Because earlier, Taoist Jiang and the other Yellow Sky Sect disciples had mentioned the Upper Three Heavens' Yellow Sky Sect Elder Qi Shuo, Lei Jun, although he had swept through Dayuling Ridge, had not lingered for long.

He wrapped up those two matching strange precious jades with the Breathing Soil Banner and promptly left first.

After he had gotten far from Dayuling Ridge, only then did Lei Jun seek out a safe place to temporarily halt, and try to contact his master, Yuan Mobai.

They were both in Xinzhou's territory, not very far apart.

But at that time, reaching Dragon Tiger Mountain still seemed overwhelmingly difficult.

The Ancestral Courtyard of the Sect had become an utter battlefield, the global Spiritual Qi was in chaos, making Lei Jun's Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman barely work.

Luckily, looking off toward the direction of Dragon Tiger Mountain, it could be seen that Xiaotang, his little senior sister, had not suffered any loss.

Azure and golden flames surged skyward, the twin Yin-Yang Tigers roared together, clearly overpowering the Dragon Chant.

Supreme Elder Li Song's Yang Thunder Dragon had nearly vanished, leaving only the Celestial Master Robe's nine-colored radiance to support him.

In another patch of sky, a second purple Thunder Dragon was suppressing the second azure Fire Tiger.

Among the other two high merit elders of Dragon Tiger Mountain, the civil war was tilting toward Li Ziyang, as he overwhelmed Yao Yuan.

*Among the Three Realm True Scriptures Talisman, it was true: the Thunder Law Heavenly Scripture Talismans' Yang Thunder Dragon was the strongest in duel of magic.*

But although Li Ziyang suppressed Yao Yuan, he could not reverse Li Song's disadvantage.

Tang Xiaotang, using her golden Yang Fire Tiger, kept pressing down on Li Song, and then split her azure Yin Fire Tiger against Li Ziyang, immediately forcing his Thunder Dragon back into the thundercloud!

Except for the last thread of sanity remaining, enough to keep the battle mainly above the skies and away from the Ancestral Court, both sides had fully unleashed their true fire.

Even so, golden and azure streams of flame, mixed with purple lightning serpents, still scattered everywhere, occasionally crashing down inside and outside Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Fortunately, these aftershocks were still not enough to break through the Celestial Master Mansion's mountain gate defense restrictions.

After quite some effort, Lei Jun had finally established a choppy communication with his master, Yuan Mobai.

The term "Three Caverns Desolate Divine Tribulation" was also unfamiliar to Yuan Mobai.

But after hearing Lei Jun's rough description, he immediately judged the danger, and was glad that Lei Jun had discovered and disrupted it.

"Well done, Chongyun... but now that you're outside the mountain, be careful..."

Yuan Mobai warned, "Qi Shuo has fled, whereabouts unknown... and besides him, there have been expert Witchcraft Sect masters from the Southern Wildernes appearing..."

After Lei Jun quietly listened to Yuan Mobai's report, he exhaled a long breath.

Li Kong was dead.

Many Li Clan disciples who had journeyed back to Dragon Tiger Mountain with him had also suffered heavy casualties.

The attacker had been an expert from the Witchcraft Ghost Path lineage of the Southern Wildernes Witchcraft Sect who had quietly approached Dragon Tiger Mountain.

The Ghost Tao claimed to inherit the Witchcraft Soul, refining and controlling evil souls and walking corpses in battle.

Even among Ghost Tao cultivators, depending on which souls they controlled, their combat power in practice could be quite unpredictable.

*What amounted to a perfectly neutral lot for Lei Jun might be a deadly risk for someone else.*

Not everyone was like Lei Jun, carrying the Sheltering Spirit Veil and Breathing Soil Banner everywhere.

When Li Kong and the others reached the outskirts of Dragon Tiger Mountain, they were suddenly attacked by an Upper Three Realms Witchcraft Ghost Path expert, and only a handful managed to flee back to the Ancestral Court of the Sect.

The reason for a Witchcraft Ghost Path expert from the Southern Wildernes abruptly showing up at Dragon Tiger Mountain was, frankly, tragic.

The Southern Wildernes Lands, ever in turmoil and flux.

In the past, Witchcraft Sect experts from the Southern Wildernes had taken part in the Celestial Master Mansion's second internal war, both sides suffering heavy casualties and forging many blood feuds.

But with constant infighting in the South, as time passed, most of those with grudges against the Mansion had ended up dead at the hands of their own, so in recent years, few brought up those old events, except for the Blood River Sect, whose Taoist heritage was unique, and Elder Tian Linlong from Yintuo Mountain, who had personal enmity with Tang Xiaotang and kept coming north.

But as time passed, and with ongoing strife in the Southern Wildernes, the tides shifted and the banner on the city walls kept changing, bringing old faces back into the fray.

Of the five major Taoist heritages of the Witchcraft Sect, the Ghost Tao lineage's sacred Golden City Stronghold, after a new round of competition in recent years, saw a new faction rise to power, its origins tracing back to that old battle with the Celestial Master Mansion.

The Witchcraft Sect's involvement in the Mansion's second internal war was not a matter of Li Wai's struggle, but the conflict between the second Celestial Master Li Cangting's son and the third Celestial Master and his son.

Which meant Golden City Stronghold was seizing the opportunity, and their target was by no means limited to the Li Clan.

"There's revenge, of course, but they're also here for easy pickings..." Lei Jun shook his head slightly.

The Ghost Tao lineage's sacred Golden City Stronghold specialized in commanding evil souls and walking corpses.

If they managed to snatch something worthwhile, it was going to be a massive benefit for them.

"I have driven them off, but can't leave the mountain right now to pursue... so the danger isn't over, do not be careless..." Yuan Mobai instructed, "We are in turbulent times now..."

*Yeah, turbulent times indeed...* Lei Jun nodded.

*His master wasn't sighing for nothing.*

Because, in the Central Plains Great Tang, chaos was everywhere.

Just recently, Yuan Mobai had given Lei Jun another piece of news.

It sounded unrelated to Dragon Tiger Mountain's Celestial Master Mansion, but Lei Jun couldn't help but frown deeply.

On the eve of Prince Wu's rebellion and the East Sea Great Demon's uprising, the abbot of the Bodhi Temple finally traveled north to Youzhou, to reclaim the relics and Buddha treasures of the senior ancestral master.

Soon after, Prince Wu rebelled, the East Sea demons went wild.

At first glance, the two events had nothing to do with each other, but...

In the north, Youzhou also erupted in a demon uprising!

The Youzhou Forest Clan and Jinzhou Ye Clan were both swept up in the conflict.

"Latest reports, the abbot of the Bodhi Temple did not actually retrieve the Buddha treasure relic, but intended to convert the demon race... but seeking cooperation with a tiger, as expected, backfired, and a great upheaval ensued..." Yuan Mobai spoke in a flat tone, without any hint of emotion."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.