https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-120-119-Seizing-Two-Opportunities/12586465/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-122-121-An-Exchange-Between-Fellow-Disciples/12586467/
Chapter 121: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
Chapter 121: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
For the Li family, the current situation within the Heavenly Master's Mansion was delicate.
With the death of the previous legitimate Heavenly Master, Li Qingfeng, the Second Heavenly Master, Xu Yuanzhen, could now drop the "second" from her title.
While the title of "Second Heavenly Master" was initially a half-joking, half-provocative term used by external forces, most people secretly acknowledged that Xu Yuanzhen was indeed the second most powerful master in the Heavenly Master's Mansion after Li Qingfeng.
In the last great battle, Xu Yuanzhen first confronted the mysterious expert who had launched a sneak attack, creating space and opportunities for Heavenly Master Li Qingfeng to fight alongside the Lin clan's patriarch.
Then, she chased and drove off the mysterious expert, preventing them from intervening in the battle again.
Finally, Xu Yuanzhen returned to Dragon and Tiger Mountain and defeated the leader of the Yellow Heaven Sect, Taiping Daoist, putting an end to the battle.
In that battle, aside from the fallen Heavenly Master Li Qingfeng, Xu Yuanzhen's contribution was indisputably the most significant.
Even the powerful experts of the Li family acknowledged this fact.
However, overall, while the Li family was currently under immense pressure, it was still within their capacity to bear.
Uncle Li Song and Xu Yuanzhen were both Daoist masters of the Fu Lu school, possessing the cultivation of the Eighth Heaven. Although they were aging, their power had not noticeably declined.
His strength might be inferior to Xu Yuanzhen, but he still had room to maneuver.
The second elder, Li Hongyu, was exceptionally talented and excelled in actual combat among cultivators of the same realm.
If not for her exceptional talent, how could she have competed with Heavenly Master Li Qingfeng in the past?
It was only after Li Qingfeng ascended to the position of Heavenly Master that the gap between them gradually widened.
Even so, Second Elder Li Hongyu still did not genuinely respect her older brother.
This Second Elder of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, who wielded the Heavenly Master's robe, had once faced off against the leader of the Yellow Heaven Sect, Taiping Daoist, with only the cultivation of the Seventh Heaven, firmly pushing him out of Dragon and Tiger Mountain.
She and the Grand Elder, Li Song, held up the lower limit and the basic forces of the Li clan, ensuring that the morale of the Li family remained relatively high for the time being.
Although Li Zhengxian was currently in the forbidden ancestral tomb in the back mountain for reflection, his cultivation was still firmly in the Upper Three Heavens.
In terms of age, he was even younger than Ye Cheng from Qingzhou and Lin Zhen from Jiangzhou, and his future potential was still immense.
Coupled with another Upper Three Heavens master, Elder Li Ziyang, the Li family would remain a force to be reckoned with as long as they remained united and avoided internal strife.
The surge of spiritual energy from the heavens and the earth brought opportunities for rapid cultivation.
For the cultivators of the Li family, this was also a great opportunity to enhance their cultivation more quickly.
However, some people were progressing even faster than them.
Tang Xiaotang.
Currently the youngest Upper Three Heavens cultivator on Dragon and Tiger Mountain.
This year, she hadn't even turned twenty-five yet, still a few months away.
Yet, several years ago, she had already reached the Seventh Heaven, a fact that both shamed and amazed countless people.
No one knew when she would charge into the Eighth Heaven.
The tribulations and pitfalls between great realms were difficult to cross and carried immense risks. It was common for cultivators to be stuck for a long time or even their entire lives.
But with the current surge of spiritual energy, as everyone accelerated their progress, she was still the one most likely to break through first.
Once Tang Xiaotang's cultivation broke through to the Eighth Heaven, many people's psychological safety lines would be shattered...
The situation in the Heavenly Master's Mansion could change drastically at any moment.
Just thinking about this made it hard for many people to maintain their calm.
