https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-121-The-Best-of-Times-the-Worst-of-Times/12586466/
Chapter 120 - 119. Seizing Two Opportunities
Chapter 120 - 119. Seizing Two Opportunities
"You... Lei Jun!"
The Lin clan members before him were initially startled, but soon recognized Lei Jun.
The two groups were old foes, and each was well aware of the other's emerging talented individuals.
Precisely because they knew who he was, a sense of despair filled the hearts of the Lin clan members.
The tall young man in a deep red Daoist robe standing before them had already received his ordination, and rumors placed him at the Middle Third Heaven of cultivation.
Given the enmity between the two groups, the Lin clan members didn't even consider pleading for mercy.
It was unclear who drew their sword first, but in an instant, the sound of swords being unsheathed filled the air, and the gleaming blades glittered in the firelight of the night.
"You heretic, how dare you be so rampant! Face my sword!"
A chilling sword intent permeated the air, surrounding Lei Jun from all sides.
Lei Jun, who had been as still as a deep pool a moment ago, now moved with the speed of a thunderbolt.
At this moment, the Wind and Thunder Talisman abandoned its gentle concealment of "Night Wind" and transformed into the violent ferocity of "Daytime Thunder."
It was all about speed, and more speed.
To the Lin clan members, it seemed as if Lei Jun had suddenly vanished from his original spot.
When he reappeared, he was already outside the circle of sword intent, standing behind one of the Lin clan members, his short staff descending.
"Dong!"
The person's head immediately ceased functioning.
"Looking at you all, I'm reminded of a saying..."
Lei Jun's figure flickered, disappearing once more, as if shuttling between two places, only to reappear behind another Lin clan member, his short staff in hand:
"...Treading on the bones of nobles under the heavenly street."
That Lin clan member didn't even utter a sound as he fell forward.
Before this body hit the ground, Lei Jun had already appeared behind the third person: "As far as I know, these words were originally spoken by a noble clan member? Don't worry, it doesn't stop me from finding them quite fitting."
He weaved through them like lightning and thunder, his figure flashing as if at random, casually passing by a group of Lin clan members and giving each of them a strike:
"I'm a kind person who gets along with everyone, but..."
Lei Jun paused and stood still: "My way of thinking is different from yours... and from most people in this world, so don't provoke me."
He stopped in his tracks, and behind him, a group of Lin clan members' bodies softened and collapsed, not yet having hit the ground.
Only now did they fall to the ground with consecutive "peng peng peng peng" sounds.
The commotion attracted the attention of the Lin clan members who were besieging Zhang Yuan and the others.
But by the time they turned around, all they saw was the scene of their fellow clan members' bodies lying in a circle.
Not only the Lin clan members, but even Zhang Yuan and the other true disciples of the Celestial Masters' Mansion were stunned.
"Brother Liao and the others..."
Some of the remaining Lin clan members hadn't recovered their wits, while others roared in anger.
A leading Lin clan youth, his eyes wide with fury, shouted:
"Look towards the south mountain, the mountain fire burns the rice fields!"
Following his incantation, the spiritual energy in the heavens and earth surged violently.
Under the night sky, the mountain was still chilly in the spring, but it immediately became scorching hot.
In the air, there was a crackling sound, and a large patch of flames appeared.
Even the scattered mountain fires that had been burning earlier now gathered and surged, connecting into one, rolling towards Lei Jun.
Influenced by the leading Lin clan youth, the other Lin clan members gradually regained their senses.
Several people who cultivated the same incantation technique echoed in unison, their eyes wide with rage:
"The faint red sunset is extinguished, and the short flames reconnect!"
The fire grew even larger, with multiple fires igniting and connecting tightly, as if forming an entire sea of raging flames, surrounding Lei Jun.
However, unfortunately for them, there was no Middle Third Heaven Confucian incantation cultivator from a noble clan present.
With Lei Jun's superior cultivation level at the scene, he didn't need to employ many methods.
