https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-138-137-Attaining-Sainthood-a-Second-Reincarnation-/12586488/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-140-139-Fellow-Apprentice-You-re-Impulsive-Again/12586490/
Chapter 139: What's a Good Name?
Chapter 139: What's a Good Name?
Lai Jun had been diligently cultivating peacefully during this period.
The task of taking care of the giant panda was entrusted to Wang Guiyuan and Chu Kun.
Fortunately, that lazy and greedy creature, despite its insatiable appetite, didn't cause any major trouble.
Yuan Mobai had specially brought some Upper Clarity Golden Bamboo from the Upper Clarity Lei Mansion Cave Heaven to feed it.
Without being tempered by the spiritual energy of Lai Jun and his master, the panda found these bamboo shoots much easier to digest.
Thus, it indulged to its heart's content.
Now, even if they tried to drive it away from Dragon and Tiger Mountain, it would find a way to sneak back.
However, this fellow's appetite was not only voracious but also picky.
After tasting the Upper Clarity Golden Bamboo, it started to turn its nose up at other spiritual plants, longing for the bamboo grove in the Cave Heaven day and night.
But the Upper Clarity Golden Bamboo was limited, and it couldn't be allowed to eat as much as it wanted.
So, the daily routine between the man and the bear once again became a game of wits.
Chu Kun, however, enjoyed the challenge.
His entertainment, aside from cultivation, was to find all sorts of different spiritual bamboo and pretend to feed it to the panda.
Sometimes, the panda would just sniff and refuse to take the bait.
Other times, the chubby bear would only realize it had been tricked halfway through chewing.
Chu Kun would be left laughing uncontrollably on the sidelines.
When Lai Jun emerged from his seclusion, the giant panda immediately shuffled over to him, its eyes rolling pitifully.
"Master, did you ever have days like this before you became human... Wait, no, I shouldn't be thinking in that direction." Lai Jun shook his head, amused, as he stopped his train of thought.
"Brother, now that I think about it, have you given it a name yet?" Chu Kun asked casually while fiddling with a bamboo stick in front of the panda.
The chubby bear, now wiser than ever, turned its head away, ignoring Chu Kun.
But perhaps feeling hungry, it soon stretched out its claw, snatched the bamboo stick, and began chewing on the tender leaves.
"Haven't thought of a good one yet. Let's just call it 'Gungun' for now," Lai Jun replied casually.
In fact, he had considered naming the panda 'Yuan Zai'.
However, since there was no blood relation to his master, he had to give up on that idea reluctantly.
As for its name, he would think of something later.
After all, the 'child' was still young.
Yes, despite its massive size, it was indeed still a cub, as confirmed by his fellow disciples and personally verified by Master Yuan Mobai.
Its enormous size was due to consuming spiritual objects in the Bashu Mountains.
This also meant that it had a good foundation, and when it truly embarked on the path of cultivation, it would be a genius.
Lai Jun imparted his Taoist methods to the panda, and although it seemed confused, it was very spiritual, making remarkable progress in its cultivation.
It might not take too many years to see results.
Of course, Lai Jun's focus in life was not just on raising pandas.
The most important thing was still his own cultivation.
Only by improving his cultivation could he do more of what he wanted.
For example, the world was so vast, and he wanted to explore it.
For example, the Taoistic arts were profound and infinite, and he wanted to learn and explore more.
And, for example, there were some people whom Lai Jun wished would disappear from this world...
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and now that he had made a good start, he cherished it.
In the following days, Lai Jun remained in the mountain gate, no longer venturing out, and focused on cultivating quietly.
With all four Yuan talismans in his possession and having reached the state of Yuan Talisman Perfection, Lai Jun's soul and spiritual power had greatly increased. He could now distribute his innate law and three techniques across the four Yuan talismans, making all his innate spells more agile and powerful.
The Yin-Yang Sacred Body's completion allowed Lai Jun to further deepen his accumulation.
