There had already been a shortage of manpower in the mansion, so they could not just pull someone at random to fill Ke Sicheng's spot on short notice.

Therefore, the post of Patrolling Wind Elder would have to remain temporarily vacant.

Fortunately, as time passed, summer turned to autumn and the weather grew colder, and after a few months, winter returned.

In this way, the days quickly flew by.

The end of the year for the new year was drawing near.

The Celestial Master Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain was about to hold a new round of the Transmission Ceremony.

Originally, it should have been this year at the beginning of the year when it was time for the triennial Transmission Ceremony, but due to the busyness after the war, and with the new Heavenly Master ascending, the event had been delayed by a year.

After Tang Xiaotang officially took up the position of Celestial Master in mid-July this past summer, Dragon Tiger Mountain could not be said to have fully regained its vitality, but at least the Ancestral Courtyard of the Sect had finally settled down in peace.

Therefore, the new round of the Transmission Ceremony was about to take place.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the heads of the various branch mansions and courts outside the mountain, as well as the leaders of all the divided sects and lineages, would all be arriving at Dragon Tiger Mountain one after another.

The post of Patrolling Wind Elder could remain empty for now.

But as the ceremony approached and even more guests arrived from outside the mountain, the Hall of Steward under Lei Jun's management naturally became even busier than before.

Fortunately, Lei Jun could already handle everything without difficulty these days.

Until…

One day in December, Lei Jun was working in the Hall of Steward when he suddenly felt his heart and soul tremble slightly.

This sensation arose from the depths of his soul, within the True One Altar Cave Heaven.

Lei Jun was a little surprised and saw that, inside the cave heaven over the True One Altar's dao field, that page of the Celestial Book suspended in mid-air was now moving despite there being no wind at all.

Lei Jun had a flash of inspiration,

*Could it be that Fourth Rank Opportunity was finally arriving?*

*What kind of event could only allow the Hall of Steward's on-duty elder to catch it, but everyone else might miss it?*

Curious, Lei Jun leisurely walked out of the warm chamber where he did his work and entered the front hall of the Hall of Steward.

Inside the main hall, several disciples of the Celestial Master Mansion could be seen standing in small groups.

Lei Jun swept his gaze around the hall.

Suddenly, his eyes stopped on a young Taoist.

When he looked more closely to see who it was, Lei Jun's expression became ever so slightly strange.

It turned out to be someone he knew.

Zhang Yuan.

He had gotten to know Zhang Yuan back in the Tao Boy Court, when they were both studying there, and Zhang Yuan had entered the Celestial Master Mansion via the Transmission Ceremony one cycle after him.

As of now, it had been about ten years since Zhang Yuan formally joined the sect and took a master.

In Lei Jun's recent memory, Zhang Yuan—now about thirty years old—had become much more steady and competent than he was in the early years.

But today, Zhang Yuan seemed to be regressing in life, if anything.

The man looked dazed and muddle-headed, his eyes lifeless, and he even spoke with a bit of nonsense.

*No wonder this situation caught the attention of several of his fellow disciples in the Celestial Master Mansion.*

It did not take long for someone nearby to go fetch the on-duty elder of the Hall of Steward.

Keeping a cool expression, Lei Jun returned to his warm chamber.

After listening to the report from one of the Celestial Master Mansion disciples, Lei Jun walked naturally to the main hall to check Zhang Yuan's condition.

He told the others to go about their own business and not to gather, then took Zhang Yuan alone back to his warm chamber.

Lei Jun checked Zhang Yuan's condition.

Not only was there something wrong with his spiritual soul, but his physical body and blood also appeared to be in disorder.

Lei Jun used his own mana to produce the Yin Thunder of Yi Wood.

This thunder had the power to nourish the body and even heal injuries, reflecting the mystery of the spring thunder stirring all things to life.

Zhang Yuan's physical state quickly stabilized for now.

Still confused and scatterbrained, he immediately fell asleep on the spot.

But while he slept, both his soul and his body were being nourished, and his scattered thoughts and chaotic blood gradually became untangled.

Yet as soon as Lei Jun applied his Thunder Method, a bizarre shadow appeared on Zhang Yuan's body.

The shadow, originally attached to Zhang Yuan, now followed the emerald lightning of the Yin Thunder of Yi Wood and began to move toward Lei Jun.

Lei Jun did not panic or worry at all; he simply observed the shadow intently.

First of all, it wasn't some evil entity causing mischief.

Secondly, it wasn't an outside enemy using some twisted art to attach itself to Zhang Yuan in an attempt to sneak into Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Third, it was not the case of Zhang Yuan himself undergoing any strange transformation.

Finally, that shadow attached to Zhang Yuan seemed to possess neither consciousness nor intention of its own.

*No wonder the Altar of Wanfa Sect and the Mountain Defense Array had not reacted at all.*

Lei Jun carefully studied the shadow and could not sense any evil aura or demonic miasma within it whatsoever.

The shadow itself was neither righteous nor evil, impartial and unbiased, neither good nor ill.

However, under the influence of this shadow, a person would become disordered inside and out, from soul to physical body.

Zhang Yuan was a case in point.

Lei Jun contacted the shadow with his own mana, and at first felt nothing, but as time went by, he began to develop the same symptoms.

His blood and energy were now thrown into chaos.

His thoughts drifted and scattered.

*The moment he realized this, Lei Jun immediately circulated his Mysterious Skill to suppress his mind and blood.*

The Celestial Master Seal deep in his spiritual soul also reacted right away, clearing his mind in a flash.

However, compared to the Celestial Master Seal and the True One Altar Cave Heaven, the reaction from that page of the Celestial Book in the cave heaven was much stronger.

There was no sign of hostility.

On the contrary, it actually seemed to be somewhat intimate.

Drawn by the Celestial Book, the shadow suddenly underwent an even greater change, turning into an indistinct black line. It was drawn into Lei Jun's spiritual soul then cast itself into the True One Altar Cave Heaven.

Lei Jun did not stop it, but continued to watch calmly.

The moment it entered the cave heaven, the black line turned back into a shadow and then touched the Celestial Book.

The shadow did not merge with the Celestial Book, but they were inextricably linked.

It was as if this page of the Celestial Book had become its own shadow.

Lei Jun could not help but marvel at the sight.

After being connected to the Celestial Book, the shadow's effect of throwing a person's mind and body into confusion vanished immediately, so Lei Jun did not even need to focus or use his arts to resist it anymore.

Lei Jun observed for a while longer, and sure enough, the shadow became completely quiet, simply sticking close to the Celestial Book without further movement.

At that point, Zhang Yuan slowly woke up.

"I checked you over, and there's nothing wrong with your body. How do you feel?" Lei Jun asked beside him.

He was now almost certain that the shadow was exactly the Fourth Rank Opportunity spoken of in the best lot.

It was just that for him, it was a Fourth Rank Opportunity, but for Zhang Yuan, it might be a disaster instead.

To be precise, anyone without enough cultivation or who lacked the Celestial Book would find it a disaster.

Zhang Yuan raised a hand to rub his head, his eyes still somewhat blank, and only after a long while did he come to his senses, "...Greetings, Elder Lei, I seem to be fine now, but just now…it felt like a nightmare, as if something shackled my soul."

Lei Jun planned to further study that shadow later, but for now, he gently reassured Zhang Yuan, then asked, "Do you remember where you encountered all this?"

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