https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-123-Every-Cloud-Has-a-Silver-Lining/12586468/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-125-Yuan-Mobai-s-Background-Part-Three-10-000-Characters-/12586470/
Chapter 124: 123. Who's Unlucky When You Visit?
Chapter 124: 123. Who's Unlucky When You Visit?
Ordinarily, the Grand Bestowal Ceremony of the Celestial Masters' Mansion on Dragon Tiger Mountain wouldn't be held frequently, and the interval between ceremonies would be longer than the three-year interval of the Grand Transmission Ceremony.
...Of course, it wouldn't be as long as the previous delay of over a decade.
As long as the Celestial Master wasn't in seclusion, or there wasn't a scarcity of eligible candidates, the Grand Bestowal Ceremony would typically be held once every six years.
However, during this special period when the position of Celestial Master was vacant, the elders of the High Achievements Peak took the opportunity to expedite the process.
The previous ceremony had indeed left many of the top candidates from prominent families stuck in limbo.
Some of them had already been delayed for several years, and it wouldn't be possible to make them wait for another six years.
Thus, a year and a half after the Grand Bestowal Ceremony that Lei Jun had participated in, the Mansion made an exception and held another ceremony on the fifteenth day of the first month of the new year.
This time, the list of candidates was much more reasonable.
Leading the group was Fang Jian, the fourth direct disciple of the previous Celestial Master, followed by Xia Qing, Li Zhenchang, Chu Andong, and Luo Haoran, among others.
It was a star-studded gathering, a luxurious lineup, and the most outstanding disciples of the Celestial Masters' Mansion over the past decade were all present.
This Grand Bestowal Ceremony seemed to signify that the Celestial Masters' Mansion was finally back on track.
Even the guests who came to observe the ceremony this year were of a much higher caliber than before.
Although the world was in turmoil, heavyweight figures from the top eminent families and sacred sites had arrived.
During the previous Grand Bestowal Ceremony, the Celestial Masters' Mansion had just experienced a great calamity, and the presence of overly powerful experts might have caused unease for the hosts, so the guests from various families had exercised restraint.
This time, with the Celestial Masters' Mansion largely back to normal, the guests had far fewer reservations.
Among them, the most prominent figure was an elder from another renowned sacred site of the Daoist tradition, the Pure Yang Palace—Elder Lu Jinduan.
"This Elder Lu Jinduan is a senior fellow who used to associate with our Master, Master's uncle, and Uncle Song," Wang Guiyuan introduced. "Elder Huang of the Pure Yang Palace holds him in high regard."
Lei Jun and Chu Kun listened attentively to their fellow sect member.
Compared to Elder Lu, they were more familiar with another name, one that was renowned throughout the land.
Elder Huang, the current leader of the Pure Yang Palace, was a master of the Daoist Elixir Cauldron lineage. He was a venerable figure of the Daoist tradition and a contemporary of Lu Jinduan, Li Song, and other esteemed individuals.
There were some things that Wang Guiyuan couldn't say directly.
But Lei Jun and Chu Kun were already aware.
That Elder of the Pure Yang Palace had, years ago, earned the reputation of being the foremost expert in the Daoist tradition.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the foremost figure among the various sacred sites and sects in the world.
Under his leadership, the Pure Yang Palace had continued to grow and prosper, and the Daoist Elixir Cauldron lineage had thrived in the northern regions of the Great Tang.
In contrast, the Celestial Masters' Mansion had weakened in recent years due to two consecutive internal strife that had claimed the lives of many veteran experts.
However, under Elder Huang's guidance, the Daoist Elixir Cauldron lineage rarely ventured into the southern regions of the Great Tang and kept their distance from the areas frequented by the Daoist Artifact Refining lineage, such as the lands of Ba and Shu and the Dongting and Poyang lakes.
The relationship between the three major lineages of the Daoist tradition was somewhat delicate, but overall, they maintained a relatively peaceful coexistence, thanks in no small part to Elder Huang's mediation.
As a result, this Elder's reputation was also quite favorable on Dragon Tiger Mountain and Shu Mountain.
Of course, it didn't mean that Elder Huang had completely detached himself from worldly affairs and sought no further ambitions.
