CHAPTER 373: I’M JUST AFRAID SOMEONE MIGHT BAIL ON US.

The Xuezhan Mountain and River Style—a divine skill only mastered by the Blood River Sect’s top experts in the Upper Three Heavens—Lei Jun saw it and instantly understood.

Looking at the old man’s face and comparing it to portraits he had seen before, it was indeed Xiong Gang, an elder of the Blood River Sect who had reached the Eighth Heavenly Layer.

It was him who, not long ago, had caused Zhang Dongyu of Mount Shu Sect to die in Nangu Valley Plain.

According to Shangguan Peng’s previous intelligence, Xiong Gang had left Nangu Valley Plain and headed to Silver Flute Rock.

Shangguan Peng even tried to kill with a borrowed knife, wishing to use Xiong Gang to carry out his plan.

But later Shangguan Peng himself went to the lower reaches of Zhao River, where he was slain by Yang Yuqi and Gao Pu, and after that, no news of Xiong Gang followed. Lei Jun hadn’t expected that Xiong Gang would now quietly move to Zhu’an Mountain and assist Yuan Shanji from Gepo Mountain.

He should have been at least one of the backup plans Yuan Shanji had arranged.

*So it seemed that Yuan Shanji had been prepared all along,* Lei Jun thought as he nodded silently while observing the scene.

*Could it be that this is an inside-outside collusion, all directed at Sang Lu, the Holy Master of Gepo Mountain? Maybe they were waiting for Sang Lu to make a move, using her clearing house as an excuse, only to turn the table and stage an ambush against her, or to deal her a heavy blow!*

But...

Lei Jun glanced around once more.

*Even if the other experts from Gepo Mountain were busy assisting at Yintuo Mountain against the Blood River Sect, leaving Sang Lu to come here alone without any trusted powerhouse by her side, still, just Yuan Shanji and Xiong Gang wouldn’t be enough to trouble Gepo Mountain’s greatest master, right?*

Judging by the current situation, at worst Sang Lu might fail to clean house, but she herself should be able to withdraw or advance at will.

*Yuan Shanji, or perhaps the Sui dynasty descendants’ backup, was a bit lacking, wasn’t it?*

*Lei Jun was puzzled.*

High above Zhu’an Mountain, Yuan Shanji of Gepo Mountain and Xiong Gang of the Blood River Sect, both trapped deep in this storm, were now cursing under their breath.

Yuan Shanji kept a dark face and stayed silent, but Xiong Gang cursed out loud, "Where the hell did that bastard run off to!"

*Yuan Shanji never felt he had much respect for Sang Lu, but he also didn’t believe that just he and Xiong Gang alone could take her down.*

In addition to conspiring with the Sui dynasty’s descendants and making further arrangements using the mountains and earth veins of Zhu An River, there was originally supposed to be a third Eighth Heavenly Layer Witch Sect expert involved in this plot with them.

An elder from the Holy Land Samsara Abyss of the Witch Sect’s Curse Lineage, also at the Eighth Heavenly Layer.

But now, where was he?!

"Brother, I guess you’ve exhausted your tricks." Out in the wind and rain, a woman spoke up, "So maybe it’s time for all this to end."

It was Sang Lu, the Holy Master of Gepo Mountain herself, who spoke, "Tian Qing, strike now."

A man who looked like a young adult abruptly appeared in the Divine Dance Sacrificial Array, "Yes, Holy Master."

As soon as his words fell, a blazing sun seemed to rise, like morning light breaking through, revealing itself within the storm, illuminating the world with dazzling glory, fervent, grand, and magnificent.

Nine Songs, Lord of the East!

On Qianxin Mountain, Lei Jun watched the reflection on the mirror showing a young man from the Southern Wilderness, and raised his eyebrows slightly, "Li Tianqing..."

Just as Xu Yuanzhen, Tang Xiaotang, and Lei Jun, brilliant heirs from the Celestial Master Mansion, had earned wide renown, other top heirs from various major powers were also generally accounted for by all.

The Southern Wilderness was more closed off and mysterious; every now and then, a prodigy would pop up unexpectedly, or a famous figure would suddenly disappear or die.

In recent years, three Witch Sect prodigies had gained the most fame.

Blood River Sect’s Xing Feng.

Tian Cheng of Yintuo Mountain.

And Li Tianqing of Gepo Mountain.

Not only were they renowned among the Witch Sect’s five lineages in the Southern Wilderness, but venturing north, their names were well known throughout the Central Earth Great Tang, drawing attention everywhere and standing shoulder to shoulder with the greatest talents of their era.

The reason Samsara Abyss and Golden City Stronghold had no outstanding talents recently was typical of the customs of the Southern Wilderness.

Once, they did have such talents, but now...

The greatest prodigy of Samsara Abyss had vanished years ago, no sign of life or death, with rumors and speculation flying everywhere.

