After sending Ye Han down to reunite with Ye Lingxi, Lei Jun no longer paid her any mind.

TheWuyou Tribulationshattered, and the glowing chessboard in the sky above Tianle Mountain completely collapsed, scattering streaks of light in all directions.

At the same time, something seemed to fall from the heavens.

Lei Jun had been occupied dealing with Ye Han earlier, but now he had the time to reach out and beckon the object toward him.

When it landed in his hand, he saw that it was an entirely black spiritual stone, its texture resembling jade.

TheYe Clan of Jinzhou, under Ye Moquan’s direction, had arranged theWuyou Tribulation, preparing numerous ritual artifacts and rare spiritual materials.

As the ritual activated, these artifacts and spiritual items were consumed in large quantities.

But after Lei Jun and Xu Yuanzhen worked together—one near, one far—to break the ritual, the scattered radiance caused the artifacts to suffer the same backlash as Ye Han, leading to their destruction.

Only this peculiar gem remained intact, though its spiritual energy had been greatly depleted.

The vast amount of spiritual energy it had lost was slowly recovering over time.

[Grand Celestial Jade]

As Lei Jun cradled the strange-looking jade in his palm, a sudden realization flashed through his mind, revealing its name.

Taking a closer look, he saw that theGrand Celestial Jadewas shaped like an olive. Other than being entirely black, its surface shimmered with tiny specks of light, resembling a serene night sky where starlight flickered.

Overall, it looked like a miniature cosmos—a celestial river shrunk down to size.

Indeed, its form echoed the shape of theCelestial Cycleitself…

As Lei Jun delved into its power and deeper meaning, a series of ideas rapidly formed in his mind.

However, the current situation and timing were not ideal, so he suppressed his thoughts and stored away theGrand Celestial Jade.

He swiftly disposed of Ye Han and the others' corpses, using theDark Side of the Heavenly Bookto erase all traces of the battle.

Ye Han’sTreasure Tower ScrollandFlowing Star Sleeveshad been destroyed.

Lei Jun wasn’t particularly interested in those two artifacts. What he truly valued were the scrolls used by Ye Han and the otherYe Clanmembers to perform theWords as a Facetechnique.

While they might seem useless at the moment, once Lei Jun took the time to carefully study and organize them, they could prove invaluable in unexpected ways.

As he was tidying up the battlefield, a sudden sensation flickered through his mind.

He had an indistinct feeling that something had changed in the direction of theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

Ye Moquan’sWuyou Tribulationwas not like theFour Seasons Military Ritual, which had encompassed almost all of theThree Jin Regions.

But to maintain secrecy, it also wouldn’t have been placed too close to home.

Tianle Mountainwas located in the northeastern mountains of Jinzhou, a considerable distance from theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

Even aSeventh Heavencultivator’s senses and vision could not directly observe such a faraway location.

But if a connection had already been established between the two points, then the situation was different.

Lei Jun’s current feeling came precisely from theYe Clan Ancestral Land—a result of theCelestial Ground-Through Talismanhe had specially gifted to Xu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiaotang.

Due to the heightened defensive wards at the ancestral land, directly contacting Xu Yuanzhen was difficult at the moment. However, reaching Tang Xiaotang was still possible.

Yet right now, even theCelestial Ground-Through Talismanon Tang Xiaotang’s end seemed to be disrupted.

Interference upon interference—there were different kinds of obstruction.

Lei Jun could distinctly sense that an overwhelming surge ofdemonic aurawas erupting on that side!

Such a massive and pure demonic presence was something even human cultivator strongholds like theBlood River Sector theVast Void Templecould hardly replicate.

Which meant…

AGrand Demon.

And one that was equivalent to aNinth Heavenhuman cultivator—a true apex existence.

Judging from this, the battle between Xu Yuanzhen and Ye Moquan at theYe Clan Ancestral Landwas about to reach its climax.

Ye Moquan’s attempt to channel celestial light through hisWuyou Tribulationhad been thwarted, proving that not only had his backup plan been forced into early activation, but it had also been depleted.

Regardless of his original intentions, this meant that opportunists—whether scavengers or Grand Demons—no longer had anything to fear.