Everyone needed a new opportunity to prevent their situation from deteriorating into the worst-case scenario that they imagined.
"Especially since Little Sister is also looking for the Heavenly Master's Sword," Lei Jun said.
Wang Guiyuan sighed, "Tang Xiaomei's talent is extraordinary, but she acts too hastily. We must be cautious, especially in the current environment..."
He shook his head repeatedly, then looked at Lei Jun and said seriously, "Brother, while the spiritual energy is surging, and the range of healing is indeed increasing, the dangers are also increasing correspondingly."
Lei Jun's heart stirred as he recalled the ancient books he had read: "Brother means the demonic cultivators?"
When he mentioned demonic cultivators, he was not referring to enemies who were sometimes denounced as heretics.
He was referring to the real demonic cultivators.
Between heaven and earth, there was spiritual energy, but there was also fierce and barbaric energy, known as demonic energy or evil aura.
The majority of human cultivators cultivated spiritual energy.
Only a small minority of cultivators would come into contact with demonic energy and evil auras, still using spiritual energy as the main body of their cultivation, with demonic energy and evil auras as an auxiliary.
Other creatures that absorbed spiritual energy to cultivate were called spirit beasts or immortals.
Those who absorbed demonic energy and evil auras were called demonic cultivators.
Nowadays, the Great Tang Dynasty was peaceful, and under the suppression of the national fortune, there were few large-scale demonic cultivator disturbances.
Outside the Great Tang, there were many places where humans and demons lived together, and where demonic energy was heavier than spiritual energy, there were often powerful demons.
In comparison, demonic cultivators were not afraid of spiritual energy, while demonic energy generally made human cultivators uncomfortable and even suppressed their cultivation and magic.
According to ancient records, in history, when spiritual energy flourished, it was not a situation of one declining and the other rising, but rather, demonic energy and evil auras rose together.
Thus, when the cultivation of the human race flourished, it would also face the threat of the rise of powerful demons.
In recent years, as spiritual energy surged, human cultivators have indeed progressed faster and entered a golden age.
However, at the same time, news of powerful demons has also become increasingly frequent.
"Tang Xiaomei has already sent back messages several times on her trip overseas, encountering powerful demons in the ocean."
Wang Guiyuan smiled bitterly, "So, brother, we must be cautious. This world is becoming more and more dangerous!"
Lei Jun said, "Brother speaks the truth. I will be more vigilant.
"In a sense, this is the best of times and the worst of times."
As the two disciples chatted, they made their way to meet their master, Yuan Mobai, who was instructing their junior disciple, Chu Kun, in the Daoist arts.
Seeing that Chu Kun had successfully built his foundation, Lei Jun congratulated him and thought to himself that this junior disciple was no ordinary talent.
In the mere two months or so that he had been away from the mountain, Chu Kun had already achieved the foundation-building stage.
If his memory served him right, Chu Kun was assessed to have superior root bones and superior understanding.
This talent was indeed remarkable, but without the support of a spirit body root bone or exceptional understanding, it was quite extraordinary to navigate the tribulations between the First and Second Heavens so quickly and smoothly.
Lei Jun had achieved this feat himself due to the backing of the Hidden Dragon Spirit Body.
In fact, among the group of disciples who entered the sect for instruction at the same time as him six years ago, those who quickly built their foundation all had outstanding talent.
Chen Yi had a spirit body, Li Ying had a spirit body, Guo Yan had a spirit body, and Shangguan Hong had exceptional understanding.
Not one of them was mediocre.
"After nurturing it for a while, Chongyun, you can go and refine the Qingxiu Divine Thunder Shard," Yuan Mobai said with a smile.
"Yes, Master," Lei Jun replied.
After returning to his dwelling and settling in, Lei Jun first took out the harvest he had obtained on his journey back from the Red Mountain Manor.
One was a rock with a pale body and a surface covered in greenish-blue stripes.
The other was a mirror-like object, neither stone nor jade, with a smooth surface.
