Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 213: Master Lei is about to cry

Twisting the middle-aged officer’s neck, Lei Jun casually tossed the corpse into the deep valley below. The body was instantly shredded by the violent wind currents.

Then, with another kick, he sent the young guard into the same stormy abyss.

The greatest advantage of cultivators from the Talismanic Branch of Daoism lay in their ability to prepare talismans in advance. By using a variety of spirit talismans, they could handle numerous complex situations. With pre-made talismans drawing on the power of heaven and earth, they could achieve formidable spell effects at minimal cost, making them versatile in nearly every aspect.

At least, most of the time.

Only when facing extreme situations or specific opponents did this versatility show its limits—such as in close combat against high-level martial artists or when encountering long-range attacks like Daoist flying swords or Confucian divine archery.

Lei Daozhang, however, had long anticipated such weaknesses in his cultivation and personal practice.

For instance, dealing with these two young heirs of the Shangguan family was effortless—so much so that one might wonder who was truly the martial artist here.

Only against someone like Shen Qubing, an exceptionally unique fighter, would Lei Jun feel pressured in close combat.

Shen Qubing’s Tai Ting Celestial Physique was an overwhelming advantage, granting him unparalleled benefits in both Daoist thunder techniques and martial arts.

With the enhancement of Tai Ting Celestial Thunder, his already superior speed and destructive power as a warrior were pushed to even greater heights, further refining his strengths.

Even among Middle Three Heavens cultivators—some even at the Seventh Heaven Realm—few could match his speed.

Lei Jun could unleash his full arsenal—Wind Thunder Talismans, Heavenly General Talismans, Mountain-Cleaving Talismans—but if it came down to a pure speed contest, he had no confidence in keeping up with Shen Qubing.

Treading the Big Dipper required an extended buildup to reach peak performance before he could barely keep pace.

But in real battle, where life and death were decided in moments, who had the time for such a gradual buildup?

Of course, Lei Jun didn’t just rely on increasing his own speed—he had plenty of ways to slow his opponents down. That was another battle strategy altogether. He wouldn’t foolishly try to compete with Shen Qubing in raw speed alone.

And as that middle-aged officer had said—people like Shen Qubing were too rare and exceptional.

Currently, Shen Qubing was focused on healing his injuries, making him less aware of his surroundings. Lei Jun could thus quietly eliminate the officer without drawing attention.

Most of the time, Lei Jun didn’t bother interfering in others’ affairs.

But given that he had already identified someone from the Fire Luminary faction—an asset for future plans—and that Shen Qubing’s presence might trouble the Shangguan family, Lei Jun decided to intervene this time.

Besides, he had no particular dislike for Shen Qubing. Their past encounters had been relatively amicable.

As for the other scattered Shangguan family disciples, Lei Jun ignored them for now. After dealing with the two targets, he disappeared once more, as if he had never been there.

The middle-aged officer and the young guard had seemingly vanished into thin air.

When Shen Qubing finally steadied his breath and stabilized his injuries, he noticed nothing unusual at first.

It wasn’t until the chaotic earth veins beneath Empty Flow Mountain gradually calmed that the group reconvened—only to realize two people were missing.

Searching the area yielded nothing.

Due to the disrupted spiritual energy of the earth veins, all forms of communication had been rendered useless.

Since there were no signs of an attack from the Sui remnants, Shen Qubing and the others assumed the officer had simply left the mountain, either scouting or tracking fugitives.

Yet, despite further searching, the two men remained unaccounted for.

A sense of unease began to creep over the group.

Attempts to establish contact from outside the disrupted spiritual zone yielded no response.

No trace of their passage remained—no signs, no tracking markers.

Standing at the edge of the now-calm but still chaotic valley, the group looked down into the depths below, then at each other.

Had the two men fallen in?

Despite his injuries, Shen Qubing spoke up, “Let’s go down and check. We can’t just leave this unresolved.”

The others, all members of the Shangguan family, couldn’t bear the thought of their kin vanishing so mysteriously and immediately organized a descent.

By the time Lei Jun had thrown them down, the wind currents had been fierce—leaving their bodies torn to shreds. Now, even finding scraps of flesh would be difficult.

