Chapter 187: Seven Star Soul Lu Zhou walked up the steps and entered the Hall of Great Strength.
After Zhu Honggong, Old Eighth, witnessed his master’s formidable strength, he hastily ran ahead of his master and cleared the debris on the steps with his feet. With an ingratiating smile on his face, he said, “Master, your Golden Buddha Body has truly opened my eyes. Moreover, there’s the Great Seal of Fearlessness that’s peerless in heaven and earth! Let me get this debris out of the way for you...”
The other disciples from the Evil Sky Pavilion were speechless when they saw Zhu Honggong’s antics. Although they would flatter their master sometimes, they were never as shameless as Zhu Honggong. They had to admit their skin was not as thick compared to Zhu Honggong.
Lu Zhou ignored Zhu Honggong and sat down slowly.
Apart from a few core disciples who waited within the hall, the other Heaven Choice Temple’s disciples began clearing the area.
The injured Xu Jing returned to the hall while being supported by two disciples. He was holding a brocade box in his hand as he walked slowly into the hall.
“Aren’t you afraid of death?” Lu Zhou asked as he stroked his beard.
Xu Jing said, “There’s nothing to fear about death... When the Four Divine Monks came before this, I had suspected that Xu Liao and the other two were up to no good. However, I really didn’t expect them to be so bold!”
“Is that why you concealed your injury from them?”
“Precisely.” Xu Jing presented the brocade box with both hands and said, “This is the sable magnolia.”
Lu Zhou received the brocade box. When he opened it, a rich medicinal aroma filled his nostrils. The smell was quite strong.
“Ding! Obtained a sable magnolia.”
“Completed the mission of obtaining a sable magnolia. Reward: 1,500 merit points.” The notification was brief. Not even the item’s effects were mentioned.
Lu Zhou gave the sable magnolia to Little Yuan’er who stood behind him.
Little Yuan’er held the sable magnolia carefully as though she had just been given a rare treasure. Nobody cared more about this item than her. Her master had obtained this sable magnolia without caring about the troubles it would bring him just so she could open her sea of Qi.
Soon after, Xu Jing joined his palms together and bowed at Lu Zhou before he said, “On behalf of the Heaven Choice Temple, I hereby declare that we’re now a subsidiary of the Evil Sky Pavilion.”
The other disciples from the Heaven Choice Temple bowed as well.
However, Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “A devil can never be a Buddha... There’s no need for this.”
The current Heaven Choice Temple consisted of a group of old and weak men. Xu Jing would need considerable time to recover from his injury. The young disciples were too weak to shoulder any important responsibilities while Xu Liao, Xu Fan, and Xu Hai had betrayed the temple. This was certainly adding hail to snow on the Heaven Choice Temple’s roof. Most importantly, these men were of no use to the Evil Sky Pavilion!
Xu Jing said with a sigh, “Benefactor Ji, the current Heaven Choice Temple can hardly compete with the other temples. The Temple of Great Emptiness has returned after suffering a loss, but they’ll surely return in the future. At that time...” He trailed off as he shook his head. He was worried the Temple of Great Emptiness would target them again.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard and said, “The Four Divine Monks of the Temple of Great Emptiness are no more. They have only one expert left, and that’s Kong Yuan... That man is extremely cautious. At the very least, they won’t be coming back in the near future.”
Moreover, Lu Zhou had displayed his strength. The people on the flying chariot had definitely seen his Golden Buddha Body as well.
Xu Jing nodded, agreeing with Lu Zhou’s words. So long as their enemies did not come at them in the near future, he would be able to think of many ways to steer clear of trouble. He finally said, “Thank you for your enlightenment, Benefactor Ji.”
Lu Zhou waved his arm and stood up as he said, “Let’s go.”
“Back to the pavilion!” Zhu Honggong said enthusiastically.
“Old Eighth... Can you give your flattery a rest? You don’t behave like an Evil Sky Pavilion’s disciple at all... I’m ashamed of you, I truly am. Hm? Master... Just a moment, I’ll get the flying chariot ready. I guarantee that it’ll be extremely steady!” Mingshi Yin ran out of the Hall of Great Strength.
Mingshi Yin moved quickly and the cloud-splitting chariot landed before the Hall of Great Strength in no time...
