Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

The old Gu Master, already emaciated with protruding eyes, now had his eyes bulging even wider, his skin stretched taut across his cheekbones.

"I won't kill you…" Another expanse of colorful, mist-like Profuse Flower Gu appeared around him. "I'm going to refine you into a Gu human!" he declared.

Before the colored mist could spread, Lei Jun's Fire Storehouse Thunder blasted it apart once again.

But from the roaring flames, a streak of golden light burst forth and, in a flash, was right in front of Lei Jun.

It was the Golden Silkworm!

Fortunately, Lei Jun was well-prepared; even before deploying the Fire Storehouse Thunder, he had already raised another Spirit Talisman.

The Spirit Talisman glowed with pure gold, enveloping Lei Jun.

The fierce and domineering Golden Silkworm slammed into the golden light barrier, struggling momentarily to bite through.

"...A top-grade Golden Barrier Talisman," the old Gu Master said, not surprised in the least.

He had encountered similar situations before when fighting Li Zhenchang and Chu Andong.

These Direct Disciples from the well-established Celestial Master Mansion often possessed superior Basic Spirit Talismans and even other protective treasures bestowed by their Sect elders.

Moreover, Lei Jun's realm and strength seemed somewhat extraordinary…

But the old Gu Master, hailing from the Witchcraft Worm Sacred Land of Yintuo Mountain, was no easy opponent.

The wounds on his body did not heal, and tainted blood flowed from them.

Yet with a wave of his hand, the tainted blood instantly transformed into a blood mist, which he sprayed onto Lei Jun's protective golden light.

"TSSSSSS!"

Immediately, white smoke rose.

The erosion from the Blood Gu's tainted blood, combined with the Golden Silkworm's gnawing—with this two-pronged assault, even the top-grade Golden Barrier Talisman slowly started to corrode, a small hole forming.

Although this Golden Barrier Talisman had been bestowed upon Lei Jun by Yuan Mobai, its Spiritual Power ultimately had its limits due to the constraints of the raw materials.

However, Lei Jun had already supplemented it with one of his own high-grade Golden Barrier Talismans, layered within the first.

The Golden Silkworm had finally exhausted its strength; though it struggled to bite through the golden light, it was, for the moment, unable to penetrate.

At this moment, Lei Jun could finally see the stilled Golden Silkworm clearly. Indeed, it was as tiny as a silkworm, but its body was pure gold, and its shape was bizarre.

He flicked his finger, and a Five Thunder Talisman transformed into Dark Water Thunder.

The black Dark Water Thunder took the opportunity to envelop the Golden Silkworm. It exploded silently, sending the Spirit Gu crashing down.

Yet, taking advantage of this moment, the old Gu Master successfully released even more Gu.

The swarm of Gu rushed forth and successfully broke through the second level of defense created by Lei Jun's high-grade Golden Barrier Talisman.

With the swarm of Gu close by, Lei Jun remained calm and composed, activating another Five Thunder Talisman.

However, this time, the five-colored brilliance on the Spirit Talisman—cyan, black, red, and brown—all vanished, leaving only gold.

The next moment, golden Thunder Light surrounded Lei Jun like a protective barrier, which from afar looked similar to the golden light of the Golden Barrier Talisman.

But upon closer inspection, the Thunder Light flickered, arcs of electricity dancing.

Five Thunder Talisman—Golden Barrier Thunder.

Compared to the Golden Barrier Talisman, it not only possessed strong defensive power but also integrated offense and defense.

As the numerous Gu approaching Lei Jun were repelled, chain explosions of thunder erupted, and many of the Worms were electrified into blackened cinders.

I don't have many Spirit Gu left. I can't keep this up. I must end this quickly and break this brat's turtle shell… The old Gu Master steeled his heart and, in a rare move, charged forward, closing the distance to Lei Jun.

As he surged forward, countless Gu gathered and converged before him, transforming into a creature that was neither insect nor dog, with six eyes atop its head and six legs beneath its belly.

It was the Celestial Dog Worm!

This Gu abandoned the usual traits of other Spirit Gu—being small, versatile, strange, and stealthy—and became extremely ferocious and overbearing.

With a charge, the Celestial Dog Worm actually managed to forcefully break through Lei Jun's Golden Barrier Thunder.

