Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 401: What kind of talisman Taoist priests are you?

As Zhu Junjie stepped forward, the great scholar from the Confucian Recitation Lineage opposite him declared resolutely,

“Recognize the signs—Great Song’s mandate has ended. This is Heaven’s will, not something mortal strength can defy. Dynasties rise and fall, and the Mandate of Heaven shifts. We should follow Heaven’s will and support the new dynasty.”

Hearing this, Zhu Junjie replied in a deep voice,

“Liang Zhuo, you and I walk different paths—we have nothing to discuss.”

Even as he spoke, a dark shadow appeared in his hand and shot straight toward Liang Zhuo.

This sudden move caught both Tang Xiaotang and Lei Jun’s attention from nearby.

Zhu Junjie’s weapon was a rare sight among Confucian Canon cultivators—a long weapon.

Lei Jun took a closer look and saw clearly that the shadow was a long spear.

Wherever the spear pointed, it radiated a surging aura of Righteous Scholarly Qi, but its style was vastly different from that of typical canon-based sword cultivators.

Canon sword cultivators released sword qi like crashing waves, grand and overwhelming.

Zhu Junjie’s spear, however, condensed his qi—focused and sharp like a concentrated blade of light centered on the tip of his spear, flickering brilliantly.

To give credit where it’s due, this focused power lent the attack serious lethality.

It resembled the moves of martial cultivators skilled in armed combat.

But unlike them, his strikes weren’t swift and explosive—they were steady, measured, and deliberate.

Even though Zhu Junjie was injured, his Righteous Scholarly Qi remained forceful and refined.

He didn’t summon a vision of the nation, but still carried the air of one defending his homeland.

Having clashed with Zhu Junjie many times, Liang Zhuo knew his style well.

He chanted melodiously as he leapt away with the wind:

“The northern wind sweeps white clouds, crossing ten thousand miles of river and Fen.”

Zhu Junjie’s spear was sharp and disciplined—he didn’t attack with reckless speed, but the constant reinforcement of his Righteous Scholarly Qi gave his movements a touch of the Talismanic Branch’s Stepping the Big Dipper, his footwork growing faster step by step, calm and relentless, refusing to let Liang Zhuo escape.

At this moment, the chieftain of the Swiftwind Tribe of the Golden Khanate, Saleheng, opened his mouth:

“The Great Khan has decided to found a dynasty and become the new ruler of the Central Plains. As you Han people say, he bears Heaven’s Mandate. All under Heaven are his subjects—regardless of ethnicity. If one has ability, the Khan treats all equally. Han people are no exception!”

His words were aimed at both Zhu Junjie and Tang Xiaotang.

Tang Xiaotang glanced at him and sneered,

“Empty words. Who are you trying to fool?”

Zhu Junjie’s expression remained calm and unreadable. He neither wavered nor showed anger:

“The Song Dynasty was indeed full of corruption and backward policies, but your Great Khan was cruel and ruthless from the very start.”

Saleheng merely sneered in return,

“Just as I thought—the Great Khan was too lenient with you.”

As he spoke, his enormous spirit beast beneath him suddenly surged forward like teleportation, charging straight at Tang Xiaotang and Zhu Junjie.

Tang Xiaotang burst into laughter,

“Last time, I was too busy chasing down those bald thieves from the Western Region and missed the chance to clash with you martial brutes. I’ve always regretted that—today’s my lucky day!”

Her smile turned cold:

“Too bad—you’re still not good enough.”

As her Pure Yang Sea unfolded, she stood atop the Pure Yang Vessel.

Though it looked like a colossal divine ship, its speed was shockingly fast—so fast that even Saleheng was visibly surprised.

Even Zhu Junjie, nearby, couldn’t help but be stunned.

As the divine ship beneath Tang Xiaotang’s feet barreled toward Saleheng and his mount, she slashed her sword straight at Li Yuanheng.

From afar, Lei Jun watched silently without stepping forward.

Strictly speaking, this chaotic battle had come out of nowhere.

Their Tianshi Mansion of Mount Longhu had never been aligned with the Great Song nor had any prior dealings with Zhu Junjie.

