CHAPTER 361: 211. UNITE IN FRIENDSHIP, GIVE ALLIES "OPPORTUNITIES"_2

He himself needed to head to Silver Flute Rock first to make some preparations.

"Yes, General," the middle-aged captain complied,

Within True One Altar Cave Heaven, Lei Jun listened as the voice from the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman gradually faded away and finally sat up.

He sat cross-legged on the altar’s floor, his hands resting on his knees, a subtle, ambiguous smile on his face.

So that’s how it was, the second perfectly neutral lot mentioned that there was both opportunity and danger near Silver Flute Rock; apparently, the danger came from Blood River Sect’s Eighth Heavenly Layer Elder, Xiong Gang.

I had to thank the Celestial Master Seal for already having awakened; otherwise, the threat posed by an Eighth Heavenly Layer expert would never have been a perfectly neutral lot.

But since the lot still foretold danger along this path, that meant hiding in the True One Altar Cave Heaven was not completely safe against an Eighth Heavenly Layer foe—there would always be the risk of being discovered, dragged out, or lying in wait for the enemy to strike.

However...

*Sounds like you, General Shangguan, really didn’t know much about what’s going on near Zhao River, huh?*

Lei Jun left True One Altar Cave Heaven and headed straight toward the Zhao River basin.

He was curious about what the Fourth Rank Opportunity at Kongliu Mountain could be, but for now, he made his way to Zhao River first.

Of course, he had no intention of heading straight for the upper or lower reaches of Zhao River; instead, he would first visit the river’s middle stretch.

There was a chance that Elder Xiong Gang from Blood River Sect would be at Silver Flute Rock; as for who might be upstream or downstream on Zhao River, Lei Jun did not know, but he did know that each had a Sixth-Rank Opportunity.

*Since the heavens arranged it that way, it would be a shame to waste it, right?*

*We’re all sort of on the same side, and you’re an official figure. I, a humble Taoist, have always been a law-abiding, loyal citizen serving the Imperial Court, so it goes without saying that I would never harm a high-ranking general of the realm, nor would I ever incite the kind of infighting that brings pain to friends and joy to foes.*

*Just as you, General Shangguan, wanted to offer me the Fifth Grade Opportunity at Silver Flute Rock, I, in turn, repay you with a Sixth-Rank Opportunity. This is what you call reciprocity among gentlemen and mutual aid in unity and friendship.*

*Right now, the only small technical problem left is how to deliver this opportunity to General Shangguan.*

If Lei Jun really wanted to distance himself completely, he could try using information exchanges within the Seven Luminaries Domain to trade with Fire Yao—meaning Shen Qubing.

Whatever information Shen Qubing offered him did not matter; what mattered was that Lei Jun could "sell" information about himself or Sui Dynasty heirs to Shen Qubing,

and then, through Shen Qubing, the message would reach Shangguan Peng.

But doing so would mean, regardless of what Shangguan Peng did with it, he might end up screwing over Shen Qubing.

Lei Jun hadn’t interacted much with Shen Qubing, but they had gotten along fairly well, so he had no intention of dragging him into trouble.

If he didn’t go through Shen Qubing, he would have to work directly from Shangguan Peng himself.

Just as General Shangguan said himself, when a person desires nothing, he is unyielding. But when desires are known to others, that’s when enemies may take advantage.

Everyone in Celestial Master Mansion had desires—and those desires were common knowledge.

Dragon Tiger Mountain was not truly detached from worldly affairs, and even if it had been, they still wished to reclaim their sect’s lost treasures.

To the common world, that meant the Celestial Master Seal and the Celestial Master Robe.

Lei Jun and his master came down from the mountain to Southern Wilderness precisely for that reason.

Later, they got entangled in the messes of the Jiuli secret realm, Star Dragon Abyss, White Spring Mountain, and the chaos caused by heirs of the former dynasty. All that happened as a matter of circumstance.

If along the way they caught wind of news regarding the Celestial Master Robe, they would definitely pay close attention.

On this point, both Yuan Mobai and Lei Jun, master and disciple, had never been secretive.

*So this is where their desires lie—they can’t keep themselves completely free from wants.*

*Using that as entry, one might lure the master and disciple into a trap.*

Now here came the problem.

"General Shangguan, you also have desires,"

"What I want are clues about the Celestial Master Robe."

"What you want is to set me up."

"To lay a trap for me, you want the same thing I do. You need to get your hands on what I seek ahead of me in order to set your snare."

So...

Lei Jun walked alone in silence, quietly arriving at the middle stretch of the Zhao River basin.

He was not in a rush to show himself; instead, he patiently observed and gathered intel.

The spheres of influence of several Sacred Land lineages of the Witchcraft Sect in Southern Wilderness overlapped and intertwined. Lei Jun spent some effort confirming that the surrounding region belonged to Yintuo Mountain, the Worm Art Vein’s sacred land.

Yintuo Mountain might have been at war with the Blood River Sect, but as Lei Jun already knew, there was no real unity within Yintuo Mountain either.

The Worm Masters who controlled both banks of the midstream Zhao River at Red Cloud Sect were one such outlier. They had little love for the main Yintuo Mountain powers, and similarly took an ambiguous attitude toward Wei Ancheng and the Blood River Sect.

As it happened, these Worm Masters were actually familiar faces to Lei Jun and Celestial Master Mansion—they were disciples under Yintuo Mountain Elder Tian Linlong.

After waiting for a while, Lei Jun saw some Worm Masters leave the village and immediately seized the chance, secretly shaking his Breathing Soil Banner.

Instantly, a stream of Nine-colored Radiance shot forth, plunging into the surging waters of Zhao River.

This was precisely the Nine-colored Radiance pertaining to the Celestial Master Robe, which Lei Jun possessed.

The Nine-colored Radiance bobbed and drifted along with the rushing current, hurtling straight downstream.

But its abundant spiritual nature drew immediate attention; the Worm Masters noticed and quickly gave chase along the riverbank.

Lei Jun, expression unchanged, made his move in secret to cut them off and retrieved the Nine-colored Radiance ahead of them.

Only then did he reveal himself, intercepting several Worm Masters.

One of them was a bit unusual—not high in cultivation realm, but holding a fine earthenware jar that was radiating remarkable spiritual power.

As Lei Jun approached and caught sight of the jar, he could not help but grin, "Is this my lucky day, or is it just your terrible luck?"