Cultivation: Fortune by Lots-Chapter 535 - 261. Celestial Master Mansion Settles Accounts (Two-in-One Chapter)_3

Yuan Mobai smiled. "Thanks to Chongyun’s relentless refinement and innovation of tools like the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman in recent years, Our Sect now enjoys much greater convenience in acquiring distant messages than before."

Lei Jun said, "After venturing deep into the distant oceans, where stormy waves act as barriers and Spiritual Energy interweaves with Evil Aura, making contact with Eldest Senior Sister has become more difficult. That’s why they say, ’Learning is boundless.’"

Elder Lei had made a list for himself, adding research on the overseas Spiritual Energy Veins to his plans for the overseas expedition.

Messages from Guanzhong continued to arrive. Under the mediation and suppression of the Tang Imperial Court, no further conflict erupted between the Vajra Division and the Celestial Master Mansion.

Tang Xiaotang had injured someone, but no one could force her to bow and apologize to Master Sang Ji. It was a relief that they simply didn’t fight upon meeting. Fortunately, Celestial Master Tang did not have to intervene personally.

The Celestial Master Mansion had Zhang Jingzhen deal with the Tang Imperial Court and the Buddhist Sect. Of course, Zhang Jingzhen would not apologize on behalf of her Sect Leader. She had already prepared her justification on her way to Chang’an. Simply put, she was seeking to settle old scores.

Fourteen years ago, Celestial Master Li Qingfeng, the previous Celestial Master, perished. Dragon Tiger Mountain subsequently became embroiled in battles with the Jiangzhou Lin Clan and the Yellow Sky Sect, interspersed with conflicts against the Witchcraft Sect of Yintuo Mountain and the Blood River Sect. At that time, the Celestial Master Seal resurfaced. It was contested not just by multiple people but also by those beyond the Celestial Master Mansion itself. Master Longjia of the Vajra Temple had also joined the fray. Although Master Longjia did not end up with the Celestial Master Seal, the matter was hardly praiseworthy. The argument was: You may not have taken the Celestial Master Seal, but didn’t you hinder our Dragon Tiger Mountain from retrieving its own seal? Therefore, it’s only natural for our Sect Leader to be somewhat agitated when encountering monks from your esoteric school.

Of course, it was Master Sang Ji, not Master Longjia, whom Tang Xiaotang had struck. Before the reopening of Sumi, the two might not have even known each other. But right now, the Celestial Master Mansion only needed a pretext. This explanation was not for the Buddhist Sect, but for the Tang Imperial Court.

Frankly, this incident subtly implicated Chu Yu, who was also in Guanzhong at the time. Fortunately, Chu Yu had been in Suzhou back then.

"His Majesty personally mediated the situation, which has now largely calmed down. Later, the Sect Leader and Jingzhen will return to the mountain," Yuan Mobai said. "According to Jingzhen, His Majesty’s generous offering to Master Sang Ji ultimately quelled the matter."

Lei Jun said, "I definitely trust Junior Sister. The Buddhist Vajra Division must have ill intentions."

Yuan Mobai nodded slightly. "According to the messages from Guanzhong, whether it’s Jiasheng Upper Master, Master Sang Ji, or other senior monks of the Vajra Division from the Upper Three Heavens, none of them are of advanced age."

Lei Jun continued, "Over the past few thousand years, the Global Spiritual Qi in the Mortal World has been weak. However, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths have always remained independent of the Mortal World, possibly presenting a different vista. Previously, the domains were cut off and communication severed. Now that the Portals have reopened, we Cultivators must indeed not let our guard down."

The Celestial Master Mansion was not the only one facing this issue. Nowadays, all facets of the Great Tang are cautiously observing the suddenly enlarged Vajra Realm in the Western Regions, as well as other outer realms that might be reconnecting with the Mortal World.

Yuan Mobai said, "Fortunately, the Global Spiritual Qi in the Mortal World is surging and reviving, and the grandeur of a prosperous era is gradually re-emerging."

In such an environment, younger Cultivators, with their greater potential, naturally benefit the most. In recent years, those who have progressed rapidly are often the rising talents of the younger generation. Someone like Ye Yan, Patriarch of the Qingzhou Ye Clan, who is blossoming anew despite his age, is an almost unique exception. Moreover, strictly speaking, Ye Yan is not that old. Although in terms of seniority, he is of the same generation as Chu Xiuyuan, Ye Moquan, Huang Xuanpu, and others—just as Yuan Mobai, Chu Yu, and Yue Xiling are considered young despite their high seniority—Ye Yan is fundamentally the youngest among his giant peers.

In the current Guanlong demon chaos, young powerhouses have emerged, each making a name for themselves. The Empress is an exceptional case and need not be mentioned in this context. There’s no need to elaborate on Tang Xiaotang either; she is the youngest Eighth Heavenly Layer master in this era.

After returning to the Capital City from the Southern Wilderness, Xiao Xueting kept a much lower profile for the past two years, rarely making public appearances. But on a recent expedition after exiting seclusion, he successfully broke through to the Eighth Heavenly Layer. Wielding the Mountain and River Sword, he first assassinated Jixiang Fawang, the previous Abbot of the Great Void Temple. Then, during a great battle between Jiasheng Upper Master and the Snow Country Bear King, he launched a surprise attack on the Ninefold Sky Great Demon, the Snow Country Bear King—truly a stunning emergence after a period of silence.

Both reached the Eighth Heavenly Layer before the age of fifty, attracting worldwide attention. Chu Yu’s breakthrough to the Eighth Heavenly Layer came a bit later, but he too had entered the Seventh Heavenly Layer before fifty. Tang Xiaotang, who had observed Chu Yu’s prowess at close range, remarked that compared to earlier years, he seemed to have undergone some subtle changes, though it wasn’t clear what they were in the short term.

From Mount Shu, the leader of the delegation this time was Elder Zhang Dongyuan from the Refinement Sect, an Eighth Heavens Immortal Travel Realm cultivator, who fought with the Blue Abyss Sword and displayed sharp execution. Besides Zhang Dongyuan, the Mount Shu Sect also had other masters who came to Guanzhong. The youngest among them, Zhang Taigang, was Ji Chuan’s senior brother and already renowned in the Great Tang as the most outstanding talent of the younger generation of the Daoist Artifact Refining Sect. Although he was still at the Seventh Heavenly Layer during the battle, he drew much attention, including from Tang Xiaotang. Onlookers asserted that as long as Zhang Taigang doesn’t get stuck at the Heavenly Chasm between the Seventh and Eighth Heavenly Layers, he is bound to reach the Eighth Layer Heaven Immortal Travel Realm in the coming years.

Rumor has it that after the Demon Race returned northward, Zhang Taigang did not accompany Zhang Dongyuan for an audience with His Majesty in Chang’an, but instead returned directly to Mount Shu. There are now rumors that Zhang Taigang has begun to seclude himself in meditation, likely preparing to take that final step.

Another in a similar situation is Fang Zhu, the eldest grandson of the Jingxiang Fang Clan.