CHAPTER 39: 39. HUO SUI YANG YU, AN OPPORTUNITY THAT CAN BE EXPANDED

"As expected..."

Seeing that the method worked, Lei Jun held up the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo like a fishing rod and began to step back, one step at a time.

It was as if there was an invisible fishing line connecting the two of them.

The "swimming fish" flicked about, still trying to struggle.

When Lei Jun saw this, he brought out the Vermilion Peak Pen from his hand.

He didn’t use the Vermilion Peak Pen to craft talismans at this moment, just waved it through the air.

So, it was like a second invisible fishing line hooked that "swimming fish."

This time, when Lei Jun gave a tug, the "swimming fish" finally, though unwilling, was dragged out of the sea of fire by him.

The golden light came before him, and Lei Jun put away the Vermilion Peak Pen, summoned the Soul Containing Talisman, and prepared to store the golden light.

Unexpectedly, his palm became hot.

Lei Jun hurriedly shook his hand, sending the Soul Containing Talisman flying, and it burned to ashes in midair.

The fish-like golden light seized the chance to escape back to the sea of fire.

Lei Jun swung the short staff in his hand to smash it.

The golden light’s momentum immediately slowed down, as if it had gotten stuck to the short staff.

At this point, Lei Jun finally had the chance to take a closer look at this golden light.

The golden light itself wasn’t a real fish, nor was it a living creature.

It was a current of light full of spiritual nature, as if it possessed its own life and thoughts.

As the flow of light stuck to the short staff, it gradually solidified, becoming something that resembled an illusory spiritual jade.

The jade was translucent, red as fire, with what looked like flowing marrow in the center, flickering with golden brilliance.

Overall, it looked somewhat like half of a Taiji Yin Yang Fish, radiating intense, pure Yang qi from within.

[Huo Sui Yang Yu]

A sudden realization dawned in Lei Jun’s mind.

This was the fourth rank opportunity mentioned in the best lot.

Looking at the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo that had caught the Huo Sui Yang Yu, Lei Jun thought, *opportunity alone wasn’t enough—only by getting it in your hands did it really count as yours.*

This time, he had to thank Master Yuan Mobai.

The fact that he was able to "fish" up this Huo Sui Yang Yu today was likely due to the groundwork Yuan Mobai had laid back when he first developed Xuanyang Cave Heaven.

The Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo and the Vermilion Peak Pen both originated from Yuan Mobai.

Relying on the affinity between these two treasures and the Huo Sui Yang Yu, Lei Jun managed to obtain this spiritual object.

Of course, if he hadn’t come to Yangshan Manor this time and just stayed put at the sect gates, there was no guarantee that this fourth rank opportunity would have waited for him forever.

"The problem now is storage."

Lei Jun quietly channeled his own mana, continually infusing spiritual power into the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.

The previously pitch-black and unremarkable Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo began to flicker with faint golden spirit light—no longer just a fleeting glimmer as before, but a steady glow.

Affected by the Golden Bamboo’s spirit power, the Huo Sui Yang Yu once again transformed into lively golden light, but didn’t escape—instead, like a fish getting caught in a basket, it gradually became enveloped and contained by the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.

Lei Jun continued pouring his own mana in, maintaining this state as he stored the Huo Sui Yang Yu.

While he was busy with this, Qu Yong, who had been unconscious to the side, woke up groggily.

"What just happened? Right, I think someone ambushed me..."

Qu Yong had just woken up, his mind still foggy, when suddenly his scalp tingled and his hair stood on end—a familiar sensation hit him.

"Thump!"

Qu Yong was still struggling to open his eyes when he felt sharp pain shoot through the back of his head. Just like last time, he got clobbered again!

"Who the hell is it?!"

Qu Yong lay face-down on the ground, nearly blacking out, gritting his teeth through the pain as he tried to turn over.

"Thump!"

He was smacked in the back of the head again.

"Ugh..." Qu Yong’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out once more.

Behind him, Lei Jun set down the Dharma Ruler with his left hand, his attention shifting back to the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo in his right.

After a while, Lei Jun successfully used the short staff-shaped Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo to store the Huo Sui Yang Yu.

The Huo Sui Yang Yu itself could shift between the tangible and the intangible.

For now, it turned into pure Yang qi essence, temporarily merging with the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.

