Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

"The trouble with happiness."

During an earlier divination to avoid misfortune, he had gotten two moderately unlucky lots at the same time.

That hadn't really made much difference.

As long as there had been one perfectly neutral lot, Lei Jun would never have picked any of those moderately unlucky lots in that situation.

But back then he'd wondered, *What if next time, I get more than one moderately good lot, or even more than one best lot?*

*Who would've thought the trouble with happiness would show up so soon.*

Lei Jun read the lot results, and already had a rough idea in his mind.

Tang Xiaotang only liked to take out the big fish, never really interested in swatting flies.

So just now she only bothered to eliminate the lead Elders of the Yellow Sky Sect. As for the rest of them that managed to slip away now and then, she didn't really care; if they got away, they got away.

In this situation, if Lei had wanted to go after those fleeing Yellow Sky Sect disciples, he'd have to move now—otherwise, they would be long gone.

But that would obviously clash with the other moderately good lot.

In the second moderately good lot, it clearly stated to return to Dragon Tiger Mountain immediately.

Based on previous experience, any lot that involved the element of time or order had to be strictly followed to the letter, or its result might not pan out as expected.

In other words, whether he chased down the Yellow Sky Sect disciples first or made a trip to Red Abyss Cave Heaven before returning to Dragon Tiger Mountain, there was a good chance he would miss out on the Sixth-Rank Opportunity mentioned in the second moderately good lot.

Red Abyss Cave Heaven, then, could be put aside for now—let it go.

But between the two moderately good lots, only one could be picked.

You can't have your cake and eat it too...

*Or can I?*

Lei looked at Tang, and said seriously, "Senior Sister, I think Red Abyss Cave Heaven should be fine."

If it had been just him alone, or if his companion was someone else, Lei probably would have had to wring his hands about which moderately good lot to follow.

But seeing as Tang Xiaotang was with him, he decided they might as well each take care of one side.

After all, why let good fortune slip through your own fingers?

"Red Abyss Cave Heaven is fine?"

Tang turned and looked at the captive, her eyes instantly becoming dangerous. "This guy lied to me?"

Lei shook his head, "Not necessarily. Maybe he doesn't know the truth either,

but from what I can tell, whatever the Yellow Sky Sect plans next, it's probably still targeting the Dragon Tiger Mountain Main Residence."

The Yellow Sky Sect's offensive this time was enormous, striking Dragon Tiger Mountain's Celestial Master Mansion as well as the Tianxu Sect, Purple Cloud Sect, and other branches.

But overall, the main focus was still the Celestial Master Mansion's main base.

It's just that that's where all the big fish fight.

Lower-level disciples couldn't really get involved, but they couldn't just wait on the sidelines waving flags for moral support either.

So, the outer and lower ranks inevitably ended up at war, too.

Attacking places like the Tianxu Sect and Purple Cloud Sect let them hit at the Celestial Master Mansion's potential power and also raid resources to strengthen themselves.

The previous battle between the Celestial Master Mansion and the Lin Clan had followed much the same pattern.

But in this world of cultivators, for now at least, it was still the strongest at the top who determined the final outcome.

If the Yellow Sky Sect didn't want all bark and no bite this time, they would have to consolidate their power and focus back on Dragon Tiger Mountain's Celestial Master Mansion Main Base in the end.

The neutral lot about Red Abyss Cave Heaven being fine confirmed Lei's judgment in this regard.

But the moderately good lot mentioning that he'd be safe if he returned to the Celestial Master Mansion at once left Lei a little curious.

Tang lowered her head to look at the captive. "So he really didn't have the real intel? I didn't get the feeling he was setting a trap for me on purpose."

Lei hadn't tried setting her up either. In fact, he was planning to send some fortune her way.

So, what Tang picked up from Lei was kindness, not malice.

"But those Yellow Sky Sect disciples that got away," Lei said, "I think it's best not to leave evil lingering."

Choosing between the two moderately good lots, Lei finally decided to go with the second one.

That was, the path that led him back to Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Even though the Sixth-Rank Opportunity in the second lot was technically not as good as the Fifth Grade Opportunity in the first lot, the second lot came with no risk or hidden pitfalls.

Plus, if he got back to Dragon Tiger Mountain's Celestial Master Mansion sooner, he could keep researching clues to the Celestial Master Seal and its whereabouts.

