realms Whirling avatar is here, disaster is bound to befall him."

After a while, the cultivators were surprised to discover the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar paid no attention to them. Instead, it kept flying in the sky toward the east. In just a blink of an eye, it disappeared into the horizon.

…

Meanwhile, Lu Zhou suppressed the shock in his heart and looked at the refined man who was currently hovering in the middle of the black lotus avatar's forehead.

The scholarly man turned and looked at Lu Zhou before he shifted his attention to Lu Zhou's stack of defenses and Yu Chenshu.

Before Lu Zhou could speak, the scholarly man looked ahead and said with a sigh, "Humans... In the end, humans are just like animals who fight among themselves… When can we stop such useless acts? You have to think ahead..."

Lu Zhou frowned slightly as he checked the time he had left from the Peak Trial Card; he had only three minutes left. Then, as he looked at the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar that was flying, he asked skeptically, "Where are we going?"

"The Endless Ocean."

"Why are we going there?" Lu Zhou asked.

The scholarly man looked at Lu Zhou again and said indifferently, "Is this how you talk to your savior?"

Lu Zhou reflected on his behavior. He could not help it. Perhaps, it was because he had been acting this way for a long time now that it was now ingrained. No matter who he faced, his attitude could not be changed. "My savior?"

"Forget it... Perhaps, you were strong enough to escape on your own," the scholarly man said as he waved his arm, withdrawing his Thousand Realms Whirling avatar.

With this, Lu Zhou was left hovering in the air.

There was also the unconscious Yu Chenshu.

The scholarly man said, "If you can catch up to me, I'll answer your questions."

"Okay." Lu Zhou nodded.

The scholarly man shook his head and sighed again. "The weaker you are, the more conceited you are..."

Buzz!

Just like that, the scholarly man disappeared into thin air.

'So fast?' In any case, Lu Zhou was not in a rush to catch up. At this time, the last three minutes flashed incessantly on the system panel. Moreover, he could tell the elite with the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar had no intention of killing him. Otherwise, the man would not have saved him. Needless to say, even if the man did not save him, he was certain he could have escaped unscathed.

Apart from that, that man's appearance confirmed his speculation that the depth of the Sky Wheel Rift Valley was similar to the bottomless abyss in the golden lotus domain in that they were passages to a different world.

If the man with the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar intended to kill him… There was only one thing left for him to do; he would have to exchange all his accumulated merit points for the Deadly Strike Cards and hope for the best.

Fortunately, the man had no intention of killing him.

…

By the beach, after some time had passed.

The sunlight sparkled on the surface of the calm sea.

Buzz!

A black avatar appeared in the sky before disappearing again.

The refined man seemed to have appeared out of thin air before he slowly descended from where his avatar had appeared earlier.

The gentle breeze blew on his face as he descended. When he finally landed on the beach, he walked like a mortal, choosing not to fly.

At this moment, he seemed to be in a daze, mesmerized by the vast sea and the beauty of the setting sun. However, after a moment, he let out a long sigh as a melancholic expression appeared on his face. It made one feel as though he was reluctant to leave this beautiful place.

He continued looking at the setting sun when…

Buzz!

The sound of resonance rang in his ears.

He turned slightly to have a look. "Hmm?"

A shining golden avatar appeared in his sight before it disappeared.

The fact was Lu Zhou had depleted all his energy, forcing him to descend earlier than he had expected.

Soon enough, the scholarly man recovered from the shock of Lu Zhou's success in catching up to him. He rose to his feet and rested his hands on his back as he continued to look at the endless sea and asked, "How did you catch up to me?"

The Peak Trial Card was no longer in effect. In fact, his last two moves were from his own cultivation base. He really did not expect the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar to be so powerful.

"It's nothing worth mentioning." After Lu Zhou sorted his thoughts out, he moved to stand next to the man on the beach.

Then, the refined man said, "My name's Lu Li."

Lu Zhou was slightly taken aback when he heard Lu Li's name. He had intended to introduce himself as Ji Tiandao, but when he discovered they shared the same surname, there was an inexplicable sense of kinship. Humans were strange creatures. Sometimes, all it took was one or two sentences to feel connected to someone. He felt that the distance between them had lessened just because of their shared surname. In the end, he said, "My name is Lu Zhou."

"Oh?" A hint of surprise flitted past Lu Li's face when he heard Lu Zhou's name. Then, he said, "You're the strongest person I've met below the Thousand Realms Whirling stage."

"What does it matter even if I'm the strongest person you've met below the Thousand Realms Whirling stage? I couldn't even take the little life of that Birth Chart Beast," Lu Zhou said with a sigh as he shook his head.

As soon as Lu Zhou finished speaking, Lu Li brought a fiery-red life heart out from his sleeve and casually tossed it over to Lu Zhou before he said, "It's nothing but a ferocious beast. I'll give this to you."

Lu Zhou instinctively caught the life heart, surprised.

Lu Li smiled. He looked at the setting sun and said, "I have activated enough Birth Charts. Life hearts are no longer useful to me."

"Birth Charts?" Lu Zhou asked.

"After activating the first Birth Chart, one can manifest the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar and enter the Mystic Sky realm. Everyone has a different number of Birth Charts. As for me, I can only activate five Birth Charts," Lu Li explained. After a beat, he continued to say, "There's no need for you to ask me about activating the Birth Charts. There should be information about that in the red lotus domain. You should ask me something else. Once the sun sets, I won't answer any more questions."

At this moment, the sun was about to set completely. With the time left, there were not many questions Lu Zhou could ask. After a while, he asked, "Does the black lotus domain exist?"

"Yes."

"Since time immemorial, the strong prey on the weak. Not only did you not kill us, but you saved us. What's your purpose?" Lu Zhou asked.

Lu Li sighed again before he said, "I used to kill without thinking much about it… However, I later discovered it's meaningless… Humans should stop fighting among themselves. Perhaps, only by being united can we conquer everything and control fate."

"Conquer everything?" Lu Zhou asked in confusion.

"For example, the shackles of heaven and earth, the ferocious beasts, and the unknown..."

Lu Zhou asked again, "Why did you come to the red lotus domain?"

"I'm here on a mission," Lu Li answered honestly.

"What mission?"

"To kill a sea beast... Of course, there's the possibility that I might be killed instead. So this might be the last time we see each other."

The sun continued to set.

Lu Zhou recalled the behemoth he encountered in the Endless Ocean and asked, "What sea beast?"

"A behemoth that's beyond your imagination. There's still no need for you to worry about these things for now," Lu Li said.

At this moment, only an afterglow could be seen on the horizon. The sun had disappeared.

Lu Li sighed again. "Time's up."

Although the sun had set, Lu Zhou still asked, "Why don't you stay? Perhaps, I might be able to help you?"

Lu Li shook his head and said with a hint of helplessness, "Your cultivation base is too weak for you to help much. Fortunately, you encountered me. If it were someone else, perhaps, you might have been killed with just one move."

Lu Zhou shook his head as well, "Fortunately, you have no intention of killing me. Otherwise, I might have killed you with one move..."

"..."

The evening breeze blew against the duo, causing the robes to flutter in the air.

Lu Li turned around slowly and looked at the 'middle-aged man' with the surname Lu.

At this moment, Lu Zhou canceled the effect of the Disguise Card and resumed his original appearance. Naturally, his bearing and aura remained the same. His youth was fleeting and ended with just a snap of his fingers.

Once again, a hint of surprise flashed in Lu Li's eyes.