He threw a high-level spirit talisman, the 'Infinite Sea of Fire Talisman,' which he had obtained from the Celestial Masters' Mansion. Even though it wasn't his primary spirit talisman technique, it could still suppress the opponent's sea of fire.
Then he threw another high-level spirit talisman, the 'Thunderous Judgment Talisman.'
It wasn't just taking out one small fry anymore.
It was taking out a whole group of them.
The scene was extremely cruel.
However, Zhang Yuan and the other disciples of the Celestial Masters' Mansion didn't find the scene cruel at all.
After they recovered their wits, seeing the divine-like Lei Jun, they cheered in unison.
They had been waiting for Left Elder and Li Shi to return and save the day, like wishing upon stars and the moon.
But as time passed without any sign of them, Zhang Yuan and the others had begun to despair.
Unexpectedly, Lei Jun's arrival brought them unexpected joy.
Even a group of true disciples from the Celestial Masters' Mansion were moved and excited.
"Are you all alright?"
Facing his fellow disciples, Lei Jun's attitude became much gentler, resembling Master Yuan Mobai as he comforted everyone's fluctuating emotions.
"...As I was saying, I turned my back to them and put away the short staff that resembled the Upper Clarity Golden Bamboo."
"Don't blame me, Fukusheng Murikami, for my ego and my image. I'm just joking," Lei Jun mocked himself inwardly.
He had to be mindful of his artistic style at all times.
Look at those Lin clan members; even as they fell, they maintained their composure.
Regardless of whether it was the Confucian scholars or the Chanting sect, they always carried themselves with a graceful air.
In contrast, when he held the Upper Clarity Golden Bamboo, he looked like he was carrying a club.
A short staff in one hand was still slightly better.
When the spiritual power of the Upper Clarity Golden Bamboo was fully activated, with ethereal spirit light extending and converging into a long staff, that appearance...
It always reminded Lei Jun of the baseball bats he had seen on Earth in his previous life.
..."Master, up until now, you've been perfect in every way, but you've ruined my artistic style."
"Master, you've wronged me, you've wronged me!" Lei Jun shook his head slightly, stopping his train of thought.
In this unfortunate situation, the silver lining was that although more than half of Zhang Yuan and the others were injured, none had perished.
However, some of their injuries were quite severe.
Lei Jun took out some of the Jin Gu Yu Jin San (Golden Bone and Jade Muscle Powder) that Chu Yu had given him back in the capital, as well as various medicinal powders that Wang Guiyuan had prepared for him before this trip, and used both to help stabilize the condition of his injured fellow disciples.
Seeing that the injured were stable and out of danger, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and felt even more grateful to Lei Jun.
Only then did Lei Jun have the chance to ask, "Where are Left Elder and Li Shi?"
Zhang Yuan and the others smiled bitterly.
When they mentioned that Li Yucheng had headed towards Nine Brook Valley, Lei Jun's expression remained unchanged, but he felt a mix of laughter and tears inside.
There were many routes to return to Dragon and Tiger Mountain from Red Mountain Manor.
Aside from Lonely Peak, the Azure Spirit River, and Jiu Creek Valley, any other path would have been fine.
But Li Yucheng had chosen to go to Jiu Creek Valley.
In hindsight, the situation was now clear.
Lei Jun had gone to the Azure Spirit River first and then to Lonely Peak.
He and the Lin clan members had just missed each other, as they went to Lonely Peak after he left the Cang Ling River.
Later, at sunset, after losing a few lives, they had successfully obtained a spiritual object at the Azure Spirit River.
Lei Jun, on the other hand, had obtained the Spirit Cleansing Rocks at Lonely Peak.
As for Li Yucheng, coincidentally or not, he had gone to Jiu Creek Valley.
According to Zhang Yuan and the others' description, at sunset, there had been an unusual commotion in Jiu Creek Valley.
Left Elder was worried, so he first brought Zhang Yuan and the others to a safe place and instructed them to wait there while he went to look for Li Yucheng in Jiu Creek Valley.
As night fell, neither Left Elder nor Li Yucheng had returned.
Instead, Zhang Yuan and the others encountered the Lin clan members who had come from the Azure Spirit River.
