https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-210-Digging-into-Elder-Lei-s-Wall/12587006/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-212-Unity-and-Friendship-Bestowing-Allies-with-Opportunities-/12587008/
Chapter 211: 210. I Strike Like Thunder in Silence
Chapter 211: 210. I Strike Like Thunder in Silence
Regarding the Luk Nam Valley, there was a slightly risky lottery that might be drawn.
Normally, Official Peng wouldn't do anything detrimental to He Dongxing, Jiang Dongyu, and the other Shushan elders.
But such a coincidence made it hard for Lei Jun not to think more of it.
Official Peng and the middle-aged military officer only discussed briefly through the thousand-mile audio talisman before ending the call, agreeing to meet up later to talk in detail.
The middle-aged military officer then nonchalantly returned to the Star Dragon Abyss and joined the others in meeting a disappointed Shen Quibing.
"It seems Elder Lei is no longer here," Shen Quibing said helplessly. "We can't seem to get in touch with him, and I wonder how he's doing now."
Middle-aged military officer: "Elder Lei is young, but his cultivation is not ordinary. I believe he will be fine. It's just that the Southern Wasteland is chaotic, and there are remnants of the previous dynasty disturbing the earth veins and spiritual energy, so it's inconvenient to contact him. We'll try again later."
Shen Quibing: "That's all we can do for now."
The middle-aged military officer added, "General Peng is on his way here. Let's wait for him."
Shen Quibing: "Oh? That's good too."
The group left the chaotic area of the Star Dragon Abyss and found a quiet place to rest temporarily.
Lei Jun was also in no hurry to leave. While waiting for the response from the many spiritual talismans he had scattered, he took out several new ones.
Hidden from view, he glanced in the direction of the middle-aged military officer.
The thousand-mile audio talisman the man had used was most likely crafted by Lin Shan.
The thousand-mile audio talismans procured by the Tang Imperial Family were mostly from the lineage of Official Ning.
The very best ones were, of course, those crafted by Official Ning himself, but their quantity was limited, and they were not provided to this middle-aged military officer.
However, the talismans he used were still of high quality and made by Lin Shan.
Lin Shan was Official Ning's first disciple and the most accomplished in cultivation among Official Ning's followers.
Lei Jun had long been interested in thousand-mile audio talismans. Being in the Heavenly Master's Mansion, he had accumulated a vast number of them through his diligent accumulation of merit, far surpassing what outsiders could imagine.
Moreover, these talismans were made by multiple people, providing Lei Jun with ample material for research and improvement.
At the moment, he still had several thousand-mile audio talismans made by Lin Shan in his possession.
Lei Jun offered up a talisman, not to communicate with anyone but purely for his own experiment.
As he pondered the talisman, he also urged his own Two-Yin Yuan Magnetism Spell.
After a series of experiments, the Heavenly Master's Mansion's Elder Lei sighed silently.
Well, I guess I'm now also an assassin of my own sect, as many of my methods counter our own techniques.
Oh well, looking on the bright side, I'm doing reverse technical research for the improvement and upgrade of our sect's techniques, helping to find and fix loopholes. It'll be convenient for modifications later... Lei Jun thought to himself.
...Well, I seem to have inadvertently accomplished quite a few things that Huang Tian Dao cultivators dream of but couldn't achieve.
Lei Jun felt a rare twinge of guilt.
But then again, I don't have much information about Huang Tian Dao. I should pay more attention and collect more in the future so that I can find their weaknesses... Lei Jun's thoughts continued.
After some more time had passed, a slight stir in his heart caused Lei Jun's figure to vanish from his original spot and reappear within the True One Law Forum's cave heaven.
On the second layer of the Law Forum, the star map-like screen began to show feedback.
Lei Jun had released a total of thirty-six talismans, a number corresponding to the Heaven-Piercing Pole.
Currently, only nineteen light dots remained visible on the map, just over half the original number.
The rest were either damaged during the flow of earth veins and spiritual energy or had flowed too far beyond a certain range.
However, what comforted Lei Jun was that one of the light dots had stopped moving.
Through the feedback of spiritual energy, he could roughly judge that this talisman had encountered an unusual situation while flowing through the earth veins.
There was likely an abnormality in the earth veins there, influenced by human activity, and it was possible that descendants of the Sui Dynasty were performing a ritual.
