There was supposedly a "Sixth Uncle" as well...

*Lei Jun felt a flicker of emotion inside.*

The Celestial Master Mansion and the Jiangzhou Lin Clan had long been bitter enemies.

Both sides knew exactly who they needed to keep an eye on, and everyone was crystal clear about each other's key players.

From what Lei Jun knew, this so-called Sixth Uncle of the Lin Clan was an elder with Upper Three Heavens cultivation from the Jiangzhou Lin Clan.

After the internal chaos in the Jiangzhou Lin Clan gradually settled down, they began to exert their strength externally once more.

Having a common external enemy made it easier for the Lin Clan to regather and truly unify their voices.

If they were looking for a target, there was no one more suitable than their old foe right next door, the Celestial Master Mansion.

Of course, conversely, if the two sides went to war again, the internal conflicts within the Celestial Master Mansion would also temporarily subside and the sect would unite against outsiders.

The Lin Clan clearly didn't want to give the Celestial Master Mansion that chance.

Different from before, so fiery and intense, after being severely damaged in vitality, the Jiangzhou Lin Clan's actions became more secretive and subtle.

No doubt, their plan was to secretly take out talented cultivators from the Celestial Master Mansion who weren't of the Li Family bloodline.

It wasn't that the Lin Clan didn't hate the Li Family, but their goal was clearly to further escalate the tension between the Li Family and non-Li members within the Celestial Master Mansion, pushing the mansion toward yet another cycle of internal conflict.

*Was it fortunate or unfortunate? Hard to say.*

Taoist Lei, as the newly rising star in the Celestial Master Mansion these past years, had popped up on the Lin Clan's radar and become a target.

The ambush in the Cangling River valley was most likely set up initially for him.

As for why that spot was chosen for the ambush, Lei Jun had no clue for the time being.

Luckily, he had already taken steps ahead of time to seek fortune and avoid calamity, sidestepping the danger.

But unfortunately, while he avoided it, for some reason, Zhang Jingzhen ended up stepping right into it.

The ambush the Jiangzhou Lin Clan prepared was, for the Middle Three Heavens, downright extravagant.

With Lei Jun's current cultivation strength, even with the Breathing Soil Banner in hand, he wouldn't exactly be safe facing this kind of siege and ambush.

Zhang Jingzhen, even at the Sixth Heavenly Realm, was in the same boat.

Still, she managed to force her way out, albeit wounded.

As for that Sixth Uncle from the Lin Clan, he hadn't acted yet, still hiding at a distance for now.

Clearly, on the one hand, he was worried about some major unexpected event, and on the other, the Jiangzhou Lin Clan was also afraid the Celestial Master Mansion would use this as bait and flip the ambush on them.

So, that Sixth Uncle just stayed put, holding the line without revealing himself.

But under his carefully laid out aura-shielding, both Zhang Jingzhen and Lei Jun within the vicinity couldn't use a Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman to contact Dragon Tiger Mountain.

And if Lei Jun and Zhang Jingzhen were killed by the Lin clansmen, Dragon Tiger Mountain might know right away that something had happened to them—but they'd have no way of knowing the details.

That way, it would be even easier to stir up new suspicion between the Li Family and outsiders inside the Celestial Master Mansion.

Earlier, with Li Zhenchang and the rest dying, undercurrents were already rising back at the mansion.

The Lin clansmen were now just adding more fuel to the fire.

On that front, nothing would be better than something happening to Lei Jun.

Still, Zhang Jingzhen could work too.

In recent years, the Li Clan had thrown their lot in with the Tang Imperial Court, and though much was lost when Emperor Zhang Qilong passed away, Li Ziyang and the others were still pushing forward.

If something happened to Zhang Jingzhen right now, then...

Lei Jun quietly hid his presence and moved less.

So far, it looked like that Lin Clan Sixth Uncle hadn't spotted him yet.

If he had, having both him and Zhang Jingzhen at hand would be too tempting, and the man might not keep hiding.

