My disciples are all villains.

Conch bowed and said, "Seventh Senior Brother, I'll head toward the west on my own."

"You want to go?"

"Yes. Seventh Senior Brother, don't worry," Conch said.

"I'm a little worried about you going alone..." Si Wuya looked at the empty place where Ming Shiyin was standing earlier.

"Why don't I head west with Miss Tenth?" Jiang Aijian held his sword and walked out of the crowd. He flicked his hair theatrically and said, "Trust me."

Si Wuya nodded. "That's fine."

"I appreciate your outstanding vision," Jiang Aijian said.

Conch glanced at Jiang Aijian before she shook her head. "No need. I'll be fine on my own."

As soon as Conch finished speaking, she stomped one foot on the ground. The Nine String Zither hummed.

Buzz!

Soon after that, a Ten-leaf red lotus avatar with karmic fire appeared in the sky as music permeated the air.

"Huh? T-ten… T-ten l-leaves and t-the k-karmic fire?" Jiang Aijian scratched his head in shock and confusion as he watched Conch flying west.

At this moment, Little Yuan'er said, "Get out of the way! Don't block my way. I'm going with junior sister."

"Uh..." Jiang Aijian scratched his head again. It seemed like he was a little redundant?

When Little Yuan rose into the sky, she could only see a speck of red in front of her that disappeared in just a blink of an eye. With the Supreme Purity Jade Slip and the Cloud Treading Boots, she flew off at top speed.

Finally, a palace expert rubbed his eyes and asked, "How many Nine-leaf cultivators are there? I… lost count…"

"How should I know? I feel like I'm seeing things?"

At this moment, Meng Changdong who was also standing at the Political Announcement Hall said, "Mister Seventh, I'll provide support at the northern wall."

Si Wuya shook his head and said, "No, head to the southern wall."

"Understood." Meng Changdong did not question Si Wuya's decision. He manifested his avatar and took off to the southern wall without any hesitation. After his time communicating with Si Wuya when Si Wuya was still in the golden lotus domain, he had come to trust Si Wuya's judgment.

Upon seeing this, Nie Qingyun and Sikong Beichen exchanged a glance. Both of them wanted to head out as well.

However, Si Wuya said, "Both seniors should stay…"

Nie Qingyun and Sikong Beichen looked at Si Wuya and nodded.

The external defense was strong enough so Si Wuya had to make sure that the internal defense was strong as well. Moreover, he could not trust the four Grand Dukes or the palace experts. With two mighty Ten-leaf experts around, the others would not be able to do anything.

Xia Changqiu looked at Jiang Aijian meaningfully before he said, "Wuwu, Ji Fengxing, both of you have to work hard. Otherwise, you'll be redundant…"

"Understood." The two disciples from the Thousand Willows Monastery looked embarrassed.

Jiang Aijian. "???"

At this moment, Li Yunzheng asked in confusion, "Teacher, why are there only two nine leaves at the eastern wall..."

Ten-leaf experts were obviously stronger than Nine-leaf cultivators after all.

Si Wuya smiled and walked toward the Political Announcement Hall without saying a word.

Xia Changqiu said with a smile, "You can't judge the Evil Sky Pavilion using common sense…"

Li Yunzheng. "..."

…

After the others entered the Political Announcement Hall, Li Yunzheng waved his hand.

The eunuch announced in a high-pitched voice, "Announcing the arrival of General Cen to have an audience with the emperor..."

"Announcing the arrival of General Bi to have an audience with the emperor..."

"Announcing the arrival of General Wu to have an audience with the emperor..."

...

Meanwhile, Lu Zhou continued heading east, pursuing the flickering and surging aura.

When Lu Zhou flew past the cultivators in the capital, they only felt a slight stirring of the wind and did not feel anything else.

Lu Zhou's speed was not slow; it did not take long before he left the capital.

…

Many cultivators slowly approached the collapsed eastern wall to have a look at the situation after the battle. All of them were shocked by the aftermath.

Someone muttered, "It's enough to be a Thousand Realms Whirling expert. What need is there for an army?"

...

