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Chapter 294 Life, Secluded Cultivation
Hua Wudao was speechless although he maintained a calm expression. Things that he did not want to happen kept happening to him. He glanced at Little Yuan’er and said without missing a beat, “You’ll surpass Gong Yuandu and become the greatest genius cultivator in a millennium… A genius such as Gong Yuandu would seem like rubbish before you.”
Little Yuan’er’s strength could no longer be described by talent alone.
Hua Wudao had tried to observe the disciples during his time in the Evil Sky Pavilion. He almost regretted observing them. He felt perplexed when he observed them. They were not particularly diligent, but they progressed much faster compared to ordinary cultivators. Of all the disciples, he knew Duanmu Sheng the best. After all, Duanmu Sheng was competitive and kept challenging him to break his Six Compatible Seal…
Little Yuan’er was delighted when she heard the compliment. She giggled and asked, “Am I that great?” “Naturally.”
“I’ll have a go at your Six Compatible Seal when I’m powerful enough,” Little Yuan’er said, “I’ll help you raise your defenses.”
Hua Wudao. “…”
Duanmu Sheng did not care about these things. Instead, he asked, “Gong Yuandu has an Eight-leaf cultivation base?”
Hua Wudao replied with uncertainty, “I think
So…”
Duanmu Sheng said with a sigh, “It seems like this is an unavoidable battle.”
Hua Wudao nodded. “The Evil Sky Pavilion’s barrier is already weakening, it’s not the best time to have a battle here… I think it’s better to battle in the wilderness 100 miles north of Golden Court Mountain.”
Hua Yuexing chimed in, “Indeed, we should look for a suitable place… The wilderness up north is also a good place to watch the battle. If I can watch this once-in-a-lifetime battle, I’d have no regrets in life.”
There were many who wanted to watch a battle between elites, but they never had the chance. Many cultivators who had keen perceptions would often be enlightened while watching the battle and achieve a breakthrough. This could be considered as an opportunity for them.
“Wait… Why are we talking about this again?” Duanmu Sheng scratched his head.
Their discussion had suddenly veered to picking a suitable location for Lu Zhou.
Hua Wudao smiled awkwardly and said, “Let’s return to the topic of the Five Mice…”
“Right… the Five Mice.”
“No matter who killed the Five Mice, they’ve done the Evil Sky Pavilion a favor! They did great! There’s no need for us to trouble ourselves to guess who killed them,” Hua Wudao said.
“Elder Hua has a point.” Duanmu Sheng nodded again.
At this moment, Zhou Jifeng’s voice rang from afar. “Elder Hua, the Five Mice are dead. Where’s the zen tunic?”
Hua Wudao was speechless again. ‘What’s wrong with today? The pavilion master has finally gone into secluded cultivation, and it’s supposed to be my turn to act as an elder. And yet, all these incidents are raining on my parade.’
Duanmu Sheng smacked his forehead and frowned. “That’s right… I almost forgot. Eighth Junior Brother’s problem can only be solved by the zen tunic.”
“Uh…” A stiff expression appeared on Hua Wudao’s face as he said, “From the looks of things, someone might have killed them and snatched the zen tunic away.”
Zhou Jifeng said, “We can’t let Mister Eighth stay in that state for too long.”
Hua Wudao frowned slightly as he paced back and forth, occasionally glancing at the east pavilion. Unfortunately, there were no movements from the east pavilion. He was deep in thought. He had been wondering lately why the Evil Sky Pavilion’s disciples were experiencing problems with their cultivation bases. Then, he seemed to understand that old villain Ji did it on purpose to suppress the disciples that did not leave. “Should we ask the pavilion master’s opinion about this?” Zhou Jifeng asked.
“No,” Little Yuan’er answered without any hesitation, “Master said that nobody should disturb him this time. I’ll be staying in the east pavilion for now…” As she spoke, she walked to the opposite side where the entrance of the east pavilion was located and spread her arms, as though she was barring everyone’s way.
Well, since the pavilion master had spoken. They had no choice then. Moreover, they had experiences with this. If they made the same mistake again, the consequences would be dire.