Lei Jun sat down cross-legged right there in the Law Forum, concentrating to recall the details.
He had been studying the rough map of the Southern Wasteland every day during this period, and it was now firmly imprinted in his mind.
Although the Southern Wasteland was complex in terrain, with the map lacking in details due to its vastness, it was sufficient for Lei Jun to determine his direction at the moment.
"That direction should be towards the Zhao River, somewhere in the middle or lower reaches," Lei Jun guessed, having a fairly good idea.
The Southern Wasteland was filled with mountains and rivers, and plains were rare.
Like the Yu River, the Zhao River was one of the larger water systems in the Southern Wasteland.
The concept of "mountain rivers and national destiny" involved observing both the density of human activity and the terrain of mountains and rivers, two factors often intricately linked.
The Southern Wasteland was mountainous, and where there were water veins, there were often populations gathered along the riverbanks.
It was not surprising that the descendants of the Sui Dynasty were active in the Zhao River basin.
Lei Jun secretly noted the direction indicated by this talisman's feedback but did not immediately take action. Instead, he decided to wait and observe the responses from the other talismans.
As time passed, the number of light dots on the map continued to decrease.
However, there were also other responsive dots that Lei Jun marked, indicating possible disturbances in the earth veins by the descendants of the Sui Dynasty.
While waiting, Lei Jun also received the latest contact from his master, Yuan Mo bai.
Yuan Mo bai went to take a look at Baiquan Mountain.
From the results, it wasn't bad, but it couldn't be considered very good either.
Yuan Mo bai and Xiao Xuetin both found it there.
Xiao Xueting relentlessly pursued and killed Jiang Tiankuo, successfully slaying the loyal Confucian scholar of the Sui Dynasty's descendants.
The Jiang family had followed the Shengkang branch of the Sui Dynasty since its downfall and continued to do so until the present day, but its key figure perished under the sword of Xiao Xuetin, a new powerhouse of the Tang Dynasty.
Also arriving at Baiquan Mountain was Tu Dong, an elder of the Blood River Sect.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Tu Dong fled again, and the Sui Dynasty's descendants at Baiquan Mountain could only abandon it, just as they had with the Star Dragon Abyss.
Xiao Xuetin continued the pursuit, while Yuan Mo bai, as requested, stayed behind to calm and restore the disturbed earth veins at Baiquan Mountain, preventing them from being further exploited by the Sui Dynasty's descendants.
For the Tang imperial family, further disrupting the Sui Dynasty descendants' arrangements in the Southern Wasteland was indeed a fruitful endeavor.
For Yuan Mo bai and the Heavenly Master's Mansion, preventing the emergence of a formidable force that could unify the Southern Wasteland and potentially march northward was equally important in averting future disasters.
However, the fact that they didn't obtain any clues related to the Heavenly Master's Robe, as rumored, left Master and disciple, Lei Jun and Yuan Mo bai, somewhat disappointed.
Through the successive interrogations of Wang Jingfang and others, Lei Jun gained a deeper understanding of the current situation in the Southern Wasteland and the Sui Dynasty's descendants.
Overall, the Southern Wasteland remained chaotic, with factions hostile and attacking each other.
Although Wei Ancheng's dominance had given the various holy sites of the Wu Clan in the Southern Wasteland a common enemy, the truth was that they were far from united.
Even now, as the holy sites of the three branches—the Songpo Mountain of the Divine Dance branch, the Reincarnation Abyss of the Curse-Chanting branch, and the Yin Mountain of the Poisonous Gu branch—seemed to be jointly countering the pressure brought by Wei Ancheng, there were dissenting voices within each faction.
Within the three holy sites, there were those who secretly communicated and even collaborated with the Blood River Sect.
Liu Xun, the master of Niuhondong, and Gu Ying, the master of Yudong, were not isolated cases.
Thus, the current situation in the Southern Wasteland was even more chaotic than before.
This was not without the covert scheming of the Sui Dynasty's descendants.
There were quite a few former Sui officials and descendants, as well as members of the Sui royal family, who had hidden their identities and secretly joined various Wu Clan lineages, forming a significant hidden force.
Wei Ancheng was one of the most prominent among them.
However, as a distant branch of the Sui royal family, his growing influence had become a thorn in the side of the Shengkang branch, the direct descendants of the Sui Dynasty.