So, Lei Jun didn't rush in to directly help Zhang Jingzhen.

If they joined hands, even if they couldn't guarantee victory, they could probably at least get Zhang Jingzhen out alive.

But if they did that, then the Lin Clan's Upper Three Heavens elder would probably jump in personally.

*For me right now, the most secure approach would be to slip far away in secret, get out of that Sixth Uncle's aura-shielding range, and then contact the sect for backup...* Those thoughts flashed rapidly through Lei Jun's mind.

*The only question was if Zhang Jingzhen could hold out until then.*

*But that wasn't even the main issue.*

The real issue was, that would likely tip off most of the Lin clan, letting them run for it while they still could.

Most of the time, Lei Jun actually agreed with his senior brother Wang Guiyuan's always-play-it-safe style.

But sometimes, he broke the rule.

*There really was just no end to cutting the heads off these dogs...* Watching the Lin youth's movements, Lei Jun felt a twisted sort of admiration.

Tonight, he once again experienced, first-hand, the undisguised malice of these noble youths.

Over the years, Lei Jun had dealt with plenty of noble families, whose legacies were all about bloodlines, not Confucian classical studies.

Sure, there were people like Chu Kun, Fang Yue, Fang Jian, Chu Yu, Ye Dongming, and others, but more often, it was guys just like these Lin clan brats tonight.

*Right now, I really did kind of want to see a day when the Heavenly Street was paved with the bones of the wealthy and the inner coffers were burned to ashes of brocade...* Lei Jun couldn't help but smile.

A pack of menaces, so...

Special fortune, for some very special people.

He patted the giant panda, and both man and bear vanished into the night.

Lei Jun circled around from another direction, quietly tailing Zhang Jingzhen and her group as they moved forward in fits and starts.

He watched from the side.

Zhang Jingzhen was really giving it everything she had.

Sometimes, she could even shake off her pursuers briefly and catch her breath.

But with so many chasing her, and Confucian Divine Archers occupying the high ground, she simply couldn't break free for good.

Lei Jun didn't try to contact Zhang Jingzhen, nor did he directly confront the Lin clan youths.

He just quietly borrowed the Breathing Soil Banner, subtly altering the ground and landscape to help block Zhang Jingzhen from sight.

After a few rounds of maneuvering, Zhang Jingzhen gradually managed to lose her pursuers.

The trade-off was that the Lin clan youths finally caught on and shifted their focus to Lei Jun.

But for now, they still hadn't figured out someone was helping Zhang Jingzhen—they just assumed she was using some trick or treasure to disguise her presence and make a getaway.

The Lin clansmen instantly snapped to high alert to chase her down.

Yet under the cover of night, with rocks and forest as camouflage, their true target had already changed completely.

Elsewhere, Zhang Jingzhen was even more puzzled.

She was the one under the most pressure at first, with nothing to do but keep shifting and running for her life.

It was only after she noticed her pursuers falling behind that she dared to let out a breath.

But then she realized something was off.

The Lin clansmen still made plenty of noise, but were all headed in another direction.

This was not something she could mislead with a few minor tricks.

*Was someone helping her out?*

*But if it was an ally, why didn't they give her a sign so they could coordinate?*

*Did they have some other plan?*

*Her mind was a swirl of questions, but with the pursuers finally thrown off, her first instinct was to hide even more carefully.*

*This trip out of the mountains was truly disastrous for her.*

When her cultivation reached a critical point, she just wanted to find a truly quiet, deserted place—even the Red Mountain Manor and Red Abyss Cave Heaven felt too crowded, so she left the mountain to find someplace else.

But who'd have thought she would stumble right into the Jiangzhou Lin Clan's trap?

Even though Zhang Jingzhen was willing to parley, they clearly gave her no chance.

Now, even though she was out of danger, she was more lost than ever...

As for what Zhang Jingzhen thought, Lei Jun no longer cared.

He was much more wary of the Lin Clan's Sixth Uncle, and at the same time meticulously careful to avoid direct contact with the Lin clan youths, so they wouldn't discover who he really was.