The gateway from the Fourth Layer to the Fifth Layer seemed to be within reach, appearing illusorily before him.
He just needed to accumulate a little more to open that gateway.
At that time, a whole new world would unfold.
In theory, when a true disciple of the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion reached the Fifth Layer of the Dao Palace realm, they could go out and establish their own sect, branching out from the ancestral court.
Lai Jun had no such plans for the time being.
However, he looked forward to attaining the Fifth Layer of the Dao Palace realm.
On another note, if a cultivator reached the Fifth Layer, they would have the opportunity to receive additional registers.
Receiving additional registers was not merely a nominal honor or an improvement in daily treatment.
It directly affected whether a true disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion could access more profound Taoist methods.
However, receiving additional registers usually depended not only on the cultivator's realm but also on the number of years since their initial registration.
If the required number of years had not passed after the initial registration, additional registers would not be granted.
Of course, this was largely because cultivators' improvement in cultivation was not that rapid.
Most of the time, the number of years was sufficient, but the cultivator's realm had not yet reached the requirement.
In cases like Lai Jun's, there was a "backdoor" that was regular and compliant: those who had made extraordinary contributions to the sect and accumulated a great abundance of merit and virtue could receive additional registers in advance.
Lai Jun had some related considerations in this regard.
...For now, the Celestial Master's Seal could not be exposed.
Fortunately, Celestial Master Lai had other preparations.
There was no need to rush, and he could focus on his own cultivation for the time being... Lai Jun calmed his mind and continued to cultivate diligently.
When one was wholly focused, time always flew by unnoticed.
In the blink of an eye, another new year had passed.
Lai Jun finally celebrated the new year at his own mountain gate again.
He was now twenty-nine years old.
He had been in this world for more than a decade.
On the 15th of January of the new year, the Celestial Master's Mansion would hold a new session of the Transmission Degree Ceremony.
However, this incident had little to do with Lei Jun this time around.
Not only him, but even Master Yuan Mobai wouldn't be too busy this year, neither presiding over nor instructing at the ceremony.
Master Yuan would only be attending as a recommending master.
Lei Jun and his two fellow disciples just needed to be present as spectators.
The ceremony itself was also relatively peaceful and smooth, without any hiccups.
The Celestial Master's Mansion finally welcomed a period of calm, a time to recuperate and rebuild.
On the contrary, the outside world was anything but peaceful.
Amidst the colorful celebrations, the new emperor's ascension was fraught with underlying turmoil and fierce undercurrents.
Lei Jun heard rumors within Dragon and Tiger Mountain that it took about half a year for the situation in the capital to calm down somewhat.
But it was still far from settled.
With the capital as the epicenter, the raging waves would soon spread to the local regions, causing the entire Tang Dynasty to continue in turmoil.
Only after continuous struggles for power would a new balance emerge.
Although the previous emperor had left a will, it was inevitable that there would be turbulence during the transition of power to the new emperor.
For now, Dragon and Tiger Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion seemed to be much calmer.
But one could guess that the previous emperor's passing and the new emperor's ascension would also affect Dragon and Tiger Mountain.
Especially since the Li family had recently adjusted their strategy, leaning more towards the imperial court.
Who would have thought that such a thing would happen to Emperor Zhang Qilong?
From Li Ziyang down to Li Xuan and the other Li family disciples, they were all struck dumbfounded by this unexpected turn of events.
If the Li family didn't want their earlier investments to go to waste, they had to proceed with caution from now on.
As far as Lei Jun knew, Li Ziyang had personally gone to the capital before and after the new emperor's ascension.
The specific outcome was still unknown at the moment, and one would have to wait and see.
However, right after the new year, a malicious incident occurred.
Li Zhenchang, a disciple of the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion and a member of the Li clan, had died during his travels outside the mountain.
Not only was the Li clan shaken, but the entire Celestial Master's Mansion was also paying attention to this matter.
