With the Purple Glazed Ceramic, Lu Zhou’s qi and energy were undetectable. At this moment, he was inwardly calculating the difference between his and his opponent’s strength.

The black lotus cultivator had a Five Chart Thousand Realms Whirling avatar. He had three Birth Charts more than Lu Zhou. Just the number of Birth Charts would give his opponent 12 additional attacks. However, he had the Deadly Strike Card that would add a lot of uncertainties to the battle.

At this moment, the black lotus cultivator was hovering in front of the guiding mark. No one knew what he was doing. It seemed as though he was waiting for something.

Lu Zhou opened the system interface and looked at his remaining points.

Merit points: 27,130

The price of a Deadly Strike Card was 25,000 merit points.

Lu Zhou closed the system interface with a calm expression on his face. He could afford another Deadly Strike Card.

…

After an hour.

A figure suddenly flew in from outside. As soon as the figure appeared, he immediately kneeled in the air and said, “I’m late. Please forgive me, Lord Yi!”

The name of the expert with the Five Chart Thousand Realms Whirling avatar was Yi Yao.

Yi Yao looked at the young man in front of him and asked, “How’s the investigation coming along?”

“Lord Yi, can we speak somewhere else?” the young man asked tentatively.

“Hmm?”

“When I came in, I noticed someone had moved the rocks blocking the entrance. I suspect someone has come in,” the young man replied.

Yi Yao did not say anything. Instead, he closed his eyes and spread his arms open. Black energy surged out of his body and spread in all directions immediately. Like black smoke, it covered a radius of several hundred meters.

Lu Zhou frowned upon seeing this. He made sure his energy and qi in his Dantian’s sea of Qi were hidden before he channeled his extraordinary power into the Purple Glazed Ceramic.

The Purple Glazed Ceramic was a good treasure. However, if Lu Zhou powered it with Primal Qi, there was a possibility that an expert might discover him, especially when they were in close proximity. Moreover, Lu Zhou was not certain if the black lotus cultivator with five Birth Charts possessed some strange weapons. Therefore, he decided to power the Purple Glazed Ceramic with his extraordinary power.

At this moment, the black energy swept past Lu Zhou quietly before it quickly withdrew.

Finally, Yi Yao opened his eyes and said, “There’s no one here. Speak.”

The young man said, “With Lord Yi here, I feel relieved.” After a beat, he continued to say, “I’ve investigated the matter you entrusted to me. Not long ago, there was, indeed, a black lotus expert who traveled from here to the Endless Ocean. Great Tang has sent someone to the Endless Ocean to investigate the matter as well. I’m afraid that the black lotus expert has died along with the king of the sea beasts.”

Yi Yao shook his head indifferently and muttered to himself, “Lu Li, you’re a member of the Black Tower Council; how could you be so stupid?” After a brief moment, he continued to ask the young man, “What about the Birth Chart Beasts I asked you to investigate?”

After learning Lu Li’s name, the young man put that information aside in his mind and continued to report to Yi Yao. “The Birth Chart Beasts that were lured out by a red lotus cultivator sprouting his tenth leaf have all been located. We found out that the Yong came out because an old man with the surname Lu was sprouting his tenth leaf on Cloud Mountain. He killed the Yong as well. Meanwhile, Lord Lu Li killed the ferocious beast so its life heart should be with him.”

Yi Yao frowned slightly. “The old man’s surname is Lu?”

“That’s right. He happens to share the same surname as Lord Lu Li,” the young man said. Then, he mustered up his courage and looked up at Yi Yao before he said, “Lord Yi, please help me seek justice!”

Yi Yao looked at the young man and said, “Jiang Xiaosheng, are you playing tricks on me?”

“I… I dare not!” Jiang Xiaosheng fell to his knees again. “After my master was killed, I’ve been trying to avenge him. However, I didn’t expect the disciple of the old man with the surname Lu would have such a profound cultivation base. I even lost my extra life because of him. If I’m lying, I’m willing to be struck by lightning!”

Yi Yao’s expression and tone were cold and indifferent as he said, “Ye Zhen had always been meticulous when doing things. It’s a pity he had too many ideas he shouldn’t have. In fact, the Black Tower Council wasn’t very pleased with him as well. Since he’s dead, let the matter go. The Black Tower Council has no intention of investigating this matter. If you want to take over Ye Zhen’s position, it’s best if you stay obedient.”

Jiang Xiaosheng continued to say, undeterred, “Lord Yi, that person with the surname Lu isn’t simple. He killed Yu Chenshu and seized control of the Sky Martial Court. He’s also the one who killed my master. After this, I’m sure he plans to seize control of Great Tang’s royal court next. When my master was around, he could help you keep an eye on the Birth Chart Beasts in various places. But now… Although I have the heart to help you, my strength is insufficient.”

Yi Yao remained silent.