Still, Shen Qubing’s team searched meticulously and eventually found some tattered fragments of clothing.

Returning to the surface, they stared at the remnants in silence.

No one suspected Shen Qubing. Firstly, he had been gravely injured. Secondly, he was too straightforward to pull off such a deception without leaving any traces.

… In fact, many among them hadn’t even considered the possibility that the officer had planned to strike against Shen Qubing after he had helped them.

In the end, after much speculation, most concluded it had been an accident.

A few held lingering doubts, but with no leads, there was little they could do.

The Shangguan disciples had no choice but to accept their losses and depart, dejected.

Still, the mission had yielded results. Despite some casualties, they had successfully destroyed a key stronghold of the Sui remnants—a critical node in their efforts to manipulate the earth veins and establish a new destiny for their kingdom.

They could still report back with pride.

Just then, someone attempting to contact Shangguan Peng let out a surprised exclamation.

Shen Qubing and the others turned. “What’s wrong?”

The Shangguan disciple forced a grimace. “I can’t reach the general…”

The group immediately gathered around.

“Don’t panic,” someone reassured. “General Peng might just be busy or affected by similar disruptions in the earth veins. We’ll try again later.”

The young martial artist nodded hurriedly. “That makes sense!”

Yet—

“Still nothing.”

His voice wavered. “We still can’t contact him.”

Someone suggested, “Maybe the Daoist talismans failed. Do we have a Confucian Letters As Face?”

The martial artist hesitated. “That was… on the officer.”

Who was now buried deep in the valley’s wind currents.

A heavy silence fell over the group.

All they could do was offer each other words of comfort and try again later.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times they tried, Shangguan Peng remained unreachable.

Tension crept into their eyes. An ominous feeling settled in their hearts.

—

After settling matters at Empty Flow Mountain, Lei Jun left.

Finding a calm and stable location beyond the chaotic earth veins, he finally had the chance to unfurl his Magnetic Dragon-Entwining Banner and release the unconscious middle-aged man.

Lei Jun checked his condition.

Unlike Zhang Yuan, this man wasn’t directly afflicted by the Heavenly Book’s Shadow.

Yet, his soul was suppressed in the exact same way.

The difference was that Zhang Yuan had been directly marked by the shadow, while this man had only encountered something similar in the past.

Lei Jun used Heavenly Book: Three to wake the man and began his interrogation.

The man knew little about his own affliction, but from his account, Lei Jun deduced that he had likely encountered the Heavenly Book’s Shadow while preparing for the earth vein ritual.

It had left no immediate signs at the time.

Only when the Tang army attacked Empty Flow Mountain did he start feeling unwell—his condition worsening over time.

It must have been due to Shen Qubing… Lei Jun mused.

Zhang Yuan’s soul had been suppressed upon nearing Mount Longhu—linked to Heavenly Book: Three.

This man’s affliction originated near Shen Qubing—connected to Heavenly Book: Six.

But Shen Qubing had been too focused on fighting to notice, allowing Lei Jun to take advantage.

“… But there’s a problem,” Lei Jun muttered.

This middle-aged man’s cultivation far exceeded Zhang Yuan’s.

And yet, despite not being directly afflicted, his soul was still suppressed.

If Heavenly Book: Six wasn’t inherently stronger than Three, then the shadow this man encountered must have been far more powerful than the one that marked Zhang Yuan.

Interesting. Lei Jun recalled that Supreme Good Omen regarding the Heavenly Book’s Shadow had suggested untapped potential…

He made a mental note but didn’t dwell on it, continuing his interrogation.

Extracting all the man’s knowledge—while filtering truth from deception—took some effort.

But eventually, Lei Jun uncovered something valuable.

Yang Tai—the eldest son of Crown Prince Yang Yuqi—was expected to appear in the Zhu’an River region soon.

No exact date. No clear purpose.

Yet, Yang Tai’s status was undeniable. As the legitimate heir of the Sui royal line, his movements were highly secretive. If nothing changed, he was poised to inherit the Shengkang Throne.

More importantly, he might hold clues to the Tianshi Robe.

A rare lead indeed.

