Chapter 793: 317. You Fall Into the Trap, I’ll Take the Opportunity (Combined Chapter)_4

At this moment, Crown Prince Zhang Hui and the others faced the greatest crisis since arriving at Tiangu Ridge.

Fortunately, after Zhang Hui’s cultivation advanced to the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm, he could wield higher-grade royal treasures.

Outside his robe, jade light suddenly gathered on him, forming a kind of illusory jade armor, each piece of precious jade interwoven. It looked fragile, but held incredibly strong defensive power, helping this Crown Prince of Great Tang block the impact from the White Lotus Sect’s Illusory Pure Land shattering.

However, this protective treasure only shielded Zhang Hui himself, leaving the others whose cultivation remained at the Middle Three Heavens Realm—like Ye Song—struggling in grave peril.

Zhang Hui remained calm in the midst of chaos. At this time, a brush appeared in his hand. With a few swift strokes in midair, he painted a scene in the void, enveloping Ye Song and the others inside, keeping them safe from the suffering outside.

Lei Jun saw all of this through the Great Celestial Mirror, but his brow twitched ever so slightly.

The brush in Zhang Hui’s hand was rather ordinary, far less mysterious than the jade armor.

The painting he had just made basically reflected his own strength.

But, for Confucian scholars, such a method usually required at least the Eightfold Heaven Realm of State Governance.

And only when one reached the second or even third layer of State Governance could one perform with such mastery.

Zhang Hui was undoubtedly at the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm at the moment.

*Never mind whether he’s suppressed his realm for a later breakthrough, or when he’ll feel ready to challenge the Heavenly Chasm Tribulation between the Seventh and Eighth Layers, at present, he’s still at the seventh tier.*

As the legitimate Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, skilled in the Emperor’s Technique, Zhang Hui was indeed peerless among cultivators of the same realm. But in principle, even so, he should not possess such extraordinary power to pierce the void at the Seventh Layer.

*So, most likely, the reason lay in his outstanding talent and unusual constitution.*

As far as Lei Jun knew, there were historical precedents of similarly gifted individuals among the Confucians—the "Divine Brush," one of the most extraordinary latent gifts in their ranks. If compared to the Taoists, it was like the Immortal Root Bone.

*Was Zhang Hui such a "Divine Brush" after all?*

*This Crown Prince of Great Tang really was far from ordinary, hiding his true strength—he was nothing like the mediocrity that many had believed in the past. . . Lei Jun watched coolly.*

On the surface, Zhang Hui showed no sign of pride, instead remaining calm—with a hint of gravity in his expression.

*At this moment, he fully sensed how the Future Maitreya must have felt back then, when exposed in the Southern Wilderness.*

Over the years, after weighing all considerations, Zhang Hui had chosen to reveal his own strength little by little, building up his reputation and prestige, and slowly preparing himself for greater things.

But there were boundaries to how far he could go.

He was the crown prince, the heir, but had not yet become the true emperor.

Revealing his secrets too soon could only do him harm.

*But now, Zhang Hui had no choice but to embrace the situation as it came.*

Lei Jun, sitting in Luping Mountain, watched all of this unfold through the Great Celestial Mirror, treating it like a show, without any intent to intervene.

He saw Tiangu Ridge crumble along with the collapse of the White Lotus Buddha Palm, the rocks of the mountain sinking as a whole, suddenly turning into a sunken Earth Valley.

This made Lei Jun’s heart quietly stir.

Moments later, from far to near, Luping Mountain—previously utterly still—suddenly started trembling, shaking inexplicably.

Zhuo Baojie and Lin Shan were both shocked, hastily rising into the air with uncertainty and anxiety, looking down at Luping Mountain below.

"Stay alert."

Lei Jun calmly reminded them, and at the same moment, released his abundant mana, spreading it out over all of Luping Mountain.

He appeared to be stabilizing the mountain slopes, but in fact, his mana was condensed into a stream, burrowing straight down, deep into the earth.

As Lei Jun’s cultivation strength rose, whenever he probed the earth veins now, he no longer needed to truly descend—depending on local circumstances.

Because of his influence, the earthquakes around Luping Mountain subsided noticeably.

When Lei Jun’s mana penetrated underground, it touched the current surging Grand River of Earth Vein Spiritual Qi.

