Chapter 118: The First Opportunity
Chapter 118: The First Opportunity
Yet another two signs of moderate fortune? Lei Jun's heart leaped with joy.
Alas, he currently had no close companions by his side.
He would likely face the blissful dilemma alone once more.
However, drawing multiple signs of good fortune was ultimately a joyous occasion.
Although he might have missed out on one, Lei Jun remained calm and collected.
His attention now turned to deciding which of these moderate fortune signs to pursue.
Geographically, Gu Yuan Peak, Cangling River, and Jiuxi Valley were quite distant from one another.
Lei Jun had a general idea about these three locations.
Returning to Longhu Mountain from Chishan Manor, all three places happened to be along the way.
However, this fortune-telling involved a matter of timing.
As the sun sets...
Drawing from past experiences with similar signs, when there was a specific timeframe involved, one generally couldn't juggle multiple opportunities and had to choose one and act on it.
Selecting one meant forgoing the others.
Attempting to rush between two places in a short span of time would most likely end in failure.
"Gu Yuan Peak, Cangling River..." Lei Jun carefully studied the locations mentioned in the two signs of moderate fortune.
He contemplated whether he should scout both places first, just as he had done previously in the Upper Clarity Thunder Palace Cave.
For his current situation, if he could come across a true yin spirit object to complement the True Yang Miracle Flower, it would mean that he had a chance to enhance his root bone aptitude here.
With this in mind, Lei Jun set off without delay.
He had already packed his belongings and, after bidding farewell to the Celestial Master Manor's elder in charge of Chishan Manor, he departed.
...
In a place far from the Celestial Master Manor's Chishan Manor, deep within the mountains and forests, a strange deep pit had once again been dug out in a valley.
An enormous chess piece was buried within the pit.
From afar, Ye Cheng of the Ye Clan of Qingzhou nodded in satisfaction.
He thanked the young man beside him, "This time, thanks to Brother Lin's help, we were able to accomplish this."
Standing next to Ye Cheng was another young man, also dressed in scholarly robes, with a graceful and refined appearance.
He was Lin Zhen, a direct descendant of the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou.
The previous Lin Clan leader, Lin Qun, who had unexpectedly perished in the great river, was his father.
"Brother Ye is too kind," Lin Zhen said calmly. "Given the importance of this matter, Jiangzhou naturally wouldn't stand by and do nothing."
He looked at Ye Cheng and said, "However, with such a big move, the current emperor may have noticed."
Ye Cheng said, "Although everyone is rushing to make their moves first, we still have to see how our emperor responds before we can determine our next step."
Lin Zhen remained silent and turned to look north.
Ye Cheng stood shoulder to shoulder with him, also looking north, "It's not necessarily the Lin Clan of Yuzhou and the Ye Clan of Jinzhou."
Among the Five Surnames and Seven Families, the two Lin clans and the two Ye clans were relatively special.
Although they were all related by blood, their relationships were not necessarily amicable.
Especially with the Lin Clan of Yuzhou in the north and the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou in the south, the Jiangzhou Lin Clan had originally been a branch of the Yuzhou Lin Clan that traveled south, crossed the river, and took root, eventually flourishing and spreading.
The relationship between the two Lin clans was rather delicate.
In normal times, their relationship was not as friendly as their respective relationships with the other five great aristocratic families.
However, under the current circumstances, everyone was paying close attention to the Tang Emperor's next move.
The Tang Emperor went on a northern hunt.
The first to sense a chill were the Ye Clan of Jinzhou and the Lin Clan of Yuzhou.
Furthermore, with the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou currently in a rare state of decline and even internal strife, the subtleties of the situation were even more intriguing.
Of course, the various great aristocratic families had no intention of sitting and waiting for their doom, nor would they allow the Tang Emperor to do as he pleased.
The Tang Emperor made the first move.
Now, the several great families responded.
The Tang Emperor might also take advantage of the situation and change his strategy.
It was too early to tell who would have the last laugh.
"The Ye Clan of Qingzhou remains as steady as Mount Tai."
