Shangguan Hong, Xu Rui, and the others all assented, then dispersed, following the predetermined routes to patrol the various regions outside Dragon Tiger Mountain, investigating enemy movements on one hand, and calming the populace on the other.

Such a great commotion atop the mountain had left the towns and settlements below, all reliant on Dragon Tiger Mountain, equally filled with panic and unrest.

"Fang..." At this moment, Lei Jun looked again to Fang Jian.

Among the Five Clans and Seven Families, the Jingxiang Fang Clan had the most harmonious relationship with the Celestial Master Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Yet, whether the harmony lay with the Celestial Master Mansion or with Xinzhou's Li Family, *that was a matter of perspective.*

Moreover, the representatives of the Li Clan who were close to the Fang Clan were primarily Li Zhengxuan, Li Ziyang, Li Xuan, and others.

In years past, there had even been talk of a marriage alliance between the Fangs and the Lis, though it had never come to pass.

Even so, relations between the Fang and Li Clans remained close.

Only after Li Zhengxuan went into penitence at the Ancestral Tomb and Li Ziyang drew ever nearer to the Tang Imperial Court did the connection between the Fang Clan and the Li Clan cool somewhat.

But overall, in the matter of the Li Wai dispute within the Celestial Master Mansion, the Jingxiang Fang Clan still leaned more toward supporting the Li Clan.

"Earlier, the Jiangzhou Lin Clan suffered devastating losses, and over in Jingxiang, they're busy plotting for Jiangzhou, likely too preoccupied now to watch Xinzhou closely."

Fang Jian looked calmly at Lei Jun, "Of course, it can't be ruled out that Jingxiang may already have made arrangements they haven't told me about."

When Lei Jun heard this, he nodded gently. He did not ask Fang Jian what his own intentions were, but took his leave from Fang Jian and departed.

Fang Jian watched Lei Jun leave, then withdrew his gaze, looking off toward the northwest.

Though he could not see it, it was his homeland, Jingxiang, that lay in that direction.

After a brief glance, he turned his gaze back to Dragon Tiger Mountain, staring in a daze at the mountain now wracked by an earth-shattering battle.

......

After bidding farewell to Fang Jian and the others, Lei Jun moved on alone.

He first headed west, then made a detour north, his destination Dayuling Ridge.

On the journey, he encountered a member of the Blood River Sect secretly setting up a Blood River Array.

Lei Jun killed that Blood River envoy, destroyed the Blood River Array, and purified the tainted blood before moving on.

There was still some time left before sunset when Lei Jun reached the foot of Dayuling Ridge.

He carefully concealed his movements, moving noiselessly through the forest like the night wind itself.

Though he did not use the Sheltering Spirit Veil, the Spiritual Power of the Breathing Soil Banner cloaked him, Lei Jun seemed to blend seamlessly with the rocks of Dayuling Ridge.

He climbed to the highest peak, remaining hidden as he took out the Divine Eye Mirror Stone to survey the surroundings.

"Hmm?"

Watching and searching among the ridges for a while, Lei Jun's eyes narrowed as he spotted something unusual.

To the naked eye, nothing seemed amiss.

And yet, faintly, there was a ripple in the Spiritual Energy.

*Someone must have used a secret method to hide themselves.*

Lei Jun kept his composure, silently creeping closer.

Upon brief inspection, he discerned that the concealment technique here seemed to originate from a Spirit Talisman.

It must have been a high-grade Spirit Talisman.

Yet it was not one currently taught at the Celestial Master Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

But they all stemmed from a common origin.

So...

Yellow Sky Sect?

Lei Jun now had a sense of it.

After splitting from the Celestial Master Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain, the Yellow Sky Sect had, over the years, devised techniques of their own.

Their daily situations and needs had led them to craft high-grade Spirit Talismans focused on concealment and masking, which was no surprise.

If not for the faint ripple in the Spiritual Energy, even Lei Jun would not have so quickly detected anything strange here.

Such agitated Spiritual Energy showed that these Yellow Sky disciples were preparing some mischief, already set and ready to act at a moment's notice.

*No wonder the best lot mentioned arriving at Dayuling Ridge before sunset.*

*It seemed the fortune of that lot rested on these Yellow Sky disciples.*

Though the situation looked dire, there was little actual danger. Those here were unlikely to be anyone on the level of Yellow Sky's High Merit Elder, Qi Shuo.

Or perhaps Qi Shuo had made himself the bait, distracting the Celestial Master Mansion's top experts.

This hidden arrangement at Dayuling Ridge was Yellow Sky's true design.

With the aid of the Breathing Soil Banner, Lei Jun quietly worked his way past the high-grade Spirit Talisman that shrouded the mountain valley.

It was as though he slipped through a curtain of radiant light.

Beyond the curtain, sure enough, there was a world apart.

Several Yellow Sky Sect disciples busily worked inside.

In the center of the valley, a giant three-tiered Altar had already been erected, the summit glimmering with radiance.

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