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Chapter 45: A Plan to Enhance Spiritual Understanding
Chapter 45: A Plan to Enhance Spiritual Understanding
Lei Jun turned to look at Shangguan Hong, who was coughing, and said, "My apologies to Li Shimei and that Fang Gongzi for my careless words. However, it's not an exaggeration to think that causing such a ruckus and directly injuring someone on Dragon and Tiger Mountain would attract attention."
Shangguan Hong coughed a few more times and said, "Fang Mingyuan...Gongzi is already quite well-known in Jingxiang. Being young and thin-skinned, it's inevitable that he might act impetuously."
This young Taoist priest, not yet twenty years old himself, was commenting on Fang Mingyuan in an old and experienced manner. His words were veiled but not pleasant.
Considering the relationship between the Shangguan family, who were related to the royal family and had new martial merits, and the Fang family of Jingxiang, who were known for their scholarly lineage and had been prominent for generations, it was bound to be more intricate than their relationship with the Celestial Masters' Mansion.
Lei Jun then thought of another person involved, Li Ying, the daughter of Master Ziyang.
Looking back, it seemed that she and Fang Mingyuan were still in the early stages of getting to know each other.
In the terms Lei Jun was familiar with from his previous life on Blue Star, it could be called a blind date.
While the development of events had caught him by surprise, upon reflection, there had been signs.
The Young Celestial Master, Li Zhengxian, was trying to maintain a balance, striving to please all sides.
As for the lineage of Elder Ziyang, they had been growing increasingly close to Fang Jian, who had joined the Celestial Masters' Mansion, as well as the Fang family, over the years.
A marriage alliance between the Li and Fang families would not be a shocking development.
Both Li Ying and Fang Mingyuan were close to the core of their respective families but were not yet at the very heart of them.
What truly drew the attention of those inside and outside the Mansion was the fact that the Young Celestial Master, Li Zhengxian's marriage remained undecided...
Thanks to Zhang Jingzhen and Fang Jian's timely handling, the incident in the medicinal garden did not escalate further.
Li Ying, to avoid any suspicion, began a period of seclusion and meditation.
The preliminary plans for a marriage alliance between the Fang and Li families seemed to have been temporarily thwarted.
With the Celestial Masters' Mansion taking a careful approach, the matter was dealt with discreetly.
On the other side, the young disciples of the two great Taoist sacred sites also concluded their exchange and competition.
Representing the Celestial Masters' Mansion was a familiar face, Chen Yi.
Ever since his setback at the Hall of Enforcement last year, he had been placed under a form of house arrest by his master, Elder Yao, and was only released at the start of the new year.
He appeared more composed than he had a year ago, his sharp edges refined.
However, it was more akin to a sheathed sword, ready to reveal its true colors when unsheathed, its blade even colder than before.
It was unclear what the elders of the sect expected of Chen Yi's participation.
Lei Jun, however, wondered if he had read too many Blue Star novels in his previous life, as he couldn't help but speculate that Chen Yi would likely emerge victorious.
In the end, Chen Yi did not disappoint Lei Jun's expectations and won the match for the Celestial Masters' Mansion.
His triumph not only lifted his spirits and vented the frustrations of the past year but also left an impression on those who witnessed the battle.
Yuan Mobai started the furnace to refine pills, producing thirty-six pills in one batch. Chen Yi received two of them, and the rest were shared among those present, with some even set aside to be sent to Zhang Yuan and Fang Mingyuan later, as instructed by Fang Jian.
This was the seventh-grade opportunity mentioned in the draw... Lei Jun nodded to himself.
The positive aspect of the prediction had come true, but he wondered when the other side of the fortune, the potential misfortune, would manifest.
As for the order of the upper and lower middle draws, Lei Jun now understood.
By going to the Great Pill Room first, one could arrive before the strange pill furnace, which had an inwardly refined spirit, and discover its existence. If one went later, the spirit of the pill furnace would be inwardly refined, and the Fire Marrow Sunfish would also be difficult to find.
After that, one would go to the medicinal garden, where the blind date squad would likely have already left, resulting in both parties just missing each other, and nothing would happen in the garden.
On the other hand, if one went to the medicinal garden first and then to the Great Pill Room, not only would they miss the mysterious pill furnace, but they might also stumble upon Li Ying and Fang Mingyuan's secret blind date.
The same event could have different outcomes for different people.
Lei Jun's strength far surpassed Zhang Yuan's, so it was natural that he wouldn't be injured by Fang Mingyuan.
However, the prediction of the draw about "stumbling upon a hidden affair and inviting suspicion, burying future troubles" had come true.