When Lei Jun needed it, he could release it again from the bamboo.

*The environment outside was uncertain, so Lei Jun decided not to refine the Huo Sui Yang Yu yet, planning to wait until the situation stabilized.*

"I remember Chen Yi got his treasure from the senior brother, and it also came from Xuanyang Cave Heaven, called Huo Sui Essence?"

Lei Jun raised his brow, "Huo Sui Essence, Huo Sui Yang Yu..."

If Chen Yi had also come to Yangshan Manor and entered Xuanyang Cave Heaven, and everyone went ’fishing’ together, who knew whose gear or bait would have been better.

From this point of view, Chen Yi also stood a great chance at this best lot and fourth rank opportunity.

But with all the faction struggles in Celestial Master Mansion, he chose to play both sides instead of staying out of it like Lei Jun, and so missed the opportunity inside Xuanyang Cave Heaven this time.

Still, you couldn’t outright say Chen Yi made the wrong decision—everyone had their own aspirations, and before running afoul of trouble, he’d benefited plenty from working both sides.

However, from this event, Lei Jun guessed that Chen Yi’s strangeness lay in his ability to detect or gather information on the spot, rather than foreseeing things.

*Unless his being locked up by Elder Yao was also part of some plan, with other intentions.*

Lei Jun shook his head, restraining his wandering thoughts.

He put away the short staff, got rid of the Dharma Ruler he’d taken from a Huangtian disciple, then hoisted the twice-unconscious Qu Yong, and headed for the cave entrance.

The entrance to the cave remained closed off by raging earthly fire, isolating the inside from the outside.

Lei Jun was not in a rush. He dumped Qu Yong on the ground, slapped another Pestilence Talisman on himself, then quietly practiced his breathing skills.

After a while, Qu Yong finally woke up again, groggy as ever, his hands instinctively clutching his head.

"Brother Qu?"

Hearing the voice, Qu Yong stood in a daze for a long moment as his senses returned. He turned his head—Lei Jun, with his face still a bit pale in the flickering firelight, sat nearby.

"Lei... Junior Brother Lei?" Qu Yong clutched his head and sat up, looking around, and then immediately winced, clutching the back of his head again.

Lei Jun said, "Brother Qu, hold still, you took a hit on the back of your head. I don’t have any medicine on me, so I just did a simple bandage for now,"

Qu Yong, gripping the back of his head, replied, "Yeah...Yeah, someone ambushed me, clubbed me in the head!"

Lei Jun’s expression didn’t change, "When I got here, Brother Qu, you were already on the ground. Those two Yellow Sky Sect demon people were behind you—lucky for you, your life was spared,"

"Two... Right, it was two of them who ambushed me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been taken down. I even had my Golden Barrier Talisman ready!"

Qu Yong reached back and felt three big lumps swelling on his head!

The bumps were long and narrow, like three little embankments.

This was just ridiculous!

Remembering that one of those two Huangtian disciples had been wielding a Dharma Ruler, Qu Yong zeroed in on the culprit, so angry smoke seemed to pour out his ears.

"Those two demon people were about to finish you off, so I stopped them,"

Lei Jun continued, "But I was outnumbered two to one, so I wasn’t their match. Thankfully, using the earthly fire in Xuanyang Cave Heaven, I killed them both,"

Qu Yong let out a relieved breath, then looked around again, "So I passed out, and you brought me here?"

Lei Jun nodded, "The fire is weaker on this side. It’s easier for me to look after you,"

Qu Yong felt a bit embarrassed, "Junior Brother Lei, I really owe you—if you hadn’t been here, I’d have burnt up, even if the demon people didn’t kill me."

Lei Jun said, "Don’t mention it, Brother Qu. We’re fellow disciples."

As they spoke, the flames in the cave’s palace gradually changed again.

With the earthly fire at the entrance subsiding, other people finally entered Xuanyang Cave Heaven from outside.

Both Lei Jun and Qu Yong looked over—it wasn’t their Yellow Sky Sect enemies, but fellow disciples from Celestial Master Mansion.

"You two all right?"

The leader, dressed in a deep red Taoist robe, wore a solemn, unsmiling expression. He was Elder Ziyang’s eldest son and Talisman-Instructed Disciple of Celestial Master Mansion, Li Xuan.