https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-129-128-A-Middling-Fortune-Can-Still-Get-You-Killed/12586474/
Chapter 128: Respecting Each Person's Destiny (Part III, 10,000 Characters)
Chapter 128: Respecting Each Person's Destiny (Part III, 10,000 Characters)
Lei Jun heaved a sigh of relief after carefully reading his fortune.
Today's challenge could be overcome without incident.
However, he soon sighed inwardly again.
This time, the fortune was rather mediocre overall.
The best outcome was merely two neutral lots.
But avoiding the two major pitfalls of the lower lots was already a blessing.
As for which one to choose...
Remaining stationary within the Cangbo Mountain range posed no apparent risks.
Heading west, though also a neutral lot, would be troublesome and could lead to unforeseen dangers.
When compared, it was clear that staying put and keeping a low profile was the most suitable option.
Lei Jun quickly made up his mind.
However, he suddenly had a change of heart as he recalled something.
After observing his surroundings, Lei Jun cast the Life-Originating Wind and Thunder Talisman on himself, causing his figure to become invisible.
Then, he took out his Divine Eye Stone and observed the direction where the Shushan disciples were located.
Amidst the collapsing heavens and cracking earth, Ji Chuan, Zhao Gang, and Lin Xinran were using all their might to dodge the falling rocks and the pervasive demonic aura that filled the air.
Lei Jun glanced at the environment above.
The elder, He, was fully engaged in fighting the two Nine-Clawed Stone Lions, his profound cultivation notwithstanding. With his undivided attention on the battle, he had no spare attention for anything else.
Even the sword lights that swept through the air from time to time, falling unpredictably, required Lei Jun and the others to be vigilant and dodge to avoid being accidentally injured by their senior.
Lei Jun nodded slightly.
Without making any noticeable movements, his figure, like the night wind, silently moved away from Cangbo Mountain and towards the Shushan disciples.
The Shushan group was also considering their escape route at this time.
"Which way should we go? The north and south paths are blocked. We can't go up to the sky or down to the ground. We can only go east or west!" Zhao Gang exclaimed anxiously.
Lin Xinran remained calm. "Let's go west. Elder Ji may sense the situation here and come to support us. We should hurry and rendezvous with him."
"Okay, let's go west," Ji Chuan nodded, then looked towards the direction of Cangbo Mountain, "I don't see any trace of that Lei cultivator."
Zhao Gang snorted, "Who knows where that guy ran off to!"
"Let's bring him along," Ji Chuan took a deep breath, "He's new to Shu Land and might not be familiar with the terrain here. It's easy for him to get into trouble on his own."
Zhao Gang widened his eyes, "If we don't cause him trouble, that's enough. Why do we need to save him?!"
Ji Chuan said, "Let's look for him. Today's city gate fire caught him in its wake."
Zhao Gang remained stubborn, "If you want to go, then go. I'm not going!"
Lin Xinran tried to mediate, "It's good to have someone wait here. In case that Lei cultivator finds his way here, with Zhao here, he'll know to head towards the west side."
"Alright," Ji Chuan nodded, "Time is limited. Let's hurry!"
The two immediately set off in different directions to search for Lei Jun.
However, while Ji Chuan headed towards the Cangbo Mountain area, Lin Xinran did not go far.
After circling around, he returned to the west side.
Lin Xinran carefully dodged the falling demonic energy boulders and piercing sword lights from above.
He was also certain that as long as he didn't make any big moves, Elder He would be too focused on the battle to pay attention to anything else.
Lin Xinran had no intention of causing any major disturbances himself.
Even if something were to happen, it shouldn't be traced back to him.
But something had to happen—it was an opportunity too good to pass up.
After all, such opportunities were rare.
If they missed this chance today, they didn't know when the next one would arise.
Lei Jun.
A young genius from the Celestial Masters Mansion of Dragon and Tiger Mountain, who had risen to fame in recent years.
If Tang Xiaotang was the representative figure of the Celestial Masters Mansion's young cultivators in the last decade, then Lei Jun was undoubtedly the brightest star of this decade.
His death in Shu Land at the hands of a Shushan disciple would ensure that there would be no peace between the Shushan Sect and the Celestial Masters Mansion.
However, Lin Xinran couldn't be directly involved in this matter.
It couldn't even be a mysterious case with no leads.
It had nothing to do with individual cultivation strength.
It was because he was a descendant of the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou.
If something happened to Lei Jun and there were no other clues pointing to a clear culprit, people would naturally suspect him.
There had to be an obvious perpetrator.
Another Shushan disciple.
Zhao Gang or Ji Chuan would do.
As for the issue of strength, if either of them died at Lei Jun's hands, Lin Xinran would be equally satisfied with that outcome.
Ji Chuan would be best, but Zhao Gang would also suffice.
In any case, a Shushan disciple killing a Celestial Masters Mansion cultivator or the Celestial Masters Mansion taking revenge on a Shushan disciple—both results were desirable.
Even if Lei Jun simply perished in the natural disaster, it would be an acceptable outcome.
As long as he, Lin Xinran, a member of the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou, was not implicated.
Achieving this was not easy.
Fortunately, a heavenly opportunity had presented itself.
On the one hand, Elder He was temporarily occupied and couldn't spare any attention.
On the other hand, the abnormal movement of the earth veins and the widespread calamity made it easy to tamper with the scene.
Lin Xinran first avoided Zhao Gang, who was waiting outside the west side, and rushed to the west side to observe and confirm the environment.
The battle in the sky forced those leaving the west side to consider the terrain of the mountain.
While the west side was relatively stable, the tremors and collapsing mountains presented both safe and dangerous areas.
Having lived and cultivated in Shu Land for decades since his youth, Lin Xinran was relatively familiar with the terrain of the Bashu mountain ranges.
