Cultivation: Fortune by Lots-Chapter 496 - 253. The Great War Begins (Combined Chapter)_3

Moreover, people are all different. The former Prince Wu, the current Prince Zhao, and King Huayang—who had previously concealed his leanings well while actually currying favor with both sides—were all like this.

And this Prince Changshan?

"The ones who came from Pure Yang Palace were Elder Lü and Elder Guan," Tang Xiaotang continued. "I heard Yue Xiling recently entered closed-door meditation, probably pushing hard for the Eightfold Heaven Realm."

Elder Lü Jinduan of Pure Yang Palace frequently visited the Celestial Master Mansion and was familiar to both Lei Jun and Tang Xiaotang.

As for the Elder Guan Tang Xiaotang mentioned, he should be a well-known Pure Yang Palace Elder named Guan Jing. This man’s cultivation was outstanding. He was also in the Eighth Heavenly Layer Infant Transformation realm of the Taoist Dan Ding Sect. Strictly speaking, his cultivation was even above Lü Jinduan’s. He had long ago reached the Fourth Layer Perfection of Nascent Soul Transformation and was one of the top experts of Pure Yang Palace, second only to Master Huang Xuanpu.

Their arrival in Jinzhou together, his and Lü Jinduan’s, undoubtedly showed the great importance Pure Yang Palace placed on the battle.

However, Lei Jun was more concerned about another person. "Hasn’t Master Huang of Pure Yang Palace arrived?"

Tang Xiaotang said, "I heard he specifically left the palace for this battle, but the exact situation is unclear."

She suddenly huffed. "Oh right, that little girl also came. It’s rare that Pure Yang Palace is willing to let her out."

The comment might have sounded abrupt at first, but Lei Jun knew immediately who Tang Xiaotang was referring to. Jiang Yu came out with Elder Guan and Elder Lü? That is indeed unexpected.

Jiang Yu was a junior disciple who had recently joined Pure Yang Palace. She possessed the Root Bone Talent of a Pure Yin Immortal Body and was rumored to have other talents far surpassing her peers, allowing her cultivation and strength to progress by leaps and bounds.

Since her admission, Pure Yang Palace had handled matters concerning her with discretion, so very few outsiders knew the palace had gained such a Heavenly Talent.

It wasn’t until the past two years that news of her gradually spread. Jiang Yu subsequently quickly distinguished herself and rose to prominence.

By now, her name was known throughout the Great Tang and beyond.

The general consensus was that after missing out on Tang Xiaotang, Pure Yang Palace had experienced a stroke of good fortune with Jiang Yu’s arrival, making up for the previous regret.

However, a certain Celestial Master was rather unimpressed with such comparisons.

"Who else has come?" Lei Jun tactfully shifted the topic.

Tang Xiaotang answered, "Vajra Temple didn’t send anyone. Xuantian Temple sent Master Kongjing, and Tianlong Temple sent Elder Miaokong."

Vajra Temple was located in the Western Regions and had been shrouded in mystery for years. Although they had recently welcomed a new Abbot, Vajra Temple had suffered devastating losses after being besieged and severely damaged by the White Lotus Sect and the Great Void Temple. Consequently, they had to seal their mountain and close their gates, leading to even less contact with the outside world. Their absence from the Jinzhou battle was not particularly surprising.

Xuantian Temple, on the other hand, was located in Yunzhou, which neighbored Jinzhou. Although this sacred land of the Buddhist Family—a lineage that strictly upholds the precepts—was typically low-key, the impending war in Jinzhou, a conflict that could potentially engulf the entire Great Tang, was too significant for them to ignore.

Master Kongjing had always cooperated well with the Tang Imperial Court and was one of the Xuantian Temple Elders who leaned towards the court. Years ago, when Lei Jun obtained the Great Five Elements Creation Qi in a fissure in the Xianliu Mountains, he had a one-sided encounter with Master Kongjing: Lei Jun could see him, but Master Kongjing could not see Lei Jun.

However... Master Kongjing was a cultivator of the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm from the Holding Vow Lineage of the Buddhist Sect. No higher-level experts from Xuantian Temple, including their Sect Leader Master Ning Ru—an expert of the Eightfold Heaven Realm—made an appearance. It seemed there were considerable internal disagreements within Xuantian Temple regarding the upcoming Jinzhou battle.

Elder Miaokong from Tianlong Temple, however, was a high-ranking Buddhist monk of the Eightfold Heaven Realm. This Tianlong Temple Elder had a history of frequent cooperation and dealings with the Tang Imperial Court. Previously, when a Tianlong Temple disciple stationed at the Capital City Academy was killed by a successor from the Great Void Temple, it was Elder Miaokong who came forward to settle accounts with Monk Jitong of the Great Void Temple. However, the current internal situation at Tianlong Temple was similarly difficult to ascertain.

"Mount Shu sent Elder Wei, Elder Ji, and Gao Dongyan," Tang Xiaotang finally said.

Elder Wei, whose full name was Wei Qiyue, was of the same generation as Xu Duan. She was a senior Elder of the previous generation in the Mount Shu Sect, renowned for many years, and one of the most influential Elders within the sect. Elder Ji was Ji Dongquan, who was Ji Chuan’s father. Gao Dongyan was a Mount Shu Sect Elder of the same generation as Ji Dongquan and He Dongxing. However, he was known for being relatively close to the Prestigious Families and was one of the representative figures within the Mount Shu Sect who advocated for reducing confrontation and increasing cooperation with these families. His Direct Disciple, Lin Xinran, a member of the Jiangzhou Lin Clan, later perished at the hands of a Great Demon.

Whenever Lei Jun thought of this ’former acquaintance,’ he also felt a pang of regret.

"But I have a feeling the people from Mount Shu who’ve come here have ulterior motives," Tang Xiaotang said, her voice tinged with a slight tremor. "I don’t know what they’re plotting."

Hearing this, Lei Jun became thoughtful; he could roughly guess the Mount Shu contingent’s intentions.

Meanwhile, in Jinzhou, after exchanging pleasantries with Tang Xiaotang, Wei Qiyue, Ji Dongquan, and Gao Dongyan’s attention was indeed focused elsewhere. They discreetly scanned the surrounding mountains and rivers.

In the battle of Jiangzhou, who were the people who had covertly supported the Celestial Master Mansion?

Both the Imperial Court and the Prestigious Families leaned towards the belief that those individuals were not practitioners of Confucian Divine Archery, but rather wielders of Flying Swords or Magical Treasures from the External Alchemy School of the Taoist Sect. This left the entire Mount Shu Sect speechless for a long time.

Wei Qiyue, who appeared to be a middle-aged woman, wore a solemn expression. Her gaze seemed to drift, yet keenly observed the surroundings. She was desperate to discover the origins of those External Alchemy cultivators who had secretly aided the Celestial Master Mansion and possessed such formidable strength.

Gao Dongyan asked, looking towards the Ye Clan Ancestral Land in the distance, "Martial Aunt Wei, Senior Brother He, considering only the upcoming duel between those two, which side do you think has the better chance?"