With the decisive battle between Xu Yuanzhen and Ye Moquan approaching its conclusion, the surrounding forces were preparing to make their move.

Lei Jun gazed in the direction of theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

Not only was hisCelestial Ground-Through Talismanresonating, but he also summoned theIllusory Mirrorto enhance his observation.

Faintly, he could see storm clouds gathering on the horizon—both literally and figuratively. The battle was raging, and the situation was spiraling into utter chaos.

Beyond the ominous, smoke-likedemonic aura, Lei Jun also noticed streaks of crimson drifting across the sky.

It seemed that aside from theGrand Demon,Wei Anchang, theBlood River Sectsect master and aNinth HeavenWitch Sectcultivator, had also arrived.

Lei Jun wasted no time.

As tendrils ofNine Heavens Divine Thundercrackled around him, he raised theTianshi Swordonce more, sending it soaring into the sky—this time aimed at a location slightly outside theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

More precisely, the exact point had been arranged in advance withTang Xiaotang.

She had set up aCelestial Ground-Through Talismanat the outskirts of theYe Clan Ancestral Landupon her arrival, precisely for this moment.

Although the turbulent spiritual energy anddemonic auranow severely hampered the talisman’s broader functions, its most fundamental role—positioning—remained unaffected.

Lei Jun was confident.

The reason he had been able to bring theTianshi SwordtoTianle Mountainso quickly was that he had eliminated the need for travel time altogether. Now, he would do the same—instantly transporting the sword to theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

TheCelestial Ground-Through Talismangleamed in Lei Jun’s eyes.

A faint glimmer shone from his brow, casting a thin ray of light toward the distant sky.

Above him, theTianshi Swordwas surrounded by twoTwo-Element Celestial Talismans, revolving in orbit.

Thunder roared, and a dragon’s cry echoed. The immense power ofmagnetismonce again envelopedTianle Mountain, causing the already crumbling terrain—devastated by his battle with Ye Han—to collapse even further.

As the force ofmagnetismreached its peak, both the thunder and dragon’s cry suddenly vanished.

TheTianshi Sworddisappeared.

Only a reverberating hum, like the sound of space itself being torn apart, remained.

A streak of purple light flashed across the sky—half lightning, half sword glow—trailing a long violet tail as it streaked toward theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

It landed exactly at the designated point set byTang Xiaotang.

She would be the first to sense its arrival and catch this express delivery.

Lei Jun took a deep breath, working to recover the massive amount of mana he had expended for this long-range sword transmission.

Since reaching theUpper Three Heavensrealm, this had been his most costly move yet.

Watching the violet glow fade into the distance, Lei Jun replenished his energy while tidying the battlefield before departing from the now-destroyedTianle Mountain.

He, too, moved toward theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

But soon, he noticed a sudden burst of dazzling light in the distant sky.

A violent tremor erupted from his destination!

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was in chaos, and violent qi gales still swept in all directions.

But over at theYe Clan Ancestral Landin Jinzhou, the signs of battle among the top experts had disappeared.

While carefully surveying the local situation, Lei Jun waited for the turbulent spiritual energy to settle slightly before attempting to contactXu YuanzhenandTang Xiaotang.

Xu Yuanzhen had yet to respond.

Tang Xiaotang, however, replied after a short delay:"Where are you now? TheTianshi Swordand I are heading toward Youzhou!"

Lei Jun gave a brief summary of his situation before asking Tang Xiaotang about what had happened earlier at theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

"After Ye Moquan was injured and his remote celestial link was severed, he couldn’t withstand Senior Sister’s attacks. In a desperate last stand, he detonated his own ancestral land!"Tang Xiaotang said swiftly.

She added a few more details, allowing Lei Jun to grasp the full situation.

At the same time that the celestial link was severed, powerful figures from the northwest and southwest approached.

One was the current strongest cultivator of theSouthern Wasteland Witch Sectand theBlood River Sectsect master,Wei Anchang.

The other was aGrand Demonfrom theEastern Sea—theThousand-Leaf Butterfly King, a demon whose reputation rivaled that ofSea King Ju.

Wei Anchang had come from the southwest of theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

TheThousand-Leaf Butterfly Kinghad flown in from the northwest.

Clearly, both were here to take advantage of the situation.

