Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 338: Turn the Tide and Break the Netherworld

Both top experts of the Sumeru Vajra Division were trapped within the Great Nether Reversal Nine-Palace Immortal Formation.

Gray mist surged as the formation continued expanding outward.

As Zhang Dongyuan, Zhang Taigang, Yue Xiling, and the other Tang cultivators retreated in haste, their hearts sank lower with every moment.

Inner Shushan’s methods were endless and unpredictable.

After all these years in the Yellow Springs, their understanding and mastery over it were clearly not to be underestimated.

This fearsome formation, both ferocious and ever-changing, instantly reshaped the battlefield—tipping the scales once more.

For the Tang cultivators, the good news was that Tianshi Tang Xiaotang was still present.

The bad news? Even with her arrival, there was no guarantee she could turn the tide.

Both Zhang Taigang and the others were already cultivators at the Eighth Heaven stage of Daoist cultivation. With their level of insight and experience, they had gradually begun to comprehend the nature of this formation as they tangled with it.

The terrifying formation continuously reversed Yin and Yang, constantly shifting to divide and entrap its targets. It was powerful enough to temporarily trap even two Vajra Division Masters.

If Tang Xiaotang charged in with the Three Treasures of the Tianshi, she might not even be able to link up with the Vajra Masters, much less guarantee a breakthrough.

And outside the formation, Inner Shushan still had figures like Daoist Kang An and the top-tier artifact Whitebone Divine Ark, whose whereabouts were unknown.

Zhang Taigang and Zhang Dongyuan exchanged a glance.

Zhang Dongyuan immediately began reaching out to Fang Jingsheng, who was still stationed in Bashu, and even to the imperial family itself—hoping more powerful allies might arrive.

…

Among the Nanzhao Mountains, far from Chicha Ridge and Broken River Valley, stood the Golden Bridge Peak.

Space and time here were in upheaval.

The tall mountain had been split clean in half from summit to base, with massive stone slabs tumbling down in collapse.

Beneath the shattered peak, eerie light welled up and boundless Yin energy surged out like a bottomless abyss, seemingly ready to swallow the land whole.

Hovering above this abyss was a colossal divine ark, over a hundred meters long.

The divine ark exuded a grand and imposing aura. It was made entirely of bones, each one white and lustrous like jade, intricate yet unified—less like something sinister, more like a finely crafted work of art. Yet its seamless structure conveyed a deep sense of indestructibility.

This was the Whitebone Divine Ark, a supreme treasure painstakingly refined over recent years by the Inner Shushan sect of Yellow Springs.

It was also the third life-bound artifact refined by Sect Master Ji Yao himself during his time in the Ninth Heaven.

The refining process had been aided by top figures of Inner Shushan, including Daoist Kang An, Li Linxue, and others.

Having achieved the Fivefold Daoist Reincarnation, Inner Shushan had forged one treasure for each of the five paths. The Whitebone Divine Ark represented the Human Realm Path, standing alongside treasures such as the Five Decays of Heaven Dao Bell, Yellow Springs Sword, and Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

At this moment, the divine ark floated high above the heavens.

Within its hold lay an entire hidden dimension—a small world.

Inside this miniaturized world, countless civilians and living beings, once native to the Nanzhao and Bashu regions of Tang, had been taken in.

To these ordinary mortals, although their current state was chaotic, there was still a fragile sense of stability.

This was because the Inner Shushan cultivators, when abducting people, hadn’t appeared cruel or tyrannical. Instead, they exuded the air of reclusive immortals, acting with apparent compassion and grace.

Officially, it was all in the name of "evacuation for safety."

They were highly experienced in such operations.

None within the Whitebone Divine Ark knew what was to come.

Standing at the bow of the ark, a middle-aged Daoist with an aged gaze and calm demeanor—Senior Elder Kang An Daoist of Inner Shushan—quietly concentrated on controlling the treasure.

Black runic inscriptions and talismans gathered at the front of the ark, resonating with the ritual array embedded deep beneath the shattered Golden Bridge Peak.

