Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 374: New Happiness

Canglang Rock was located along the southern coast of the mortal realm, where it formed a striking geological structure that jutted out toward the sea, with towering cliffs and steep mountain rock.

Beneath the cliffs, waves crashed endlessly.

The area was desolate. Underwater currents below the cliff were treacherous and often caused ships to crash and sink—few dared come near.

Lei Jun gazed out into the distance, eyes fixed on Canglang Rock.

High above the sky, the Grand Celestial Mirror shone with radiant light that swirled and then focused, scanning the surroundings of Canglang Rock.

Reflected in the light, the Celestial Ground-Through Talisman flickered subtly in the depths of Lei Jun’s pupils.

What appeared to be nothing more than cliffs and sea to the outside world revealed an entirely different scene in Lei Jun’s vision.

Beneath the cliff, on the seafloor, a massive Black Lotus seemed to bloom, spreading across a vast area.

The seawater, already surging with hidden currents, was snuffed out upon contact with the Black Lotus, causing the underwater turbulence to grow even more chaotic and violent.

The Dharma of Vast Void Temple was known for obliterating all things, carrying immense destructive power.

Even when used for defense, its aura was dominantly offensive.

More covert techniques like the Reversed Mirror Wisdom Formation were extremely rare.

Though that formation seemed calm before activation, it could hide no one within. Whether before or after it was triggered, it brimmed with the intent of destruction.

At present, the Black Lotus couldn’t conceal its agitation outwardly, yet inwardly it displayed a rare moment of peace.

The monks of Vast Void Temple were quite familiar with the terrain of the southern coast, intentionally selecting the remote and uninhabited Canglang Rock to maximize the concealment of their movements.

But as Lei Jun’s cultivation level increased, so did the refinement of both his Grand Celestial Mirror and Celestial Ground-Through Talisman. Even with seawater separating them, he could now clearly perceive the presence of that enormous Black Lotus.

Despite its wild appearance, the Black Lotus was crafted with precision—Lei Jun was slightly intrigued.

After scanning the surroundings with the Grand Celestial Mirror and confirming there were no other anomalies or individuals approaching, he descended from beneath the rock into the sea.

Silently, an even larger opaque black sphere unfolded. On its surface, flowing light resembled the tranquil cosmos, with stars moving along distinct paths and orbits.

This small universe captured the massive Black Lotus within it.

The already slightly quivering Black Lotus immediately began to blossom more violently.

As it unfurled, dark ripples emanated from its center, spreading into the vast cosmic void and shaking the surroundings.

Soon, at the center of the Black Lotus, a Black Buddha Statue emerged and sat cross-legged upon it.

The appearance of this black Buddha intensified the destructive force of the ripples, which now carried even greater power.

Even the surrounding void space seemed on the verge of warping and tearing apart.

But in the next moment, a silent black Thunder Dragon appeared.

As the dragon approached, vast torrents of black lightning surged forward like a tidal wave, engulfing the giant Black Lotus.

Under the onslaught, the black Buddha was nearly shaken off the Lotus.

The Buddha opened its eyes—icy, with a chaotic blend of calm and madness—a stark contradiction.

The moment its eyes opened, the Black Lotus began to stabilize again.

Then, from the distant cosmic sky, a crimson-gold Flame Tiger descended with a thunderous roar, barreling down atop the Buddha’s head.

The black Buddha raised its palm upward to block.

Even the mighty flame tiger was halted in midair.

As the dark ripples exploded outward, the tiger’s body shuddered, its golden-red flames flickering violently.

“Lei Jun of Mount Longhu!” the black Buddha bellowed, its voice like a morning bell or evening drum.

The ripples expanded outward with renewed ferocity.

Though he had never met Lei Jun in person, the name of the current Tianshi of Mount Longhu was well known throughout the Daoist world of the Tang realm.

The simultaneous emergence of Mysterious Firmament Celestial Lightning and Heavenly Sun True Fire was as iconic as a signature.

Within the star-speckled cosmos, Lei Jun’s tall figure appeared.

He calmly faced the black Buddha. “Yuanmie of Vast Void Temple.”

As he spoke, the Flame Tiger condensed from Heavenly Sun True Fire blazed even more fiercely—its body expanding, tongues of fire licking out like the surface of the sun itself.

