Chapter 196: 195. We Are Professionally Trained, We Will Never Laugh

Chapter 196: 195. We Are Professionally Trained, We Will Never Laugh

As the Jinzhou Ye Clan and the experts from Jinchenghai searched for Lei Jun and his master near Chaoyang Peak, Lei Jun was...

Studying his own pill furnace.

Having left the Southern Wasteland early, the master and disciple did not return directly to the mountain gate to avoid revealing their whereabouts.

Amidst the lush green mountains and clear waters, Lei Jun cultivated calmly. Although the spiritual energy here was not as abundant as in the ancestral hall of Longhushan, Lei Jun remained focused.

Regarding the impending events in the Southern Wasteland, Lei Jun awaited news with anticipation but without worry, continuing his routine with a sense of detachment.

Apart from his personal cultivation, he sought further guidance from his master, Yuan Mobai, in the art of pill refining.

"The Lei Heart Furnace, though distinct from the commonly used Water and Fire Yin-Yang Furnace, still employs similar fundamental techniques," Yuan Mobai smiled as he instructed his disciple.

Speaking of which, what he admired and valued most about Lei Jun was not his enhanced understanding or his Yin-Yang Sacred Body, which were products of his later cultivation.

Yuan Mobai appreciated Lei Jun's unwaveringly calm and steadfast mental state above all else.

"Of course, compared to flying and extracting, when using the Lei Heart Furnace for pill refining, your techniques should focus mainly on suppressing and pinpointing, with flying and extracting as supplementary methods," Yuan Mobai advised.

Lei Jun listened attentively to his master's guidance while intently observing his Lei Heart Furnace before him, his expression focused.

Flying, extracting, pinpointing, and suppressing were all common techniques used by Daoist cultivators in this world when refining pills.

Flying, akin to the graceful flight of a bird, could be likened to the sublimation process where a solid directly transforms into a gas, as Lei Jun would have described it in his past life on Blue Star. It was also known as dry distillation.

Naturally, the specifics varied depending on the raw materials used for pill refining, introducing further nuances to the process.

Lei Jun had initially come into contact with similar techniques during his time as a Daoist apprentice when he was tasked with assisting in the production of talisman ink at the Fumo Pavilion.

In addition to the basic dry flying technique, there was also the water flying method.

Extracting, on the other hand, was similar to the distillation process Lei Jun was familiar with from his past life on Blue Star, with the primary difference between flying being the distinction between dry and wet distillation.

As the refinement of pills became increasingly intricate and aimed for higher quality, the corresponding techniques also underwent constant refinement and improvement.

Most pill formulas were not merely lists of raw materials but included intricate details on the refining process and corresponding techniques. This was why restoring incomplete formulas was exceptionally challenging, and even with a finished pill, reverse-engineering the formula was often difficult due to these complexities.

Lei Jun's Lei Heart Furnace differed from the typical Water and Fire Yin-Yang Furnace in that it could also utilize extracting and flying techniques, although they were not the primary means of operation.

When using the Lei Heart Furnace for pill refining, Lei Jun mostly employed suppressing and pinpointing techniques.

Suppression, in general terms, referred to influencing the raw materials from the outside in, making changes from a holistic perspective within the furnace.

The commonly mentioned technique of suppressing fire in pill refining originated from this concept.

As for pinpointing, it worked from the inside out, starting with subtle adjustments that led to transformations in the raw materials.

The Lei Heart Furnace, with its Yin-Yang pivot, operated both internally and externally, differing significantly from the Water and Fire Cauldron Furnace but possessing its unique intricacies.

As for the concepts of "opening up" and "solidifying," they were universally understood.

The former was self-explanatory, while the latter, according to Lei Jun's understanding, referred to sealing and closure.

Beyond the basic techniques of flying, extracting, suppressing, and pinpointing, the next level was transformation.

Pill names like Nine Transformations and Seven Transformations originated from this process.

In Lei Jun's past life on Blue Star, it would be equivalent to further refining the substance.

Completing a full set of procedures could be considered one transformation.

The second round would then be called the second transformation, and so on.

For the majority of pills, the risk of failure increased with the number of transformations.

