Chapter 730: Preparations and the Endless Ocean
There were many who would go all out just to get their hands on a heaven-grade weapon. Countless cultivators would have loved to possess a heaven-grade weapon, but they could not.
Although Zhou Jifeng and Pan Zhong envied the ten disciples of the Evil Sky Pavilion, that was all they could do. They did not dare to hope to possess weapons like the disciples. The closest they had come into contact with such weapons was when they entered the Imperial family’s inner warehouse when the Divine Capital was conquered. However, with so many weapons in the Evil Sky Pavilion, was there a need to take the weapons in the inner warehouse. Owning a heaven-grade weapon was something worthy of celebration itself; they would not dare compare among themselves.
Zhou Jifeng received High Void respectfully. He was so filled with emotions that it took a lot of effort for him to string a coherent sentence together. “Thank you, Pavilion Master. I will surely dedicate my life to the Evil Sky Pavilion and sacrifice my life if I have to.”
Their loyalties went up by 10% each.
With this, the loyalties of the younger members were basically above 80%.
Lu Zhou looked at the four members of the Old Age Pavilion.
The others followed his gaze.
‘What’s gotten into the pavilion master today? Why is he giving away weapons?’
“Leng Luo,” Lu Zhou said.
Leng Luo was not as expressive as the younger ones. Throughout his life, he had owned weapons of his own. This was also attributed to him cultivating Dao Invisibility. Often, when he felt that he could not defeat his opponent, he would choose to flee. His rich experience and wide knowledge resulted in his personality that was seldom affected by anything.
Lu Zhou looked at his remaining weapons. Unnamed, Jade Horsetail Whisk, Spotless Blade, Magistrate Brush, and Nine String Zither. Naturally, he could not give Unnamed away. It was one of his trump cards. This was also the only weapon that grew stronger as his cultivation base improved. Moreover, it was enhanced by the black runes. The impregnable Sky Shuttle was as brittle as a thin piece of paper before it.
The Jade Horsetail Whisk was used by both the Buddhist and Daoist sects. Knowing Leng Luo, he would not accept this. What about Spotless Blade? The Magistrate Brush was best used by someone from the Confucian school. It could work wonders as it wrote scripts and formed script seals. Nine String Zither? From the letter Jiang Wenxu left behind, this weapon most likely belonged to the Luo woman, or Luo s.h.i.+yin. However, this weapon was more suited for his tenth disciple, Conch. Lu Zhou once suspected that Conch was Luo s.h.i.+yin since she shared similarities with her. It also explained her awakening state. However, her longevity was completely untouched. The Imperial tutor, Jiang Wenxu, refuted that as well. Moreover, Leng Luo was not someone who would play the zither. By the process of elimination, the Spotless Blade was all that was left.
“I’ll give you the Spotless Blade. I hope that you’ll put it to good use.” He waved his sleeve again.
The Spotless Blade flew into Leng Luo’s hand.
“Super-heaven grade, Spotless Blade.” Pan Litian looked at it enviously.
“Thank you for the gift of the super heaven-grade Spotless Blade, Pavilion Master.” When Leng Luo lifted the Spotless Blade, he could not help but feel excited despite his years of experience and knowledge.
The others from the Evil Sky Pavilion had no opinions about this. It was only natural for the elders of the Evil Sky Pavilion to possess super heaven-grade weapons.
Zhou Jifeng and Leng Luo let their weapons drink their blood.
Lu Zhou was rewarded with 2,000 merit points. Then, he stroked his beard and said, “If there’s nothing else, we’ll call it a day.” After he finished speaking, he left with his hands on his back.
The others bowed.
Hua Wudao raised his arm weakly, swallowing the words on the tip of his tongue. ‘What about me? Are there no more weapons?’ He sighed. He had no choice but to accept this reality.
Pan Litian walked to Leng Luo and said with a hint of jealousy, “You’re lucky. You got a super heaven-grade weapon out of now. I feel pressured now.”
Leng Luo retorted, “Haven’t you always felt pressured?”
“I have my Wine Gourd Bottle, why would I feel pressured? The pavilion master sure is looking out for you,” Pan Litian said.
“The other elders possess weapons of their own. It’s understandable that the pavilion master chose to give me the Spotless Blade.”
Nearby, Zuo Yushu held her Coiling Dragon Staff. Similar to Pan Litian, even if she were given another weapon, she might not accept it.
Hua Wudao was the only one who was sighing outside the southern pavilion.
…
After returning to his room, Lu Zhou called up the system dashboard and checked his remaining merit points and longevity.
Merit points: 12,040.
Remaining life: 218,985 days
Item: Deadly Strike Card x2, Critical Block Card x138 (pa.s.sive), Binding Cage Card x5, Whitzard, Bi An, Ji Liang, Qiong Qi, Disguise Card x2, Golden Taixu Mirror, Appearance Alteration Card x3, s.h.i.+ning Stone x3, Reversal Card x28.
