They Have a Thing Going

In front of so many people, Lei Jun had no intention of standing there lost in thought and leaving his master hanging.

"This disciple's skills are still lacking. How would I dare make a fool of myself?"

Following Yuan Mobai's lead, Lei Jun naturally withdrew. "This disciple will go prepare the magical artifacts and medicinal ingredients Master needs for pill refining."

With Wang Guiyuan in seclusion, matters like this naturally fell to Lei Jun.

Truth be told, Lei Jun was quite interested in seeing the inheritances and spells of another Daoist Holy Land.

But putting on a performance before a crowd of parents during a festival-like gathering was the sort of thing best avoided if possible.

Besides, according to his Sign Fortune, taking the stage for this exchange and sparring session could bring him a Seventh Grade Opportunity if he won, but it might also bury future trouble.

In the end, it was merely a Medium Ordinary Sign fate, with fortune and misfortune intertwined.

Meanwhile, an Upper Middle Auspicious Sign promised him a Sixth Grade Opportunity.

Though Sixth Grade Opportunities could not compare to Five Grades, Four Grades, or even higher-grade opportunities, they came without any lingering consequences and could be considered pure gain.

Better to put it safely in his pocket first.

He could find another chance to witness the Daoist arts of the Dan Ding Sect's Pure Yang Palace later.

As he left the main hall, Lei Jun once again felt someone's gaze land on his back.

He acted as though nothing had happened and walked away.

Since entering the sect, Lei Jun had heard that his master excelled at pill refining, but he had indeed never seen Yuan Mobai open a cauldron and refine pills.

He had not seen any related magical artifacts in his master's residence either.

So, following instructions, Lei Jun came to the Great Pill Chamber within the Celestial Master Mansion. After explaining the situation to the duty deacon, he entered.

Calling it a pill chamber was less accurate than calling it an independent Pill Palace amid the Celestial Master Mansion's sprawling complex of halls. It covered an enormous area.

Pill refining at the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion emphasized the harmony of Water and Fire, the meeting of dragon and tiger.

Beyond furnace fire, it also required the aid of spirit springs.

Within the Pill Palace, there were sixty-four separate pill chambers, arranged according to the Eight Trigrams around eight dedicated Spirit Spring Pill Wells.

It was practically like a villa district on Blue Star before Lei Jun had crossed over.

Each separate pill chamber resembled a standalone villa, covering several hundred square meters and rising over five meters high, grand and imposing. Within each pill chamber were four further rooms—the Spirit Chamber, Medicine Chamber, Artifact Chamber, and Fire Chamber—all surrounding a central three-story Pill Altar.

If someone within the Celestial Master Mansion wanted to refine pills or teach disciples pill-refining arts, they could choose either their private residence or one of the chambers here in the Great Pill Chamber.

Yuan Mobai was not coming to the pill chamber to open a cauldron himself, merely having Lei Jun bring over some magical artifacts and medicinal ingredients. Clearly, he was simplifying the procedures and rituals.

This showed that, compared with his pill-refining skill, the grade of the Spirit Pill being refined today was not especially extraordinary. It was suited for younger disciples whose cultivation was still low.

The cauldrons used in Daoist pill refining came in different varieties, and the sixty-four separate pill chambers were accordingly furnished with different ones.

The cauldron Yuan Mobai had sent Lei Jun to fetch was called the Both Crossing Cauldron, named after the Both Crossing Hexagram: fire below, water above.

Thus, the Both Crossing Cauldron consisted of two cauldrons, one above the other. Apart from the lower fire cauldron that held the ingredients and heated them from beneath, there was also a water cauldron above it.

There were sixteen Both Crossing Cauldrons in the Great Pill Chamber. Six were currently occupied by others refining pills.

Lei Jun could choose one out of the remaining ten, leaving him plenty of room to pick.

But...

The Upper Middle Auspicious Sign had told him to come to the Great Pill Chamber first. Where, then, was the Sixth Grade Opportunity mentioned in the Sign Fortune?

Yuan Mobai was not urging him, but since the Sign Fortune had specifically mentioned an order of events, timing clearly mattered. He could not delay.

Yet he also could not hastily grab any cauldron and leave.

Lei Jun did not rush into one of the separate pill chambers. His expression remained calm as he settled his mind and carefully observed every blade of grass and every tree around him.

...Hm?

Lei Jun suddenly stopped.

He had actually found something.

Only, the discovery left him rather surprised.

Because he sensed that the Fire Marrow Yang Fish within the Refining and Salvation Hall upon his Dao Foundation Altar had just become somewhat active. Even his soul and thoughts seemed to grow more nimble along with it.

After dozing for so long, the pillow had delivered itself right to his door.

Could it really be such a coincidence?

But that was not right. A few months ago, when he had needed to search for spiritual objects related to the Fire Marrow Yang Fish, he had specifically come to the Great Pill Chamber, yet found nothing.

Had something happened here recently, giving birth to some new spiritual object?

Lei Jun suppressed his speculation and searched more carefully.

In the end, he fixed on an empty separate pill chamber.

