https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-3-3-Consecutive-Cultivation-Advancement/12586103/
Chapter 2: Choosing One's Fate, Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity
Chapter 2: Choosing One's Fate, Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Calamity
Here it comes, but unfortunately, I didn't get the best fortune this time either..." Lei Jun read his fortune slip.
Although the descriptions on the three fortune slips were somewhat vague, Lei Jun calmly chose the second-best option once again.
This was the third time he had gone through something like this.
Drawing lots, between fortune and calamity, the outcome was clear.
The first time Lei Jun drew a lot was right after he had transmigrated. Four fortune slips flew out of the light sphere: second-best, medium, second-worst, and worst.
Second-best: A smooth journey with no surprises, gain a second-grade opportunity, auspicious.
Medium: Escape current difficulties but may have future troubles, no other gains, neutral.
Second-worst: Gain a fifth-grade opportunity but full of dangers, life and death beyond one's control, inauspicious.
Worst: Walking into death, certain doom, extremely inauspicious!
Lei Jun chose to follow the path of the second-best fortune slip. He successfully obtained the second-grade opportunity, not only escaping the predicament he found himself in after transmigrating but also ending up in Longhu Mountain's Heavenly Master's Mansion, the sacred land of Taoism.
Looking back, he realized that the path indicated by the worst fortune slip would have indeed led to his immediate death upon transmigration.
The second-worst slip could have also cost him his life.
The second time he drew a lot was after he had entered the Taoist academy of the Heavenly Master's Mansion.
There were fewer options this time, only medium and second-worst.
Strictly speaking, neither of them was particularly good.
However, Lei Jun, who chose to act according to the medium fortune slip, successfully avoided the pitfalls of the second-worst option.
Today was the third time.
The fortunes on the slips were always somewhat vague, but by comparing and summarizing them, Lei Jun gradually got a sense of them.
The worst slip, extremely inauspicious, spoke for itself—it basically meant certain death, whether one gained anything or not, they wouldn't live to enjoy it.
The second-worst, inauspicious, meant that the disadvantages far outweighed the advantages, or that there were only disadvantages and no advantages at all. The dangers and difficulties were not as extreme as the worst slip, but it wasn't entirely hopeless.
The medium slip, neutral, meant that there would be a mix of good and bad, or it could be uneventful, smooth sailing with no surprises but also no great blessings or misfortunes.
The second-best, auspicious, suggested the possibility of a great opportunity with minor risks and potential future troubles. Overall, the gains outweighed the losses. It could also mean a smooth journey with some gains, although the rewards might not be as remarkable.
As for the best fortune slip that Lei Jun had never seen, it should be a path of great fortune, with good omens and no risks, resulting in abundant gains.
This time, Lei Jun still didn't get the best slip. He chose the second-best option again.
He wouldn't participate in Elder Du's selection.
As Lei Jun read his fortune, the other young Taoist disciples around him began to rush out.
"Brother Lei?" Seeing that Lei Jun hadn't moved, one of them stopped and turned to ask.
Lei Jun replied, "There's still work to be done in this building. I should finish what I started. I'll go after I've completed today's quota."
"This opportunity doesn't come often. Go and participate in the selection first. If you're not chosen, you can always come back later to cut more talismans," advised several disciples.
Lei Jun thought for a moment and decided to give them a reminder. "Our masters and elders examine our progress and temperament on a daily basis. This consistency, this ability to remain unaffected by temporary changes, might be one of the qualities they value."
"What you say makes sense. But let's still go and try our luck with Elder Du first," said the boys as they waved goodbye and hurried towards the front yard.
Lei Jun watched them leave before turning back to continue his task.
Only after finishing his assigned work for the day in the Talisman Hall did he step out.
Lei Jun looked up at the sky and casually inquired about Elder Du's selection process.
Elder Du's selection wasn't limited to the Sixth Taoist Academy; it was open to disciples from all the Taoist academies.
The selection site was also located in a separate cave mansion in the mountains, a private residence established by Elder Du himself.
The second-worst fortune, inauspicious... Could it be that there's hidden danger in seeking familiarity with Elder Du and receiving welfare from him?
Could it be that Elder Du intends to conduct some dangerous experiment on the disciples of his Heavenly Master's Mansion?
Lei Jun walked towards the residence.
However, he had only gone halfway when he suddenly saw a flash in the mountains.
Then came a loud thunderous explosion.
The ground shook, causing Lei Jun to stagger.
He looked up and saw that above Elder Du's residence, there were countless bolts of thunderous fire surging into the sky.
In the sky above the Heavenly Master's Mansion, numerous talismans made of radiant light converged and formed an array, suppressing the explosive thunderous light.
The thunderous light changed direction and scattered in all directions.
One of the bolts struck another location among the mountains.
This caused a large patch of golden light to rise into the sky and spread in the air like fireworks.
"First, Elder Du's residence, and now Lingzhi Terrace?"
Lei Jun roughly determined the direction.
The medium fortune slip mentioned Lingzhi Terrace, which was a spiritual vein that had been in the possession of the Heavenly Master's Mansion since its founding. With the nourishment of spiritual energy, precious Lingzhi mushrooms that emitted flowing light would occasionally grow there.
