Chapter 718: 301. Dragon-Tiger Strike, I know a little (Two-in-One Chapter)

*Was the direction Fang Yue went likely to produce a third-rank opportunity...* Lei Jun pondered.

*But was it formed naturally by heaven, or was it connected to human involvement?*

*Was it related to Fang Yue himself?*

Lei Jun carefully studied the three lots of fortune.

Of the two perfectly neutral lots, one was a wholly unremarkable draw, offering neither gain nor risk—a plain lot.

The other indicated a fourth-rank opportunity along with equal danger and hidden troubles, both roughly balanced.

The direction indicated was due east.

That was the spot where the Void Gateway connected heavenly principle to the mortal world, and also the direction Lei Jun had originally intended to pursue.

There could be no doubt: over there, top experts of the Great Tang—including Ye Yan, clan chief of the Qingzhou Ye Clan, and the old clan chief of the Suzhou Chu Clan, Chu Xiuyuan—were presently confronting the top cultivators from the realm of heavenly principle.

Even though their targets were each other, not outsiders, the dangers in that sea region were beyond question.

Even the slightest stray aftermath might cost lives.

Lei Jun’s own strength had steadily increased, and with the Celestial Master Seal and Taiqing Eight Scenic Treasures Raincoat at hand, he would have no trouble weathering minor storms.

But since the southeast had yielded a "best" lot, Lei Jun chose not to dwell for now and set out in that direction.

The Breathing Soil Banner, separated from him during the last split, had been temporarily lent to his junior disciple, Chu Kun.

That treasure’s defensive powers, as well as its ability to replenish Spiritual Energy and restore mana, were now of little help to Lei Jun, already in the Eightfold Heaven Realm.

*Sure, even a mosquito is still meat, but in these current circumstances, it was surely more practical to let Chu Kun borrow the magical treasure—its effects and value would be more fully realized that way.*

For Chu Kun, whose cultivation remained at the Sixth Heavenly Realm and had yet to reach Upper Three Heavens, the Breathing Soil Banner was still a fine treasure.

Lei Jun himself wore the Taiqing Eight Scenic Treasures Raincoat—his form seemed fused with nature itself, vanishing into the world between heaven and earth.

Yet he felt this was still not enough and raised the Mysterious Void Mirror as well.

The mirror’s light flashed in the sky, then quickly dimmed and cloaked Lei Jun, further veiling a body that was already vanished from sight.

Only then did he make his way southeast.

With the Taiqing Eight Scenic Treasures Raincoat concealing him, Lei Jun could now probe his surroundings with the Heaven-piercing Earth-penetrating Taliscript more freely.

Even driving the Heaven-piercing Earth-penetrating Taliscript to the utmost, the aura of mana Lei Jun emitted was still almost nonexistent.

In this state, he could scrutinize others more thoroughly, as if every sight lay before his eyes.

The others, however, would not easily detect his presence as a result of his investigations.

He drifted over the ocean’s surface like a breeze, heading southeast as the light of talisman scripts quietly flickered in the depths of his eyes.

Lei Jun’s Heaven-piercing Earth-penetrating Taliscript, along with the Heaven’s Sight Earth’s Hearing Talismans he had scattered, continued probing the area, registering everything large and small, guarding against the chance that the best lot opportunity was actually unrelated to Fang Yue.

After a while, Lei Jun’s eyes flashed—he spotted Fang Yue, who had gone ahead earlier.

Because Lei Jun had lingered at the previous sacrificial site a bit longer, Fang Yue had moved much farther on.

Ordinarily, this would already have surpassed the sensing range of Talisman Sect cultivators at the Eightfold Heaven Level.

But after a period hunting, Lei Jun finally succeeded in locating him.

His movement was nimble as the wind—seemingly light and floating, but astonishingly swift on the move.

However, just as Lei Jun was about to catch up, he noticed Fang Yue had plainly slowed down.

Lei Jun raised his head, once again gazing at the southeastern sea.

Night still reigned, but dawn was approaching.

The pitch-black sky began to fade, shifting toward a somber, deep blue.

But as Lei Jun peered into the distant crossing of sea and sky, he clearly saw rays of Literary Splendor and Confucian Ink interweaving.

Fang Yue was trying to reestablish a sacrificial ritual here, echoing efforts elsewhere.

Yet in this sea region, he had come up against opponents sent by heavenly principle, and a fierce battle broke out.

Fortunately, as Lei Jun watched from afar, the radiant talent of Fang Yue’s Literary Splendor suppressed the various means deployed by the scholarly cultivators opposing him.

As a master of the Chanting Sect of Confucianism, even in such hostile conditions Fang Yue could still marshal Spiritual Energy from the world, summoning wind and rain.

But then, Lei Jun’s gaze sharpened once more.

He watched as, at the horizon where sea met sky, the void seemed to twist as a whole.

It was as if the world’s fabric suddenly transformed into an enormous scroll.

And then, as if an invisible hand had reached out to shake the scroll—

—that section of heaven and void quivered as one.

As the void distorted, Fang Yue—on the verge of victory—along with the scholarly cultivators present, vanished from where they stood.

Wind and rain dissipated; it was as if nothing had just happened in this place.

*Lei Jun understood within his heart.*

In the depths of his eyes, the Heaven-piercing Earth-penetrating Taliscript rotated, and in the waters ahead, a faint, half-visible figure grew clear.

He looked to be of middle age but was in fact well known for years—none other than Ye Ming, elder of the Qingzhou Ye Clan.

The scroll that swept away Fang Yue and the others was a ritual implement personally crafted by Ye Ming.

Ye Ming stood motionless where he was.

In the darkness, ripples that looked like both ink and light gently undulated all around his body.

That was the image Ye Ming shaped with his own mana, blending himself into the sea; his art was impressive, but it could not escape Lei Jun’s discerning eyes.

Although Ye Ming had stowed Fang Yue and the others into his Vast Sea Map, he had not secured total victory.

Fang Yue had not forfeited his ability to strike back, and continued striving to break free from the Vast Sea Map.