When Zong Han had previously opened a Yellow Springs portal at Chicha Ridge, it had taken quite some time.

But now, with this pre-prepared ritual and the Whitebone Divine Ark’s unique power to sail between the Yellow Springs and the Human Realm, Kang An Daoist could open a stable void portal in a fraction of that time.

Yet just when the gate was about to open—

Boom!

Lightning and thunder tore through the skies as a bolt of thunderous purple-gold lightning struck the Whitebone Ark!

Surrounded by thunder, cloaked in nine-colored divine light, Tianshi Tang Xiaotang descended, eyes blazing as she held the Tianshi Sword aloft.

“Where do you think you're going?!”

With a single slash, her thunderous sword light swept away the underground array and Yin energy beneath the mountain.

Even the ever-calm Kang An Daoist’s face showed a rare flash of shock.

This Tianshi of Mount Longhu—how did she find this place?!

Even if she had escaped the Great Nether Reversal Nine-Palace Immortal Formation over at Chicha Ridge, and even if she hadn’t been intercepted by Ji Yao and the others—

How did she find Golden Bridge Peak this quickly and accurately?!

The Nanzhao Mountains were vast, sparsely populated, and treacherous in terrain.

Even if Tang Xiaotang deliberately searched, she shouldn't have stumbled on this place so easily.

Had she gone to Broken River Valley, Kang An Daoist could have accepted that. The leyline ritual they used to assist Chicha Ridge had faint traces that might’ve been tracked, even if barely.

But Golden Bridge Peak had nothing to do with those areas.

This Yellow Springs portal was different. Inner Shushan hadn’t chosen a weak point in the void—but a hidden, nondescript location among countless peaks.

How in the world did she find it?!

Was there a leak?

Impossible.

Aside from himself, only Ji Yao, Li Linxue, and Ding Chuan knew. Even An Zhiyu was unaware, let alone someone like Zong Han.

Surely this Tianshi hadn’t just stumbled here by dumb luck?

The real confusion and disbelief surging through Kang An Daoist’s heart were far more intense than he showed.

But he had no time to ponder.

As a Ninth Heaven, Second Layer cultivator of the Crafting Branch, trained in Mortal Dust Qi, he instantly regained composure and focus.

Having clashed with Tang Xiaotang before, he understood her strength.

Kang An immediately activated the Whitebone Divine Ark, attempting to flee into the void and abandon the now-exposed ritual site.

But a moment later, golden lightning and divine fire surged above the mountain.

Tang Xiaotang’s Grand Daoist Manifestation—Pure Yang Realm—had descended.

Due to the connection established when the ark attempted to open the Yellow Springs portal, the ark’s spiritual resonance had tied it to the formation and environment.

Thus, even though Kang An Daoist reacted swiftly and the ark had strong void-sailing powers, it was a half-step too slow.

Tang Xiaotang’s Pure Yang Realm expanded, unleashing tremendous binding power.

The massive ark shuddered in midair as it tried to escape.

Its tail end was instantly swallowed by the golden world.

The enormous ark froze, suspended in the void.

It couldn’t advance—nor could it retreat.

The surrounding void twisted violently under opposing forces, warping around the ark.

Yet, despite being composed of countless bones, the ark remained seamless and unbroken.

But the delay was enough.

Tang Xiaotang was already upon them, sword in hand, lightning and fire raining down in divine fury.

Bolt after bolt of divine thunder hammered the divine ark, making the unshakable vessel tremble.

At the same time, Kang An Daoist made no hesitation.

He formed seals and pointed into the air.

From the ark, pale-white radiance surged as countless Whitebone Wraiths emerged to encircle and attack Tang Xiaotang.

But her sword light swept like a storm—like thunder and dragon cries combined—annihilating the ghostly masses.

Her target: Kang An Daoist himself.

Whether it was her own fiercely pure Yang energy, or her cultivation in the Mysterious Primordial Qi of the Talisman Sect's Ninth Heaven First Layer, Tang Xiaotang had no fear of the chilling deathly aura of the Yellow Springs—in fact, she countered it.

