Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Misfortune: Starting from the Celestial Master’s Mansion
Chapter 257: Beat him into an idiot!

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

The Wuyou Tribulation shattered, 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.

The Ye Clan of Jinzhou, under Ye Moquan’s direction, had arranged the Wuyou 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.

However, Lei Jun could sense that the jade contained an inner world of its own, where spiritual energy flowed in cycles, endlessly revolving.

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 the Grand Celestial Jade was 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 the Celestial Cycle itself…

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 the Grand Celestial Jade.

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

Ye Han’s Treasure Tower Scroll and Flowing Star Sleeves had 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 other Ye Clan members to perform the Words as a Face technique.

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 the Ye Clan Ancestral Land.

Ye Moquan’s Wuyou Tribulation was not like the Four Seasons Military Ritual, which had encompassed almost all of the Three Jin Regions.

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

Tianle Mountain was located in the northeastern mountains of Jinzhou, a considerable distance from the Ye Clan Ancestral Land.

Even a Seventh Heaven cultivator’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 the Ye Clan Ancestral Land—a result of the Celestial Ground-Through Talisman he 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 the Celestial Ground-Through Talisman on 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 of demonic aura was erupting on that side!

Such a massive and pure demonic presence was something even human cultivator strongholds like the Blood River Sect or the Vast Void Temple could hardly replicate.

Which meant…

A Grand Demon.

And one that was equivalent to a Ninth Heaven human cultivator—a true apex existence.

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

Ye Moquan’s attempt to channel celestial light through his Wuyou Tribulation had 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 the Ye Clan Ancestral Land.

Not only was his Celestial Ground-Through Talisman resonating, but he also summoned the Illusory Mirror to 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-like demonic aura, Lei Jun also noticed streaks of crimson drifting across the sky.

It seemed that aside from the Grand Demon, Wei Anchang, the Blood River Sect sect master and a Ninth HeavenWitch Sect cultivator, had also arrived.

Lei Jun wasted no time.

As tendrils of Nine Heavens Divine Thunder crackled around him, he raised the Tianshi Sword once more, sending it soaring into the sky—this time aimed at a location slightly outside the Ye Clan Ancestral Land.

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

She had set up a Celestial Ground-Through Talisman at the outskirts of the Ye Clan Ancestral Land upon her arrival, precisely for this moment.

Although the turbulent spiritual energy and demonic aura now 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 the Tianshi Sword to Tianle Mountain so quickly was that he had eliminated the need for travel time altogether. Now, he would do the same—instantly transporting the sword to the Ye Clan Ancestral Land.

The Celestial Ground-Through Talisman gleamed in Lei Jun’s eyes.

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

Above him, the Tianshi Sword was surrounded by two Two-Element Celestial Talismans, revolving in orbit.

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

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

The Tianshi Sword disappeared.

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 the Ye Clan Ancestral Land.

It landed exactly at the designated point set by Tang 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 the Upper Three Heavens realm, 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-destroyed Tianle Mountain.

He, too, moved toward the Ye 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 the Ye Clan Ancestral Land in 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 contact Xu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiaotang.

Xu Yuanzhen had yet to respond.

Tang Xiaotang, however, replied after a short delay: "Where are you now? The Tianshi Sword and I are heading toward Youzhou!"

Lei Jun gave a brief summary of his situation before asking Tang Xiaotang about what had happened earlier at the Ye 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 the Southern Wasteland Witch Sect and the Blood River Sect sect master, Wei Anchang.

The other was a Grand Demon from the Eastern Sea—the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King, a demon whose reputation rivaled that of Sea King Ju.

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

The Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King had flown in from the northwest.

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

They weren’t necessarily going to help Ye Moquan.

Their target was whoever was most vulnerable.

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

His situation was even worse than expected.

If not for that, he wouldn’t have prepared the Wuyou Tribulation as 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, the old patriarch of the Ye Clan of Jinzhou was formidable when he truly fought.

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

A Life-and-Death Tribulation, a do-or-die move.

He completely detonated the Ye Clan Ancestral Land.

The ancestral wards, already strained from being forced into reverse operation, exploded further. Under the power of Ye Moquan’sLife-and-Death Tribulation, the entire Ye Clan Ancestral Land turned 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 Moquan was severely wounded once again by Xu 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 the Ye Clan Ancestral Land.

