Lei Jun watched as the Fang siblings disappeared toward the direction of theEight Desolation Blood Cavern, then withdrew his gaze, no longer paying them any attention.

He turned and entered theEight Desolation Blood River Formation. After he had blasted part of the rock layers, the blood water had been largely drained. Not only did this ease the plight of Xia Qing and the others trapped in the formation, but it also gave Luo Haoran, who was busy sealing the fissure, some relief.

When Lei Jun appeared, the other disciples rejoiced, “Junior Brother Lei!”

“Be careful, everyone.” In front of the crowd, Lei Jun applied aMid-Grade Wind Talismanand activated aMid-Grade Golden Barrier Talisman. He carefully crossed the blood river and rescued Xia Qing and the others one by one.

“Junior Brother Lei, be cautious; there might beBlood River Sectcultivators lurking nearby,” oneTianshi Mansiondisciple warned. “Our entrapment in this massiveBlood River Formationis suspicious. It may not be a coincidence; we could have been set up by thosedemonic cultivators!”

Lei Jun nodded. “Senior Brother is right. We should all stay alert.”

If his guess was correct, the supposedBlood River Sectcultivators who trapped Xia Qing and the others were likely the Fang siblings. Luo Haoran had arrived first to block the blood water. When the Fang siblings discovered him, they trapped Xia Qing and the others, putting Luo Haoran in a moral bind while planting seeds of discord betweenElder Hongyuand the external disciples of the Mansion.

After rescuing the others, Lei Jun lent a hand to Luo Haoran. Luo Haoran, still shaken, said, “Junior Brother Lei, thank goodness you arrived in time, or I… I really would have…”

“Senior Brother Luo, no need to be so polite. As long as everyone is safe, that’s what matters.” Lei Jun helped Luo Haoran seal the blood water.

Although Xia Qing and the others were rescued, their condition was dire. Theirwillpowerandmanawere nearly exhausted. Xia Qing, in particular, was as unlucky asElder Du. After being ambushed by Zhong Yunfei of theTianxu Sectearlier, she had just recovered, only to face another calamity.

As one of the main defenders against theEight Desolation Blood River Formation, her mana was nearly depleted, and she was on the verge of passing out. The otherTianshi Mansiondisciples focused on recovering their energy and caring for Xia Qing, leaving no one to help Luo Haoran.

Lei Jun observed quietly. Some genuinely lacked the strength to help, while others harbored resentment toward Luo Haoran for his earlier hesitation but dared not voice it.

Meanwhile, everyone expressed their gratitude toward Lei Jun profusely. Lei Jun remained humble and didn’t take credit.

For Luo Haoran and Xia Qing, theEight Desolation Blood River Formationwas perilous. But for Lei Jun, it wasn’t as dangerous. That’s why, during his fortune-telling, this place had shown aModerate Omen.

The slight regret was that theModerate Omenmentioned aSeventh-Grade Opportunityhere. But Lei Jun had arrived too late. He now understood the situation: the enhancedBlood River Formationcould produce a treasure called theWithered Blood Stone. This stone sacrificedvital energyto nourish a cultivator’ssoul.

If he had arrived before theBlood Sea Tidesurged back into the river, he could have obtained theWithered Blood Stone. But Luo Haoran had been too busy plugging the leak to collect the treasure. When theBlood Seasurged, theEight Desolation Blood River Formationwent haywire, destroying theWithered Blood Stone.

Lei Jun’s trip to theBlood Seameant giving up on theWithered Blood Stone. But he didn’t mind. With theBlack Bear King’s Gallbladdernourishing hisvital energy, he had no need to exchangevital energyforsoulnourishment. Moreover, unlike theBlood River Sectcultivators, he had no interest in slaughtering others to plunder theirvital energy.

Besides, his trip to theBlood Seayielded the superiorNine Saints Frost.

“This massiveBlood River Formationis finally weakening. Let’s dismantle it together and leave as soon as possible,” Lei Jun suggested.

Although he was the latest to be initiated into the Mansion, Luo Haoran and the others, having regained some energy, nodded and agreed with Lei Jun’s decision.

The group worked together to suppress the weakened formation.

“Boom!!”

As they were busy, a loud explosion echoed from afar, shaking the underground cave violently again!

“What’s happening?!” TheTianshi Mansiondisciples tensed up.

Lei Jun feigned surprise and looked toward the source of the disturbance, quickly deducing the situation: the direction of theEight Desolation Blood Cavern…

Though he had a rough idea of what was happening, he remained cautious about the extent of the disaster. He reminded his fellow disciples to stay alert.

Soon, a torrent of blood erupted from the cavern, redirecting theBlood Riverback into the cave. Fortunately, the surging currents canceled each other out, reducing the threat.

Lei Jun and the others held off the torrent, preventing further havoc. After a while, theBlood Rivercalmed down slightly.

They dismantled the formation and began to find a way out.

After theBlood Seaerupted again and theEight Desolation Blood Caverncollapsed, many underground rock layers gave way, causing sections of the labyrinth to collapse to the surface. Thankfully, the cracks appeared in remote mountains and hills.

Lei Jun and Luo Haoran’s efforts paid off, sparing the nearby village from devastation. Though a minor earthquake caused panic, there were no significant casualties. Villagers saw a cloud of dust and distant hills sinking, forming what appeared to be a lake. But the lake’s color was… off.

As the sun rose, the lake shimmered gold and red.