He quickly confirmed that in reality, there was only one mountain col and one valley on the west side that could be safely traversed.
In another area, the unstable terrain posed equal danger. One wrong step could lead to a collapse, triggering an eruption of earth qi that would transform into fierce gale-force winds. Even a cultivator with three days' worth of cultivation would risk having their body torn apart.
Lin Xinran immediately waved his hand.
The jade flute-shaped natal magic treasure at his waist flew out.
Lin Xinran played a melody on his jade flute, producing no noticeable sound.
Yet, invisible sound waves seemed to condense into substance and spread forward.
He quietly caused a small part of the mountain hollow ahead to collapse.
Although it wouldn't cause an immediate reaction, that area would likely crumble later, leading to fissures and an eruption of earth qi and gale-force winds.
Turning towards the nearby valley, Lin Xinran changed the tune he was playing.
Once again, invisible sound waves gathered and filled the valley.
An illusion formed, giving the impression of instability and impending collapse.
After setting everything in motion, Lin Xinran quietly left.
However, not long after his departure, the ground split open at a spot not far away.
As the spirit light-infused rubble dissipated, Lei Jun's tall figure was revealed.
He glanced calmly in the direction Lin Xinran had left in, guessing his intentions.
"Hmm, a troublemaker," Lei Jun nodded slightly.
Without saying much more, he didn't take any immediate action but instead turned and left.
Upon his quiet return to Cangbo Mountain, Lei Jun met up with Ji Chuan, who had been searching for him.
"Brother Lei?" The young Taoist priest called out as he saw him, "Come with me, we're evacuating from the west side!"
"Okay," Lei Jun agreed.
The two rushed to the west side, where they found Zhao Gang still waiting at the mountain pass, growing increasingly impatient.
"Where's Lin?" Ji Chuan asked.
Zhao Gang shook his head, "Haven't seen him return!"
He glanced at Lei Jun but didn't say much, only commenting, "Lin knows to head this way, so let's leave a message for him. He'll naturally come this way when he gets back."
With the ground shaking and mountains quaking, time was of the essence, so Ji Chuan could only nod in agreement, "Alright, let's go."
Lei Jun didn't say much and followed along.
In the distance, Lin Xinran's figure reappeared, a subtle smile on his face.
It would be good if Lei Jun died in the fissures and gale-force winds.
But if he didn't, and he suspected Ji Chuan and Zhao Gang of plotting against him, leading to a battle between them, that would be even better.
Even if Lei Jun and Ji Chuan could maintain restraint, Zhao Gang's temperament would likely cause him to lose control of his temper.
Whichever of the three killed the others would be a desirable outcome.
In the worst-case scenario, if none of the above came to pass, Lin Xinran wouldn't lose anything either.
…………
Lei Jun and the others reached the west side mountain pass and quickly surveyed the surrounding mountains for a safe path.
They quickly ruled out other dangerous areas.
Although they were unsure about the danger posed by the valley, it didn't seem very stable.
There was only one mountain hollow that appeared relatively safe for cultivators to dash through quickly.
"Wait, let's be cautious," Lei Jun said at this point.
He didn't pay attention to Zhao Gang and Ji Chuan's objections and directly threw a spirit talisman towards the mountain hollow.
It wasn't a particularly powerful offensive talisman but a basic one passed down by the Celestial Masters Mansion.
An Exorcism Talisman.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the Exorcism Talisman landed in the mountain hollow, the area began to shake violently.
Zhao Gang and Ji Chuan were left stunned.
With their backgrounds and experiences as members of Shushan, they knew that such a commotion couldn't be caused by a mere exorcism talisman but rather indicated that the mountain hollow had been unstable to begin with.
The mountain hollow shattered, fissures opened in the ground, and gale-force winds surged forth.
Lei Jun and the others immediately defended themselves or dodged the danger.
"Boom!"
Lei Jun threw a high-level Thunderous Might Talisman, and with the flash of lightning and thunder, he redirected the gale-force winds away from himself.
As the winds raged, the originally safe passage through the valley was now completely destroyed, regardless of what it had looked like before.
Ji Chuan and Zhao Gang, who had been unsure if they could pass through the valley safely, didn't feel any regret seeing its current state.
And on the other side...
Lin Xinran: "..."
Hiding on a nearby mountain peak, his hair was tousled by the wind.
Lei Jun and the others had avoided the trap he set in the mountain hollow, which only left him feeling slightly disappointed.
But now, seeing the safe passage he had prepared for himself destroyed, he felt a pang of regret.
This disciple of Shushan, hailing from the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou, had a firm will. Shaking his head, he quickly regained his composure.
Although it seemed like a stroke of blind luck, he wasn't sure if Lei Jun had done it intentionally.
In any case, no one could continue on the west side.
They would have to turn back towards the east side.
Even if it meant taking a longer route, it was better than forcing their way through the north and south fissures where gale-force winds raged.
Lin Xinran took one last look at Lei Jun before turning and hurrying away.
Ji Chuan and Zhao Gang came to the same conclusion, "Let's go, head back east!"
Lei Jun had mostly remained passive and kept a low profile, mainly to prevent Elder He Dongxing from noticing the juniors below.
Hearing Ji Chuan's suggestion, he didn't object and accompanied the two.
But after returning to Cangbo Mountain, Lei Jun pretended to have been injured by the gale-force winds, his spiritual energy disrupted, and his cultivation going awry. He had no choice but to sit down and adjust his breath.
Ji Chuan paused to look at him.
Zhao Gang didn't even turn his head and continued rushing forward.
PS: Third update for today, we've reached 10,000 characters with these three updates. Let's continue our efforts tomorrow, and please support the official release! Thank you very much!
(End of Chapter)
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