CHAPTER 99: 93. THE LI FAMILY’S DIFFICULT SITUATION

The Celestial Master’s Sword—lost?

Lei Jun was utterly astonished.

Regarding the Celestial Master Seal, he had always maintained some mental preparation, regardless of its recovery or continued loss. But the matter of the Celestial Master’s Sword was completely beyond his expectations.

If Lei Jun was already surprised, the other disciples of the Celestial Master Mansion were even more so. Especially in their eyes, the Celestial Master Seal had vanished long ago; now, even the Celestial Master’s Sword was gone. This was a momentous event, comparable to the death of the current Celestial Master, Li Qingfeng!

All of them were dumbstruck, staring blankly at Elder Xin.

The old Taoist opposite them knew something was amiss the moment he spoke. Elder Xin himself had been so astounded that the words had inadvertently slipped out in front of the younger disciples. He hurriedly cleared his throat. "Oh, indeed, this old Taoist’s eyes have grown dim. The Celestial Master’s Sword returned with Zhengxuan, but it was heavily depleted and seems to need more time to recuperate in the mountains."

Upon hearing this, Lei Jun and the others exchanged glances. Elder Xin’s expression remained calm as he scanned the crowd. Everyone promptly composed their expressions. "Yes, yes..."

But what they were really thinking, only they knew.

In fact, Elder Xin was merely trying to placate the eight younger disciples before him. His own worries were heavier than anyone else’s.

Just as Lei Jun and the others were beginning to feel a trifle more settled, someone suddenly arrived at the forbidden area of the Rear Mountain Ancestral Tomb. Lei Jun and the others did not see the person, but Elder Xin’s eyes flickered slightly, as if he had received some kind of notification. He remained composed and instructed Lei Jun and the other young disciples that there was no need to continue gathering there; they should go patrol and clean the rear mountains as usual.

Lei Jun had some suspicions, but his expression remained unchanged as he went on patrol with his fellow martial brothers.

After everyone had departed, Elder Xin hurriedly made his way to the Taoist Temple where the statues and spirit tablets of past generations’ ancestral masters were enshrined.

Someone was already there.

It was the Young Celestial Master, Li Zhengxuan.

"Elder Xin," the Eldest Brother of the Celestial Master Mansion said, his outward appearance still calm and composed, his expression unruffled.

Elder Xin, however, felt his heart plummet. It was certainly a good thing that Li Zhengxuan remained calm and collected in the face of major events. But the fact that he had rushed to the Ancestral Tomb’s forbidden area immediately upon returning to the mountain intensified the ominous premonition in Elder Xin’s heart.

Perhaps what I saw earlier wasn’t my imagination after all... Elder Xin thought.

Li Zhengxuan said calmly, "Disciple has important matters to report to the ancestral masters at the altar and hopes to borrow their divine skills. Please, Elder Xin, act as my Dharma protector and lend me your aid."

Upon hearing this, Elder Xin swayed on the spot.

The Celestial Master’s Sword was truly lost!

Li Zhengxuan intended to seek the aid of the ancestral spirits in searching for the Celestial Master’s Sword. Similar rituals had been performed several times over the years while the Celestial Master Seal was missing. Now, with the Celestial Master position vacant and the Altar of Wanfa Sect temporarily inaccessible, relying on the divine power of the Ancestral Tomb was truly the last resort.

Lei Jun and the other young disciples patrolled the mountains.

Suddenly, from the forbidden area of the Rear Mountain, a purple bolt of lightning soared into the sky, piercing the clouds above. Rumbling thunder serpents surged, coiling across the heavens in all directions.

Lei Jun and the others stopped and looked up. "Is a High Merit Elder in the mansion performing a sacrificial ceremony to the ancestral masters?"

After a long while, they averted their gazes, exchanging looks. No one spoke. A complete silence suddenly fell over the scene. After that shared glance, they all looked away as if by tacit agreement, their eyes settling elsewhere. It was as if everyone harbored the same unspoken answer in their hearts, maintaining a collective silence and continuing their patrol as if nothing untoward had occurred.

A long time later, the lightning that had pierced heaven and earth finally dissipated, and the Rear Mountain returned to tranquility.

A deep purple thundercloud flew out of Dragon Tiger Mountain once more.

