Lei Jun recounted to Tang Xiaotang some novel plots he had read back on Blue Star before he crossed over.
She kept pestering him to tell stories from the afternoon all the way until after dinner.
It was only when Lei Jun needed to go to Yuan Mobai for evening class that the tall girl reluctantly said goodbye, leaving with high hopes.
Lei Jun watched her walk away, *wondering how hard this little senior sister would try to become the protagonist of a story.*
"Aside from Li Ying, who really didn't matter much one way or another, first was Shangguan Hong, then Chen Yi..."
Lei Jun shook his head a little, and a few names quickly floated through his mind.
All of them had the surname Li.
After sorting through them, two names ended up at the very top of the list,
Li Ying's eldest brother, Elder Ziyang's eldest son, Li Xuan.
Li Ying's second brother, Elder Ziyang's younger son, Li Ming.
"It's at least one of them, right?" Lei Jun mused, "Could be a real bastard..."
He pondered as he made his way over to his own master's residence.
After Yuan Mobai heard about Tang Xiaotang giving Lei Jun the Night Wind Stone, he didn't object either.
That night, under Yuan Mobai's guidance, Lei Jun refined the Night Wind Stone.
Night Wind Stone, enters the night hidden with the wind.
The Celestial Master Mansion's true-inheritance Wind Riding Talisman harnessed a gentle breeze, and the wind itself wasn't violent to begin with.
After Lei Jun combined the spiritual power of the Night Wind Stone with his own mana and then drew the Wind Riding Talisman again, the wind was no less swift but became softer and even more silent, so quiet that it even provided a certain camouflage and concealment effect.
This did not match Tang Xiaotang's usual taste.
On the other hand, it perfectly fit Wang Guiyuan's expectations.
Since Junior Brother Lei didn't like pure defense and chose speed and agility instead, why not max out dodge and stealth altogether...
With the enhancements of the Wind Riding Talisman infused with power from the Night Wind Stone, Lei Jun's movements became both faster and even more hidden, embodying the artistic conception of "enter the night as the wind."
*But this style was getting a little weird...* Lei Jun thought to himself.
The stick-like Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.
The Divine Strike Talisman, which was already meant to boost basic bodily agility.
The stealthy, quick Wind Riding Talisman.
Put all three together, and the best fighting style seemed to be... sneak-attacking with a club?
Back on Blue Star, when Lei Jun played games before he crossed over, he would have described the fighting style of this world's Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion or the Taoist Talisman Sect as being akin to balanced warriors who practiced both magic and martial arts—able to fight at a distance or up close under the blessings of spells.
Depending on one's elective talismans and their different effects, the styles could be even more finely divided.
Originally, Lei Jun thought of himself as a light-armored warrior with high mobility, able to kite or launch ambushes thanks to Divine Strike and Wind Riding Blessings.
But now, with the Night Wind Stone added in, the optimal style seemed to lean more towards an assassin or rogue...
*Alright, this was just the beginning. The next choices down the line would really decide things.*
But seriously, his moderately good lot for this seventh-rank opportunity had come true; he just didn't know when the moderate risk hidden in the Golden Barrier Talisman, assigned by that moderately unlucky lot, would blow up in his face.
Lei Jun shook his head, reined in his wandering thoughts, and focused on his cultivation ahead.
Up in the mountains, it was impossible to keep track of time.
In his diligent cultivation, time flew by.
Spring gradually passed, and before he knew it, summer had arrived.
On this day, after early class, Master Yuan Mobai looked at Lei Jun, "Chongyun, spend the next two days getting ready. The Cloud Sea Immortal Pond is about to open, and you have permission to enter, to bathe in its waters and receive its cultivation baptism."
Lei Jun was curious, "Cloud Sea Immortal Pond?"
Yuan Mobai nodded, "With the mysteries of your Hidden Dragon Spirit Body, you should be able to advance to Foundation Establishment mid-level very soon after the baptism in the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond."
Lei Jun's Hidden Dragon Spirit Body made his early cultivation rapid indeed, but as with all cultivation, so long as the direction was right and the foundations solid, faster always meant better.
Lei Jun was only twenty this year. Judging by the golden opportunity period for Foundation Establishment cultivators at the Second Heavenly Layer and Law Platform cultivators at the Third Heavenly Layer, he had about thirty years left.
It sounded like a lot, but there were two heavenly chasms ahead—the leap from Second to Third Layer, and from Third to Fourth—that had stuck cultivators for half their lives or even their whole lives.
It wasn't like the leap from the First to Second Layer, where he could rely on his Hidden Dragon Spirit Body to soar right through in one go, so Lei Jun couldn't afford to take it lightly.
The more time he left for himself, the better.
This was where the advantage of the Celestial Master Mansion, as a sacred land of the Taoist Talisman Sect, really shone—there were all kinds of baptisms, treasures, and training set aside for the disciples.
But with many carrots and few holes, even these opportunities meant fierce competition among the mansion's young disciples.
