Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 64: Take off, plane crashed

Upon receiving the good news from Mount Longhu, everyone in the Tianxu Sect was elated: “So, it was all a Tianshi-crafted ‘trap’!”

The latest updates revealed that the Tianshi had secretly dispelled the Reincarnation Curse on himself long ago. Then, when the Lin Clan attacked, he leveraged the Daoist Holy Land’s terrain, including the Ten Thousand Methods Altar and the Mountain-Guarding Grand Formation, to deal a heavy blow to the invaders.

Rumors even suggested that the Tianshi had transferred his Reincarnation Curse onto the Lin Clan Leader, making the opponent suffer a huge loss.

Now, the situation on Mount Longhu had completely turned around!

“This is great…”

The usually cold-faced Xia Qing also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news.

Beside her, Lei Jun nodded. “Yes, this is great.”

...But was it really?

In truth, Lei Jun wasn’t as optimistic as the others.

Because of the earlier strategic retreat, abandoning many outer defenses, Tianshi Mansion had indeed allowed the Lin Clan to advance to Mount Longhu, but casualties were minimal.

For the people involved, this still meant a perilous situation, where life and death hung by a thread. However, Lei Jun instinctively felt that this wasn’t the disaster foretold by the earlier Lower-Moderate Omen.

But at the moment, it was just a hunch. He had no concrete evidence and didn’t want to dampen everyone’s spirits.

Lei Jun could only hope that he was overthinking it, and that a bigger problem wasn’t still looming ahead.

The Tianxu Sect collectively relaxed.

With Tianshi Mansion now counterattacking and the overall situation reversed, it was enough to deter other petty enemies from making any rash moves.

Word even spread that the Zixiao Sect of the Yunxiao Mountain Range had resolved their siege, so the Tianxu Sect could now lift their special state of alert and return to normal defense protocols.

Lei Jun’s daily routine remained unchanged.

He began studying the Xirang Flag.

First, there was bad news.

Lei Jun discovered that his ability to activate the Xirang Flag’s power was quite limited. This was due to his current cultivation level.

The Xirang Flag was modest in appearance, yet profoundly mystical.

To truly refine and control its essence wasn’t something a Lower Heaven cultivator could achieve.

However, as Lei Jun’s cultivation advanced, he would eventually master it.

Fortunately, the previous owner had left no restrictive seals in the flag. Lei Jun was now its new master.

Then came the good news.

The flag’s power aligned perfectly with the Earth and Stone attributes he needed.

After some research, Lei Jun successfully crafted a Spirit Talisman.

When the Spirit Talisman was activated, a billowing yellow dust spread out, with low, rumbling thunder rolling within it.

“Good, the Earth-Sealing Thunder Talisman is complete.”

Satisfied, Lei Jun nodded. “Now, let’s start the full assembly.”

The need for Earth-aligned spiritual items was to create the Earth-Sealing Thunder as a solid base, capable of providing constant spiritual energy.

Earth formed the framework.

Wood provided the growth element, using the prepared Wooden Sky Thunder and Wooden Sky Thunder Talismans as the flesh of the structure.

Then, a touch of Water was added.

This Water came from the refined Dark River Thunder Talisman. Though it wasn’t nurturing, it served as a lubricant.

Next, a Metal frame was set as the outer shell.

Finally, a spark of Fire was added to bring it to life.

“Is the structure too intricate?”

Lei Jun stroked his chin thoughtfully as he examined the Spirit Talisman.

To him, intricacy was a neutral term. His preference for spells leaned toward simplicity, efficiency, and decisiveness.

His first two Life-bound Spells — the Spirit Strike Talisman and the Wind Talisman — reflected this philosophy.

But since he already had those as a foundation, he figured the third could afford to be more elaborate.

This gave him a broader range of tools for handling diverse challenges.

A balance of orthodox and unorthodox tactics…

If possible, Lei Jun hoped for lasting peace, so he could focus on cultivation and refining his spells.

Unfortunately, the old saying held true: the more you feared something, the more likely it was to happen.

The latest news from Mount Longhu arrived:

“A mysterious enemy launched a sneak attack, catching the Tianshi off guard while he was suppressing the Lin Clan Leader. He was severely injured!”

The Tianxu Sect, which had just celebrated, was thrown into chaos once more.

Pandemonium broke out, and even Sect Leader Tu Guangyu struggled to maintain order.

“Who was it? Did the Southern Wasteland Witch Sect send another enemy?”

“Was it the Yellow Heaven Sect?”

“Did any of the Five Great Surnames and Seven Prominent Clans get involved?”

“It doesn’t seem to be any major clans. They’re all watching from the sidelines, even the Lin Clan of Youzhou hasn’t made a move…”

“Then who was it? What’s the situation on Mount Longhu? How is the Tianshi?”

The news brought both hope and despair, but the overall situation had deteriorated sharply.

At first, the changes were manageable.

Taiping Daoist, the leader of the Yellow Heaven Sect, finally appeared, joining forces with the Lin Clan Leader to face the Tianshi in a two-on-one battle.

However, the Tianshi’s eldest disciple, Xu Yuanzhen, also emerged at this moment.

Signs indicated that the master and disciple had long prepared for this. With Xu Yuanzhen holding off Taiping Daoist, the Tianshi could focus on pursuing the Lin Clan Leader.

But then, a mysterious powerhouse struck unexpectedly.

This time, Tianshi Li Qingfeng was truly gravely injured.

Though Xu Yuanzhen managed to break away from Taiping Daoist to block further attacks, the situation had spiraled out of control.

Lei Jun’s assessment was:

“They overplayed their hand.”

If the Tianshi had simply consolidated power with Xu Yuanzhen, Li Song, Li Hongyu, Yuan Mobai, and Li Zhengxuan at Mount Longhu, they could have avoided a major crisis despite their enemies’ strength.

The Tianshi’s strategy to lure the Lin Clan Leader into a trap succeeded — but the final result was a disaster.

They had just turned the tide, ready to pursue victory, only to be struck down again.

Even without considering morale, this increased their costs of adapting to the situation.

Another possibility was that the Tianshi’s old injuries hadn’t fully healed, forcing him to gamble on a decisive victory to eliminate the Lin Clan threat — at least temporarily.

But the gamble had failed…

Lei Jun recalled Xu Yuanzhen’s words when she first returned to Mount Longhu:

“I’m worried that Master is overthinking things.”

Back then, she probably didn’t know the full plan, just worried based on her understanding of her master.

In hindsight, she was right.

She wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

In a Jiangnan waterside pavilion, Chu Yu stood by the window, frowning.

At a nearby table, Fang Yue asked, “Who was this mysterious powerhouse who stooped to such underhanded tactics?”

Chu Yu responded, “There are only a few unaccounted top-tier experts. But of those who harbor enmity toward the Tianshi Mansion…”

She shook her head.

“In the end, the Tianshi gave them the opportunity. One scheme against the Lin Clan Leader was enough. He shouldn’t have chased him outside the mountain.”

Fang Yue looked at her.

Sighing, Chu Yu said, “The Tianshi’s health hasn’t fully recovered, has it? This gamble harmed not only himself but also the entire situation.”

The latest news confirmed a more tragic outcome than anyone expected:

Li Qingfeng, the Tianshi of Mount Longhu, and Lin Qun, the Lin Clan Leader, had perished together in the Great River.