Kang An Daoist, a Crafting Branch Ninth Heaven Second Layer cultivator, had cultivated only Life-Death Nether Qi and Mortal Dust Qi, not the Vast Earth Qi.

Though his Immortal Soul was strong and nimble, relying solely on the Sea of Celestial Wandering, he held no speed advantage over Tang Xiaotang.

Her Lightflow Talisman, merged with her Dipper Mother Star Goddess Manifestation, gave her superb speed—particularly exceptional among Ninth Heaven Talisman cultivators.

She pursued relentlessly.

Kang An’s face remained expressionless.

He formed two distinct mudras and pointed once more.

More wraiths surged from the ark.

At the same time, a pitch-black, vicious long saber appeared overhead.

Its blade was blackened and dim, save for its glowing cyan edge—ominous and soul-piercing.

This was Kang An Daoist’s life-bound weapon—the Ghostfire Soul Saber.

As it manifested, it blurred into shadows, multiplying into countless saber lights—like endless ghostly phantoms covering the sky.

Both the Ghostfire Soul Saber and Whitebone Ark had the power to spawn endless ghost wraiths, creating a near-infinite offensive formation.

But Tang Xiaotang feared no such thing.

With her Ten Earths Fire Sea Talisman and Nine Heavens Thunder Sea Talisman combined, her Pure Yang Realm surged with golden brilliance.

A blazing golden sea of fire and lightning poured from her realm into the real world.

Ghost wraiths and shadow sabers alike were drowned and scattered by the golden tidal wave.

Still, Kang An and the ark were far from ordinary.

Wraiths and saber shadows regenerated endlessly.

Just then, Tang Xiaotang suddenly felt her spiritual sense lose track of Kang An's position.

He had used a technique to hide himself among the masses of phantoms and saber lights.

As a Ninth Heaven cultivator with three life-bound artifacts, he now played his deadliest card.

He merged his Immortal Soul with the Mystic Obscura Banner, concealing himself completely.

Rather than flee—he drew closer.

His final weapon: the Phantom Flame Needle, a soul-targeting artifact.

As a formless spiritual weapon that struck directly at the soul and included a second illusionary transformation, it was nearly impossible to guard against unless one was already on high alert.

Soul Saber in light, Flame Needle in shadow—this was Kang An Daoist’s deadliest combo.

He’d never revealed the Phantom Flame Needle since coming to the human realm.

Now was the time.

His eyes went cold and empty.

A flicker of illusory fire shimmered in the air—

Like threads of dim light, needles began to shoot out silently…

Under the brilliant light of the Dragon-Tiger Convergence, the black mist instantly shattered in waves. Even the Mysterious Dusk Banner began to emit white smoke as if it were set ablaze.

Helpless, Daoist Kang An separated his Immortal Soul from the banner and summoned his own natal artifact—the Soulburn Lamp.

This was a life-bound tool he had forged before stepping into the Upper Three Heavens. As he advanced in cultivation, the artifact had also been elevated and refined, and now could nearly rival a true treasure-grade weapon.

The Soulburn Lamp itself had no offensive capabilities.

But as numerous skeletal fiends and ghostly blade shadows voluntarily plunged into the lamp like moths to a flame, the lamp in turn fueled Kang An’s spiritual power, thickening the black mist around the Mysterious Dusk Banner once more.

Tang Xiaotang ignored the Soulburn Lamp.

The Celestial Master Seal on her waist flared to life.

Purple, gold, and green rays intertwined, forming an illusory three-layered Dharma Altar that enveloped her entire body.

The Dragon-Tiger Convergence, formed by the Golden-Green Taiji Diagram, grew ever brighter, its radiance burning through the black mist relentlessly.

The mist was pierced straight through.

The banner’s surface billowed with white smoke, and blackened holes began to appear.

Kang An’s face turned pale.

He had no choice now.

With a shift of his will, the White Bone Divine Ark trembled violently.

Inside the ark’s inner world, gray mist began to spread.