Over the past two years, Lei Jun had studied diligently under Yuan Mobai and gained a preliminary understanding of pill refining techniques.

He had privately attempted to refine Clarity Pills and Sky Origin Blue Vision Pills, with varying degrees of success. However, the quality of the resulting pills still needed improvement.

What brought Elder Lei comfort was that, despite his efforts, he had not blown up a furnace yet.

Currently, away from the mountain and with limited resources, Lei Jun could only continue to familiarize himself with and practice these techniques.

He would have to wait until he returned to the mountain to officially start pill refining again, either in the Grand Pill Refinery or his private residence.

"Oh? We have news," Yuan Mobai said as he took out a thousand-mile sound-transmitting talisman.

After waiting for several days without any movement, Lei Jun had assumed that their adversaries had not ventured into the eastern segment of the Great Nan Mountain Range, which included Chaoyang Peak.

Or perhaps, with the passage of time, the threat posed at Chaoyang Peak had already disappeared.

"The day before yesterday, a major battle took place in the eastern segment of the Great Nan Mountain Range, including Chaoyang Peak, resulting in the collapse and destruction of a vast expanse of mountains."

A rare look of surprise appeared on Yuan Mobai's face as he said, "The combatants... were the Blood River Sect's leader, Wei Ancheng, against Ye Han from the Jinzhou Ye Clan and Gao Pu from the Golden City Fortress in the Southern Wasteland?"

Lei Jun: "The leader of the Blood River Sect, Wei Ancheng?"

The surprise on Yuan Mobai's face faded as he slowly nodded, "It's unlikely to be wrong. It's said that during the battle, the blood qi shrouded the sky, slaughtering indiscriminately and affecting a wide area. Apart from Wei Ancheng, no other member of the Blood River Sect could have achieved this."

He added, "Judging from the bloody and baleful aura lingering at the site, Wei Ancheng's cultivation has likely advanced further... A Blood River expert at the Ninth Heaven Realm has reappeared in the world."

Lei Jun: "After numerous bloody battles, personally killing several experts, including Abbot Lianyuan of Bodhi Temple, and then consolidating his gains over the past three years, has his accumulation finally reached the threshold?"

Yuan Mobai: "It should be so. Otherwise, Ye Han and Gao Pu wouldn't have been so disheveled."

Ye Han, a top expert among the younger generation of the Jinzhou Ye Clan, was an Eighth Heaven Realm scholar, a pillar of the Jinzhou Ye Clan, second only to his older brother Ye Wei among his peers.

Gao Pu was even more formidable, being the second-strongest expert of the Golden City Fortress, a sacred site of the Ghost Dao lineage of the Wu Clan in the Southern Wasteland. He was an Eighth Heaven Realm Grand Shaman, second only to the current Holy Master of the Golden City Fortress.

Moreover, the strength of the Golden City Fortress experts in actual combat depended on the evil souls and walking corpses under their control.

Given Gao Pu's accumulation, his true combat capabilities should be assessed highly.

"The specific details and outcome of this battle are still unclear for now.

Yuan Mobai said, "Let's wait a little longer. More details should emerge soon."

As expected, news traveled fast.

Although some tried to suppress the information, the involvement of many individuals made it challenging to keep everything under wraps.

Soon, Lei Jun and his master, Yuan Mobai, pieced together what had transpired in the Great Nan Mountains.

The latest update revealed that Ye Han from the Jinzhou Ye Clan and Gao Pu from the Golden City Fortress in the Southern Wasteland had ventured to the eastern segment of the Great Nan Mountains, including Chaoyang Peak, for unknown reasons.

And coincidentally, Wei Ancheng, the leader of the Blood River Sect, was in seclusion at Chaoyang Peak, the main peak of the eastern section of the Great Nan Mountains.

Over three years ago, during the great battle in Youzhou in the North, Wei Ancheng had directly caused the death of Abbot Lianyuan of Bodhi Temple.

After that, Wei Ancheng disappeared once again, his whereabouts unknown.

For those three years, many people, overtly or covertly, had been searching for Wei Ancheng, but to no avail.

Ye Han and Gao Pu's luck was both good and bad.

They had somehow stumbled upon Wei Ancheng's secluded cultivation site.