They weren’t necessarily going to helpYe Moquan.

Their target was whoever was most vulnerable.

And without the celestial link, already injured byXu Yuanzhen’sFragmented Danxin, and lacking theChess Star Seal, Ye Moquan could no longer withstand Xu Yuanzhen, who wielded theLiheng Halberd.

His situation was even worse than expected.

If not for that, he wouldn’t have prepared theWuyou Tribulationas a contingency plan. Unfortunately, not only had he been forced to reveal it prematurely, but it had also been broken in a short time.

That said, despite his usual reluctance to engage in direct combat, theold patriarch of the Ye Clan of Jinzhouwas formidable when he truly fought.

In a desperate gamble, he unleashed his strongest mystical ability.

ALife-and-Death Tribulation, a do-or-die move.

He completely detonated theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

The ancestral wards, already strained from being forced into reverse operation, exploded further. Under the power ofYe Moquan’sLife-and-Death Tribulation, the entireYe Clan Ancestral Landturned into a deathtrap, ready to bury both its master and his enemies.

The battlefield fell into utter chaos. With every expert on-site having their own agenda, the situation spiraled into a chaotic melee.

In the end,Ye Moquanwas severely wounded once again byXu Yuanzhen.

His earlier gamble had been to turn the tide or at least perish together with his enemies.

But now, with no more means to continue fighting,Ye Moquan, a man well-versed in hardship, did not dwell on it.

As the ancestral land collapsed, the violent surge of destruction ironically cleared a path for his escape northward.

Xu Yuanzhen, however, did not give chase.

For one, although she had injured him, she had also been obstructed by the explosion of theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

More importantly, she had suddenly set her sights on a new target.

"TheThousand-Leaf Butterfly King?"

Lei Jun was slightly surprised when he heard this, and information about theGrand Demonquickly flashed through his mind.

TheThousand-Leaf Butterfly Kingwas a powerful demon equivalent to aNinth Heavenhuman cultivator. However, it rarely appeared on land, often rampaging through the vast oceans instead.

That said, during theEastern Sea Demon Invasion, theThousand-Leaf Butterfly Kinghad participated as one of the leaders alongsideSea King Ju.

Yet both had suffered defeat at the hands of theEmpress.

However, theThousand-Leaf Butterfly Kinghadn’t been as severely injured asSea King Ju.

Rumors had it that a few years ago, it had resurfaced near the coast, once again eyeing the land.

According to reports from theTang Imperial Familyand coastal regions, thisGrand Demonpossessed two main abilities.

One was the ability to controlNine Heavens Qi Gales, which allowed it to unleash devastating tsunamis at sea and wreak havoc even on land.

Its flight speed was also unmatched by most otherGrand Demons.

The other was its profound mastery of concealment, deception, and disguise.

But why had it suddenly drawnXu Yuanzhen’sattention?

WhileXu Yuanzhenwas known for her free-spirited nature, not just anything could catch her interest—especially at a time like this.

Concealment, deception, disguise… Lei Jun suddenly had a thought:"Senior Sister, does this demon’s abilities seem familiar to you?"

"Mm!"Tang Xiaotang responded immediately."I’d only ever heard of theThousand-Leaf Butterfly Kingbefore, never fought it in person. But now that I have, it feels strangely familiar!"

Familiar in what way?

Previously, a mysterious figure had ambushedFormer Tianshi Li Qingfengover the Great River, assassinatedLi Hongyuduring theLi Family Revolt at Mount Longhu, and attempted to steal theTianshi Robe.

This person’s concealment techniques were so advanced that even experts likeXu Yuanzhen,Tang Xiaotang,Yuan Mobai, and even the now-deceasedLi QingfengandLi Hongyuhad failed to uncover their true identity.

While there had been suspicions, they had only been able to eliminate known experts as possibilities rather than find concrete clues.

Until now,Xu YuanzhenandTang Xiaotanghad only heard of theThousand-Leaf Butterfly King’sabilities but had never encountered them firsthand.

But after facing it today, they both felt an uncanny resemblance.

The mysterious figure was undoubtedly human, not aGrand Demonin human form.

Yet their concealment methods were strikingly similar to theThousand-Leaf Butterfly King’sabilities.