Cold and silent, it looked insubstantial—but the once-idyllic world inside, seemingly suitable for mortal life, quickly turned into a realm of the Yellow Springs.

The civilians within were about to be sacrificed—refined for their flesh and souls to feed both the White Bone Ark and Kang An himself.

Though it was done in eerie silence, Tang Xiaotang noticed immediately.

Her almond-shaped eyes widened, brows arched sharply, and the brilliance of her sword, seal, and robe burst forth.

The Celestial Master Seal shot into the air, transforming into a tangible three-tiered Dharma Altar that forcefully pressed down on the White Bone Ark.

The spreading gray mist inside the ark’s inner world halted instantly.

At the same time, Tang Xiaotang flew forward, swinging her Celestial Master Sword straight at the Mysterious Dusk Banner!

Already under heavy pressure from the Dragon-Tiger Convergence and severely damaged, the banner was instantly severed on the spot!

Kang An’s Immortal Soul trembled violently, nearly unable to maintain a humanoid form.

But Tang Xiaotang only grew fiercer as she fought. Holding nothing back, she poured spiritual power into her blade, continuing to strike at Kang An himself. Meanwhile, her Pure Yang Domain locked down the White Bone Ark, which began to tremble violently.

Within that domain, a massive golden divine warship surged across a golden sea of Pure Yang.

It rammed directly into the equally enormous White Bone Ark!

Pure Yang Warship vs. White Bone Divine Ark!

The impact sent a violent shock through the White Bone Ark!

Though its massive hull didn’t shatter, bone fragments began to fall away in chunks for the first time.

The skeletal fiends it generated ceased altogether.

Tang Xiaotang’s Pure Yang Domain expanded further, surrounding Kang An entirely.

Seeing this, Kang An didn’t utter a word. His Immortal Soul fused with his main offensive artifact—the Spectral Soulblade.

All the previous ghostly blade shadows vanished.

Only one dark blade with a green gleam remained in the air. Fused with all his strength and filled with killing intent, it slashed toward Tang Xiaotang in a desperate last-ditch strike.

At the same time, his Soulburn Lamp shattered itself, burning away the last of his soul to empower this fatal attack.

Tang Xiaotang met it head-on, completely unafraid. She faced the blade with her Celestial Master Sword and slashed back.

Boom!

At that moment, the Pure Yang Warship slammed into the White Bone Ark repeatedly.

Finally, a breach opened!

The inner world shattered, releasing a tide of living beings.

Bone fragments crumbled off the warship in droves.

With spiritual energy and magic violently erupting, even Tang Xiaotang’s Pure Yang Domain was forced to retract.

Her Celestial Master Sword, glowing with gold and violet light, pierced the sky and cleaved the Spectral Soulblade in two!

The green blade light scattered and slashed at her—only to be absorbed entirely by her Celestial Master Robe, flowing with nine energies and nine rays. The green blade dissipated uselessly.

Kang An’s broken soul emerged from the shattered blade, unable to hold a shape, battered and fragmented.

Tang Xiaotang let out a long laugh, chased after, and struck again!

Thus fell Daoist Kang An—Nether Shushan’s Ninth Heaven Grandmaster—within the lands of Nanzhao in the human world.

Tang Xiaotang turned back.

The immense three-tiered Dharma Altar formed by the Celestial Master Seal had not materialized as a full true Cave Heaven Altar, but for now, it was like a miniature world protecting the countless lives inside.

But to protect so many lives from harm required delicate and steady control.

Thus, the Celestial Master Seal could no longer suppress the White Bone Ark.

As the Pure Yang Domain faded, the damaged ark shot away again.

“So many people?” Tang Xiaotang looked at the civilians under the tri-colored light of the Celestial Master Seal, a little surprised. She hesitated, then chose not to give immediate chase. Instead, she stabilized the seal and helped resettle the people.

Having slain Kang An and taken some spoils, she didn’t even glance at them—just stowed them away casually.

After securing the crowd in the mountains, she wasted no time showing off and immediately gave chase once again.