Already massive, the tiger now became enormous.

In that instant, red and gold interwove into the image of a real sun pressing down on the Buddha’s head.

At the same time, the Sea of Black Lightning surged, engulfing the Black Lotus beneath the Buddha.

“Execute!” the black Buddha growled—a chant resembling a Buddhist mantra, but maddening to hear.

Suddenly, black demonic flames ignited across its body—an aura of contradiction and disharmony.

The flames spread with eerie finesse, burning with an inner cold clarity, yet manifesting outward as violent destruction.

Though Lei Jun’s Heavenly Sun Flame Ancestor Apparition was not shattered, it was temporarily forced back by this bizarre and domineering technique.

Meanwhile, to resist the Mysterious Firmament Thunder Ancestor Apparition, the Buddha stomped down, summoning black demonic water to counter the black lightning sea.

The oppressive lightning couldn’t rise further.

Still, the sea of lightning continued to swallow the Black Lotus.

Several black-robed monks of Vast Void Temple on the Lotus leapt away in panic.

But from the distant cosmic space, bursts of purple lightning and jade-green fire suddenly filled the void.

In addition to the crimson-gold True Fire, Nine Abyss True Fire streamed in.

Within the Primordial Magnetic Sea, vibrant yellow currents sparked with purple lightning, forming a massive, masculine Thunder Dragon that lunged forward.

Where purple lightning and green flame converged, they engulfed the fleeing monks.

Yuanmie’s black Buddha placed its palms together.

But below, the Black Thunder Dragon had already seized the Black Lotus.

Simultaneously, the Purple Yang Thunder Dragon and Green Yin Flame Tiger intertwined midair, forming a Purple-Green Taiji Diagram—yin and yang in perfect balance.

Thunder rumbled. Flames danced. The Tiger’s roar and Dragon’s cry echoed together.

As the Taiji rotated, the radiant force of the Dragon-Tiger Strike shone down on the black Buddha.

Just over a decade ago, Yuanmie had already clashed with Abbot Miaoxin of Tianlong Monastery, despite being one cultivation level below. He’d even attempted to ambush Miaoxin using the Reversed Mirror Wisdom Formation.

Now, having reached Perfection of the Eighth Heaven, Yuanmie was far stronger than he had been back then.

As the black Buddha pressed its palms together, black demonic fire, demonic water, and now demonic earth and demonic wind gathered around it.

Earth, water, fire, and wind—all present, but devoid of void or form. Instead, they manifested as four chaotic, contradictory elements—symbols of annihilation and discord.

Though the black Buddha’s appearance was sinister, it was now shrouded in a faint halo that exuded a strange sort of sacred dignity.

But the closer one examined it, the more deranged and unstable it seemed—enough to drive one mad.

The radiant brilliance of the Dragon-Tiger Strike illuminated the black Buddha, but was unexpectedly blocked by the eerie Buddha light.

On closer inspection, the light of heavenly thunder and earth fire was constantly breaking down the Buddha light. But in return, the Buddha light, with its overwhelming destructive power, also shattered the divine brilliance.

The two forces were caught in mutual annihilation.

For the moment, the Dragon-Tiger Strike couldn’t break through Yuanmie’s defenses.

And Yuanmie, cloaked in destructive power, also couldn’t unleash it beyond his immediate surroundings.

By contrast, Lei Jun wasn’t as familiar with the Vast Void Temple’s doctrines.

He’d heard that their Ninth Heaven Realm was different from the True Body Realm used in orthodox Buddhist sects or the White Lotus Sect.

Vast Void Temple called the Ninth Heaven the Annihilation Realm, and the realms beneath it—from the First to the Eighth—were known as Void Grasp.

Yuanmie’s current cultivation was that of the Fourfold Grasp of the Non-Void.

Lei Jun stood calmly upon the Black Lotus, observing the black Buddha with interest.

But his hands did not idle.

The Black Thunder Dragon and Crimson Flame Tiger once again merged.

Now, in addition to the Purple-Green Taiji, the void space manifested a second—Black-Red Taiji Diagram.

Seeing this, Yuanmie’s black Buddha suddenly threw its arms wide open.

In that instant, the Buddha’s body emitted beams of white light from within.

