Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

Currently possessing the Hidden Dragon Spirit Body, if I want to continue to improve, I'll need greater opportunities.

But no matter what, having initiated the first layer of the True One Altar and received the Tao Containment, I've already found the initial chance, Lei Jun thought. If I can elevate my Root Bone from a Spiritual Body to a Sacred Body, then my path of cultivation hereafter should be much smoother and faster.

Lei Jun reined in his drifting thoughts and refocused his mind.

He was almost twenty-six years old. Having successfully broken through to the Fourth Layer of Heaven, his lifespan had increased to four hundred years.

Currently, I can still be considered very young, he reflected. Especially since it's been less than eight years since I arrived at Dragon Tiger Mountain. But I still can't relax in my cultivation. Because…

The lifespan limit of cultivators in the Middle Three Heavens is four hundred years.

Going from the Third Heavenly Layer to the Fourth Heavenly Layer, the lifespan doubles from two hundred to four hundred. But from the Fourth Heavenly Layer to the Fifth Heaven Layer, and from the Fifth Heaven Layer to the Sixth Heavenly Layer, a cultivator's total lifespan does not increase.

If one wishes to further extend their lifespan, then they must surge upwards continuously, achieving the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm and reaching the cultivation of the Upper Three Heavens before they can raise their lifespan limit again.

For Lei Jun, the good news was that the Golden Opportunity Period for cultivators of the Middle Three Heavens to elevate their cultivation was before the age of one hundred. At my current age of nearly twenty-six, there's a decent margin left, he thought. But what awaits me, aside from the threshold from the Fourth Layer of Heaven to the Fifth Heaven Layer, includes the transitions from the Fifth Heaven Layer to the Sixth Heavenly Layer, and from the Sixth Heavenly Layer to the Seventh Heavenly Layer.

Passing the age of one hundred didn't mean there was no chance of ascending further. For cultivators in the Middle Three Heavens, between the ages of one hundred to two hundred lay the prime or robust years—the plateau period—where it was still possible to break through further upward. However, the difficulty was considerably greater than during the high-speed growth period before reaching the age of one hundred. Those who achieved great things late in life were not non-existent, just extremely rare.

It was worth noting that if one surpassed the age of two hundred, they would gradually enter old age. By then, to merely maintain one's current state without decline would be cause for immense gratitude; the possibility of further ascent was essentially negligible.

The Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion has a long history and houses numerous collections of books, many of which are not limited to its own Sect. For Middle Three Heavens cultivators over two hundred who still managed to strike towards the Upper Three Heavens, there were only a few cases throughout the ages. These were akin to nearly apocryphal legends and were almost impossible to verify.

As for examples of those who entered their twilight years beyond three hundred years old and still managed to successfully challenge the Upper Three Heavens...

Sorry, there were none.

Lei Jun was not interested in attempting to challenge this record to see if he would be the exception. Better to keep moving forward without stopping.

Speaking of this, one could not ignore the three leading figures of the young generation in the Celestial Master Mansion: Xu Yuanzhen, Li Zhengxuan, and Tang Xiaotang. In this Taoist Holy Land brimming with geniuses, the other disciples could only envy these three.

Aside from Senior Sister Xu Yuanzhen, who was always enigmatic with few understanding her depths, Senior Brother Li Zhengxuan possessed the talents of a Saintly Physique Root Bone combined with Clear Insight Enlightenment. Junior Sister Tang Xiaotang, with her Immortal Root Bone and Serene Comprehension, truly made others feel powerless even to envy.

All three were young yet had successfully thrust into the Upper Three Heavens Realm, surpassing countless predecessors and senior teachers within the mansion. This was certainly supported by the background of the grand cultivation era, where Spiritual Energy surged and talents emerged in droves. Nevertheless, it still caught the attention of other top powers.

"Skyscrapers rise from the ground; I must take it one step at a time."

He would start by making further progress from the Fourth Layer of Heaven, the Original Talisman realm, and aim for the Fifth Heaven Layer, the Tao Palace realm.

Generally speaking, the great realm of the Taoist Talisman Sect's Fourth Layer of Heaven, the Original Talisman, is subdivided into four smaller realms, known as the initial, middle, advanced, and Perfection stages. However, the younger disciples preferred to mark them with the number of talismans as an indication.

Like Lei Jun at the moment, having crossed the Heavenly Chasm from the Third Heavenly Layer to the Fourth Layer of Heaven and formed the first Original Talisman, he was in the Original Talisman initial stage. One who formed the second talisman was in the Original Talisman middle stage, and so forth. Ultimately, forming four Original Talismans positioned in the four directions and achieving the "Four Signs Talisman" signified the Perfection of the Fourth Layer of Heaven, Original Talisman realm. Only then could one prepare to launch towards the Fifth Heaven Layer's Tao Palace realm.

Lei Jun calmed his thoughts, his Spiritual Soul still lingering in the first layer of the True One Altar, quietly cultivating. As he immersed himself in the True One Altar, he began to realize more and more things.

After an unknown period, Lei Jun suddenly felt an intuition. Surrounded by heavy Tao Containment and Dao Patterns, it seemed as if the first layer of the True One Altar contained something. It was like a wondrous Talisman. But Lei Jun was temporarily unable to see its contents clearly.