Li Zhenchang was not only an outstanding member of the younger generation of the Li family, but he had also received the sacred talisman from the Celestial Master's Mansion and was considered a top candidate among his peers.
The Celestial Master would naturally not sit idly by when such a true disciple perished.
Immediately, a senior elder of the mansion embarked on an investigation.
"According to Li Shidi's talisman response, it wasn't an accident, but an assassination. However, the identity of the murderer is still unclear," Wang Guiyuan sighed as he discussed the matter with Lei Jun.
Two years ago, Li Zhenchang successfully passed the sacred talisman ceremony.
One could say that he had finally tasted the sweetness of success after enduring bitterness.
He had been qualified to participate in the sacred talisman ceremony long ago, but due to the previous Celestial Master Li Qingfeng's seclusion, he had been unable to do so.
Unfortunately, after receiving the sacred talisman, Li Zhenchang encountered some obstacles in his cultivation and lacked the confidence to challenge the tribulation between the Third Layer and the Fourth Layer.
Hence, Li Zhenchang decided to travel abroad to broaden his horizons and adjust his state of mind.
He hoped that after returning to the mountain, he would be able to form the Yuan talisman and cultivate to the Fourth Layer.
Who would have thought that he would never return?
Lei Jun recalled the past when he had interacted with Li Zhenchang.
Strictly speaking, Li Zhenchang was not very low-key among the Li family disciples, and he did have a bit of an arrogant air about him.
However, Li Zhenchang never displayed his arrogance towards Lei Jun. During their brief interactions, this senior martial brother had always been relatively amiable.
Out of gratitude for Lei Jun saving his life, he had even given Lei Jun a nine-turn stone as a gift.
Lei Jun had already consumed the nine-turn stone a long time ago.
And now, the gift-giver was gone.
"Some suspect that it was... Chen Yi who did it," Wang Guiyuan said slowly.
Lei Jun: "I heard that Chen Yi really joined the Demon Guard and even participated in the Western Regions War."
Wang Guiyuan nodded: "Indeed, a senior member of the Demon Guard highly appreciated him and promoted him twice, breaking the rules."
Lei Jun nodded in response.
That was why Li Xuan had never found an opportunity to make a move.
It was unclear if Chen Yi had taken this opportunity to turn the tables on Li Zhenchang.
The grudge between Chen Yi and the Li family disciples had started with Li Zhenchang.
Chen Yi's betrayal of his master had nothing to do with Li Zhenchang personally.
But if Chen Yi held a grudge, Li Zhenchang would undoubtedly be at the top of his list.
As for the truth, let's wait for the elders of the mansion to investigate.
Li Xuan would definitely not sit idly by regarding the Demon Guard.
What surprised Lei Jun was what happened next.
Chu Andong, a fellow disciple who shared the same master as Li Zhenchang, had also met with an accident recently.
However, he hadn't been attacked during his travels.
Chu Andong had been staying peacefully on Dragon and Tiger Mountain.
His problem was that he had failed in his attempt to breakthrough from the Third Layer to the Fourth Layer.
Fortunately, he hadn't died on the spot but had barely managed to cling to life.
Nevertheless, his path of cultivation was essentially over.
Upon hearing this news, Lei Jun fell silent for a moment.
Chu Andong was also considered a top candidate, just like Li Zhenchang, and had always been valued by the senior members of the sect.
Who would have thought that he would encounter such a calamity?
No wonder many people dared not challenge the tribulations between great realms throughout their lives.
At this moment, Lei Jun couldn't help but worry about his other acquaintances, such as Luo Hanran and Xia Qing, who were also in seclusion, pushing their limits.
PS1: Today, there will be three more chapters totaling 10,000 characters. Let's continue to work hard tomorrow.
PS2: Regarding the name of this little panda, it will have its own grand name in the future, but for now, it needs a cute nickname. Any suggestions? Feel free to leave your ideas in the comments.
(End of Chapter)
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