Cracks lit by flickering white brilliance began to spiderweb across the surface of the black Buddha’s body—it had begun to shatter.

As the white light surged, the surrounding Xuanhuang cosmic void flattened like a scroll painting, white cracks appearing throughout it as if it, too, would be torn apart.

No doubt about it—Vast Void Temple’s reputation for destruction was well earned.

This one strike from Yuanmie, perfected in the Eighth Heaven, had power comparable to some Ninth Heaven experts.

But just then, the rotating Black-Red Taiji Diagram, forged from Yang Fire and Yin Thunder, unleashed a new burst of radiant light, striking the black Buddha once again.

Within the multitude of cracks lined with white light, that light vanished—only the fissures remained, silently collapsing.

The torn canvas of space returned to normal.

Only the black Buddha, under the merging radiance of the two Taiji Diagrams, silently disintegrated—reduced to ash.

From within the fading Buddha, a young monk in black robes appeared.

He was handsome, but his eyes were arrogant and sharp—this was Yuanmie, the current Abbot of Vast Void Temple.

Now exposed, Yuanmie was engulfed by the overlapping brilliance of the two Taiji Diagrams.

Yet at the last second, he raised one hand and pointed at Lei Jun.

A strand of black aura, needle-thin and as sharp as a blade, pierced through the void and shot straight for Lei Jun’s forehead.

The Dharma of Vast Void Temple, while integrated in both attack and defense, was always most adept at destruction.

Lei Jun stood firm, motionless in the air.

Between his brows, a glimmer of mystical red light suddenly flickered.

In the next instant, a beam of red light shot forth, slashing through the black thread like a sword in midair—cleanly severing it!

Yuanmie let out a low cry, but his body was already engulfed and dissolved by the combined light of the two Taiji Diagrams.

This was their first face-to-face confrontation.

And it would be their last.

Lei Jun stood upon the Black Lotus, nodding slightly.

Yuanmie was truly a rare genius.

After suffering a setback at Vajra Monastery due to the unexpected descent of the Vajra Division, he had still managed to reach this formidable realm.

And it wasn’t just his cultivation—his command over divine abilities and mystical talismans was astounding. His battle prowess was exceptional.

Among the Eighth Heaven perfection-stage opponents Lei Jun had faced, Shangnan from the Daoist Nation of Ming had been the strongest—stronger even than Fu Dongsun of Tang, and beyond Rong Guangchen of Pure Yang Palace, Mi Han of the Lone Eagle Khanate, and Master Gongbu of the Vajra Division.

But today, that list had changed.

In a direct confrontation, Yuanmie was at least equal to Shangnan—perhaps even stronger.

Yuanmie had once stirred storms across the Tang Dynasty.

Yet now, he had fallen silently beneath Canglang Rock—unnoticed by the rest of the world.

Lei Jun didn’t care what kind of reputation this victory might earn him, nor did he pity Yuanmie’s unfulfilled ambitions.

His attention now turned toward the Black Lotus.

Or perhaps, by the southern seas, even more Void Gateways would be torn open.

As expected, for Yuanmie and the Vast Void Temple, there were no true allies.

The same had been true for the prestigious families of the Tang Dynasty before, and now the people of the Earth Sea and the Jiuli were no different.

With the Earth Sea in chaos, the Jiuli Great Shamans who had long dwelled there could still manage, but Tang cultivators entering it already had to endure the harsh environment—this added turmoil would undoubtedly put them at a disadvantage.

This, likely, was what the Moderate-Moderate Omen had referred to when it warned that bypassing Canglang Reef and directly entering the Earth Sea might stir up greater trouble.

Given Lei Jun's current cultivation level, it wouldn’t be a big issue for him.

But it might impact the other Tang cultivators—and possibly interfere with his next moves.

Lei Jun didn’t end the ritual completely. Instead, he used his own mana to condense a Taiji Diagram, sealing the ritual in place.

He left the massive black lotus untouched, letting it remain in the ocean beneath Canglang Reef.

Circling the lotus and checking it for a while, Lei Jun looked thoughtful, then extended a finger and lightly tapped it.

The previously open lotus suddenly curled in on itself.

That aura of annihilation, the energy that destroyed everything around it, instantly retracted inward.

