Chapter 854: Panic Descends on the Red Lotus Domain
When Lu Zhou saw he had more than 500,000 merit points, his first thought was he finally had enough money to buy the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar. He was already sick of using the Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar, especially after he had seen the astrolabe and Lu Li’s Thousand Realms Whirling avatar with his own eyes. There was no doubt it gave it an air of mystery and made people yearn for it. How could he not yearn for it? If the black Thousand Realms Whirling avatar was already so stunning, how stunning would his golden Thousand Realms Whirling avatar be?
Lu Zhou opened the system panel.
“Purchase the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar.”
“Ding! You’ve used 500,000 merit points to obtain the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar!”
“Ding! The Thousand Realms Whirling avatar requires the activation of the first Birth Chart.”
“...”
Previously, Lu Li had told Lu Zhou that he needed to activate the Birth Chart before he could manifest the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar. However, he did not expect that to really be the case.
“Birth Palace?”
Lu Zhou placed the piece of cloth Lu Li gave him in front of him.
The 36 triangles were arranged in a clockwise order. They formed a pattern that looked like a blooming flower. Right in the middle of the pattern were the words ‘Birth Palace’.
On the other hand, the points of the 36 triangles were called Birth Disks.
Lu Zhou frowned slightly. He did not have any experience at all in this area. It was akin to him flying blindly like a headless fly. He knew there was no rushing this matter.
Lu Zhou no longer dwelled on that matter. In fact, when he saw he still had 17,390 merit points, he was in a rather good mood. At least, he had already obtained the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar. He would not need to go through obstacles and cultivate like other cultivators.
Subsequently, he looked at his weapons.
He had gained a lot this time. His biggest gain was undoubtedly Yu Chenshu’s flood-grade Confinement Seal. He had experienced the power of this weapon during his fight with Yu Chenshu; how much more powerful would it be if he wielded it himself?
With that thought in mind, he brought out his last refining talisman and tossed the Confinement Seal into the flames.
As for the other weapons, it would depend on who needed them in the future. If there were no use for them, he would find a blacksmith to take weapons apart to be used as materials before giving them to his disciples.
Then, he looked at his favorite weapon, Unnamed. He was very satisfied that Unnamed’s strength clearly surpassed that of a flood-grade weapon. “I really wonder what grade Unnamed belongs to...”
When he recalled how he had obtained Unnamed in the very beginning, he felt extremely lucky; all the good things were given to him. However, the system had become very stingy now. Even after drawing the lucky draw for half a day, at most, he had obtained a Reversal Card.
After he looked through the things he obtained today, he closed the system panel. Then, he began to meditate on the Heavenly Writing using the Purple Glazed Ceramic.
...
The sun rose in the east.
In the Guannei Circuit’s Sky Martial Court.
“Elder Qiu, I can’t endure it anymore! That two little thieves are really bullying us too much! Not only that, but they’re causing trouble in our Sky Martial Court! I suggest we use the Formation to take them down!”
“I agree. I don’t know where those two thieves came from, but they dare to provoke the Sky Martial Court! If we don’t get rid of them, the pride of the Sky Martial Court would be trampled on!”
“Don’t be anxious. We’ll wait for the court master to return before we make any plans. Those two have extraordinary cultivation bases and are extremely cunning. They’re definitely not ordinary Nine-leaf cultivators.”
Everyone was still engaged in a heated discussion when a core disciple broke into the hall and collapsed on the ground immediately. Sweat was dripping down his face, his eyes were widened, and his entire body was shaking. He stammered, “T-this... No, t-this is bad! Court M-master, Elder Mo... E-elder Jian... T-their... t-their... Their life stones have s... shattered!”
“...”
Silence descended immediately in the hall. The atmosphere was tense.
It felt as though they had been splashed with a bucket of ice water; they were trembling all over.
...
In one of the relay stations in the capital.
It was incredibly lively today. The cultivators were busy exchanging information and knowledge with each other.
“I heard something big happened in the Sky Wheel Mountain Range yesterday. The entire valley turned into a sea of fire. Many people were killed and injured.”
“It seems like the True Kunlun Sect and the Void Sect fought with the Sky Martial Court! Later, I heard a golden lotus cultivator single-handedly fought against 10,000 people. The fight was so intense that the ground quaked and the sky turned dark. Those who were watching from afar said they couldn’t see anything due to the terrible visibility. They didn’t know who won or lost...”
“A golden lotus cultivator? This foreign tribesman is really bold; he dares to behave so audaciously in our red lotus domain! The court master would definitely crush him!”
Upon hearing these words, a man sitting in the middle said with a sigh, “I’m afraid that the court master is doomed!”
Everyone turned to look at the man in unison.
“What do you mean?”
“I heard that the golden lotus cultivator likes killing elites. Up until now, he has never failed.”
“...”
“You’re lying! My friend was there, watching from afar. Guess what he saw?”
“What?”
“He saw a black lotus avatar appearing out of nowhere, and it crushed the golden lotus cultivator to death using its hand. We’re really unlucky. Who knows if we’ll live to see the sunrise tomorrow now that a black lotus cultivator has appeared!”
Someone clicked their tongue before saying, “Your lie is even more exaggerated than his!”
