"Great Southern Mountain, huh?"

Lei Jun asked slowly, "Master, as far as I knew, Great Southern Mountain was one of the biggest ranges in the Southern Wildernes, stretching across many regions with countless treacherous peaks."

"The news you have about the Celestial Master Robe only mentions Great Southern Mountain, but that's like searching for a needle in a haystack. Do you have anything more specific to go on?"

Yuan Mobai said, "Roughly around the main peak in the western section, somewhere near Lonely City Ridge."

Lei Jun felt contemplative at those words.

*Lonely City Ridge pointed to a moderately unlucky lot fate.*

*Honestly, it was still pretty dangerous.*

*Because at the moment, the fate the omens were showing wasn't Lei Jun heading to Lonely City Ridge alone, but him traveling together with Master Yuan Mobai.*

*In that situation and still pulling a lot full of peril and uncertainty, it made the risk all too clear.*

*Since Yuan Mobai's news pointed straight there, Lei Jun couldn't help but wonder if this was a trap.*

*Dragon Tiger Mountain searching for the lost Celestial Master Seal and Robe wasn't the kind of thing that could be hidden.*

*If the enemy cared to act, they could easily lay an ambush aimed right there.*

*Xu Yuanzhen was missing, Tang Xiaotang now held the Celestial Master's Sword and the Wanfa Altar, so she couldn't easily leave the mountain.*

*The most likely targets for any enemy would be Yuan Mobai, Yao Yuan, or Shangguan Ning, the three High Merit Elders.*

*Given Celestial Master Mansion's current emptiness, even if someone went, it'd only be one of those three at most.*

*That could open up a chance for the enemy.*

*But with a moderately unlucky lot, there was still room to maneuver.*

*And since the lot concerned Lei Jun specifically and not Yuan Mobai, things were a little less dire for Yuan Mobai.*

*Still, there was no need to risk it unnecessarily.*

*According to the omen, there's nothing but danger with no fortune to be had. That meant the enemy's trap in Great Southern Mountain didn't even have a real bait, just pure bastardry... Lei Jun was completely unimpressed.*

"Chongyun?"

Yuan Mobai looked at the silent Lei Jun, "Did you hear anything on the wind?"

Lei Jun nodded, "Master, that place around Lonely City Ridge, we can't go. It most likely was a trap!"

He now had the perfect scapegoat, "Earlier at that meeting in the book-world starscape, when I swapped information with others, someone happened to mention Lonely City Ridge. The details were vague, but we should stay cautious."

Yuan Mobai replied, his expression still relaxed and smiling, "So if it's a trap, do you know where the enemy comes from?"

*Whether Lei Jun's intel was real or fake, Yuan Mobai would treat the situation with care.*

*Not a matter of trust, just that after Celestial Master Mansion's disaster, regaining their Primordial Qi wasn't easy. So better be cautious and avoid another blow—better safe than sorry.*

*The Celestial Master Robe was a big deal, true, but Yuan Mobai's information about Lonely City Ridge in Great Southern Mountain was just a rumor, unverified.*

"About the specifics, their side was just as vague, but..."

Lei Jun quickly came up with an excuse, giving some plausible reason for his stance—even if a lie, all he wanted was to keep his master out of trouble,

"...But, they mentioned that lately more than one Upper Three Heavens cultivator had been seen around Lonely City Ridge, among them some from the Southern Witch Sect, plus suspected Confucian cultivators from the Central Earth Great Tang!"

*Just from the lot's description, Lei Jun couldn't pinpoint exactly who used the Celestial Master Robe news to set up a snare.*

*But he definitely had his suspicions.*

*The Celestial Master Mansion's main enemies right now fell into three routes.*

*First, obviously, their old nemeses, the Yellow Sky Sect.*

*Second, the local power in the Southern Wildernes, the Witchcraft Ghost Path faction's sacred ground at Golden City Stronghold, with the current ruling branch, who held an old grudge against the mansion.*

*The third road was more vague, but also the greatest threat.*

*Namely, the big noble clans from the Central Earth Great Tang.*

*Those clans were mainly focused on Capital City Academy and the Xiao Clan from outside Long, with things so tense it could blow at any moment.*

*Still, there was always a chance they'd try a feint.*

*Especially the Jinzhou Ye Clan of the Four Surnames and Six Houses, who previously interfered in the Celestial Master Mansion's internal struggle with Li Wai.*

*Lei Jun was deeply wary of them.*

*Since the intel wasn't completely confirmed, Lei Jun now dragged out the Confucian noble clans as his convenient targets.*

*And given the location, the Southern Witch Sect, as locals, were even more likely to stick their nose in. He didn't spell out Golden City Stronghold, but it was enough as suspicion.*

"Upper Three Heavens, Great Scholar and Great Witch, then?" Yuan Mobai mused.

Lei Jun said, "We can't be certain yet, but considering how you suddenly brought up the Celestial Master Robe and Lonely City Ridge today, I think it's best to be on guard."

Yuan Mobai nodded slightly, "That's how it ought to be."

Lei Jun suddenly felt a jolt in his heart.

*He went back over those lots, a host of uneasy thoughts swirling inside.*

*If the moderately unlucky lot about Lonely City Ridge in the western section of Great Southern Mountain was enemy ambush territory,*

*Then what about the worst lot referencing Chaoyang Peak in the eastern section?*

*By the omen, Chaoyang Peak was apparently even more dangerous than Lonely City Ridge!*

*Yet the rumor Yuan Mobai had about the Celestial Master Robe pointed to Lonely City Ridge, not Chaoyang Peak.*

*If it was the same enemy splitting forces to ambush both places as double insurance, that was just ridiculous.*

*The mountain stretched for thousands of miles from west to east, with the main peaks worlds apart.*

*If a fight broke out at the western main peak, those on the eastern side couldn't even play backup convincingly.*

*If someone wanted double insurance outside Lonely City Ridge, there were endless places to plant ambushes along the long eastern stretches. Why go all the way to the distant eastern peak at Chaoyang?*

*Even if Yuan Mobai was tricked into Lonely City Ridge and came up empty, at best he'd search the western side, maybe scan some central ranges—and what were the odds he'd then make a special trip all the way east to Chaoyang Peak?*

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