Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

One end was thick, the other thin, no matter how you looked at it, it just looked like a club.

Down below, that giant panda saw it, and its eyes clearly lit up at the same time.

Then, the massive bear stood upright, raised its forepaws toward Lei Jun in midair, itching to try as if it were a kid drawn to a treat.

Too bad Lei Jun hovered high enough that, no matter how many times the big guy tried leaping up, he still couldn't reach him.

*Well, besides fishing, I could probably add "cat-fishing" to my skillset…* Lei Jun weighed the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo in his hand, deeply moved.

This was actually the first time he'd clearly felt that his handy short stick was, in fact, a bamboo shoot.

But as for that big fellow down there, its perception in this area was honestly quite sharp.

It had wandered all the way over here, swaying and wobbling the whole time?

"So, you're my Fourth Rank Opportunity, huh?" Lei Jun looked down at a Gungun who gazed up at him eagerly.

In line with a moderately good lot, only by lingering at Yushan would he encounter this big guy.

If he left Yushan for somewhere else, the chance might slip away.

The meaning behind this was probably not that the giant panda strictly came to Yushan for the location itself.

Its real target was Lei Jun and the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.

But if Lei Jun went somewhere else, it wouldn't be able to find him.

Only at Yushan could this panda keep searching around and finally track him down.

After Lei Jun entered Bashu, he hadn't really flashed the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo much.

No matter how sensitive the panda was, it'd be almost impossible to track him all the way here.

However, Lei Jun had hung around Yushan for way too long.

Only after lingering for so much time did he give the panda its chance.

If it were anywhere else, that big head wouldn't have kept up.

It could only seek out the spot with thicker Spiritual Energy – Yushan – and come circling around here.

Lei Jun glanced at the panda below, sure that this was truly a First Level fateful encounter.

*Honestly…this feels pretty damn good!*

Lei Jun laughed, dropping down from midair.

Gungun let out a deep growl, almost cheering as it rushed toward him.

But Mana whirled invisibly around Lei Jun, causing the big guy to be unable to actually get close.

He smiled and watched as the giant Gungun tried again and again, swerving left and right, banging this way and that, trying its luck.

Honestly, before coming to Bashu, Lei Jun had considered that if this world also had pandas, he wanted to drag one back with him to Dragon Tiger Mountain.

But after getting sidetracked by his own master's dark past, that thought had slowly faded.

*Otherwise, bringing a panda back and crossing paths with Mo Bai face-to-face…would be all kinds of awkward.*

Lei Jun had even seriously thought about what other Spirit Beast he could get from Bashu to use as a mount instead.

He hadn't expected that this Gungun would just deliver itself straight to his doorstep.

*Well then, Master, I guess I'm just going to have to ask you for a little forgiveness this time.*

*Just as you always taught me.*

*We people of cultivation should follow the Tao and let fate guide our actions.*

Since destiny arranged it this way, he, the disciple, wasn't about to be polite.

Lei Jun smiled, holding out the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo right to the giant Gungun's face.

Gungun's eyes sparkled as it hurried up close.

Only to pounce and miss.

Lei Jun calmly stepped back a pace, watching Gungun.

The big guy tried pouncing another two times, but each time Lei Jun dodged easily.

Lei Jun shook the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo at Gungun a couple more times.

This time though, Gungun didn't fall for it.

The massive body plopped down again, sitting in a fat ball on the ground, blinking its eyes repeatedly.

Lei Jun actually read a little distinctly human emotion off that round face,

Anger.

Lei Jun grinned silently, waving the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo at Gungun a couple more times.

And Gungun spun around on the spot, twisting its head to one side.

Lei Jun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Because he could plainly see those lazy eyes rolling around, lively and sharp as ever.

Its plump face might have been turned away, but the eyes kept sneaking sidelong glances at Lei Jun, honestly looking slicker than most people.

Lei Jun pretended not to notice and edged closer, coming up next to the giant Gungun.

As soon as the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo approached, Gungun, moving with unprecedented speed, spun around lightning-fast, swatting a paw at the bamboo shoot!

Unfortunately, it still came up empty-handed.

The bulky beast lost its balance, fell over on the ground, and rolled to the side, flattening two saplings as it went.

When it finally got up, its eyes blinked towards Lei Jun, and the expression on its chubby round face had turned into one of pure grievance.