To Lei Jun personally, the fall of the Song royal family didn’t concern him.

The Golden Khanate and Li Yuanheng of the Greedy Li Tribe also didn’t seem to have any history together.

But if he let today’s chaos play out, once the Golden Khanate had the leisure, the Jiuli tribes occupying the Wuguang region could easily be their next target.

It just so happened that Tang Xiaotang had chased Li Yuanheng here—what should’ve been nothing could easily turn into something.

Lei Jun was mentally prepared for this.

While he wasn’t particularly moved by the Song royal family’s fall, he felt even less favor toward the Golden Khanate.

For now, Tianshi Lei was holding back—because he was waiting for someone.

The Celestial Ground-Through Talisman flowed in his eyes—he could sense other experts approaching.

One of them was still quite far away and deeply hidden.

The other was already very close.

The closer one radiated Buddhist energy—familiar, yet strange.

Moments later, a graceful figure arrived from the distance in a blink.

It was a woman—not like Consort Chu Duo wrapped in monk robes and gauze, but dressed similarly to Master Ren Zhu and Master Jiasheng of the Vajra Division of Mount Sumeru.

Her cultivation had also reached the Ninth Heaven Realm of the Buddhist Mudra Techniques Lineage, and she had attained her Dharma Body.

Her Buddhist foundation stemmed from the same source as the Vajra Division, but with subtle differences.

The Vajra Division emphasized indestructible resilience, strong in both offense and defense.

This female master, on the other hand, radiated spiritual brilliance and wisdom, with a focus on spiritual refinement.

Like Consort Yangjin or Consort Chu Duo, she was of the Lotus Division of Mount Sumeru.

But according to Lei Jun’s observations, she wasn’t one of the Eight Great Consorts of the Lotus Division.

Her cultivation was even higher, and her foundation noticeably distinct.

“Master Baima,” said Consort Chu Duo and the Lotus Division disciples, all bowing.

The woman respectfully nodded in return.

Zhu Junjie, on the other side, said coldly:

“Gao Heya, you’re of the Dali royal bloodline. Yet you surrendered to foreign invaders, helped them invade Song—just to take shelter under Western Buddhism?”

Master Baima smiled without changing expression,

“It’s been a long time, Benefactor Zhu. How have you been?”

Zhu Junjie didn’t stop assisting Tang Xiaotang in the fight against Saleheng, Liang Zhuo, and Li Yuanheng—but his gaze flickered.

His spear radiated Righteous Scholarly Qi to guard him, and he scanned Master Baima from head to toe.

“You... your cultivation—is it from the orthodox Buddhist Mudra Lineage?”

Baima still said nothing, only formed a mudra with one hand.

Golden Buddhist light enveloped her, condensing into a Bodhicitta Dharma Body.

“She’s been converted into a Buddhist protector by those bald monks from the Western Region.”

Tang Xiaotang sneered,

“No matter where they go, those baldies are always unbearable!”

As Baima stood calmly, a glowing lunar halo formed behind her—first the size of an elbow, then expanding outward until it seemed infinite.

Facing Tang Xiaotang and Zhu Junjie, she said serenely,

“When practicing true Dharma, one realizes the errors of the past. You both hold prejudice against our path—why not break free from such hindrance and discover a new world?”

Zhu Junjie remained on guard, glancing at Saleheng and Liang Zhuo.

Saleheng looked indifferent.

Liang Zhuo, however, wore a complicated expression—clearly already knew of this.

That made Zhu Junjie’s vigilance only deepen.

Baima then looked from Zhu Junjie to Tang Xiaotang and stared at the tall priestess before turning to the Lotus Division disciples:

“It’s time to go with the flow.”

“By your will, Master,” they all replied.

Master Baima formed another mudra.

Different from the Earth-Touching Mudra of the Vajra Division, this was the Samadhi Mudra, elegant and profound.

Tang Xiaotang didn’t mind facing another powerful opponent. She still attacked with bold, sweeping strikes.

But above her head, a pair of illusory eyes suddenly lit up.

She instantly sensed a threat.

