Chapter 381: Chapter 381

Lei Jun never shied away from admitting that his temperament bore some resemblance to that of his Senior Sister Xu Yuanzhen.

However, there were also many differences.

Back during the Battle of Jinzhou, when Xu Yuanzhen realized that Ye Moquan didn’t particularly value his own life — or rather, that life and death weren’t his top priorities — she no longer insisted on killing him outright. Instead, she shifted her focus elsewhere.

Even if that meant a more complicated path or taking on extra risk herself.

Xu Yuanzhen never minded.

As a result, although Ye Moquan escaped the Jinzhou Ye Clan’s ancestral grounds and even recovered quickly from his injuries with little lasting effect on his cultivation, his soul was left with a unique scar — a wound left by Xu Yuanzhen.

Lei Jun had watched that happen with amusement, alongside his Little Senior Sister Tang Xiaotang.

But if it had been him, and the conditions allowed it, he’d have preferred to take the enemy out in one go.

Even now — even though Ye Moquan had burned through his lifespan trying to mend the damage to his soul and avoid the tragedy of Ye Feishan’s death from repeating; even though he had already ignited the last of his vitality for the sake of the Worldly Treasure Array, and regardless of whether that array succeeded or failed, Ye Moquan was fated to die soon — Lei Jun still wanted to personally send him off.

In recent years, Ye Wei had become the new patriarch of the Cangzhou Ye Clan, overseeing daily affairs — and he, too, had been slain by Lei Jun.

From Ye Lingxi to Ye Han, from Ye Feishan to now Ye Moquan and Ye Wei — that entire bloodline was now fully “reunited.”

Lei Jun turned and swept his gaze over the battlefield, spotting a few remaining monks.

Their faces were etched with sorrow, though they maintained solemn dignity. Staring at the apocalyptic sight before them — which, to the Cangzhou Ye Clan and Youzhou Lin Clan, marked the end — they were clearly filled with grief.

These monks were not strangers to Lei Jun.

All of them hailed from Xuanyan Temple.

Tracing their origins, most had been disciples of the former Jinzhou Ye Clan, now the Cangzhou Ye Clan, or minor affiliated families, who had joined Xuanyan Temple and trained in the Precepts Tradition — a sacred Buddhist lineage.

After the Battle of Jinzhou, when the Ye Clan’s ancestral lands were destroyed and the entire clan was forced to relocate, a massive internal conflict broke out within Xuanyan Temple.

In the end, with the court’s support, Master Kongjing and others managed to secure control.

Those monks backed by the Ye Clan, led by Master Kongjian, were forced to leave.

They vanished afterward.

But the world knew — Master Kongjian and his followers had left for Cangzhou along with the Ye Clan and resettled there.

In the Precepts Tradition, progress in cultivation is directly tied to adherence to the precepts. There’s no faking it.

Breaking the precepts typically results in an immediate drop in cultivation — it’s almost expected.

So even after leaving Xuanyan Temple, Kongjian and the others had continued to uphold the precepts and practice diligently over the past two to three decades. Thus, they still looked like ascetic monks even now.

That said, there had always been a tiny bit of wiggle room in choosing which vows, tightly linked to one’s strength, were considered “unbreakable.”

That’s how Kongjian and the others had survived until today.

But now, like the rest of the Cangzhou Ye Clan, they were also trapped here on the Southern Rain Plains by Lei Jun.

Compared to Ye Clan disciples who practiced Confucian arts, these Xuanyan Temple disciples specialized in Buddhist divine abilities based on the Precepts Tradition. They were less aggressive, but significantly better at defense.

In the same realm, few could rival their average power level.

Especially since they could form subtle defensive formations when protecting each other.

But the difference in cultivation between them and Lei Jun was simply too vast.

If Lei Jun were still at the Eighth Heaven realm, he would’ve needed to treat them seriously.

But as a Ninth Heaven cultivator who had already surpassed most of his peers, Lei Jun now viewed Kongjian and the others as no different from ordinary Ye Clan disciples.

Master Kongjian, the strongest among them, had unfolded a Glassy Lotus Blossom, but under Lei Jun’s repeated bombardment of Magnetic Flying Swords and Heavenly Lightning-Earth Fire, he too was shredded to pieces in no time.