The White Bone Ark was Ji Yao’s life-bound artifact. Now damaged, it instinctively flew toward Chicha Ridge, where Ji Yao and the Great Nether Reversal Nine Palaces Immortal Formation awaited.

But with no one piloting it, the damaged ark couldn’t make it far.

Tang Xiaotang caught up before it could reach the ridge.

Meanwhile, the massive formation surrounding Chicha Ridge began to quake.

With his artifact under attack, Ji Yao was the first to be affected.

The ark's return and its pursuer's fury forced Ji Yao to emerge from the formation to retrieve it himself.

But the ark’s damaged state injured Ji Yao’s Immortal Soul, leaving him scrambling to fend off an all-out Tang Xiaotang.

She, fresh from victory, was in peak form, full of energy and fighting spirit.

Even with Ji Yao’s divine aura causing her sword to pause slightly, the strike landed solidly thanks to the Celestial Master Seal.

Though Ji Yao’s Lesser Free Immortal Body was strong—his Immortal Soul tougher than ever—it couldn’t match the defensive power of the Five Qi Toward Origin from the Alchemy lineage.

Taking that one hit left him groaning.

He forcibly reclaimed the White Bone Ark and fell back into the formation.

But his momentary absence caused the Ten Thousand Souls Banner to falter, and the entire formation stalled.

Garuda, Lord of the Vajra Division, took advantage of this, risking a heavy blow from Li Linxue’s Yellow Springs Sword to break free from the formation—even though his Diamond Body was damaged.

Master Renzhu was already heavily wounded and couldn’t escape.

Ji Yao, back within the formation, emotionless, walked to the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and slapped its staff.

A deadly silence and the waters of the River of Oblivion surged—collapsing Renzhu’s body instantly.

Then Li Linxue struck again with the Yellow Springs Sword.

Thus, the high monk of the Ninth Heaven—the second top-tier figure to fall that day—was slain, following in Kang An’s footsteps.

The battle had reached unprecedented brutality.

Garuda retreated with injuries.

But Tang Xiaotang, bathed in blazing Pure Yang Thunderfire, fought fiercer than ever.

“No word from Duanjiang Valley. Disciple Ding hasn’t moved either.”

Elder Li Linxue, who had hoped to trap Tang Xiaotang in the formation, changed tactics. From across the Great Nether Nine Palaces Formation, she clashed with Tang’s Celestial Master Sword and shouted:

“Something definitely happened at Duanjiang Valley! The formation is being weakened!”

Ji Yao, nursing his wounded soul, turned toward Duanjiang Valley…

Inside Duanjiang Valley.

Through the Great Celestial Mirror, Lei Jun watched calmly as the two monks from Sumeru’s Vajra Division were drawn into Nether Shushan’s grand formation. He made no move to intervene.

Only when the Great Nether Reversal Nine Palaces Immortal Formation expanded further, placing Zhang Dongyuan, Zhang Taigang, Yue Xiling, and other Tang realm cultivators in peril of being swallowed as well, did Lei Jun finally withdraw his gaze from Chicha Ridge.

He stepped into Duanjiang Valley.

As twin Taiyi Celestial Talismans rotated, immense geomagnetic force arose, severing the connection between this place and the outside world. This not only disrupted the local spiritual flow but also blocked any external surveillance or internal communication.

An Zhiya, Li Yuanyuan, and several others were maintaining the ritual altar that empowered the larger formation, amplifying its might from here.

Suddenly, they noticed the altar’s function becoming sluggish.

The ambient spiritual energy flow of Duanjiang Valley was being severely disrupted.

Just as suspicion rose in their hearts, their vision blurred.

Near the thirty-six ritual banners and the gray mist–formed Dao Bell, a towering young Daoist in purple robes had appeared out of nowhere.

Under his control, seventy-two Taiyi Celestial Talismans flew forth—paired and arranged symmetrically—surrounding the thirty-six ritual banners.

As this happened, the gray mist–formed Dao Bell vanished.