Even if they weren’t working together, there was definitely a connection between them—at the very least, a significant interaction.

Thus, without hesitation,Xu Yuanzhenshifted her focus to theThousand-Leaf Butterfly King.

Finding no advantage to be gained, theThousand-Leaf Butterfly Kingdidn’t linger and immediately fled.

One chased, one escaped, and both quickly disappeared.

AfterTang XiaotangrepelledLin Lishan,Fang Du, and the others, bothXu Yuanzhenand theThousand-Leaf Butterfly Kinghad already vanished without a trace.

Attempting to contactXu Yuanzhenyielded no response for the time being, soTang Xiaotangultimately decided to head north to hunt downYe Moquan.

ThoughXu Yuanzhenhad dealt him a heavy blow,Tang Xiaotangwas unwilling to let him escape so easily.

Unlike theThousand-Leaf Butterfly King, who had disappeared without a trace,Ye Moquan’swhereabouts were clear.

Firstly, he was severely injured byXu Yuanzhen.

Secondly,Wei Anchanghad locked onto him the moment he fled and had been relentlessly pursuing him, engaging in intermittent skirmishes that further slowed his escape.

While it was theTang Dynasty’sintelligence network that had drawnWei Anchangto Jinzhou, he wasn’t necessarily fixated onXu Yuanzhen.

In fact, even if he turned around and left now, he had already gained immensely by absorbing thekilling intentfrom the previous battle. His trip was well worth it.

However, if he could personally kill aNinth Heavencultivator, it would be an even greater prize.

Between two targets—one wielding theLiheng Halberdand uninjured, the other wounded and without theChess Star Seal—the choice was obvious.

ForWei Anchang, growing stronger was the ultimate goal.

His personal grudge againstYe Moquanwas secondary.

"But speaking of which, Senior Sister’s final attack onYe Moquanseemed… different."

Tang Xiaotang mused,"When I clashed with him just now, something felt odd. Let me test it again."

As soon as she finished speaking, the connection was cut off.

Hearing this, Lei Jun decided not to move closer to the heart of theYe Clan Ancestral Land.

The dust had already settled there—bothXu YuanzhenandTang Xiaotangwere gone.

At another time, he might have considered whether there were any spoils of war to collect, like when theLin Clan Ancestral Landin Jiangzhou was destroyed.

But after hearingTang Xiaotang’sdescription and sensing the flow of spiritual energy here, Lei Jun knew thatYe Moquanhad prepared for the worst from the very beginning.

By forcibly reversing the ancestral land’s formation, and ultimately triggering its complete destruction, the place had been utterly reduced to ruin—far worse than if it had beentrampled by barbarians.

Even if the earthquakes stopped and the storms calmed, the former site of theYe Clan Ancestral Landwas little more than barren land.

Not a singleYe Clandescendant had remained inside—they had all been sent away beforehand, precisely because of this.

Even theChess Star Seal, the clan’s heirloom treasure, had been taken elsewhere.

TheYe Clan Ancestral Shrinehad likely been secretly relocated as well.

Now, the scholarly lineage of theYe Clanin Jinzhou had been destroyed, just like theLin Clan’s in Youzhou.

AlthoughYe Moquanwas still alive, the future of theYe Clan of Jinzhouhad suddenly become uncertain.

Fortunately, for theold patriarch of the Ye Clan, things had not yet reached the worst possible outcome.

To the north of Jinzhou, in theYunzhouregion whereXuanyan Templewas located, chaos had erupted due to internal strife at the temple, making the area unstable.

But ifYe Moquanmanaged to get there, he could finally catch his breath.

TheChess Star Sealwas waiting for him there.

With the clan’s heirloom treasure in hand, and withXu Yuanzhenand theLiheng Halberdnot pursuing him,Ye Moquanhad the confidence to hold off any pursuers.

Meanwhile,Tang XiaotangandWei Anchangremained wary of each other.

Amidst the chaotic battle, their paths veered away fromYunzhouand turned eastward.

In the end,Ye Moquanfled intoYouzhou.

However, he did not go to theLin Clan Ancestral Land.

Instead, he arrived as a guest at the residence of another major power inYouzhou.

