Lei Jun and Shangguan Hong simultaneously leaped out of the Middle Immortal Pool.

Both of them looked up.

Above them, toward the Upper Immortal Pool, the clouds rolled intensely, forming waves even more turbulent than before.

Shangguan Hong glanced around. “Senior Brother Li Ming is nowhere to be seen. He must have gone up there, right?”

Lei Jun nodded.

He had only seen Chen Yi withdraw from the highest layer of the cloud sea but was uncertain of where he went afterward.

Perhaps Chen Yi had indeed fallen into Li Ming’s subtle trap and ventured to the Upper Immortal Pool.

But that wasn’t all there was to it.

Lei Jun also suspected that Chen Yi might possess some unique ability, allowing him to sense nearby treasures or opportunities.

It was this suspicion that made Li Ming somewhat hesitant to go to the Lower Immortal Pool.

Reflecting on his own fortune, Lei Jun realized that, in addition to the Sixth-Grade Opportunity—the Mist-Wrapped Cloud Crystal at the peak of the cloud sea—both the Upper and Lower Immortal Pools each had a unique opportunity within.

Considering Li Ming’s subtle trick, it was entirely possible that Chen Yi would head to the Upper Immortal Pool.

This only served to confirm Lei Jun’s earlier suspicions about some hidden mystery surrounding Chen Yi.

However, both the Upper and Lower Immortal Pools held not just minor opportunities but also significant calamities...

Lei Jun had encountered crossroads of fate before, and he often chose to let go of his tendency to help others, respecting each person’s path in life.

Li Ming, however, was a unique case, so Lei Jun decided to make an exception, taking the initiative to help by sending him an Eighth-Grade Opportunity.

Whether or not it would reach him depended on Senior Brother Li’s own luck.

Lei Jun stayed calm.

Now, whether it was above or below, he was content to observe.

The cloud layer surrounding the Upper Immortal Pool rippled more violently.

After a moment, an apricot-yellow hem flashed overhead.

A young Daoist plummeted from midair.

At that moment, Lei Jun and Shangguan Hong stepped forward to meet him.

“Junior Brother Chen?!” Shangguan Hong exclaimed.

The young man before them was indeed Chen Yi, but his apricot-yellow Daoist robe was now in tatters, and he himself looked like a cooked shrimp. His exposed skin was fiery red, as if scorched, his body radiating intense heat.

Chen Yi had stopped screaming, his face contorted in pain, his teeth clenched tightly, though every so often he’d let out a hissing breath.

Lei Jun and Shangguan Hong helped him over to the lakeshore by the Middle Immortal Pool to sit.

Chen Yi glanced at the two of them, giving a slight nod of thanks, then closed his eyes, sitting cross-legged to focus on adjusting his mana and spiritual energy.

Seeing his tense expression, Shangguan Hong took out some healing elixirs but found it inconvenient to assist him with them.

Soon, drawn by the earlier commotion, figures began to gather around.

“What happened here?”

The fourth disciple of Tianshi's direct line, Fang Jian, arrived and frowned slightly at the sight.

Li Ying and Guo Yan soon followed.

After some time, Chen Yi’s bright red skin gradually faded, and he no longer looked like a steaming furnace. He opened his eyes, glanced around the crowd, then exhaled deeply, retrieving an elixir and swallowing it. He was drenched in sweat, as if pulled out of water.

Fang Jian glanced upward before asking, “Junior Brother Chen, did you go to the Upper Immortal Pool?”

After a moment’s silence, Chen Yi nodded.

“Young people have strong curiosity—I understand. But Junior Brother Li warned about the dangers of the Upper Immortal Pool. Why did you still go?” Fang Jian sighed.

Chen Yi said nothing.

Fang Jian’s gaze sharpened as he looked around.

Li Ying asked curiously, “My second brother… No, Senior Brother Li—did you see him at all, Junior Brother Chen?”

Everyone looked at each other, realizing none had seen Li Ming for a while.

Fang Jian frowned. “Though the Cloud Sea Immortal Pools are unpredictable, Junior Brother Li is at the Third Realm Altar Stage, and he likely has protective Spirit Talismans from Elder Ziyang…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly stumbled.

It wasn’t only Fang Jian; everyone around the Middle Immortal Pool found themselves unsteady.

