Upon receiving the good news fromMount Longhu, everyone in theTianxu Sectwas elated: “So, it was all aTianshi-crafted ‘trap’!”

The latest updates revealed that theTianshihad secretly dispelled theReincarnation Curseon himself long ago. Then, when theLin Clanattacked, he leveraged theDaoist Holy Land’s terrain, including theTen Thousand Methods Altarand theMountain-Guarding Grand Formation, to deal a heavy blow to the invaders.

Rumors even suggested that theTianshihad transferred hisReincarnation Curseonto theLin Clan Leader, making the opponent suffer a huge loss.

Now, the situation onMount Longhuhad completely turned around!

“This is great…”

The usually cold-facedXia Qingalso breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news.

Beside her,Lei Junnodded. “Yes, this is great.”

...But was it really?

In truth,Lei Junwasn’t as optimistic as the others.

For the people involved, this still meant a perilous situation, where life and death hung by a thread. However,Lei Juninstinctively felt that this wasn’t the disaster foretold by the earlierLower-Moderate Omen.

But at the moment, it was just a hunch. He had no concrete evidence and didn’t want to dampen everyone’s spirits.

Lei Juncould only hope that he was overthinking it, and that a bigger problem wasn’t still looming ahead.

TheTianxu Sectcollectively relaxed.

WithTianshi Mansionnow counterattacking and the overall situation reversed, it was enough to deter other petty enemies from making any rash moves.

Word even spread that theZixiao Sectof theYunxiao Mountain Rangehad resolved their siege, so theTianxu Sectcould now lift their special state of alert and return to normal defense protocols.

Lei Jun’sdaily routine remained unchanged.

He began studying theXirang Flag.

First, there was bad news.

Lei Jundiscovered that his ability to activate theXirang Flag’spower was quite limited. This was due to his currentcultivationlevel.

TheXirang Flagwas modest in appearance, yet profoundly mystical.

To truly refine and control its essence wasn’t something aLower Heavencultivator could achieve.

However, asLei Jun’scultivation advanced, he would eventually master it.

Fortunately, the previous owner had left no restrictive seals in the flag.Lei Junwas now its new master.

Then came the good news.

The flag’s power aligned perfectly with theEarthandStoneattributes he needed.

After some research,Lei Junsuccessfully crafted aSpirit Talisman.

When theSpirit Talismanwas activated, a billowing yellow dust spread out, with low, rumbling thunder rolling within it.

“Good, theEarth-Sealing Thunder Talismanis complete.”

Satisfied,Lei Junnodded. “Now, let’s start the full assembly.”

The need forEarth-alignedspiritual itemswas to create theEarth-Sealing Thunderas a solid base, capable of providing constantspiritual energy.

Earthformed the framework.

Woodprovided the growth element, using the preparedWooden Sky ThunderandWooden Sky Thunder Talismansas the flesh of the structure.

Then, a touch ofWaterwas added.

ThisWatercame from the refinedDark River Thunder Talisman. Though it wasn’t nurturing, it served as a lubricant.

Next, aMetalframe was set as the outer shell.

Finally, a spark ofFirewas added to bring it to life.

“Is the structure too intricate?”

Lei Junstroked his chin thoughtfully as he examined theSpirit Talisman.

To him, intricacy was a neutral term. His preference for spells leaned toward simplicity, efficiency, and decisiveness.

His first twoLife-bound Spells— theSpirit Strike Talismanand theWind Talisman— reflected this philosophy.

But since he already had those as a foundation, he figured the third could afford to be more elaborate.

This gave him a broader range of tools for handling diverse challenges.

A balance of orthodox and unorthodox tactics…

If possible,Lei Junhoped for lasting peace, so he could focus oncultivationand refining his spells.

Unfortunately, the old saying held true: the more you feared something, the more likely it was to happen.

The latest news fromMount Longhuarrived:

“A mysterious enemy launched a sneak attack, catching theTianshioff guard while he was suppressing theLin Clan Leader. He was severely injured!”

TheTianxu Sect, which had just celebrated, was thrown into chaos once more.

Pandemonium broke out, and even Sect LeaderTu Guangyustruggled to maintain order.

“Who was it? Did theSouthern Wasteland Witch Sectsend another enemy?”

“Was it theYellow Heaven Sect?”

“Did any of theFive Great SurnamesandSeven Prominent Clansget involved?”

“It doesn’t seem to be any major clans. They’re all watching from the sidelines, even theLin ClanofYouzhouhasn’t made a move…”

“Then who was it? What’s the situation onMount Longhu? How is theTianshi?”

The news brought both hope and despair, but the overall situation had deteriorated sharply.

At first, the changes were manageable.

Taiping Daoist, the leader of theYellow Heaven Sect, finally appeared, joining forces with theLin Clan Leaderto face theTianshiin a two-on-one battle.

However, theTianshi’seldest disciple,Xu Yuanzhen, also emerged at this moment.

Signs indicated that the master and disciple had long prepared for this. WithXu Yuanzhenholding offTaiping Daoist, theTianshicould focus on pursuing theLin Clan Leader.

But then, a mysterious powerhouse struck unexpectedly.

This time,Tianshi Li Qingfengwas truly gravely injured.

ThoughXu Yuanzhenmanaged to break away fromTaiping Daoistto block further attacks, the situation had spiraled out of control.

Lei Jun’sassessment was:

“They overplayed their hand.”

If theTianshihad simply consolidated power withXu Yuanzhen,Li Song,Li Hongyu,Yuan Mobai, andLi ZhengxuanatMount Longhu, they could have avoided a major crisis despite their enemies’ strength.

TheTianshi’sstrategy to lure theLin Clan Leaderinto a trap succeeded — but the final result was a disaster.

They had just turned the tide, ready to pursue victory, only to be struck down again.

Even without considering morale, this increased their costs of adapting to the situation.

Another possibility was that theTianshi’sold injuries hadn’t fully healed, forcing him to gamble on a decisive victory to eliminate theLin Clanthreat — at least temporarily.

But the gamble had failed…

Lei JunrecalledXu Yuanzhen’s words when she first returned toMount Longhu:

“I’m worried that Master is overthinking things.”

Back then, she probably didn’t know the full plan, just worried based on her understanding of her master.

In hindsight, she was right.

She wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

In aJiangnanwaterside pavilion,Chu Yustood by the window, frowning.

At a nearby table,Fang Yueasked, “Who was this mysterious powerhouse who stooped to such underhanded tactics?”

Chu Yuresponded, “There are only a few unaccounted top-tier experts. But of those who harbor enmity toward theTianshi Mansion…”

She shook her head.

“In the end, theTianshigave them the opportunity. One scheme against theLin Clan Leaderwas enough. He shouldn’t have chased him outside the mountain.”

Fang Yuelooked at her.

Sighing,Chu Yusaid, “TheTianshi’shealth hasn’t fully recovered, has it? This gamble harmed not only himself but also the entire situation.”

The latest news confirmed a more tragic outcome than anyone expected:

Li Qingfeng, theTianshiofMount Longhu, andLin Qun, theLin Clan Leader, had perished together in theGreat River.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com