The sudden encounter took both sides by surprise.
However, without needing to exchange many words, both sides immediately greeted each other with spirit talismans and Confucian techniques.
After comforting everyone with a few words and instructing them to check the surroundings for any remaining Lin clan members, Lei Jun quietly searched Lin Liao's body and took only the strange spiritual object that resembled a stone mirror.
With the stone mirror in hand, Lei Jun shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Earlier, he had been lamenting the absence of reliable companions on this trip.
When he drew two fairly good fortune sticks and found it difficult to handle both at once, he had to choose one.
But now, the treasures represented by the two fairly good fortune sticks, indicating a fifth-grade opportunity, had both fallen into his hands.
Did this count as an indirect way of getting everything he wanted? Well, his luck wasn't bad.
Once again, he had managed to have the best of both worlds.
Although he had let go of a fairly good opportunity at the Upper Clarity Thunder Palace Cave, Lei Jun was still quite content overall.
In contrast, Left Elder and Li Yucheng's situation was very different.
After Lei Jun and the others cautiously approached Jiu Creek Valley, they found the two of them outside the valley, both heavily injured.
No wonder they had taken so long to return.
Whether it was Left Elder or Li Yucheng, their injuries were severe.
Left Elder could at least sit cross-legged and meditate to recover his energy and heal his wounds.
Li Yucheng, on the other hand, was so badly injured that he was barely clinging to life, and only the life-saving pills and elixirs unique to the Celestial Masters' Mansion were keeping him alive.
If it had been a successor of a second-rate power who had suffered such serious injuries, they might have already perished.
"Lei Shizi?" Left Elder exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Lei Jun.
With Lei Jun's help, he finally managed to catch his breath.
However, after hearing Zhang Yuan and the others' account of their encounter, Left Elder nearly fainted again.
Even now that everyone was safe following Lei Jun, Elder Left still felt lingering fear.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly after that, and everyone returned safely to Dragon and Tiger Mountain without encountering any other Lin clan members along the way.
Lei Jun guessed that the "Brother Lin" mentioned in Lin Liao's conversation was probably Lin Zhen, a prominent figure among the younger generation of the Lin clan in Jiangzhou. He was often mentioned alongside the Celestial Masters' Mansion's senior disciple, Li Zhenghuan, and Ye Cheng of the Ye family of Qingzhou, whom Lei Jun had met before.
Of course, when they said "younger generation," they were referring to young cultivators, not in the secular sense.
Their ages were not a hundred years old, but they were still several decades old.
However, as a Confucian cultivator in the Seventh Heaven Realm, Lin Zhen was indeed quite young compared to his own lifespan limit.
However, due to the changes in the earth veins and the fluctuations of spiritual energy, Lin Zhen and the others found it difficult to locate Lin Liao and the others in the deep mountains, and they could only agree on a meeting place.
And now, Lin Liao and the others had returned to nature with Lei Jun's help.
After this encounter, Lei Jun returned to the mountain and went to the Hall of Executors with Left Elder, Zhang Yuan, and the others to debrief and report what had happened.
Conflicts and casualties between the Jiangzhou Lin Clan and the Celestial Masters' Mansion were commonplace.
The handling process was highly standardized.
Lei Jun's assistance to his fellow disciples required no explanation and earned him due recognition and merit.
Zhang Yuan and the others, who bravely held their ground against a stronger and more numerous foe, upheld the prestige of the Celestial Masters' Mansion and deserved encouragement.
The only issue lay with Left Elder and Li Yucheng, the two ordained masters in charge of leading the group.
This expedition to provide Zhang Yuan and the others with field experience was their responsibility.
For Lei Jun, on the other hand, it could be said to have nothing to do with him, and his contribution was entirely additional.
But for Left Elder and Li Yucheng, it was their solid responsibility.
Left Elder was in a slightly better situation, as he had gone to rescue Li Yucheng; otherwise, it would have been uncertain whether Li Yucheng could have made it out of Jiu Creek Valley alive.
