My Disciples Are All Villains

Chapter 454: Cage of Heaven and Earth

Lu Zhou’s voice carried with it an immense pressure. It sounded even more majestic and imposing indoors.

Si Wuya shuddered. He still lay prostrated on the ground, unmoving. He had answered this question during their last conversation. At that time, he had said that he wanted to help his Eldest Senior Brother conquer the world and learn the Imperial family’s secrets. Clearly, his answer was not convincing enough.

The atmosphere in the room was stifling now. The silence and tension were palpable.

Lu Zhou was in no hurry as he looked at Si Wuya intently.

Sunlight shone into the room and from the balcony and illuminated the place.

After what seemed like hours, Si Wuya finally opened his mouth to speak. However, he found that no words escaped his mouth. His mouth was dry, and he could not make a sound. He swallowed hard before he said, “Before I learned it’s possible to attain the Nine-leaf stage, I had thought the so-called great limit is nothing but a tool used by the Imperial family to control the hearts of men. That’s why I entered the palace and took on the position of Grand Tutor. Master…” At this point, he lowered his voice and asked, “Do you remember Emperor Yong Shou?”

Lu Zhou did not reply. Emperor Yong Shou was an old acquaintance of his. However, the emperor lived in the highest place in the palace while he dwelled in the pugilistic world.

Si Wuya continued to say, “The inner warehouse was single-handedly built by Emperor Yong Shou… Only the Emperor himself or those who wield the Imperial token could enter. When Yong Shou was still sitting on the throne, he studied the Nine-leaf stage. After his passing, the key to the inner warehouse was lost. Many secrets and objects are buried in the warehouse. Since then, I had been thinking… If the truth is the truth, why is the Imperial family so keen on studying it? Are they trying to defy the truth and the order of nature? The Nine-leaf stage is clearly non-existent, why was it written in the history books? The victor dictates the narrative of history. What are they hiding?”

“…” Lu Zhou’s brows creased as he listened to Si Wuya’s thoughts. ‘This rascal is born for research.’

Si Wuya did not seem like he had reached his main point. He kowtowed again and said, “After all these years, I have painstakingly founded the Darknet and spread its reaches all over Great Yan. I’ve been investigating from the shadows… That was when I found out that you were not the only one seeking the secrets of the Nine-leaf stage. Yun Tianluo, Gong Yuandu, the King of Mobei, the Other Tribesman’s monarch of Lou Lan, the patriarchs of the major sects… They’re all researching this… The funny thing is…” Although there was nothing funny, perhaps, it was his habit to use the word funny. It was too late to retract his words. He paused for a moment before he soldiered on. “All of them ended in failure…”

Lu Zhou’s expression remained unchanged. He looked at Si Wuya and tonelessly asked, “And?”

Si Wuya’s expression turned grave as he said, “I’ve been thinking about a problem… The Golden Lotus absorbs power, be it Primal Qi or lifespan… If so, where do the powers go?” After he finished speaking, he continued to prostrate himself on the ground and remained silent.

Something stirred within Lu Zhou. If it had been anybody else, or if Ji Tiandao himself were to hear Si Wuya’s words, Si Wuya would have been slapped for spouting nonsense and accused of cloud the people’s minds.

However, Lu Zhou was a modern man. Although Si Wuya’s words surprised Lu Zhou, it was not difficult for him to accept them. It was, indeed, a question worthy of deep thoughts.

The cultivation world had been around for 30,000 years. Ever since the dawn of man’s cultivation, countless Eight-leaf predecessors fell before the doors of the Nine-leaf stage. How many were buried under the Nine-leaf stage?

Lu Zhou suddenly remembered something the Second Prince, Liu Huan, had said during the battle at the Obedient Villa. ‘If you’re intelligent enough, one day, you’ll realize that the entire world is nothing but a cage fortified by the cycle of the heavenly ways.’

In Yun Tianluo’s memories inside the chessboard, Lu Zhou merely saw the secret of the Golden Lotus. Yet, he did not pursue the matter further. It was just as Si Wuya had said, where did the powers absorbed by Golden Lotuses go? Did it return to the world?!

