Now that the Pure Yang Talisman and other Spirit Talismans had grown increasingly refined, Celestial Master Tang’s attention began to shift toward the Life Skill Human Script Talismans,

But regardless of his choices, Celestial Master Tang, as an Eightfold Heaven Realm cultivator, could only cultivate up to four Dharma simultaneously,

"As disciples, we were just starting to touch the basics, and there was still much mystery left to ponder,"

Lei Jun had never denied that he was quite pleased about this,

But after that touch of joy faded, his mind returned to tranquility,

Just as he had told Yuan Mobai, for the five Grand Talismans and five Grand Dharma, there were still countless things left for him to study,

Master and disciple compared notes on the Chenyang Midheaven Talismans, discussed them together, and Lei Jun took this chance to further perfect them,

Immersing himself in the Taoist Laws brought him pleasure,

Until a message arrived from outside the mountain,

"Big Senior Sister disappeared from the Heavenly Principle?"

Lei Jun looked at Tang Xiaotang and Yuan Mobai in surprise,

Yuan Mobai’s expression stayed composed, his tone steady, "The latest message from the Imperial Court reported the same, and at the moment, we couldn’t get through to Yuan Zhen either. Chongyun, we needed to wait on your situation,"

Xu Yuanzhen had previously led the way, entering the Heavenly Principle first and catching the Great Ming Dynasty off guard,

Though the Great Tang Dynasty’s cultivators were surprised, they followed up immediately,

So, unlike in the Northwest and Southern Wilderness where the Solitary Eagle Khanate and Jiuli People invaded the mortal world,

Over in the East Sea, the Great Tang Cultivators had managed to seize the Void Gateway and instead surged into the Heavenly Principle,

Yet Xu Yuanzhen’s sudden withdrawal caught Ye Yan and the others in the Heavenly Principle completely off-guard,

Now, the loss of Xu Yuanzhen’s personal combat ability undermined all those previous plans,

In this push and pull, the Great Ming cultivators in the Heavenly Principle seized the chance to strike back,

The Tang forces retreated to the Void Gateway leading from the Heavenly Principle to the mortal world,

Both sides were now fiercely battling over that Void Gateway,

The Tang Imperial Family’s main forces remained focused on the Southern Wilderness and Northwest,

So, in response to the changes in the East Sea, they contacted the Qingzhou Ye Clan, Suzhou Chu Clan, Tianlong Temple, Celestial Master Mansion, and other local powers, trying to mobilize reinforcements to rush to the East Sea,

Currently, Celestial Master Mansion had the High Merit Elder Shangguan Ning of the Seventh Heavenly Layer realm stationed in Yuhang,

But the Tang Imperial Family had subtly indicated they wished, now that the mountain gate was steadied, for Celestial Master Mansion to send an Elder of the Eighth Heavenly Layer realm to oversee things,

Stabilizing the situation, and ideally, seeking and contacting Xu Yuanzhen to uncover the truth behind her disappearance,

Lei Jun first tried to contact Xu Yuanzhen,

There was no answer right away,

But, later on, a brief bit of news finally made it through,

First—she was totally fine, nothing wrong at all,

Then, the reason for her abrupt departure was that she had found something much more interesting,

The so-called Ming Dynasty Imperial Court hiding in the Heavenly Principle was just the defeated army, cowering there trying to survive,

As the Imperial Family’s legacy told it, those people were never the legitimate line,

The Great Ming Imperial Court had entirely different lands,

And a different mortal world,

So, Xu became interested right away and shifted her focus entirely,

As she mentioned before, the Confucian Taoist Heritage of the Ming Dynasty cultivators had its own flair, but she hated it,

Now, she had made a new discovery, and found herself even more intrigued,

As for the situation in the Heavenly Principle, she said to leave it to Chu Yu, Chu Xiuyuan, Ye Yan, Old Monk Miaoxin and the rest, let them worry about it, 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang could handle things as they liked; she told them not to factor her in,

"Tch!" Tang Xiaotang immediately lost most of her interest, "I thought I’d get a shot at fishing her out,"

Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai both couldn’t help but smile when they heard this,

But given Xu Yuanzhen’s carefree nature, neither of them was all that surprised,

At this point, they were more focused on Xu Yuanzhen’s discoveries about the Heavenly Principle and the Great Ming Dynasty,

As for how to report to the Tang Imperial Family, obviously it wouldn’t do to just say Xu Yuanzhen’s mood shifted and she simply bailed from the Heavenly Principle,

Even if it was time to notify the Imperial Family, it was better to wait until Xu Yuanzhen sent back more detailed information,

For now, all they could do was respond that they couldn’t get through,

Big Senior Sister could carry her own burden for the time being,

Of course, Xu Yuanzhen never cared about that,

"Still, with the East Sea situation unstable, we couldn’t just ignore it as a sect,"

Yuan Mobai looked at Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang, "The rebuilding of the mansion was mostly wrapped up, so we could spare personnel,"

Lei Jun took a neutral stance on the matter, neither for nor against it,

He loved personal study into Taoist Laws and Divine Skills, but he was just as curious and fascinated by all the other sects’ Taoist Heritage across the land,

Just then, though, the orb in his mind suddenly flickered, and characters began to appear,

*"The bright moon rises over the sea, its light shining on the surging Grand River; storms and winds everywhere, but fortune hides within misfortune."*

Afterward, three lots shot out from the orb,

*"Moderately good lot, head to Great Qing Bay in Mingzhou, chance to earn a third-rank opportunity, some trouble with wind and waves, but peril will turn aside, then more complicated karmic entanglements follow—handle with care, auspicious."*

*"Perfectly neutral lot, stay at Dragon Tiger Mountain and rest, nothing gained but nothing lost either, peace."*

*"Perfectly neutral lot, go to Qiantang River Mouth in Yuhang, chance to earn a fourth-rank opportunity, but the winds and waves are fierce, heart-pounding—handle carefully, peace."*

After reading those three lots, Lei Jun couldn’t help but raise his brow a little,

*Great Qing Bay in Mingzhou and Qiantang River Mouth in Yuhang... The lots seemed to suggest the Great Tang cultivators were losing the fight for the Void Gateway, with the Great Ming cultivators seizing it and counterattacking into the mortal world on this side?*

However, matched against Lei Jun’s current estimate of his own strength, there weren’t any lots that spelled real danger,

The third-rank and fourth-rank opportunities mentioned in the lots were both pretty decent,

"Mm, heading out for a spin could be nice, but—" Over on the side, the Celestial Master surnamed Tang sounded interested but not as keen as usual,

Her desire didn’t rise to its usual intensity,

*She felt she’d reached a critical juncture in her cultivation,*