Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 72: Happy Troubles

Whether inside or outside Tianshi Mansion, everyone was diligently searching for the missing Tianshi Seal.

Senior Sister Xu Yuanzhen had searched for it.

Master Yuan Mobai also kept an eye out.

The rival Yellow Heaven Sect was likewise searching.

From what Lei Jun knew, Elder Hongyu, Elder Ziyang, and the Young Tianshi Li Zhengxuan were also on the hunt.

Years later, during his training under Yuan Mobai, Lei Jun had heard bits and pieces about what happened back then.

Four or five years ago, during their Initiation Ceremony, besides Tang Xiaotang, Chen Yi, Shangguan Hong, and Li Ying had all submitted petitions to the heavens, hoping to become direct disciples of the Tianshi.

Of course, the outcome was that the Tianshi stood them all up.

Afterwards, Chen Yi hoped to receive the same treatment as Tang Xiaotang. His confidence lay in his contributions to Tianshi Mansion, hoping that his merits would prompt an exception.

For this, the senior elders held a secret meeting to deliberate.

Unfortunately, it didn’t pass.

According to Yuan Mobai, Chen Yi did indeed have merit—he had discovered some clues about the whereabouts of the Tianshi Seal.

Because of this, Elder Hongyu and Yao Yuan supported making an exception for him.

But the proposal was blocked by Elder Ziyang.

His reason was solid.

The clues Chen Yi found were already known to Elder Ziyang, who had even more comprehensive information.

Thus, Chen Yi’s contributions couldn’t really be called contributions.

The matter of making an exception for Chen Yi was shelved indefinitely.

The incident remained confidential, and Chen Yi joined Elder Yao’s tutelage, where he remained to this day.

For the outer disciples, it seemed like nothing had ever happened. Everything was business as usual.

But for the higher-ups of Tianshi Mansion, the search for the missing Tianshi Seal continued with little progress.

Now, with Tianshi Mansion in crisis, could the Tianshi Seal really be drawing near Mount Longhu once again?

Lei Jun found this less a stroke of fortune and more a cruel irony.

Of course, the Tianshi Seal possessed its own spirituality; it wasn’t consciously finding its way home.

Where it would ultimately end up, and in whose hands, was still a mystery.

Lei Jun reined in his wandering thoughts and meticulously cleaned up the scene, collecting the scattered artifacts and spiritual items from the fallen Yellow Heaven Sect disciples.

“Roar!!”

Suddenly, a ferocious tiger's roar interrupted his work!

Surprised, Lei Jun looked into the distance.

This time, the roar didn’t come from the excavated mountain ridge beneath his feet, but from far away.

Lei Jun squinted into the distance and saw a massive, azure Fire Tiger appear on the horizon.

The giant tiger, composed entirely of azure Earth Fire flames, roared as it moved, flames spreading like a raging inferno across the horizon.

But it wasn’t coming for Lei Jun—it was pursuing another group.

Several Yellow Heaven Sect disciples fled in desperation, heading towards the desolate mountains.

They were trying to regroup with their comrades who had been excavating the mountain, hoping to muster enough strength to fend off their pursuers.

Given the secrecy surrounding the search for the Tianshi Seal, they should have avoided drawing attention at all costs.

But their frantic escape to this location showed just how much pressure their pursuers had exerted, nearly breaking their sanity.

Unfortunately, when they arrived, they found their fellow Yellow Heaven Sect disciples dead or dying.

Despair overtook them.

The towering Nine Abyss Flame Ancestor apparition paused slightly.

The azure Fire Tiger spoke in a surprised tone: “Senior Sister’s handiwork?”

The raging azure flames dissipated, leaving the Yellow Heaven Sect disciples bewildered.

The giant Fire Tiger vanished, replaced in midair by a tall, stunning woman—Tang Xiaotang.

When she saw Lei Jun, her expression turned to surprise: “Why are you here?”

Lei Jun remained calm: “I noticed some Yellow Heaven Sect cultivators acting suspiciously on the road, so I tracked them here. They were digging up the mountain, and then they got wiped out by the Nine Abyss Flame Ancestor apparition left behind by Senior Sister.”

Tang Xiaotang recalled the story of Lei Jun and Xu Yuanzhen’s first encounter and asked, astonished: “Right here?”

Lei Jun gestured toward the newly arrived Yellow Heaven Sect disciples being pursued: “Little Senior Sister, shall we deal with this first?”

