Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

"This inkstone seems different from the Talisman Ink we are accustomed to?" Lei Jun examined the inkstone for a moment.

Wang Guiyuan nodded. "Chu Andong is from the Suzhou Chu Clan, one of the Five Clans and Seven Families. Their cultural refinement and literary eminence are renowned throughout the South, earning them fame across the Great Tang. This inkstone was said to be personally crafted by one of Chu Andong's elder relatives in his clan. However, after it came into Chu Andong's possession, it underwent further Warming and Nurturing by the elders of our sect, which changed it somewhat."

Lei Jun nodded slightly upon hearing this, showing even more interest.

Being personally made by an elder of the Chu Clan means it was crafted by the hand of Confucian Scholars. Having entered Dragon Tiger Mountain to study the ways of Taoism, Chu Andong himself was versed in the art of the Taoist Talisman Sect. The inkstone had also been further improved by the Warming and Nurturing of the Celestial Master Mansion's elders, making it different from the earlier Confucian Inkstone. In a sense, it could be said that this object embodies characteristics of both the Confucian and Taoist traditions.

Lei Jun had never directly interacted with Confucian Scholars before. Now, as he pondered over this inkstone, he found it quite interesting. It should be said that he had an academic interest in the various Taoist cultivation paths in this world.

"Later, I'll try and see how different it is from our usual Taoist Inkstones."

Lei Jun smiled as he put away the item, and then asked Wang Guiyuan, "Has Master returned to the mountain?"

Wang Guiyuan shook his head. "Master hasn't returned to the mountain yet, but he has sent a message. He has gone to the south to coordinate with Tang."

Hearing the underlying meaning in Wang Guiyuan's words, Lei Jun's brows lifted slightly. "Does this mean that the movements of the Southern Witch Sect are not trivial? Besides the Worm Master who troubled Little Senior Sister before, are there other high-level Witchcraft Sect masters coming north to our place?"

Wang Guiyuan nodded. "Apart from the people from the Sacred Land of Witchcraft Worms in Yintuo Mountain, at least one high-level Blood River Sect master has appeared."

The Blood River Sect was a Sacred Land, a lineage of the Southern Wilderness Witchcraft Sect known for its ferocity and bloodlust. Even within the Great Tang, they were regarded as a demonic path and treated with extreme vigilance.

Blood River Sect, huh... Lei Jun suddenly remembered Chen Yi using Spells from another sect. Whether there was any connection between the two, or what kind of relationship it was, he did not know.

"Although the Yellow Sky Sect attacked with two generations of their Sect Leaders, our sect has managed to temporarily hold back both waves of their offense," Wang Guiyuan said. "However, we still cannot be careless. As for the Blood River Sect, their appearance isn't really unexpected, is it? There have been several battles around Dragon Tiger Mountain lately, with casualties on both sides..."

Lei Jun understood. The Blood River Sect reveled in events where blood was shed and people suffered. Cultivators possessed Vitality far richer than ordinary people. In recent days, the series of battles around Dragon Tiger Mountain had led to many deaths and injuries, saturating the area with death and Blood Qi, which was exactly the kind of environment Blood River Sect cultivators enjoyed. Even if they didn't actively stir up trouble, just quietly entering to collect Blood Qi would greatly benefit their Cultivation Practice. And Blood River Sect cultivators were notoriously cruel and bloodthirsty. Expecting them not to take advantage of the chaos and go on a killing spree was like expecting fish to avoid water.

Therefore, although the Celestial Master Mansion had suppressed Huangtian, they did not dare to relax. They continued vigilant patrols inside and outside, wary of the Blood River Sect interfering. As expected, they soon discovered the atrocities committed by the Blood River Sect cultivators, and the Celestial Master Mansion's experts immediately launched a counterattack.

After chatting with Wang Guiyuan for a bit, Lei Jun bid farewell and went to visit Chu Andong and Li Zhenchang at their residence. Chu Andong's injuries were severe, and for the foreseeable future, he would need patient recovery. Though Li Zhenchang's condition was not as grave as Lei Jun's, after several days of rest and recuperation, his spirit and Mana had recovered, and the traces of Worm Arts poison within him had been thoroughly cleansed.