Lei Jun and the others, closer to the scene, climbed to the surface and saw aBlood Lake. Though theBlood Seahad receded, a vast amount of polluted blood remained. SmallBlood Riversextended from the lake.

Lei Jun shaded his eyes, scanning the scene.Tianshi Mansiondisciples gathered at the lake’s edge, whileBlood River Sectdisciples who escaped looked pale and grim.

In the lake’s center, a whirlpool spun, drawing blood into its depths. Lei Jun realized that the collapse of theEight Desolation Blood Cavernhad caused this.

He noticed someone trapped in the whirlpool—it wasn’t the Fang siblings, but Fang Jian.

Did Fang Jian get caught while trying to save his cousins? Lei Jun wondered. Judging by the siblings' earlier conversation, Fang Jian hadn’t been involved in their schemes.

Seeing his fellow disciples still bewildered, Lei Jun swiftly took action. Empowered by theWind Talisman, he soared above the whirlpool to rescue Fang Jian.

Others soon followed his lead, and some Fang clan members rushed to help. Together, they pulled the bedraggled Fang Jian to safety.

“Thank you, everyone,” Fang Jian said weakly, glancing at Lei Jun with gratitude.

Some Fang clan members recognized Lei Jun and thanked him.

Lei Jun smiled, “No need for thanks. Senior Brother Fang is my fellow disciple; how could I stand by and do nothing?”

“Where are Sixteenth Sister and Mingyuan?” someone asked.

Fang Jian sighed, “I couldn’t save them…”

The crowd gasped in shock. Some turned to theBlood Lake, watching the whirlpool shrink and vanish.

“No one wanted this to happen. Don’t blame yourself, Senior Brother Fang,” Lei Jun said.

Fang Jian shook his head, “Thank you, Junior Brother Lei, but I’ve failed my uncle and aunt…”

Lei Jun recited a prayer for the departed, joined by Fang Jian and the others.

Even the Fang clan members looked at Lei Jun with newfound warmth.

But their mourning was short-lived. The morning sky turned red as aBlood Cloudapproached.

The disciples feared aBlood River Sectattack, but the cloud flew past, seemingly fleeing.

A streak of light chased the cloud, striking it and scattering it into burning droplets.

The remaining cloud fled, and a cloud carriage appeared, carrying a woman with a bow.

“Aunt?” Fang Jian exclaimed.

Lei Jun recognized her as the Chu clan prodigy.

“Zhongjian? You look terrible,” Chu Yu remarked.

Fang Jian explained the situation, and Chu Yu searched theBlood Lakebut found no bodies.

Handing a keepsake box to Fang Jian, she sighed.

Soon,Elder Duand the remaining disciples arrived, their expressions heavy.

“Let’s clean up this mess and move forward,” Elder Du said.

With theBlood River Sectblamed,Tianshi Mansioncould consider this a victory, but the war continued.

Lei Jun returned to his residence, bathed, and began refining the Nine SaintsFrost.

This treasure would soon help him reach theThird-Tier Altarstage faster than ever.

He smiled.Step by step, upward I go.

With theNine Saints Frostaiding his cultivation, Lei Jun felt confident about his progress toward theThird-Tier Altar. His comprehension had already reached theIlluminatedlevel, which significantly reduced the time required to cultivate at theThird Heaven Altar Stage.

Additionally, his experiences in theTrue-One Altar’s Grotto-Heavenhad further honed his insights. With theNine Saints Frost, his cultivation speed was set to accelerate even more.

Reflecting on his rapid progress, Lei Jun couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.It almost feels too fast…

But he quickly dismissed any hesitation.In cultivation, the earlier and faster one progresses, the greater the potential to reach higher realms. One step ahead means staying ahead.

He took a deep breath to stabilize his mind and began refining theNine Saints Frost. His decision was swift, but his actions were meticulous.

As he integrated the frost into hisDao Foundation Altar, he felt his entire being — body, energy, and spirit — become purer and more refined. Above the second-tierOctagonal Altar, the outline of aRound Altargradually took shape.

Satisfied, Lei Jun nodded.

Still, he was cautious. According to theSupreme Good Omenhe had drawn, theNine Saints Frost, aFourth-Grade Opportunity, held potential beyond aiding his current cultivation. While he hadn’t yet discovered its other uses, he chose to refine only half of it. The rest he would reserve for consultation withYuan Mobai,Xu Yuanzhen, andTang Xiaotangonce they returned to the mountain.

Over the next few days, Lei Jun dedicated himself to cultivation. But as time passed, a sense of unease crept in again.

This feeling didn’t come from within him but from theTrue-One Altar’s Grotto-Heaven.

At first, he thought someone might be trying to open a passage to the grotto-heaven, as had happened before. But soon, he realized this wasn’t the case. The disturbance came from theTrue-One Altar’s Grotto-Heavenitself — or rather, from theTianshi Seal!

TheTianshi Sealstill lingered aroundMount Longhu, hidden deep within the spiritual veins of the surrounding mountains. Now, it was stirring once more.

Is this because of the recent eruption of the Blood Sea?Lei Jun speculated.

Previously, theTianshi Sealhad returned to the vicinity ofMount Longhudue to the intense battles there. Though it had briefly revealed itself, it had remained hidden beneath the mountain’s spiritual veins. TheBlood River Sect’screation of theBlood Seahad tainted the spiritual veins, prompting theTianshi Sealto react once again.

Will the Tianshi Seal finally re-emerge this time?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com