Chapter 955 - Old Demon Ji Is Back!
Soon enough, Lu Zhou saw the two men's information on the system dashboard. Their loyalty was only at 30%. He thought it was a good starting point. After all, when Leng Luo first joined the Evil Sky Pavilion, his loyalty was only at 5%. Loyalty could be cultivated slowly; he was not in a rush. After all, they had just met not long ago. He was confident about his charm so he was not worried about increasing their loyalty at all.
Apart from their loyalty, Lu Zhou discovered no other information about two men unlike those in the golden lotus domain who could not hide from the system's Eye of Truth. It seemed like the Eye of Truth only worked on those from the golden lotus domain for now.
"Rise."
"Understood."
.Lian Xing. "..."
Lian Xing was dumbfounded. What kind of force was the Black Tower Council? After years of being in the White Tower Council, she was very well aware of the Black Tower Council's strength. Where did the old man's confidence come from that he even dared to challenge the Black Tower Council? After all, accepting Shen Xi and his comrade was no different from offending the Black Tower Council. Although she had a vague answer in her heart, she still found it difficult to accept. Was the old man really capable of taking on the Black Tower Council?
Shen Xi had the answer to Lian Xing's question. He had verified his answer in the red lotus domain.
At this moment, Lu Zhou said, "Dispose of the corpses. Since there are witchcraft cultivators in the Black Tower Council, we can't keep them."
Shen Xi nodded. "This is an easy task."
Shen Xi brought out a talisman. He pricked his finger and let the blood drip on the black talisman. With this, the talisman burst into flames immediately. Soon enough, the script for 'Destroy' appeared and fell on the corpses before the corpses were reduced into ashes.
Lu Zhou nodded. "Let's return to the Divine Capital for now."
...
At this moment, the imperial guards, the palace experts, and the eunuch were cleaning up the mess from the battle between the two Thousand Realms Whirling experts earlier. Fortunately, the two experts brought the fight outside the palace. Otherwise, the Imperial palace would have been reduced to debris and rubble.
When the palace experts saw a group of cultivators flying toward them in the sky, they cried out in delight, "It's Miss Fifth!"
"It's really Miss Fifth!"
Following the experts, everyone gathered in a row. They bowed and said in unison, "Welcome back, Miss Fifth!"
Zhao Yue nodded before she said, "My master has returned. Everyone, make way for my master…"
When they heard these words, their bodies trembled involuntarily as they looked up. However, they could not figure out which one of the cultivators was Senior Ji. Nevertheless, all of them said in unison, "Welcome back, Senior Ji!"
Lu Zhou stepped forward and said in a clear voice, "There's no need for formalities..."
Lu Zhou's voice was as gentle as water but was filled with charm and calmness.
Li Yunzhao, the eunuch next to the Empress Dowager, finally recognized Lu Zhou and said excitedly, "We have waited a day and a night for Senior Ji's arrival. Welcome, Senior Ji!"
Under Li Yunzhao's arrangements, the palace experts were dismissed and only a small group of eunuchs and palace maids stayed behind to wait on them.
…
When they were back in the palace hall, Zhao Yue gave Lu Zhou a brief report of what had happened in the Imperial palace.
Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction. After that, he asked, "When did you first meet Lian Xing?"
Zhao Yue glanced at Lian Xing, who was slumped on the ground, and explained in detail, "Back then, when Junior Sister Tianxin set a trap on Bluesun Mountain, I didn't agree with her so I left. Later on, I met Lian Xing in Runan. At that time, she pretended to be a weak cultivator, and we supported each other. I always treated her as my best friend. I didn't expect she was actually stealing my Great Void energy."
Upon seeing Lian Xing open her mouth to speak, Zhao Yue said, "Shut up." Then, she continued to say, "At that time, I didn't know anything about the Great Void Energy so I didn't pay attention to it. Lian Xing said she had to see her master so she left. Not long after that, I was captured by Mo Qi from the Clarity Sect who was also the Sect Master at that time. In order to instigate a conflict between the sects, Mo Qi used me as bait. At the holy altar in Runan, he made me into a Saintess and a demoness at the same time. Following that, master already knows what happened…"
Lu Zhou had killed Kong Xuan on the holy altar in Runan. At that time, he was only at the middle stage of the Sense Condensing Realm. Now that he thought about it, he was always in great danger at that time. As long as the enemies attacked in groups, he would have a difficult time.