While Fang Mingyuan himself might not bring it up, the Fang family, a formidable force, would undoubtedly take notice.
And more crucially, this path only led to disaster without any gains, and one would also miss out on the sixth-grade opportunity of the mysterious pill vessel from the middle-upper draw.
Now that he had the pill vessel in hand, Lei Jun was no longer in a rush and quietly stood behind his master, Yuan Mobai, once again.
Although there had been some bumps along the way, the inauguration ceremony for the new disciples of the Celestial Masters' Mansion had concluded successfully overall.
The guests who had come to witness the event began to descend the mountain one after another.
In the Chu family's carriage, the breathtakingly beautiful woman changed out of her noble lady's attire and into a more form-fitting hunting outfit, leaning casually against the window.
Outside the carriage, the Chu youth stood by the window and said, "That Chen Yi is indeed remarkable. To turn the tables and emerge victorious after initially falling behind... I thought he was going to lose."
The woman hummed in acknowledgment, her gaze unfocused as her mind wandered elsewhere.
The young man outside seemed accustomed to her behavior and continued, "Later, I'll instruct them to add this young Taoist priest to the list and keep a closer eye on him."
The woman hummed again, then came back to her senses and added, "Add one more person, Lei Jun."
The Chu youth was taken aback but respectfully agreed, "Yes, Young Aunt."
As the guests dispersed, Lei Jun and the other Celestial Masters' Mansion disciples were tasked with the aftermath and cleanup.
After completing the remaining tasks, Lei Jun went to visit the injured Zhang Yuan and also checked in on Luo Hanran, who was temporarily confined.
Zhang Yuan's condition had stabilized, and although he still needed to rest, he was out of danger.
However, upon seeing Lei Jun, Zhang Yuan looked like he wanted to cry but had no tears.
Luo Hanran, despite being confined, was also doing well.
Both the Celestial Masters' Mansion and the Fang family wanted to handle the matter discreetly, and Luo Hanran's temporary confinement was more of a way to let things cool down rather than an actual punishment.
He had a peaceful mindset and even comforted Lei Jun, who had come to visit him.
"Regarding the matter with the Fang family, Senior Brother Ziyang may have been a bit too hasty."
Afterward, Yuan Mobai, who rarely served tea, directly commented, "However, as long as Senior Brother Zhengxian can hold himself together, there won't be any major issues."
Beside them, Xu Yuanzhen's brush danced across the paper as she painted casually.
Without participating in any of the ceremonies, as was her usual custom, she overheard Yuan Mobai's words and casually remarked, "Li Zhengxian? He's not in a rush, but he's swaying back and forth, trying to have his cake and eat it too."
Yuan Mobai smiled faintly.
Lei Jun, on the other hand, fiddled with his pill vessel.
After a long period of contemplation, he gradually began to make some headway.
With his luck in seeking good fortune and avoiding calamity, his luck this time could be said to have skyrocketed even further.
This newly acquired pill vessel was a spiritual object that harmonized yin and yang, imbued with water and fire spiritualities. It could be called the 'Unfulfilled Pill Vessel.'
'Unfulfilled' was also one of the hexagrams, opposite to 'Already Fulfilled,' which had water above and fire below, while 'Unfulfilled' had fire above and water below.
However, not all 'Unfulfilled' phenomena applied to Lei Jun.
And yet, this 'Unfulfilled Pill Vessel' was suitable for him.
Moreover, with Master Yuan Mobai instructing him to go to the Great Pill Room, Lei Jun almost suspected that his master had arranged this.
But Yuan Mobai clearly had no need to do so.
Sure enough, when their eyes met, Yuan Mobai shook his head and said, "This is your personal luck. I don't have the ability to take credit for the heavens' doing."
Lei Jun said, "I went to the Great Pill Room earlier and secretly inspected and searched, but I found nothing. This pill vessel must have appeared later."
Xu Yuanzhen took the pill vessel from Lei Jun's hand and examined it. "Someone was quietly refining pills but didn't want to be known by the outside world. This treasure was created as a byproduct of their pill refining."
Lei Jun blinked.
Both Xu Yuanzhen and Yuan Mobai had high cultivation levels, and Yuan Mobai was even a renowned master of pill techniques.
For them to be unable to see through the origins of this pill vessel meant that there were very few people on Dragon and Tiger Mountain who could have created it...
"You're quite lucky. With this 'Unfulfilled Pill Vessel' and the Fire Marrow Sunfish, you truly have a chance to enhance your understanding and make some progress."
Xu Yuanzhen didn't continue the previous topic and instead said, "As long as you can find the Water Marrow Moonfish."
(End of Chapter)
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