An invisible force approached—neither form nor substance, like pure illusion.

But around Tang Xiaotang, purple, gold, and green lights flared.

The lights wove together into a triple-tiered altar: round on top, square below.

This illusory altar enveloped her, untouchable by physical force.

Yet something just as unreal, like a swimming fish, slammed into it.

A silent clash occurred—dangerous but unnoticed by outsiders.

From an observer’s view, it looked as if a giant three-tier altar suddenly surrounded Tang Xiaotang.

Its surface twisted under pressure, as if an invisible blade had taken form and pierced the light shield.

But it was blocked—unable to go further.

This was an invisible soul-based attack.

But Tang Xiaotang had sensed it the moment it approached.

She remained unaffected and continued to press her attacks on Saleheng, Master Baima, and Li Yuanheng.

The Tianshi Seal she carried blocked the attack.

Its brilliance revealed the invisible soul art.

Even the air above shimmered with a ghostly shadow.

The attacker’s soul-based spell had failed—so they changed tactics.

That invisible blade turned into a massive vortex, trying to absorb the Tianshi Seal.

It seemed the seal had been the target all along.

Ancient talisman decrees swirled from within the vortex, channeling mysterious energy to help seize the Tianshi Seal.

At that moment, Lei Jun moved.

His Nine-Segment Green Bamboo Staff, glowing with purple and gold, vanished from sight—only visible to cultivators.

The darkened staff appeared right before the phantom shadow—

And came crashing down!

The shadow shuddered violently mid-air—nearly thrown off course.

For a split second, it flickered into a young Daoist’s figure.

But it wasn’t a true youth—it was someone using Nascent Soul Yang Spirit projection to sneak into the valley.

His target was clearly the Tianshi Seal.

His cultivation was high—even after taking Lei Jun’s blow from the Upper Qing Jade Celestial Bamboo, his Nascent Soul Yang Spirit remained intact.

Such durability could only belong to a Great Ascension cultivator of the Daoist Alchemical Sect, someone who had reached the Ninth Heaven Realm.

But seeing how difficult Tang Xiaotang was, and now Lei Jun had joined the fray, the Daoist made a quick decision—

To flee.

Lei Jun’s Great Ascension Dao Domain had already spread.

Talismanic decrees still fluttered around the fleeing spirit—tools he had used to interact with the Tianshi Seal.

…

In the other Xuanhuang Universe, Liang Zhuo had been trapped. After his initial shock and confusion, he forced himself to calm down, focusing on how to escape from this Great Ascension Dao Domain created by the Talismanic Sect cultivator.

Within the dark, endless cosmic void, Lei Jun’s figure was nowhere in sight.

But at the edge of a distant star, crimson-golden heavenly fire churned and surged.

As the flames gathered, a massive crimson-golden tiger slowly emerged—and immediately lunged at Liang Zhuo.

Daoist Talismanic Sect’s Heaven-Earth Manifestation, according to ancient records, shouldn’t the tiger be a green flame Netherfire Tiger?

Liang Zhuo was puzzled, but his reaction was swift.

“‘Now dead grass bears no fireflies; forevermore the dusk crows rest on drooping willows.’”

With his lyrical recitation, flames rose up around him.

Though the fire was not intense, it carried a refined, mysterious aura that actually managed to resist Lei Jun’s Yangfire Tiger.

Though the crimson-golden tiger maintained its form, much of its flame dissipated, scattering like fireflies across the void.

As those fireflies mingled with Liang Zhuo’s own flame, they transformed into flocks of black crows—black with occasional bursts of red sparks.

The crows counterattacked the Yangfire Tiger, igniting brilliant bursts of flame throughout the void.

Scholars of the Confucian Recitation Tradition, like their Talismanic Sect counterparts, communicated with the natural world.

Whereas the Talismanic Sect emphasized constructing an external cosmic model, the Confucian Recitation path focused on resonating with the real heavens and earth, drawing insight and feedback from nature.

Scholars like Liang Zhuo lacked the Classic Confucian Scholars’ “Nation and World” domain, but even so, once inside such domains—whether Daoist cosmic realms or Confucian “Orderly World” domains—they could still summon wind and rain, channeling spiritual energy.