He honestly wasn't trying to set up Tang Xiaotang; whatever risks were in the first lot weren't a big deal for him and ought to be even easier for Tang, whose cultivation was higher. Maybe there wasn't even any risk at all for her.

The only question was whether she could grab that Fifth Grade Opportunity herself too.

The real challenge was persuading Tang Xiaotang to go chase after what she saw as a bunch of nobodies.

Sure enough, Tang said lazily, "A bunch of little nobodies. They run, they run. It's not like they could turn the world upside-down anyway."

Lei, however, looked extremely serious. "Senior Sister, you're being naive!"

Tang Xiaotang, "?"

Lei said, "You always say you don't want to be the villain from those storybook novels."

Tang replied, "Yeah..."

Lei asked, "Why is it that, in those novels, the main character always manages to escape certain doom when they're weak, only to come back strong and kill all the villains?"

Tang, "Uh..."

Lei answered, "It's because, when they were weak, the villains didn't take them seriously, figured they weren't worth the trouble, let them go easily, and ended up giving them a chance.

From a storytelling angle, yeah, those moments are thrilling and make for a better tale. But for the villains who let them go? It's a whole different story."

Tang Xiaotang asked, "But are you saying, in those puny little guys that just ran off, there's actually someone like the main character in a story?"

Lei responded solemnly, "Everyone is the main character in their own story. Maybe they're small, but more often than not, all they're missing is an opportunity.

And the reason a villain is a villain is usually because they've wasted all those opportunities."

Tang Xiaotang sighed. "Alright, this time I'll be ruthless and finish the job like you said—wipe out all the evil!"

She frowned a little, then looked up at the distance. "They all scattered, and even though none of them got that far, it's still going to take a little while to round them all up."

"If you're worried about Red Abyss Cave Heaven, Senior Sister, you can always swing by after, just in case."

Lei nodded with satisfaction. "I'll take this captive back to Dragon Tiger Mountain first. We're not exactly good at interrogating people anyway, so I'd rather hand him over to the real pros at the Hall of Adherence. Let them dig into everything he knows—they're good at sorting out what's true and false too."

Tang looked back at him. "It's a mess for a thousand miles around Dragon Tiger Mountain right now. Are you sure you can travel safely on your own?"

Lei said, "Don't worry, I won't do anything reckless."

Just like when Zhong Yunfei had dealt with Xia Qing, Tang pasted several talismans onto the forehead of that Yellow Sky Sect Elder without a second thought.

After saying goodbye to her, Lei took the unconscious Yellow Sky Sect Elder and set out for Dragon Tiger Mountain right away.

All along the way, he moved as fast as possible.

But he also made sure to stay hidden, doing his best not to interact with anyone.

With the Wind Riding Talisman powered by Night Wind Stone, his whereabouts stayed well-concealed.

When the time was right, he used the Water-Averting Golden Pupil to travel along water routes, which made it even easier to avoid being noticed.

A few times when he bumped into higher-level cultivators, Lei just crouched down and hid himself in the yellow earth thanks to the Breathing Soil Banner—came out just fine every time.

You could say his luck really was with him on this trip. He never ran into any true bigshots above his own cultivation realm.

So, just as the lot predicted, he made it back near Dragon Tiger Mountain safe and sound.

Even better, the Celestial Master Mansion had already secured Dragon Tiger Mountain's gates for good, pushing the front lines outward.

The sect mountain itself and the surrounding region were, for now, back to their old peace and quiet.

Sure, it wasn't as serene as before, but the fires of war were being kept outside once again.

Unfortunately, aside from Tang Xiaotang, neither Yuan Mobai nor Xu Yuanzhen were currently on the mountain.

The mountain might be away from war for the time being, but security was noticeably tighter than before.

Lei brought his captive home, calmly letting the patrolling disciples check him over. Once cleared, he went to meet with his sect seniors.

"Lei, you've done well. Just hand this Yellow Sky Sect demon over to me,"

The Celestial Master Mansion Elder on duty greeted Lei with a smile.

Lei didn't know this Elder all that well, but there was at least one link of fate between them.

Xia Bo—Elder Xia Bo.

Husband of Lei's second Master, Hong Yu Zhan Lao.

And Xia Qing's teacher and paternal cousin.