Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 272: Return the property to its original owner, repay the debt with a life

Lei Jun’s strike shattered Wang Dongchu’s immortal soul. The remaining Tianquan, Yuheng, and Yaoguang swords, which had been poised for a counterattack, suddenly fell silent.

Under the power of the Upper Qing Jade Celestial Bamboo, the flickering purple and golden light carried an innate divine might, as if it possessed the authority to sever and halt all other Daoist principles and spiritual energy transformations.

As a result, Tiankui, Tianxuan, Tianji, and Kaixiang—the four swords that had already been struck—remained frozen midair. Meanwhile, Wang Dongchu, after enduring Lei Jun’s initial blow, found not only his magical energy stalling but also his very thoughts severed.

Lei Jun followed up with another strike, utterly dispersing Wang Dongchu’s immortal soul.

For a cultivator of Wang Dongchu’s stature—an Eighth Heaven elder of Shushan—his immortal soul was far more resilient than that of an ordinary person. Even after being shattered, it did not immediately dissipate but instead lingered in the air.

Under normal circumstances, such a grievous wound would be devastating, but Wang Dongchu could still attempt to gather his soul and flee.

However, after being struck by Lei Jun’s Upper Qing Jade Celestial Bamboo, his dispersed soul fragments—each like a colorful bubble—were forcibly held in place, neither advancing nor retreating.

Given time, once the bamboo staff’s energy faded, Wang Dongchu might still have been able to reassemble his soul.

But Lei Jun merely waved his hand, summoning profound lightning to engulf and suppress all those "bubbles," swallowing them whole.

Under his precise control, the profound lightning did not immediately obliterate the soul fragments; instead, it simply pinned them in place, preventing them from merging again.

Lei Jun then turned his gaze to the Seven-Star Sword.

Wang Dongchu had only begun refining this magical treasure, so now, with his link severed, the seven flying swords trembled midair, exuding a wild, untamed aura.

At their core, their essence and origin had always been more attuned to their original creator, Chen Donglou.

Now, without Wang Dongchu’s control, the Seven-Star Sword had reverted to its former nature.

Having dealt with Wang Dongchu, Lei Jun put away his Upper Qing Jade Celestial Bamboo.

He silently gazed at the seven floating swords, then performed a Daoist salute, bowing slightly.

“Elder Chen, I am Lei Jun, a disciple of Mount Longhu. Today, I will be borrowing your sword and the Immortal Seed. If this act offends you in any way, I ask for your understanding. Should I one day recover your sect’s Purple Star Sword, I will personally return it to Shushan. I hope you do not take offense.”

With a thought, Lei Jun summoned his Mysterious Firmament Five Thunder Talisman, forming a Five Elements Talisman Array in midair.

He performed a hand seal and flicked his finger.

A second Five Thunder Five Elements Talisman Array materialized.

The two arrays merged, enclosing the Seven-Star Sword completely, temporarily sealing it away.

The closing array swiftly shrank, transforming into a shadowy streak that vanished into Lei Jun’s palm.

Now, his attention turned to the Purple Light Immortal Seed—which appeared like a spectral purple sword light, hovering motionless in the air.

Lei Jun raised his hand and brushed the air.

The elongated purple glow rapidly compressed, reverting to a seed-like form, shrinking into a single point before vanishing into his palm.

With his other hand, Lei Jun turned his palm over, unleashing the Dark Side of the Heavenly Book—a formless force that erased all traces of his actions.

At the same time, as the Purple Light Immortal Seed was sealed away, the dense mists and illusions that had shrouded the area suddenly found a release point, rapidly gathering and flowing into the Ancient Divine Tree beneath them.

Lei Jun’s figure flickered, swiftly retreating from the tree and leaving the southern slopes of Ancient Wood Mountain.

As the immense volumes of mist were absorbed into the Ancient Divine Tree, the massive tree seemed to sway gently.

Above Ancient Wood Mountain, the sky gradually cleared, allowing sunlight to peek through once more.

To the north, where a vast expanse of forest had silently burned into mist, the landscape now lay exposed—a desolate stretch of bare, charred woodland.

Conversely, in the south, the Ancient Divine Tree stood as the core, and the surrounding forest had become even more lush and verdant than before.

Extremes beget reversal—the malevolent energy that had previously entangled Chen Donglou’s immortal soul, after enduring this cycle of destruction and rebirth, had transformed into a nurturing spiritual essence, enriching the southern forest.

The mist had not entirely dispersed, but as the majority of it faded, a figure suddenly flashed within the lingering veil.

Moments later, this figure emerged at the foot of the Ancient Divine Tree.

It was Shangguan Yunbo, wielding his Dangkou Golden Halberd.

His sharp eyes swept across the area, but Wang Dongchu was nowhere to be seen.