Regardless of what everyone’s opinions were, they did not doubt that the Sky Wheel Mountain Range had collapsed.
Soon enough, the deaths of Yu Chenshu, Mo Buyan, Jian Tingzhong were also confirmed.
With this, the people in Great Tang’s cultivation world began to panic.
...
Meanwhile, on Cloud Mountain.
When Lu Zhou opened his eyes, he had already replenished one-third of his extraordinary power. He was also feeling much better mentally.
Following that, he ordered someone to invite Nie Qingyun over.
When Nie Qingyun heard that Lu Zhou had invited him over, he rushed over immediately. As soon as he entered the room, he hurriedly asked, “Senior Lu, did you go to the Sky Wheel Mountain Range?”
Lu Zhou did not deny it. He nodded and asked, “You’ve heard the news?”
Only a night and half a day had passed, but the news spread so quickly?
“Yes. News of this is spreading like a wildfire. Moreover, it’s said that a black lotus cultivator has appeared, and disaster is imminent. I thought...” Nie Qingyun suddenly stopped speaking. An embarrassed expression appeared on his face.
Lu Zhou was too busy to explain himself to Nie Qingyun. In any case, Nie Qingyun would learn the truth sooner or later. Therefore, he asked, “Does Cloud Mountain have any books about activating Birth Charts?”
“This...” An awkward expression appeared on Nie Qingyun’s face. “I think we might have them, but the chances are low... His Majesty seems very knowledgeable about this. Perhaps, you can speak to him about this, Senior Lu.”
Li Yunzheng was well-read. He spent most of the time in the palace reading. The library in the Imperial palace was naturally superior to the libraries available to ordinary people.
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Invite him over.”
“Alright.” Nie Qingyun left the third peak and returned to the main peak to bring Li Yunzheng to Lu Zhou’s courtyard.
Li Yunzheng was confused at the sudden invitation. However, he still greeted Lu Zhou politely when he saw Lu Zhou. “Grandmaster.”
“Sit.” Lu Zhou pointed to the spot across from him.
Li Yunzheng obediently sat down.
After Lu Zhou glanced at Nie Qingyun, Nie Qingyun tactfully left them alone.
After Nie Qingyun left, Lu Zhou stroked his beard and asked, “You said you read a lot. Do you know much about Birth Charts?”
“I’ve read many books about Birth Charts. However, since I’m not a cultivator, I don’t really understand them completely. If it’s possible, I’d like to seize this opportunity to discuss this with you, grandmaster,” Li Yunzheng said.
“Very well. Go ahead.”
“In the ancient books, it’s said the way to activate a Birth Chart is to put the life heart of a Birth Chart Beast into a specific position in one’s lotus. At that time, the unique properties of the life heart would trigger the activation of a Birth Chart. The process would drain the vitality energy from the life heart. Apparently, once the vitality from the life heart has been completely absorbed, the Birth Chart would be activated. However, I’m curious as to how cultivators chose the positions...”
“I’m even more curious,” Lu Zhou said calmly. “The Star Aligns the Pen and Sword, the Hidden Jade in the Stone, Moonlight Shines on the Calm Sea... Every Birth Disk has a name...”
Li Yunzheng was delighted when he heard Lu Zhou’s words. He exclaimed, “Grandmaster, you’re really knowledgeable! I have read about the Star Aligns the Pen and Sword, but I’ve never come across the last two. What do they mean, grandmaster?”
“...”
Lu Zhou stroked his beard and said with a straight face, “When you start cultivating, your master will tell you all about it. Let me ask you, how many Birth Charts can a person activate?”
Li Yunzheng replied with a confused expression, “I’m confused about this as well. Different books say different things. Some said a cultivator could activate up to six Birth Charts while some said a cultivator could activate up to eight Birth Charts. There are even books that said one could activate twelve Birth Charts! How can the numbers be so different?”
“There’s no need to be surprised. Ancient books aren’t always accurate,” Lu Zhou said.
“You’re right, grandmaster. How interesting that there’s a name for every position. Alas, the ancient books I read have very limited information.”
“Tell me what you know.”
Li Yunzheng nodded and began to talk non-stop
....
About two hours later.
Lu Zhou finally had a basic understanding of Birth Charts. Naturally, it was based on Li Yunzheng’s words. He would still need to determine for himself to see if the information was accurate.
Based on what Li Yunzheng said, it was clear there were no records of any cultivators activating 36 Birth Charts.
However, he could confirm that the Birth Charts were neatly arranged in the Birth Palace, which is the center of the lotus. As for the Birth Disk, it would probably trigger a skill once one’s Birth Chart had reached a certain number. The Birth Disk would also likely boost the strength of the astrolabe of one’s Thousand Realms Whirling Avatar.
After speaking for such a long time, Li Yunzheng was not tired at all. In fact, he was still very energetic and excited. He asked, “Grandmaster, I heard you’ve already activated your Birth Chart. Can I... Can I...”
“No.” Lu Zhou rejected Li Yunzheng ruthlessly before Li Yunzheng could even finish speaking. He shook his head and said, “It’s true you’ve read many books. However, you’re not very focused. You haven’t even started cultivating yet. If you try to understand things that are beyond your depth, it’ll only deal a blow to your confidence...”
“Oh.” A disappointed expression appeared on Li Yunzheng’s face immediately.