Something crossed Lei Jun’s mind.

He reached into his miniature storage pouch and retrieved a strange spiritual flower.

It was about the size of a human palm, with four white petals, each marked with scattered black specks like ink on paper.

It was called the Unborn Flower.

He’d obtained it back during the Battle of Jinzhou, after killing a Ye Clan Xuanyan Temple disciple. It was a special tool the Jinzhou Ye Clan had prepared specifically to deal with Precepts Tradition disciples — with potent results.

Many Xuanyan Temple monks upheld strict Vows of Non-Killing.

Over the years, others had tried various ways to exploit that.

But the Xuanyan Temple’s techniques had been refined through generations and were incredibly resilient. None of the attempts had worked.

Even intentionally trying to die beneath their Glassy Buddha Light was easier said than done — the light shifted freely.

Only the Unborn Flower had remained without a known countermeasure.

Luckily, it was rare and extremely difficult to cultivate.

But the Ye Clan had stockpiled some over the years.

During the Xuanyan Temple’s civil war, many monks from non-Ye backgrounds suffered greatly because of it.

Of course, to avoid suspicion, many Ye Clan disciples within the temple had also taken the Non-Killing Vow.

In the end, the Unborn Flower was their bane too.

Lei Jun had saved this one flower specifically for an eventual encounter with Ye Clan Xuanyan disciples.

But since then, the Cangzhou Ye Clan had worked to repair ties with the Tang court and even the Tianshi Mansion.

With enemies like Sumeru, Tianli, Dehai, Luoyuan, Yellow Springs, and even otherworldly threats, hostilities between the Ye Clan and Daoist factions had temporarily cooled.

Today, Lei Jun’s personal strength was more than enough to deal with Master Kongjian and his disciples — he no longer needed the Unborn Flower.

He didn’t mind the wasted preparation.

With natural-level comprehension, Lei Jun tended to focus more on refining and improving himself, unlike Xu Yuanzhen, who loved studying her opponents’ weaknesses.

The Unborn Flower drifted from his palm, landing gently beside the now-silent Master Kongjian and his companions, burying them in silence.

After clearing out the Cangzhou Ye Clan and the Youzhou Lin Clan patriarchs, Lei Jun withdrew his Great Ascension Dao Domain.

He turned his attention back to Ye Moquan — more precisely, to the failed ritual formation that Ye Moquan had tried to complete.

“Worldly Treasure Array... quite clever,” Lei Jun said with open praise.

Daoist cultivators could create a Divine Court Universe, Confucianists could manifest a Realm of Nationhood, and other techniques also allowed the creation of miniature realms through sheer magical force.

But they were all temporary, hard to maintain.

And they typically relied on the real mortal world as an anchor.

The Worldly Treasure Array that the Cangzhou Ye Clan had prepared was different.

Though Ye Moquan had sacrificed his life for it, this world could exist long-term.

It would be severed from the Tang mortal realm and vanish into the outer void, making it difficult for anyone in the Tang world to trace it.

That was how they planned to let the Cangzhou Ye and Youzhou Lin clans retreat from the world.

Of course, such a utopia still had a lifespan.

By Lei Jun’s estimation, it could last a century or several at most. Eventually, it would have to return to a mortal realm or rejoin something like the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

Its stability and spiritual energy couldn’t compare to those realms.

Still, it was a legitimate fallback plan.

And Lei Jun found it inspiring.

He loved studying the wonders of the world's techniques — even Confucian classical arts had earned his attention.

Though given the current blood-soaked setting, this felt rather out of place.

Shaking his head slightly, Lei Jun resumed his sweep.

Since they were planning to disappear from the mortal world, the Cangzhou Ye and Youzhou Lin clans had gathered their most precious treasures here.

Lei Jun casually took inventory.

Some items pleasantly surprised him.

The first was a spiritual treasure called Essence of Unified Vital Qi.

It appeared as a misty vapor, its color hard to distinguish — a blur between yin and yang — constantly shifting in the air.

The mist sometimes condensed into a physical spirit stone, black and white in color, which then quickly turned back into indistinct vapor.

It emanated profound Daoist energy, as if revealing the transition between chaos and creation.

“Essence of Unified Vital Qi…” Lei Jun murmured.