The current leader of the Shengkang branch, Yang Yuqi, carried on his ancestors' legacy and also called himself the Prince of Shengkang. He was an eightfold heaven realm Confucian scholar who had been trained in the academic traditions of the Sui royal family since childhood. He was exceptionally talented and possessed profound strength.
Yang Yuqi had many children, but the two who stood out the most were his first and second sons, Yang Fei and Yang Tai, respectively.
Lei Jun had met the second son, Yang Fei, at the Star Dragon Abyss. He was young but already possessed considerable cultivation, demonstrating his intelligence and capability in hosting important external aids like Wang Jingfang while also overseeing the earth vein ritual.
During this trip to Baiquan Mountain, Yuan Mo bai and Xiao Xuetin nearly captured Yang Fei, but due to the interference of Jiang Tiankuo and Tu Dong, he managed to escape once again in the chaos and was now being pursued by Xiao Xuetin.
Compared to the second son, Yuan Mo bai and Lei Jun were more concerned about Yang Tai, the first son of Shengkang Prince Yang Yuqi.
This was because some clues related to the Heavenly Master's Robe were rumored to be in his hands.
Unfortunately, on this trip to Baiquan Mountain, Yuan Mo bai did not find any trace of Yang Tai, and his whereabouts remained unknown for the time being.
Although Lei Jun and his master felt regretful, they couldn't force the issue in the short term and could only continue to gather information.
On the second layer of the True One Law Forum, the light dots on the map were gradually being accounted for.
There were very few light dots left on the map at this moment, only a handful of three to five.
However, each of these dots marked a location where the Sui Dynasty's descendants were disturbing the earth veins and spiritual energy.
In addition to Baiquan Mountain, which had already been dealt with by Yuan Mo bai and Xiao Xuetin, there were four other locations.
The relatively closest was the lower reaches of the Zhao River, which had been identified earlier.
Then, from near to far, there was the upper reaches of the Zhao River and the Xindi Rock Mountain area to the west.
The farthest was the Kongliu Mountain area to the south.
Lei Jun looked at the map, pondering where to start.
Just then, the light sphere in his mind suddenly flashed, and words began to appear:
"Scattered sounds will echo, bringing both fortune and adversity. Proceed with caution."
Then, four fortune-telling signs appeared:
"Upper-middle sign: Going to Kongliu Mountain before midnight brings an opportunity for a fourth-grade opportunity. No danger, no aftermath, auspicious."
"Middle sign: Going to the upper reaches of the Zhao River brings an opportunity for a sixth-grade opportunity. There may be some risks, so be cautious. Neutral."
"Middle sign: Going to Xindi Rock brings an opportunity for a fifth-grade opportunity, but there may be a crisis. Be extremely cautious. Neutral."
"Lower-middle sign: Going to the lower reaches of the Zhao River brings an opportunity for a sixth-grade opportunity, but there may be great danger. Full of hidden perils. Inauspicious."
Lei Jun perused the four fortune-telling signs, deep in thought.
The upper-middle sign indicated no danger and no repercussions, along with a fourth-grade opportunity, so there was no need to elaborate further.
The middle-lower sign, however, mentioned a potential huge danger. For Lei Jun, who could now use the Heavenly Master's Seal and the True One Law Forum's cave heaven to escape peril, drawing a sign that foretold hidden perils and immense danger was indeed cause for vigilance.
There were some differences in the descriptions of the two middle signs. The second middle sign seemed more dangerous, but it corresponded to a slightly higher-grade opportunity. Following the principle of equalizing fortune and adversity, this might be why it was also classified as a middle sign.
If given a choice, Lei Jun would undoubtedly choose the upper sign. However, he didn't hurry to make a move.
Official Peng was almost there, and Lei was curious about his next move.
For the time being, he didn't need to worry about Master Yuan Mo bai going to such dangerous places like the lower reaches of the Jiang River.
Currently, Yuan Mo bai was waiting at the Baiquan Mountain area.
Through his communication with Yuan Mo bai, Lei Jun learned about the situation in Luk Nam Valley.
He Dongxing had gone to Luk Nam Valley to assist his fellow Shushan disciples, Jiang Dongyu and Yang Chengjun, master and apprentice. They had successfully rescued them, but they also encountered a big problem.