The former was the Spirit-Cleansing Rock, and Lei Jun already had a general understanding of its use, so he set it aside for now.
His attention was currently focused on the mirror.
[Divine Eye Mirror Stone], Lei Jun's mind flashed with this name.
He had seen Lin Liao, the Lin clan disciple, use this treasure before.
Apparently, the function of this treasure was to expand one's field of vision and enhance detection and sensing abilities.
Lei Jun stood in the courtyard, holding the mirror stone in his hand.
When he infused his spiritual power into it, the mirror stone emitted a beam of light that projected far into the distance.
Lei Jun circulated his spiritual power throughout his body and, with utmost concentration, felt his vision extend beyond its normal limits.
With his current cultivation at the Fourth Heaven, his eyesight was already far superior to that of ordinary people.
Among the Three Heavens cultivators of the Confucian Divine Archer lineage, his vision was also far superior to those at the Fourth Heaven.
And now, with the aid of the Divine Eye Mirror Stone, Lei Jun found that his eyesight had extended even further.
He could even vaguely perceive and sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy in the distance.
This enhancement also improved his detection abilities.
Even if someone used secret techniques to conceal their tracks, Lei Jun might still be able to see through their ruse.
Lei Jun remained stationary and changed the direction of the mirror stone.
As the beam of light shifted, his perspective smoothly changed along with it.
"This item is indeed useful," Lei Jun nodded slightly.
Of course, it wasn't without its flaws.
The beam of light emitted by the mirror stone was quite noticeable.
When detecting others, it was often detected by the target as well.
Lei Jun ceased infusing his spiritual power, and the light on the mirror's surface disappeared.
He lowered his head to examine the mirror stone, pondering if there was a way to improve it. After contemplating for a moment, he put away the treasure and refocused his scattered thoughts, turning his attention back to his own cultivation.
A few days later, he set out for the location of the Qing Xiao Godly Thunder Sha to refine his second type of Sha energy.
Compared to the negative Ninth Earth Yin Wind Sha, the positive Azure Divine Thunder Sha was more violent and challenging to refine.
Fortunately, Lei Jun had laid a solid foundation with the help of the Shadow Hare and the Inferno Snake, and after more than a month of effort, he successfully accumulated a large amount of Clear Sky Godly Thunder Qi.
The yin and yang Sha energies, combined with the yin and yang spiritual powers, gradually intertwined and merged.
Initially, the two Sha energies violently clashed with each other, making it difficult for the cultivator to control them, resulting in slow progress and even the risk of falling into madness.
But now, the black and white, intertwined with blue and red, revolved harmoniously in a circle.
With each revolution, Lei Jun felt his spiritual power becoming denser and more agile.
He then took out his Spirit-Cleansing Rock.
His spiritual power flowed through the rock and underwent a second refinement.
Lei Jun's spiritual power was now circulating in two separate cycles.
One cycle was within his yuanfu, driven by the yin and yang Sha energies.
The other cycle was within the Spirit-Cleansing Rock, erasing one green stripe from the pale rock with each pass.
The two cycles revolved simultaneously, day and night, without rest.
And through this process, Lei Jun's spiritual power became increasingly pure.
Time flew by as Lei Jun immersed himself in cultivation.
Before he knew it, spring turned to summer, and the hot season approached.
Lei Jun calculated the days and examined the True Yang Miracle Flower he had cultivated, contemplating whether it was time to embark on a distant journey.
According to Senior Sister Xu Yuanzhen, the lake bed of the bitterly cold sea in the northern frontier beyond the desert would reveal the True Yin Stone during the summer.
It seemed that the time had come.
However, the northern frontier beyond the desert was incredibly remote, and as Wang Guiyuan had mentioned, it was a time when spiritual and demonic energies were surging, and powerful demons were more likely to appear.
The northern frontier beyond the desert had become a realm dominated by these powerful demons.
...
PS: This is the second update for today, and there will be another update later.
(End of Chapter)
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