The second strongest expert in theTang Imperial Family—

Prince Zhao, Zhang Teng.

AlthoughPrince Zhao’s Mansiondid not have the same deep-rooted history as theLin Clan Ancestral Land, it had long been established as theTang Dynasty’sprimary line of defense in theNorthern Frontier.

It had been meticulously developed to deter demonic threats from the outside while keeping theLin Clan of Youzhouin check internally.

Rather than calling it amansion, it was more fitting to call itPrince Zhao’s City.

One of theThree Great Martial Divine Weaponscontrolled by theTang Imperial Family, theWorld-Suppressing Blade, was also housed here.

Now, withYe Moquantaking refuge inside alongside theChess Star Seal, andTang XiaotangandWei Anchangstill watching each other, there was no chance of a direct assault.

Seeing no advantage to be gained,Wei Anchangwithdrew.

Tang Xiaotanglingered inYouzhoufor a while.

Until an urgent message arrived from both theTianshi Mansionand theTang Imperial Family:

InGuanzhong, thePure Yang Palacehad been breached by aGrand Demon!

"Even if Grandmaster Huang’s health is poor, withPure Yang Palaceas his stronghold, it shouldn’t have fallen this quickly, right?"Lei Jun also received the news.

"It is said that there was a traitor withinPure Yang Palace,"Yuan Mobai said slowly."Elder Vermilion Bird, Wang Xuan. No further concrete details yet, and the exact reason remains unknown."

Elder Vermilion Bird, Wang Xuan…Lei Jun mused.

Pure Yang Palacewas the holy land of theDaoist Alchemical Sect. In the past century or two, it had even been regarded as the foremostDaoistsanctuary, possibly the leading sect of the entireTang Dynasty.

Beyond itsNinth Heaven Great Ascensionsages, it also housed numerous top-tierDaoist Alchemical Sectexperts.

However, the greatWestern Wasteland Demon Warover a decade ago had severely weakenedPure Yang Palace, forcing evenSect Master Huang Xuanputo retreat into seclusion for years, halting the palace’s rise in influence.

Traditionally,Pure Yang Palacehad four chief elders—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—who assisted the sect master.

For example,Guan Jing, who had come toJinzhouto observe the battle, was currently theWhite Tiger ElderofPure Yang Palace.

And now,Elder Vermilion Bird, Wang Xuan, had betrayed his sect and helped destroy its very foundation?

"Master, what’s the current situation over there?"

Yuan Mobai replied,"Grandmaster Huang is gravely injured, to the point of being unable to oversee affairs. Many withinPure Yang Palace, includingBrother Gu, have perished, and the number of wounded is even greater."

Lei Jun listened in silence.

TheBrother GuYuan Mobai referred to was theBlack Tortoise ElderofPure Yang Palace.

Now, he was confirmed dead.

One elder betrayed.

Another elder slain.

The casualties were immense.

Following theWestern Wasteland Demon War,Pure Yang Palacehad now suffered yet another devastating blow.

"The Grand Demons of theNorthern Frontierhave almost all gathered,"Yuan Mobai’s tone grew heavier."And they managed to cross theGreat Riveren masse without attracting attention."

Lei Jun’s expression darkened."In theTang Dynasty, among humans, someone must have aided them in secret."

TheGreat RiverandGreat Jiangwere formidable natural barriers, integral to thespiritual energynetwork of mountains and rivers.

The sheer concentration and volatility of spiritual energy in these places far surpassed that of ordinary lands.

Thus,Grand Demons, who cultivateddemonic aura, found it much harder to cross these barriers compared to human cultivators orspirit beasts, who refinedspiritual energy.

Even the strongestGrand Demonswould cause a commotion when crossing theGreat RiverorGreat Jiang.

But now, even mid- and lower-leveldemon clanshad managed to cross silently and wreak havoc inGuanzhong.

That was highly unusual.

Someone within theTang Dynastyhad secretly aided them.

Right now, the blame was being placed squarely onElder Vermilion Bird, Wang Xuan.

But even with his high status inPure Yang Palace, it would have been difficult for him alone to secretly mobilize such vast resources.

Even ifWang Xuanhad truly betrayedPure Yang Palace, Lei Jun suspected the involvement of theFour Great Surnames and Five Prominent Clanswithin theTang Dynasty.