With his level of insight and comprehension, he immediately understood its greatest value — this might be a key piece in helping his Two-Element Celestial Physique advance into the Taiji Dao Body.

His cultivation path was already clear; any deviations now would be minor.

“In a way, the Worldly Treasure Array is like a miniature new world,” he mused. “Using this essence to power it… makes sense.”

He smiled and stored the treasure away.

The Cangzhou Ye Clan had also prepared other precious items for the Worldly Treasure Array.

But none were as crucial to Lei Jun as the Essence of Unified Vital Qi.

Still, one rare metal caught his eye.

Despite being a type of precious metal, it looked transparent.

It offered both void affinity and structural stability — perfect for creating a hidden realm like the Worldly Treasure Array.

But for Daoist cultivators who built a Divine Court Universe, refining this first might make the domain too stable — hindering future growth.

So it had pros and cons.

For Lei Jun’s current path, it wasn’t very useful.

But it might serve other purposes.

An idea flashed in his mind.

It quickly formed into a plan.

He dug out another material from Ye Moquan’s ritual site:

Veiled Shadow Essence.

Placing Hollowcore Gold and Veiled Shadow Essence side by side, Lei Jun studied them briefly and then opened his palm.

A shadow appeared in his hand.

It came from the Dark Side of the Heavenly Book.

That dark side held many uses, both good and bad.

For Lei Jun, one major function was to erase traces of his spiritual energy and obscure his whereabouts.

But as his cultivation increased, he noticed it was becoming harder for the Heavenly Book’s dark side to keep up.

Now that he had reached the Ninth Heaven realm in the Daoist path, it was even more apparent.

With these new materials, he began formulating ways to enhance it.

He wasn’t in a hurry — the details could be sorted out once he returned to his sect’s ancestral mountain.

The rest of the treasures were valuable but less useful for Lei Jun personally, so he only gathered the ones worth keeping.

Strictly speaking, the total wealth of the Cangzhou Ye and Youzhou Lin clans was slightly less than expected.

They had spent heavily over the years rebuilding their ancestral lands.

Lately, they’d also been backing Prince Zhao Zhang Teng in the throne struggle, opposing the Crown Prince — who had support from the Qingzhou Ye, Suzhou Chu, and Jingxiang Fang clans.

All that had cost them dearly.

They also tried to prepare for Datong’s return and build a utopian retreat.

All these efforts had drained their coffers.

But even so, Lei Jun could still see their intentions from the items they left behind.

For instance, among their collections, he found Golden Glazed Glass — a rare treasure specifically for Buddhist cultivators.

Clearly, it had been prepared for Master Kongjian and the others.

There was also the Solar Eclipse Crystal, which held the power of eclipse phenomena.

Placed alongside Golden Glazed Glass, it was hard not to suspect what they were planning.

This treasure resembled the Sun-Devouring Lotus Throne Wang Guiyuan had once prepared.

In the eyes of the Hand Seal Tradition monks, such objects were heretical blasphemies against Tathagata Buddha.

No doubt, the Sumeru Vajra Division had also kept a wary eye on the Cangzhou Ye Clan and their Confucian allies.

If Ye Moquan had created the Unborn Flower to counter Xuanyan Temple, then it was only natural that he had other tricks prepared for the far more powerful Vajra Division.

However, the Tianshi Mansion of Mount Longhu came out on top — not only did they crush the Vajra Division of Mount Sumeru within the Tang Mortal Realm, they even counterattacked into Mount Sumeru itself. The Shuo Sun Crystals prepared by the Ye Clan of Cangzhou ended up unused, but they still retained them. As expected, both the Ye Clan of Cangzhou and the Lin Clan of Youzhou had separately prepared measures intended for the Neo-Confucian cultivators of the Tianli Xiaoming Court.

Just like the Chu Clan of Suzhou, the Ye Clan of Qingzhou, and the Fang Clan of Jingxiang, they had all studied Neo-Confucian ritual formations, hoping to trap a certain Tianshi surnamed Lei — yet at the same time, they remained highly guarded against those very Confucian cultivators. Overall, both sides were never truly on the same page. Of course, the world constantly shifts.

As Lei Jun knew, in the years surrounding each opening of the Tianli Portal, some side branches of prominent clans had quietly crossed into Tianli. Though few in number, this could be seen as a form of branching out.

