Chapter 490: Natural and Unrestrained

A dream?

Si Wuya understood and said, “You’ve been stretching yourself thin these days, Eldest Senior Brother. Why don’t you leave the management of the sect to me for a couple of days and concentrate on resting?”

“That’s a sound idea. Thank you, wise brother.” Yu Zhenghai raised a hand and sent a palm seal into the air.

From the nearby stable, Kui Niu came sprinting toward him.

Yu Zhenghai leaped onto its back and said, “See you in two days.”

“Safe journey, Eldest Senior Brother.”

Moo!

Kui Niu mooed and left in the air.

At this moment, Hua Chongyang came running over in haste. He placed a hand on his forehead. After observing for some time, he wondered, “Why is the sect master in such a hurry?”

Si Wuya ignored him and made his way to the meeting hall.

...

The Evil Sky Pavilion.

Duanmu Sheng, Zhao Yue, Zhu Honggong, and Little Yuan’er surrounded Miss Conch. It seemed like they worried she was going to run away.

“Master has said that we’re not to frighten or bully her.” Zhu Honggong smiled at Conch.

One of them sighed. “At his age, why did master suddenly bring a child back?”

“Do you think that she’s his daughter born out of wedlock?” Zhu Honggong muttered under his breath.

Bam!

“Ow!”

“Third Senior Brother, what was that for?” Zhu Honggong asked.

“Do you have a death wish, talking trash behind master’s back like that?” Duanmu Sheng looked solemn.

“Uh... You’re right, Third Senior Brother.”

Zhao Yue moved in front of Conch and waved at her. With a faint smile, she asked, “What’s your name?”

“Co... Co... Conch.” She held a flute in one hand and a conch in the other.

“Her real name is Conch?” Zhu Honggong asked with a smile.

Little Yuan’er leaped to Conch’s side and compared their heights. She found they were about the same height. Then, she circled around Conch as she asked, “Where’s your house?”

“Far, far away.” Conch pointed east.

Little Yuan’er leaped back. She pulled at the hem of Zhao Yue’s clothes and said, “Senior Sister... I don’t think she’s too bright.”

Conch blinked and asked in confusion, “What’s not bright?”

“I’m saying you’re stupid.”

“Stupid?”

The others understood now. Indeed, Conch was not too bright.

Little Yuan’er giggled and said, “That won’t be a problem. I’ll protect you from now on. I’ll smash the heads of anyone that bullies you!”

“Thank you,” Conch said.

“Let’s go... We’ll have some fun.”

“Mhm.”

The two young girls held hands and ran down the mountain.

Duanmu Zheng, Zhao Yue, and Zhu Honggong were baffled and stunned as they stared at young girls’ retreating backs. Were they not supposed to question Conch together? Why did Little Yuan’er defect at the last minute?

...

Inside the eastern pavilion.

Lu Zhou sat with his back straight on the rush cushion as he looked at the points on the system dashboard.

Merit points: 54,680

He had gained more than he expected from his trip to Jing Province.

He merely gained several thousand merit points from killing the Taixu Academy’s Jiang Renyi, the Hengqu Branch’s Zhang Can, and the Jing Province’s deputy general Ning Han. The remainder of the points were basically from Yu Zhenghai.

‘Just how uncomfortable is that rascal in my presence? I should pay him a visit whenever I’m short on merit points.’

Lu Zhou looked at the disciplining missions on the dashboard while he was at it.

The mission of disciplining his eight disciples appeared on the dashboard. They were almost complete.

He noticed there was another mission at the bottom: Searching for the Luo woman. Status: In progress.

“What secrets does this Luo woman hold? Where is she?”

Since something came up in the system, this meant the person was still alive. What was left now was to slowly search for her.

Lu Zhou glanced at his merit points again. He was wondering if he should buy a Golden Lotus Leaf. It was slightly impractical for him to accumulate merit points and purchase the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar. He noticed the reminder beside the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar. He had to be above the Eight-leaf stage to purchase it. In other words, he had to be at the Nine-leaf stage. The Thousand Realms Whirling was still far away.