Fortunately, things went fairly smoothly along the way.

Far off, mountain peaks towered high.

One of them was called Tiansong Mountain...

Lei Jun checked his direction carefully.

As soon as he neared Tiansong Mountain, he came to a halt.

Then, he did everything possible to mask his presence.

First, he used the Ji Earth Yin Thunder from the Yin Five Thunder Righteous Dharma to bury both himself and Gungun deep in the earth, and then used the Breathing Soil Banner's Spirit Power to set up another protective layer outside.

This time, there wasn't even a flicker of yellowish Spirit Light—man and bear were sealed up airtight.

It really looked as if they'd just merged into the mountain itself.

The Lin clansmen reached the mountain area in hot pursuit.

Knowing "Zhang Jingzhen" had ways of hiding herself, they searched every nook and cranny.

Some of them even passed right by Lei Jun.

But in the end, they never noticed a thing.

The group spread out, scouring every inch around Tiansong Mountain.

As time passed with no results, frustration built among the Lin clan.

"Should we ask Sixth Uncle to step in and try?" a youngster asked in a low voice.

The clan elder's face was cold as water, "I'm afraid we really do need to contact Sixth Uncle, something seems genuinely off."

When they were chasing Zhang Jingzhen before, she hadn't hidden this well.

Now it was this difficult; either her methods were extremely limited and precious, or somebody else was helping her!

If it was the former, fine. If it was the latter, the situation was completely different.

The Lin Clan Elder, thinking this over, wanted to consult the Upper Three Heavens elder and see what to do.

But right at that moment...

"Boom!"

From Tiansong Mountain, a sudden explosion echoed!

An extremely savage, piercing, and wickedly domineering bird call rang out without warning.

With this long cry, the wild, Demonic Qi Evil Miasma that had seemed suppressed before suddenly surged, pouring out in all directions.

The faces of the Lin clansmen all turned pale instantly.

Great Demon!

There was a Great Demon hiding here!

Before, it had been actively suppressing its aura, so as not to stir up the Spiritual Energy around.

But now, the Demonic Qi Evil Miasma exploded out, immediately becoming a terrifying storm.

Above Tiansong Mountain, a small black dot abruptly appeared.

Then that black dot rapidly grew.

It looked like a black sun rising or like a giant bird flaring out its folded wings.

When the wings opened, the massive bird's plumage was black and white mingled, seemingly wild and messy, yet with an uncanny harmony.

For all the Lin clan, any metallic weapons or Magic Artifacts on their bodies suddenly flew up into the air, gathering around the monster bird.

A strange, brutal Yuan Magnetism storm followed the creature's wing beats, spreading ever wider.

"...Bipolar Heavenly Eagle?!" The Lin Clan elder blanched and hurriedly called for his clansmen to retreat.

But it was as if an invisible force held them there—they couldn't break free.

Some of the clan's younger members watched, despairing, as their bodies lifted off the ground against their will, as if eager to throw themselves right into the gaping jaws of the vulture-like Great Demon!

In the blink of an eye, the slopes of Tiansong Mountain ran with blood.

And then, in the next instant, a flood of Sword Qi, like a surging river, swept in from afar and split the land.

Only then did the Bipolar Heavenly Eagle let go of its prey and face off against this sudden, formidable opponent.

The Lin Clan's Sixth Uncle finally couldn't hold back and entered the fight.

The few Lin clan youths who survived were all badly injured, but even so, they thanked the heavens and did their best to run away.

Not until they had fled the mountains and could barely see the clash of Sword Qi and Great Demon behind them did they dare stop and finally catch a breath.

But before they could even get a good breath in, a strange sound echoed at their ears,

"Zzzt, zzzt, zzzt, zzzt..."

Beneath the crackle of lightning, black thunder-water swept across the mountain paths, circling the few bloodied survivors, hemming in the Lin clan youths who had barely escaped with their lives.

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