Chapter 384: Cannot Be Found Anywhere
Mingshi Yin frowned. He turned around and saw Zhu Honggong kneeling on the ground. ‘This won’t do. I really must find some time to give Old Eighth a good beating...’
“Greetings, Fourth Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother... Eh, Fourth Senior Brother, you look more handsome compared to yesterday.” Zhu Honggong boldly kowtowed as he greeted Mingshi Yin and Duanmu Sheng.
Mingshi Yin. “...” He did not reply, but he thought to himself, ‘Oh, well. I’ll forgive you this once.’
Zhu Honggong walked up to them and said, “Master, I have a report to make.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“I received a letter from the traitor, Si Wuya. He thinks that I’m still as easily manipulated as before. He has no idea that under your meticulous care and guidance, I’ve become extremely smart...” Zhu Honggong said, not forgetting to flatter Lu Zhou while he was at it.
“Cut to the chase. Read the letter.” Duanmu Sheng raised his Overlord Spear.
Zhu Honggong opened the letter at once and read, “Dear master, allow me to pay my respect to you...”
Duanmu Sheng walked up to Zhu Honggong suddenly and grabbed his collar, lifting him up from the ground. “That’s about enough.”
Tears streamed down Zhu Honggong’s face. “It’s true... That’s what the letter says!”
“...”
“Enough.” Lu Zhou frowned.
Duanmu Sheng hastily let Zhu Honggong go.
The two of them kneeled on the ground, worried their master would take his anger out on them.
Lu Zhou glanced at both of them, feeling too lazy to reprimand them. With a wave of his hand, he picked the letter up with his energy and brought it to his hands.
Even if Zhu Honggong was the bravest man in the world, he would never dare to stop the letter from flying toward his master.
Lu Zhou read the contents of the letter. As it turned out, the letter contained information about what happened between Yu Shangrong and Zhang Yuanshan. Si Wuya seemed to have the answer to the matter of Yu Shangrong killing a high-reward target. However, Lu Zhou was still worried.
Mingshi Yin asked curiously, “Master, what does it say?”
Lu Zhou waved his hand and tossed the letter away.
Mingshi Yin caught the letter and read it. His brows knitted as he read the letter. “Second Senior Brother fought Zhang Yuanshan on the green jade altar? Zhang Yuanshan was the sacrificial offering of the grand shaman, Ba Ma? Things aren’t looking good for Second Senior Brother? Ba Ma is planning to make a move against the Evil Sky Pavilion to avenge Mo Li? Master... This traitor, Si Wuya, cannot be trusted!”
“Fourth Senior Brother is right! We shouldn’t believe the words of a traitor!”
Lu Zhou stood up and looked at the three of them as he said, “Si Wuya should be telling the truth.” After all, he had the 2,000 merit points he was rewarded with to confirm some of Si Wuya’s words.
Mingshi Yin and Zhu Honggong did not dwell on the matter anymore. Since their master had said so, there was no need to think otherwise. Both of them nodded and said in unison, “You’re wise, master.”
Duanmu Sheng held the letter in his hand and read it. He said, “... Ba Ma is the greatest witchcraft genius in Lou Lan. Throughout the years, Lou Lan’s strength has improved tremendously thanks to Ba Ma. What should we do about Second Senior Brother?”
The three of them appeared worried. Moreover, even Jiang Aijian’s letter spoke about the rumors that were spreading.
Zhu Honggong said, “Master... I have another report to make.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Many low-rank cultivators appeared at the foot of Golden Court Mountain yesterday. I saw that they were trying to make a scene so I chased them away,” Zhu Honggong said with a smile, clearly waiting to be praised.
‘Make a scene? This dimwit is spouting nonsense again! Who would dare to make a scene near Golden Court Mountain?’
Mingshi Yin frowned and said, “Dimwit, didn’t you ask them what they were doing?”
Zhu Honggong scratched his head. “They were saying something strange has happened... and they wanted our help, but we’re not running a charity here!”
