Moreover, when it came to the strength of the Golden City Stronghold branch, the true battle power was determined by how well its warriors could command and control Evil Souls and Walking Corpses.

Given Gao Pu's accumulation, it was wise to estimate his combat capabilities on the high side.

"The specific details and outcome of this battle are still unclear right now," Yuan Mobai said,

"If we wait a bit longer, more news should spread later."

*Just as he expected, the news spread quickly.*

Although some people tried to keep things under wraps, the sheer number of people involved meant the story leaked out fast.

Soon after, Lei Jun and his master Yuan Mobai pieced together the general sequence of events that had unfolded in the Great Southern Mountain.

The latest reports said that during the battle on Chaoyang Peak, members of the Jinzhou Ye Clan and Golden City Stronghold somehow ended up together in the eastern section of the Great Southern Mountain range.

To top it off, Wei Ancheng, the leader of the Blood River Sect, happened to be in seclusion, cultivating on the main peak—Chaoyang Peak—in the eastern range of Great Southern Mountain.

Just over three years ago, during the epic battle in Youzhou of the Northern Lands, Wei Ancheng had personally killed Abbot Liaoyuan of Bodhi Temple.

Afterward, Wei Ancheng disappeared again, hiding out with his whereabouts completely unknown.

During this three-year period, quite a few people searched for Wei Ancheng, overtly or covertly, but none were successful.

Ye Han, Gao Pu, and the others had some seriously "good" luck.

They actually stumbled upon the very place where Wei Ancheng was in retreat.

However, their luck wasn't quite good enough.

By that time, Wei Ancheng had made another leap forward in his cultivation, quietly nurturing his strength on Chaoyang Peak.

And so, the Blood River resurfaced in the world, demanding new sacrifices.

"Of all those present, only two managed to escape alive, with the rest dying," Yuan Mobai said,

Back during the internal battle in Dragon Tiger Mountain, Elder Cao Chu of the Golden City Stronghold—who was Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm and had tried to take advantage of the chaos—was killed on the spot.

Gao Pu, an Eighth Heavenly Layer elder of Golden City Stronghold, suffered grave injuries; nearly all the Evil Souls and Walking Corpses he'd refined and commanded were destroyed. Only barely did that buy him a slim chance of escape.

Ye Han, also Eighth Heavenly Layer from Jinzhou, was severely wounded too; she could only count herself lucky that Gao Pu was with her.

Wei Ancheng, his cultivation having greatly improved, re-emerged—and his first target was the Southern Wilderness.

The Witchcraft Sect's Ghost Tao Lineage had now produced a Ninth Heavenly Layer expert, raising the possibility of unifying the sect once again.

This move by Wei Ancheng was both a setup and a warning; he focused much of his energy on the Golden City Stronghold faction.

Luckily, Gao Pu from Witchcraft Ghost Path had a secret art for dying in another's place and returning to life, so he didn't die on the spot—but he was still being hunted by Wei Ancheng.

Ye Han, as an Eighth Heavenly Layer Great Scholar, was strong in her own way compared to Gao Pu, but her survival skills were undeniably weaker.

*Had she been the one targeted by Wei Ancheng, the outcome would have been unpredictable.*

Still, she had survived the disaster at Chaoyang Peak—unlike the other members of the Ye Clan.

The others could be put aside for now.

The Ye Family Water Phoenix had its wings clipped in the Southern Wilderness this time.

Ye Lingxi, hailed as Jinzhou's number-one talent in recent years, was one of the most outstanding youth of the Jinzhou Ye Clan, known alongside the eldest grandson Ye Feishan as the "Mountain Phoenix and Water Phoenix." She'd achieved the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm before she was even a hundred, and had always been a leading figure among the Ye Clan and other powerful families' prodigies.

No one had expected they'd run headlong into Wei Ancheng just out of seclusion, with the new prodigy meeting her end at the hands of an old legend.

Ye Han couldn't save her daughter—barely saved herself, in fact, suffering serious injury.

Now, as rumors swept the Central Earth Great Tang, many were left wondering, *Why did two generations of the Jinzhou Ye Clan's prodigy daughters run all the way to the Southern Wilderness?*

"So it seems the earlier news about Lonely City Ridge, the main peak in the western part of Great Southern Mountain, was accurate."

Lei Jun discussed the matter with his master Yuan Mobai, "Lonely City Ridge really was a trap, laid by the Jinzhou Ye Clan together with Golden City Stronghold."

Yuan Mobai nodded softly, "Even if Ye Han and her daughter wanted to kill by another's hand and didn't act personally, there was at least Gao Pu and Cao Chu present; it really was a deadly trap."

Lei Jun strongly agreed.

*No wonder, even traveling with Master Yuan Mobai, he'd only managed to draw a moderately unlucky lot with a nine-to-one odds of survival.*

Of course, compared to that, Chaoyang Peak on the eastern side barely needed to be mentioned.

Running straight into Wei Ancheng, freshly advanced to Nine Heavens Realm.

Whether Yuan Mobai's own fate was up in the air was one thing, but he'd have no way to protect his Middle Three Heavens Realm disciple.

The worst lot, certain death with no hope of survival—truly a hell with nowhere to run.

As for the notion that the Celestial Master Mansion and Blood River Sect didn't have as deep a grudge as with Golden City Stronghold… If Blood River Sect experts cared about such things, Abbot Liaoyuan of Bodhi Temple might not have died.

"The news from the east wasn't very accurate. People thought it was just a Great Demon," Lei Jun said with a steady expression, "but it turned out to be Wei Ancheng."

Yuan Mobai smiled, "Even if there's some inconsistency, it's already quite good—no need for absolute accuracy."

Lei Jun, "Yes, Master, you're right."

*For him this time, as long as the threats to both east and west sides of the Great Southern Mountain weren't from the same group nor communicating, that was enough.*

The Jinzhou Ye Clan and Golden City Stronghold wouldn't chase them anymore unless provoked.

If they did follow to Chaoyang Peak on the eastern ridge, they'd end up receiving the little gift Lei Jun had prepared for them.

Just as Yuan Mobai said, the two master and disciple had no intention of seeking perfection or being nitpicky, and left the Southern Wilderness early.

They didn't stick around to watch the commotion, nor did they consider lurking outside to finish off the wounded.

Let things take their course; there would be plenty of time in the future.

The great vortex had already formed—let Wei Ancheng play with the Jinzhou Ye Clan awhile longer.

Lei Jun and his master had already stepped away from the situation.

Rumors about them and their Celestial Master Robe trail appearing in the Great Southern Mountain region were bound to circulate, but all the limelight was overshadowed by Wei Ancheng, the Blood River Sect Leader, reemerging and unleashing a massacre.

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