Of course, they weren’t the only unlucky ones.

The brightest of the younger generation from Golden City Stronghold had been confirmed dead more than ten years ago.

As for the reason for their demise...

Internal strife.

When the "Ghost King" Zonghan unified Golden City, it wasn’t exactly peaceful.

To be fair, Zonghan wasn’t devoid of appreciation for talent.

But he didn’t care whether the talent belonged to his enemies on the opposing side.

Besides them, the rising star of Worm Arts Holy Land, Yintuo Mountain’s Tian Cheng, had only recently been injured battling the Blood River Sect, barely escaping with her life.

The blood and chaos of the Southern Wilderness could be seen everywhere.

As for Gepo Mountain’s Li Tianqing, she had long been acclaimed as the youngest current Upper Three Heavens Great Witch of the Divine Dance Lineage. Though not Sang Lu’s direct disciple, there were rumors Sang Lu groomed her as an heir, and her reputation shone throughout and beyond the Southern Wilderness.

What caught Lei Jun’s attention today was that the Lord of the East Sacrificial Array, blazing like a real sun, radiated fierce masculine energy and crashed headlong against Xiong Gang, the Blood River Elder at the Eighth Heavenly Layer.

*Li Tianqing, had she already broken through to the Eighth Heavenly Layer?*

*Given her age, this rate of progress was astounding—even if not on par with Tang Xiaotang, it was still outrageous.*

*True, the recent surge in Global Spiritual Qi benefited cultivators and allowed young experts to rise faster, but the outside world truly underestimated Li Tianqing’s talent and potential... Lei Jun gazed thoughtfully toward Zhu’an Mountain.*

Yuan Shanji’s faction was shorthanded.

Sang Lu’s side, by contrast, had Li Tianqing who had just made a major breakthrough and greatly boosted her strength.

The balance of power wasn’t merely contrary to Yuan Shanji’s expectations—it had already tilted further out of his favor.

The situation had forced Yuan Shanji to start considering retreat options.

Still, for Yang Tai, danger aside, an opening had finally appeared.

No less than three Eighth Heavenly Layer Great Witches of Gepo Mountain acted at once, piling on layer after layer of Ghost God Sacrificial Arrays, causing the void here to shake violently, even twisting it to an extent.

"Strike now!" Yang Tai decided without hesitation.

He led his followers to immediately begin new sacrifices, further disrupting the circulation of Earth Vein Spiritual Qi.

Not to forge a new dragon vein for a new regime, but to enact a different kind of ritual instrument.

In an instant, the area around Zhu’an Mountain—already ravaged by battle—was thrown into an even greater upheaval.

The earth split open, interlocking with the Zhu An River’s waters, severing the river, and the land and water formed a crisscross like a giant "plus sign," violently swirling Earth Vein Spiritual Qi blasting skyward like hurricane-force winds.

In moments, the land and rivers overturned, the winds and clouds surged, and the heavens themselves felt as if they might collapse upside down.

Yuan Shanji and Xiong Gang saw the winds shift against them, and had already begun planning their escape—happy to see the chaos grow while quietly helping fuel it.

This sudden turn of events was beyond the expectations of Sang Lu and Li Tianqing, but with the two Eighth Heavenly Layer Great Witches of Gepo Mountain joining forces, they remained undaunted by the world tumbling around them, eyes set on Yuan Shanji.

Earth ruptured, and as the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi churned, cracks and deep valleys spread outward in all directions. The severed Zhu An River spilled torrents everywhere, producing the bizarre spectacle of rivers hanging in the sky.

Lei Jun, up on Qianxin Mountain, felt the tremors roll out this way, making the very peak shudder and sway.

*Instead of panic, Lei Jun felt a calm within—a sign that the moderately good lot assigned to the upper reaches of Zhu An River at Qianxin Mountain was about to be realized.*

Much like what had happened before in places like Qiluo Valley, where the Earth Veins shifted, Qianxin Mountain now suffered a massive earthquake, as if a dragon beneath the ground was turning over, shaking the whole landscape.

The main peak of Qianxin Mountain collapsed completely, while a gigantic crack split the valley, forming a deep rift into the earth, shrouded in darkness, like a beast with its gaping maw about to swallow someone whole.

The fierce energy of the Earth Vein blasted upward like hurricane winds, surging out from the depths.

Lei Jun waited patiently until the furious winds weakened, then dropped down into the rift below.

Diving deeper, he saw the churning tide of Earth Vein energy rushing by like an underground river.

*When Zhang Yuan was possessed by a shadow of the Celestial Book, it was likewise tied to the flow of that Earth Vein energy...* Lei Jun pondered.

As he thought, he felt his own page of the Celestial Book, and the shadow beside it, both trembling violently within the True One Altar Cave Heaven.