Lei Jun, full of interest, peered down into the deep valley below. “Is it down there?”

A fierce gust of wind blasted upward from the fissure in the valley floor. Lei Jun took a few steps back, waiting for the violentearth vein energyto subside.

He swept his gaze around.

NearQiluo Valley, there was no sign of anyone else or any unusual phenomena. In fact, themain peakseemed quiet, with only a faint treasure light flickering in the distance.

Lei Jun wasn’t interested in themain peak.

Although hisModerate Omenfortune slip didn’t indicate any urgent time constraints, the disturbances inQiluo Valleywere already in motion. There was no need to complicate things.

It wasn’t that he looked down on the possibleEighth-Grade Opportunityat the main peak. But if he went there and lost theThird-Grade OpportunityinQiluo Valleyto someone else, that would be a waste.

The difference between aThird-Gradeand anEighth-Grade Opportunitywas clear.

Besides, the main peak might come with trouble.

His fortune was aModerate Omen, which meant that unless something drastic happened, he wouldn’t face any life-threatening danger. But Lei Jun wasn’t interested in pushing his luck.

He preferred to secure hisSupreme Good Omenquietly.

That said, what wasn’t dangerous for him might be dangerous for theYuhe Sectdisciples.

So, Lei Jun gave them a quick warning. Whether they listened or not was up to them.

As the chaoticspiritual energypouring from the fissure calmed, Lei Jun wasted no time.

After taking a final look around, he leapt into the crack.

Darkness engulfed his vision. Lei Jun didn’t bother lighting a flame or castinglightning. Instead, he tossed a fewspirit talismansdownward.

As they left his hand, the talismans glowed, faintly illuminating the surroundings. Though they didn’t dispel the darkness entirely, it was enough to see.

After a careful search, finding nothing unusual, Lei Jun descended further.

The deeper he went, the stronger the resistance became.

Chaoticspiritual energyflows resisted his descent, occasionally forming whirlpools that tried to drag him down faster.

Stabilizing himself, Lei Jun continued his search.

Suddenly, he no longer needed a light source. Tiny points of light shimmered below.

As he drew closer, he saw a vast undergrounddark river. But this river wasn’t made of water—it was a surging, chaotic flow ofearth vein energy.

Theearth vein energyflowed endlessly, like a roaring river. Looking left or right, he couldn’t see its origin or end.

“Earth vein spiritual energyusually flows subtly, following natural paths,” Lei Jun muttered. “But this kind of concentrated, chaotic flow is rare.”

It didn’t seem natural. It looked more like something man-made.

The source of the disturbance might not be here inYoupeng Mountain. It could be from somewhere nearby—or even far away.

Earth veinswere like themeridiansof a human body: mysterious and intricate. A disturbance in one place could ripple through the entire system.

Those who could most easily affect theearth veinsand the nation’s fortune were undoubtedly theTang Emperor.

Was this the emperor’s doing?

Hard to say.

TheTang Emperorhad already made several bold moves recently.

Would the noble families sit back and do nothing?

For some reason, Ye Cheng’s composed, smiling face flashed through Lei Jun’s mind.

Ye Cheng alone wasn’t enough to challenge the emperor. But he never acted alone.

Confucianismwas the dominant force of the time, even surpassing Daoism, Buddhism, Martial Arts, and Witchcraft.

“The Tang Empire is ruled jointly by noble families and the emperor.”

This saying wasn’t just rhetoric—it was a fact.

The emperor had struck at the right moment. TheLin Clan of Jiangzhou, one of the most powerful families, was leaderless and in chaos. This weakened a cornerstone of power in the empire.

But the noble families weren’t blind to the emperor’s moves.

The battle for succession in the Lin Clan had drawn in many factions. Everyone hoped the new clan leader would favor them.

If their influence ran as deep withinTianshi Mansionas it did in the noble clans, the succession of the newTianshiwould also draw significant attention.

The emperor’s move against the Lin Clan was strategic.

But the noble families wouldn’t ignore the imperial family either.

