Chapter 1093: The Harshest Place to Undergo the Birth Trial

“Okay, stop complaining. Among all the cultivators I’ve met, there is no one who lives a more comfortable life than you. I remember you told me about the nine disciples of the Evil Sky Pavilion. Didn’t you say the one who was called something Hai suffered a lot of hardships? Then there’s the other one who’s called Xiao Yu who had to bring you water to wash your feet? Don’t be ignorant of your good fortune!” Lu Li said.

“No, no, no, my Ninth Junior Sister lives the most comfortable life. I’ll tell you more about it another time,” Zhu Honggong said.

‘Xiao Yu?’ Lu Zhou frowned in confusion. Since he had not been constantly observing his eighth disciple, he did not know what they were talking about.

At this moment, Lu Li rose to his feet and said, “Something must have happened to the emperor. Let’s go…”

“It’s none of my business if something happens to him.”

“You can’t say that. Neither you nor I have the ability to govern a country. If something happens to him, are you going to rule in his place? Moreover, we need him to keep the country running in order to provide us with cultivation resources. If you’re too passive, he’ll follow your lead and be passive as well. This is a good opportunity to show your bearing as an Eleven-leaf cultivator. After that, who in the yellow lotus domain will dare to disagree that you’re number one?” Lu Li said.

Zhu Honggong’s eyes lit up immediately upon hearing those words. He said, “You’re right! Let’s go!”

“We should be able to return within two hours! Don’t worry.”

“…”

Lu Zhou cut off the power of the Heavenly Writing. Watching for too long would drain a lot of his supreme mystic power after all. Fortunately, this time, the amount of supreme mystic power he used could be ignored. Since Lu Li had said it would take around two hours to deal with the matter, it would not be too late for him to check in again after two hours.

The next thing he had to consider was his Birth Trial after activating six Birth Charts.

Lu Zhou had decided on the Sky Wheel Mountain Range as the location for his Birth Trial. Although he had a life heart that granted him fire-resistant ability, it did not mean he could simply touch the molten lava like some ferocious beasts. The temperature of the lava was abnormally high after all.

Before going through his Birth Trial, there was one thing he had to confirm. Since one of the Four Great Ghost Servants had died, the Young Master of the Qin clan would definitely not let this matter go if he had a vengeful personality. He wondered if the Young Master of the Qin family would send another ghost servant here?

With this thought in mind, Lu Zhou ordered someone to convey his message to Si Wuya. He instructed Si Wuya to bring Zhao Hongfu to the peak of the snowy mountain in Cloud Mountain and to destroy the runic passage there. With Di Jiang, it should not be difficult for Si Wuya to go to the peak of the snowy mountain.

After Lu Zhou was done dealing with all these matters, he left the capital and flew to the Sky Wheel Mountain Range.

…

After two hours, Lu Zhou finally arrived above the Sky Wheel Rift Valley. He was filled with indescribable emotions now that he was back in this old place.

The first time he was here, he was only a Nine-leaf rookie who had used all his strength just to kill Yu Chenshu, the Court Master of the Sky Martial Court. Now, he was a Six Chart Thousand Realms Whirling cultivator. The feeling he had now was as though he was standing on the highest peak and looking down on all living things.

After enjoying the fall scenery of red leaves in the forest, Lu Zhou flew toward the valley. When he was nearing the valley, he saw a few low-level cultivators looking for something on the slope of a cliff.

“This is the place where Yu Chenshu died. Many cultivators died at that time as well. We have to be patient when searching for treasures. If we’re successful, we won’t have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of our lives.”

“That’s right. I heard that a Thousand Realms Whirling cultivator appeared at that time; is it true?”

“Who knows? I wasn’t here to witness it at that time. Anyway, that has nothing to do with us. Look through this place; we should be able to find weapons here…”

The three cultivators patiently searched for treasures in the crevices of the rocks on the slope of the cliff.

Lu Zhou did not pay attention to them and was about to enter the valley when he heard the following words.

“We have to leave before nightfall and watch out for fierce beasts…”

“You’re right. That fierce beast is too terrifying. Even the large sects nearby can’t do anything about it. Cloud Mountain sent people over as well, but there was nothing they could do as well. It’s better for us to avoid that fierce beast…”

Upon hearing these words, Lu Zhou flashed and appeared in front of the three cultivators in just a blink of an eye.

The three cultivators were so frightened that they stumbled and rolled down the slope of the cliff.

Lu Zhou casually waved his hand, using energy seals to stop them from further falling. Then, he said, “There’s no need to be afraid. I have a question for you. If you answer truthfully, you’ll naturally be rewarded…”

In order to avoid some trouble, due to his current appearance, he briefly changed the way he spoke.

The three cultivators looked at Lu Zhou who was calmly hovering in the air and knew that Lu Zhou was a cultivator with an incredibly high cultivation base. Therefore, they did not dare to act presumptuously.

“Please speak, my lord.”

Lu Zhou asked, “What’s that terrifying ferocious beast you mentioned earlier?”

“As it turns out, you’re asking about this matter. It’s said that this ferocious beast is very cunning. One can’t see its head or tail. It has been sighted a few times in the Sky Wheel Mountain Range. In fact, a few days ago, it had just eaten a few cultivators. We’ve been warned by the grand cultivators nearby to be careful and to leave before nightfall. All we know is that it’s very powerful…”

“Very powerful?” Lu Zhou was skeptical.