During this time, Xia Qing also returned from Mount Tianxu and rejoined the Dragon Tiger Mountain Main Residence. After this period of rest and recuperation, she had recovered most of her strength and was once again spirited.

At this time, manpower on the mountain was scarce. After resting, Lei Jun, Li Zhenchang, and Xia Qing successively took on the tasks arranged by their sect, ranging from patrolling the mountains to directly leaving the mountain to confront disciples from the Yellow Sky Sect and the Southern Witch Sect. Lei Jun had more opportunities to test his own learning.

As of now, that old Worm Master was the most formidable opponent he had engaged in direct combat with. Although it was hard to say whether the opponent was still a full-fledged Fourth Layer of Heaven realm cultivator due to one reason or another, his array of Gu-creatures and methods indeed had their unique strengths. Battling him also gave Lei Jun the most to gain.

For instance, during the battle, Lei Jun felt that there was still room for further optimization in his Five Thunder Talisman.

The initial considerations were not without reason. If it's too intricate, it might be lost to complexity. The Five Thunder Talisman's ability to evolve into five different types of Thunder Methods, useful for various enemies and situations, is its advantage. But from the moment Lei Jun summoned the Spirit Talisman to when the Thunder Methods actually took effect, it now seemed a tad slow. Using the terms from Lei Jun's past life gaming experience, it means the pre-casting animation was a bit long. It wasn't a problem when dealing with enemies of the same realm. But when facing opponents like the old Worm Master, it was easy for them to seize the moment of vulnerability. Therefore, Lei Jun's next direction for improving the Five Thunder Talisman wasn't in the power of the Spirit Talisman, but in how to make it take effect more quickly.

Speaking of this, Lei Jun felt that the gift from Li Zhenchang was rather to his liking. Theoretically, the Ninefold Resurgence Stone was meant to help cultivators recover Mana. This was of limited help to Lei Jun since he had the Breathing Soil Banner, which had the same function but was more effective. So, Lei Jun had another idea in mind. He shattered the Ninefold Resurgence Stone, then slowly refined the powder and incorporated it into his plan for improving the Five Thunder Talisman.

Under the enhancement of his Tongming Level comprehension, Lei Jun devised some unorthodox methods:

To accelerate the circulation of Spiritual Power in the Spirit Talisman, rather than the cultivator's own Mana recovery. The difference between the two was undeniably huge. Relying solely on something like the Ninefold Resurgence Stone wouldn't be successful.

Lei Jun, coupled with other Spiritual Objects and after repeated trials, finally made some progress. The battles with the cultivators from the Yellow Sky Sect and the Blood River Sect after descending the mountain were treated by Lei Jun as live combat drills, to continuously validate his own ideas.

「And so...」

In the forest, a blood-red blade light swept across, felling numerous trees. Amidst the flying branches and leaves, Lei Jun moved swiftly, dodging the blood-red blade light, and in a blink, he was in front of the Blood River Sect disciple.

The opponent sneered. The originally wide and powerful blood-red blade light, which was like a wide, rushing Grand River, suddenly transformed into a narrow, twisting creek, switching from forceful and unrestrained to nimble and agile. The deflecting blood-red blade light closed in in an instant, interweaving in front of Lei Jun like a pre-set trap. What remained unchanged was the Bloody Evil Qi that nearly drove one mad upon approach, fully displaying the formidable subtlety of the heritage from the Sacred Land of the Blood River Lineage of the Witchcraft Sect.

But even in such a hairbreadth moment, the Five Thunder Talisman in Lei Jun's palm lit up. Gold, black, red, and brown lights disappeared. Only flashes of cyan light twinkled, rapidly generating a large amount of thunder.

Amidst the SIZZLE SIZZLE SIZZLE sounds, fine cyan lightning wove around Lei Jun's body. It resembled a grove of bamboo derived from lightning, or a net woven from bamboo strips. Under the net, the previously agile blood-red blade light, like a swimming dragon, was suddenly entangled by layers of cyan-green lightning, unable to move.

It was the Wood Void Thunder from the Five Thunder Talisman.

Lei Jun nodded slightly. Hmm, the speed at which the Spirit Talisman converts Spiritual Power into thunder has improved by more than ten percent, but I feel it could still be faster...