Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 243: This trip is a closed door beating!

Compared to when she had first acquired the Tianshi Sword during the Battle of Liwai at Mount Longhu, Tang Xiaotang had now achieved a far greater level of synergy between herself and the sword’s power.

However, within Jiangzhou’s ancestral land, the Lin Clan members were no longer uneasy.

With both Lin Che and Lin Chou—two Eighth Heaven Grand Scholars—present, combined with the Dragon-Serpent Brush and the ancestral land's grand ritual, Jiangzhou was as unshakable as a fortress.

Not only could they withstand Tang Xiaotang’s attack, but with their combined strength, they even had the possibility of launching a counteroffensive.

“Do not let your guard down,” Lin Che warned, his expression solemn.

“Xu Yuanzhen has already reached the Ninth Heaven and could appear at any moment.

Also… that foreign domain from earlier—there’s something strange about it.”

Previously, Jinzhou’s Ye Moquan and Suzhou’s Chu Xiuyuan—two veteran Ninth Heaven scholars—had clear objectives and had refrained from acting recklessly.

However, the head of the Qingzhou Ye Clan, Ye Yan, who had secretly ascended to the Ninth Heaven, had once traveled with Lin Che to the Northern Frontier to inspect the Great Black Mountain’s spatial portal.

Moreover, they had vaguely sensed within it a tyrannical, ominous aura—one that felt deeply incompatible with the Confucian aristocratic traditions upon which their families had built their legacies.

Beyond the threat of the Empress, this mysterious foreign domain had been one of the key reasons why the Four Great Families and the Six Prominent Clans had finally joined forces.

Preparing for the Next Move

“Uncle, I need you to hold the line and remain alert for any external disturbances.”

Lin Che turned to Lin Chou, his tone serious.

Lin Chou, along with Lin Feng, who had perished in the Battle of Poyang Great Marsh, had been among the elder statesmen of the Jiangzhou Lin Clan’s previous generation.

Upon hearing Lin Che’s words, Lin Chou nodded slightly.

“As long as we hold Jiangzhou, even if Xu Yuanzhen arrives, she won’t be able to break through in a short time.

Mount Longhu itself is vulnerable right now—they won’t dare to delay outside for too long.”

At this moment, Lin Lang stepped forward and reported:

“The two uncles and the elder brother have arrived.”

Accompanying him were three elderly scholars, their faces refined yet showing clear signs of age.

Two of them were of the same generation as Lin Chou and Lin Feng, both having once been senior elders of the Jiangzhou Lin Clan.

The third was of the same generation as Lin Che, Lin Qun, and Lin Yuwei, though significantly older.

What they all had in common was that they had long surpassed four hundred years of age, and both their bodies and minds were steadily declining.

To slow this process, they had remained in seclusion for years, rarely engaging in external matters.

Only in times of crisis, such as the defeat at Poyang Great Marsh and the current battle for Jiangzhou, would they emerge from their retreats.

However, none of the three elders had reached the Eighth Heaven.

This fact left many members of the Lin Clan feeling helplessly resigned.

If only the Great Uncle and the Seventeenth Uncle were still alive… Lin Lang sighed inwardly.

In the past, the Jiangzhou Lin Clan had more than one elder at the Eighth Heaven level, including an ancestor who had been a peer of Lin Jin, the great patriarch of the clan.

But those two elders had mysteriously left the ancestral land and vanished without a trace.

Their absence had caused the already weakening foundation of the Jiangzhou Lin Clan to erode even further over the years.

A Battle of Attrition

“Now that it’s confirmed Xu Yuanzhen has ascended to the Ninth Heaven, people’s attitudes will inevitably change.”

Lin Che’s gaze was steady.

“We only need to hold out for a while longer—then today’s siege will be broken.

For now, do not get distracted. Continue the ancestral ritual.”

“Understood!” The Lin Clan members responded in unison.

The Battle of Poyang Great Marsh had dealt a devastating blow to the Jiangzhou Lin Clan.

Not only had they lost Lin Feng, an Eighth Heaven elder, but they had also lost Lin Zhen and several Seventh Heaven cultivators.

After that battle, Lin Yuwei had broken through from Seventh Heaven to Eighth Heaven, while Lin Lang had advanced from Sixth Heaven to Seventh Heaven.