Lu Zhou said calmly, “Heaven and earth form the cage while the Golden Lotus is the lock.”

Si Wuya, still prostrated, hastily said, “Those are only my guesses… Kindly look into this, master!”

“What do you think about my Nine-leaf stage?” Lu Zhou asked.

“Uh…” Si Wuya was at a loss for words. If the Cage of Heaven and Earth was true, how did his master reach the Nine-leaf stage?

Seeing Si Wuya at a loss for words, Lu Zhou said, “Severing the Golden Lotus is akin to getting rid of the shackle… If what you say is true, we’ll still be restricted by the cage of the heavenly ways even if we attain the Nine-leaf stage.”

“If I may be so bold, when did you attain the Nine-leaf stage, master?” Si Wuya asked while keeping his head lowered. He did not think his master had severed his Golden Lotus. If his master severed his Golden Lotus and formed it again, would his master not be shackled by it again?

“Impudent!”

Lu Zhou’s shout startled Si Wuya and made him tremble.

‘Are you kidding me? As if I’ll tell you the secret to my nine leaves.’

No master, regardless of the sect, would easily give up their greatest secret. This little rascal was bold enough to ask about it. He must have a death wish!

“I was wrong!” Si Wuya said at once.

Lu Zhou glanced at Si Wuya. Although he was slightly pleased by Si Wuya’s performance today, he could see Si Wuya’s loyalty did not increase much. After a moment of silence, he said, “It’s far from enough to deduce that there’s a cage of heaven and earth with just these points.”

“May I borrow a brush and some ink?” Si Wuya walked up to the table again. He picked up the brush and wrote…

A rustling sound resonated in the air.

After a moment, Si Wuya had completed drawing a map on the paper.

Lu Zhou looked at it. This map was different from the old parchment drawing resting on the table behind the screen. It was crudely drawn, but it had the basic outline of the places around Great Yan.

After completing his drawing, Si Wuya said, “This is Great Yan. The Endless Ocean is to the east. Rongxi lies in the west, and in the north, Rongbei, where the Ten Thousand Other Tribes dwell… This is Blackwood Forest, Misty Forest, and Heaven Moat Forest. With the Heaven Moat itself…”

Si Wuya’s artistic skills definitely had room for improvement. However, his thoughts were surprisingly shocking. His strokes were crude, but that did not stop him from outlining the overall structure. It was simple and easy to understand.

After seeing this, Lu Zhou frowned. “A Formation?” However, he quickly dismissed the idea. The Formation was so huge that it would not work, not even if all the cultivators in the world gathered.

Flying from the Divine Capital to Mobei would take several months, at least. Flying from Golden Court Mountain to Blackwood Forest required about a month’s flight as well, and then, there was the region of the Other Tribes.

The Endless Ocean; nobody dared to venture there. As the name suggested, there was no end to it.

“It’s a Formation, or perhaps, it’s a naturally-formed cage. These are merely my guesses… This is all I know” Si Wuya said in a deep voice.

Lu Zhou looked at Si Wuya again. He recalled how Si Wuya was like when he was young. Si Wuya was curious and always had to get to the bottom of things. He had to understand everything. It seemed like Si Wuya did not change in that regard.

There was no shortage of intelligent people in the world, but they seemed to share a common flaw. They all believed they were infallible. Si Wuya was no exception to this.

Lu Zhou looked at Si Wuya and said, “Unfortunately… these guesses aren’t correct.”

“…” Si Wuya widened his eyes and looked at the floor in shock. ‘Master knows!’ His heart began to race in his chest.

Lu Zhou placed his wizened and big hand on the area of Blackwood Forest and said, “Pan Litian visited Blackwood Forest before. A great fire lasted for 49 days. If heaven and earth were a cage, this great fire would have damaged Blackwood Forest, and the Formation of the lands would be ruined.” Then, he asked, “You’ve only drawn what you know… Do you know what lies beyond the realm of the Other Tribes?”

Si Wuya remained silent. Incorrect judgments were often made when they were based upon incomplete information.

The room was plunged into silence once more.

In truth, even if Lu Zhou did not point all these out, Si Wuya would have been able to figure it out sooner or later.