After entering, Lei Jun hurried to search through it.

The Fire Marrow Yang Fish was gradually becoming less active than before.

It was not that he had searched in the wrong direction. More likely, this was exactly the matter of timing mentioned in the Sign Fortune.

Pill Altar, cauldron, fire kiln, incense burner, Ancient Mirror, pure steel sword, lime pool, cauldron-pressing stone, medicine pestle, air channel... Lei Jun examined everything in the pill chamber one by one.

At last, his gaze settled on an inconspicuous-looking Medicine Mortar.

The Fire Marrow Yang Fish's final flicker of activity had pointed to this.

The Medicine Mortar looked as though no one had ever used it, yet it seemed to possess a unique spirituality that stirred the Fire Marrow Yang Fish.

But as time passed, that spirituality did not vanish. Instead, it gradually drew inward and hid itself away.

Until, in the end, even the Fire Marrow Yang Fish could no longer sense it.

"No wonder I had to come to the Great Pill Chamber first. If I had gone to the Medicine Garden to gather herbs before coming here, it would have been difficult to discover this Medicine Mortar."

Lei Jun nodded inwardly. For the moment, he had no time to inspect it closely, so he put the Medicine Mortar away first, intending to study it slowly later.

After taking a Both Crossing Cauldron and several auxiliary pill-refining tools, he left the Great Pill Chamber and headed for the Medicine Garden.

Though the cauldron was heavy, with Lei Jun's current cultivation and physique, carrying it felt weightless, and he moved swiftly.

But before he even entered the Medicine Garden, he heard a burst of commotion within.

"What happened?"

When Lei Jun reached the entrance, he saw several fellow disciples carrying people out.

A young Daoist priest from the Celestial Master Mansion and a Confucian-robed Youth both appeared badly injured as they were carried out horizontally.

Lei Jun recognized that young Daoist priest.

It was clearly Zhang Yuan, who had just taken part in this Ordination Ceremony and changed from a Daoist novice's robes into an Apricot Yellow Taoist Robe.

The other Confucian-robed Youth also looked familiar.

He seemed to be a younger member of the Jingxiang Fang Clan who had come with his elders to observe the ceremony.

Fang Jian, himself from the Fang Clan and the Celestial Master's fourth direct disciple, stood at the entrance to the Medicine Garden with a solemn expression, watching as his junior fellow disciple and younger clansman were carried away together.

With him were the Celestial Master's third disciple Zhang Jingzhen, as well as Li Xuan and Li Ying, the brother and sister under Elder Ziyang's tutelage.

And Luo Haoran, whom Lei Jun knew fairly well.

"For now, saving lives and treating injuries takes priority above all else."

Zhang Jingzhen still looked tranquil and elegant.

"Junior Brother Fang, go look after Junior Brother Zhang and Young Master Fang.

"Junior Brother Li, Junior Brother Luo, and Junior Sister Li, come with me to meet the elders."

Fang Jian nodded. "Senior Sister's arrangements are most appropriate."

With that, he hurried away.

Zhang Jingzhen turned to Lei Jun and let out a soft sigh. "Junior Brother Lei, did you come to gather herbs for Little Martial Uncle? Something unexpected happened, but it must not affect Little Martial Uncle's side."

Before Zhang Yuan had been injured, he had already gathered the necessary medicinal ingredients. Zhang Jingzhen indicated that Lei Jun should still bring the Both Crossing Cauldron and herbs back.

"Everything will be handled as Senior Sister sees fit," Lei Jun said.

He noticed that Luo Haoran remained fairly composed, while Li Xuan and Li Ying both wore somewhat strange expressions.

Lei Jun did not ask further questions. Carrying the cauldron and herbs, he left on his own.

Later, some rumors leaked out, leaving Lei Jun unsure what expression he ought to make.

"Senior Brother Lei, after you went to the Great Pill Chamber, newly initiated Junior Brother Zhang Yuan may have wanted to leave Elder Yuan with a good impression. So he volunteered to go gather herbs in the Medicine Garden as well, intending to wait and return with you.

"Who would have thought that he would happen to run into Junior Sister Li strolling through the garden with Fang Mingyuan of the Fang Clan? Mm... perhaps Young Master Fang Mingyuan was startled upon suddenly encountering someone and mistook him for an enemy. Acting on instinct, he injured Junior Brother Zhang."

Shangguan Hong roughly explained the situation. "Fortunately, Senior Brother Luo Haoran was nearby. When he heard the disturbance, he rushed over to investigate and arrived in time to save him. But in his urgency, he also failed to judge his strength and injured Young Master Fang as well."

Lei Jun admitted that, although the Lower Middle Auspicious Sign had warned him, this development was beyond anything he had expected.

"Wait. That Young Master Fang and Junior Sister Li... the two of them were strolling through the garden together?"

Shangguan Hong nodded.

"They've got something going on..." Lei Jun blurted out. "Will they suddenly step forward one day and say, 'Yes, we have a child'?"

"Cough, cough, cough!" Shangguan Hong choked on his saliva.