These Lingzhi mushrooms could be refined into pills or consumed directly, aiding cultivation in countless ways.
But many years ago, due to some changes, Lingzhi Terrace was affected and destroyed.
Fortunately, in the present day, the spiritual energy in various places is denser than before, and cultivation is ushering in a boom.
Although it was a pity that Lingzhi Terrace was destroyed, the Heavenly Master's Mansion, as a sacred site for the Taoist sect, remained unscathed. They continued to develop and occupy new cultivation treasures and blessed lands with spiritual veins.
As for the destruction of Lingzhi Terrace itself, it had happened several years ago, so few people visited it nowadays.
After Elder Du's altar exploded, there would be a sixth-grade opportunity there? Lei Jun pondered as he continued on his way to Elder Du's cave mansion without stopping.
A fifth-grade opportunity was better than a sixth-grade one.
When he arrived at the cave mansion, the place was already in ruins, with charred black marks everywhere.
Many young Taoist disciples in gray robes lay unconscious on the ground.
Some of the disciples who were closer to the outskirts were in slightly better condition, but they were still covered in soot and trembling, their faces filled with terror.
"What happened?" Lei Jun asked as he grabbed a familiar Sixth Academy disciple.
The other boy immediately poured out his woes when he saw Lei Jun, "Brother Lei? Ah, don't mention it, Elder Du's altar exploded!"
The young disciple looked back at the exploded cave mansion with lingering fear, "I heard someone died, from the Second and Fifth Academies, and there are even more injured.
Brother Zhang from our Sixth Academy was the one who squeezed to the front, so he got the worst of it. Several others were also injured.
They were just taken away for treatment, and I don't know how they're doing now..."
The young disciple was still terrified.
More people gradually gathered nearby, and panic spread as they beheld the tragic state of the cave mansion.
"Everyone, don't gather here," someone spoke up at that moment.
Everyone turned to see a young man in yellow approaching from a distance.
The young man appeared to be around the same age as the group of young disciples.
However, unlike the disciples who wore gray robes, this young man donned an apricot-yellow Daoist robe and a Daoist headscarf. He was already an initiated true disciple of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, having undergone the transmission of the Dao, and thus, a Daoist rather than a disciple.
In addition to him, several other yellow-robed Daoists arrived one after another.
"Today's incident was purely accidental and has nothing to do with any of you. Everyone, please don't worry. First, help treat the injured fellow disciples, and later, the mansion will take care of everything," the young Daoist said gently.
The disciples immediately obeyed, "Yes, Daoist Master."
Within the Daoist Academy, everyone called each other "brother" to be polite and friendly, and they usually attended the same lectures and classes together.
Although the yellow-robed Daoist before them was of the same age, he had his own master and generation, so the group of disciples didn't dare to call him "brother" casually.
No matter how young a Daoist was, when he gave orders, the disciples could only obey.
Lei Jun and some of the uninjured disciples immediately began to treat the wounded.
They started their search for injured companions near the cave mansion and gradually expanded their search perimeter, looking for any fellow disciples who might have been thrown far away by the explosion.
Lei Jun searched for a while in the mountains, treated two injured young disciples, sent them back to a flat area for rest, and then continued his search.
As he continued his search, he didn't find anyone else, but behind a cluster of rocks, he discovered a faint glow.
Lei Jun's heart stirred, and he drew closer to investigate.
The faint glow consisted of intertwined strands of purple-gold radiance and a hint of azure light.
The azure light resembled lightning, and because it was intertwined with the purple-gold radiance, it miraculously lasted for a long time without dissipating.
However, as it gradually consumed itself, the azure lightning faded away, leaving only the purple-gold radiance, from which a dense spiritual energy began to emanate.
Lei Jun reached out and gently touched it.
In mid-air, the purple-gold radiance suddenly wove itself into a illusory spirit herb.
In the next moment, the illusory spirit herb merged into Lei Jun's body.
Only a lingering fragrance and abundant spiritual energy remained in the air, making one feel refreshed.
Lei Jun didn't need to cultivate or refine it separately; at that moment, he could feel his meridians opening up, and the true qi in his dantian was more vibrant than before.
He calmed his emotions and left the area.
With the presence of those initiated true disciples of the Heavenly Master's Mansion coordinating the handling of the incident, the turmoil gradually subsided.
As long as they weren't injured, the disciples even attended their evening classes as usual.
Of course, they couldn't help but discuss the incident privately.
Lei Jun remained calm and returned to his residence after the evening class.
The Heavenly Master's Mansion was different from other places; while it didn't encourage its disciples to seek comfort, it also didn't skimp on providing places for quiet cultivation.
Even the disciples had their own private courtyards and residences, but they had to live alone and couldn't arrange for family members or servants to live with them.
In his quiet room, Lei Jun sat cross-legged and silently cultivated, breathing in and out.
As he examined his body, he noticed strands of golden light appearing from his limbs and bones.
As Lei Jun breathed and cultivated, these golden lights, which had originally been scattered throughout his meridians and acupoints, gradually converged in his dantian.
The purple-gold spirit herb's illusory shadow appeared once again.
(End of Chapter)
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