Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

The sphere of light in his mind hadn't reacted at all, either.

Lei Jun shook his head slightly, hesitated for a moment, then set off again.

His goal was clear, he was after the new best lot and the True Yin Spiritual Object.

*Even if there really was some cave mansion left by an ancient Immortal, Lei Jun couldn't afford to get distracted right now.*

He had drawn some preliminary conclusions about the Breakstream Jade Belt Creek mentioned by the lot.

It wasn't as simple as breaking the stream wherever one liked.

He needed to pick just the right spot, so that when the mountain stream broke, changes in the earth veins and spiritual energy of the mountains would in turn affect the True Yin Land north of Little Leaf Peak.

But by sheer coincidence, after Lei Jun had followed the Jade Belt Stream upstream, searching for a suitable place, he stumbled upon a gathering ahead.

A faint hint of blood hung in the air.

The stream itself was tinged with traces of crimson.

Lei Jun frowned at the scene.

He didn't reveal himself right away, pressing down on the massive bulk of Gungun at his side to signal him to halt.

The Wind-Thunder Talisman "Night Wind" still swirled around him, so he wasn't too worried about he and the bear being spotted from outside.

Lei Jun surveyed the chaos, and even the strongest combatant among them was only at the Third Heavenly Layer realm.

But the place where the fighting broke out was almost unnervingly perfect.

Lei Jun's gaze moved past the crowd, fixing on the distance.

There, beside the mountain creek and nestled in the bamboo grove, a cave mouth stood out atop a rocky slope.

From the entrance, a faint glow of treasure could be seen shimmering.

It looked just like the cave mansion people had discussed earlier.

But…

*Wait—a moment ago when I walked through here, I was familiar with this area, and there definitely wasn't any so-called cave mansion…* Lei Jun mulled it over.

Either he'd really missed seeing it before,

or this "ancient master" cave was freshly dug out.

With so many people showing up for treasure after catching wind of the news, the buzz spread so widely that Lei Jun couldn't help suspecting this was all someone's ploy.

So, was it the work of the one who forged this so-called ancient cave?

Lei Jun scanned the whole field, slowly getting a sense of things.

He picked up a faint, familiar aura…

Although the Mount Shu Sect controlled a huge swath of forest in the Southern Shu Bamboo Sea, they'd never banned others from entering or leaving other parts of the bamboo sea.

Cultivators from across Bashu frequented this vast and spiritually rich region.

But in all the chaos, Lei Jun hadn't seen any Mount Shu Sect disciples.

Nor any students from Yushan Temple.

There were, however, a few who practiced the Daoist Artifact Refining path, though they seemed less like the main bloodline and more like straggling descendants—or loose cultivators with bits and pieces of legacy.

Besides them, there were Body Refinement warriors, Weapon Strike fighters, Scholarly Swordsmen from the Confucian Sect, Buddhist Monks, and more.

Dozens of people clashed in a tangled melee.

Yet not a single disciple from a sacred land-level sect or a prominent clan was present.

It was mostly small sect, minor clan types, as well as the odd Bashu loose cultivator.

Right now, all of them were fighting for their lives.

But unfortunately…

This was a trap.

Suddenly, streaks of blood-light flashed in the mountains, shooting into the air.

In midair, a small Blood River Array slowly took shape.

As the array spun, it kept devouring the vital energy and blood spilled from the brawling cultivators below, all pooling in the center of the Blood River Array.

Seeing this from afar, Lei Jun thought to himself, *Just as I expected.*

No wonder he'd felt that hint of familiarity earlier.

He hadn't noticed any Blood River Sect cultivators hiding nearby before, but they must have blended in among the fighting crowd.

Sure enough, a figure suddenly left the fight, and flew up onto the Blood River Array above.

Only, it wasn't a Blood River Sect disciple as Lei Jun had expected—but rather an old Taoist following the Daoist Artifact Refining path.

It looked like, just like Chen Yi earlier, he'd picked up a little Blood River Secret Skill.

The old Taoist seated himself atop the Blood River Array, making hand signs with both hands, and sat cross-legged.

The Blood River Array sent out a tremendous suction, not only draining the other cultivators' vital energy below, but actually pulling the Jade Belt Stream's water skyward.

The stream fed into the Blood River Array—and before long, a new Blood River was being born.

Under the influence of the Bloody Evil Qi, those with weaker cultivation, especially those whose Spiritual Soul and spirit were frailer, became bloodthirsty and wild, desperate only to kill every living thing their eyes could catch.

A handful of stronger ones managed to stay conscious.

They stared at the old Taoist atop the Blood River Array, shocked, "Sanqian the old Taoist, you're actually part of the Blood River heretical path?!"

The old Taoist let out a weary sigh, "I'm not a member of the Blood River heretical path, just… Ai!"

His name was Huang Sanqian, and among Southern Shu's loose cultivators, he'd earned some reputation—bold enough to call himself a branch off a branch of the Mount Shu lineage.

But all his life, he'd relied mainly on his own hard work.

Making it to the Third Heavenly Layer, he was already considered top-tier among loose cultivators.

In Southern Shu, Huang Sanqian was known as a man of cultivation and some authority; stories went around about him helping and guiding peers and juniors, so he had earned his good name.

Although he'd come today for a shot at the cave treasures, Huang Sanqian's attacks had always been just enough, unwilling to truly break ties with the others.

No one had ever expected that he'd suddenly unveil this Blood River Array!

"Forgive me, fellow Daoists… But today I must fight for this chance. I am one hundred and twenty-seven years old… I'm out of time!"

Bathed in red light from the Blood River Array, the old Taoist's face blurred, shame flickering for a moment—then turning to resolve.

Maybe even a little madness.

One hundred and twenty-seven years old.

For a cultivator at the Third Heavenly Layer, this was already considered late middle age, the beginning of decline.

If, at fifty to a hundred years, there was still a slim window to improve, from one hundred onward, those at the Third Heavenly Layer were all but doomed to remain stuck in the Lower Three Heavens.