Chapter 1374: Old Man Ouyang
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
When Fan Zhong saw that Lu Zhou’s attention was on him, he thought this might be a good chance to resolve the estrangement. He said, “Please bring the four treasures of the study.”
Qin Renyue waved his hand.
A disciple of the Qin clan hurriedly brought an ink brush, a pot of ink, paper, and inkstone into the hall before setting them properly.
Fan Zhong picked up the brush and said in a serious tone, “Let’s a.s.sume the Unknown Land is like a sundial, which aligns with the 12 o’clock position.”
Qin Renyue said disapprovingly, “You’re singing the same old tune. Can you say something new?”
Fan Zhong ignored Qin Renyue and continued to say, “The heart of the Unknown Land is called Ren Ding, which means men decide their fates. That’s also where the Pillar of Destruction is.”
Fan Zhong paused to look at Lu Zhou before he said, “I don’t know how vast the core region is. I set off from the green lotus domain, and it took me two years to arrive at the outer region. Then, it took me another year to cross the middle region. Perhaps, it has something to do with the stability of the balance brought by the beast kings there. Then, it took three years for me to arrive at the core region and the heart of the Unknown Land. There were many mountains surrounding the Pillar of Destruction at the heart of the Unknown Land. The height of the trees there was 10 to 100 times taller than the trees in the outer region. I met an ancient divine beast there. Out of desperation to survive, I had not but to, uh, hide… in the excrement of a fierce beast for… three months. During that time, I heard powerful fierce beasts and the ancient divine beasts communicating and fighting each other. It’s a pity I don’t understand the beast tongue. After the beasts finally left and the coast was clear, I escaped and wandered the Unknown Land before returning to the green lotus domain through a runic pa.s.sage.”
“…”
Qin Renyue wanted to make fun of Fan Zhong, but when he saw the solemn expression on Fan Zhong’s face, he dismissed that idea.
Venerable Masters were also humans. When faced with an ancient divine beast, it was not a shameful thing having to hide in a fierce beast’s excrement. If Qin Renyue were in Fan Zhong’s shoes at that time, who knew if he would be able to react as quickly as Fan Zhong?
“There are still ancient divine beasts in the Unknown Land?” Lu Zhou asked.
After the land split, some of the ancient divine beasts died and some escaped. The ones that survived should be in the Great Void.
“Yes. Apart from those that predate divine beasts, divine beasts that are much more intelligent than the average divine beasts are also called ancient divine beasts. That’s one differentiated divine beasts the Great Void left behind before vanis.h.i.+ng,” Fan Zhong said, “There’s a secret I want to tell Brother Lu.”
Fan Zhong not-so-subtly changed the way he addressed Lu Zhou from ‘Great Venerable Master Lu’ to ‘Brother Lu’.
Fan Zhong glanced at Qin Renyue from the corners of his eyes as he lowered his voice and said, “The Free Man of the Fan clan saw the Halcyon Bird at the White Tower Council.”
Only Lu Zhou alone heard these words. He looked at Fan Zhong in surprise. He had seen the Halcyon Bird through his power of sight that day. He did not expect the Free Man of the Fan clan to be at the white lotus domain as well.
“When was this?” Lu Zhou asked.
Fan Zhong replied, “When Qin Naihe was in trouble…”
Qin Renyue: “…”
Lu Zhou nodded. The timing was right.
Fan Zhong said again, “Although the Halcyon Bird isn’t as fierce as the ancient divine beasts, it’s a descendant of the ancient divine beast from the Great Void. The bird had just reached maturity. Based on the Free Man’s words, it should have become a divine beast. Its appearance was said to be rather intriguing.”
“…”
Lu Zhou thought about Lan Xihe. Lan Xihe was from the Great Void. Where was the Great Void?
Qin Renyue said, “You’ve said so much, but you’ve yet to tell us where the Great Void is. Although it’s admirable that you crossed the Unknown Land, it’s a pity you still didn’t find the Great Void.”
Everyone sighed.
Fan Zhong shook his head and said, “The Equalizers maintain the balance. The Great Void placed a Red Line and forbade Venerable Masters from crossing it. Based on this, there must be something in the Great Void that can sense Venerable Masters. Before crossing the Great Void, I forcefully sealed one of my Birth Charts.”