When Ye Zhen was alive, his strength and status allowed him to extend his hand into the royal court and even place spies in the royal palace. Now that Ye Zhen was dead, the most suitable person to work for the Black Tower Council was Jiang Xiaosheng.

With this, Yi Yao said in a deep voice, “The Black Tower Council will find a way to deal with the person who killed your master. They will avenge you and bestow you with a fitting position. However, before all that, it’s imperative that you keep an eye on all the formations in various places. Don’t make any mistakes. If you lose another Birth Chart Beast like the Yong again, you’ll be held responsible.”

Jiang Xiaosheng hurriedly said, “My lord, please listen to my explanation. The incident with Yong happened because someone broke the stone forest formation located southeast of Cloud Mountain. Therefore, when the Yong appeared, the formation didn’t respond to it.”

Upon hearing this, Yi Yao was slightly surprised. He asked, puzzled, “There’s someone in the red lotus domain who’s capable of breaking that formation?”

“I saw it with my own eyes. That person is Yu Shangrong. He’s none other than the second disciple of that person with the surname Lu who killed the Yong,” Jiang Xiaosheng said before he recounted that time when Yu Shangrong created more than 60,000 energy swords one after another.

Jiang Xiaosheng was afraid this was not enough to get him what he wanted so he exaggerated his story. “Yu Shangrong even boasted he’s the top in regard to the Sword Path. He even took my additional life. At one point, I had a chance to kill him, but it was too unfortunate that his eldest senior brother arrived in the nick of time. Not only did those two people break free from the formation, but they even destroyed the stone forest and the formation! Most importantly, those two have only sprouted nine leaves. Lord Yi, please take action and teach them a lesson.”

A hint of intrigue could be heard in Yi Yao’s voice as he said, “Mere Nine-leaf cultivators like them are capable of breaking the formation in the stone forest? Interesting, truly interesting…”

Jiang Xiaosheng said with a hint of urgency and anxiety, “Ever since those people appeared, they’d disrupted many of my master’s plans. Lord Yi, please try to understand…”

Yi Yao remained silent, deep in his thoughts. At the same time, his body emitted a strange energy. After a moment, he finally said, “Alright, I’ve heard you. These are five Primal Qi pills. Be careful when you consume them. After you return, go and cultivate in seclusion. Don’t act recklessly.”

A puzzled expression appeared on Jiang Xiaosheng’s face. The Black Tower Council was so powerful, why did they not directly send their men here to take charge of this matter? Why did they decide to do things in such a roundabout manner instead? Yi Yao alone, a Five Chart expert, could easily wipe these people out since they had ruined so many plans. Why was he, or the Black Tower Council, hesitating?

When Jiang Xiaosheng regained his senses, he called out, “Lord Yi!”

“Shut up.” Yi Yao suddenly raised his hand, and a black palm seal shot out immediately.

Bang!

Needless to say, Jiang Xiaosheng could not withstand the attack. He was sent flying back in the air as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Yi Yao said in a dark voice, “Do you think you’re worthy of negotiating with me?”

Jiang Xiaosheng tried to stop his body from trembling as he struggled to get up and kneel. “No. I don’t have such audacious thoughts! Please forgive me. Please forgive me, Lord Yi!”

At this moment, Jiang Xiaosheng was drenched in sweat. He no longer dared to make any demands.

He controlled his body and knelt down. “I don’t dare! Please forgive me, Lord Yi! Please forgive me!”

He was drenched in sweat and didn’t dare to make any more demands.

“Make sure you do your job. Now scram!”

“Yes, yes, yes…” Jiang Xiaosheng hurriedly retreated and left the ruins of the cave.

Silence descended on the ruins again.

Yi Yao hovered in the same spot, lost in his thoughts. After a while, he turned to look at the guiding mark and threw a black talisman out.

As the black talisman burned, the formation lit up as well.

“There’s still an hour left…” Yi Yao flashed forward. He tossed out talismans above the lava under the valley’s rift.

The talismans fluttered in the air like black butterflies.

…

Meanwhile, Lu Zhou was still hiding behind the rock, watching Yi Yao. He frowned slightly. ‘They’re keeping track of Birth Chart Beasts?’

Although he had a lot of questions and still could not completely see the big picture, there was one thing he understood and was certain of.

For nearly 2,000 years, there were no Birth Chart Beasts in the red lotus domain that had Ten-leaf cultivators. It was not because Birth Chart Beasts were rare in the red lotus domain; it was because the black lotus domain had interfered and acted preemptively by locating the Birth Chart Beasts and monopolizing the beasts!

This was clear to Lu Zhou.

If he did not personally hear this, he would not have expected there was such a huge conspiracy behind Ye Zhen.

While Lu Zhou mulled over his thoughts, the black talismans in the air suddenly merged into one.

Following that, Yi Yao’s voice rang in the air.

“Evil creature, come out and face your death!”