*Lei Jun hoped that the earthquake before him wouldn't disrupt her cultivation.*

Lei Jun didn't touch the cave mansion on his own, so he wouldn't end up startling the other person instead.

For this reason, he also didn't draw on the cave's Pure Yang Qi for his own cultivation, and simply played protector for his junior sister for the time being.

Lei Jun now turned to study his latest acquisition.

That Sheltering Spirit Veil.

After dealing with Bo Hong and Shuiying, this Southern Witch Sect treasure had ended up in Lei Jun's hands.

He gave it a quick once-over and knew what was what.

It really was a rare Spiritual Object.

The Fourth Rank Opportunity that the moderately good lot had mentioned was probably referring to this thing.

This treasure, as the name implied, could hide the spiritual nature a cultivator radiated.

Its power was so strong that it could even temporarily block the senses of an Upper Three Heavens cultivator.

Of course, you had to use it in advance, not wait until you were face to face to scramble for Buddha's help.

Especially in open terrain, even if you were far apart, the other guy might spot you using it right then and there.

That was exactly why Bo Hong's attention had always stayed on the north earlier.

He'd made up his mind, if anything went wrong and an Upper Three Heavens expert besides that Blood River Sect elder showed up, he'd play it safe and use the Sheltering Spirit Veil to cover himself and Shuiying—that is, all the fellow sectmates together—to lie low for a while.

Too bad Lei Jun had already suppressed his aura and hidden close by to observe, so they were right on top of each other, making this Spiritual Object useless.

And in the end, it had landed in Lei Jun's hands.

"Let's see how things play out, if needed, I'll use it, open it up, and get through today's mess first."

Lei Jun was thinking this, but given the moderately good lot, chances were things wouldn't get that bad.

Still, Lei Jun made sure to have a plan.

If the Breathing Soil Banner alone was enough to hide the cave mansion, then holding onto the Sheltering Spirit Veil was all the better.

Being able to block an Upper Three Heavens cultivator's senses up close, that ought to be good for more than just one trick.

A sneak attack, though—not happening.

And that was without even getting into the fact that his realm and strength were still a bit lacking right now.

Just talking about the Sheltering Spirit Veil itself, after you used it, it was best to just sit tight.

If he stirred up any killing intent or murderous thoughts, he'd probably end up backfiring—and alert any nearby Upper Three Heavens cultivator.

The Sheltering Spirit Veil was great, but far from omnipotent.

*Still, maybe, for me, there'll be other uses for it in the future... Lei Jun started coming up with ideas in his mind.*

Speaking of suppressing killing intent and murderous aura, Lei Jun thought back to the fight with the Blood River Sect crew.

He always made a habit of studying real combat experiences, learning more about his opponents—and reflecting on himself, too.

Besides Bo Hong's ability to recover—something that caught Lei Jun a bit off-guard—the second thing that had stuck out to him was how, when he silently snuck up behind Bo Hong, right before striking, the guy had sensed something.

He'd still been a little too slow, though.

Lei Jun's sneak attack had landed square and solid right on Bo Hong's head.

But Bo Hong had at least, in that instant, used a Blood River Secret Technique, sending out blood mist to shroud himself.

That blood mist had made it harder for Lei Jun to land a second hit.

Otherwise, if I'd smacked him on the head twice in a row, then, no matter how tough his recovery ability was, Bo Hong probably wouldn't have made it.

Bo Hong had spotted trouble because he was more perceptive than your average cultivator of the same realm.

This keen sense didn't come from Spiritual Soul or powerful mana, but because Middle Three Heavens experts in the Blood River Sect were especially sensitive to killing intent and murderous aura.

So now, as Lei Jun recalled it, he began to wonder if there was a way to amp up the effect of his Wind-Thunder Talisman, "Night Wind."

With his cultivation increasing, the enemies he'd have to face would have higher cultivation levels too, and come in more flavors.

*My spells still needed a lot of work... Lei Jun mused to himself.*

Thinking of that, he pulled out his Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.

When this Magic Artifact's mana was fully unleashed and it turned into a long staff, its offensive power was brutal.

No wonder Bo Hong and Shuiying couldn't take a beating.

But if it kept its normal, short rod form, the attack power seemed a bit lacking now.

Especially against people like Yongxiang Monk and Bo Hong.

Whenever Lei Jun went for the sap, for the sake of staying hidden, the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo was almost always a short stick, and he didn't use flashy Heavenly General or Five Ding Open Mountain Talismans.

With that in mind, it was time to think about how to raise the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo's power even further.

Lately, thanks to the Nine Abyss Earth Fire from the first layer of the True One Altar, Lei Jun's artifact refining had improved, and now he started having wicked thoughts about his bamboo sprout—wait, no, Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.

*Yeah, when I get back, I'll really give it some thought, draw up a plan... Hold on, enough.*

*Why am I still figuring out how to sap people?*

*Wasn't honesty and openness supposed to be my style?... Lei Jun felt conflicted inside.*

Forget it, for now it was best to focus on the present.

He reined in his drifting thoughts and got back on task.

The fierce battle still raged on, but the fighting was starting to shift location.

The good news, at least, was that it wasn't heading south, but gradually moving east.

Lei Jun waited a bit longer, and when there weren't any more signs of trouble, he finally made some bigger moves.

He used the Breathing Soil Banner to repair and fortify the mountain rocks around the cave mansion.

As the terrain stabilized, the Spiritual Energy started to settle. Even without Lei Jun balancing it with Yin Qi, the cave mansion stopped leaking any Pure Yang Qi.

Everything here looked as good as new, and from the outside, you couldn't tell there was anything special about it.

So even if that Blood River Sect elder was still around and came back searching for the whereabouts of Bo Hong, Shuiying, and the others, it'd be tough to find the hidden cave mansion.

Li Song only had limited Heavenly Net left, and after the wear and tear of this battle, now that he missed his chance, there was probably no way to repeat it.

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