But their luck didn't hold.

By the time they arrived, Wei Ancheng had already successfully broken through to a higher realm and was residing in Chaoyang Peak to recuperate.

And so, with the reemergence of the Blood River, new sacrifices were made.

"Out of everyone present, only two managed to escape with their lives; the rest perished," Yuan Mobai said.

During the internal strife in Longhushan, Cao Chu, a seventh-heaven elder from the Golden City Fortress who had attempted to take advantage of the situation, had died on the spot.

Gao Pu, an eighth-heaven elder from the same sect, was severely injured, losing almost all the evil souls and walking corpses under his control. It was only through sheer luck that he managed to escape with his life.

Ye Han, also an eighth-heaven cultivator and a top scholar among the younger generation of the Jinzhou Ye Clan, was badly wounded as well. She could only be grateful that Gao Pu was with her.

With Wei Ancheng's significant advancement in cultivation and his reemergence, the Blood River Sect's edge was now pointed towards the South Wilderness.

With a new ninth-heaven expert in their ranks, the Wu Clan's Ghost Dao lineage had a chance to reunify.

Both a setup and a warning, Wei Ancheng's move this time seemed primarily focused on the Golden City Fortress.

Fortunately, Gao Pu, a powerful cultivator from the Ghost Dao lineage, possessed a unique secret technique for rebirth, sparing him from death at the hands of Wei Ancheng, though he still faced pursuit.

Compared to Gao Pu, Ye Han, an eighth-heaven grand scholar, had her own strengths, but her means of self-preservation were undoubtedly inferior.

If she had been the one facing Wei Ancheng's pursuit, the outcome would have been unpredictable.

However, while Ye Han managed to survive the Chaoyang Peak incident, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the Ye Clan.

Setting aside the others, Ye Lingxi, also known as Water Phoenix, had her wings clipped in the South Wilderness.

In recent years, Ye Lingxi, hailed as the number one genius of Jinzhou, was one of the most outstanding descendants of the younger generation of the Jinzhou Ye Clan. Together with the eldest grandson, Ye Feishan, they were known as the "Mountain Phoenix and Water Phoenix." At not yet a hundred years of age, she had cultivated to the seventh heaven realm and was always at the forefront when compared to the other geniuses of the Jinzhou Ye Clan and other forces.

Who would have thought that this time, they would run straight into Wei Ancheng, who had emerged from seclusion? The new genius had her wings clipped by the bloody butcher knife of the old genius.

Ye Han couldn't save her daughter, and she herself barely escaped with her life, suffering severe injuries.

Speaking of which, there were quite a few speculations circulating in the Central Plains of the Great Tang Dynasty about what the two generations of genius women from the Ye Clan in Jinzhou were doing in the South Wilderness.

"It seems the earlier news about the main peak of the western segment of the Great Nan Mountains, Gu Chengling, was accurate," Lei Jun said to his master, Yuan Mobai, as they discussed the matter. "There really was a trap set up by the Jinzhou Ye Clan and the Golden City Fortress."

Yuan Mobai nodded slightly. "Even if Ye Han and her daughter had the intention of borrowing a knife to kill, they wouldn't have taken action personally at first. There were at least Gao Pu and Cao Chu there. Indeed, it was a dangerous trap."

Lei Jun deeply agreed.

No wonder even accompanying his master, Yuan Mobai, he had still drawn a risky lot that offered a slim chance of survival.

Of course, compared to the eastern side of the Great Nan Mountains, there was no need to say more about Chaoyang Peak.

They had run straight into Wei Ancheng, a ninth-heaven cultivator who had emerged from seclusion.

Regardless of Yuan Mobai's outcome, he definitely couldn't protect his disciple, who was only at the third heaven realm.

The worst possible lot, indeed, left no room for survival.

As for the argument that the Heavenly Master's Mansion and the Blood River Sect didn't have as deep-rooted a grudge as they did with the Golden City Fortress... If they could reason with the Blood River Sect experts, Abbot Lianyuan of Bodhi Temple might not have passed away.

"The news from the east is uncertain. We thought it was a great demon at first," Lei Jun said calmly. "Who would have thought it was Wei Ancheng?"

