The three cult leaders panicked again, and their faces turned pale.

Lu Zhou stared at the trio and said, “I’m not an unreasonable person. As long as you perform well, you’ll be spared from the punishment.”

The trio bowed before they said, “The Nihilist Congregation will listen to the orders of the Unholy One!”

At the same time, the other members of the Nihilist Congregation continued to kneel wordlessly.

Lu Zho had used his strength to intimidate the Nihilist Congregation, and the Nihilist Congregation had no choice but to submit.

Lu Zhou continued to say, “Since you’re aware of my true identity and you know about my past, you should know the consequences of betraying me.”

The trio shuddered, not daring to breathe loudly.

“They say that history has a tendency of repeating itself, but it won’t be like that in my case…”

“…”

“The Unholy One is wise!”

“The Unholy One will exist for eternity!”

The members of the Nihilist Congregation echoed these words, looking pious and devout.

Zhu Hongggong felt slightly uncomfortable by this display. He felt like if he did not follow suit, it would feel even more uncomfortable. Hence, he rose to his feet and raised his hands to the sky as he shouted, “Master is wise! Master will exist for eternity!”

“…”

The voices of the members came to an abrupt halt, leaving Zhu Honggong’s loud voice to reverberate in the air, which sounded very awkward.

“Master is wise! Master will, will…”

Zhu Honggong trailed off.

“Don’t resist,” Lu Zhou said before he sent three seals toward the trio. There were tracking seals formed from the divine Dao power.

The three tracking seals quickly entered the trio’s Dantians’ seas of Qi.

“Protect the seals well. If it disappears, I won’t let you off lightly,” Lu Zhou said.

“Understood!”

In fact, the trio was very happy with the tracking seals. As long as they did not do anything wrong, the tracking seals were like a life-saving talisman! In the future, if they encountered danger while they were carrying out important tasks for the Unholy One, they could still rely on the seals to seek help.

Lu Zhou said, “There are three things you need to remember. First, inform me as soon as the cult master returns. Second, the matter regarding the Heaven Suppressing Pestles ends here. Stop coveting them. Third, the relationship between the congregation and me must not be leaked. Finally, I have a mission for you. Pay attention to the movements of the ten halls, the Sacred Temple, and the Emperors of the Lost Lands.”

“Yes, Lord Unholy One!”

“Alright. You can leave now,” Lu Zhou said.

Zhou Cheng and Chu Lian helped Yan Guichen up before they bowed respectfully and left along with the other members of the Nihilist Congregation.

Upon seeing this, the black-clad cultivator stepped forward, intending to stop the Nihilist Congregation from leaving.

Lu Zhou extended his hand in front of the black-clad cultivator and asked, “You want to kill them?”

The black-clad cultivator replied in a hoarse voice, “If you’re not cruel to your enemies, you’re only being cruel to yourself…”

Lu Zhou asked, “Was I not cruel enough in the past?”

The black-clad cultivator was at loss for words.

Lu Zhou looked at Qi Sheng and raised an eyebrow as he asked, “Ling Guan, the Fire Deity?”

Jiang Aijian smiled and replied, “Yes and no.”

Lu Zhou frowned slightly. “You were reduced to ashes during the battle at Mount Halcyon. How could you be resurrected?”

The black-clad cultivator placed his hands on his back and looked at the sky as he said, “Back then, when I first saw him, I could already sense his bloodline. Alas, I had been sealed at Mount Halcyon for 100,000 years so my consciousness was very weak. Even that little Halcyon Bird dared to behave atrociously in front of me.”

After a brief pause, the black-clad cultivator continued to say, “Resurrected? No, it’s just an ability of my bloodline. Like the Fire Phoenix, I can rise from the ashes. However, that time was different. if my consciousness dies, I won’t be able to recover. Before I turned into ashes, I transferred our clan’s power to him with two fingers. However, I didn’t expect him to be too weak to contain my power. Fortunately, my consciousness can still last for a while so I managed to extract part of the power…” He paused and pointed to himself before he said, “… and placed it in this weak body…”

“Forced possession?!” Zhu Honggong exclaimed in shock.

The black-clad cultivator turned to look at Zhu Honggong before he said, “The Fire Deity clan disdains such a thing.”

Zhu Honggong retorted, “Then, aren’t you occupying another person’s body now?”

Jiang Aijian sighed softly as he patted Zhu Honggong’s shoulder and said, “This person is willing. Moreover, his body and mind are willing to follow Si Wuya’s path. Forced possession won’t be able to preserve the Fire Deity’s power.”

“Then, who is he?” Zhu Honggong asked.

Jiang Aijian said, “After dark, the Fire Deity’s consciousness will fall into a deep slumber. At that time, you’ll find out.”

Lu Zhou frowned. He raised his head and looked at the sun that was setting in the western horizon.

Jiang Aijian crossed his arms and paced back and forth as he said with a smile, “Although Si Wuya is very egoistic, I have to say he’s very good. When I do things, it’s inevitable that I’ll give myself away. He, on the other hand, shows no flaw at all. He’s really much better than I am…”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Honggong said, “No wonder you wear a mask all the time…” After a moment, he pointed at Jiang Aijian and said, “Ah! I was wondering back then why you suddenly slapped my butt! That time, it was you, wasn’t it, you pervert!?”

Jiang Aijian smiled sheepishly before he said, “Don’t be so petty. If it weren’t for the two of us, the nine of you would have long been caught by those with malicious intentions. You wouldn’t even know the cause of your death!”

It was true.

“I changed my name to Qi Sheng, hoping to hint to all of you that Si Wuya is still alive. Who knew that all of you…” Jiang Aijian trailed off. After a moment, he continued to say, “Who knew all of you misunderstood and thought that I was Si Wuya.”

Lu Zhou did not say anything.

The setting sun brought away the light. Darkness gradually spread through the Great Void.

At this time, the black-clad cultivator raised his head to look at the dark sky and said with a sigh, “I’m tired.”

Then, the black-clad cultivator sat cross-legged on the ground and placed his hands on his knees before he closed his eyes. His aura gradually faded and converged in his Dantian’s sea of Qi.

After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes, looking tired and bleary as though he had just woken up from a long sleep. He looked at his surroundings curiously. When he finally saw Lu Zhou, he exclaimed in surprise, “Grandmaster?!”

Upon hearing the word ‘grandmaster’, Zhu Honggong also exclaimed in shock and disbelief, “It’s you?!”

“Eighth… Eight Junior Uncle?!”

“How could it be you?” Zhu Honggong was very shocked.

Jiang Aijian explained with a smile, “The Fire Deity used his remaining consciousness to kill the sea beasts in the Endless Ocean. Fortunately, the White Emperor came to his rescue. The White Emperor took ten years to heal him after that. During those ten years, the Fire Deity fell into a deep sleep. In order to regain his strength, he had to find a body. A willing body. Moreover, the person has to be highly talented, has an empty Dantian’s sea of Qi, and a weak cultivation base. In this world, only Li Yunzheng meets the criteria. And in this world, only Li Yunzheng alone is willing to do such a thing. Only Li Yunzheng, who’s like his teacher, can remain firm and not give himself away during critical moments.”

Jiang Aijian gave Li Yunzheng a thumbs-up and said, “In any case, I couldn’t do it. The person who knows his own heart, holds a high position, was born from adversity, and can remain clear-headed amidst confusion is the Emperor of the red lotus domain, who’s also his only student.”