The fleeing Yellow Heaven Sect disciples, initially in despair, saw Tang Xiaotang pause to chat and felt a flicker of hope. They scattered in all directions.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Tang Xiaotang grinned: “Since Senior Sister put on such a show, I can’t be left behind!”

As she spoke, golden light erupted from her body. Her long black hair and eyebrows turned a pale gold.

In the next moment, blazing golden flames spread in every direction.

“Roar!!”

Another tiger's roar echoed through the heavens.

This time, a golden Fire Tiger appeared!

Lei Jun’s eyebrows rose.

Unlike the azure Earth Fire infused with Pure Yin Energy, this golden flame was supremely Yang, scorching, and unyielding!

The blinding light made Lei Jun feel like he was facing the sun itself.

This was no longer the Nine Abyss Flame Ancestor apparition of Yin Fire.

This was a Yang Fire Tiger!

The blazing golden tiger roared and charged at the Yellow Heaven Sect disciples, even more ferocious than the azure tiger before.

The enemies had no chance to fight back—half of them fell in an instant.

“Leave one alive for questioning!” Lei Jun reminded her.

The golden tiger lifted a giant paw, pinning a Yellow Heaven SectInitiate Elder in a deep red robe beneath it.

The flames dissipated, revealing Tang Xiaotang with her golden hair flowing.

She ignored the few stragglers escaping and dragged the captured elder over to Lei Jun, smiling smugly: “See? Didn’t I say I go big or go home?”

Lei Jun nodded seriously: “Little Senior Sister, your talent is truly unparalleled.”

A Celestial Physique.

Clear Tranquility Comprehension.

In terms of raw potential, she was the greatest genius in Tianshi Mansion.

Even in the entire Great Tang, she stood above the rest.

Tang Xiaotang, always ready to bask in praise, beamed. “This is just the start—I’ve got more ideas…”

“Little Senior Sister?” Lei Jun gestured around his own hair and eyebrows.

Tang Xiaotang paused. “Oh, right.”

With a thought, her pale gold hair and eyebrows returned to black.

Lei Jun asked, “Little Senior Sister, why are you here? How’s the situation on Mount Longhu?”

Tang Xiaotang replied, “I’ve been chasing Yellow Heaven Sect lackeys, killing them along the way. I ended up here without noticing.”

Overall, the situation on Mount Longhu was stabilizing.

The current Tianshi, Li Qingfeng, had fallen.

With no new Tianshi yet, the Ten Thousand Methods Sect Altar remained closed.

Fortunately, the two treasures—the Tianshi Sword and Tianshi Robe—were still safe.

Xu Yuanzhen had pursued the mysterious figure who ambushed the Tianshi, and both had vanished.

Other forces, including the Tang Imperial Family, were more focused on the Lin Clan of Jiangzhou, who had also lost their patriarch.

This gave Tianshi Mansion a rare opportunity to focus on defeating the Yellow Heaven Sect.

Led by the seven Presiding Masters—Li Song, Li Hongyu, Li Ziyang, Yao Yuan, Shangguan Ning, Yuan Mobai, and Li Zhengxuan—plus the uniquely capable Tang Xiaotang, Tianshi Mansion had not only held the line but begun to counterattack.

However, much effort was still needed to guard against other enemies.

As a result, no large-scale offensive had been launched yet. Only Tang Xiaotang was free to sweep the Yellow Heaven Sect's outer forces.

Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang exchanged a few words, then questioned the captured elder.

They learned that, besides attacking Mount Longhu and its branches, the Yellow Heaven Sect was also targeting Chiyuan Grotto-Heaven.

Unlike the newly developed Xuanyang Grotto-Heaven, Chiyuan Grotto-Heaven was a core, well-established blessed land.

“They really are stirring up trouble everywhere.”

Tang Xiaotang turned to Lei Jun: “Want to come with me to Chiyuan Grotto-Heaven?”

Lei Jun didn’t answer immediately.

A light sphere flashed in his mind:

[Clearly discern the truth, the Dao splits into three paths. Choose wisely.]

Three fortunes appeared:

[Upper-Moderate Omen: Pursue the Yellow Heaven Sect remnants. Contains danger. Handle with caution to obtain a Fifth-Grade Opportunity. Auspicious.]

[Upper-Moderate Omen: Return to Mount Longhu immediately. Obtain a Sixth-Grade Opportunity. No risk, no worries. Auspicious.]

[Moderate Omen: Go to Chiyuan Grotto-Heaven. No harm, no gain. Neutral.]

Huh?

Lei Jun read the fortunes again.

Indeed, two Upper-Moderate Omens.