In the distant mountain ridges, Shen Qubing, Lei Jun, and Shangguan Sheng appeared separately at different locations.

Shangguan Yunbo’s gaze lingered on the three of them before he resumed his search for Wang Dongchu.

As the commander of the Tang Dynasty’s Divine Strategy Army, he spared no effort in hunting down his target. His search went beyond merely digging three feet deep—he practically upturned the entire Ancient Wood Mountain range.

Lei Jun and the others assisted.

But in the end, they found nothing.

“Did he really manage to escape in the chaos of the illusions?” Shangguan Sheng asked helplessly.

Shangguan Yunbo frowned. “Strange… could there be another hidden mechanism at play?”

He glanced around, gave Lei Jun a small nod, then ordered, “Expand the search. If you find even a trace of him, report to me immediately!”

Lei Jun and the others all agreed.

The group dispersed again, continuing the search.

Lei Jun’s expression remained unreadable, though he was merely pretending to search for someone he had already sealed away in the True-One Altar Grotto-Heaven.

Until suddenly—

A message arrived from the north, interrupting their search:

Shushan has erupted into war!

A conflict even greater than the previous internal struggle had exploded within Shushan.

As the reports poured in, even Shangguan Yunbo, who was known for his composure, gradually showed signs of shock.

He had no choice but to summon Lei Jun and the others back.

“Elder Wei Qiyue… is one of the key figures of the Mortal Dao Nation?”

Shen Qubing was the first to react with disbelief.

Lei Jun remained silent, listening attentively.

Wei Qiyue—an elder from Shushan’s previous generation, held a rank even higher than Chen Donglou and Wang Dongchu.

Within Mount Longhu’s Tianshi Mansion, she was of the same seniority as Li Song.

As an Eighth Heaven veteran cultivator, she was a crucial figure in Shushan, both in rank and in power.

Now, it seemed she had her own agenda.

Shangguan Sheng murmured, “Then back at Snow Dragon Mountain, didn’t Chu Sherren face Wang Dongchu, Wei Qiyue, and Gu Han of the Daoist Alchemical Sect all at once?”

“They planned to shift blame onto Chen Donglou, diverting the Tang Court’s pursuit and reducing the pressure on themselves. But when I arrived at Snow Dragon Mountain, I disrupted their scheme.”

Back then, Chu Yu had already begun to suspect Wei Qiyue, but she had remained silent, only discussing it privately with Shangguan Yunbo.

Later, after escorting Liao Jie and Mo Chen north, further investigations confirmed that Wei Qiyue—just like Wang Dongchu—was indeed a core member of the Mortal Dao Nation.

This revelation made it clear: Shushan’s internal situation was far worse than expected.

So, before reaching Shushan, Chu Yu made the first move—

She captured Wei Qiyue in advance.

But now…

The true storm had begun.

"Xiaoding Mountain has sunk—the Taiyi Innate Tower and Qingxiao Hall have both been relocated underground, using the power of the Earth Veins to escape..."

As soon as Shangguan Yunbo set foot in Shushan territory, still some distance from Xiaoding Mountain, he received the report.

He looked down at the ground beneath his feet.

Above—the Taiyi Innate Tower.

Below—the Qingxiao Hall.

Both were Shushan’s most revered treasures, and never before had they left the mountain.

And now… they had both run away together.

Lei Jun rubbed his forehead. Should we just accept that Shushan’s true orthodoxy is now in the Mortal Dao Nation...?

Shangguan Sheng stole a glance at the silent Shangguan Yunbo but didn’t dare ask anything. Instead, he quietly contacted Chu Yu and the others at Xiaoding Mountain, seeking more details.

The Final Outcome of the Shushan War

Four Seventh Heaven Realm cultivators perished—including Liao Jie, who had tried to escape but failed.

Casualties among Middle and Lower Three Heaven cultivators were even greater.

On the other side, Wei Qiyue was wounded but successfully fled into Qingxiao Hall, retreating alongside Fu Dongsen, Hong Jie, and a faction of Shushan cultivators.

Beyond the Taiyi Innate Tower and Qingxiao Hall, Fu Dongsen also managed to take the North Abyss Divine Spear from Shushan.

However, the Southern Bright Fire Cauldron was knocked loose and fell.

Shushan’s Senior Elders Xu Duan and Zhang Dongyuan were both injured.

Compared to the previous civil war, this battle had completely fractured the Shushan Sect. The devastation was beyond mere damage to their foundation—it was a near-collapse.

Although the Azure Abyss Sword and Southern Bright Fire Cauldron remained, the Qingxiao Hall, which had been tightly linked to Shushan’s Earth Veins, had been forcibly relocated, causing the entire spiritual mountain to sink, nearly collapsing outright.

The sect protection formations at Xiaoding Mountain were nearly destroyed.