Lin Zhen said indifferently, "As long as it's a stalemate in this dynasty, the Ye Clan of Qingzhou has already won."
The current empress consort hailed from the Ye Clan of Qingzhou.
The emperor's only son was born of the empress.
In this world, due to the peculiarity of the Imperial Way, or the Heavenly Mandate, during peaceful and prosperous times, once the crown prince was established, he was rarely replaced.
Not to mention that the current emperor had only this one son.
"It's too early to discuss these things now," Ye Cheng said without any expression. "Facing south with one's back to the north, the position of the emperor is inherently different from the other positions."
He smiled faintly, "Of course, man proposes, Heaven disposes."
Not to mention the emperor.
The dynasty and the empire had already changed hands several times.
Yet the Five Surnames and Seven Families remained.
Lin Zhen nodded and bowed to Ye Cheng, "Then I shall take my leave for now."
Within the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou, the whirlpool of internal strife was still massive.
Lin Zhen had taken time out of dealing with that situation to come here, and he would now have to rush back to Jiangzhou.
In fact, among the people causing this huge whirlpool to persist was someone from the Lin Clan of Yuzhou and the Ye Clan of Qingzhou.
If the Lin Clan of Yuzhou and the Ye Clan of Qingzhou were to fall into internal strife, the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou, if they had the spare capacity, would also intervene and fan the flames.
But this did not affect their cooperation in another aspect for the time being.
Ye Cheng returned the courtesy, "Brother Lin's matters are pressing, I won't dare to delay you any further."
Lin Zhen nodded and turned to leave.
...
In the direction of Longhu Mountain, a cloud carriage flew through the air.
It was the Celestial Master Manor's elder, Zuo Li, and his disciple Li Yucheng, who had brought Zhang Yuan and other young disciples to train in the Chishan Manor's Chiyuan Cave. Now, they were returning to the main manor on Longhu Mountain after their training had ended.
They had set off earlier than Lei Jun.
As Lei Jun was still refining his Qi in the Chiyuandongtian, the cloud carriage they were traveling in suddenly encountered a disturbance below.
The mountains and rivers shifted and the earth split open, causing a powerful surge of spiritual energy to burst forth from the rift and pierce through the clouds like a fierce wind.
Caught off guard by this sudden gust, the cloud carriage tumbled out of the sky from its mid-air position among the clouds.
Fortunately, Zuo Li and Li Yucheng, both Zhong San Tian cultivators, acted quickly to prevent any casualties.
Although the shaken group was unsure of the cause of this anomaly in the earth's veins, they continued their journey, determined to return to Longhu Mountain as soon as possible.
Without the cloud carriage, they had no choice but to travel on foot.
Zuo Li and Li Yucheng slowed their pace to accommodate the younger disciples, who were still at the lower levels of cultivation.
Strictly speaking, Zhang Yuan and the others could move incredibly fast, almost as swift as galloping horses.
However, in this vast world, traveling by foot made the journey seem much more distant.
"Consider it a rare opportunity to test your endurance," Zuo Li said with a smile, encouraging the young disciples.
The group traversed mountains and valleys, making their way through the rugged terrain.
After walking for half a day, Li Yucheng's expression suddenly changed as he turned to look into the distance.
"What is it?" Zuo Li asked.
"I sense something over there. I'm not sure if it's a demon or a spiritual being," Li Yucheng replied.
"Is it coming from the direction of Jiuxi Valley?" Zuo Li asked, looking in that direction.
"I'll go and check it out to make sure there's no demon attacking," Li Yucheng said, and with that, he took to the skies and flew in that direction.
Zuo Li was worried, but with Zhang Yuan and the others by his side, he couldn't very well leave them to chase after Li Yucheng.
He also found it strange that Li Yucheng, usually quiet and composed, would suddenly act so impulsively.
Remembering the encounter he and Li Yucheng had with Lei Jun earlier, Zuo Li seemed to understand something, sighing inwardly.
