Chapter 1188: The Rule

All the cultivators were overjoyed. As expected, the moment the Venerable Master made a move, that person found out the truth the hard way! All of them wanted to see if that person still dared to show off. Even if they had gotten smacked for no reason, they were extremely happy at this moment.

Lu Qianshan continued to play the character of a villain's lackey and said, "If it was going to be like this, why would you behave in that manner earlier?"

Naihe ignored Lu Qianshan; he only had eyes for Lu Zhou at this moment.

Lu Zhou could see the wariness and the solemnity in Naihe's eyes. His palm strike had only defeated Naihe, it did not do much damage, let alone destroy a Birth Chart. Naihe was a Sixteen Chart cultivator; would it not be terrible if he had to face a Venerable Master?

A Thunderblast Card appeared in Lu Zhou's hand. Life or death depended on fate and luck.

Naihe said, "I didn't expect an expert close to becoming a Venerable Master would be born here…"

Lu Qianshan said again, "Young man, your cultivation base is not bad. You shouldn't be stupid to be able to reach such a level, right? That palm strike is just a small lesson. Just you alone aren't worthy of my Venerable Master's full strike."

Naihe. "..."

After a while, Naihe said, "I can only blame my bad luck for today's incident. I have apologized for my attitude earlier. I'll take my leave now."

"Wait," Lu Zhou said.

"Huh?" Naihe frowned. He turned to look at Lu Zhou and asked, "Senior, what's the matter?"

Lu Zhou did not expect the other party to surrender so quickly. He thought he would have to waste a Thunderblast Card, a Reduction Card, and perhaps, an enhanced Impeccable Card. With a few cards, it should not be a problem to kill the other party.

Lu Zhou said in a deep voice, "Who do you take me for? Do you think you can come and go as you please at my place?"

"..."

'Isn't this place in the wild? How did it become your place?' Naihe naturally did not dare to verbalize this thought. Instead, he asked, puzzled, "What do you want, senior?"

"You can leave after you answer my questions," Lu Zhou said.

Naihe did not refuse. He said, "Ask away, senior."

"Which force do you belong to in the green lotus domain?" Lu Zhou asked.

"I'm Qin Naihe, a Free Man of the Qin clan," Qin Naihe replied. His answer was very detailed.

"Who's Qin Moshang to you?"

Qin Nainai was clearly taken aback. "Senior, you know Qin Moshang?" He chuckled before he continued to say, "Although he's the Young Master of the Qin clan, I have to say he has a very bad character. We're from the same clan, that's all."

Based on what Lu Zhou had learned so far, it seemed like Qin Moshang did not have a good relationship with his clansmen.

Lu Zhou nodded. "How long have you been here?"

Qin Naihe said, "Every three years, I'll patrol this place once. This is my 100th mission. Each time I come, I don't stay more than a month."

"Why?"

"The rule…" Although Qin Naihe was puzzled by Lu Zhou's question, he still maintained a smile on his face. "Since senior is a Venerable Master, senior should know that the world is divided into nine realms and two sides. Venerable Masters can't easily cross the boundaries…"

Lu Qianshan was surprised by this. "That's why cultivators who are close to becoming Venerable Masters are appointed as Free Men to bend the rules…"

"That's right," Qin Naihe said, "Moreover, staying too long will also attract attention."

This was a good explanation of why only a ghost servant came with Qin Moshang at the peak of the snow mountain. Logically speaking, the green lotus domain was so powerful that it could easily subdue the black lotus domain, the red lotus domain, and the other domains. However, they did not do so. As it turned out, they were bound by some heaven and earth rules.

Lu Zhou could not decide if this was a good or bad thing. The Balance protected them, but the shackles restricted them.

"What's your true purpose in coming here?" Lu Zhou asked.

"To find the Great Void Seed," Qin Naihe answered truthfully.

"The Great Void Seed?" Lu Qianshan exclaimed, "The Great Void Seed that matures every 30,000 years?"

Qin Naihe nodded. This was not a secret so he continued to say, "I'm not the only one looking for it. The Ye clan's Venerable Master is also looking for it. There's also the Sacred Hall. All of them have Free Men. You're lucky to have met me…"

"A defeated opponent still dared to be arrogant?" Lu Qianshan sneered.

Qin Naihe. "..."

In the end, Qin Naihe shook his head and said, "I'm not being arrogant. What I mean is most Free Men like to do things secretly. They like to kill people to silence them. They don't want people knowing about the green lotus domain."

"Then why do you do the opposite?"

"I hate the secrecy," Qin Naihe said with a smile, "Why must we alienate each other? Isn't it good if we can all play together?"

"..."

Qin Naihe's thinking was not strange; it made a lot of sense.

The world was divided into nine domains; why did they have to alienate each other? Who could answer this question? Lu Zhou thought it would be a loss if Qin Naihe did not become a philosopher.

Lu Zhou continued to ask, "How did you find this place?"

Qin Naihe said, "The pillars of light soared into the sky earlier, and I could sense their extraordinary power. I suspected some treasure had been unearthed so I came to have a look."

"Is that all?"

"It's up to you to believe me or not," Qin Naihe said, "Are you not used to your opponent being so frank? That's normal. I stayed in the golden lotus domain for a time, and I met quite a few people there. There was only one person who believed me; his name is Jiang Wenxu. The others were like you…"

"..."

Lu Zhou said, "You've been to the golden lotus domain and met Jiang Wenxu?"

Qin Naihe smiled before he recounted the past. "That was more than 300 years ago. The higher-ups sensed something strange in the golden lotus domain so they sent me there. That was my first mission as a Free Man. I don't know if you've ever felt this way before… When you meet frogs living at the bottom of the well, you want to tell them about the vast world outside. Jiang Wenxu was rather interesting. He chose to be the Grand Tutor of many countries and enjoyed the wealth of the world…"

Lu Zhou said with a straight face, "I killed Jiang Wenxu."

Although Qin Naihe was slightly taken aback, he continued to say, "It's fine that he's dead… Senior, you seem to be from the golden lotus domain?"

Lu Zho did not deny it.

Qin Naihe was slightly surprised. Following that, he sighed emotionally and said, "I didn't expect such a great change in the golden lotus domain after 300 years. Back then, the strongest person in the golden lotus domain was just an old man who was about to reach the end of his life…"

Lu Zhou. "..."

"I forgot what he was called…"

At this moment, Lu Zhou crushed a Disguise Card. Then, he said tonelessly, "Open your eyes and see clearly…"

In the span of one breath, Lu Zhou turned into a sage-like old man with graying temples, deep eyes, and a wrinkled face.

Qin Naihe was shocked into taking a step back. "This is…"

Lu Zhou said with a straight face, "The old man you said who was about to die is… me."

"..."

Qin Naihe's heart shook. He took another step back.

Lu Zhou hovered in the air with the Thunderblast Card ready in his hand. He said, "Now you've seen me…"

"How's this possible?!" Qin Naihe shook his head. How could an old man who was about to die become a Venerable Master in only 300 years?