Lei Jun chuckled and threw the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo, letting it land right next to Gungun's mouth.

Gungun was delighted, snatching it up immediately.

But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't peel the dark bamboo shoot's skin.

The big guy got lazy and just tried to swallow it whole.

But golden light glimmered from the bamboo, and it jammed right in its mouth, too big to swallow or spit out.

This Exotic Beast was also called Iron-Eating Beast, and its saliva could melt gold and dissolve iron.

But on the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo, golden light flashed, spreading into a shield that blocked its drool mid-air, never letting it touch the actual bamboo.

The radiance kept spreading, making the big mouth feel even more uncomfortable.

Watching the giant beast caught between a rock and a hard place, Lei Jun finally strolled up and took back the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.

Gungun flipped over, lying back against the mountain rocks, staring at Lei Jun and the bamboo in his hand with lingering dread.

But those clever eyes just kept spinning, still clearly craving the thing.

"This bamboo shoot, both my master and I have spent a long time refining. It's a Magic Artifact, not just some ordinary Spiritual Object."

Lei Jun smiled, "With your current abilities, there's no way you're chewing through it.

But don't worry, back at Dragon Tiger Mountain, inside Supreme Pure Thunder Mansion Cave Heaven, there's still an Immortal Bamboo Forest with plenty of Golden Bamboo not yet refined.

Not bamboo shoots, but probably good enough for you. So, what do you say, want to come back to Dragon Tiger Mountain with me?"

*Lei Jun was pretty sure his face right now looked super amiable, full of kind charity, totally persuasive…*

Opposite him, the giant Gungun just blinked slowly.

Like it was seriously considering his offer.

With the intelligence it had now, it still didn't know what it was supposed to do.

But when it finally made up its mind, all it did was stick right behind Lei Jun, wherever Lei Jun walked, Gungun followed suit.

Lei Jun laughed at that, reaching out to pat Gungun.

*Honestly, the feel was worse than he thought—its fur was pretty coarse and stiff.*

But it was fine, with enough Spiritual Energy and some cleaning, he could probably fix it up.

His goal was a Gungun with dense, silky-smooth fur.

With this kind of size, it could serve as either a sofa or a carpet, no problem at all, just by lying around.

Lei Jun hopped right onto Gungun's broad back.

The big head swayed a bit, not too happy about it.

Lei Jun didn't use any force, just shook the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo in his hand.

Gungun instantly got well-behaved.

*Lei Jun was having the time of his life riding on its back.*

*Not bad at all, after coming to this world, he'd picked up another source of joy.*

However…

Lei Jun soon wasn't laughing anymore.

Because he found out that his new companion, honestly had a bottomless appetite.

Its mouth functioned like a black hole.

No matter how much it gobbled up along the way, it stayed permanently hungry.

*My master was never this much of a glutton—oh shit, cut it out, I'm not about to keep thinking down that path…*

Lei Jun couldn't help himself, sitting on Gungun's enormous back as they returned to his own house.

To keep this lunkhead from demolishing the place and eating it too, Lei Jun hunted down some Yushan Temple disciples and asked them to prepare mountains of food.

The Yushan disciples just stood there dumbstruck, but didn't refuse and got busy helping out.

Lei Jun also gave them some Basic Spirit Talismans as extra payment.

Spirit Talismans from the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion's True Inheritance could sometimes act as hard currency in the cultivation world.

They wouldn't work as well for others as they would for disciples of the Talisman Sect, but at the right moment, they could yield some amazing effects.

Take the Golden Barrier Talisman, for example, always in high demand.

With help from Yushan Temple, Lei Jun could finally keep his new companion's never-ending appetite at bay.

After securing this living lottery, he still didn't rush off the mountain and kept hanging around Yushan.

He waited quietly for the dust to settle over at Mount Shu Sect.

The conflict had broken out violently, and kept dragging on.

Many days later, the civil strife within Mount Shu finally started to enter the wrap-up stage, showing signs of ending.

Lei Jun also ran into Ji Chuan again.

The guy looked haggard and anxious, obviously struggling to pull himself together for Lei Jun, the far-traveled guest.

When they met again, though, Ji Chuan couldn't even manage a greeting for Lei Jun.

The top disciple from Mount Shu completely lost his composure, standing there in a daze, eyes locked wide as he stared at the massive shadow next to Lei Jun.