The emperor won’t have everything his way…Lei Jun shook his head, focusing his thoughts.

A sudden insight struck him.

In the chaoticearth vein energy, he noticed a faint glimmer of light drifting along the flow.

The light wasn’t conspicuous, and itsspiritual essenceseemed weak.

Yet, Lei Jun felt a strong urge to capture it.

As soon as the thought arose, he acted.

He flung out theBreath-Taking Flag. A dull yellow glow condensed into threads ofspiritual earth, reaching into the chaotic flow.

The torrent scattered the threads, but the flag’s power kept creating new ones, forming a persistent net.

Finally, the net snagged the drifting light!

With a flick of his wrist, Lei Jun drew the light from the flow, bringing it safely before him.

“Another lucky catch, like that time with theFire Marrow Yangfish,” Lei Jun chuckled. “Good thing I never come up empty-handed.”

Holding the captured light, he refrained from touching it directly, opting to observe it first.

The light, once subdued in the flow, now flickered intensely. A powerful, almost menacingspiritual essenceemanated from it.

Not hostility—just the natural balance of calm and storm, like the world itself.

Lei Jun’s curiosity grew.

He finally touched the light with his ownmana.

The light shimmered and solidified into a thin, square sheet.

It resembled a page, delicate as a cicada’s wing. It wasn’t transparent, nor did it have any writing, but it radiated a subtle glow.

As he studied it, he sensed profoundDaoist truthswithin.

“A page from aDaoist scripture?” he wondered.

There was only one page now.

HisSupreme Good Omenfortune had hinted at future possibilities. Would this page evolve? Or were there more pages out there?

Frowning in thought, Lei Jun carefully wrapped the page with theBreath-Taking Flag.

He rose out of the fissure, away from the chaotic energy.

The valley had returned to a deceptive calm.

Theearth vein disturbancemight have been man-made. Best to leave for now.

The mysterious page could wait for a safer time.

According to his fortune slip, thisThird-Grade Opportunityheld no immediate dangers.

This page was likely an unintended byproduct of the disturbance.

Had he not been here, it would have drifted away unnoticed.

Emerging from the fissure, Lei Jun sawYoupeng Mountainrestored to calm.

But the valley, once serene, was now shattered.

He sighed and lit three sticks of incense:

One for the heavens.

One for theearth veins.

One for the valley that had given him two great opportunities.

After checking his belongings, he prepared to leave.

But—

“Hm?”

Lei Jun’s eyes narrowed.

His solemn mood vanished, replaced by sharp alertness.

Someone was enteringQiluo Valley.

In these troubled times, they were more likely foe than friend.

Lei Jun remained calm, quietly hiding in the forest.

Activating theWind Thunder Talisman, he melded into the shadows.

As expected, several figures approached cautiously, hiding their presence.

They surrounded the valley, taking vantage points to watch from above.

Finally, a group entered through the valley entrance.

They wore fitted combat gear—Confuciancultivators by the look of it.

The leader, a middle-aged scholar, scanned the valley with eyes sharp as lightning.

“Where is he?” he asked.

Behind him, a few younger scholars guarded agrey-robed Daoist child—He Binfrom theYuhe Sect.

“T-this morning, he was here. The Daoist Lei should still be… down there?” He Bin stammered, glancing nervously at the fissure.

A young scholar scowled. “Vague answers will get you killed.”

He Bin flattered, “I wouldn’t dare lie to theGao Clan of Zezhou.”

Zezhou Gao Clan…

Lei Jun recognized the name. A powerful clan from the north, closely allied with theJinzhou Ye Clan.

The middle-aged scholar frowned. “If you hadn’t killed that other Yuhe Sect Daoist, we’d know more.”

His son bowed. “I was wrong, Father.”

He Bin shivered, regretting his decision to followChen Xito the main peak.

Now, Lei Jun was their real target.

The middle-aged scholar decided. “We’ll wait. If he comes up, we strike.”

They spread out, bows ready.

Still hidden, Lei Jun raised a short club and approached a sentry from behind.

Calmly, he swung it down onto the man’s head.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com