As Zuo Li had guessed, Li Yucheng's current state of mind was indeed a bit unstable.
The source of his unease was Lei Jun.
Although Lei Jun had joined the sect much later than him, his cultivation had already reached the Fourth Layer, only slightly inferior to Li Yucheng's.
But the time Lei Jun had spent cultivating since joining was just a fraction of his own!
... Li Yucheng felt his defenses crumbling.
Normally, he wouldn't be so easily affected.
If he were this fragile, Tang Xiaotang would have shattered his confidence long ago.
Back then, he could still console himself with the thought that Tang Xiaotang had a celestial body and profound insight. Not only was she unmatched by him, but there was also none like her in all of Longhu Mountain.
Now, with Lei Jun's sudden rise, it was easy to imagine that there could be more to come.
Moreover, on another front...
The position of the Li family within the Celestial Master's mansion had become increasingly delicate.
The situation of the Li family disciples had also changed accordingly.
Li Yucheng, being sensitive to these shifts, felt powerless to change anything.
At this moment, encountering Lei Jun's sudden rise once again greatly affected him.
While Zuo Li may have had his thoughts about Lei Jun's trip to Chiyuandongtian, Li Yucheng's mind was filled with his own speculations.
Putting aside the near depletion of the earth-core Yin Fire Qi in the main mansion, there was still the White Tiger Divine Wind Qi and the Azure Sky Divine Thunder Qi.
Why had Lei Jun come specifically to Chiyuandongtian to seek the Nine Earth Yin Wind Qi instead of refining Qi in the main mansion?
Li Yucheng couldn't understand it, but he remembered an old incident.
Lei Jun had entered the Qing Shi Mo Mine to cultivate, accelerating his progress without being harmed by the mine's influence...
When something unusual happens, there must be a demon at play!
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Li Yu Chen's anxiety grew.
I must seize every opportunity to improve my strength, even if it means taking some risks... Li Yucheng's gaze hardened with determination.
With that, he rushed towards the direction of Jiuxi Valley, where he sensed an unusually dense concentration of spiritual energy.
......
After leaving Chishan Manor, Lei Jun took the opportunity to visit Cangling River and Guyuan Peak before the time ran out.
Unfortunately, no matter which location he went to, there was no response from the Celestial Master Seal within his soul or the True One Law Altar.
He couldn't be sure if it was because the opportunities in these two places couldn't be paired with the True Yang Miracle Flower, or if they were similar to the situation in Qilu Valley, where the treasures moved with the earth's veins and only appeared at specific times.
Since he hadn't discovered anything yet, Lei Jun decided not to dwell on it.
Out of the two moderately fortunate signs, he chose the first one.
Everything was calm and peaceful at Guyuan Peak.
On the other hand, there were still some waves on the Cangling River.
Given the situation, Lei Jun decided to stick with Guyuan Peak, opting for a more hassle-free option.
Moreover, Guyuan Peak had a fixed location, while the Cangling River was long and narrow, making it more time-consuming and energy-draining to search.
With his mind made up, Lei Jun began to carefully inspect the area around Guyuan Peak.
Soon, he discovered a deep rift in the valley similar to the one in Qilu Valley, likely formed by the twisting of the earth's veins during the seismic activity.
At the very bottom of this rift, there was also a large gathering of spiritual energy, flowing endlessly like a long river.
However, there didn't seem to be any treasures worth noting.
Lei Jun patiently waited.
The sun gradually sank in the west.
As the hour of sunset approached, Lei Jun, holding the Xi Rang Flag, descended into the depths of the rift and focused his attention, beginning his "fishing" endeavor once more.
The moderately fortunate sign did not disappoint.
Right on time, as the sun dipped below the horizon, a faint light flashed within the already dim spiritual energy river deep underground, carried along by the flowing energy!
Lei Jun swung the Xi Rang Flag, and the rope made of spiritual soil accurately captured the faint light within the spiritual energy river.
A fifth-grade opportunity, caught!
PS: This is the second update for today, and there will be another one later.
(End of Chapter)
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