Li Yucheng, however, had undeniably abandoned his post and caused both himself and Left Elder to be severely injured, and his absence had put Zhang Yuan and the others in danger, almost leading to more severe consequences.
Left Elder was usually a kind and considerate person who took care of his juniors.
If not for Lei Jun's presence, he might have reminded Zhang Yuan and the others to put in a good word for Li Yucheng.
But since Zhang Yuan and the others had already reported the matter to Lei Jun, Left Elder could do nothing to help.
Although Li Yucheng was still recovering from his severe injuries, he would have to face the consequences of his actions from the sect later.
Lei Jun bluntly explained what he had seen and heard, and after that, he no longer concerned himself with the matter.
What happened to Li Yucheng from then on was none of his business.
Elder Left sighed.
Overall, among the younger generation of the Celestial Masters' Mansion, Li Yucheng was not the most outstanding, but he was still a very capable member of the second tier.
Usually, he was calm and collected, but this time, his rare lapse in judgment had led to his severe injury.
Although Left Elder was kind, he could also guess the reason behind Li Yucheng's unusual behavior.
However, his guess was not something he could easily bring up in front of Lei Jun.
"It's not just Li Yucheng; many people in the Mansion have been feeling a bit unstable lately."
After Lei Jun returned, when he chatted with his senior fellow disciple, Wang Guiyuan, the latter sighed, "The reason is not entirely because of you, junior brother."
Lei Jun fell into deep thought upon hearing this.
Wang Guiyuan seemed to change the subject and said, "The frequent changes in the earth veins are not only possibly man-made but also related to the overall trend of the world.
In the past few decades, the revival of spiritual energy has become increasingly apparent.
Not only have various spiritual treasures become more abundant, but the natural spiritual energy has also become richer and more conducive to our cultivation.
Now, it is indeed a rare prosperous age for the cultivation world, and we are fortunate to be part of this era, which makes countless predecessors envious!"
Lei Jun nodded slightly.
Throughout history, at least within a millennium, the overall situation had been improving, and cultivators had been advancing faster and faster, with more and more young cultivators reaching higher realms.
This was due not only to the cultivators' efforts but also to the push of the times.
This trend had been particularly noticeable in the last century or so, especially in the last few decades.
The Dragon and Tiger Mountain Celestial Masters' Mansion was one of the beneficiaries of this wave.
Because their younger generation kept producing strong cultivators, their cultivation levels and strengths rapidly improved, and they produced more young geniuses than other top sects.
This barely made up for the vacuum of experts after the successive internal strife.
Otherwise, after the previous Celestial Master Li Qingfeng's demise, the Celestial Masters' Mansion might not have been able to pull through, or at least it would have been much more difficult and costly.
This was, of course, a good thing for the entire Celestial Masters' Mansion.
However, some situations became more delicate.
Wang Guiyuan was right; although Lei Jun had just emerged, it was not enough to affect most of the other Li Daoists, except for making Li Yucheng feel insecure.
But there was one person whose pressure was already looming.
Tang Xiaotang.
As the disciple with the highest talent in the Celestial Masters' Mansion, she was riding the wave of the abundant spiritual energy, and her progress was becoming more and more rapid.
(PS: This is the first update of the day. The poem at the beginning of the chapter is from the Tang Dynasty poet Wen Tingyun's "Song of Burning." The full poem is as follows: "I looked up at the south mountain, and the mountain fire burned the rice fields. The faint red sunset is about to go out, and the short flames reconnect. The flames flicker towards the rocks, slowly climbing the green cliffs. Following the wind, they disappear, reflecting far away on the red thatched roofs. The old man next door speaks in the Chu dialect, leaning on his hoe, he wants to cry. He says he is from Chu and Yue, burning the fields to plow early. Bean sprouts wriggle, flowers on the fence face the house. Pigs return to the abandoned pens, chickens peck at grain in the square. In the spring rain of the new year, everywhere there is the sound of celebrating the gods. People ask the gods for predictions, knocking on tiles, and the sound echoes through the forest.")
(End of Chapter)
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