The timing was no coincidence.

The gathering ofNorthern Frontier Grand Demonshappened to coincide withXu Yuanzhen’sduel withYe Moquan.

It was rare for such a large number ofGrand Demonsto assemble in one place, yet instead of spreading out to attackJinzhouorYouzhou, they had chosen to targetGuanzhongin the northwest.

Lei Jun found it hard to believe thatYe Moquan, Ye Yan, and Lin Huanhad no implicit understanding with thedemon clans.

Of course, everything was done behind the scenes—a silent exchange of favors.

Ye MoquanandLin Huanwouldn’t openly join forces withGrand Demonsto fight a common enemy.

For one, they didn’t fully trust thedemon clanseither.

For another, unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t set a precedent that could spiral out of control.

TheThousand-Leaf Butterfly King’ssudden appearance inJinzhouhad beenYe Moquan’sbackup plan, but on the surface, he still wouldn’t openly collaborate with it.

Its role was more to stir up chaos.

And ifYe Moquanhad been fatally wounded, even theThousand-Leaf Butterfly Kingmight have turned on him to claim his life.

And withYe Yanheading north, theEastern Seacoastline was already long and difficult to defend. WithChu Guolaostationed inSuzhou, overseeing both the north and south, who could say a word against it?

But all of this was based on the assumption thatGrand Demonswould actually invade from the east.

By taking proactive responsibility for defending their territories,Ye YanandChu Xiuyuanensured that they themselves remained untouchable—even theTang Imperial Familywould struggle to order them around.

Thedemon clanswere not a monolithic force either. It was difficult to command them under a strict hierarchy; if they were truly that disciplined, Lei Jun would already suspect that someEastern Sea Grand Demonshad secretly been aided by certain individuals, bypassing the expected routes to head north or south and infiltrate the inland.

The eastern front was just a distraction.

UnlessYe YanandChu Xiuyuanboth left the eastern coast.

In that case, it would likely beSea King Ju’sturn to lead a horde ofEastern Sea Grand Demonsashore in devastation.

"Sea King Ju is certainly formidable—single-handedly 'keeping in check' twoNinth HeavenGrand Scholars of humanity at once,"Lei Jun casually remarked.

This time, Yuan Mobai did not caution his disciple to watch his words and simply responded, **"TheDivine Strategy Armyin the capital has already fully mobilized, but they have yet to receive an official decree to leave the city. The imperial court is still observing the situation on both fronts.

"But withGuanzhongin crisis, His Majesty has issued an edict commanding theFang Family of Jingxiangand experts from theShushan Sectto head north intoGuanzhongto support the local imperial clansmen andPure Yang Palacein stabilizing the situation."**

During theWestern Wasteland Demon War, theXiao Clan of Longxisuffered devastating losses. Now, even if they wanted to assistPure Yang Palace, they were powerless to do so.

Fortunately, neither theShushan Sectnor theFang Family of Jingxiangwere dragging their feet. As soon as they received the news, they immediately assembled their top experts and led teams north to aidGuanzhong.

From theFang Family of Jingxiang, no less thanFang Huansheng, the great elder overseeing the clan while the clan leader was in seclusion, personally led the expedition—an unmistakable show of utmost priority.

Lei Jun remarked,"That leaves thesouthwestof theTang Dynastyterribly exposed."

The good news was, this was a risk they could afford to take.

TheWestern Wasteland Demon Warhad inflicted catastrophic losses on the human cultivation world—it was a bitter victory.

But victory, nonetheless.

For thedemon clanswest of theTang Dynasty, a regretful defeat was still a defeat. Their losses had been even greater.

That war had nearly wiped out the top-tierWestern Wasteland Grand Demons. It would take them at least a decade or two to recover.

Now, the only remaining powerfuldemon clansin the west were those in theSnowy Plateau.

Ironically, this group had adeep-seated rivalrywith theGrand Demonsof the southern regions of theTang Dynasty, and both sides had inflicted heavy casualties on each other.

Whiledemonswere not as drawn to slaughtering each other as they were to devouringhuman cultivatorsandspiritual creatures, internal strife among them was just as brutal and bloody.