On the seabed, the black lotus now seemed to vanish into nothingness, resembling its state when it had lain dormant during the Vast Void Temple’s ambush via the Inverted Mirror Array in the Eastern Sea.

After a final scan confirming no changes or others nearby, Lei Jun turned and headed toward the Void Gateway connecting the Earth Sea and the Tang realm.

As he traveled, he took time to inspect some of Yuanmie’s personal collection.

Due to the unique nature of the Vast Void Temple’s spiritual heritage, they rarely forged Buddhist artifacts.

Thus, Yuanmie hadn’t left behind many items.

Aside from the massive black lotus, two things caught Lei Jun’s attention.

One was a shimmering object, phasing between solid and illusory, exuding mystical aura—it looked like a primordial treasure.

A flash of inspiration lit up Lei Jun’s mind:

“Voidbreaking Primordial Stone.”

“Oh?” Lei Jun’s eyes lit up.

He remembered—this was the very treasure Tang Xiaotang had been searching for all along.

It was the last ingredient she needed to refine her Pure Yang Celestial Physique into the Primordial Dao Body.

Ever since obtaining the Primal Yin Soul Essence, she had been missing only this item.

She’d searched in vain for so long—never expecting it would fall into Lei Jun’s hands now.

Truly, a flower planted intentionally doesn’t bloom, but a willow planted by chance grows a shade. Lei Jun nodded in satisfaction.

The Upper-Moderate Omen only indicated a Third-Grade Opportunity, but to Tang Xiaotang, this Voidbreaking Primordial Stone was worth far more than that.

“She searched for so long in the Tang realm and didn’t find even a clue. With her progress in the Heavenly Heart Insight Talisman, that’s strange.”

Lei Jun recalled Yuanmie’s connection with the Vast Void Temple in Han’s mortal realm through the black lotus.

Could this stone have come from Han’s side and been secretly delivered to Yuanmie?

In the end, it ended up benefiting Lei Tianshi.

Or perhaps more accurately—benefiting Grandmaster Tang.

Having experienced Tang’s “joy” from the past, Lei Tianshi now got to enjoy a taste of Senior Sister Xu Yuanzhen’s natural-level comprehension too.

Tang Xiaotang didn’t have such convenience—but now she could experience a different kind of joy.

Aside from the Voidbreaking Primordial Stone, the other item that drew Lei Jun’s attention was a black alms bowl.

Its aura was incredibly strange.

After inspecting it for a while, Lei Jun channeled some of his own spiritual energy into the bowl.

What emerged from it wasn’t spiritual aura, but a dense, evil demonic qi.

The theory was confirmed—Lei Jun now understood.

No wonder the Vast Void Temple could manipulate certain great demons.

Their relationship was transactional—they helped demons cultivate, and in return, used demons to act on their behalf.

Because of the bowl’s unique use, there was no risk of the demons trying to steal it.

“Quite clever.” Lei Jun nodded as he held the bowl.

Then he raised his other hand and made a cutting motion in the air. The black bowl split in two and crumbled into ashes.

After checking the rest of Yuanmie’s items, Lei Jun stored them and continued on his journey.

Passing through the Void Gateway, he entered the Earth Sea, threading through layers of dark mist.

Lei Jun looked normal on the surface, but he didn’t immediately join the battle against the Jiuli people.

Instead, after another round of message exchanges with Tang Xiaotang, he wandered the Earth Sea, adapting and observing.

Eventually, he stopped near Jiazuo Mountain, one of the Five Peaks and Seven Abysses of the Earth Sea, and began setting up a ritual altar.

He reassembled the ritual previously prepared by Yuanmie—but it was now completely transformed.

With Lei Jun’s adjustments, its function had totally changed.

As Lei Tianshi circled the altar, he performed the Big Dipper steps, his footwork weaving black and white energy into a Taiji Diagram.

From this emerged a spread of starlight, gradually forming a mystical formation.

The stars in the formation subtly resonated with the Tang realm outside the Earth Sea.

Outside, Chu Kun, Zhang Mu, and others stationed at nodes previously set up by Lei Jun suddenly saw bursts of light ripple across them—like newly risen stars.

Zhang Mu observed carefully and, upon sensing the Earth Sea's changes, slowly realized:

“The Tianshi is conducting the ritual from inside the Earth Sea, linking it to the outer formations. The internal and external setups are now resonating.”