“The people from the Twelve Peaks of Cloud Mountain came here, but it was useless as well. They wanted to take down that Birth Chart Beast as well. After a few rounds, many cultivators had died, but the ferocious beast did not even lose a strand of hair. This is all we know; we really don’t know anything else…”

Lu Zhou nodded indifferently and said, “Very good.”

“My lord, it’s best to be careful. I suggest you leave this place before nightfall and not go into the valley…”

“I will consider your suggestion. This is your reward…”

Following those words, Lu Zhou launched a few shining palm seals at a few boulders that were 100 meters away.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After three explosions, the boulders disappeared.

The three cultivators looked at Lu Zhou, dumbfounded. They did not understand his actions.

Lu Zhou said, “Go.”

Hearing these words, the three cultivators moved forward and took a look at the place that Lu Zhou cleared. They saw piles of bones immediately and were stunned for a long time. When they finally regained their senses, they turned to express their gratitude but discovered Lu Zhou had left a while ago.

Although they might not be able to find heaven-grade weapons among the piles of bones, there should be all kinds of yellow-grade and mystic-grade weapons.

…

In the valley.

Lu Zhou flew near the lava. The heat from it blew against his face. Fortunately, he could still endure the high temperature with the ability from the fierce beast’s life heart.

Soon enough, he arrived at the place where he first met the Black Tower Council’s Yi Yao. He looked at the red-hot lava bubbling and flowing in what looked like a natural moat. The scorching sensation on his face was truly terrifying; it would be really difficult for an ordinary cultivator to endure such heat.

Lu Zhou flew in deeper. He recalled Yi Yao had fled in this direction back then. He was not worried since his current cultivation base was higher than Yi Yao’s cultivation base back then.

Splash!

Lava suddenly surged out, and Lu Zhou hurriedly activated his protective energy to keep the lava at bay. The deeper he went, the more frequent the lava would surge into the air. Fortunately, the lava was unable to breach his protective energy.

After a while, when Lu Zhou felt the temperature rising higher than before, he finally came to a stop. As he surveyed the surroundings, he saw a giant rock protruding from the cliff next to him. He decided to land on the rock to check on his eighth disciple. After he was done, he would look for a spot to go through his Birth Trial…”

Lu Zhou’s eyes glowed with a blue light after reciting the mantra for the Heavenly Writing’s power of sight.

…

The yellow lotus domain looked very peaceful, and its scenery was pleasant. It was like a paradise.

At this moment, Lu Li reminded Zhu Honggong, “Zhu Honggong, when you see His Majesty later, don’t be rude,” Lu Li said.

“Alright, alright, alright. I’ll listen to you,” Zhu Honggong said.

When the flying chariot landed outside of Great Qing’s royal palace, many cultivators rushed over. All of them kneeled on their knees before they greeted Zhu Honggong in unison.

“Greetings, Divine Lord. You’re finally here.”

‘Divine Lord’ was the title given to Zhu Hongtong by Great Qing’s emperor. This was a symbol status that put Zhu Honggong on equal footing with Great Qing’s emperor.

“No need for formalities,” Zhu Honggong said with a smile on his face as he strode forward with his hands on his back.

After the crowd rose to his feet, someone said, “Divine Lord, His Majesty is already waiting for you in the hall…”

“Alright.”

Lu Li stopped one of them and asked, “What do you know about the envoys?”

The cultivator said worriedly, “I don’t know much except they killed a lot of people. I heard from a eunuch that their cultivation bases are profound. His Majesty didn’t dare to rashly so he invited the Divine Lord here.”

“Lead the way.”

“Understood.”

…

In the main hall of Great Ming’s royal palace.

Ji Hong, Great Ming’s emperor, looked outside with an anxious expression on his face.

“Are they here yet?”

The eunuch standing outside the main hall turned around and bowed before he said, “Your Majesty, please wait a little longer…”

Meanwhile, three men dressed in long robes were sitting on the chairs on the left side of the hall. They were clearly impatient and rose to their feet one after another upon hearing the eunuch’s words.

“The Divine Lord you mentioned is too arrogant. There’s no need to wait for him. We’ll look for him later. All you have to do is consider my earlier words…” one of the three men said.

Ji Hong said, “Your request is too excessive. It’s too difficult for Great Qing to provide you with obsidian essences all year round. Even if I agree to your request, Great Qing’s cultivators will be dissatisfied. How am I going to face them?”

The man said, “This isn’t my problem. In fact, it’s not up to you to disagree. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re the emperor, I would kill you with my sword.” After he spoke, he raised one hand and used two fingers to control a vertical energy sword that appeared in front of him.

Upon seeing the white energy sword, Ji Hong’s expression froze immediately. “What do you want?”

“I’ve already told you; you’re to provide us with obsidian essences.”

Ji Hong’s expression turned unsightly. At the same time, his hands that were resting on the armrest of the dragon throne trembled.

The green tiles outside of the hall were drenched in blood. The stench of the blood permeated the air in the hall as well.

The eunuchs standing by Ji Hong’s sides shuddered.

This was the current situation Ji Hong, Great Ming’s emperor, was in.