Mingshi Yin secretly rejoiced in Zhu Honggong’s misfortune. ‘Old Eighth, Old Eighth, I don’t think you’re aware of master’s new style of doing things.’ However, he was surprised to see his master did not seem to be angered.
Lu Zhou paced back and forth. The withering of the plants should have something to do with witchcraft. Ba Ma was probably plotting something again. When he recalled the content of Si Wuya’s letter, he began to worry about Yu Shangrong. If this were to happen in the past, there was no need for him to worry about Yu Shangrong with Yu Shangrong’s cultivation base. However, something felt different this time. As Yu Shangrong’s master, how could he sit back and do nothing?
When Mingshi Yin saw his master deep in thought, he knew what his master was thinking. He bowed and said, “I’m willing to investigate this incident.”
Zhu Honggong bowed as well. “I’m willing to accompany Fourth Senior Brother down the mountain to investigate this matter.”
Lu Zhou’s gaze fell on both his disciples. If this had happened in the past, he would not have hesitated to delegate this task to them. However, he had to consider Ba Ma, the grand shaman, who was behind all this. Even Yu Shangrong had a difficult time dealing with Ba Ma, would it not be akin to sending Mingshi Yin and Zhu Honggong to their deaths if he allowed them to take on this mission?
After muttering to himself for a moment, Lu Zhou said, “There’s no need to rush. Since he’s coming at the Evil Sky Pavilion, he’ll come sooner or later...”
When the three disciples heard this, they said in unison, “You’re wise, master.”
...
days passed by in a blink of an eye. Nothing out of the ordinary happened.
On the 11th night, in a graveyard in a forest...
A black figure flew, weaving in and out of the trees.
Many corpses could be seen crawling out of their graves, forming groups as they moved forward slowly. From above, they looked like ants.
Behind the mass of black bodies, a small black carriage flew swiftly at a low altitude. Two men pulled the carriage.
A stocky figure stood atop the carriage. His eyes shone with a green light. He looked at his troops with a pleased expression. These were his troops that he had tirelessly gathered over several days and nights. He said in a deep voice, “Evil Sky Pavilion, I hope you’ll be satisfied this time...”
Swoosh!
The black carriage shot past the tops of the black figures, taking the lead in front of the troops of corpses.
...
Meanwhile.
In the sky nearly 10,000 miles northwest from Great Yan’s Divine Capital.
A green-robed figure could be seen hovering above a few snow-capped mountains. He surveyed his surroundings. There seemed to be only trees and snow as far as the eyes could see. There did not seem to be any signs of humans at all.
Snowflakes dropped on Yu Shangrong as the wind ruffled his hair. He did not bother to repel the snowflakes. Flecks of white from the snowflakes could be seen on his brows and hair.
Yu Shangrong stood with his arms crossed. The Longevity Sword on his back was gently vibrating as though it could sense something. Against the wind and the snow, he smiled faintly as he said, “I’m home.”
He took a step forward in the air. With lightning movements, he appeared several hundred feet away. In the next instant, he appeared on the top of the tallest tree. He seemed to be in a slight daze as he looked at the slightly sunken land ahead of him. It was a small plain that extended for dozens of miles and was surrounded by mountains. It was completely covered by snow. Under the snow, vines, trees, parts of collapsed walls could vaguely be seen.
Things remained the same while the people have changed.
Yu Shangrong tapped with the tip of his foot.
Crack!
The snow on the tree slid off. The snowless tall tree now stood out among the other snow-covered trees.
Yu Shangrong flew forward. When he was halfway to his destination, he gave a muffled grunt and swayed.
“Hm?” He paused in the air. He lowered his arms and joined his palms together.
Whizz!
A miniature Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar appeared. He moved the avatar that resembled a golden statue to the top of his palm as he looked at the Golden Lotus under the avatar. The purple spots had increased in numbers. Roughly one-third of the lotus was tainted purple. “Witchcraft spell?”