Without the Taiyi Innate Tower and Qingxiao Hall, restoring Shushan to its former glory would take an unimaginable amount of time and resources.

Now, Zhang Dongyuan and the remaining elders could only brace themselves—there was no time to grieve. They needed to pacify the panicked disciples and prepare for rebuilding.

Meanwhile, Fang Jingsheng pursued Fu Dongsen and his fleeing group through the Earth Veins.

But this was his limit.

Expecting him to lay down his life for the Tang Imperial Family and Shushan? That was wishful thinking.

Arrival at Xiaoding Mountain

As Lei Jun and his companions reached Xiaoding Mountain, he didn’t have time to dwell on the fact that he was finally seeing this legendary place for the first time.

Because before him was nothing but ruins and devastation.

The immortal mountain paradise was gone.

All that remained was chaotic spiritual energy, shattered peaks, and crumbling remnants.

Standing among the wreckage, Zhang Jingzhen, who had arrived earlier with Chu Yu, saw Lei Jun and met his gaze.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Because, without needing words, they both recalled the fate of their own sect—Tianshi Mansion on Mount Longhu.

The Power of Shushan—Before & After the War

Before this battle, Shushan had been on a steady path to recovery, gradually rebuilding after its past civil strife and expanding through external trade.

They had more than twenty Upper Three Heaven cultivators.

Excluding Chen Donglou, who had long vanished and was presumed dead, they had seven Eighth Heaven Realm cultivators:

• Hong Jie

• Xu Duan

• Wei Qiyue

• Fu Dongsen

• Zhang Dongyuan

• Wang Dongchu

• Zhang Taigang (a recent breakthrough)

Additionally, Ye Dongming, whom Lei Jun had briefly met, was preparing to break through from the Seventh to the Eighth Heaven Realm.

Had he succeeded, Shushan would have had eight Eighth Heaven Realm artifact-crafting Daoists.

But now?

Excluding Ye Dongming, who had yet to break through, Shushan was left with only three: Xu Duan, Zhang Dongyuan, and Zhang Taigang.

For any other sect, this would still be a powerful force, but compared to what they once were, and compared to the hidden titans looming in the world, Shushan was now but a shadow of its former self.

Just like Tianshi Mansion.

Even now, the Tianshi Mansion had yet to fully recover.

A single major upheaval could derail their resurgence once again.

Pure Yang Palace had suffered this fate before.

Now, so had Shushan Sect.

Would they be next?

Lei Jun’s eyes darkened.

The Mystery of the Taiyi Innate Tower

"By the way, there's one more thing," Zhang Jingzhen suddenly said.

Lei Jun turned to look at him. "What is it?"

"According to Chu, the Taiyi Innate Tower… this might not be the first time it has left Xiaoding Mountain!"

Lei Jun raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"They're still investigating the original site of the tower on Xiaoding Mountain," Zhang Jingzhen explained. "But according to Elder Zhang Dongyuan, the Taiyi Innate Tower may have been moved before. He finds this hard to believe, as there were never any signs of such an event."

Lei Jun narrowed his eyes.

Unlike Qingxiao Hall, which was deeply connected to Xiaoding Mountain’s earth veins, the Taiyi Innate Tower wasn't as inseparable from the mountain, but it was still one of Shushan's defining treasures.

If it had truly been moved before, how could no one have noticed?

Especially those at the Upper Three Heavens Realm—cultivators like Zhang Dongyuan should have been able to sense it.

Lei Jun fell into deep thought.

A Final Debt Settled

Lei Jun quietly left Mount Longhu, traveling southwest.

Rather than heading straight for Nanzhao, he found a secluded location in the Qian Mountains.

A place with few inhabitants, but not completely desolate.

After ensuring there were no prying eyes, Lei Jun waved his hand.

From his grasp, a collection of weakened, lingering souls, previously suppressed by his Heavenly Thunder, floated into the open.

The moment they were released from the lightning, the fragmented souls reformed, piecing themselves back together.

And soon, a weak, flickering immortal soul took shape—

The former Shushan Elder, Wang Dongchu.

The moment Wang Dongchu regained his senses, seven terrifying streaks of sword light descended from the heavens, pinning him to the mountainous terrain!

The overwhelming sword energy shattered the mountain, utterly annihilating Wang Dongchu’s soul!

Lei Jun calmly retrieved the Seven Star Sword and glanced at the sword marks left behind.

He pressed his hands together in a Daoist bow, murmuring:

"Elder Chen, I borrow your treasure and your reputation—please forgive the offense. I will repay this debt another day."

There was no need for deliberate forgery.

The same sword intent would naturally leave the same mark.

Eight words—

"Returning what was owed. A life for a life."

The signature below:

"Chen Donglou slew Wang Dongchu in Qian Mountains."