Lei Jun said, "This disciple will do his best."
"The Cloud Sea Immortal Pond is ethereal and easily affected by outside forces, so its spiritual energy flows are always shifting."
Yuan Mobai added, "Aside from nourishing people, the spiritual energy can sometimes be so blazing hot that it's excessive and can even hurt people. The specific situation changes over time and isn't easy to predict. Once you're there, focus on your cultivation, but also keep an eye out and be careful."
With that, he took out a Spirit Talisman and handed it to Lei Jun.
It was a Golden Barrier Talisman. Lei Jun knew how to draw these, but the moment he touched the one Yuan Mobai gave him, he could sense the intricate mysteries inside, far beyond what he himself could achieve right now.
"This is a Golden Barrier Talisman I drew in my spare time," Yuan Mobai said, "Take it with you. The Cloud Sea Immortal Pond might be chaotic, but in general, things don't get out of hand. This talisman is just in case."
This really was a major advantage of the Taoist Talisman Sect—the elders could prepare and bestow talismans on the young to protect them.
Still, how much of an elder's Spirit Talisman could be brought forth depended mostly on the disciple's own cultivation and mana.
Just like now, Yuan Mobai could have given him a more powerful talisman, but given Lei Jun's current level, this Golden Barrier Talisman was the best fit.
Besides, Lei Jun wasn't leaving the mountain for worldly training—the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond was still on Dragon Tiger Mountain itself.
After class, Lei Jun chatted a while with Wang Guiyuan.
The Cloud Sea Immortal Pond, like Ganoderma Terrace from years past, was one of the original Spirit Veins from when Dragon Tiger Mountain was first founded.
The Immortal Pond itself was not on the mountain, but instead a Small Cave Heaven formed in the void from the crisscrossing spiritual energy of Dragon Tiger Mountain—a sort of alternate dimension, existing attached to the mountain.
Just as Yuan Mobai had mentioned before, the spiritual energy of the Immortal Pond was unstable and easily affected, so usually only core disciples with lower cultivation from the Celestial Master Mansion were allowed inside when the Cave Heaven opened.
Within the Cave Heaven there was a marvelous Immortal Pond, steaming with endless clouds, full of spiritual power.
But the blazing spiritual energy could also burn low-level cultivators, and it had happened before.
"So that's the risk Master mentioned, Junior Brother Lei. You can't be careless."
Wang Guiyuan sighed, "What a shame, the environment in the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond is always changing. It's definitely not the same as when I went in back then. If it didn't shift so frequently, I could help you figure out what it's like in there now ahead of time."
Lei Jun said, "I appreciate it, Senior Brother. I will remember Master's words and adapt as things come."
Seven days later, the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond opened again, and the Celestial Master Mansion selected young core disciples to enter for the baptism.
Lei Jun arrived at the meeting point and looked around. Most faces were familiar—basically all standouts among this year's new transmission disciples.
However, his gaze finally landed on a young Taoist who looked to be in his twenties or thirties.
Li Ming, Elder Ziyang's younger son, and also his direct disciple.
He had entered the sect early and his mana was more refined than the new disciples'.
"The Cloud Sea Immortal Pond is about to open, and all you junior brothers and sisters are entering for the first time. Just in case, the sect has arranged for an experienced disciple to lead the team. This year, I'm in charge."
Li Ming's tone was calm and unhurried, "The baptism from the Immortal Pond's water is only effective the first time. It lasts for three days, so make the most of it and focus on your cultivation."
He led Lei Jun and the others up a mountain path, finally stopping below a cliff.
When Li Ming took out a Talisman Decree and placed it on the mountainside, the cliff did not open. Instead, a light shone from the rock, projected into the air, and a phantom portal formed in midair.
When the portal opened, it signaled that the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond was officially welcoming Lei Jun and the rest.
Li Ming, supported by his own mana, walked on air and entered first. The others followed him one after another through the illusory doorway above the ground.
The moment Lei Jun stepped forward, the light orb in his mind suddenly flashed again, and words floated into view,
[Cloud Sea Immortal Pond, a wondrous land of fortune, but endlessly changing. Respond to change and avoid seeking rigid certainty.]
Lei Jun kept his face blank, watching quietly as four lots sprang from the light orb in his mind this time,
[Moderately good lot, cloud sea above, transformation brings treasure, but also danger. Handle well, turn disaster to fortune, obtain a sixth-rank opportunity, very lucky.]
[Perfectly neutral lot, Middle Immortal Pond remains unchanged, cultivate in the water for body and mind, calm with no incident, no extra gain or loss, average.]
[Moderately unlucky lot, enter the Upper Immortal Pond, transformation brings treasure, gain an eighth-rank opportunity, but with serious risks, unlucky.]
[The worst lot, enter the Lower Immortal Pond, transformation brings both treasure and danger, gain an eighth-rank opportunity, but fall into a deathtrap with no escape, extremely unlucky!]