“…”
Qin Renyue gave Fan Zhong a thumbs-up. ‘He’s really ruthless to himself.’
Fan Zhong said rather proudly, “Although I didn’t find the Great Void, I’m sure that the Great Void is in the Unknown Land.”
“How can you be sure?” Lu Zhou asked skeptically. Even he was not sure of this matter.
Fan Zhong replied, “Although I don’t understand the beast tongue, I understand the human language. Some of the fierce beasts spoke human language. I remember one of them saying that the Great Void didn’t really leave and that when it returns, there’ll be peace.”
It was silent once again in the training hall.
After a dramatic pause, Fan Zhong said, “The Great Void has always been in the Unknown Land. These are the words I heard word for word.”
Qin Renyue really wished he could beat Fan Zhong up at the moment. He would have done it if it were not for his ident.i.ty as a Venerable Master.
Lu Zho had invited the Free Men here because they had traveled to various domains and had seen a lot. He did not expect Fan Zhong would be the one to have such a bizarre and interesting experience.
Fan Zhong said, “Brother Lu, if you really want to find the Great Void, there are two options. First, go to the core region in the Unknown Land. Although you might gain some clues there, even with the strength of a Great Venerable Master, it’d still be dangerous. Second, you can visit Saint Chen. Saint Chen is the only person in the nine domains to have reached an agreement with the Great Void. He must know much more than we do.”
Everyone nodded.
Yu Zhenghai cupped his fists together and said, “Master, I think Venerable Master Fan has a point. After all, as the saying goes, ‘Time invested in preparation isn’t wasted’.”
The disciples were eager to make a move. After all, their master was already a Great Venerable Master, but they were still struggling with the first and second Birth Trial.
When Qin Renyue saw Lu Zhou was immersed in his thoughts, he said, “Brother Lu, I have a Collective Teleportation Jade Talisman here. It can help you return to the golden lotus at any time.”
Lu Zhou nodded and put it away in the Vast Sky Bag.
Then, Qin Renyue rose to his feet and said, “Then, I won’t disturb you any longer; I’ll take my leave now. Farewell.”
Naturally, no one dared to stay for too long in the southern training hall. They left one after another as well.
Before Lu Zhou’s disciples left, he called out, “Old Fourth, Yuan’er, both of you stay.”
Mings.h.i.+ Yin and Little Yuan’er bowed and stayed behind.
After everyone left, Lu Zhou said in a serious tone, “Old Fourth, news of you possessing the Great Void Seed has already spread. Many people know about it. Don’t think you can act unscrupulously just because you have your master’s support.”
Thud!
Mings.h.i.+ Yin fell to his knees immediately. “I understand, master.”
The world was vast and filled with wonders. There would always be someone better than you.
“Yuan’er, the little Fire Phoenix has been exposed. It’s a descendant of a divine beast and has true blood. It’s inevitable that others would covet it.”
Little Yuan’er nodded as realization dawned on her. “I shouldn’t have brought it around with me…”
“Alright, be careful. You can both leave,” Lu Zhou said. Sometimes he felt that the world was so vast, but there was no place to stay.
After his two disciples left, he began to meditate on the Heavenly Writing.
…
When it was close to evening, with his keen senses, he sensed a subtle energy fluctuation. It made him feel like something was amiss.
If it were Qin Renyue or Fan Zhong, they would not do this. There was no need to consider the others since they were not capable of this.
Lu Zhou flashed and appeared in the air outside of the southern training hall. He did not rashly charge out since the other party might be trying to lure him into a trap. Hence, he cast his power of hearing and power of smell, covering a radius of 10,000 feet.
As expected, he sensed two presence at the ruins of the northern training hall. The two figures were very still, and their auras were retrained.
To the east of the southern training hall, there was another figure floating in the air. He did not hide his aura.
Lu Zhou thought about it for a moment before he flashed to the east and appeared 100 meters away from that figure.
An old man hovered in the air with his back facing Lu Zhou. His aura was fluid like water. He broke the silence first. “You’re here.”
Lu Zhou asked, puzzled. “Who are you?”
“Since you can sense my presence, you must be a Venerable Master at least,” the old man said, “My surname is Ouyang.”
“Ouyang?”
Lu Zhou had never heard of such a person in the green lotus domain. He asked, “Why are you looking for me?”