Later, the Heaven-piercing Earth-penetrating Taliscript deep within his eyes silently began to glimmer once more.

Something, following the earth veins as if drifting along, had arrived in the area beneath Luping Mountain.

Lei Jun took it in quietly, without a fuss.

Outwardly, he spoke to Zhuo Baojie and Lin Shan, "There’s movement in the earth veins. There may have been some change nearby. I’m securing the area. Hua Jie, contact the mountain sect. Lin Shixiong, contact the Imperial Court in the capital. Ask around and see if anyone has news."

Zhuo Baojie and Lin Shan both replied at once and went about their tasks.

Lei Jun, meanwhile, watched the Tiangu Ridge situation calmly through the Great Celestial Mirror.

Tiangu Ridge had now effectively been wiped from the map by the White Lotus Sect.

Monk Jingshan and Monk Jingsi, seeing their move fail, stopped entangling themselves and fled at once.

Monk Jingsi, suffering from the backlash of the Pure Land’s collapse, was wounded for the moment, forcing Monk Jingshan to care for his fellow disciple.

The two of them hurried away, while Future Maitreya showed no sign of joy, only sighing softly.

But even as he sighed, he moved quickly, retrieved the Ninth-grade Lotus Platform, and chased after the two monks.

Meanwhile, over on Zhang Hui’s side, they finally welcomed Ye Cheng, the young Eighth Layer expert from Qingzhou, as well as Master Kong Nian, now one of the few Eighth Heavenly Layer masters still at Xuantian Temple.

Given this, the three from the White Lotus Sect were even less inclined to hang around, fleeing the area at top speed.

Still at Luping Mountain, Lei Jun finally took out his harvest.

[White Jade Bodhi]

In a flash of inspiration, the name appeared automatically in Lei Jun’s mind.

Though a Buddhist sect treasure, it was also a spiritual object suited for Lei Jun.

Its chief function concerned the Spiritual Soul.

Its spiritual nature was gentle and could nurture one’s soul.

*The matters concerning the Netherworld and Lethean Mist, which Lei Jun had put aside for now, could soon be placed back on his schedule.*

The Lethean Mist was a good thing. It tempered one’s Spiritual Soul, making it tougher and more resilient.

But there were pros and cons; the Lethean Mist could also numb the Spiritual Soul, dulling perception and sensitivity in the process.

*Now, with the White Jade Bodhi in hand, I can use them together—tempering myself with the Lethean Mist, while the White Jade Bodhi warms and nurtures my soul, making it stronger and more tenacious, yet still sharp and perceptive. . . thought Lei Jun.*

This time, the lot at Tiangu Ridge truly made good on the phrase, "Tender Dragon’s Perilous Journey."

Still, Zhang Hui had enough strength to hold out until the storm passed.

In the end, it was a peril safely overcome. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

But it was not nearly as calm and uneventful as Lei Jun experienced over at Luping Mountain.

The so-called "Great Earth’s Origin" referred to the fact that when the Buddhist Pure Land at Tiangu Ridge collapsed, the treasures buried underground as its foundation were all destroyed as well.

Most of the spiritual objects were ruined, but the most important one—the White Jade Bodhi—remained intact, entered the earth veins, and flowed along to Luping Mountain.

All Master Lei had to do after drawing the best lot was simply wait at Luping Mountain.

No wonder there’d been zero danger and no hidden setbacks, and he could collect a Third-Rank Opportunity without lifting a finger. . . Lei Jun felt quite satisfied.

*I could only apologize to the Crown Prince,*

*You fell into the pit, and I’m the one who got the opportunity.*

Later, as updates arrived from the court and the sect, Zhuo Baojie and Lin Shan finally learned the reason behind it all.

Lin Shan said, "Right now it’s still unclear if it was infighting within White Lotus Sect, or if they really tried to assassinate the Crown Prince. We’ll have to wait for more information."

Lei Jun’s expression didn’t change, "So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is. . ."

As for the details of the tangled grievances between Future Maitreya and Monk Jingshan, the truth could not yet be spoken.

But the direct result of this event could only be called absurd,

Crown Prince Zhang Hui of the Great Tang had only just left the Imperial Capital Luoyang on his second journey abroad, when, thanks to yet another "assassination" event, was again forced to halt his travels and, for the sake of safety, end his journey and return directly to the palace.