CHAPTER 372: I’M JUST AFRAID SOMEONE MIGHT STAND US UP.

The lot’s description had brought Lei Jun back to the moment when he had first acquired that page of the Celestial Book.

At that time, the newly won page of the Celestial Book itself had also been a pure boon, carrying neither risk nor consequence.

Yet afterward, contact between the Celestial Book and the Celestial Master Seal at the True One Altar had led Lei Jun into the starry vault within the book, entangling him in subsequent webs of karma and fate.

Earlier, when he had obtained that Celestial Book Dark Shadow, it, too, had seemed free of repercussions, but looking at it now, this fortune, as it unfolded, might still hold mysteries, all depending on whether one dared take the next step.

But a page of the Celestial Book ought to correspond to a third-rank opportunity; now, though, it might be a second-grade opportunity. *Lei Jun kept this quietly in mind.*

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, yet he hesitated only briefly. First, he reminded Yuan Mobai, "Master, do you plan to head directly into Zhu’an Mountain? Gepo Mountain is rife with internal strife—the turmoil may be fierce. Yuan Shanji is scheming in secret and will certainly guard against Sang Lu catching wind and sending forces for reckoning. I suspect he has other plans."

Yuan Mobai smiled and nodded, "I was thinking the same, I won’t take reckless risks; we should proceed according to the circumstances."

With that precaution in place, Lei Jun set aside most of his worry.

After slipping his apprentice a nod of acknowledgment, Yuan Mobai departed.

Lei Jun, following the moderately good lot’s guidance, journeyed upstream against the flow, heading toward the upper reaches of the Zhu An River.

Just as master and disciple had predicted, there would be no good meetings at Zhu’an Mountain, nor any peaceful feasts.

Lei Jun made his way to the upper Zhu An River, but even before reaching his intended destination around Qianxin Mountain, trouble was already brewing behind him, in the direction of Zhu’an Mountain.

First, wind and thunder roared to life; black clouds blanketed the sky.

Lei Jun glanced back. He saw the skies change hue, and glimpsed, in the shifting storm, the spirit forms of wind, thunder, and cloud gods swirling into dance, their movements exquisite, summoning winds and lightning, shaking the very heavens and earth.

The elegant, classical music swelled grand and majestic, stirring souls to their core.

It was none other than the pinnacle Ghost God Sacrificial Array dance from the Witchcraft Dance Sect—Nine Songs - Lord of the Clouds.

But soon another mighty melody erupted, followed by a sweep of black-and-white mist rising from the heart of Zhu’an Mountain.

Within that mist, it was as if an illusory portal had opened. From it, solemn shadowy deities emerged, seeming to wield dominion over life and death, joining realm to realm, standing upon the boundaries between the living and the dead.

Though Lei Jun had never witnessed such a scene before, his broad reading at the Celestial Master Mansion allowed him to recognize it at once—that was another great divine skill passed down only through the Sacred Land Gepo Mountain’s main Witchcraft Dance line.

The Dance of Ghostly Gods—Witch Spirits Ritual Array—Nine Songs · Great Commander!

Gepo Mountain’s heritage, famed throughout the lands, was home to several renowned ritual arrays. In the Lower Three Heavens, there were the Nine Songs · National Mourning and Nine Songs · Honoring Souls, used to sacrifice to ghosts and the dead.

Ascending higher, the Middle Three Heavens cultivators practiced arrays such as Nine Songs · Lord Xiang, Nine Songs · Lady Xiang, Nine Songs · River Earl, and Nine Songs · Mountain Ghost, offerings for earth deities.

And further above, it was only the Great Witches of the Upper Three Heavens who could master divine arrays to sacrifice to heavenly gods.

Nine Songs · Minor Commander.

Nine Songs · Great Commander.

Nine Songs · Lord of the East.

Nine Songs · Lord of the Clouds.

And, for many years now unseen in this world, the strongest Ghost God Array of Gepo Mountain—Nine Songs of the Eastern Emperor.

Gepo Mountain’s old legends held that Lord of the Clouds symbolized the natural gods of wind, clouds, thunder, and lightning, while the Great Commander ruled over life, death, and lifespans.

Now, over Zhu’an Mountain, the Ghost God Sacrificial Array of Nine Songs · Great Commander unfurled, as if doors between the realms of life and death had been thrown open, joining the two worlds. A solemn, deathly air seeped into this plane of living beings, not evil or malignant, merely filled with majesty, coldness, and mystery.

Lord of Clouds and Great Commander’s arrays unfolded simultaneously above Zhu’an Mountain, neither yielding, like two worlds colliding and squeezing against one another, distorting even the void itself.

Lei Jun took one look back and immediately understood why the light sphere had drawn a moderately unlucky lot for directly approaching Zhu’an Mountain.

The Upper Three Heavens masters of the Witchcraft Dance Sect, releasing Ghost God arrays. Though each array had its own mysteries, all churned and shook the void.

It was one thing if the Seventh Heavenly Layer cultivators of Gepo Mountain were involved.

But Sang Lu and Yuan Shanji both possessed Eighth Heavenly Layer cultivation. Once they unleashed their arrays and troubled the void, if Lei Jun sought to evade using the True One Altar Cave Heaven derived from the Celestial Master Seal, there was a good chance they’d detect the presence of the True One Altar Cave Heaven formation.

Since Lei Jun had kept his distance from Zhu’an Mountain, it remained of no concern.

He concentrated on his journey, pressing on toward Qianxin Mountain, his intended destination.

Arriving at the upper Zhu An River, Lei Jun entered the Qianxin Mountain range. Things here had not yet shifted; so he kept his composure and climbed to the summit to wait.

From there, when he glanced back toward Zhu’an Mountain, he saw the spatial distortion had grown even more severe—two of Gepo Mountain’s greatest masters were beginning to clash with true fire.

Sang Lu, worthy of the title as Gepo Mountain’s top expert, not only maintained her own Lord of the Clouds array, but stunningly initiated yet another ritual array.

It, too, was Nine Songs · Great Commander.

At this moment, it was not a contest of Sang Lu’s two arrays suppressing Yuan Shanji’s one—instead, Sang Lu was deftly interfering with and seizing control of Yuan Shanji’s Great Commander array, all while continuing her assault with the Lord of Clouds array.

Thus fierce wind and rain erupted, lightning flashed and thunder crashed, forcing Yuan Shanji steadily backward.

Until, suddenly, a streak of blood-red light burst from Zhu’an Mountain, shearing apart the thunderstorm above.

Lei Jun saw it—his eyes lit with excitement.

From such a distance, with Sang Lu and the others’ attention locked on one another, Lei Jun could now move more boldly.

He stood atop Qianxin Mountain and raised his Heavenly Eye Mirror.

Above Qianxin Mountain, a massive eye seemed to flash briefly into existence before fading.

Meanwhile, on the antique surface of the ancient mirror before Lei Jun, an image appeared,

a grim, hawk-featured elder, perhaps in his fifties or sixties, brandishing a blade skyward. The blade gleamed red as blood, striking out in all directions, wild and overbearing—just watching him from afar sent a chill through Lei Jun’s heart.