The lotus was still spinning, and it would take a while before the process was completed. For now, Lu Zhou could only wait patiently.

Lu Zhou closed his eyes and continued to comprehend the Heaven Scroll.

…

The next day, the sun rising from the east illuminated the entire Great Void. The sunlight shone down through the clouds on the mountains and the lands.

At this moment, Lu Zhou heard a crisp noise and opened his eyes to look at the lotus in front of him.

The lotus was dazzling, and the lotus seat was very smooth. Lights flashed from the Birth Chart zones.

“Hm?” Lu Zhou looked at the lotus seat in surprise when he saw 12 Birth Charts flashing ostentatiously.

“12 Birth Charts? I went from having seven Birth Charts to 12 Birth Charts?”

Activating five Birth Charts in one go from a divine soul pearl was beyond Lu Zhou’s expectations. This was a huge improvement.

Lu Zhou put away his blue avatar before he pushed his hand out.

“Astrolabe.”

Compared to the golden avatar’s astrolabe, the blue avatar’s astrolabe flashed with electric arcs. They swam around the astrolabe like water dragons.

Although the blue avatar only had 12 Birth Charts, Lu Zhou could feel that its power was infinitely close to that of the golden avatar.

“Let’s try the upgraded power of teleportation…”

With just a thought, Lu Zhou disappeared from the hall. He wanted to use this opportunity to test the strength of the newly-upgraded power of teleportation.

When Lu Zhou reappeared, he was hovering in the air more than 30,000 feet east of Xuanyi Palace.

“Slightly more than 30,000 feet…”

The distance he covered was already quite shocking. For traveling, perhaps, there was not much use since it would consume too much of his divine power. However, during a battle, being able to teleport within the range of 30,000 feet was game-changing.

There were too many powerful and mysterious fierce beasts in this world. Take the Kun in the Endless Ocean for example. It was so big that its size could not be determined. If Lu Zhou ran into the Kun and did not have the power of teleportation, it would be quite troublesome.

Lu Zhou nodded, feeling rather satisfied with the upgrade of the power of teleportation. Then, he brought the astrolabe out to test its power. He stopped after razing several mountains to the ground. He already had an estimate of his strength so there was no point continuing to test it out on inanimate targets.

Finally, Lu Zhou returned to the Dao hall.

Shang Zhang, disguised as an attendant, saw Lu Zhou and said with a smile, “I didn’t expect the old sir to have such a childlike heart. How does it feel to bombard the mountains?”

“You saw that?”

“I only sensed it,” Shang Zhang, the attendant, said.

“It’s hard to resist the itch when you gain new insight into certain powers,” Lu Zhou said.

Shang Zhang, the attendant, nodded and smiled. “If you’re willing, we can discuss the Dao together. Perhaps, we can learn from each other’s strength.”

As soon as Shang Zhang’s voice fell, a voice rang from the distance.

“You! What are you talking so much for? Hurry up and help me move my things!”

Lu Zhou looked over and saw Little Yuan’er and Conch carrying a bunch of things.

Shang Zhang, the attendant, seemed to have come to life at this moment. “They’re here!”

“…”

Lu Zhou sighed inwardly and shook his head when he thought about how Shang Zhang had fallen into such a pathetic state.

Shang Zhang, the attendant, went to the two girls’ side and said carefully, “Your cultivation is very high. Why don’t you use your energy seals to hold these things?”

“You don’t understand. There’s happiness to be gained from simple things like that,” Little Yuan’er said with a smile, “Look at Conch. She plays the zither every day. She can also use her energy seal to play the zither, but she doesn’t because it’s not interesting.”

Conch nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Playing a song using only my energy will make the song lose its soul.”

Shang Zhang, the attendant, sighed emotionally. “I didn’t expect the two young ladies to have such profound views.”

“What profound views? I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” Little Yuan’er rolled her eyes and said, “Let’s go.”

Shang Zhang, the attendant: “…”

‘Was I overthinking things?’

Conch turned to look at Shang Zhang, the attendant, and said, “Don’t be angry. Ninth Senior Sister is actually very nice.”

“It’s fine.” Shang Zhang, the attendant, smiled when Conch spoke to him.

Lu Zhou shook his head helplessly as he watched the trio leave. ‘This is good as well. With a divine emperor as a bodyguard, I don’t have to worry about their safety.’

…

Ten days later.

In the northern horizon of Xuanyi Palace.

Zhu Honggong flew tirelessly. As he flew, he cursed, “F*ck! Xuanyi Palace, do you think I can’t come just because you sealed off the runic passages?!”