Lei Jun’s mind quickly pieced together the map of the Southern Wastelands and the relevant intelligence.

Zhu’an River—a waterway deeper in the Southern Wastelands, lying even farther south than Rain River and Zhao River.

Most notably, in recent years, that region had fallen under the influence of Gepo Mountain, the sacred ground of the Divine Dance Lineage within the Southern Wasteland’s Five Branches of Witchcraft.

The Five Branches were notorious for their chaotic and bloodthirsty nature, constantly at war with each other—not just between different sacred grounds but even within their own factions.

Still, some were worse than others.

Among them, the Blood River Sect and Ghost Dao Sect were the most feared, infamous for their ruthless slaughter. Even within the Southern Wastelands, they were despised as near-universal enemies.

The Blood River Sect, known for their insatiable thirst for battle and bloodshed, had long struggled to establish a stable base. Their ancestral stronghold had been destroyed years ago, and ever since, they had wandered without a permanent home, constantly hunted by their enemies.

If not for this, the hunt for Wei Anchang, their enigmatic leader, would not have been so difficult when he went into seclusion.

The Ghost Dao Sect’s situation was slightly better, but their cultivation methods were equally reviled. Their new sacred ground had only been recently established—before that, their mountain gates had been breached multiple times.

Even now, they were in a precarious alliance with the Blood River Sect, following a crushing defeat at the hands of Wei Anchang.

Their leader, Zong Han, was a formidable figure, having unified the Ghost Dao Sect and set it on a path to resurgence. He had even managed to recruit experts like Gao Pu and Cao Chu.

Unfortunately for them, just as they were beginning to rise, they ran into a greater storm—Wei Anchang’s ambition to unite the Southern Wastelands under Blood River rule.

Faced with this overwhelming force, Zong Han was left with no choice but to submit.

It was worth noting that Zong Han’s lineage had a long-standing enmity with Tianshi Mansion. His consolidation of the Ghost Dao Sect had once again placed them at odds with the Tianshi faction—hence why his disciples, such as Gao Pu and Cao Chu, had repeatedly clashed with the Tianshi forces.

By comparison, Gepo Mountain—sacred ground of the Divine Dance Lineage—was considered the most "peaceful" among the five branches.

Their foundation was among the most stable in the Southern Wastelands, and their internal structure was the most united.

Of course, “peaceful” was relative.

Had it truly been a haven of harmony, figures like Gu Ying, the Rain Grotto Lord, wouldn’t have been secretly colluding with the Blood River Sect.

And now, there were whispers of Yang Tai, the Eldest Prince of the Sui Remnants, heading toward Gepo Mountain’s territory at Zhu’an River.

"No specific date… That makes things tricky," Lei Jun murmured.

Even so, he remained relaxed.

He could simply head to Zhu’an River in advance and wait. If his Light Sphere reacted, he would have something to go on.

Even if Yang Tai never showed up, it wouldn’t be a wasted effort. Having a lead—no matter how uncertain—was better than nothing.

With this in mind, Lei Jun found a place with stable spiritual energy and used a Thousand-Mile Transmission Talisman to contact his master, Yuan Mobai, exchanging intelligence.

From Yuan Mobai, he learned of recent developments at Zhao River.

"Shangguan Peng—the general—he's in trouble," Yuan Mobai began. "Latest reports indicate he was ambushed downstream by Prince Yang Yuqi of Shengkang and Ghost Dao Elder Gao Pu—both at the Eighth Heaven Realm."

Lei Jun ran a hand over his face, as if wiping away nonexistent fatigue. "This is… truly unfortunate. So tragic. My heart aches."

Yuan Mobai had neither confirmed Shangguan Peng’s death nor mentioned his escape.

But considering his opponents…

Yang Yuqi, the Shengkang Prince, an Eighth Heaven Confucian scholar—strong, but expected.

Gao Pu, on the other hand—now that was a problem.

An Eighth Heaven Ghost Dao master skilled in ghost control and corpse manipulation…

Lei Jun’s expression remained neutral, but his thoughts turned cold.

If Shangguan Peng had truly fallen, that meant a whole new wave of trouble was on the horizon.