Cultivation: Fortune by Lots-Chapter 421 - 235. I’m going to be a master soon_2

As for Yuan Mobai’s approach, it was the fusion of water and fire.

As for the reason, it had to do with his background.

The Mountain Pi—otherwise known as the clan of Iron-Eating Beasts—in this world, not only possessed formidable bodies and saliva that could corrode metals, but more importantly, their innate talent lay in the natural union of yin and yang, granting them the power to refine both water and fire.

*However, in most known methods to harmonize water and fire, fire was yang and water was yin.*

Yet, the Fire Dharma Earth Script Talisman inherited from the Celestial Master Mansion, when cultivated into Nine Abyss Earth Fire, produced a yin-type true fire.

So Yuan Mobai had to consider further how to advance in his cultivation.

Still, thanks to an opportunity in the Jiuli secret realm, he had recently achieved a breakthrough in another avenue of cultivation, so he chose to focus there for now.

This water and fire path could be set aside for the time being while he continued to ponder over it.

*It was a case of when one door closed, another opened.*

Yuan Mobai used to instruct Lei Jun and the other disciples to move with the flow of destiny instead of forcing things from outside, and he was no different himself.

"I’ll condense a Tianhuang Pure Yang Talisman for your reference, Master," he said,

Tang Xiaotang continued, "Whether to use yang fire or yin fire, we can take our time deciding."

The Tianhuang Pure Yang Talisman was a Divine Faculty Talisman self-created by Tang Xiaotang, derived from her own cultivated Pure Yang True Fire. The resulting dharma, which corresponded to the original Jiuli Flame Ancestor Dharma of the Celestial Master Mansion, was what she now called the Pure Yang Flame Ancestor Dharma—also known as the Yang Fire Tiger.

Its counterpart was another self-created Divine Faculty Talisman from Tang Xiaotang’s later breakthrough with Pure Yang Immortal Thunder, named the Shenxiao Pure Yang Talisman. That one culminated in the Pure Yang Thunder Ancestor Dharma, which could also be called the Yang Thunder Dragon or, simply, the Pure Yang Thunder Dragon.

Thanks to Tang Xiaotang’s continual refinement in recent years, both the Yang Fire Tiger and the Yang Thunder Dragon had become highly effective.

Just like Lei Jun’s original dharma, these still required time for continuous polishing and improvement, but their power and upward momentum were beyond doubt.

The only flaw was that both of these Divine Faculty Talismans stemmed from Tang Xiaotang’s own Pure Yang Immortal Physique.

For cultivators lacking a Pure Yang Immortal Body, it was currently difficult to unlock their true potential.

Although Tang Xiaotang was proud, she had no intention of keeping things to herself. She was quite levelheaded when it came to cultivation, and for the past two years, she had deliberately worked to improve and refine her creations in hopes that one day, they’d become accessible to more people, eventually joining the sect’s body of teachings to enrich the Celestial Master Mansion’s collection of authentic Divine Laws.

However, this was no simple task either.

In some ways, it was even harder than reinventing these divine abilities from scratch.

It wasn’t unique to the Celestial Master Mansion—through the long course of history, on a sufficiently broad time scale, many Taoist heritages had produced exceptional talents who created wondrous new methods. Yet these often remained unique to their creators, and after dazzling a generation, swiftly faded into legend, their brilliance only accessible through stories or ancient texts.

Often, it wasn’t a matter of creators being selfish, but the result of many complex reasons coming together.

*Cases like Tang Xiaotang’s were actually the majority.*

Celestial Master Tang was, of course, unwilling to accept this as inevitable; she was determined to break with custom and convention.

However, the Tianhuang Pure Yang Talisman she had currently forged was still insufficient for others to use to cultivate the Yang Fire Tiger.

For Yuan Mobai, it was, for now, just a reference.

After returning from the Altar of Wanfa Sect, Lei Jun said, "Master, just as you’ve always taught, ’A stone from another mountain may polish jade.’ I think my copy of the Celestial Book could serve as a reference for you as well,"

Their conversation continued as master and disciple sat across from each other, and Lei Jun summoned both the dark side of the Celestial Book and page three of the Book itself from within the Cave Heaven of the True One Altar.

The third page of the Celestial Book expounded on the principle of yin and yang deriving from Liangyi and creation itself; it was, indeed, highly relevant to Yuan Mobai’s ideas about the transformation of water and fire.

But Yuan Mobai only glanced through it before handing it back to Lei Jun, "One step at a time. Since I’ve first acquired the Jiuli Warlord’s opportunity, then my second Divine Faculty should be based on that. Afterward, I’ll revisit the transformation of water and fire,"

Lei Jun said, "My mind is often restless, my thoughts scattered; I tend to bite off more than I can chew. Today, you taught me yet another lesson by doing instead of just preaching,"

Yuan Mobai smiled, "Everyone has their own affinity and dharma. If you force everyone to be the same, isn’t it just cutting the foot to fit the shoe?

