Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

Although Tang Xiaotang was strong, due to her age, qualifications, and personality, what she said and did lacked enough persuasive power to shake the authority of Li Song, Li Ziyang, and the others on her own.

The other side could easily make excuses, explaining it away as a misunderstanding or something of the sort.

With Tang Xiaotang's character, she would never be content with such mediocrity.

But if she acted by force, even if she managed to suppress the whole mountain single-handedly, in the end, it would be hard to avoid sparking debate about rebelling against her superiors and betraying her teachers and ancestors.

Yuan Mobai would certainly not just sit back and watch.

Since things had reached this point, then everyone no longer had any scruples.

However, his fourth senior brother, Yao Yuan, acted one step faster than him.

As a high merit elder who had managed the mansion's affairs for many years, and as a senior in the Sect, when Yao Yuan endorsed Tang Xiaotang, his words held an entirely different level of persuasive power.

At this moment, Tang Xiaotang charged in front.

Yao Yuan then provided the legal justification for her.

Moreover, Elder Yao was not just standing back and watching.

This Elder Yao, who used to be close with second master Li Hongyu, but had kept a very low profile in recent years, never made a move lightly, but once he did, he held nothing back.

As Tang Xiaotang attacked, Yao Yuan also joined the battle.

He forcibly cut off the connection between Supreme Pure Thunder Mansion Cave Heaven and Li Song, causing this Supreme Elder's plan to use the Supreme Pure Thunder Mansion Cave Heaven to heal himself to fail to bear full results.

Li Song was already getting on in years, and now his injuries remained unhealed. Even facing the newly advanced Eighth Heavenly Layer Tang Xiaotang, he found it hard to hold his own.

Thankfully, the Celestial Master Robe saved the day. Otherwise, Supreme Elder Li would have found his old face ground into the dirt by Tang Xiaotang, a Tao Boy not even a fraction of his age.

As for Li Ziyang and Yao Yuan, these two fellow disciples turned their swords on each other, putting on a true battle between dragon and tiger.

The latest Li Wai battle in the Celestial Master Mansion had officially begun.

...There was just something a bit darkly humorous about how Yuan Mobai ended up temporarily out of the fray because of this.

It was as if, as always, he stuck strictly to neutrality.

Of course, he had no intention of sitting back and watching tigers fight from a mountain top.

As he himself said, for personal reasons, he had no strong desire for the position of Celestial Master, and basically had no chance of inheriting it anyway.

The reason he hadn't acted yet was that Dragon Tiger Mountain was a massive ship and, while the crew fought for the captain's position, someone had to serve as the ballast to keep the ship itself from sinking first.

"Even though we haven't seen Upper Three Heavens level experts from the Blood River Sect, Qi Shuo has already come nearby." Yuan Mobai's vigilance was not without reason.

Qi Shuo was a high merit elder of the Yellow Sky Sect.

In the previous battle, the Yellow Sky Sect had suffered heavy casualties, and the Sect Leader, Taoist Taiping, had been recuperating with no news, so for years now, only Qi Shuo and a couple of others had been propping up the Yellow Sky Sect's situation.

Now with a great war erupting at the Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion, of course Yellow Sky Sect couldn't resist joining the fray.

It was possible there were even more people lurking in the shadows.

"The mountain is no longer a peaceful paradise. Whether or not you come back, that's your decision." Yuan Mobai added, "But things outside the mountain are not peaceful either. Be extra careful."

*Lei Jun was definitely considering these questions.*

But right at that moment, a ball of light flashed in his mind and words appeared before his eyes,

[Dragon Tiger bleeds, sharks gather, seeming danger is true safety, auspiciousness hides within calamity.]

Lei Jun read these sixteen characters, slightly raising his eyebrows.

He looked more carefully at the three lots that appeared next,

[Best lot, head to Dayuling Ridge before sundown, you can gain a Third-Rank Opportunity. There will be further possibilities to expand. Though there will be storms, the dangers will end up unfounded, and there will be no lingering worries. Great fortune!]

[Perfectly neutral lot, return to Dragon Tiger Mountain, at the foot of the mountain you can obtain a Sixth-Rank Opportunity, but you may encounter danger, so act carefully. Neutral.]

[Perfectly neutral lot, stay on the move outside the mountain, remain hidden and act low-key. You will gain nothing extra, but also lose nothing. Neutral.]

It actually turned out to be the best lot?

*Lei Jun was surprised.*

And it was a Third-Rank Opportunity with potential for more.

Dayuling Ridge...

Lei Jun looked north.

That was one of the ridges on the outer edge of Dragon Tiger Mountain, lying north of the main peak.

Right now, Lei Jun was south of Dragon Tiger Mountain, so if he wanted to reach Dayuling Ridge without crossing the main peak, he would need to take a detour.

But judging by the time, he ought to make it before sundown.

The only thing was, he had no idea what waited for him there.

*Lei Jun pondered in his heart, but didn't show anything on his face.*

By his side, a group of junior fellow disciples were there, having acted under his lead; now most of them turned their eyes toward him.

Some looked confused, others hesitant.

Among them were both members of the Li family and those of other surnames.

As they looked at each other, their gazes were especially complicated. Yet the mistrust was clear for all to see.

"Lei?"

From afar, other fellow disciples began to gather with them.

Lei Jun heard the voices and glanced over, first spotting several familiar faces.

At the front were two talisman-instructed disciples dressed in deep red Taoist Robes, one gentle and scholarly, the other stern-faced and serious.

The first was Fang Jian, the fourth direct disciple of former Celestial Master Li Qingfeng.

The second was Li Kong, Supreme Elder Li Song's grandson and apprentice.

After greeting Lei Jun, Li Kong fell silent. Though he kept a straight face, his eyes were full of complex emotion.

Fang Jian then spoke, "Lei, we are preparing to return to the mountain. Would you like to come with us?"

Lei Jun shook his head, "For now, I'll stay outside the mountain."

He looked at Fang Jian and Li Kong, then said gravely, "I have received word from my master: other than the Blood River heretics, there are also signs of Yellow Sky Sect followers operating outside the mountain. Clearly, they all intend to take advantage of the chaos.

It's true that unpleasant things have happened in the Sect, but that's ultimately an internal matter that can be resolved behind closed doors.

But absolutely cannot allow heretical factions to take advantage of this, nor give them the slightest chance! They must not think the Celestial Master Mansion is open for the taking!"

Several Celestial Master Mansion disciples nearby heard him and immediately felt their spirits lift.