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

"The Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King?"

Lei Jun was slightly surprised when he heard this, and information about the Grand Demon quickly flashed through his mind.

The Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King was a powerful demon equivalent to a Ninth Heaven human cultivator. However, it rarely appeared on land, often rampaging through the vast oceans instead.

That said, during the Eastern Sea Demon Invasion, the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King had participated as one of the leaders alongside Sea King Ju.

Yet both had suffered defeat at the hands of the Empress.

However, the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King hadn’t been as severely injured as Sea 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 the Tang Imperial Family and coastal regions, this Grand Demon possessed two main abilities.

One was the ability to control Nine 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 other Grand Demons.

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

But why had it suddenly drawn Xu Yuanzhen’s attention?

While Xu Yuanzhen was 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 the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King before, never fought it in person. But now that I have, it feels strangely familiar!"

Familiar in what way?

Previously, a mysterious figure had ambushed Former Tianshi Li Qingfeng over the Great River, assassinated Li Hongyu during the Li Family Revolt at Mount Longhu, and attempted to steal the Tianshi Robe.

This person’s concealment techniques were so advanced that even experts like Xu Yuanzhen, Tang Xiaotang, Yuan Mobai, and even the now-deceased Li Qingfeng and Li Hongyu had 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 Yuanzhen and Tang Xiaotang had only heard of the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King’s abilities but had never encountered them firsthand.

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

The mysterious figure was undoubtedly human, not a Grand Demon in human form.

Yet their concealment methods were strikingly similar to the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King’s abilities.

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 Yuanzhen shifted her focus to the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King.

Finding no advantage to be gained, the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King didn’t linger and immediately fled.

One chased, one escaped, and both quickly disappeared.

After Tang Xiaotang repelled Lin Lishan, Fang Du, and the others, both Xu Yuanzhen and the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King had already vanished without a trace.

Attempting to contact Xu Yuanzhen yielded no response for the time being, so Tang Xiaotang ultimately decided to head north to hunt down Ye Moquan.

Though Xu Yuanzhen had dealt him a heavy blow, Tang Xiaotang was unwilling to let him escape so easily.

Unlike the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King, who had disappeared without a trace, Ye Moquan’s whereabouts were clear.

Firstly, he was severely injured by Xu Yuanzhen.

Secondly, Wei Anchang had 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 the Tang Dynasty’s intelligence network that had drawn Wei Anchang to Jinzhou, he wasn’t necessarily fixated on Xu Yuanzhen.

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

However, if he could personally kill a Ninth Heaven cultivator, it would be an even greater prize.

Between two targets—one wielding the Liheng Halberd and uninjured, the other wounded and without the Chess Star Seal—the choice was obvious.

For Wei Anchang, growing stronger was the ultimate goal.

His personal grudge against Ye Moquan was secondary.

"But speaking of which, Senior Sister’s final attack on Ye Moquan seemed… 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 the Ye Clan Ancestral Land.

The dust had already settled there—both Xu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiaotang were gone.

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

But after hearing Tang Xiaotang’s description and sensing the flow of spiritual energy here, Lei Jun knew that Ye Moquan had 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 been trampled by barbarians.

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

Not a single Ye Clan descendant had remained inside—they had all been sent away beforehand, precisely because of this.

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

The Ye Clan Ancestral Shrine had likely been secretly relocated as well.

Now, the scholarly lineage of the Ye Clan in Jinzhou had been destroyed, just like the Lin Clan’s in Youzhou.

Although Ye Moquan was still alive, the future of the Ye Clan of Jinzhou had suddenly become uncertain.

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

To the north of Jinzhou, in the Yunzhou region where Xuanyan Temple was located, chaos had erupted due to internal strife at the temple, making the area unstable.

But if Ye Moquan managed to get there, he could finally catch his breath.

The Chess Star Seal was waiting for him there.

With the clan’s heirloom treasure in hand, and with Xu Yuanzhen and the Liheng Halberd not pursuing him, Ye Moquan had the confidence to hold off any pursuers.

Meanwhile, Tang Xiaotang and Wei Anchang remained wary of each other.

Amidst the chaotic battle, their paths veered away from Yunzhou and turned eastward.

In the end, Ye Moquan fled into Youzhou.