Chu Kun nodded, gazing toward the Void Gateway.

The interaction of the rituals on both sides caused the flow of spiritual energy to reverse—the phenomenon of the Earth Sea siphoning energy from the Tang realm disappeared.

Back inside the Earth Sea, near Jiazuo Mountain, Lei Jun noticed three groups approaching.

Even before they reached him, they clashed with each other.

One group was the Divine Strategy Army of the Tang Dynasty.

Lei Jun didn’t recognize most faces, but he remembered one armored middle-aged commander from a past encounter in the imperial capital, Luoyang.

His name was Shen Guangjie, a scion of the Shen Clan, a noble family of founding generals of the Tang Dynasty, on par with clans like the Shangguan and Lu families.

The second group came from the Southern Wasteland Witch Sect, led by Elder Tian Cheng of the Yin Mountain Grotto, masters of Gu techniques.

Though Shen Guangjie’s soldiers and Tian Cheng’s witch disciples didn’t follow the same chain of command, they temporarily allied against the third force:

A Jiuli faction, headed by a powerful Eighth Heaven Great Shaman—even stronger than Tian Cheng in her minor realm.

The Jiuli Great Shaman unleashed a semi-Ghost Possession spell.

Thick black sludge surged across his body, and countless ghostly faces emerged from it, writhing all over his skin.

The spell greatly boosted his physical strength, putting him far above Tian Cheng—even though they both hailed from Curse-Crafting lineages.

It was very different from the Great Ghost Possession or Lesser Ghost Possession spells used by the Cycle Abyss in the Tang realm’s witch sects.

Tian Cheng’s swarm of Gu insects spread out like a sea of flowers, but the Jiuli shaman ignored them.

The ghost faces on his body, empowered by the curse, devoured the Gu insects on contact.

Though each face was consumed in the process, the black sludge constantly shifted and formed new ones.

The Jiuli shaman tried to advance toward Jiazuo Mountain, but Tian Cheng and her allies blocked his way.

He charged in ferociously, the black sludge on his body not slowing him down but instead fueling a powerful momentum.

Thanks to the ghost faces devouring the Gu insects, the other Jiuli warriors behind him found it easier to press forward.

As the Jiuli Great Shaman approached, he raised a long blade, also shrouded in black sludge, and slashed toward Tian Cheng.

But she suddenly vanished from the spot.

Invisible Gu… The Jiuli shaman instantly recognized it.

“Fall back!” he commanded, scanning for Tian Cheng’s new position.

Her fellow Yin Mountain Grotto cultivators had already dispersed.

But the Jiuli warriors found themselves a step too slow.

Thousands of black strands, fine as hair but strong as cords, burst from the spot where Tian Cheng had stood.

They pierced, coiled, and shredded everything nearby, blanketing a wide area.

That patch of land was instantly bathed in blood—Jiuli warriors falling left and right.

The move was called Silken Thread Gu, one of Tian Cheng’s life-bound Gu, mastered after achieving the Upper Heaven Realm.

Combined with her Invisible Gu, it created a devastating ambush.

From afar beneath Jiazuo Mountain, Lei Jun watched the carnage unfold.

It reminded him of the time he had seen the Sea King Ju’s clone wreak havoc in the north.

Tian Cheng had indeed slowed her cultivation due to injuries, but when she struck, it was with catastrophic force.

“Oh?”

Lei Jun suddenly noticed something—on his sleeve, a black spot appeared.

It quickly expanded into a ghostly face.

It was the Ghost Mask Curse, a half-Ghost Possession curse from the Curse-Crafting branch.

Just as it manifested, a purple Yang Thunder Dragon roared into existence beside him, its brilliance piercing the darkness.

The Nine Heavens Divine Thunder-formed dragon let out a thunderous roar, purple lightning cracking across Lei Jun’s body and shattering the ghostly face on his sleeve.

But the dark qi didn’t vanish—it hovered in the air, resilient and flexible.

At that moment, the Jiuli Great Shaman, who had been cutting through Tian Cheng’s Silken Thread Gu, suddenly vanished.

A moment later, wisps of the ghost qi materialized in the area affected by the Silken Thread Gu—shredded almost instantly.