Lu Zhou looked around himself and said, “Even if the Heaven Choice Temple doesn’t need to bend its knees today... After today’s incident, the outside world will surely talk about this. The Heaven Choice Temple will never be able to stand proudly in the cultivation world. Have you thought about the consequences?”
Xu Jing said, “After this incident, I finally realized these things are no longer important. After today, the Heaven Choice Temple will close its door and go into cultivation.”
The body followed what the heart wanted.
Lu Zhou nodded and said no more. He leaped onto the cloud-splitting chariot with nimble movements. It was not difficult for a Brahman Sea Eight Meridians cultivator to accomplish that feat after all.
When Xu Jing saw this, he joined his palms and said, “Amitabha Buddha.”
The almost 1,000 disciples joined their palms and began chanting.
This was not an attack, a befuddling skill or a defensive one, they were purely chanting mantras.
The mantras resounded clearly through the Hall of Great Strength. It rose and fell in tone and spread throughout Clear Source Mountain.
This was the highest rite they could perform for a guest. It was also a sign of their gratitude and respect toward the Evil Sky Pavilion.
Mingshi Yin, Duanmu Sheng, and the others felt awkward. This was the first time that they had been treated this way. They had a peculiar feeling that they could not shake off.
The cloud-splitting chariot rose into the skies.
Lu Zhou did not hear the notification ringtone. He discovered repeated worshipping would not give him merit points.
After the cloud-splitting chariot rose into the sky, Mingshi Yin sighed and shook his head. His voice was full of emotion as he said, “Although these bald donkeys are too useless, they’re much better than the Clarity and Righteous Sects in some ways.”
Duanmu Sheng nodded. “At least, they keep their words.”
The cloud-splitting chariot dragged its tail behind like a meteor as it sped toward the Evil Sky Pavilion.
...
Two hours later.
In the hidden chamber of Evil Sky Pavilion.
Lu Zhou opened the system dashboard.
Name: Lu Zhou
Race: Human
Cultivation base: Brahman Sea Eight Meridians
Merit points: 29,320
Avatar: Six Recombinant Trigram Lines
Remaining life: 5,955 days
Items: Deadly Strike Card x1, Impeccable Card x2, Critical Block Card x7 (passive), Binding Cage Card x4, Refining Talisman x2, Ji Tiandao’s Peak Trial Card x1, Whitzard (completed resting), Bi An, Sky Fragment x1.
Weapons: Unnamed, Amorous Hoop (Owner: Ye Tianxin, would have to be refined before use), Life Cutter, Nirvana Sash, Tear Stain Box.
Cultivation method: Three Scrolls of Heavenly Writing.
Lu Zhou looked at the numbers, feeling extremely pleased. “29,320 merit points.”
He did not expect to gain more merit points from the worshipping of the Heaven Choice Temple’s disciples than killing the Four Divine Monks.
Naturally, Lu Zhou knew that these merit points were far from enough for him to restore himself to his peak condition. However, compared to the time when he had barely enough to make ends meet, he was now very rich.
‘How should I spend them?’ Initially, he intended to buy an avatar. ‘The Seven Star Soul is sold at 15,000 merit points. I’ll have 14,000 points left after the purchase. Or I can choose to do a series of lucky draws.’
“Lucky draw.”
“...” A short while later, Lu Zhou shook his head helplessly and said, “Perhaps, this is what they mean by one’s sure to lose after a huge gain.”
He did 60 draws and wasted 3,000 merit points. He did not even win anything. He kept being thanked throughout the lucky draws. Fortunately, there were the merit points he obtained from the worshipping of the monks. Otherwise, he would have been depressed by this outcome.
Perhaps, Lu Zhou was used to his rotten luck. He felt somewhat numb. He remembered that he had once accumulated 66 luck points when his luck was at its lowest. This time, he gained 79 luck points. It was worse than the last time.
‘Stay calm.’ He had been awarded a Reversal Card for 66 luck points. ‘This time, it should be better, right?’ Perhaps, he would even be gifted with 1,000 Reversal Cards.
Lu Zhou calmed down. He no longer tried the lucky draws. Instead, he opened the mall tab and purchased the avatar, the Seven Star Soul.
“Ding! Obtained the avatar, the Seven Star Soul. Will you equip it now?”
“Equip.”
With the Seven Star Soul, Lu Zhou could officially step into the Divine Court realm.