Chapter 699: The Arrival of the Nine-leaf Cultivator (Part One)

Lu Zhou looked at the surrounding scenery. From where he was, he had a great view. Then, he turned around and swept his gaze across the cultivators in front of the Evil Sky Pavilion’s great hall. Everywhere he looked, there were Nascent Divinity realm cultivators. There were also the many cultivators who hovered outside the barrier... and those at the foot of the mountain.

“Rise,” Lu Zhou said.

Everyone lifted their heads at Lu Zhou’s word. Apart from fear and respect, a hint of anticipation could be seen in their eyes.

“I’ll be preaching about the method to reach the Nine-leaf stage today on hopes that all of you will reach the Nine-leaf stage soon so that you can fight the beasts together,” Lu Zhou said, “Since the dawn of men, we’ve always advanced in the midst of disasters. That was how it was, and how it will always be.”

Although Lu Zhou’s tone was indifferent, his words stirred up waves of emotions in the cultivators’ hearts.

“I won’t elaborate on how the Nine-leaf stage will bring forth disasters and the invasion from the red lotus domain...”

The cultivators present had vaguely heard about these matters. However, that was not important now. Their priority now was to raise their cultivation bases as quickly as possible. News of the red lotus domain would spread throughout Great Yan sooner or later.

“Cultivation itself is defying the heavens. The heavens set a shackle on life; it’s a taboo. Due to this, humans’ cultivation has been stuck at the Eight-leaf stage. It’s difficult to progress further. I managed to solve this problem through sheer coincidence and reached the Nine-leaf stage... Today, I will openly speak about what I know.” When Lu Zhou spoke, he would pause briefly in between his words, and he spoke in a calm tone.

At this point, Lu Zhou had everyone’s undivided attention.

All the cultivators stared at him as they listened to his words. All of them were beside themselves with excitement. However, it had to be said that they would have preferred it if the patriarch could preach on the ground. It was slightly tiring having to crane their necks up for so long.

Then, Lu Zhou proceeded to reveal to the cultivators several ways a person could reach the Nine-leaf stage.

There were three methods. One was to sever one’s golden lotus and recultivate to the Nine-leaf stage. Second was to break through with one’s golden lotus. Third was to choose not to form a golden lotus when one entered the Nascent Divinity realm.

When the cultivators heard the golden lotus required more than 1,000 years of life, there was a slight commotion as they discussed among themselves.

“No wonder it’s impossible to reach the Nine-leaf stage... That’s why the predecessors who attempted the Nine-leaf stage died shortly after their failure.”

“The Nine-leaf stage needs more than 1,000 years of life, but an Eight-leaf cultivator can only live for 1,000 years. This is a problem without a solution. However, it seems like Senior Ji has found a solution though.”

“There’s no need to worry about that if you don’t have a golden lotus. The one who discovered this method is a genius!”

Lu Zhou swept his gaze across the cultivators who were having a lively discussion.

The cultivators were tactful and quietened down immediately.

“I won’t elaborate about other matters. Just look closely...”

The most exciting part was finally here!

The cultivators watched unblinkingly as their eyes were trained on Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou slowly spun toward the sky and looked at the cultivators outside the barrier.

The cultivators outside the barrier could clearly see him as well. That was not too bad even though they could hear his words.

Lu Zhou focused his mind. He raised his right hand slowly.

Whizz!

There was a familiar sound of resonance.

A miniature golden lotus avatar appeared above his palm. It was an Eight-leaf golden lotus.

Mingshi Yin was all smiles when he saw this. He said, “When I sprout my leaf next time, I want to stand there as well!”

Duanmu Sheng who was standing next to Mingshi Yin asked, “Aren’t you planning to remain at the Eight-leaf stage forever?”

“If master can reach the Nine-leaf stage without severing his golden lotus, I should be able to do it as well...” Mingshi Yin stroked his chin with one hand and held his arm with the other.

“Hm?” Duanmu Sheng turned around and held his Overlord Spear before himself. He stared at Mingshi Yin.

An ominous feeling rose in Mingshi Yin’s heart so he hastily said, “Look! Master is about to start.”

Meanwhile, Lu Zhou watched the golden lotus spin. His eight leaves were succulent like never before. They were bright and dazzling.

Then, he raised his hand, and his avatar rose. In just an instant, golden radiant rings appeared around its waist and slid down.

“It’s the same process of sprouting leaves that we’re familiar with.”

“The Primal Qi of the avatar is gathered in the golden lotus, promoting the growth of a leaf. At that time, you sprout the leaf... That’s how it is for the One to the Eight-leaf stage. Those without a golden lotus can directly stimulate the sprouting of the leaves.”