Officials from the Tang Imperial Family, the Heavenly Masters Mansion, and the Shushan Sect had joined forces and headed south, disrupting multiple strongholds of the Sui Dynasty descendants in the Southern Wasteland and destroying the entrance to the Nine Li Mystery Realm, causing trouble for the descendants and the Blood River Sect.
Although they were already locked in a fierce competition with other Wu Clan experts, and although there were subtle disagreements between Wei Ancheng and the Shengkang branch behind the scenes, the Blood River Sect had no choice but to divert their attention and work with the Sui Dynasty descendants to stabilize their rear base.
In addition to Tu Dong and others, the Blood River Sect also dispatched an elder, Bear Gang, an eightfold heaven realm expert.
As a result, in Luk Nam Valley, the Shushan trio of He Dongxing and company ran straight into Bear Gang.
Normally, with He Dongxing's exceptional sword-flying technique, even if his cultivation level was inferior to his opponent's, he could still try to find an opportunity to escape.
However, with the heavily injured Jiang Dongyu and Yang Chengjun, whose cultivation was only at the lower three heavens, He Dongxing's chances of breaking through were slim.
Fortunately, General Peng of the Tang Imperial Army arrived just in time to lend his aid, allowing He Dongxing to escape from this perilous situation.
Out of the three Shushan disciples, only He Dongxing and Yang Chengjun managed to survive, while Jiang Dongyu, Yang Chengjun's master, who had escaped the calamity in the depths of Niuhondong, ultimately couldn't escape the disaster in Luk Nam Valley. He perished under the blade of Bear Gang, an elder of the Blood River Sect.
Upon hearing that it was General Peng who had come to He Dongxing's aid, Lei Jun's suspicions about the man only deepened.
His behavior was incongruous with his words, which further aroused Lei's mistrust.
And Lei, ever inclined to suspect the worst of others, allowed his imagination to run wild.
It was unlikely that General Peng was colluding with the Blood River Sect or the Sui Dynasty descendants, but the timing of his assistance to the Shushan disciples was suspiciously convenient.
Now that he was showing such concern for Lei, Lei, with his suspicious nature, became even more cautious.
Thus, he found himself intrigued by General Peng's next move.
As expected, General Peng soon arrived at the Star Dragon Abyss.
He appeared nonchalant as he listened to Shen Quibing's report.
In private, however, he conducted another discreet search of the Star Dragon Abyss.
Even without the Heavenly Master's Seal or the True One Law Forum's cave heaven, Lei Jun, with his various hiding techniques and the complex environment of the Star Dragon Abyss, could easily evade General Peng as long as he didn't have the intention to attack him.
Nevertheless, it wouldn't be easy for Lei Jun to stealthily approach General Peng either. Martial artists were generally less adept at sensing their surroundings but more vigilant about their personal safety.
But Lei, an expert at sabotaging his own sect, had no intention of getting close to General Peng.
When General Peng was having a private conversation with the middle-aged military officer, Lei Jun, from a distance, took out a thousand-mile audio talisman.
It was crafted by Lin Shan, a disciple of Official Ning.
Silently and stealthily, a similar thousand-mile audio talisman, also crafted by Lin Shan, began to take effect on the middle-aged military officer.
There was no leakage of spiritual energy, no spiritual fluctuations, nor any intent to attack or harm.
If it had been on General Peng, he might have sensed something amiss.
However, without this awareness, he wouldn't have expected that the talisman, which had been used numerous times without any issues, would now exhibit new behavior.
Thus, as Lei Jun lay on the dojo of the True One Law Forum's cave heaven, his hand propping up his head, he quietly listened to the conversation between General Peng and the middle-aged military officer through the talisman:
"..."The Shushan Sect has decided to send more people to support the Southern Wasteland. We need to consider our next move regarding the Heavenly Masters Mansion," said General Peng.
The middle-aged military officer replied, "The Heavenly Masters Mansion is currently recuperating and lacks sufficient manpower to spare for aid."
General Peng continued, "As long as either Yuan Mo bai or Lei Jun perishes in the Southern Wasteland, the new Heavenly Master, given her character, will undoubtedly come south personally. Even without the Heavenly Master's Seal and Robe, if she brings the Heavenly Master's Sword, Wei Ancheng will have to divide his attention, and the threat posed by the remnants of the previous dynasty will be greatly reduced."
(End of Chapter)
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