Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

The old Taoist Huang Sanqian's life was hanging by a thread.

Instead of the sinister and fervent look he had just now, his face was calm.

Though death was at his door, his features looked peaceful.

"No, it was I who lost myself earlier, it was my fault…"

Huang Sanqian gazed at Lei Jun, struggling to speak, "May I ask how I should address you, my friend? Thank you for stopping me…"

Lei Jun nodded lightly, then shook his head, and said honestly,

"I really didn't like your methods, but besides that, another reason was I couldn't allow you to use the Blood River Spell to cut off the Jade Belt Stream for seven days."

Huang Sanqian was stunned for a moment, then gave a bitter smile, "You need the Jade Belt Stream too? Heh… Say whatever you want, my life is ending anyway.

Even if you hadn't been here, if I'd forcibly tried to use the Blood River heretical art to refine the Magical Sword, it would have gone against my Taoist Heritage. It wouldn't have worked anyway…

If I'd dared to cross, cross the Heavenly Moat Tribulation, there wouldn't have been any hope at all… I'd just die with no grave to bury me."

It's a shame, really, at the end of my life, I did something wrong and couldn't accomplish anything!"

As he spoke, his voice grew weaker and weaker.

Then his breath ceased entirely.

Lei Jun looked at him and shook his head slightly.

He waved his hand and disposed of Huang Sanqian's corpse as well.

The Jade Belt Stream had already been successfully cut off by him.

And it was done in a more normal way, without polluting the water source.

Yet the stream, because of Lei Jun's spell, began to accumulate gradually.

Lei Jun waited quietly for the three-day period.

This water needed not just to be cut off temporarily, but later restored as well.

If not, the best lot would turn into a perfectly neutral lot.

Not sensing any movement from the Breathing Soil Banner and Spirit Talisman he had left north of Little Leaf Peak, Lei Jun chose to stay upstream at Jade Belt Stream for now.

The unexpected event Huang Sanqian caused meant Lei Jun had to spend some time cleaning up afterwards.

He wasn't interested in making a scene, only keeping other people from approaching the upper reaches of Jade Belt Stream.

Of those cultivators who fled, a very small number managed to return in less than three days.

*But Lei Jun noticed them early, having his panda scare them off so they wouldn't dare get close.*

The good news was that no further surprises cropped up after that.

Those runaway cultivators now knew the so-called predecessor's cave mansion treasure was just Huang Sanqian's trap.

That way, no one would call on their friends to come courting danger any time soon.

Just as the best lot predicted, Lei Jun's trip had gone smoothly and safely.

Nor was there any sign of real Blood River Sect inheritors.

In his estimation, Huang Sanqian probably, like Chen Yi, had just stumbled upon the Blood River Secret Skill by chance.

The old Taoist gambled recklessly, hoping the secret skill would help him refine a Magic Artifact and break through his long-standing bottleneck.

But this was destined to be a futile dream.

As for Chen Yi, never mind if he had some greater secret to hide, he only practiced the secret technique as a hidden trump card in magical duels.

His own Taoist Heritage was solidly rooted in the Taoist Talisman Sect, devoting himself to the true teachings of the Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion.

But here, the Blood River Taoist Laws had already started to erode the old Taoist Huang Sanqian's foundation.

*Suppose in this world there were some supreme, Heaven-born talent, who could surpass the limits of physical techniques, merging the Taoist Laws of both the Witchcraft and Taoist Sects, uniting two extremes within themselves.*

*But at the very least, Huang Sanqian was not that person.*

*Deep down, he probably understood, given the current situation, that even if he succeeded in refining a Blood River Magical Sword, he'd still have no hope of crossing the Heavenly Moat Tribulation to reach the Fourth Layer of Heaven and extend his lifespan.*

*To dare that crossing—certain death awaits, with no other possible outcome.*

…Still, he couldn't let it go.

Like a drowning man clutching at straws, even the most illusory hope, he wanted to seize it.

"Still, when you think about it, the Blood River Sect really are everywhere. Among the five Witchcraft Sect Heritages, they're both loathsome and active."

Lei Jun glanced off in the northwest direction.

He couldn't see it, but that was the way to Summit, where Mount Shu Sect's Ancestral Courtyard lay.

Huang Sanqian had happened across the Blood River Secret Skill unwittingly.

As for why the Blood River inheritors suddenly appeared in Bashu, it probably traced back to the recent internal strife at Mount Shu.

The Blood River inheritors, they were like sharks that smell blood—anywhere there's killing, you can guarantee they'll show up.

On the one hand, they were naturally bloodthirsty and murderous.

On the other hand, even if they didn't shed blood themselves, anywhere saturated by Blood Qi, killing intent, and the aura of death was their cultivation paradise.

Earlier, during the big battle around Dragon Tiger Mountain, Blood River Sect experts butted in.

This year too, the bloody Mount Shu civil war drew the sect's people over.

*Lei Jun sometimes wondered, were some of those fierce battles behind the scenes actually boosted, maybe even schemed out, by Blood River folks?*

*They seemed wild and violent, not the patient type for subtle plotting, but given their cultivation methods, Lei Jun couldn't help suspect it nonetheless.*

"Shit-stirrers…well, let's say blood-stirrers," Lei Jun shook his head, reining in his wandering thoughts.

He brought his focus back to his present, primary task.

As time passed, the intercepted stream kept accumulating, its flow growing more intense.

The Spiritual Energy within began to show signs of agitation.

It looked like a miniature flood, a small upsurge was brewing.

Luckily, Jade Belt Stream's water volume was limited, and Lei Jun's cultivation strength was far above what Lower Three Heavens cultivators could manage.

He just needed to keep reinforcing his Ji Earth Yin Thunder technique, which was more than enough to keep cutting off the stream and gradually creating a small lake upstream.