Compared to the Shu Mountain and Dragon Tiger Mountain, which were of the same Daoist lineage, the Pure Yang Palace, under his leadership, maintained a much more distant relationship with the five eminent families of the Confucian tradition and the several sacred sites of the Buddhist tradition.
Although Elder Huang himself didn't come to Dragon Tiger Mountain this time, the Celestial Masters' Mansion still extended a warm and respectful welcome to Elder Lu and his entourage.
The only person who could be considered a peer and associate of Elder Lu was the Grand Elder Li Song, and he took on the role of host for this occasion.
The two elders, old acquaintances, exchanged greetings and reminisced about the past.
Li Song's feelings were particularly complex.
Although Elder Lu was the only one present from the Pure Yang Palace, in addition to Elder Huang, there were other senior fellows in the Elixir Cauldron lineage, but they hadn't come to Dragon Tiger Mountain this time.
As for the Daoist Talisman lineage, Li Song was now the sole survivor.
Even his old rival, Yu Qingling from the Yellow Heaven Dao, had perished in the great battle two years ago.
As the sole remaining elder of his lineage, Li Song couldn't help but feel a sense of desolation.
However, he didn't show any signs of it on the surface and conversed casually with Elder Lu.
Yuan Moxuan, as the current leader of the Myriad Laws Sect, presided over the Grand Bestowal Ceremony once again.
Lei Jun and the others, as disciples, also had their tasks—they were responsible for hosting the junior disciples of the Pure Yang Palace who had accompanied Elder Lu.
The most notable among them was a young Daoist who appeared to be only around twenty years old.
Yue Xiling, a direct disciple of Elder Huang of the Pure Yang Palace, had already attained the cultivation level of Upper Three Heavens at such a young age. He was often mentioned in the same breath as Xu Yuanzhen, Li Zhengxian, and Tang Xiaotang of the Celestial Masters' Mansion, recognized as the leaders of the younger generation of the Daoist tradition.
As the youngest high-achieving elder of the Pure Yang Palace, he accompanied Elder Lu on this visit to Dragon Tiger Mountain.
If one were to consider the generational hierarchy from Elder Huang, he would be considered a peer of Yuan Moxuan, Li Ziyang, Li Hongyu, and the others.
Since they belonged to different lineages, the generational hierarchy wasn't always strictly adhered to, but since the Pure Yang Palace had made an official visit, the Celestial Masters' Mansion responded in kind, with Li Ziyang taking charge of hosting Yue Xiling.
However, Zhang Jingzhen, the direct disciple of the previous Celestial Master, along with several other outstanding young disciples of the Mansion, accompanied them as well.
Lei Jun was among them.
Now that he had gained some fame, the Heavenly Masters' Mansion and Yuan Mo Bai would no longer hide him but would instead let Lei Jun make his debut proudly.
...Normally, Xu Yuanzhen was not good at socializing with others. In this situation, the most suitable person to receive Yue Xiling would have been Li Zhengxian.
In the past, he had always been the one to liaise with Yue Xiling.
Unfortunately, this former Young Celestial Master was still in secluded meditation in the forbidden area of the ancestral tomb in the back mountains.
Therefore, the Heavenly Masters' Mansion sent a team led by Li Ziyang and Zhang Jingzhen, which was also considered a respectful gesture.
"My master originally intended to come to Dragon Tiger Mountain in person to meet with the esteemed Daoists of the Heavenly Masters' Mansion." Yue Xiling apologized, "However, the situation beyond the Long Province is unstable, and my master has decided to make a trip there. Before Elder Lu and I left, my master specifically instructed us to convey his apologies to your sect."
"Elder Huang, your words are too kind. We are already overjoyed to have Elder Lu and Daoist Yue grace us with their presence here," Li Ziyang replied.
Yue Xiling remained humble and continued with a few more polite remarks.
Zhang Jingzhen asked softly, "Brother Yue, how is the situation in Long Province now?"
Yue Xiling's expression turned solemn as he replied, "It's more challenging than expected. His Majesty and the Clan Master of the Xiao Clan have temporarily set aside their differences to join forces and suppress the demons."
The people of Dragon Tiger Mountain listened with grave expressions as well.
The heavens had played a massive joke on them.
The Tang Emperor had left the capital and headed north, then west, arriving at the Long Province.