It opened its mouth as if a celestial dog devouring the sun, swallowing a great amount of lightning into its belly. Seemingly unharmed, it continued its silent charge towards Lei Jun, its six blood-red eyes glaring.

And then…

"SNAP!"

The Celestial Dog Worm collided with a Light Shield.

At the center of the Light Shield, a peculiar dark scale—the Dragon Horse Scales—extended its brilliance to form the shield.

Struck by the impact, the Light Shield wobbled twice but didn't break.

Just how many layers of defense do you have?!

The old Gu Master's eyeballs nearly bulged out of their sockets.

Then he saw the Light Shield formed by the Dragon Horse Scales suddenly disappear.

There was no one behind the shield.

The old Gu Master's hair suddenly stood on end, and a chill crept up the back of his neck.

Damn it! Too close. This kid seems to be hiding behind a turtle shell defense, but he's also this fast?

"THUD!"

Just as this thought arose in the old Gu Master's mind, a short staff, thick at one end and thin at the other, struck the back of his head.

"These days, who fights a Duel of Magic without wearing a helmet?"

Lei Jun, holding the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo, calmly struck the old Gu Master's head again.

The old Gu Master let out a miserable cry and pitched forward.

But following his scream, his shriveled and gaunt body suddenly swelled.

The next moment, the skin of his body burst open. A large amount of filthy blood mixed with air violently sprayed out as he exploded on the spot.

Life Gu!

The Gu Master's last resort—a desperate attempt to perish together with the enemy!

Lei Jun's expression remained unchanged.

The Breathing Soil Banner rippled in the wind, its dim, earthy Spirit Light transforming into layers of soil and rock, shielding Lei Jun and blocking the gushing, filthy blood.

There's... more?!

The old Gu Master, straining with his last breath, his eyes bulging and blood streaming from his facial orifices, stared blankly at Lei Jun. He held that final breath and then collapsed backward, dying with his eyes wide open.

Everything happened in an instant. The ferocious Celestial Dog Worm, only now managing to turn and look back, had a vicious face that suddenly looked bewildered.

With the old Gu Master's death, the Celestial Dog Worm lost control and disintegrated into a swarm of Worms that pounced on the corpse, gnawing and swallowing it.

Lei Jun didn't wait for them to make another move and threw out a Chain Blazing Flame Talisman.

Under the raging flames, these venomous creatures were reduced to ashes.

Then he added an Evil-Repelling Talisman to further purify the area, preventing any residual toxicity from spreading.

Although there had been the prior instance of him observing Chen Yi, Lei Jun now glanced around. As far as his abilities allowed, he saw no one else in the vicinity, so he didn't dwell on it.

While using the Breathing Soil Banner to replenish his consumed Mana, Lei Jun turned his attention to his two Sect brothers.

Chu Andong was fortunate to be alive but was severely injured and unconscious.

Li Zhenchang was temporarily trapped in a glacier; though struggling, he was luckily in no life-threatening danger.

So, Lei Jun first attended to Chu Andong, simply stabilizing his injuries to prevent them from worsening. He didn't immediately worry about Li Zhenchang.

He prioritized examining the items left by the old Gu Master.

Although the Gu Master's body had been devoured by the Worms, most of his personal possessions were preserved.

Lei Jun had some academic interest in the artifacts and medicinal materials related to Witchcraft Worms. He was curious, but there was no immediate rush.

He was more concerned about why the Celestial Master Seal imprint on his Breathing Soil Banner had reacted to this old Gu Master.

Although the man came from the Witchcraft Worm Sacred Land of Yintuo Mountain, he didn't seem like someone who would possess a treasure like the Celestial Master Seal.

Lei Jun searched carefully, discerning thoroughly.

Eventually, a strange piece of bone armor caught his attention.

"This thing…" Lei Jun said in surprise.

The bone armor was long and shaped like an envelope, its material appearing unremarkable.

But on the surface of the bone armor, a mysterious Talisman Seal was imprinted.

It's similar to the Talisman Seal I obtained from the belly of Qiantian Peak on Mount Tianxu. Could it originate from the Celestial Master Seal?

The imprint on the bone armor had initially been unremarkable, but when Lei Jun brought out the Breathing Soil Banner and held it near, both imprints suddenly resonated.

The previously unremarkable surface of the bone armor suddenly emitted a burst of purple Thunder Light.