However, during the recent chaos in the Northern Frontier, the Jiangzhou Lin Clan had suffered yet more losses.

First, a Seventh Heaven elder had been secretly conducting a ritual at Dragon Bone Ridge, only to be trampled over and killed by Tang Xiaotang.

Then, another Seventh Heaven elder had perished at Great Black Mountain, while guarding the spatial portal alongside members of the Youzhou Lin Clan, only to fall victim to the Sea King Ju’s doppelganger.

Now, including the three elders who had just emerged from seclusion, the Jiangzhou Lin Clan still had a total of eight Seventh Heaven scholars.

But asking them to directly face Tang Xiaotang and her Tianshi Sword was simply too much.

Nonetheless, the eight scholars quickly spread out, taking up positions at eight key locations within the ancestral land.

Together, they assisted Lin Che in maintaining the grand ritual.

The Jiangzhou ancestral land grew even more impenetrable.

Lin Che and the others did not rush to counterattack—they focused solely on solidifying their defenses.

They were now an impenetrable fortress.

Even as golden and purple lightning crashed down in relentless succession, the black-and-gold mountains and rivers of Jiangzhou stood unmoved.

Tang Xiaotang’s Next Move

But the Tianshi, known for her fiery temper, was surprisingly calm at this moment.

“Are you all ready?” she asked.

Lei Jun's Arrival

At the same time, along the banks of the Great River, Lei Jun stood, gazing toward the Jiangzhou Lin Clan’s ancestral land.

Casually, he drew a few strokes in the air—a formation of Talismanic Runes for Heaven’s Vision and Earth’s Hearing spread throughout the sky.

Above him, three metallic rails hovered in midair.

Though they seemed unassuming, they radiated a magnetic force far more terrifying than anything he had unleashed before.

And in Lei Jun’s hand, there was now something else—

A square-shaped wooden tablet, its surface neatly cut and symmetrical.

Yet from within it, an ominous, overbearing aura emanated, its presence both mysterious and menacing.

The Battle Was About to Begin.

He weighed the wooden plank in his hand. "A bit rushed, but it’ll do."

——

Between Jingxiang and Chushui, the Fang Clan was the ruling power in the region.

However, in recent years, as the influence of the Shushan Sect spread beyond Bashu, Jingxiang was the first to be affected.

The Fang Clan of Jingxiang, which had previously focused on the Jiangzhou Lin Clan downstream to the east, had now shifted its attention westward—to the Shushan Sect’s expansion beyond Sichuan.

Now, both sides stood in a tense standoff on either side of Wushan.

However, the leader of the Fang Clan’s forces—a middle-aged scholar with a powerful presence—was looking not westward toward the Shushan Sect, but eastward, in the direction of Jiangzhou.

"Uncle, aside from the Azure Abyss Sword, there’s still no sign of the Northern Abyss Divine Spear leaving Sichuan. Also, Shushan Sect Leader Fu Dongsen has yet to emerge from the Celestial Summit," a Fang Clan member reported to the middle-aged scholar.

The scholar’s name was Fang Huansheng, known within the Fang Clan of Jingxiang as Great Elder, second in rank only to the clan leader, Fang Jingsheng.

Notably, the Tianshi Mansion’s direct disciple, Fang Jian, was Fang Huansheng’s son.

However, that did not influence any decisions Fang Huansheng had to make at this moment.

Behind him, another middle-aged scholar spoke softly, "Xu Yuanzhen has reached the Ninth Heaven, and Tang Xiaotang’s momentum is overwhelming. If we calculate carefully, Yuan Mobai still has quite some years before he turns two hundred, right? Although they’re all Daoist sects, Shushan is bound to feel some pressure."

Fang Huansheng kept his gaze fixed on Jiangzhou for a long while before finally speaking: "Sixth Brother, I need you to head to Jiangzhou."

The man beside him was Sixth Elder Fang Du, another core figure of the Jingxiang Fang Clan and an Eighth Heaven Grand Scholar, just like Fang Jingsheng and Fang Huansheng.

The Western Frontier’s demon turmoil had not left the Fang Clan unscathed, though their losses weren’t as devastating as those of the Xiao Clan in Longxi. Nevertheless, they had kept a low profile in recent years, focusing on recovery.