Everyone was at loss over what to do when a voice rang out. “Elder Hua, someone left this at the foot of the mountain.”
Everyone turned to look. They saw the female cultivator holding an item in her hands. It was the zen tunic.
Everyone was shocked.
Hua Wudao asked, “Who sent it?”
“It was a commoner from Tangzi Town…”
“How could a commoner retrieve the zen tunic from the Five Mice? Impossible!” Duanmu Sheng said.
The female cultivator continued to say, “The person said that a lady in white asked him to deliver the zen tunic to the Evil Sky Pavilion…”
‘A lady in white?’
Little Yuan’er blurted out, “Sixth Senior Sister?!”
Ye Tianxin was the only one who fit the description. She was also the only one with a motive to help the Evil Sky Pavilion. Everything was clear now.
Duanmu Sheng sighed and said, “It must be Sixth Junior Sister. I think her cultivation base is almost recovered. With her cultivation base, taking down the Five Mice isn’t a problem. Moreover, the Five Mice were wounded.”
The others nodded. They did not expect this to be the work of the Evil Sky Pavilion’s sixth disciple, Ye Tianxin. Unfortunately, she had been banished from the pavilion and was no longer a member of the Evil Sky Pavilion.
‘Why did she do this?’
‘Does she wish to rejoin the Evil Sky Pavilion?’
The others looked at the east pavilion at the same time. The only person who could make the decision was in there.
At this moment, Lu Zhou was still immersed in the new insight he gained from the Open Heavenly Writing scroll. It was a wonderful sensation! He could clearly sense the movements in his surroundings, and yet, everything felt stagnant at the same time. To put it precisely, he could not feel the passage of time. It was such a comfortable feeling that he wished the feeling would not go away so soon. It was rare for him to have the opportunity to immerse himself in this state. He decided he would not cut his cultivation time short.
Time passed swiftly as Lu Zhou continued to cultivate.
In just a blink of an eye, seven days had passed.
Hua Wudao and the others continued waiting outside the east pavilion.
“Little girl, did the pavilion master show any movements of coming out?” Hua Wudao saw that Little Yuan’er had done as she had said she would. She had planted herself in front of the east pavilion, cultivating and practicing with the Nirvana Sash. She did not leave her post.
“No” Little Yuan’er shook her head.
“Very well…”
“Master should be coming out soon. There’s no need to be anxious, Elder Hua,” Little Yuan’er said reassuringly. “Well, I’m not exactly anxious… However, I’m worried that Mingshi Yin hasn’t returned until today,” Hua Wudao said.
Little Yuan’er giggled and said, “Your worries are baseless, Elder Hua. Fourth Senior Brother is the most cunning person I know.”
“That’s true.” Hua Wudao smiled.
“You should head back, Elder Hua… I’ll notify you right away the moment master emerges from his cultivation”
“Thank you.” Hua Wudao left the east pavilion.
Little Yuan’er remained in the east pavilion and cultivated her Supreme Purity Jade Slip.
Another seven days flew past.
The Evil Sky Pavilion received a letter by Mingshi Yin that was sent from the Divine Capital. He said that he wanted to bring Zhao Yue back to the Evil Sky Pavilion and needed some time. Duanmu Sheng wanted to report this to his master. However, he was barred by Little Yuan’er. He could not do anything but wait.
When almost a month had passed, close to the promised time with Gong Yuandu, the people of the Evil Sky Pavilion could no longer remain idle.
Hua Wudao, Duanmu Sheng, and the others went to the east pavilion again. “Elder Hua… your cultivation base is the most profound. Can you gauge what’s the situation inside the east pavilion?” Duanmu Sheng asked.
Since they could not go in, they could only observe from outside.
Hua Wudao shook his head. “It’s best to not disturb him when he’s in secluded cultivation. However, from the looks of the Primal Qi’s fluctuations, the aura’s flow is gentle and steady.”
Duanmu Sheng nodded. He walked up to the east pavilion. He saw Little Yuan’er sitting on the eaves with her feet dangling off it. His eyes brightened as he said, “Little Junior Sister, bring master out his cultivation.”