The Sacred Temple had ordered him to come to Xuanyi Palace, but he did not expect Xuanyi Palace to ruthlessly seal off all their runic passages. He had no choice but to use a runic passage that led to another runic passage near Xuanyi Palace before flying to Xuanyi Palace.

“I finally arrived at Xuanyi Palace’s territory…”

After entering Xuanyi Palace’s territory, he would still need to fly for a few days before he could reach the place where Xuanyi Palace was located.

Zhu Honggong rested for a while before he continued on his journey again. Not long after, he saw more than ten cultivators rush over from a distant mountain peak.

“Did they come for me?” Zhu Honggong felt something was amiss so he quickly turned around.

“Too late.”

A voice rang from behind Zhu Honggong.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

In just an instant, Zhu Honggong was surrounded by more than ten cultivators.

One of the cultivators said in a gloomy voice, “I waited for you for ten days before you finally showed up.”

“Ten days?” Zhu Honggong frowned. “I don’t know you, right?”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know us as long as we know you,” the cultivator replied.

Zhu Honggong’s eyes lit up immediately. “Oh, you’ve heard of me. It seems like my fame has spread far and wide! No wonder! I understand your feelings!”

“…”

The cultivator said, “You’re thinking too much.” Then, he brought a portrait to compare it to Zhu Honggong before he nodded and said, “It’s been confirmed that he’s one of the owners of the Great Void Seeds. Capture him.”

“Understood.”

The cultivators pounced on Zhu Honggong immediately.

Zhu Honggong said, shocked, “How dare you! You know of my identity, and yet, you dare to treat me like this?! Scram!”

Then, a pair of gloves appeared around Zhu Honggong’s hands before he released energy seals in all directions.

The cultivators only paused briefly. Then, a glowing rope appeared in each of their hands before they unscrupulously attacked Zhu Honggong.

The leader flashed above Zhu Honggong and said before he released a palm seal, “It’s best if you don’t resist.”

Boom!

Zhu Honggong hurriedly punched his fists upward. Then, he began to fight with the cultivators.

“Oh?” the leader said praisingly, “As expected of the owner of a Great Void Seed. He has such explosive power.”

“This is the beginning,” Zhu Honggong said as he cast the Nine Tribulations Thunderblast and weaved in and out of the cultivators.

The sounds of collision and space tearing rang in the air continuously.

Both sides were careful and did not underestimate their opponent.

After fighting for an hour with Zhu Honggong, the leader found that they could not take Zhu Honggong down. He stopped and retreated 3,000 feet before he asked angrily, “Who provided the information?”

Everyone shook their heads, not knowing the answer to that question.

Zhu Hong Gong laughed. “Did you really think that I’m a good-for-nothing?”

“Your cultivation is not bad. Why do you pretend to be foolish when you’re in the Sacred Temple?” the leader asked.

“F*ck! What pretend to be foolish?! That’s my true nature!” Zhu Honggon cursed. Then, he flew out, causing the space to tear.

“Boss, should we retreat?”

“Stick to the plan and stall him!”

The cultivators charged out again. The ropes in their hands danced in the air, causing the space to tear.

Although Zhu Honggong was powerful, it would be difficult to take them down in a short time.

The battle continued for another two hours.

Zhu Honggong grew bolder andbolder as he fought. The power of fists grew stronger and stronger as well.

“Take this!”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

One after another the cultivators were sent flying.

When the leader saw that the situation was unfavorable, he retreated. His earlier arrogance was completely gone at this moment.

Zhu Honggong closed in on the leader. His fists were like ferocious tigers as he punched out.

At the critical moment, a black crack appeared in the sky.

Boom!

A black light struck and sent Zhu Honggong flying.

‘Experts?!’ Zhu Honggong was inwardly shocked. ‘At this moment, I have to learn from Fourth Senior Brother. I have to f*cking flee first!”

Swoosh!

Zhu Honggong fled downward without any hesitation.

The leader did not dare to give chase. He only looked at the crack.

Soon enough, a figure emerged from the crack. He was dressed in a long black brocade robe, and the crown on his head made him look imposing. His eyebrows were swords, and his eyes were like that of a tiger.

The leader immediately bowed. “Your Majesty.”

The figure swept his gaze around the area.

At the same time, a streak of black light chased after Zhu Honggong, frightening him. He stomped his feet, releasing a huge energy wave before he flew more than 30,000 feet away in just a blink of an eye.

The black-clad supreme being looked into the distance and said, “Just a mere Dao Saint… Do you really think you can escape from me?”