After a moment, Lu Zhou said, "Continue."
Zhao Yue nodded. "After returning to the Evil Sky Pavilion, Lian Xing didn't find me. She only approached me when I came to the Imperial palace. At that time, she suddenly became an Eight-leaf Nascent Divinity Tribulation Realm cultivator. She said she wanted to protect me, and I naively believed her. Just like that, half a year passed. During that time, she often traveled between the Imperial palace and her so-called sect. At that time, I didn't pay much attention to my cultivation and was busy dealing with political affairs. It was when she suddenly said she wanted to take me away that I became suspicious…"
Lu Zhou asked, "Why didn't you tell me about this at that time?"
Zhao Yue fell to her knees before she said, "Master, you were already in the red lotus domain at that time so I didn't dare to trouble you. If Seventh Junior Brother had told me about the Great Void energy, I wouldn't have dared to keep this from you. Master, please investigate this matter…"
Lu Zhou looked at Lian Xing and asked, "So all this time you've been thinking of ways to obtain Zhao Yue's Great Void energy?"
Lian Xing let out a long sigh before she admitted, "Yes."
Lu Zhou gestured to Shen Xi.
Shen Xi understood Lu Zhou's intention and brought a talisman out. After lighting it, the talisman flew toward Lian Xing. When it drew close to her, it suddenly turned into ashes.
Shen Xi cupped his fists together and said, "There's no doubt she has the Great Void energy."
Lian Xing knew she could no longer hide certain matters so she said, "I came from the White Tower Council and was tasked with keeping an eye on the golden lotus domain. At that time, I heard about the Evil Sky Pavilion. After that, I met Zhao Yue."
"How did you know that Zhaoyue had the Great Void energy?" Lu Zhou asked.
Lian Xing said, "That's because Zhaoyue met the witchcraft cultivators a long time ago. I felt sorry for her so I killed the witchcraft cultivators. However, my time in the golden lotus domain was limited; I had to return to the White Tower Council…"
Lu Zhou nodded. "You saved her because you covet her Great Void energy. Do you admit it?"
"I admit it," Lian Xing said.
"What method did you use to take her Great Void energy?"
Without waiting for Lian Xing to answer, Shen Xi said, "The Siphoning Crystal."
"You know about It?"L u Zhou asked curiously.
"The Siphoning crystal can, as its name suggests, siphon another person's cultivation base. It can also siphon energy and special abilities. These crystals are rare. They're even rarer than fire spirit stones," Shen Xi replied.
Lian Xing raised her head to look at Shen Xi and nodded. "Indeed. I used the Siphoning Crystal. However, I did that to protect Zhao Yue."
Upon hearing these words, Zhao Yue's anger surged. "Protect me?"
"The White Tower Council doesn't have any extra Siphoning Crystal. If they wanted Zhao Yue's Great Void energy, they'd have to sacrifice her. Therefore, I tried to keep her hidden. However, just like how paper can never contain fire, the secret was found out by Captain Teng," Lian Xing said.
Lu Zhou extended his hand. "Where's the Siphoning Crystal?"
"When I left Runan, it was destroyed," Lian Xing said.
Shen Xi said, "Since you absorbed her Great Void energy, your cultivation base improved tremendously. It doesn't matter if the crystal is destroyed. Since you still have the Great Void energy, we can just take it back from you."
Lian Xing's eyes widened in fear upon hearing these words.
Lu Zhou asked, "There's a way to take back the Great Void energy?"
"Of course. If she can take it, we can take it back from her as well. It's the same method. Just refine her," Shen Xi replied.
Zhaoyue was stunned.
On the other hand, Lu Zhou remained silent.
Shen Xi bowed and said, "She behaved ruthlessly first so she can't blame anyone for this. The Evil Sky Pavilion is only taking back what's rightfully ours. I hope Pavilion Master will forgive me if my words are unpleasant to the ears."
"Your words make sense." How could Lu Zhou blame Shen Xi? Things were going much smoother with a Thousand Realms Whirling expert by his side.