Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

Wisps of azure smoke rose from Lei Jun's fingertip as a Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman turned to ash, then scattered into nothingness, "Now, let's see what result comes next."

To him, the court was still a distant prospect.

Still, he paid extra attention to such matters.

After all, the turmoil of the land would have far-reaching consequences.

It would not affect only the Celestial Master Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

It would also impact noble clans such as the Five Clans and Seven Families... *A trace of cold light flickered in Lei Jun's eyes, but he soon returned to calm.*

He restrained the wandering of his thoughts, refocusing on his own cultivation, quietly awaiting further changes in the True Yin Land and the gray bamboo before him.

Time was unknown in the mountains.

The height of summer slipped by quietly.

The mountain forest, never oppressively hot to begin with, now grew chilly at night.

The weather, gradually shifted into autumn.

On this day, Lei Jun noticed another transformation in the gray bamboo.

The gray on the long bamboo stalks gradually faded.

In its place appeared a pristine white.

Even the bamboo branches and leaves slowly turned white.

Thus, this small cluster of white bamboo stood out even more amidst the emerald green forest.

Lei Jun carefully sensed the vitality of the white bamboo and the Spiritual Energy it harbored, and *a realization arose in his heart*:

This strange Spirit Bamboo, in this extremely brief span, was about to reach the end of its life.

And also attain its highest transcendence.

…Yet up to now, Lei Jun still could not sense that the Celestial Master Seal and True One Altar deep within his Spiritual Soul recognized this Spirit Bamboo.

Even though the bamboo had already changed from gray to white.

*Was it that he must wait until it bloomed?*

As Lei Jun was guessing, the sphere of light in his mind suddenly shone, and lines of text appeared:

[True Yin Land, the work of supernatural craft, opportunity and destiny, the finishing touch.]

*Lei Jun braced himself inwardly.*

He saw three lots fly out from the glowing orb this time.

He studied the lots closely, raising his brows, "Now, this really is..."

First, the good news: this time, one of the lots was once again a best lot!

After waiting so many times, at last another best lot had come his way.

And then, more good news.

This time, all three lots—none were unlucky; the worst was perfectly neutral.

The last two times he tried to turn misfortune to blessing, he first drew double moderately unlucky, then double worst luck.

This time, fortune was finally smiling again.

As for the last point, there was just one small issue.

The three lots were as follows:

[Best lot, three days after Breakstream Jade Belt Creek, restore Jade Belt Creek, return north of Little Leaf Peak, and you shall obtain a Fourth Rank Opportunity with potential for further growth, no risk, no future trouble, great fortune!]

[Moderately good lot, wait quietly three days north of Little Leaf Peak, and you shall obtain a Fifth Grade Opportunity, no risk, no future trouble, good fortune.]

[Perfectly neutral lot, do not restore Breakstream Jade Belt Creek, return north of Little Leaf Peak, no gain, no loss, all calm.]

After reading through the lots, *Lei Jun felt a stirring complexity in his heart.*

He had gone to and from the Southern Shu Bamboo Sea several times already, and lately he had stayed here, so he already had a rudimentary grasp of the surrounding landscape.

Little Leaf Peak referred to this very stretch of mountain woods he currently occupied.

The True Yin Land lay in the bamboo forest to the north of Little Leaf Peak.

And Jade Belt Creek was a mountain stream that flowed through Little Leaf Peak.

The stream was not large in scale, rich in Spiritual Energy but not exceptionally abundant.

To Lei Jun, who had already reached the Middle Three Heavens realm, it was an unremarkable mountain stream.

But now, as the lots indicated, this Jade Belt Creek would directly determine Lei Jun's upcoming harvest north of Little Leaf Peak.

Lei Jun studied the best lot's content in detail.

A Fourth Rank Opportunity.

Potential for further growth.

He instinctively felt this referred to a True Yin Spiritual Object that complemented the Vermilion Sun Blossom.

Originally, the opportunity hinting at the Vermilion Sun Blossom was also Fourth Rank, with moderately good luck, and mentioned nothing about further growth—perhaps because the Vermilion Sun Blossom alone was insufficient to improve his Root Bone.

Now, Lei Jun was just a step away from his final breakthrough.

This best lot revealed his destiny: there lay a chance to further enhance his own Root Bone.

To reach this goal, he could not simply wait idly at the True Yin Land—he would also have to take action over at Jade Belt Creek…

*An idea formed in Lei Jun's mind.*

He looked back at the cluster of white bamboo, waved his hand, and the Breathing Soil Banner flew out and landed in the mountainside below the white bamboo.

The yellow Spirit Light flashed and vanished instantly.

After that, no more Spiritual Energy drifted from this part of the bamboo forest; hidden beneath the lush stalks, the patch of white bamboo no longer looked so conspicuous.

Lei Jun proceeded to bury several Spirit Talismans around the area.

The talismans quietly melded into the earth, leaving no trace, as if they had never existed at all.

Once his arrangements were complete, Lei Jun left Little Leaf Peak, the reluctant Gungun in tow.

If possible, it would have been best to leave a reliable helper to watch over things here.

But for now, this Gungun was still unsuited to the task.

*Master Lei had no intention of giving it a chance to steal from under his nose…*

The Southern Shu Bamboo Sea was vast, one man and one bear weaving through its shade.

Soon, a clear mountain stream appeared within Lei Jun's field of view.

After discerning his bearings, he took the giant Gungun upstream.

"Cave mansion… revealed… treasure..."

Suddenly, snatches of conversation drifted to Lei Jun's ears, riding the wind.

Lei Jun focused his attention, and the voices became clear at once,

"…Who would have thought a lofty predecessor had left behind a cave mansion in these bamboo seas? And rare treasures inside—we must hasten over to take a look!"

A group of people, exuberant, dashed through the bamboo forest on the far bank of Jade Belt Creek.

From appearances, there were both men and women, both young and old.

Their cultivation strength ranged from the Second Heavenly Layer to the Qi Refinement and Qi Cultivating stages.

*Lei Jun, hearing this, lifted his brow ever so slightly.*

Whatever might be hidden in the rest of the Southern Shu Bamboo Sea, he had already scoured this area thoroughly.

He had never seen any so-called predecessor's hidden cave mansion.