However, he did not go to the Lin Clan Ancestral Land.

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

The second strongest expert in the Tang Imperial Family—

Prince Zhao, Zhang Teng.

Although Prince Zhao’s Mansion did not have the same deep-rooted history as the Lin Clan Ancestral Land, it had long been established as the Tang Dynasty’s primary line of defense in the Northern Frontier.

It had been meticulously developed to deter demonic threats from the outside while keeping the Lin Clan of Youzhou in check internally.

Rather than calling it a mansion, it was more fitting to call it Prince Zhao’s City.

One of the Three Great Martial Divine Weapons controlled by the Tang Imperial Family, the World-Suppressing Blade, was also housed here.

Now, with Ye Moquan taking refuge inside alongside the Chess Star Seal, and Tang Xiaotang and Wei Anchang still watching each other, there was no chance of a direct assault.

Seeing no advantage to be gained, Wei Anchang withdrew.

Tang Xiaotang lingered in Youzhou for a while.

Until an urgent message arrived from both the Tianshi Mansion and the Tang Imperial Family:

In Guanzhong, the Pure Yang Palace had been breached by a Grand Demon!

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

"It is said that there was a traitor within Pure 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 Palace was the holy land of the Daoist Alchemical Sect. In the past century or two, it had even been regarded as the foremost Daoist sanctuary, possibly the leading sect of the entire Tang Dynasty.

Beyond its Ninth Heaven Great Ascension sages, it also housed numerous top-tier Daoist Alchemical Sect experts.

However, the great Western Wasteland Demon War over a decade ago had severely weakened Pure Yang Palace, forcing even Sect Master Huang Xuanpu to retreat into seclusion for years, halting the palace’s rise in influence.

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

For example, Guan Jing, who had come to Jinzhou to observe the battle, was currently the White Tiger Elder of Pure 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 within Pure Yang Palace, including Brother Gu, have perished, and the number of wounded is even greater."

Lei Jun listened in silence.

The Brother Gu Yuan Mobai referred to was the Black Tortoise Elder of Pure Yang Palace.

Now, he was confirmed dead.

One elder betrayed.

Another elder slain.

The casualties were immense.

Following the Western Wasteland Demon War, Pure Yang Palace had now suffered yet another devastating blow.

"The Grand Demons of the Northern Frontier have almost all gathered," Yuan Mobai’s tone grew heavier. "And they managed to cross the Great River en masse without attracting attention."

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

The Great River and Great Jiang were formidable natural barriers, integral to the spiritual energy network 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 cultivated demonic aura, found it much harder to cross these barriers compared to human cultivators or spirit beasts, who refined spiritual energy.

Even the strongest Grand Demons would cause a commotion when crossing the Great River or Great Jiang.

But now, even mid- and lower-level demon clans had managed to cross silently and wreak havoc in Guanzhong.

That was highly unusual.

Someone within the Tang Dynasty had secretly aided them.

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

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

Even if Wang Xuan had truly betrayed Pure Yang Palace, Lei Jun suspected the involvement of the Four Great Surnames and Five Prominent Clans within the Tang Dynasty.

The timing was no coincidence.

The gathering of Northern Frontier Grand Demons happened to coincide with Xu Yuanzhen’s duel with Ye Moquan.

It was rare for such a large number of Grand Demons to assemble in one place, yet instead of spreading out to attack Jinzhou or Youzhou, they had chosen to target Guanzhong in the northwest.

Lei Jun found it hard to believe that Ye Moquan, Ye Yan, and Lin Huan had no implicit understanding with the demon clans.

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

Ye Moquan and Lin Huan wouldn’t openly join forces with Grand Demons to fight a common enemy.

For one, they didn’t fully trust the demon clans either.

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

The Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King’s sudden appearance in Jinzhou had been Ye Moquan’s backup plan, but on the surface, he still wouldn’t openly collaborate with it.

Its role was more to stir up chaos.

And if Ye Moquan had been fatally wounded, even the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King might have turned on him to claim his life.

And with Ye Yan heading north, the Eastern Sea coastline was already long and difficult to defend. With Chu Guolao stationed in Suzhou, overseeing both the north and south, who could say a word against it?

But all of this was based on the assumption that Grand Demons would actually invade from the east.