Weapon: Unnamed, Jade Horsetail Whisk, Magistrate Brush, Nine String Zither.
With his Nine-leaf cultivation base, these items certainly seemed unpresentable compared to before.
A problem occurred to Lu Zhou.
The mount he obtained from the lucky draw had been brought to him by the system’s power. When it came to Ji Liang, it had to travel to him on its own. After that, in regard to Qiong Qi, he had to personally tame it. When traveling to the red lotus domain, how was he going to bring his mounts with him?
Indeed, this was a problem.
Unfortunately, there was nothing from the system. It was not very intelligent as well. It could not answer his questions.
“I’ll just try and summon them from the other side when the time comes.”
It was useless for him to think about such matters at the moment. He was better off thinking about acc.u.mulating more things he could use to his advantage while dealing with the red lotus domain.
Lu Zhou noticed that he had Disguise Cards among his items… Now that he was a Nine-leaf cultivator, why would he need to disguise himself?
He extended his right hand.
A Disguise Card appeared in his hand.
This time, a message popped up on the interface. “May disguise the color of the avatar.”
“Color?”
Realization dawned on Lu Zhou. ‘You’re worried that I’d be ganged up on when they find out that I’m a foreigner? Useless card. It can’t even compare with the Appearance Alteration Card.’
There were not many usable item cards left.
The Thunderblast Card had always been useful since he could often use it to intimidate others.
It was priced at 5,000 merit points.
“Purchase one.”
He purchased another Thunderblast Card just in case.
He was left with 7,040 merit points.
Lu Zhou thought about trying the lucky draws. However, when he looked at his 100 luck points, he shook his head. ‘I should save them. Even the European Emperor won’t be able to handle this.’
“I have three s.h.i.+ning Stones left. Who should I use them on?”
Ye Tianxin now had the desolate-grade Amorous Hoop, and Mings.h.i.+ Yin had his desolate-grade Separation Hook.
Among his remaining disciples, Si Wuya was the most stable cultivator.
Although Duanmu Sheng was not as talented as the others, his redeeming virtue was his diligence. Lu Zhou decided to only give him a desolate-grade weapon when he was close to the Seven or Eight-leaf stage.
Zhao Yue’s cultivation base had always been lagging behind. She might be busy governing the country. Moreover, she was far away in the Divine Capital.
Little Yuan’er?
Lu Zhou made a decision. He called Si Wuya and Little Yuan’er over.
The two of them seemed puzzled when they arrived at the eastern pavilion. They entered the room and saw their master sitting on the rush cus.h.i.+on. His eyes were closed as he rested his mind. His hands were placed on his lap.
“Greetings, master.” The two of them kneeled.
Lu Zhou opened his eyes and said, “Leave your weapons here.”
Si Wuya and Little Yuan’er exchanged a look.
“Master, what are you going to do?” Little Yuan’er asked. She was bolder than the others, after all.
“You’ll find out tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
Both of them left their weapons before leaving the eastern pavilion.
Lu Zhou did not hesitate to use two s.h.i.+ning Stones.
The Peac.o.c.k Plume burned in the fire and shone brilliantly.
The Nirvana Sash was clearly made of cloth, but it was not damaged from the burning flames.
Everything went smoothly.
Then, Lu Zhou entered his meditative state.
…
Early the next morning.
Lu Zhou heard two notifications.
“Ding! Obtained desolate-grade Peac.o.c.k Plume. Reward: 1,000 merit points.”
“Ding! Obtained desolate-grade Nirvana Sash. Reward: 1,000 merit points.”
Lu Zhou returned the weapons to Si Wuya and Little Yuan’er.
Then, he returned to his meditative state.
…
Three days pa.s.sed in just a blink of an eye.
After receiving the Peac.o.c.k Plume, Si Wuya was filled with awe. He stroked his weapon as he muttered to himself, “How does master raise the grade of our weapons?”
He knew his Peac.o.c.k Plume as well as Yu Shangrong knew his Longevity Sword. Just by touching it, he knew the Peac.o.c.k Plume had received a huge upgrade.
“Golden flames?” Si Wuya recalled his master’s Nine-leaf avatar.
In the cultivation world, apart from forging flames that had to meet high requirements, materials were also important. The greater the skill and cultivation base of the blacksmith, the better the weapon’s quality would be.
There was no other explanation. Si Wuya could only attribute this to the golden flames.
…
When Si Wuya arrived at the eastern pavilion, he called out, “Master, the Sky Chariot is ready.”
A voice rang from the room, “I see. Tell Little Yuan’er and Conch to wait near the Sky Chariot.”
“Understood.”