At Liang Zhuo’s level, having reached the “Pacify the World” realm, he could even redirect and utilize the opponent’s mana and spiritual power as his own.

Just as he had once recited a thunder verse that destabilized Tang Xiaotang’s Pure Yang Celestial Thunder.

Now, by reciting a fire verse, he was borrowing the power of Lei Jun’s Tianchen Truefire.

In the dark void, the flames flashed—besides the crimson-golden Tianchen Truefire, a green Jiuyuan Truefire emerged once more.

Seeing this familiar green fire, as recorded in the ancient texts, Liang Zhuo actually felt a bit relieved.

But not for long.

Golden Pure Yang Thunder suddenly exploded in the void.

Liang Zhuo had seen this same thunder technique used by Tang Xiaotang before, and now it reappeared in Lei Jun’s Dao Domain—heightening both his vigilance and curiosity.

Consort Chu Duoming and the others had mentioned that these two Talismanic Sect Daoists—a man and a woman—came from another human realm.

In that realm, the Tianshi Mansion of Mount Longhu still had an unbroken lineage—and an extremely powerful one at that.

But how had their cultivation techniques changed into something like this?

That female priestess aside, this towering Daoist man who appeared later—judging from his clothing—resembled the Tianshi described in ancient texts.

From the overwhelming vitality he exuded, it was likely that, like the priestess, he was still under a hundred years old.

So young, yet already this powerful—and there were two of them…

But this “Tianshi of the present age,” hidden within his Dao Domain, only battled using Daoist techniques and manifestations. His physical body and life force might be his weak spot.

Still—what had become of the people from the Sumeru Lotus Division?

As these thoughts churned, golden thunder dragons and green flame tigers rose and roared—merging into a Taiji Diagram of gold and green.

Liang Zhuo’s heart skipped a beat.

He dared not slack off in the slightest, quickly reciting:

“‘In stillness and clarity, Taiji takes form; the mind unmoved, all things fade to void.’”

The next moment, the golden-green Taiji Diagram burst forth in blinding brilliance.

Yet before Liang Zhuo, a mirrored Taiji Diagram formed from his own cultural aura and literary might.

As it rotated, it didn’t block the radiance directly—instead, it continuously converted and absorbed it, weakening the opposing brilliance at its source.

Even so, the clash between the two forced Liang Zhuo’s Taiji Diagram to start distorting and burning.

So this was the Dragon-Tiger Convergence of the Daoist Talismanic Sect’s sacred Mount Longhu?

He had read about it in ancient texts.

Though there were differences from the records, the core essence remained.

Still, he could only hold out for a while. If he wanted to survive, he had to break out of this Dao Domain soon… Liang Zhuo steeled his mind.

Just then, he noticed numerous swords suspended in the cosmic void around him.

Peering closer, he realized that some of these swords actually emanated the cultural and righteous aura of Confucian cultivators.

What… was this?

A ritual? A ceremonial invocation?

Was that young Celestial Master versed in both Daoist and Confucian paths?

Liang Zhuo was filled with doubt—but dared not relax in the slightest.

“‘Ten years of grinding one blade, its frost edge never tested…’”

This time, he recited aloud, but failed to invoke the floating swords in the starry sky—swords like Guangmo and Hanhai remained unmoved.

The pressure from the golden-green Taiji Diagram was too great. His cultural essence couldn’t multitask.

Fortunately, for now, the suspended swords didn’t show signs of activating…

Just as that thought crossed his mind, one of the floating swords suddenly shuddered.

Sensing danger, Liang Zhuo instinctively tried to dodge—but his body was sluggish from the pressure of the Taiji Diagram.

As he was still contemplating how to evade—

The sword trembled once more—then vanished.

When it reappeared, it had already cleaved this Confucian scholar-turned-Golden Khanate ally cleanly in two.

…

What… was that?

More than pain, Liang Zhuo felt sheer bewilderment.

This… he truly hadn’t seen before.

Just who are you Talismanic Sect Daoists?