Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

For example, Western Region Buddhism already had the Blood River Sect and the Great Demon of the Southern Wilderness as opponents.

Leaving the Mortal Tao Country to others might be more appropriate.

Lei Jun gazed from a distance at a middle-aged scholar who was presently paying his respects to Grand General Shangguan Yunbo amidst the crowd.

His surname was Ye, and his given name was Ye Liang.

He was a former elder of the Jinzhou Ye Clan—of course, it was now the Cangzhou Ye Clan.

Even without an Eighth Heavenly Layer Great Scholar leading the team, Ye Liang, as a Seventh Heavenly Layer Great Scholar, was still one of the core senior members of the Cangzhou Ye Clan.

This was partly because he was a direct descendant of the Ye Clan, and partly because his abilities were all outstanding, leading him to frequently represent the Ye Clan in external affairs.

Elder Lei shifted his gaze and looked up slightly at the sky.

Since when had he started to become fickle? The Jinzhou Ye Clan... no, scratch that, the Cangzhou Ye Clan was clearly the target he valued previously. Even now, they were the "white moonlight" he often missed. Lei Jun believed that although the Cangzhou Ye Clan had been acting low-key lately, they must have been thinking about Celestial Master Mansion and him, Lei Jun, all this time. Yet he had neglected the feelings of the Cangzhou Ye Clan and, instead, given the Mortal Tao Country to Western Region Buddhism. He was filled with remorse!

Elder Lei maintained an impassive expression on his face.

But in his heart, he had already begun to seriously consider how to "compensate" the Cangzhou Ye Clan. Fortunately, there was plenty of time ahead; there was no rush for the moment. He could take his time to find opportunities... Lei Jun nodded slightly to himself.

As reinforcements poured in, both Shangguan Yunbo and Prince Xiang Zhang Luo felt a significant weight lift from their hearts.

The main target for the three Sacred Lands of the Taoist Sect and Western Region Buddhism was the Mortal Tao Country. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Since the Tang Imperial Court had no intention of forcefully reversing the situation, they decided to leave most matters concerning the White Lotus Sect, Blood River Sect, and Mortal Tao Country to Jiasheng Upper Master Yuan Mobai and his colleagues. Meanwhile, Grand General Shangguan Yunbo commanded the majority of the Divine Strategy Army troops, shifting his attention toward Jiuli.

The entrance to the Jiuli secret realm and the persistent black fog emanating from Youning Lake seemed like two nails hammered into the soil of the Southern Wilderness.

Geographically, these two locations effectively sandwiched Gepo Mountain, the Sacred Land of the Witchcraft Sect’s Divine Dance lineage.

Shangguan Yunbo personally visited Gepo Mountain to negotiate and establish connections, hoping to use this as an opportunity to influence the other Sacred Lands in the Southern Wilderness.

While the Tang Imperial Court’s primary attention shifted towards Jiuli, Prince Xiang Zhang Luo remained with a small contingent to coordinate among the Buddhist and Taoist sects, as well as some disciples from Confucian Families.

Naturally, it was impossible for everyone to immediately cast aside their previous grievances and unite as one.

While their forces were dispersed to hunt down and eliminate rebels from factions like the Mortal Tao Country and the Blood River Sect, many also remained covertly vigilant against one another.

At such times, Imperial Court representatives like Zhang Luo were needed to mediate.

Lei Jun and his Master Yuan Mobai divided their forces into two groups, roaming and searching through the mountains of the Southern Wilderness.

Accompanying him was Lu Fang, a general from the Great Tang Divine Strategy Army, who had arrived with several of his personal guards.

The Lu Clan was one of Great Tang’s founding noble families, its influence in the military second only to that of the Shangguan Clan.

Lu Fang, under orders to provide support in the Southern Wilderness, had been commanded by Shangguan Yunbo to operate alongside Prince Xiang Zhang Luo, focusing on the Mortal Tao Country, the Blood River Sect, and the White Lotus Sect.

Lei Jun traveled with him, looking for traces left by members of the Mortal Tao Country.

Surprisingly, while searching, they discovered a concealed Blood Sea in a remote valley.

The sinister aura was so potent that even Lu Fang, a Martial Arts Practitioner who was not particularly adept at sensing and perceiving the external world, could not miss it.

What surprised Lei Jun and Lu Fang even more was the activity of a few Mortal Tao Country cultivators within the valley.

"This is indeed strange." Lu Fang approached at once.

The Blood River Sect experts concealed within the Blood Sea were quickly alerted; blood waves surged as they attempted to retreat.

"Tao Zhun, where do you think you’re going?" Lu Fang recognized the man and shouted, simultaneously producing a long spear that he thrust directly toward the Blood Sea.

Lei Jun observed from the side, and after a few moments, he understood.

This must be an elder of the Blood River Sect colluding with the Mortal Tao Country. Acting as a local power in the Southern Wilderness, he lent his concealed cave mansion to the Mortal Tao Country for their temporary use. However, it was still uncertain whether this was his individual act or if it was connected to Wei Ancheng or someone else.

The Mortal Tao Country cultivators in the valley also attempted to flee, but with Lei Jun present, all their efforts were futile.

He did not kill them immediately but subdued them and handed them over to Lu Fang’s personal guards for custody.

Lei Jun then turned his gaze to Lu Fang and the Blood River Sect elder, Tao Zhun.

One was a Martial Arts Practitioner at the Seventh Heavenly Layer of Weapon Strike cultivation, and the other was a Blood River practitioner from the Witchcraft Sect, also at the Seventh Heavenly Layer.

The ensuing battle gave Lei Jun a distinct sense of déjà vu.

He remembered the time he had seen Shangguan Peng fight against Blood River Sect elder Tu Dong years ago. The scene was somewhat similar to the current one: one launching aggressive attacks, the other slowly whittling down the opponent. This was especially because Tao Zhun, much like Tu Dong, was a Blood River Sect cultivator who focused on the Blood Sea School of Dharma. This involved refining vast quantities of Blood River essence into a Blood Sea to engulf and consume opponents. The technique primarily relied on contaminating the opponent’s mana and causing erosion to their flesh and blood. Its advantages were its vast area of effect and versatility. However, in terms of concentrated lethality against a single target, it was not as potent as the Blood Battle School of Dharma cultivated by other Blood River Sect practitioners, who used blood blades for close-quarters combat.

Nevertheless, even those Blood River Sect cultivators who cultivated the Blood Battle School of Dharma could not confidently claim superiority in offensive power over Weapon Strike Martial Arts Experts.

After all, Martial Arts Practitioners held a distinct advantage in this regard.

In terms of single-point attacks, Martial Arts Practitioners were fundamentally the strongest in the current world. This was especially true for Martial Warriors, whose combat lethality surpassed even that of Body-Refining Martial Artists.

Generally speaking, apart from the Taoist Sect’s Flying Swords and the Confucian Sect’s Divine Archery—both of which required time to accumulate power before striking—no one could surpass Martial Warriors in single-target offensive power.