Lei Jun and the others dispersed, leaving only him and Wang Guiyuan together. As fellow disciples of the same lineage, they watched the deep purple thundercloud fly beyond the mountains. Wang Guiyuan sighed. "Who would have thought? Not only have we not recovered the Celestial Master Seal, but now even the Celestial Master’s Sword is lost."

Lei Jun murmured, "...Hmm."

A worried expression appeared on Wang Guiyuan’s face. "That was Eldest Brother, right? I wonder if he received a revelation through the Ancestral Tomb’s forbidden area. Will his departure from the mountain this time allow him to find the Celestial Master’s Sword?"

Lei Jun said, "No matter what, I still hope we can find the Celestial Master’s Sword."

If it wasn’t found, the unlucky one wouldn’t just be Eldest Brother Li Zhengxuan. The entire Celestial Master Mansion could be affected.

Actually, up to this point, the Celestial Master Mansion had not yet fallen into the worst possible situation. The current Celestial Master, Li Qingfeng, had met his end, taking the Lin Clan Chief with him. The Jiangzhou Lin Clan, also temporarily without a leader, attracted more attention from across the land, sparing the Celestial Master Mansion from excessive pressure for the time being. Although, aside from their old foe the Yellow Sky Sect, the Southern Witch Sect and Master Longjia of the Vajra Temple also appeared successively, the Celestial Master Mansion managed to stabilize the situation overall.

For Dragon Tiger Mountain, which had lost its current Celestial Master, this was already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune... until today, when the Celestial Master’s Sword was lost.

It was known worldwide that, in just over a hundred years, the Celestial Master Mansion had endured two massive internal conflicts. Not counting Li Qingfeng this time, the previous internal strife alone had led to the loss of two successive Celestial Masters. Looking back, the venerated elders from two or three generations ago were almost completely gone, leaving only Li Song as a sole survivor. Even counting Yu Qingling from the splintered Yellow Sky Sect, that only added one more at most.

Both the Celestial Master Mansion and the Yellow Sky Sect had been relying on their middle generation for support over the past few decades. For Dragon Tiger Mountain, this was beyond what could be described as merely having its vitality severely damaged. Otherwise, Lei Jun wouldn’t have felt, after hearing Yuan Mobai recount the past, that the Celestial Master Mansion’s survival to this day was truly hard-won.

There is no doubt that the Celestial Master Seal, Celestial Master’s Sword, and Celestial Master Robe, along with the Altar of Wanfa Sect—these three treasures and one altar—played a crucial role. The Mansion’s substantial foundation had allowed them to barely weather the storm. Then there was the Great Tang imperial family, which worked to balance the various forces and mediate. Also, the increasingly abundant Spiritual Energy in the world today ushered in a golden age for cultivation, and the new generation of the Celestial Master Mansion performed exceptionally well.

Perhaps because their Primordial Qi had been too severely damaged before, The Supreme Heaven seemed to offer some compensation to the Celestial Master Mansion, as its younger generation produced a string of geniuses and prodigies: Xu Yuanzhen, Li Zhengxuan, Tang Xiaotang. Within just a few decades, the Celestial Master Mansion alone had produced three young talents who reached the Upper Three Heavens—an absolutely unparalleled feat in the Great Tang during the same period. They helped fill some of the void left by high-level cultivators in the sect, making the Celestial Master Mansion’s upper echelons seem less depleted.

This time, with the death of the current Celestial Master, Li Qingfeng, the Mansion’s ability to subsequently stabilize the situation was closely linked to this. But first losing the Celestial Master Seal, then the Celestial Master’s Sword, made the situation delicate once more.

This could prompt others to start harboring thoughts they normally wouldn’t have.

"It seems Master Song and Master Ziyang are fine," Lei Jun asked. "But it’s unclear whether they are resisting external enemies or also searching for the Celestial Master’s Sword."

Wang Guiyuan replied with a wry smile, "Yes, Eldest Brother still had the presence of mind and time to return to the mountain before heading out again. That at least indicates Master Song and Master Ziyang can temporarily stabilize the current situation on their side." The main concern now was whether the situation would change again.