After leaving the capital, Lu Zhou did not continue to give chase. Instead, he came to halt in the air and surveyed his surroundings. He had long withdrawn his avatar and activated the Purple Glazed Ceramic. Under normal circumstances, no one would be able to detect his presence.

However, Lu Zhou did not expect he would not be able to catch up to that person despite being able to see his or her flickering aura up ahead during the chase.

Three Deadly Strike Cards cost over 80,000 merit points. Given the current situation, it was likely that the only way to catch up to that person was to use his enhanced Deadly Strike Card; he did not think it was worth it.

Lu Zhou fell deep into his thoughts. He closed his eyes, listening to the movements of the wind and the grass in his surroundings.

Perhaps, it was due to the upgraded supreme mystic power, his power of hearing seemed to have improved as well. Moreover, it did not consume much of his supreme mystic power.

The range of his hearing widened rapidly from a radius of 100 meters, a kilometer, a few kilometers…

Whoosh!

Soon enough, Lu Zhou heard the unique sound of fluctuation from vitality energy.

"East?"

Lu Zhou unleashed his grand technique to chase after that person. If he really still could not catch up, then he would spare that person's life.

It was better to be prudent. The power from the Thousand Realms Whirling could certainly last for a long time, but the prolonged consumption of energy would be difficult to bear as well.

…

Fifteen minutes later.

Lu Zhou appeared in a forest. This place was rather far from the capital.

Soon after, Lu Zhou saw a stone forest within the forest.

'A giant stone formation? This is somewhat similar to the stone forest that Old Second broke free off previously. Is this how the Black Tower Council keeps track of the Birth Chart Beasts?'

Needless to say, there was no way Lu Zhou could not leave the formation untouched.

Lu Zhou was about to raise his hand to destroy the formation when a slender man dressed in a black robe walked out from behind the huge rock in front of him.

"Wait." The man's voice was deep.

Lu Zhou looked over and slowly asked, "You still dare to come out?"

The black-robed cultivator cupped his hands together and said, "I have no ill intentions."

"You're Yi Yao's helper. How can I spare you?" Lu Zhou raised his hand slightly; a card appeared in his hand.

It was precisely this small gesture from Lu Zhou that caused the black-robed cultivator to tremble inwardly. He had no idea why felt this way when there was no fluctuation of energy at all. After a beat, he hurriedly said, "Sir, please wait! It's true that Yi Yao and I belong to the Black Tower Council. However, we have different ideas. I think he deserves to die."

"Oh?" Lu Zhou was puzzled. Although he did not shatter the Deadly Strike Card, he did not put it away.

"My objective is to look for a friend here. I'm not here to help him. Otherwise, I wouldn't have shown myself," the black-robed cultivator said.

"Look for a friend?" Lu Zhou shook his head. "How can I trust you?"

The black-robed cultivator took off his hood, revealing his half-white hair. "My Name is Yan Zhenluo. I'm a member of the Black Tower Council. This stone forest formation can conceal one's aura."

When Yan Zhenluo walked behind the rock, it was as though he had disappeared into thin air. No aura could be detected at all. After that, he walked out again. At this point, what was the point of hiding?

Lu Zhou asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"His name is Lu Li. He's also a member of the Black Tower Council," Yan Zhenluo replied.

Lu Zhou was intrigued. Was there really internal strife in the Black Tower Council?

Perhaps that was why Lu Li helped him and lamented about infighting between humans after leaving the Sky Wheel Rift Valley.

Lu Zhou asked skeptically, "You're Lu Li's friend?"

Yan Zhenluo nodded and asked, "Do you know Lu Li?"

However, before Lu Zhou replied, Yan Zhenluo continued to say, "I've known Lu Li for a thousand years. We've been collecting life hearts silently over the years. Not long ago, Lu Li disappeared, but his life stone is intact. I pretended to agree to Yi Yao's request to come to the red lotus domain. I didn't expect to see a golden lotus cultivator in the red lotus domain" He paused briefly and looked at Lu Zhou with eyes filled with admiration as he said, "Most importantly, I didn't expect you to be able to withstand the effects of Absolute Zero Degree!"