It seemed that the whole Minor Grotto Heaven was trembling.

The source of this disturbance wasn’t from the Upper Immortal Pool above, which had just calmed down, but from below.

Everyone turned downward.

In the distance, the clouds that had previously shrouded the Lower Immortal Pool dispersed.

The lakes that made up the Lower Immortal Pool surged, and the lake water shot skyward, forming a massive vortex that spun wildly in midair.

“A boiling surge?” Fang Jian’s face paled.

The disturbance in the Lower Immortal Pool began to affect the entire Minor Grotto Heaven.

At that moment, the Minor Grotto Heaven was forcibly broken from the outside.

Three Daoists in deep red robes rushed into the grotto, taken aback at the scene.

Fortunately, they acted without hesitation, unfurling giant Spirit Talismans the size of city gates and working together to suppress the surging lake water.

The turmoil in the grotto finally subsided.

Everyone sighed in relief and approached to pay their respects.

“Master!”

“Eldest Brother!”

“Senior Sister Jingzhen!”

“Third Senior Sister.”

Listening to the greetings from the people around him, Lei Jun felt a bit moved.

The three who entered to quell the disturbance wore deep red Daoist robes, marking them as talismanic disciples.

The woman whom Guo Yan addressed as "Master" was a middle-aged Daoist, Elder Hu.

Li Ying’s call of “Eldest Brother” was directed at a young Daoist of about thirty, Li Xuan, the eldest son of Elder Ziyang and the elder brother of Li Ming and Li Ying.

The remaining woman was an elegant Daoist in her late twenties. Shangguan Hong called her "Senior Sister Jingzhen," while Fang Jian addressed her as "Third Senior Sister."

This Zhang Jingzhen, like Fang Jian, was one of Tianshi's direct disciples.

“Though the Cloud Sea Immortal Pools are capricious, what caused such a huge upheaval?” Elder Hu frowned.

Zhang Jingzhen scanned Lei Jun, Fang Jian, and the others. “Where is Junior Brother Li Ming?”

Li Ying paled. “My second brother… he was probably searching for us after the commotion. But now we’re all gathered here, so he must be searching elsewhere…”

Everyone looked around.

The earlier turmoil had dispersed much of the mist in the Minor Grotto Heaven, offering a far clearer view.

However, they saw no trace of Li Ming.

After a moment of hesitation, everyone’s gaze turned to the Lower Immortal Pool.

Li Xuan’s expression turned grim, and he descended toward the Lower Immortal Pool.

Elder Hu followed in silence, while Zhang Jingzhen remained to guard the disciples in case of further disturbances.

As Li Xuan and Elder Hu neared, the waters of the Lower Immortal Pool parted of their own accord.

Not long after, Elder Hu emerged from the water.

Alongside her was someone else.

To be precise, a corpse.

If Chen Yi had resembled a cooked shrimp earlier, then Li Ming was not only cooked but also stripped of his shell.

Li Ying swayed in midair, nearly falling.

Li Xuan, surfacing from the other side, held his breath, his eyes red with rage.

The young Daoist approached Elder Hu and Li Ming’s corpse, took a deep breath, and spoke in a low voice:

“The Cloud Sea Immortal Pool suddenly changed. Junior Brother Li Ming, trying to protect his fellow disciples, attempted to quell the turmoil in the Lower Immortal Pool. Unfortunately…”

Lei Jun glanced at Li Ming’s corpse.

He noticed fire-red crystal sand clinging to the body.

Elder Hu frowned as she retrieved two Spirit Talismans from Li Ming’s body.

Lei Jun recognized these talismans—they were Spirit Gathering Talismans, the same type he had used earlier to store the Mist-Wrapped Cloud Crystal.

Li Ming’s talismans, however, were stained red, clearly meant for collecting treasures from the Lower Immortal Pool, specifically the Hot Crystal Sand.

So that was the opportunity in the Lower Immortal Pool... Lei Jun thought calmly.

The crowd fell silent.

They exchanged glances, and the air seemed thick with unspoken questions and doubts.

Li Ying looked between her second and eldest brothers.

Li Xuan’s words trailed off as though he’d been slapped mid-sentence.

Elder Hu spoke, her face expressionless. “Was he down there to rescue or to hunt for treasure?”