For Lei Jun, worrying about these things was not very useful. The Celestial Master Seal, it seemed, now harmonized with his soul; it could neither be controlled nor separated—distant waters cannot quench a near fire.

If I’m to look on the bright side and find some personal gain,

Lei Jun considered, then at least I can confirm one thing: while I was inside the Ancestral Tomb, even High Merit Elders like Li Zhengxuan couldn’t find the Celestial Master Seal. Thus, it’s highly likely that once I’m outside the Ancestral Tomb, it’ll be even harder for others to discover it. Of course, this isn’t certain and remains to be verified.

But Lei Jun currently had no intention of testing this, continuing to quietly remain within the restricted area of the Rear Mountain Ancestral Tomb.

Elder Xin, momentarily shocked by his slip of the tongue, also didn’t want the young disciples spreading the news. Therefore, he restricted Lei Jun and the others, telling them to stay on the Rear Mountain for the time being. Wang Guiyuan certainly wouldn’t object to this. As the saying goes, if one sought a safe place within the Celestial Master Mansion, the Rear Mountain Ancestral Tomb ranked among the foremost, if not the absolute safest.

However, thankfully, the situation did not continue to deteriorate.

Two pieces of good news arrived almost simultaneously:

Firstly, the mysterious expert who ambushed Celestial Master Li Qingfeng never reappeared, and Eldest Senior Sister Xu Yuanzhen finally returned to the vicinity of Dragon Tiger Mountain. Upon her return, she immediately sought out Taoist Taiping, the Sect Leader of the Yellow Sky Sect, who was engaged in a fierce battle with Li Hongyu.

Yin Fire Tiger against Yin Fire Tiger.

Destiny Star God against Destiny Star God.

Xu Yuanzhen overcame Taoist Taiping, forcing him to flee with injuries. Currently, Xu Yuanzhen and Li Hongyu are in hot pursuit of Taoist Taiping.

Then, the second piece of good news: another top expert of the Yellow Sky Sect, Supreme Elder Yu Qingling, also fled with serious injuries! Supreme Elder Li Song of the Celestial Master Mansion is currently in pursuit.

When the news spread, Dragon Tiger Mountain erupted in jubilation. Even in the forbidden area of the Rear Mountain Ancestral Tomb, Elder Xin and the disciples felt invigorated upon hearing it, the heavy stone weighing on their hearts lightened considerably.

"We can roughly guess how the Celestial Master’s Sword was lost," Wang Guiyuan remarked to Lei Jun.

Lei Jun nodded lightly.

In the struggle for the Celestial Master Seal, many parties were involved—a chaotic clash of powerful forces. But overall, with Li Song, Li Zhengxuan, and Li Ziyang—three top experts—present, the Celestial Master Mansion held an absolute advantage when united. With the Celestial Master Seal gone, even Chu Yu from the Suzhou Chu Clan was effectively on their side. Seeing no chance to fish in troubled waters for the Celestial Master Seal, Master Longjia was unlikely to join forces with Yu Qingling to fight the Celestial Master Mansion to the death. Yu Qingling’s situation suddenly became perilous.

However, this former venerated elder of the Celestial Master Mansion, now the Supreme Elder of the Yellow Sky Sect, was clearly no simple adversary and had his own unique methods. Lei Jun speculated that in the instant the Celestial Master Seal vanished, while the experts near Qingtian Peak were still baffled, Yu Qingling was the first to react. Seizing what might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he risked severe injury to snatch the Celestial Master’s Sword from Li Zhengxuan’s hand and immediately fled.

That left Li Zhengxuan in a bind.

Did Master Song play any role in this? Lei Jun wondered.

But the problem was, Li Zhengxuan wasn’t the only one in a bind now. The entire Li Family was in an awkward position. Years ago, they had lost the Celestial Master Seal, and now they had lost the Celestial Master’s Sword. The Li Family, despite still having many experts, lacked a cornerstone figure after the death of the current Celestial Master, Li Qingfeng. Master Hongyu and Master Song certainly possessed profound cultivation and exceptional strength.

However, now, Xu Yuanzhen had returned.

With both top experts of the Yellow Sky Sect heavily wounded, the Celestial Master Mansion had essentially won this phase of the battle.

But, could it be that the Li Family’s difficulties have only just begun?