Yuan Mobai smiled. "There are some discrepancies, but it's already good enough. There's no need to be overly critical."

"You're right, Master," Lei Jun agreed.

For him, as long as the threats in the eastern and western segments of the Great Nan Mountains weren't from the same group and had no communication, that was enough.

If the Jinzhou Ye Clan and the Golden City Fortress didn't pursue them, then so be it.

As long as they also followed to the eastern segment of the Great Nan Mountains and Chaoyang Peak, they would receive the gift Lei Jun had prepared for them.

As Yuan Mobai said, neither master nor disciple sought perfection. They had left the South Wilderness early on.

They didn't stay to watch the show, nor did they consider waiting on the sidelines to strike.

They let nature take its course, leaving the future open.

The vortex had already formed, and the rest was up to Wei Ancheng and the Jinzhou Ye Clan to continue playing.

Lei Jun and his master had already withdrawn to the shore.

News of their appearance in the Great Nan Mountains, along with the Heavenly Master's Robe, would naturally spread to some extent, but the limelight was completely stolen by Wei Ancheng, the leader of the Blood River Sect, who had reappeared and unleashed a slaughter.

They were always being schemed against by the Jinzhou Ye Clan, so was this their payback? No, no, how could that be?

Elder Lei hadn't done anything. He had just accompanied his master to hear about the Heavenly Master's Robe, so they went to retrieve their family's treasure.

Who would have thought that Wei Ancheng, a killing god, would be there? Thanks to the protection of their ancestors, he and his master had narrowly escaped death, and even now, they shuddered at the thought.

Together with their fellow cultivators from the Central Plains, they strongly condemned the demon for his indiscriminate slaughter of innocents... Pfft! No, no, we won't laugh.

We are professionally trained and will only express our deepest condolences and regrets to the deceased.

"May the deceased rest in peace."

"It's a pity that with just the clue in your hands, our sect still isn't enough to retrieve the Heavenly Master's Robe."

Yuan Mobai said, "We can only continue to be vigilant from now on."

Lei Jun looked at the colorful flowing lights and said, "Yes..."

............

In the northern land of Jinzhou, the ancestral land of the Ye Clan.

After several days, the old man slowly walked out from the back courtyard.

His eldest son, Ye Wei, and the Ye Clan's high-level members waited respectfully outside.

"Father..." Ye Wei asked softly, "How is my second sister?"

The old man said, "Her life is no longer in danger, but her injuries are severe, and she still needs to rest."

Ye Wei took a deep breath and said, "It's just a pity about Lingxi..."

The old man's face showed a hint of sadness, and he remained silent.

Ye Wei said, "I should have gone south with my second sister."

The old man said, "If we're talking about regrets, I should have advised them more, mother and daughter, not to be impulsive. Why would I let them take such a risk?"

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky, "I blame no one. In the past, I was also negligent."

Ye Han's plan, made together with the Golden City Fortress of the Wu Clan's Ghost Dao lineage in the Southern Wasteland, was something he didn't expect to succeed.

However, he had to admit that he also didn't expect Wei Ancheng of the Blood River Sect to be in the Great Nan Mountains.

As a result, Ye Han and her daughter had blundered into him, leading to the current tragedy.

The Jinzhou Ye Clan hadn't lost a high-level expert in many years.

And Ye Lingxi was an exceptional talent whose potential remained untapped.

Such promising individuals were rare even among the vast resources of the Jinzhou Ye Clan.

"Where are Yuan Mobai and Lei Jun, master and disciple?" The old man calmed his mind and regained his composure.

Ye Wei, standing beside him, replied, "They appeared in the southeast region. It's said that they returned from the Southern Wasteland and are now heading back to Longhushan."

He frowned and asked, "Is there a connection between the Heavenly Master's Mansion and the Blood River Sect?"

The old man said, "If it were someone else, I would think that the Heavenly Master's Mansion turned the tables on them, repaying them in their own coin. But with Wei Ancheng..."

Wei Ancheng would never trust the Heavenly Master's Mansion wholeheartedly and collaborate with them.

Even the Blood River Sect's own high-ranking members didn't know where Wei Ancheng had been hiding to cultivate.