The Xiao Clan, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, was now united with the other clans, standing against the current emperor.
However, with the surge of spiritual energy and demonic aura, more powerful demons, unseen in recent times, were reappearing.
Located at the western frontier of the Great Tang, the Long Province was where spiritual energy and demonic aura frequently clashed and intersected.
During the autumn and winter of this year, a demonic disturbance broke out in the western regions of the Great Tang, quickly turning into a rampant tide.
His Majesty, who happened to be in the Long Province, had no choice but to guard the nation's border personally.
The Clan Master of the Xiao Clan could only swiftly shift his sword's direction and join forces with the Tang Emperor to confront the invading demons from outside the domain.
However, the situation seemed even more dire than many had anticipated.
The Tang Emperor was still stranded in the Long Province, and what was supposed to be an imperial tour had turned into a personal campaign.
Even the number one Daoist expert, Elder Huang, was now on his way to lend his support.
Lu Jinduan and Yue Xiling's visit to Dragon Tiger Mountain served two purposes. Firstly, they came to congratulate the Heavenly Masters' Mansion on holding another Grand Bestowal Ceremony.
Secondly, they wanted to exchange opinions with the Heavenly Masters' Mansion's senior members regarding the demonic disturbance in the Long Province.
Although the disturbance was currently confined to the Long Province, it undoubtedly attracted the attention of the entire Great Tang.
The situation in the world was changing once again.
The next moves and directions of the various top-tier forces would undoubtedly be of utmost importance.
"In addition to the Long Province, we must also be vigilant in other places." Yue Xiling continued, "To my knowledge, there have been successive appearances of powerful demons in the East China Sea and beyond the northern frontier, attracting many formidable experts. We cannot afford to be negligent."
"I have also heard about this. Brother Yue, your words are most reasonable," Li Ziyang agreed.
Lei Jun listened quietly beside them, and he couldn't help but think of the moderately ill-fated fortune he had drawn earlier.
If he had insisted on going to the northern frontier to find that icy lake, would the risks mentioned in his fortune-telling have been related to these powerful demons?
Looking back now, he was glad that he hadn't stubbornly pursued that adventure, as he had indeed avoided a disaster.
Among those present, Li Ziyang's feelings were rather complicated.
In fact, he was already aware of much of what Yue Xiling had said.
This was because his son, Li Xuan, was currently serving under His Majesty in the Demon-Suppressing Guard, and he was also in the Long Province.
Although they maintained communication, the situation was far from peaceful.
The Li family had gone all-in, sending their core disciples to serve under the Tang Emperor. Not long after, they encountered such a grand tide of events, which indeed made one's heart feel complicated...
Far away in the Long Province, there was another person with mixed feelings.
In the northwest border, where the yellow sand filled the sky and the north wind was like a knife, a youth with a face weathered by the elements used a spirit talisman to kill a demon beast.
His once delicate features now appeared rugged.
It was none other than Chen Yi.
He never expected that after joining the Demon-Suppressing Guard, he would have fewer interactions with people and instead spend more time dealing with these demon beasts.
Watching the rising sun-like Demon-Suppressing Guard, which had accompanied the emperor on his tour, he felt like they had come to the Long Province to eat sand.
The current emperor, who had already gained an advantage, had to interrupt his plans targeting the aristocratic families.
Although the current situation couldn't be considered too bad, it was evident that the upward trajectory had stalled.
Strictly speaking, while the current situation was dangerous, Chen Yi could still endure it.
Like a sword being honed and a plum blossom enduring bitter cold, he shone even brighter.
However...
Thinking of the Heavenly Masters' Mansion, Chen Yi couldn't help but doubt himself at this moment. Was there something wrong with this world?
Why did it seem that wherever he went, there were signs of decline?
...
The situation in the north was tense.
The Heavenly Masters' Mansion on Dragon Tiger Mountain in the south was also affected, but overall, it maintained an outwardly relaxed yet internally vigilant stance.
This did not hinder Lei Jun and the others from continuing their focused cultivation.
Relatively speaking, another piece of news from the East China Sea attracted more attention from the people of Dragon Tiger Mountain.
Rumor had it that the Heavenly Master's Sword had reappeared in the East China Sea!
PS: Second update of the day, there will be another update later.
(End of Chapter)
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