Then the Jiuli shaman reappeared right in front of Lei Jun.

He had first used the Ghost Mask Curse, then swapped positions using Shift-Form Curse—a classic Curse-Crafting combo.

But Lei Jun’s Yang Thunder Dragon immediately lunged, not allowing the enemy to cross the threshold.

Lei Jun remained still, calmly presiding over the ritual.

From afar, Shen Guangjie and Tian Cheng rushed toward him, puzzled by the scene.

The Yang Thunder Dragon clashed repeatedly with the Jiuli shaman.

Each time, the black sludge armor created by the Ghost Mask Curse was blasted away by Lei Jun’s overwhelming thunder.

But the dragon was also visibly weakened, its form shrinking.

Just then, a greenish Fire Tiger, about the size of a house, appeared and assisted the waning Thunder Dragon, keeping the Jiuli shaman at bay.

Seeing this, Shen Guangjie finally realized the odd feeling he’d had earlier.

Lei Tianshi’s Nine Heavens Thunder Ancestor Apparition, while majestic, was clearly drained.

And the Nine Abyss Flame Ancestor Apparition that followed lacked its usual dominance.

The Jiuli shaman yelled something in his native tongue.

He then charged headfirst, letting the Yang Thunder Dragon and the Yin Fire Tiger attack him on either side.

At the same time, he unleashed a Soulshade Curse, turning his muscular body into an intangible ghost form—evading the incoming strikes from Tian Cheng and Shen Guangjie.

The ghostly form shot toward Lei Jun.

But in the next moment, a black Thunder Dragon formed from Yin thunder surged up beside Lei Jun, crashing head-on into the ghost.

The ghost form snapped back into physical shape, unbalanced.

Before he could recover, starlight sparkled in his eyes.

Lei Jun had taken on the Doumu Star God Apparition, and brought his palm down on the Jiuli shaman’s forehead.

Blood splattered, and the now-shrunken Yang Thunder Dragon lunged again—devouring the Jiuli shaman in a surge of thunder.

With the enemy slain, Tian Cheng and Shen Guangjie let out sighs of relief and approached, bowing deeply.

“Tianshi.”

“Much appreciated, both of you.”

Lei Jun looked pale, but quickly recovered after a few breaths.

After formalities, Tian Cheng and Shen Guangjie led their respective people to clear out remaining Jiuli warriors and retreated to the eastern slope of Jiazuo Mountain.

Tian Cheng glanced at Lei Jun, still standing and guiding the ritual as though nothing had happened—but her heart was uneasy.

Rumor had it that Lei Tianshi had been injured in battle with the Vajra Division of the Western Region.

Now it seemed those injuries had not yet healed.

His Yang Thunder Dragon lacked stamina.

The Yin Fire Tiger and Yin Thunder Dragon, while effective as surprise attacks, were clearly weaker than before.

The Destined Star Avatar was still powerful, but once he used it, the strength of his other divine manifestations dropped sharply.

The absence of the Divine Court Universe and the Dragon-Tiger Combined Strike wasn’t due to disdain—it was likely that he couldn't summon them.

As a Southern Wasteland Witch Sect member, Tian Cheng was deeply invested in the Earth Sea’s fate.

Lei Jun’s decision to enter the battlefield despite his injuries earned her utmost respect.

Yet his condition worried her.

“Tianshi…” she finally spoke.

Lei Jun’s expression was calm:

“Daoist Tian, General Shen—please take these talismans and place them at the following two locations. They’ll work in tandem with the altar here.”

They looked at each other and agreed without hesitation.

Soon, several new nodes appeared across the Earth Sea.

With Lei Jun’s guidance, the ritual formations resonated even more strongly with the Tang realm.

As spiritual energy surged, it began to reverse the flow of the Earth Sea’s spiritual tides.

The black mists that had obstructed Tang cultivators started to thin.

Tian Cheng and her companions rejoiced.

Even wounded, Lei Tianshi’s power was enough to shape the battlefield without ever needing to confront enemies directly.

Elsewhere on the Earth Sea’s wastelands, Shen Guangjie also felt deeply shaken.

He composed himself, showed no change on his face, but quietly sent trusted aides to return to the Tang realm and report everything that had occurred.