If not for this, there wouldn't have been complete silence, only for his emergence to shock the world.

Ye Wei's expression turned ugly. "Yuan Mobai and Lei Jun are so lucky!"

The old man remained silent for a moment before asking, "Did they find the Heavenly Master's Robe?"

Ye Wei replied, "My second sister and the people from the Golden City Fortress only received information about the colorful radiance related to the Heavenly Master's Robe appearing in the eastern segment of the Great Nan Mountains, but they couldn't confirm if it was the robe itself. We also don't know the specifics of Yuan Mobai and his disciple's findings."

The old man nodded without saying anything, looking up at the sky again.

Ye Wei asked, "Father, what should we do about the Heavenly Master's Mansion and the Blood River Sect now?"

The old man asked, "Is there any new news from the Southern Wasteland?"

Ye Wei replied, "Yes. Wei Ancheng chased Gao Pu back to the Golden City Fortress. Now, he's gathering the Blood River Sect's experts to launch an attack on the fortress. After his breakthrough, he intends to start consolidating his power in the Southern Wasteland!"

The Southern Wasteland was in turmoil, with slaughter and strife everywhere.

Historically, there had been a few times when the various forces united.

Without exception, this occurred when an overwhelmingly powerful individual emerged to dominate the region. However, such unity rarely lasted long.

Now, the Southern Wasteland's Wu Clan's Ghost Dao lineage had produced another expert at the Ninth Heaven Realm.

It seemed that Wei Ancheng and the Blood River Sect intended to bring the other forces in the Southern Wasteland under their control.

Those who didn't submit would be slaughtered.

In a sense, for the Blood River Sect, slaughter was also a way to consolidate power...

"Whether it's luck or a scheme, today's events only reinforce my belief that the Heavenly Master's Mansion is experiencing a revival."

The old man said, "Keep a close eye on the Heavenly Master's Mansion. Don't relax your guard, but don't be as reckless and impulsive as your sister."

"Yes, Father..." Ye Wei replied.

The old man said, "As for Wei Ancheng, he has too many enemies. He can't kill them all."

Mentioning the murderer who had killed his granddaughter and severely injured his daughter, the old man showed little emotion. "Let's wait for the dust to settle in the capital and beyond the passes."

"Yes, Father." Ye Wei asked softly, "Will there be a result in the capital soon?"

The old man said, "It will come to a temporary conclusion."

He instructed Ye Wei and the others, "Make preparations. After we deal with Lingxi's funeral, I will go out to Qingzhou and Youzhou."

............

The Southern Wasteland was in turmoil.

But in Xinzhou, the clouds were light and the wind was gentle.

Lei Jun and his master, Yuan Mobai, strolled back to Longhushan.

Of course, they played their parts to the end.

Though they felt relieved, they put on a display of lingering fear.

Yaoyuan and Shangguan Ning comforted them, "It's good that you're safe. Let the Blood River Sect, the Jinzhou Ye Clan, and the Golden City Fortress deal with each other. For now, our sect should focus on recuperation. We can look for the Heavenly Master's Seal and Robe another time."

Tang Xiaotang, on the other hand, was eager to hear the details and pulled Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai to ask about their experiences.

For the Heavenly Master's Mansion, it was a little disappointing that they hadn't found more information about the Heavenly Master's Robe on this trip.

However, they were pleased that their rivals, the Jinzhou Ye Clan, had lost two Upper Realm experts, Ye Lingxi and Cao Chu, while they had gained one, Lei Jun.

"It would have been even better if Ye Han and Gao Pu had also perished," Chu Kun said to his junior sect brother, Lei Jun.

Lei Jun said, "Wei Ancheng has just reached the Ninth Heaven Realm, and Ye Han and Gao Pu are at the Eighth Heaven Realm. If they hadn't been caught off guard, they would have performed better. Now, we can just sit back and watch the show."

Even if they couldn't completely stay out of it, they could borrow Master Yuan Mobai's old saying:

There was still a long way to go.

Chu Kun nodded, "You're right, senior sect brother."

Lei Jun said, "After I returned, I checked the records in the Edict Pavilion. You've been coming here often to browse the collection. Is there anything I can help you with?"

　PS: 5k chapter

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end