A thought flickered through his mind.

After another attempt without success, Lei Jun respectfully saluted the Immortal Gods and spirits in all directions and exited the True One Altar. This time, as he exited, the first layer of the Altar didn't close; the Tao Containment still shimmered on its surface, glowing brightly.

Just as when he had previously left the Altar of Wanfa Sect, Lei Jun followed the procedural rites of his Sect to leave the Altar's sacred ground, and his Divine Soul Consciousness returned to his own body.

Upon opening his eyes, Lei Jun exhaled deeply, feeling thoroughly relaxed and comfortable.

He went to meet his master, Yuan Mobai.

"Have you perfected the Original Talisman?" Yuan Mobai asked with a smile upon seeing him.

Lei Jun recounted his previous experiences to Yuan Mobai. This included not only his passage through the Heavenly Moat Tribulation to achieve the Fourth Layer of Heaven realm of the Original Talisman but also his venture into the first layer of the True One Altar.

Yuan Mobai listened quietly, then chuckled, "The Talisman that you couldn't see clearly is one of the Three Great Magical Talismans documented in the Three Caverns and Three Realms Scripture."

Lei Jun confirmed what he suspected, immediately understanding. "Is it the Earthly Script Talisman?"

As old legends told, among the three great treasures of the Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion, the Celestial Master Seal and the Celestial Master Robe both had records of the Three Caverns and Three Realms Scripture. The Altar had three layers, embodying the Law of Heaven and Earth. The first layer represented the earth, the second the human, and the third, heavenly law. Therefore, Lei Jun guessed that what he saw in the first layer of the True One Altar was the fabled Earthly Script Talisman.

Indeed, Yuan Mobai nodded in confirmation. "It must be the Earthly Script Talisman, without a doubt."

The proverbial 'Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire'.

Among the Three Great Magical Talismans, the True Fire cultivated from the Earthly Script is also known as the Nine Abyss True Fire. This is the purest of Yin Fire—not evil, but deeply embodying the purest essence of Profound Yin from the Taoist Sect. It corresponds to the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder also housed within the Celestial Master Mansion.

Green flames, Purple Thunder. These have always been the hallmark of the true inheritance of the Celestial Master's Taoist Laws.

Among the current High Merit Elders of the Celestial Master Mansion, Xu Yuanzhen, Yao Yuan, and Shangguan Ning all cultivate this Talisman. The elevated Divine Skills they've achieved are known as the Nine Abyss Flame Ancestral Dharma, also called the Yin Fire Tiger.

Objectively speaking, if used for combat against enemies, it is not as fierce and mighty as the Thunder Method. But the Nine Abyss True Fire had many other wonderful uses. Especially in the refining of External Alchemy and Magic Artifacts, it held endless mysteries.

Yuan Mobai was one of the alchemy masters in the mansion. The reason for saying 'one of' was because other Elders, such as Yao Yuan and Shangguan Ning, who cultivated the Earthly Script Talisman, had exceptional accomplishments in both alchemy and Artifact Refining.

Under special circumstances, Tang Xiaotang, when she received the transmission of the Three Caverns and Three Realms Scripture, also practiced the Earthly Script Talisman. As for the subsequent unexpected changes, they originated from her.

To be honest, both Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai, master and disciple, were quite looking forward to seeing what extraordinary feats Tang Xiaotang might pull off again...

"That means the Human Script Talisman is on the second layer, and the Celestial Book Talisman is on the third," Lei Jun murmured.

Yuan Mobai smiled contentedly. "Progress step by step; let it happen naturally."

Lei Jun nodded. "Forgive my impertinence, Master, but you don't seem to be particularly eager about the Celestial Book Talisman either?"

Yuan Mobai wasn't offended and calmly smiled. "Sometimes, I am curious, but that's as far as it goes. What suits one best is the best there is."

Some are suited for the Thunder Law Heavenly Manual, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can learn it, Lei Jun thought, mentally adding the implied latter half of his master's words. But he was not in a rush. Just as Yuan Mobai had said before, he would progress step by step.

"However, regarding the other matter you mentioned..." Yuan Mobai's face bore a playful look. "To my knowledge, even though the Celestial Master Seal has many wonders, it doesn't possess the miraculous ability to transform one's constitution and improve one's talent."

Otherwise, the Celestial Master Mansion could mass-produce highly talented disciples.

Lei Jun asked, "Was it an illusion on my part at that time?"

"It shouldn't be, considering your Spiritual Soul has now merged with the precious seal." Yuan Mobai pondered for a moment. "It's likelier that there was something unusual about you that resonated with the Celestial Master Seal. Your initial thoughts were roughly correct; to advance from the Spiritual Body Root Bone to the Sacred Body, multiple opportunities must align. This might have been caused by the resonance with the Celestial Master Seal."

Upon hearing this, Lei Jun was overjoyed. He calmed his mind, and his Spiritual Soul once again entered the True One Altar Cave Heaven.

After a while, his thoughts recollected. Opening his eyes, he said, "It's very much like the Nine Sacred Frost Dew, but not quite it."

Yuan Mobai applauded and laughed. "Then it seems that while it's not the Nine Sacred Frost Dew, it must be some kind of spiritual object nourished by it."