Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

He watched as the Fang siblings disappeared in the direction of the Eight Desolates Blood Cavity, then Lei Jun withdrew his gaze and stopped paying attention.

He turned and stepped into the Eight Desolates Blood River Array.

After he smashed a section of the rock layers here, the blood water had finally been able to flood out in large amounts.

Not only did this ease things for Xia Qing and the others trapped inside the array, but even Luo Haoran, who was off in another direction struggling to plug the breach, also found it much easier.

When Lei Jun appeared, the other sect members rejoiced, "Lei!"

"Everyone, stay alert," Lei Jun said, switching to a mid-grade Wind Riding Talisman in full view of the crowd. He also activated a mid-grade Golden Barrier Talisman and crossed the blood river with extreme caution, rescuing Xia Qing and the others from the array one by one.

"Lei, be careful, there may be Blood River Sect demons lurking nearby," a disciple from the Celestial Master Mansion reminded, "The way we fell into this massive Blood River Array is awfully suspicious—it may not have been by chance, but a trap set by those demons!"

Lei Jun said, "Senior Brother, you make a good point, we all need to stay sharp."

*If his guess was correct, the so-called 'Blood River Sect demon' who'd set up Xia Qing and the rest was probably that particular pair of siblings.*

Luo Haoran had arrived here first, blocking the surge of blood water threatening to spill onto the surface.

After being discovered by the Fang siblings, he got the shaft—the trap sucked Xia Qing and company in, stranding Luo Haoran, and also setting up Hong Yu Zhan Lao, sowing conflict between the sect elders and those from other backgrounds.

Sure enough, once Lei Jun fished everyone else out, he lent Luo Haoran a hand, and Luo Haoran was still shaken, "Lei, thank God you came in time, or I... I really would've been..."

"Don't mention it, Luo. Glad everyone's safe," Lei Jun said, helping Luo block the flow of blood water.

After the array had been weakened by the flooding, with their combined strength, it became easy to stop the blood from seeping to the surface.

Xia Qing and her group had been saved, but their conditions were dire; whether mentally or in mana, they were both seriously depleted.

Xia Qing especially—she had honestly been as unlucky as Elder Du.

She'd already been tricked by Zhong Yunfei in the Tianxu Sect before, barely nursed herself back to health, and now she was running headlong into disaster again.

She'd been the main force resisting the Eight Desolates Blood River Array; now her mana was nearly exhausted, her spirit drained, barely able to stay awake.

The other disciples from the Celestial Master Mansion were focused on restoring their breath and qi, while also taking care of Xia Qing; with everyone so wiped out, no one went to help Luo Haoran.

Lei Jun observed, and some truly couldn't spare the energy, while others probably held some grudge against Luo Haoran for his earlier hesitation—though none let it show out loud.

As for Lei Jun, everyone just kept on thanking him over and over.

Lei Jun stayed humble, never taking credit for it.

For Luo Haoran, Xia Qing, and the rest, this Blood River Array had indeed been dangerous.

But for Lei Jun in this moment, it hadn't been quite as bad—which was why, back when he'd tried to avoid misfortune, this place was rated as a perfectly neutral lot in his divination.

*A small regret, though—his divination had mentioned that the Blood River Array here had once held a seventh-grade opportunity.*

But Lei Jun had arrived a bit too late.

*He pretty much understood now what had gone down.*

*Within this bulked-up array, a rare artifact could've been born, called the Dried Blood Stone.*

*Its function was to sacrifice blood qi in exchange for nurturing the cultivator's spiritual soul.*

*If you rushed over here before the Blood Sea erupted and surged backward into the Blood River, you'd have had a shot at the Dried Blood Stone.*

Luo Haoran had been too busy plugging leaks to pick up the treasure.

After the Blood Sea exploded and reversed through the Blood River, it triggered the array's upheaval—whatever Dried Blood Stones had grown here were destroyed in the process.

When Lei Jun chose the Blood Sea route first, he'd basically given up on trying for the Dried Blood Stone here.

Good thing he hadn't been all that interested in it anyway.

Thanks to the Bear King's Mysterious Gall nourishing him, his blood qi was already plentiful and robust—he didn't need blood qi to boost his spiritual soul.

Lei Jun had even less interest in behaving like those Blood River Sect cultivators, slaughtering others just to plunder their vitality.

Besides, in the Blood Sea he had scored something even better: Nine Sacred Frost Dew.

"This gigantic Blood River Array has finally begun to lose momentum. Let's take it apart and suppress it together and not linger here," Lei Jun suggested.

Although he was the newest inducted member at the mansion, Luo Haoran and the other recovered Celestial Master Mansion true inheritors all nodded, agreeing with Lei Jun's judgment.

Together, they unleashed their arts, subduing the now-weakened Eight Desolates Blood River Array.

"Boom!!"

While busy with their work, a deafening crash boomed out from afar—the underground cavern shook violently all over again!

"What's going on?!" The true inheritors of the mansion tensed up all over again.

Lei Jun put on a look of surprise.

He glanced toward the direction of the tremor, worked it out, and had a pretty good idea, *

the direction of the Eight Desolates Blood Cavity...*

*He mostly guessed what had happened, but without knowing how far the calamity at the Blood Cavity spread, Lei Jun stayed cautious, urging the others to stay alert as well.*

Soon after, a flood of blood burst from the river channel near the Eight Desolates Blood Cavity, diverting the Blood River once more and pouring it back into the underground cavern.

Fortunately, the blood flows clashed and canceled each other out—the surge was no longer quite so terrifying.

Lei Jun and the rest held it off for a while, stopping the Blood River from rampaging any further.

After a bit, the Blood River settled down, its flow dimming substantially.

The group suppressed and dismantled the array behind them and began looking for a way out.

After the Blood Sea eruption and then the destruction at the Eight Desolates Blood Cavity, most of the rock layers in the underground palace finally gave way and collapsed in sheets.

Cavern walls split open in many places, with cracks racing up to the surface and revealing the underground maze to daylight once more.

Luckily, the surface rupture occurred mostly in remote mountains and hill country.

Thanks to the efforts of Lei Jun and Luo Haoran, the place nearest dense human habitation was held together and did not collapse.