Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

Currently, Ye Liang had no inclination to do anything specific.

Indeed, the grand strategy of the Cangzhou Ye Clan was to keep as low a profile as possible, to recuperate and regenerate, to avoid becoming the target of collective animosity.

The battle between Xu Yuanzhen and Ye Moquan, regardless of the internal intricacies, was publicly known as a private duel.

After the great battle, the matter turned a new page. They were outmatched and thus had no grounds for argument.

In the current situation, the Cangzhou Ye Clan would not easily provoke others, at least not overtly. Furthermore, due to the subsequent emergence of the Western Region Buddhism, the Mortal Tao Country, and the Jiuli People, they even started to mend relations with the Tang Imperial Court.

As for what happened behind the scenes, that was another story. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

And personally, Ye Liang had no intention of provoking Lei Jun at the moment either.

He was a Divine Archer of the Seventh Heavenly Layer Divine Edge Realm, capable of merging light into arrows and concentrating energy into blades to kill targets from extreme distances. However, Lei Jun had already proven himself to be a cut above the rest among cultivators in the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm.

Even if Ye Liang was currently unaware of the fate of Tao Zhun, the Elder of the Blood River Sect, the precedents set by Lin Chi of Jiangzhou and Qi Shuo of the Yellow Sky Sect were already clear.

Perhaps a Confucian Divine Archer, by controlling the distance, could avoid close combat with the Celestial Master Mansion’s Doumu Star God Dharma, but Ye Liang still lacked full confidence in his ability to target and injure Lei Jun.

That being the case, he naturally would not act.

Otherwise, once he revealed his movements and identity, it would inevitably give the Tang Imperial Court and Celestial Master Mansion a pretext to exploit, contradicting the grand strategy currently adopted by the Cangzhou Ye Clan.

However, Ye Liang was keen to observe and understand more about that young High Merit Master from the Celestial Master Mansion who had risen in the distance.

Like Xu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiaotang, that tall young Taoist could no longer be simply described as an up-and-comer.

Lei Chongyun had truly become one of the core high-ranking members within the Celestial Master Mansion.

If it weren’t for his late start on the Taoist path and his older age when he began his cultivation, people would probably be speculating whether he could reach the Eighth Heavenly Layer before turning fifty... Ye Liang thought to himself.

But even so, it was almost foreseeable that Lei Jun would ascend to Eightfold Heaven Cultivation. The only question was when, unless he perished during the Heavenly Moat Tribulation between the Seventh and Eighth Heavenly Layers.

This man underwent earth-shattering changes every few years.

Ye Liang and the others reflected that they had indeed somewhat underestimated Lei Jun before, which had allowed him to gradually gain influence.

From Ye Liang’s personal point of view, he even believed that in the future, Lei Jun’s influence could exceed that of both Xu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiaotang.

This was because the two of them were excessively unpredictable and unstable in temperament.

As individuals, they were beyond reproach, and even now it seemed their potential was not yet fully tapped.

But from the perspective of a Taoist Sacred Land’s legacy, they seemed more like protectors, not pioneers.

Even today, more than ten years after Tang Xiaotang assumed the position of Celestial Master, Ye Moquan, Ye Wei, and Ye Liang himself still believed that Yuan Mobai, once his cultivation rose to the Eighth Heavenly Layer, was the most suitable person to take charge of the Celestial Master Mansion after Li Qingfeng.

It was only that Yuan Mobai, despite all his qualities, had one drawback that ultimately led him to miss out on the position of Celestial Master.

Past events cannot be pursued. If Yuan Mobai had taken up the role of Celestial Master back then, the fate of the Xinzhou Li Family might have turned out differently... Ye Liang thought silently.

And now, Yuan Mobai’s disciple, Lei Jun—Lei Chongyun—might be a new suitable candidate, one who didn’t have obvious shortcomings like his master.

If this Lei Jun were to ascend to the Eightfold Heaven Realm...

The mistake of underestimating him earlier must be rectified... While carefully concealing his presence, Ye Liang quietly followed Lei Jun.

Even though there was no opportunity to eliminate this person in the short term, Ye Liang was determined to gather more information about him, to be better prepared for the future.

He was already adept at concealing his tracks and often traveled to the Southern Wilderness, making him familiar with the local environment. At this moment, he seemed to merge into the forest, becoming a part of it.

Lei Jun walked ahead. He did not summon the Mysterious Void Mirror, relying only on the subtle operation of his Heaven-piercing Earth-penetrating Taliscript. Even so, he could still sense Ye Liang’s gradually fading presence behind him.

Unless the other party displayed obvious murderous intent or signs of an impending attack, his presence was indeed very well hidden.

A smile flickered across Lei Jun’s lips momentarily as he continued on his way as if nothing was amiss.

There was still some time until midnight when Lei Jun reached the area of Zhuoqing Mountain.

The wilderness was silent.

Without changing his expression, Lei Jun looked up at the sky. The moonlight was bright.

A sword hummed under the moon.

However, it was a Fourth Rank Opportunity, and it did mention the possibility of subsequent karmic entanglements... Lei Jun pondered.

He arrived at the northern foot of Zhuoqing Mountain and strolled around.

In the forest, the purple-robed Taoist seemed to be out for a leisurely moonlit stroll.

Ye Liang quietly followed behind Lei Jun and also arrived at the northern foot of Zhuoqing Mountain.

But upon observing Lei Jun’s actions, he felt puzzled.

With the current turmoil in the Southern Wilderness, and the rumors circulating about the Mortal Tao Country, the Western Region Buddhism, and the Celestial Master Robe, Master Lei should not be in such a leisurely state.

Had he arranged to secretly meet someone here?

Or was there another mystery at play?

This abnormal scene made Ye Liang confused and, at the same time, secretly wary. Could Lei Jun have discovered me?

Ye Liang, who often represented the Cangzhou Ye Clan on the outside for years, not only had a wide network but also bore the heavy responsibility of collecting intelligence.

His vigilance heightened, the thought of prioritizing defense and avoiding defeat before considering victory surfaced in Ye Liang’s mind.

But... times were different now!

Suddenly, the scenario of his meeting with Ye Dongming of the Mount Shu Sect flashed through Ye Liang’s mind.

The reason he was presently on a secretive solo mission was precisely because he had secretly arranged a meeting with Ye Dongming.

The secrecy of the meeting stemmed from the fact that earlier public visits had been unsuccessful.