The reason I teach you this way is to lay a solid foundation for you all. But once you’re on the path, it’s just as they say: the master opens the door, but cultivation is each person’s own responsibility,"

Lei Jun said, "Once more, you’ve pointed me in the right direction, Master,"

Yuan Mobai shook his head and laughed, "You..."

It was easy to joke like this, master and disciple bantering, because after the New Year, on the fifteenth of the first month, there would be another Transmission Ceremony.

For Yuan Mobai, the coming Transmission Ceremony wasn’t especially significant. At most he might preside as a High Merit Master, or be asked to serve as a sponsor or overseer, but no new disciple would formally enter his tutelage.

But it meant a lot to Lei Jun.

Elder Lei was about to become a true master himself.

Not just a sponsor or supervisor, but a bona fide Du Shi—the real deal.

Gungun, who had become a rising star in the Tao Boy Court, was set to officially join the Celestial Master Mansion in this very Transmission Ceremony, with Lei Jun as his master.

Yuan Mobai felt both glad and a touch sentimental in the same way.

With time’s passage, not only was he a master now—he was about to become a grandmaster.

Although his lineage didn’t have many disciples, each one was exceptional, true pillars of the sect, and that brought Yuan Mobai deep satisfaction.

After chatting a while longer, Lei Jun took his leave, and Yuan Mobai suddenly seemed to recall something, "By the way, Chongyun, back in the Southern Wilderness, you mentioned that Buddhist dharma essence—do you still have it now?"

Lei Jun replied, "After I handed it to the White Lotus Sect, it dissipated. I only have what I imprinted with my Body Seal—intact, but it’s much weaker than the original dharma essence,"

Yuan Mobai nodded, "That’s enough,"

Lei Jun never pried into his master’s Buddhist acquaintances or the specifics of what Yuan Mobai planned to do. He simply pulled out a Spirit Talisman, used his Tao Seal to imprint the contents of that memorized Buddhist dharma essence, and passed it along to Yuan Mobai.

Now that his master had left seclusion, Lei Jun once again had someone he could consult and compare Taoist Laws with.

In the following days, he continued to make steady progress with his own cultivation.

Word spread quickly—Yuan Mobai had emerged from seclusion and successfully broken through to the Eightfold Heaven Realm. The news was not concealed, and it rapidly swept throughout the Celestial Master Mansion.

On one hand, it lifted the spirits and morale of their own people.

On the other, it warned outsiders, consolidating the prestige of Dragon Tiger Mountain and the Taoist Talisman Sect in the surrounding regions.

Because they had suffered setback after setback and been pushed to a low ebb, Dragon Tiger Mountain—and along with it, the entire Taoist Talisman Sect—had seen their influence around the area wane in recent years.

Now, as the Celestial Master Mansion gradually recovered, it was also time to stop the slide and start regaining lost ground.

The addition of a new cultivator at the Eightfold Heaven Realm was a clear boon.

Within and without the Mansion, the news caused quite a stir.

The disciples of the sect, especially the younger ones, felt emboldened, as though clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

From a certain perspective, Yuan Mobai’s return from seclusion excited the Celestial Master even more than the trio of Lei Jun and his fellow disciples.

With someone else in the Mansion at the Eightfold Heaven Realm besides her, it finally meant she didn’t have to stay up on the mountain all the time to keep watch...

After repeated advice from Lei Jun and his disciples—not to mention that the world outside had been relatively calm of late—Celestial Master Tang, at last, managed to soothe her itchy feet, at least for now.

"Hmm, fair enough. We’re almost at New Year’s, and after that comes the Transmission Ceremony. I’ll deal with it all after the holidays," the Celestial Master considered.

The season moved into late autumn, and winter slowly approached.

It was now November.

One day, Lei Jun suddenly received a message from Taiyin Yueyao, sent from within the Celestial Book’s starry universe,

There was some unrest in the Northern Border.

Within the territory of the Youzhou Forest Clan, members of the Jiangzhou Lin Clan—usually not on good terms with them—had appeared.

And the location was even further north than Youzhou, near the region of Great Black Mountain.

Upon hearing these people and this place, Lei Jun’s gaze sharpened at once.

But what caught his attention even more was that, at just that moment, the sphere of light within his mind began to glow and words appeared:

[Beyond the realm, a contest of getting in and out; truth and illusion interwoven, deceiving the heavens.]

Soon after, four lots flickered into existence before his eyes:

[Moderately good lot, November thirtieth at noon, a trip to Dragon Bone Ridge offers a chance to obtain a fourth rank opportunity. Some ripples, but auspicious.]

[Moderately good lot, November thirtieth at noon, a trip to Long Sky Lake offers a chance to obtain a fourth rank opportunity. Some ripples, but auspicious.]

[Perfectly neutral lot, stay in the mountain and cultivate quietly. No gain, but nothing lost. Peaceful.]

[Moderately unlucky lot, take a trip to Great Black Mountain before December for a chance at a fifth grade opportunity. But extreme danger lurks, and caution is advised. Ominous.]