The Yin Moon Cold Spring had nearly been tainted by the Ice Spring Moonshade Evil, but Lei Jun, who had been waiting there, quickly separated them. He successfully preserved this yin-cold water vein, which could be taken back to Yuan Mobai in the future.
The water volu was indeed low, making it difficult to use for other purposes.
But for Yuan Mobai’s research into the Dharma Essence, it was certainly adequate.
After securing everything, Lei Jun used his own mana and Talisman Scriptures to manifest a Jiao Chang Altar that seed almost real.
Then, he lit incense. He and his disciple, Zhuo Baojie, each held a stick, paying respects to the natural world, the mountains, and rivers of Qingyu Mountain.
It was just as Yuan Mobai had taught him in the past.
Only after all this was finished did Lei Jun take his eldest disciple and depart from the Qingyu Mountain area.
He then resud his original plan, heading to the next branch of the Taoist Talisman Sect.
His destination was Mount Tianxu, ho to the Tianxu Sect. Although his duty was to patrol the four directions, Lei Jun had just taken office. His primary objective on this first excursion was to familiarize himself with the various branches, build rapport, and solidify connections between the major Talisman Sects and the Dragon Tiger Mountain Ancestral Court.
Therefore, on this tour of the four directions, Lei Jun did not conduct any surprise visits.
Before arriving, he contacted Tu Guangyu, the Sect Leader of the Tianxu Sect, to inform him.
Just as with the Purple Cloud Sect and the Yuhang School, Tu Guangyu, the Sect Leader of the Tianxu Sect, along with key mbers of the sect, had co out from the mountain early to welco him.
"Elder Lei, you’ve co a long way. Welco, welco," Tu Guangyu said with a smile.
He had a good relationship with Yuan Mobai, and they exchanged frequent visits. Over the years, he had also visited the Dragon Tiger Mountain Ancestral Court multiple tis. On most of those occasions, it was Lei Jun and his fellow disciples who received and saw him off.
Consequently, Tu Guangyu was also more familiar with Lei Jun.
Tu Guangyu had watched Lei Jun’s cultivation progress closely.
Rembering the young disciple who had once stayed temporarily at the Tianxu Sect, Sect Leader Tu couldn’t help but feel a wave of nostalgia.
"Master Tu, my master instructed to convey his greetings to you."
After they discussed official matters, Tu Guangyu invited Lei Jun for a private eting in the evening, during which both were quite relaxed.
Hearing Lei Jun ntion Yuan Mobai, Tu Guangyu smiled and asked, "Junior Brother Yuan is thoughtful. I didn’t attend the Transmission Ceremony at the Ancestral Courtyard of the Sect this ti, so I haven’t seen Junior Brother Yuan for about two years. Is he doing well?"
Lei Jun replied, "My master is well. Please rest assured, Master Tu."
Tu Guangyu nodded repeatedly. "That’s good to hear."
He looked at Lei Jun with a sowhat sentintal expression. "The pupil surpasses the master. Junior Brother Yuan must be very pleased to have a disciple like you. Ti really flies. It’s been almost thirty years since we first t, and even the battle of Li Wai was more than twenty years ago."
"Yes, ti does indeed fly," Lei Jun nodded gently.
He looked at Tu Guangyu and said calmly, "Looking back, the days when Senior Sister Xia and I listened to your teachings seem like only yesterday."
Tu Guangyu sighed. "So, you all know already?"
Lei Jun nodded slightly. "My master and I were searching for the whereabouts of Senior Brother Xia and Senior Sister Xia, not specifically targeting Mount Tianxu."
Tu Guangyu said, "I naturally believe that. I can also see that the Mansion does not intend to trouble the Xia Family."
The Xia Family was a prominent local clan, influential though not counted among the most prestigious, and many of its mbers had joined the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion.
Among them, Xia Bo, a senior fellow disciple to both Yuan Mobai and Tu Guangyu, was a leading figure.
Xia Bo’s clan nephews, Xia Xiushan and Xia Qing, were also once representative figures among the younger generation of disciples in the Celestial Master Mansion.
However, Xia Bo married Li Hongyu, and as a result, the Xia Family ca to be seen as closely tied to the Li Clan.
Consequently, during the last major battle of Li Wai, when the Li Clan was defeated and forced to flee, Xia Xiushan, Xia Qing, and other mbers of the Xia Family were also implicated.
After the battle, they vanished without a trace.
More than twenty years had passed since then.
However, Yuan Mobai had long known the whereabouts of Xia Xiushan, Xia Qing, and the others, but he had never brought the matter up publicly.
As Tu Guangyu had said, the Mansion had never troubled the Xia Family.
Officially, Li Hongyu—unlike those from the lines of Li Song and Li Ziyang—was not expelled from the Mansion, nor were Xia Xiushan, Xia Qing, and the others.
However, they were not contacted to return to the mountain either.
Overall, the matter had been handled with a cold approach.
"Master Hongyu’s situation aside," Lei Jun said, "Master Xia perished in the battle at Poyang Lake, fighting for Our Sect against mbers of the Lin Clan from Jiangzhou."
"Senior Brother Xia and Senior Sister Xia had no record of wrongdoing, so the Mansion did not seal their Talisman Scripture with the Altar of Wanfa Sect. However, the Li Clan’s influence extends beyond themselves. Eliminating the related repercussions will require a very long ti—perhaps decades, or even centuries—and success is not guaranteed."
The Li Clan was now history, but they had set a precedent within the Celestial Master Mansion.
This precedent might continually inspire similar ambitions in others, thus giving rise to new "Li Clans."
Completely curbing this trend was not sothing achievable in a short ti.
Regardless of whether it was Tang Xiaotang, or Lei Jun after her, who eventually took the position of Celestial Master, they could ensure that similar incidents would not recur during their own tenure.
But the human heart was difficult to predict.
Stabilizing people’s hearts and minds would require sustained effort over a long ti.
anwhile, it was essential to prevent certain signals from being misread.
The cold treatnt of Li Hongyu, Li Zhengxuan, and the related issues concerning the Xia Family was precisely for this reason.
"The Celestial Master, Junior Brother Yuan, and your own painstaking efforts—I understand it all," Tu Guangyu sighed. "It’s just that, thinking back to Xia Chongqing’s ti at Mount Tianxu, I felt compelled to lend them a hand."
Lei Jun said, "Master Tu, your compassion is understandable, and there is nothing improper about it. However, such matters are still not suitable to be made public."
Tu Guangyu nodded. "Of course, I understand that."
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