My disciples are all villains.

The black-robed cultivator was slightly startled. He did not expect Lu Zhou to be so blunt. However, he maintained his smile and said, "As the saying goes, 'Having another friend is better than making another enemy'."

"This saying doesn't apply to me. I have many enemies; making another enemy isn't going to make a difference," Lu Zhou replied indifferently.

The black-robed cultivator. "..."

The black-robed felt like he had reached his wit's end. At this point, was there still a point in talking? However, he was not confident he could defeat the old man in front of him. As the saying went, 'Might makes right'. Therefore, he could only continue to say, "What benefits do you gain by killing him?"

"It can assuage my anger, vent my disciple's anger, and shake the hearts of the cultivators in this world…" Lu Zhou replied with a straight face.

"..." The black-robed cultivator remained silent.

The atmosphere became extremely oppressive.

It was as though if the wind blew in the wrong direction, a fight would break out immediately.

After a moment of silence, the black-robed cultivator said, "It's just a battle of wills. The things you mentioned have no real benefits. With your current cultivation base, how can you not understand this?"

'No real benefits? I can't tell you I'll earn a lot of merit points, can I?'

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and asked, "Are you a member of the Black Tower Council?"

"I'm just a sectless cultivator…"

"A mere sectless cultivator dares to interfere with the Black Tower Council's matters?" Lu Zhou asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"To tell you the truth," the black-robed cultivator cupped his hands together and said, "Wu Chao planned to leave the Black Tower Council after completing this mission. Currently, the Black Tower Council has many conflicts, both internally and externally. There are many who no longer wish to stay in the Black Tower Council."

"Even then they still want to control the golden lotus domain?" Lu Zhou found the entire thing absurd.

"Even without the Black Tower Council, there's still the White Tower Council. The golden lotus domain has attracted the attention of both councils. The golden lotus domain's geographical location is superior, and there should be many hidden Birth Chart Beasts here. These kinds of resources… I'm afraid it's impossible for them to give it up…" the black-robed cultivator said.

Lu Zhou shook his head. "In any case, this isn't reason enough for me to let Wu Chao go."

"..." The black-robed cultivator was rendered speechless.

"Either you hand Wu Chao over, or you can die in his place." A Deadly Strike Card appeared in Lu Zhou's hand.

Similar to Yan Zhenluo, the black-robed cultivator keenly felt a sense of danger and oppression at this moment. Perhaps, Thousand Realms Whirling experts had keener senses. He hurriedly lifted both his hands and waved them as he said, "Senior, please calm down. I'm willing to offer six fire spirit stones in exchange for Wu Chao's life!"

He did not wait for Lu Zhou to reply and hastily untied the bag at his waist and brought red glowing stones one after another.

Lu Zhou's heart skipped a beat. 'What an amazing fellow! He actually has so many fire spirit stones in his possession!'

It was not that Lu Zhou did not try searching for fire spirit stones. Ever since Yu Shangrong's Longevity Sword was destroyed, he had ordered people to search for it everywhere.

He had sent blacksmiths, small sects, and adventurers to find fire spirit stones. They searched everywhere but to no avail. In fact, even if one searched with the entire strength of a sect, perhaps, one would only find one fire spirit stone in eight to ten years. That was how rare fire spirit stones were. With its ability to upgrade a desolate-grade weapon to a flood-grade, as a result significantly increasing a cultivator's strength, not only was it rare, but it was also highly coveted.

Even the True Kunlun Sect, the Void Sect, and the Seeking Heaven Sect only had one fire spirit stone each. To think a single person possessed, at least, six fire spirit stones.

With six fire spirit stones, Lu Zhou could turn two desolate-grade weapons in his hand into flood-grade weapons. How could he not be moved?

'How can I let six fire spirit stones ruin my killing intent?!'

Nevertheless, he remained calm outwardly. "Wu Gao is a blackguard. He wanted to capture my disciple. If I let him go…"

The black-robed cultivator immediately sensed the change in Lu Zhou's tone and seized the opportunity. He said, "Since your disciple has the Great Void energy, it's unavoidable that people want her. However, I can promise you that Wu Chao will never step foot in the golden lotus domain from now on."

Lu Zhou furrowed his eyebrows. "You know about the Great Void energy?"

The black-robed cultivator nodded. "Every cultivator in the world wished to be blessed by the Great Void. It's said that there's a small number of Great Void Seeds in the Unknown Land. It's said that cultivators with Great Void Seeds will stand at the peak without fail. How can any cultivators resist such a huge temptation?"

Lu Zhou recalled Ji Tiandao's memory of going to an unknown place and obtaining ten Great Void Seeds. 'In other words, all ten of my disciples have the Great Void Seeds…'

The black-robed cultivator continued to say, "It's also said that if one can refine the Great Void energy for their own use, they can, at the very least, activate eight Birth Charts."

"Is the Great Void energy really that great?" Lu Zhou asked skeptically.

The expression of the person under the mask stiffened. He resisted the urge to ridicule the old man. Instead, he said, "Since you have such a disciple, you'll definitely soar very high in the future. However, I suggest you hide her aura for now."

"Since you know how great the Great Void energy is, don't you have any thoughts about it at all?" Lu Zhou asked.

The black-robed cultivator sighed. "Please take a look, senior."

Buzz!

He opened his wrinkled hand that was riddled with scars before a black astrolabe appeared.

Lu Zhou looked at the black astrolabe. There were twelve Birth Charts on the astrolabe, but five of them were dimmed, clearly destroyed.

After that, the black-robed cultivator clenched his hand, and the astrolabe disappeared. Following that, a lotus appeared.

Lu Zhou frowned slightly when he saw that one-third of the black-robed cultivator's Birth Palace looked as though it had been burned.

The black-robed cultivator said helplessly, "My Birth Palace has been damaged; I'm at the end of my life. Even if I enter my mother's womb again, it'd be impossible to repair it. With this, how can I have any thoughts about the Great Void?"

"I'll believe you for now. How did you sense the Great Void energy?" Lu Zhou asked.

The black-robed cultivator was stunned when he heard this question. 'Is he testing me? This simple question is a bit insulting to my IQ. However, the simpler it is, the more one can't underestimate it!'

With these thoughts in mind, the black-robed cultivator answered seriously, "After activating five Birth Charts, one's senses will grow sharper. If you have less than five Birth Charts, you'll need to use talismans in order to sense the Great Void energy. The Great Void energy is like a natural enemy to Brahman Lullaby, illusions, and so on. Therefore, when talismans encounter the Great Void energy, they'll disperse."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhou suddenly recalled the time he brought Little Yuan'er with him to rescue Zhao Yue at the holy altar in Runan. No wonder Little Yuan'er was unaffected by the bald donkey's chanting at that time!

However, why was Zhao Yue affected then? After a brief moment, he remembered Lian Xing! It must have been Lian Xing's doing. With this, he remembered that Lian Xing should still be alive.

"How to hide the energy?" Lu Zhou continued to ask.

"This is simple. It can be hidden through talismans, treasures, special internal breathing techniques, or medicine," the black-robed cultivator replied.

Lu Zhou nodded. He looked at the black-robed cultivator and said, "You're quite tactful."

"Please spare Wu Chao for my sake. I'm willing to give you six fire spirit stones." The black-robed cultivator bowed.

Lu Zhou raised his hand, and the black bag flew into his hand immediately.

"As a sectless cultivator, I'm free to wander the world and I'm not bound by rules. Therefore, I managed to find these things. Please accept them."