Cultivation: Fortune by Lots-Chapter 494 - 253. The Great War Begins (Combined Chapter)
Comparing the many scenarios in his mind, Lei Jun realized that the Heaven-piercing Earth-penetrating Taliscript was indeed still in its early stages.
Next, on one hand, Lei Jun needed to keep pondering and perfecting this school of Dharma, while on the other hand, as his own cultivation realm gradually increased, the talisman would also grow stronger and gain more functions.
"Mm, it’s a fine rough draft." Xu Yuanzhen said,
Lei Jun said, "I believe it’s out of secrecy concerns, so Jinzhou secretly contacted the remnant of the Nanzong Lin Clan to have them make the ritual instrument,
but I think Ye Moquan was probably preparing more than just that. There might be other tricks up his sleeve."
"Stop." Xu Yuanzhen said, "With everything you’re saying, I’m actually starting to feel a bit excited."
Lei Jun said, "I’m even more excited about your moves, Senior Sister."
Xu Yuanzhen said, "I’ve indeed prepared a few gifts myself for that old fox."
Lei Jun bluntly asked, "Can you take him out?"
"It’d be challenging, and might require paying some price, but it’s not impossible." Xu Yuanzhen’s reply was very much her style, "However, that’s not my set target for now."
Lei Jun raised his brow, "So what’s your real target?"
Xu Yuanzhen said, "Still haven’t settled on it completely. When it actually comes down to it, I’m going to see if that old fox values his own life."
*Hearing that, I somehow wasn’t surprised at all...* Lei Jun thought.
*My senior sister was undeniably a genius, but her ideas... weren’t exactly mainstream most of the time.*
*While everyone benefited from her power, they all had to be ready for her antics too.*
*On this front, Lei Jun and Xu Yuanzhen definitely saw things differently, but he never commented much on it,* and simply said, "This match might involve more than just Ye Moquan."
"Not surprising," Xu Yuanzhen said as she seemed to be tidying something up, "Since the date’s about to come, I’ll go to Jinzhou directly."
Lei Jun said, "Junior Sister is already there."
After ending the communication with Xu Yuanzhen, Lei Jun started packing his things as well, about to leave the Taihu Daze region.
Xu Yuanzhen and Lei Jun both decided not to act against the remnant Nanzong Lin Clan north of Tai Lake for now—not trying to prevent them from successfully making the ritual instrument or sending it to Jinzhou.
Since Xu Yuanzhen already had a plan, it was hard for the other side to catch her off guard with this scheme.
On the contrary, Xu Yuanzhen secretly prepared a gift in return.
By then, whoever was blindsided would be anyone’s guess.
"Speaking of which, Senior Sister and Zhang Rui are now inside that secret realm, which should correspond to that moderately good lot."
Lei Jun wondered, *I still had no idea what Fifth Grade Opportunity was prophesied in the lot and what possible hidden dangers there could really referred to.*
According to Xu Yuanzhen, besides the place itself, that secret realm might link to another world.
*Would it be like the Foreign Lands the group entered from Great Black Mountain?*
Through ages, we see across the borders of Huan Yu.
Now that he thought about this phrase carefully, it didn’t seem that the first half was talking about the Mysterious Void Mirror and the second half about the secret realm hinted at by the moderately good lot.
It seemed more like ancient-ages and borders-of-Huan-Yu described both the Mysterious Void Mirror in the Supreme Pure Thunder Mansion Cave Heaven—and that strange secret realm.
So, the secret realm, or the other world it was connected to, *would time and antiquities also be marvelously strange there?*
Lei Jun walked and brooded, a torrent of thoughts flashing through his mind.
......
Jinzhou, Ye Clan Ancestral Land.
In a deep, grand estate, an old man sat quietly in a chair, gazing through the window at a stretch of lush summer woods.
Later on, his eldest son, Ye Wei, arrived outside the door.
The old man inside spoke, "Come in."
"Father," Ye Wei entered the room, standing respectfully with hands clasped, "The Nanzong Lin Clan side has finished, and the items are about to be delivered."
His father—Ye Moquan, Chief of Jinzhou Ye Clan—nodded slightly, "Once the last piece is arranged, prepare yourself for the final step."
Ye Wei said, "Yes, Father."
He didn’t leave right away but stood there in silence.
Ye Moquan neither hurried him nor pressed, and simply sat calmly.
A long moment passed before Ye Wei said, "Father, the risk you’re taking this time is enormous."
Ye Moquan smiled, "In this position, some things are unavoidable. I don’t intend to shy away from them either."
He really did not favor direct confrontation with others.
But it did not mean he couldn’t play such a move.
"Qingzhou, Suzhou, and other places all claim they’re ready, but..." Ye Wei trailed off.
Ye Moquan responded calmly, "It doesn’t matter if they go above and beyond this time. Just as long as they don’t do less than agreed—if we need to be wary, this is the only thing to prepare for."
Ye Wei said, "So far, they haven’t."
"That’s good enough." Ye Moquan nodded slightly, turning his gaze back to the window.
Ye Wei bowed and took his leave.
.........
Longwai, near the Western Regions.
The vast desert was baking under the summer sun, unbearably hot.
Several tiny dark figures dotted the golden sands.
They were all monks dressed in black, faces solemn, not a hint of a smile.
They looked dignified and awe-inspiring, yet a strange aura emanated from every pore of their bodies, enveloping the area all around.
Neither the current heat nor the winter’s bitter cold could remain here—both were shattered, wiped out for good.
All these black-robed monks were disciples of the Great Void Temple.
Their leader, meanwhile, was a young monk draped in a dark golden kasaya.
The monk stood tall and strong; out of all the stone-faced monks of Great Void Temple, he wore a rare hint of a smile, and appeared only in his early twenties.
In truth, his real age was not very high—he was still under fifty.
But his fame had started even earlier.
It was during his rapid ascent that the Great Void Temple had returned to the lands above.
His Dharma name was Yuanmie.
The previous Buddhist of the Great Void Temple.