Now, with their clan leader Fang Jingsheng secluded in retreat and tensions rising with the Shushan Sect, manpower was already stretched thin in Jingxiang.

With Fang Du now heading east to Jiangzhou, the Fang Clan’s resources would be further strained.

Yet Fang Du did not object. He simply asked, "What about Suzhou?"

"Brother Youliang will also be making his way to Jiangzhou," Fang Huansheng replied.

Chu Peng, also known as Chu Youliang, was not a direct descendant of Chu Guolao, but he was one of the Chu Clan’s top martial scholars of the younger generation—renowned alongside Chu Zhe.

"Xu Yuanzhen breaking through to the Ninth Heaven is one reason," Fang Huansheng continued, "but the other is that the foreign realm she was in earlier may hold a major secret."

He added, "Jiangzhou’s Lin Clan must pass this trial."

Fang Du nodded. "I understand. Rest assured, Brother, I will depart immediately."

"Be careful on the way. Watch out for Tianshi Mansion sending reinforcements," Fang Huansheng cautioned.

Fang Du smirked. "I know. Their manpower is just as tight. If they really send people out, then Jiangzhou will have no worries at all."

As long as the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou could hold out in the initial stage, the arrival of Fang Du and Chu Peng—both Eighth Heaven Grand Scholars—along with the Lin Clan’s ancestral land and Dragon Serpent Brush, would make it possible to withstand even a Ninth Heaven expert’s assault.

——

"Senior Sister is making her move, too."

Tang Xiaotang’s eyes gleamed. "Perfect timing! Let’s get started!"

She gripped the Tianshi Sword in one hand, while in the other, something else suddenly appeared—

A spearhead, without the long shaft.

One of the three 'barbarians' Xu Yuanzhen had retrieved from the foreign realm.

Tang Xiaotang chuckled darkly. At this moment, her expression was eerily similar to Xu Yuanzhen’s—

Brimming with malice.

As she activated it, the spearhead flickered with a dim, ominous glow.

A wild, domineering, and blood-soaked aura erupted from it.

Then—

It plummeted from the sky, crashing straight toward the Lin Clan’s ancestral land!

In that instant, countless phantom shadows flickered into existence, merging into an unstoppable, piercing force.

It was as if an army of martial masters had struck all at once!

Though the aura was wild and unrestrained, it carried an unshakable, unified will—like an iron-blooded army surging forward in an unstoppable charge, trampling Jiangzhou underfoot!

This martial intent, seemingly both real and illusory, was terrifyingly specific—

It barely harmed anything else, yet against the Confucian Dao, it was a natural disaster, a storm of destruction.

And it was especially devastating against ancestral halls—places where Confucian lineage and tradition had been cultivated for generations.

Iron hooves trampled, flames of war raged, shattering the mystical golden defenses of Jiangzhou’s sacred mountains.

The Black River returned to its natural flow.

The Golden Kuanglu shed its glow, restoring the original landscape.

Even the Lin Clan’s ancestral land, which had been like an independent world, was no more—brought back to the mortal realm.

But it didn’t stop there.

Wherever the iron hooves passed, it was like a storm and an earthquake combined.

The outer walls of the ancestral land collapsed in unison, dust and debris filling the air. Rows of ancient mansions and towers, like brittle grass, were torn apart and scattered to the wind.

A thousand-year-old aristocratic family—reduced to rubble in an instant.

——

Lin Che, who had been wounded by the foreign realm’s chaotic currents, had already sensed something unusual.

But no matter how much he had overestimated the danger, he had still underestimated it.

Now, this "barbarian" had been further refined and sharpened by Xu Yuanzhen—its sole purpose: to obliterate an aristocratic lineage.

To be fair, Tang Dynasty Confucianism was not as vulnerable to martial intent as the Confucians of that shattered realm.

But the ambush was too sudden.

With the ancestral land destroyed, the entire Lin Clan was crippled in an instant.

All of the Lin Clan’s Upper Heaven Grand Scholars, from Clan Leader Lin Che to Lin Chou and Lin Lang, had their spiritual and mental states directly connected to the ancestral land.

Now that it was shattered, every one of them suffered a devastating backlash!

The three newly-emerged elders, who had only recently come out of seclusion, felt their vision darken, golden sparks flashing before their eyes as a searing pain struck their minds.