Because top-tierGrand Demonswere constantly at war beyond thesouthwestern frontier, theTang Dynasty’ssouthwestern borders had remained relatively stable in recent years. EvenSouthern Wastelandhad enjoyed a rare period of peace, with fewer invasions than before.

"Something has also happened atVajra Monastery. They were attacked byVast Void Templeand are currently in chaos,"Yuan Mobai added.

He seemed to anticipate what Lei Jun was thinking and continued,"My intelligence channels have also been severed for the time being. I have yet to reestablish them, but I do know thatVajra Monasteryhas undergone a major upheaval, and the flow of spiritual energy in the surrounding area has become abnormally erratic."

After ending his conversation withYuan Mobai, Lei Jun fell into deep thought.

He was currently in the southeastern mountain range near the ruins of theYe Clan Ancestral Land, in the area mentioned in hisModerate-Moderate Omen—Broken Dragon Ravine.

From what he had gathered, theUpper-Moderate Omenin thenortheastern mountainsofJinzhou, atTianle Mountain, had referred toYe Moquan’sWuyou Tribulation, which had been overseen byYe Han.

The other twoLower-Moderate Omenslikely corresponded toWei Anchangand theThousand-Leaf Butterfly King.

After investigatingBroken Dragon Ravine, Lei Jun discovered that a ritual had also been conducted there.

Judging by the traces left behind, it seemed to be aJinzhou Ye Clanmystical art known asCelestial Catastrophe.

Also calledWorld Catastrophe.

This was yet another backup plan prepared byYe Moquan.

Its purpose was to detect and restrict the flow ofearth veins’ spiritual energy—and its intended target was none other than theEmpress.

However, with the destruction of theYe Clan Ancestral Land,Broken Dragon Ravinehad lost its value.

TheYe Clanmembers responsible for the site were highly disciplined. Upon sensing the upheaval at the ancestral land, they hesitated not a moment and immediately withdrew.

By the time Lei Jun arrived, the place was already deserted.

He had no way of knowing what theFifth-Grade Opportunitymentioned in theModerate-Moderate Omenwas, but he did not force the issue.

His real purpose in coming here was to gather as many scrolls andspiritual artifactsrelated to theJinzhou Ye Clanas possible.

Even if only fragments of clues remained, they would be valuable.

The more he collected, the more comprehensive his research would be in the future.

...

Youzhou, Prince Zhao’s Mansion.

TheYe Clan Leader of Jinzhou,Ye Moquan, stood inside a side chamber, watching as a tall man, who appeared no older than forty and wore embroidered robes, departed.

That man wasPrince Zhao, Zhang Teng.

Despite his youthful appearance, he was animperial elderof the royal lineage, famed for many years, and a son ofEmperor Taizong of Tang.

Once, a major function ofPrince Zhao’s MansioninYouzhouhad been tokeep the Lin Clan of Youzhou in check.

But times had changed.

Now, theLin Clan of Youzhouand theYe Clan of Jinzhouwere allied withPrince Zhao’s Mansion.

In some ways,Prince Zhao, Zhang Teng, was even a more trustworthy ally toYe Moquan.

As long asZhang Tengstill coveted thethrone in the imperial palace, there was a foundation for cooperation between him,Ye Moquan,Lin Huan, and the others.

Ye Yanwas at theYouzhou coast.

Ye Moquanunfolded paper and prepared to write him a letter.

But as he lifted his brush, his hand suddenly froze in midair.

For a moment, his mind went completely blank.

What was I about to write?

He paused for a long moment before regaining his senses.

Looking at the pristine white paper in front of him, then at the ink brush in his hand, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

Ye Moquanforcibly steadied his mind and began to test himself in various ways.

He knew the cause.

It was the final strikeXu Yuanzhenhad landed on him during the battle inJinzhou.

If she had been willing to risk injury, she could have slain him on the spot.

But she had not.

Her attack had targetedYe Moquan’svery soul.

It could not be easily cleansed and would continue to accumulate.

With the wound inflicted upon his spirit, his ability to think and remember would rapidly decline!

For now, the symptoms seemed mild, but in truth, his deterioration would only accelerate.

Until one day, his mind wouldwither away, just like the aged and senile...

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com