By taking proactive responsibility for defending their territories, Ye Yan and Chu Xiuyuan ensured that they themselves remained untouchable—even the Tang Imperial Family would struggle to order them around.

The demon clans were 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 some Eastern Sea Grand Demons had 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.

Unless Ye Yan and Chu Xiuyuan both left the eastern coast.

In that case, it would likely be Sea King Ju’s turn to lead a horde of Eastern Sea Grand Demons ashore in devastation.

"Sea King Ju is certainly formidable—single-handedly 'keeping in check' two Ninth Heaven Grand 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, **"The Divine Strategy Army in 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 with Guanzhong in crisis, His Majesty has issued an edict commanding the Fang Family of Jingxiang and experts from the Shushan Sect to head north into Guanzhong to support the local imperial clansmen and Pure Yang Palace in stabilizing the situation."**

During the Western Wasteland Demon War, the Xiao Clan of Longxi suffered devastating losses. Now, even if they wanted to assist Pure Yang Palace, they were powerless to do so.

Fortunately, neither the Shushan Sect nor the Fang Family of Jingxiang were dragging their feet. As soon as they received the news, they immediately assembled their top experts and led teams north to aid Guanzhong.

From the Fang Family of Jingxiang, no less than Fang 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 the southwest of the Tang Dynasty terribly exposed."

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

The Western Wasteland Demon War had inflicted catastrophic losses on the human cultivation world—it was a bitter victory.

But victory, nonetheless.

For the demon clans west of the Tang Dynasty, a regretful defeat was still a defeat. Their losses had been even greater.

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

Now, the only remaining powerful demon clans in the west were those in the Snowy Plateau.

Ironically, this group had a deep-seated rivalry with the Grand Demons of the southern regions of the Tang Dynasty, and both sides had inflicted heavy casualties on each other.

While demons were not as drawn to slaughtering each other as they were to devouring human cultivators and spiritual creatures, internal strife among them was just as brutal and bloody.

Because top-tier Grand Demons were constantly at war beyond the southwestern frontier, the Tang Dynasty’s southwestern borders had remained relatively stable in recent years. Even Southern Wasteland had enjoyed a rare period of peace, with fewer invasions than before.

"Something has also happened at Vajra Monastery. They were attacked by Vast Void Temple and 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 that Vajra Monastery has undergone a major upheaval, and the flow of spiritual energy in the surrounding area has become abnormally erratic."

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

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

From what he had gathered, the Upper-Moderate Omen in the northeastern mountains of Jinzhou, at Tianle Mountain, had referred to Ye Moquan’sWuyou Tribulation, which had been overseen by Ye Han.

The other two Lower-Moderate Omens likely corresponded to Wei Anchang and the Thousand-Leaf Butterfly King.

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

Judging by the traces left behind, it seemed to be a Jinzhou Ye Clan mystical art known as Celestial Catastrophe.

Also called World Catastrophe.

This was yet another backup plan prepared by Ye Moquan.

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

However, with the destruction of the Ye Clan Ancestral Land, Broken Dragon Ravine had lost its value.

The Ye Clan members 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 the Fifth-Grade Opportunity mentioned in the Moderate-Moderate Omen was, but he did not force the issue.

His real purpose in coming here was to gather as many scrolls and spiritual artifacts related to the Jinzhou Ye Clan as 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.

The Ye 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 was Prince Zhao, Zhang Teng.

Despite his youthful appearance, he was an imperial elder of the royal lineage, famed for many years, and a son of Emperor Taizong of Tang.

Once, a major function of Prince Zhao’s Mansion in Youzhou had been to keep the Lin Clan of Youzhou in check.

But times had changed.

Now, the Lin Clan of Youzhou and the Ye Clan of Jinzhou were allied with Prince Zhao’s Mansion.

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

As long as Zhang Teng still coveted the throne in the imperial palace, there was a foundation for cooperation between him, Ye Moquan, Lin Huan, and the others.

Ye Yan was at the Youzhou coast.

Ye Moquan unfolded 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 Moquan forcibly steadied his mind and began to test himself in various ways.

He knew the cause.

It was the final strike Xu Yuanzhen had landed on him during the battle in Jinzhou.

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

But she had not.

Her attack had targeted Ye Moquan’s very 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 would wither away, just like the aged and senile...