"…The Confucian lineage?!"

Lin Che ignored everything else and looked toward the ancestral shrine.

Above the shrine, the Confucian essence, like a candle in the wind, flickered feebly before vanishing completely.

Beneath it, the earth trembled, and the accumulated scholarly aura of the Lin Clan dissipated at an alarming speed.

"You vile wretch!!"

Normally calm and composed, Lin Che roared in fury.

But before he could even finish his curse—

A rolling wave of violet lightning, carrying both sword and thunder intent, descended from the sky!

——

Tang Xiaotang had unleashed the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, scattering its power rather than focusing it on a single target.

The entire Lin Clan suffered.

Having just experienced the ancestral land’s destruction, the Grand Scholars of the Upper Heavens were shaken to the core, unable to muster their Confucian might in time.

As a result—they were all struck down.

Only Lin Che and Lin Chou, both Eighth Heaven cultivators, managed to endure.

With the Dragon Serpent Brush in hand, Lin Che could even protect two of his kin.

But his heart had sunk to rock bottom.

His previous sense of unease and foreboding had now fully come to pass.

The Tianshi Mansion had never planned to block his return.

Because from the very beginning, their goal had been to annihilate the Lin Clan’s ancestral land!

Targeting Not Lin Chou, But the Other Lin Clan Elders

Lei Jun anticipated that Lin Che would spare no effort in protecting Lin Chou. Thus, when he activated the Confucian Shackles, the three metal rails above his head were not aimed at Lin Chou at all.

His real targets were three elderly Confucian scholars.

The Tianshi Mansion was far too familiar with the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou.

Although these three elders had long secluded themselves from the world, Lei Jun still recognized them—they were three veteran Lin Clan elders, all in the Seventh Heaven, aged and of high seniority.

Age had taken its toll on them. No longer at their peak, they were also the most affected when the ancestral land of Jiangzhou was breached, as their very life force was connected to it.

While Tang Xiaotang’s sword swept across the battlefield, these three were farther from Lin Che. Lin Che failed to shield them in time, and they were already wounded.

Lei Jun had always believed in crippling a single finger rather than wounding ten.

And so…

The three metal rails crackled with primal magnetic force, rumbling with silent fury.

With the support of numerous Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Talismans, Lei Jun no longer had to concentrate all three shots on a single target.

Instead, each metal rail locked onto a different target, simultaneously firing!

Thunder and fire roared.

The three injured Lin Clan elders—whose reactions and movements were already sluggish—trembled violently.

One was blasted apart, losing half his body.

One had a gaping hole through his torso.

One had his head blown clean off.

The remaining Lin Clan cultivators froze.

The Confucian Shackles had appeared mysteriously, indicating that Tang Xiaotang was not the only intruder. While they were still searching for their enemy, thunder boomed, and in the blink of an eye, three elders who had just stepped out of seclusion were now dead forever.

The attack had come from a great distance.

Was Xu Yuanzhen, a Ninth Heaven Daoist, already here?

Or was it a Confucian divine archer of the Upper Heavens, or perhaps a Daoist flying sword?

How many enemies were there?

Lei Jun, however, only shook his head.

"Still too rushed. My aim wasn’t as precise as I’d like."

He had just ascended to the Seventh Heaven and hadn’t yet refined his abilities. Most of his time had been spent cultivating the Life Canon and refining the Confucian Shackles.

His other life-bound spells were only roughly consolidated, relying on his current level of Clear Tranquility Insight to infer, adapt, and save precious time.

Even so, there were still areas that could be refined further.

Lin Che Struggles, Lin Lang Attacks

"There!"

Though Lin Che's face was as pale as paper, he was, after all, an Eighth Heaven Confucian scholar, well-versed in the art of governance. He immediately pinpointed Lei Jun's location.

But he had no time to spare—above him, purple, gold, and green flames descended like a raging tidal wave.

Lin Che wielded the Dragon-Serpent Brush as though it were a sword, his righteous energy surging like an unstoppable flood, clashing directly with Tang Xiaotang's celestial assault.

Sensing the threat Lei Jun posed, Lin Lang and other Lin Clan cultivators charged toward Lei Jun, forcefully stabilizing their shaken souls and chaotic righteous energy.

