"The Li Clan members, by now, have few survivors left, especially the direct line, which is nearly wiped out."

After returning to the mountain, Lei Jun immediately met with Yuan Mobai and said, "The rest, by their looks, seem to have mostly headed towards Lanshan."

Lanshan, like Purple Cloud Sect, Yuhang School, Tianxu Sect, and other places, is a branch lineage passed down from Longhu Mountain Celestial Master's Mansion, located to the west of Xinzhou.

The slight difference lies in the fact that there, a Li Clan Elder founded a new faction.

The majority of the disciples were also primarily from the Li Clan.

Although it is a branching out of the Taoist Talisman Sect, it can also be considered as a branch of the Xin Zhou's Li Family outside of their own domain.

Now that the Li Clan was forced to withdraw from Dragon Tiger Mountain, and seeing they could not maintain their ancestral land in Xinzhou, they were compelled to retreat to Lanshan first.

Lanshan is actually too close to Dragon Tiger Mountain.

If a few High Merit Elders of the Li Clan were still alive, they might have tried to rebuild and regain a foothold in Lanshan.

But now, that place would most likely serve as a temporary shelter, and soon they would have to continue to retreat far away.

"Hmm, we can talk about Lanshan later," Yuan Mobai said with a smile. "The priority is to secure our sect's Ancestral Courtyard first, then gradually get in touch with various branches and other Cave Heavens."

Lei Jun looked at his master and spoke softly, "Master, after I returned to the mountain, I heard rumors that Li Zhengxuan also fell at the Grand River?"

Yuan Mobai nodded slowly.

The smile that was usually on his face disappeared, and his expression became more sincere. "Today's calamity will definitely attract a pack of wolves from the outside. The reason I, your master, was reluctant to see matters concerning Li Wai escalate to this point was precisely due to this concern.

"One could say Our Sect's destiny has not yet run out. Currently, the outside world is also in turmoil, with each family focused on their own troubles, and top experts too preoccupied to concern themselves with us. The situation hasn't reached its nadir.

"Therefore, regardless of Li Wai, it's not entirely unexpected that some would perish.

"I won't hide it from you, Chongyun. I, your master, have long been prepared for this; it's just that Heaven spared me today."

Yuan Mobai looked up at the rooftop, his gaze complex. "However, the fact that both my second senior sister, third senior brother, and Zhengxuan perished, still unavoidably stirs my emotions a bit."

Lei Jun stood silently by the side.

Yuan Mobai turned to look at him. "Chongyun, if you have something to say, just speak."

Lei Jun said, "Master, Li Xuan has also perished."

Yuan Mobai sighed lightly. "Feng He's incident—I've heard about it. If we add Chongxuan to that list…"

Starting from Yuan Mobai's teacher, the third Celestial Master Li, all three siblings—Li Qingfeng, Li Hongyu, and Li Ziyang—were gone. Li Hongyu herself left no offspring. Li Qingfeng's son, Li Zhengxuan, and both of Li Ziyang's sons, Li Xuan and Li Ming, had also fallen. Even the next generation's Li Fenghe had perished. Now, it seemed only Li Ziyang's young daughter, Li Ying, remained as the sole survivor.

Li Ying had previously fled to Lanshan together with the other members of the Li Clan.

Lei Jun looked at Yuan Mobai with some concern.

But by now, Yuan Mobai's emotions had already steadied.

Seeing Lei Jun's expression, the young man in purple robes shook his head gently, his serene smile reappearing on his face as he chose not to say more.

At this point, words had lost their meaning.

Images from over a hundred years ago suddenly emerged clearly in Yuan Mobai's mind. It was the image of his master, the third Celestial Master Li, passing away. At that time, it was the second inner conflict within the Celestial Master Mansion. The second Celestial Master Li's son, Li Cangting, and his uncle, who was also the third Celestial Master Li, perished together. Yuan Mobai remembered that at the time of the third Celestial Master Li's death, his expression showed not anger or regret, but rather a complex mix of wistful emotions.

He gently shook his head, brushing away the images in his mind, and turned to look at his disciple Lei Jun, changing the subject. "About the Three Caverns Desolate Divine Tribulation initiated by the Yellow Sky Sect, tell me more about the situation at that time."

Lei Jun nodded and described it in detail, finally producing the pair of Wilderness Enlightening Jade.

After examining the paired jades, Yuan Mobai returned them to his disciple, then pondered, "According to the information you heard, this technique's ultimate completion was due to the person behind Qi Shuo, and that person... is the same mysterious figure who tried to steal the Celestial Master Robe today."

This was the same mysterious powerful figure who had attacked the former Celestial Master Li Qingfeng years ago.

Lei Jun said, "Qi Shuo and others share this speculation."

Yuan Mobai stated, "Though there's no further evidence, I intuitively agree with this perspective."

He looked at Lei Jun. "Do you remember, three years ago, you obtained a piece of Yin Moon Soul Stone on Slanting Star Peak?"

Lei Jun nodded firmly. "Today, that mysterious expert who tried to steal the Celestial Master Robe seemed to also reveal a piece of Yin Moon Soul Stone.

"However, the mysterious person who was driven away from Slanting Star Peak by the Moon Chamber Master back then seemed to only have the cultivation of the Seventh Heavenly Layer, far inferior to today's expert."

Yuan Mobai mused, "But there could be a connection between the two."

Lei Jun asked, "What does this mysterious expert aim to do?"

Yuan Mobai shook his head. "At the moment, it's unclear, and it's not wise to conjecture recklessly."

Lei Jun asked, "Master, does this person… possess the cultivation of the Ninth Heavenly Layer?"

In today's Human Race cultivation world, including those from the Southern Wildernes, there are only a handful of known Ninth Heavenly Layer cultivators. A few years ago, even the former Emperor Zhang Qilong, who was vanquished by the Great Demon from the Western Regions, was counted among them.

"Even if not, it's close," Yuan Mobai said.

Lei Jun nodded slightly.

Yuan Mobai added, "However, speaking of this, we may soon have a new addition to the ranks of the Ninth Heavenly Layer."

Lei Jun breathed out, "…Wei Ancheng!"

Yuan Mobai nodded lightly.

With the end of the battle on Dragon Tiger Mountain, members of the Celestial Master Mansion finally had the opportunity to pay more attention to the outside world.

And one of those matters cast a far-reaching influence, extending beyond the present moment.

Abbot Liaoyuan of Bodhi Temple fell at the hands of Wei Ancheng, the Sect Leader of the Blood River Sect.

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