However, it was too much of a waste to purchase a Golden Lotus Leaf at this point. He could sprout leaves through cultivation from the One-leaf stage to the Five-leaf stage. He noticed the reminder beside Golden Lotus Leaf as well. He could save the merit points for a time where he would need it more.

When he thought about this, Lu Zhou muttered, “Lucky draw.”

“Ding! Spent 50 merit points. Obtained Reversal Card x5.”

A good start.

However, Lu Zhou got ten appreciation messages when he did more draws. Then, he gave up.

He closed the system dashboard.

He crossed his palms and placed them before his dantian’s sea of Qi. Primal Qi flowed along his Extraordinary Eight Meridians. His dantian’s sea of Qi was like the source of a fountain. Primal Qi surged and filled his sea of Qi. The speed of his cultivation was much better than when he first transmigrated here, as he had expected.

Lu Zhou cleared his mind of distracting thoughts and began cultivating.

...

Meanwhile.

Conch and Little Yuan’er wandered around.

“The eastern pavilion is where my master lives... It’s best to avoid that place if there’s nothing urgent. Otherwise, you’ll just be asking for a beating. That’s the southern pavilion; most of my senior siblings live there. Oh, there’s also three old men and an old woman. That’s the western pavilion where the other disciples and the others stay. The books, weapons, and cultivation methods are kept in the western pavilion... That’s the northern pavilion. It serves as a warehouse and a storage room...” Little Yuan’er explained.

“Behind the northern pavilion is the back of the mountain...” Little Yuan’er brought Conch to the back of the mountain.

At this moment, they saw Yu Shangrong leaning on the trunk of a huge tree with the Longevity Sword in his hand. He had a faraway gaze, clearly lost in thought, as he held a letter in his other hand.

“Who’s that? He looks strange,” Conch asked curiously.

Little Yuan’er giggled and said, “Don’t mind him. He’s been on the treetop for several days now.”

Her voice barely faded when Yu Shangrong kept the letter in his pocket. He did a flip in midair and landed before the two of them.

Little Yuan’er stuck her tongue out. She lowered her head and said, “Second Senior Brother.”

Yu Shangrong smiled. He caressed her head and asked, “A guest?”

“Hello. I’m Conch.” Conch extended her hand and smiled sweetly.

“Hello.”

“Conch? What a good name,” Yu Shangrong praised.

Little Yuan’er pulled Conch away and ran toward the back of the mountain. She said, “Second Senior Brother, master brought her here. I’m supposed to show her around.”

“Master?”

Yu Shangrong looked at Miss Conch suspiciously. Apart from looking pure and naïve, there was nothing special about her. His master rarely brought people back to the mountain? Why would he do it now? Before he could ask any further questions, Little Yuan’er and Conch had already left for the back of the mountain.

Yu Shangrong did not dwell on this. He pushed away from the ground and flew toward the waist of the mountain with movements as nimble as a swallow.

...

Meanwhile, Pan Zhong and Zhou Jifeng saw Little Yuan’er and Conch and exchanged a look.

“A newcomer!”

“Don’t point at her!”

“Once bitten twice shy. Let’s not act rashly this time, no matter what happens!”

“Understood! I’ll listen to you this time, Brother Zhou! We’ll avoid her as best as we can!”

The two of them turned around and left without any hesitation.

...

Night fell.

Lu Zhou felt that his dantian’s sea of Qi was being filled with Primal Qi. Perhaps, he had been raising his realm and cultivation base with the avatars before this. He had never spent any of his saved Primal Qi. It had only increased. There was now a substantial amount.

“Can I achieve a breakthrough?” Lu Zhou wondered. With ample experience and skills, it seemed possible for him to attempt to sprout a leaf with this amount of Primal Qi.