In its place, a new bell took shape—one made of visible, solid geomagnetic force, dazzling with white light. It tolled silently at the heart of the valley.

The massive geomagnetic surge caused the thirty-six long banners to whip violently in the air.

Following the earth’s ley lines, the current channeled back toward Chicha Ridge.

But instead of reinforcing the formation, it began disrupting it.

"You…"

With a decent grasp of Tang's current figures, both Li Yuanyuan and An Zhiya recognized him instantly:

“...Lei Jun, Xuanxiaozi of the Celestial Master Residence?!”

They reacted quickly.

But even before they could complete the thought, starlight burst from Lei Jun’s entire body.

Thirty-six Taiyi Celestial Talismans, paired into seventy-two, continued revolving, constructing an entirely new ritual mechanism.

Lei Jun’s own towering figure surged taller, and in one bound, he was already standing before Nether Shushan’s high elder Li Yuanyuan.

Both hands shot forward—

Tearing apart her Immortal Soul.

Li Yuanyuan’s defensive life-bound artifact, the Jade Bone Armor, reacted instantly, bone plates unfolding on their own to shield her.

But a deep roar shook the air as a green Hellfire Tiger appeared. Its ninefold Netherflame ignited beneath her feet, engulfing the jade bone plates in fire.

The armor couldn’t form completely and failed to protect its master.

In the next instant, Lei Jun’s hands forcibly ripped open her Immortal Soul.

Her second life-bound treasure, the Soul-Hunting Bell, floated above.

Before it could chime, thunder roared.

A purple Thunder Dragon soared upward and swallowed the bell whole.

Meanwhile, a black Lightning Dragon swept across the battlefield, silently tearing through the lesser Nether Shushan cultivators.

Farther off, An Zhiya watched in horror as Lei Jun’s Thunder Dragon consumed Li Yuanyuan’s shattered soul.

She dared not hesitate—immediately summoning her life-bound treasure, the River Fog Gauze of Oblivion.

Sure enough, Lei Jun’s Doumu Star Deity Form surged toward her like a divine avatar.

Her gauze spread wide like the waters of the River of Oblivion, trying to halt his advance.

At the same time, she summoned another artifact: Wandering Soul Veil. Working in concert with the first, it created a countering force of softness against Lei Jun’s overwhelming power.

But in the heart of the ghostly river, a thunderous tiger’s roar echoed.

A blazing crimson-gold radiance lit up Duanjiang Valley like a descending sun.

Roiling heat burst forth—

At its center: a crimson-gold tiger, coiled and roaring in the blaze.

Solar Heavens Talismans.

Celestial Flame Ancestor Form.

The Solar Flame Tiger appeared and swept through the misty spectral river, vaporizing the cold waters and scattering thousands of ghostly wraiths.

How many manifestations does he have?!

For a moment, An Zhiya was dazed.

Even if she hadn’t fought a Fulu School cultivator in years, she knew this was not normal.

But there was no time to think.

The Thunder Dragon and Hellfire Tiger—now forming a purple-green Taiji Diagram—had already locked onto her final artifact: the Soul-Freezing Nail of Ice.

This wasn’t just cold—it froze the enemy from within by channeling the chilling spirit of the River of Oblivion.

An Zhiya’s soul had merged with this artifact.

But Lei Jun was faster.

Before the nail could respond, the Taiji Diagram sealed it.

Lei Jun, divine and mighty in his Doumu Star Form, stepped forward—

Right before the floating blue nail.

Inside, her icy voice rang out:

“Does the Celestial Master’s Lineage truly want total war with Nether Shushan?!”

She didn’t finish her sentence.

Lei Jun’s titanic fist struck the Soul-Freezing Nail.

Again and again, he punched, shattering the nail—

And annihilating her Immortal Soul with it.

Her final scream faded like smoke.

Another Nether Shushan elder, gone.

“No more of this ‘Nether Shushan this’ and ‘Nether Shushan that’…”

Lei Jun calmly withdrew his fists.

“You might as well call yourselves Dead Shushan.”