Lin Lang, a Confucian divine archer, was at the rear—but he was the first to attack.

He pulled his bow.

There was no arrow in sight, yet the moment his fingers brushed the bowstring, righteous energy gathered, instantly forming a radiant arrow.

With a twang, the bowstring sang, and an arrow storm spread through the air, cascading down toward Lei Jun like a mountain flood, sweeping across the entire battlefield.

Lin Lang held his breath and fired again.

This time, there was no sound, no visible energy, no disturbance.

A shadow-like arrow shot forth, vanishing into thin air.

But hidden within the dense rain of arrows, this seemingly unremarkable shadow arrow was the deadliest of all—faster, stronger, and exponentially more lethal than the barrage that concealed it.

The arrow storm surged over the mountain, raining down on Lei Jun.

Yet Lei Jun did not move.

He did not even bother to block or evade.

Having reached the Seventh Heaven, he could now fully wield the power of the Breath-Taking Flag. His bond with the artifact amplified both his strength and its own abilities.

A dim yellow light bloomed, generating an endless wave of spiritual soil, forming an impenetrable barrier that intercepted the incoming arrows.

The shadow arrow, sharp and deadly, focused all its force on a single point, attempting to pierce through.

But Lei Jun, bathed in the radiance of the Nine-Lights Abyss, completely nullified it.

He remained indifferent, his gaze locked solely on Lin Lang.

Jiangzhou Lin Clan’s youngest Upper Heaven cultivator.

Lei Jun’s True Strike

Beneath the rubble of arrow-riddled soil and stone, a far larger metal rail emerged.

Primal magnetic energy surged, and Lei Jun nodded slightly.

A deep hum filled the air.

Lightning crackled.

A massive magnetic sword pellet launched forward—far larger than the previous shots—disappearing instantly.

The mountains before Lei Jun collapsed spontaneously.

The land between Lei Jun and Lin Lang, once a majestic peak of Jiangzhou’s sacred mountains, was now blasted through, forming a gaping tunnel straight through the mountain.

A violent air current howled, expanding the tunnel’s walls, as though threatening to tear the entire mountain apart from within.

And yet, the sword pellet itself had already vanished.

Until—

Thunder erupted far in the distance.

Lin Lang had already begun moving, trying to reposition himself.

But before he had taken more than a few steps, his sharp Confucian divine archer’s intuition sensed an overwhelming killing intent rushing toward him.

Unfortunately, due to the earlier ancestral land tremors, both his reaction speed and righteous energy were weakened. He also underestimated the sheer speed and force of Lei Jun’s attack.

This shot—was completely different from the previous three.

Lin Lang had no time to dodge.

Instinctively, he raised his bow to block.

And then—

His bow and arm vanished together!

Before he could even process the shock—

Lei Jun’s second shot arrived.

The mountain in front of Lei Jun collapsed entirely.

And in the distance—

Where Lin Lang had once stood—

Thunder and fire exploded in an earth-shattering blast.

Dust and rubble filled the air.

And Lin Lang—

Was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Chi, the Next Challenger

The remaining Lin Clan cultivators, who had been charging toward Lei Jun, hesitated.

Only a few still advanced.

Lei Jun’s back-to-back attacks had drained his mana, but they had also opened a window for an opponent to get close.

That opponent was an old acquaintance.

Lin Chi, a Lin Clan elder.

Years ago, when the Lin Clan ambushed the Tianshi Mansion disciples at Chishan Branch, Lin Chi had been the one leading the charge.

Back then, he had been wounded by Elder Li Ziyang and Shangguan Ning.

Now, despite his past injuries, Lin Chi was still relentless. Even after witnessing Lin Lang’s death, he did not falter, instead seizing the opportunity to charge directly at Lei Jun.

As he closed in, Lei Jun’s body expanded.

Countless talismanic constellations swirled around him, transforming him into a towering celestial figure—

The Astral Sovereign, Doumu Star God!

Lin Chi's raging sword river clashed against Lei Jun’s star-lit form.

And in that moment—

Lin Chi realized his fatal mistake.

Lei Jun had advanced even further.

An instant later—

Lin Chi’s sword was shattered.

His chest caved in from a single strike.

And before he could react—

Lei Jun’s palm came down.

Lin Chi’s head—vanished.