Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

No matter what Jiasheng Upper Master originally intended, he and the Western Region Buddhism now needed to make a demonstration of their presence.

Therefore, the Buddhist Sect disciples who had come to the Southern Wilderness, aside from diligently searching for the whereabouts of the Blood River Sect descendants, simultaneously began to search for members of the Mortal Tao Country.

On the Mortal Tao Country’s side, Fu Dongsen had made a fleeting appearance before vanishing without a trace once more.

Faced with this gathering of prominent figures—a veritable meeting of rebels—Shangguan Yunbo and Prince Xiang Zhang Luo began trying to contact members of the Southern Witch Sect on one hand, while submitting more detailed reports to the Tang Court on the other.

In the past, the Great Tang had limited interactions with the Southern Wilderness for various reasons.

At times, the people of the Southern Wilderness could also pose a threat to the Great Tang in the south.

However, conflicts between the two sides had become less frequent in recent years. Previously, due to the actions of Wei Ancheng and the Blood River Sect, a brief camaraderie had even formed from fighting side-by-side.

With the resurgence of the Jiuli, the Tang Imperial Court began to woo and divide the major Sacred Lands of the Southern Witch Sects, undoubtedly intending to use the Southern Wilderness to counterbalance the Jiuli.

In terms of heritage, the Southern Witch Sects and the Jiuli People had their points of contention.

However, the attitude currently displayed by the Jiuli People was also filled with aggression towards the inhabitants of the Southern Wilderness.

These Jiuli People, having just returned to the Mortal World, were brimming with malevolence.

If Wei Ancheng and the Blood River Sect treated every potential target equally, even prioritizing it above personal grievances,

then these Jiuli People who had returned to the Mortal World viewed every single Xuanyuan person under the sun with equal animosity.

This situation might change in the future.

The Tang Imperial Court, however, intended to exploit the current threat posed by the Jiuli People to various parts of the Southern Wilderness, guiding the situation to their advantage and strengthening their own position.

Yuan Mobai’s attention, naturally, remained focused on the pursuit of the Mortal Tao Country.

Now that the "whereabouts" of the Celestial Master Robe had surfaced, Elder Yuan naturally had to demonstrate its importance.

He immediately informed the Tang Imperial Court and the Western Region Buddhism that the Celestial Master Mansion would also dispatch personnel south to assist in hunting down the rebels of the Mortal Tao Country.

One matter should not trouble two masters.

The representative was, naturally, another High Merit Elder: Lei Jun, also known as Lei Chongyun.

The master and disciple duo naturally knew the truth behind the so-called reappearance of the Celestial Master Robe.

However, with so many people now joining forces to investigate clues related to the Mortal Tao Country, it presented a rare opportunity.

Therefore, Lei Jun went with the flow and readily agreed.

For the Celestial Master Mansion, the Mortal Tao Country had always been a potential threat.

Even if it could not be eradicated swiftly, Lei Jun was intent on gathering as many clues as possible to prepare for the future.

At the Ancestral Courtyard of the Sect, Wang Guiyuan and Chu Kun, his martial brothers, cooperated to create the illusion that Lei Jun had just emerged from seclusion.

With the arrangements Lei Jun had made beforehand, it was not difficult to create a convincing illusion to deceive onlookers.

For Wang Guiyuan and Chu Kun, the truly challenging part was persuading a certain Celestial Master, who was growing restless and eager for action again after a period of quiet, to abandon her ideas—a task they found even more vexing.

Later, Lei Jun made a public appearance in the Southern Wilderness.

From other parts of the Great Tang Dynasty, a large number of experts also headed south.

Apart from the officers of the Divine Strategy Army who came in support, the Mount Shu Sect, upon receiving news of Fu Dongsen and the Mortal Tao Country, also dispatched experts.

However, the identities of the High Merit Elders leading the Mount Shu Sect contingent this time were somewhat delicate.

Zhang Dongyuan, a member of the Great Tang Imperial Clan, naturally went without saying.

Lei Jun had also interacted with the other person:

Ye Dongming, a Shushan Elder from the Jinzhou Ye Clan.

Zhang Dongyuan did not bring the Blue Abyss Sword with him on this expedition.

After the great battle, the foundations of the Mount Shu Sect were severely damaged and considerably weakened. Consequently, both the Blue Abyss Sword and the South Bright Separation Fire Cauldron remained at the Sect Summit, guarded by Xu Duan and Zhang Taigang—two Eighth Heavenly Layer cultivators of the Daoist Artifact Refining Sect—and did not leave the mountain.

After the great battle, the Mount Shu Sect had yet to appoint a new Sect Leader.

However, various signs indicated that Zhang Taigang was very likely to shoulder this responsibility.

However, Zhang Taigang, who had previously focused more on his cultivation, still needed to learn and gain experience in managing the affairs of the Mount Shu Sect.

Besides the Mount Shu Sect, Vermilion Bird Elder Lü Jinduan of the Pure Yang Palace, an Eighth Heavenly Layer expert from the Taoist Dan Ding Sect, also came south, accompanied by some disciples.

Following the chaos instigated by Rong Guangchen, the internal affairs of the Pure Yang Palace remained turbulent.

Rumor had it that Elder Huang had been forced to come out of seclusion to manage affairs.

Nevertheless, upon receiving news about the Mortal Tao Country, the Pure Yang Palace still managed to dispatch a contingent, albeit hastily.

However, the arrival of some others to join forces with Shangguan Yunbo and Prince Xiang Zhang Luo was somewhat unexpected, though still within reason.

They were all members of prominent families.

Particularly prominent among them were the Jingxiang Fang Clan and the Suzhou Chu Clan.

From Jingxiang, the Eighth Heavenly Layer Great Scholar Fang Du personally led their contingent.

The contingent from the Suzhou Chu Clan was similarly led by the Eighth Heavenly Layer Great Scholar Chu Peng.

Representatives from the remaining Qingzhou Ye Clan, Cangzhou Ye Clan, and Youzhou Lin Clan also arrived.

For various reasons, these prominent families, while currently maintaining a low profile and recuperating, were also attempting to mend their relations with the Tang Imperial Court. Thus, they joined this expedition to the Southern Wilderness together.

Whether they would fight to the death was another matter entirely, but at the very least, they would all adopt the appropriate stance.

Currently, everyone stood united under the banner of the Great Tang Dynasty. Naturally, there would be no overt conflicts; instead, they presented an appearance of solidarity and cooperation in overcoming shared difficulties.

Elder Lei of the Celestial Master Mansion, though perhaps not as amiable as his mentor Elder Yuan and appearing somewhat aloof, displayed no unfriendly gestures. He calmly and politely interacted with the others.

But if one were to ask Lei Jun about his true feelings, well... there was a hint of regret. He rarely experienced such an emotion. But now, facing his true inner self, he had to admit that if he had waited a bit longer and observed more, the outcome might have been better.