“Look closely...” Lu Zhou looked at his golden lotus avatar intently as energy rings slid down one after another.

Everything seemed ordinary; nothing was out of place.

It was as silent as a graveyard in front of the Evil Sky Pavilion’s great hall. Nobody moved as well.

The cultivators nodded when they saw the golden lotus picking up speed as it spun.

“So, that’s how it is! Maintaining a high-speed will stimulate the lotus leaf.”

“Senior Ji’s methods are truly of a high level. Ordinary Eight-leaf cultivators can’t achieve this speed.”

Whizz!

The golden lotus spun faster.

The cultivators felt their visions blurred. The eight leaves seemed as though they had merged into one. The golden lotus looked like a golden basin now.

The golden radiance was more resplendent than before as well.

From below, the cultivators could only see the vague outline of the spinning lotus.

Shortly after, the golden lotus resembled the sun.

Lu Zhou frowned. The radiant energy rings slid down more quickly than before.

A moment later, Lu Zhou felt his body stiffen. His skin began to wrinkle as well. He tilted his head to look at his hair. His half-black hair was visibly whitening.

The energy rings would be swiftly absorbed after they entered the golden lotus.

“The golden lotus is sucking up his vitality!”

“I knew it!”

Even the cultivators without a lotus were terrified by this sight.

The Eight-leaf cultivators could empathize with this the most. They had all experienced their vitality being sucked away by the golden lotus before.

Lu Zhou opened the system dashboard.

Remaining life: 40,536 days.

‘It’s gone down by 400 days.’

A few breaths later.

Remaining life: 40,036 days.

days were lost.

The numbers kept falling.

Although Lu Zhou was aware of the secret of a cultivator’s vitality being sucked away due to his memories, he was still shocked by the golden lotus’ effect now that he was experiencing it.

Lu Zhou no longer hesitated. A Reversal Card materialized in his left palm.

“Use!”

On the dashboard, his life was prolonged for another 500 days.

However, as the golden lotus spun, it quickly dropped by 500 days again.

Lu Zhou flipped his left hand again and used another Reversal Card.

As Lu Zhou kept using the Reversal Cards, a peculiar scene began to emerge.

The vitality in the surroundings was converging toward him. The vitality within 1,000 meters converged toward Lu Zhou’s body like clouds being blown by the wind.

When the four elders saw this, realization dawned on them. They recalled the times they saw vitality gathering in the eastern pavilion’s courtyard back then.

On the other hand, the cultivators were completely at a loss.

Meanwhile, the cultivators without a golden lotus did not care about the converging vitality. They kept their eyes trained on the spinning golden lotus.

The cultivators knew the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Patriarch had overcome the problem of longevity being sucked away. At the same time, they understood that it was extremely difficult to fulfill the requirements of reaching the Nine-leaf stage with the golden lotus.

In any case, severing the lotus or keeping the lotus was up to the individual.

As the golden lotus absorbed Lu Zhou’s life force, it grew stronger!

Although Lu Zhou had deliberately manifested his avatar in a miniature size, it was now much larger than before.

Lu Zhou kept using his Reversal Cards as vitality kept converging toward him.

Lu Zhou looked at the spinning golden lotus. At this moment, it resembled a golden vortex that kept devouring the Reversal Card’s life force. At the same time, he did not forget to keep an eye on the system dashboard.

The numbers would rise and fall. However, for now, it was balanced.

It was just as he had predicted.

The next step was to verify if the Reversal Cards, which contained 1,200 years of life, could satisfy the golden lotus so that he could reach the Nine-leaf stage.

The radiant rings slid down more swiftly now as the spinning golden lotus increased in size. The rate at which his life force was being absorbed had increased as well. The radiance grew brighter as well.

Lu Zhou remained calm. He pushed his palm forward. His avatar grew to a height of 100 feet. This was the largest size for an Eight-leaf avatar.

The golden radiance from the lotus completely shrouded Lu Zhou’s body.

Everyone within several miles of Golden Court Mountain and at the foot of the mountain could see the towering 100-foot avatar in the air.

The cultivators in the vicinity knew this was the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Patriarch showing the world how to reach the Nine-leaf stage.

The cultivators with high comprehension skills would be enlightened after watching an elite sprouting a leaf. With this, their leaf-sprouting process would be smooth as well.

It was just like how the Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian Societies taught their disciples their ultimate moves. The master would first make a demonstration, and the students and disciples would try to replicate it and improve it on their own.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhou looked at his remaining Reversal Cards. He had 792 cards left. He did not expect to use more than 100 Reversal Cards in just a quarter of an hour.