In Youzhou, aside from organizing supplies, Lei Jun focused on collecting the various letters the Lin Clan had accumulated. Through these letters, he could delve deeper into the essence of their Letters As Face communication method. Now that his comprehension had reached the Natural Insight level, such studies would be even more efficient — half the effort, twice the results.

Just as he had previously intercepted information from the Ye Clan of Cangzhou regarding Yulan Mountain and Nanyu Plain, the letters from the Lin Clan of Youzhou currently held his greatest interest — specifically those relating to the Datong realm among the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

Though little was mentioned, the intelligence was extremely valuable. Lei Jun had disrupted a ritual between the Lin Clan and Fang Clan of Jingxiang intended to bring Datong back into the Tang Mortal Realm, thus cutting off outside interference in the Battle of Luoyang.

Now that the battle had concluded, Lei Jun hadn’t forgotten about Datong.

After reading through the letters, Lei Jun muttered to himself, “Hmm, I should pay Jingxiang a visit.”

He departed Cangzhou. The remaining aftermath he left to others — Lei Jun had no interest in micromanaging.

Heading southwest from Cangzhou, Lei Jun traveled toward Jingxiang. Along the way, he received news that caused him to briefly pause in Zhongzhou — but he didn’t go to Luoyang.

Though Zhang Ying and Shangguan Qing were managing things, Luoyang remained unsettled. The recent war, despite being filtered through the Illusionary Imperial Capital, had deeply impacted the city's spirit. Public sentiment was in turmoil.

Officially, both Prince Zhao Zhang Teng and Crown Prince Zhang Hui had perished. Half the political establishment had collapsed. Zhang Ying and Shangguan Qing had their hands full.

Lei Jun halted at the former site of Bodhi Monastery, one of the great Buddhist holy lands. The Empress Zhang Wantong was currently stationed there.

With Xiao Xueting still fending off the Northern Sea Whale King, the Empress was, for once, alone. Dressed plainly, she stood atop the mountain, gazing silently toward Luoyang.

When Lei Jun arrived, her tone was calm, almost casual: “Did I trouble you, Master Lei?”

“No need to worry, Your Majesty. This poor Daoist is fine,” Lei Jun replied.

The Tang Imperial Court had suffered a massive blow to its reputation — in contrast, the Tianshi of Mount Longhu had stepped forward in a time of crisis and soared to unrivaled fame. Even their destruction of the Vajra Division earlier couldn’t compare.

In some sense, the very foundation of Lei Jun’s newfound prestige wasn’t only built on defeating Zhang Teng, Ye Yan, and others — it included the Empress herself.

Thus, the name Master Lei now resounded throughout the Tang Realm. Although his cultivation hadn’t yet reached the peak, at this moment in time, he stood — if only briefly — as the most prominent figure in the Tang Mortal Realm.

The news spread not only across the Tang Empire, but beyond — soon, even other realms would turn their eyes toward Lei Jun.

But Lei Jun remained calm. As always, he acted not for fame, nor would he restrain himself to avoid it. He simply followed the Dao, naturally.

“In the coming period, I may have to trouble you and Mount Longhu again,” the Empress said.

Just as before the Battle of Yunzhou, she avoided direct action whenever possible.

Lei Jun replied: “What Your Majesty intends is also what this poor Daoist hopes — Talents arise with each new generation. I believe more worthy cultivators will soon emerge in the Tang Realm.”

“Judging from your cultivation, you must have fully grasped the Third Page of the Heavenly Book,” said the Empress. “If you find time, come read the rest.”

“This poor Daoist offers thanks in advance,” Lei Jun replied.

Their expressions remained neutral; their tone, composed.

Lei Jun didn’t linger. He asked one final question: “Your Majesty, the origin of this Heavenly Book?”

The Empress answered: “From the ancient Heavenly Court.”

Lei Jun nodded, lost in thought.

They said no more on that topic. Lei Jun then shifted the conversation: “Has Your Majesty received any updates regarding Datong?”

The Empress replied: “The Xiao Clan of Longxi has a branch there. Years ago, they intended to return to the Tang Realm, but I instructed Yuan Zhou and the others to block them. At the time, the Northern and Southern Lin Clans and the Fang Clan of Jingxiang had not yet intervened.”

Yuan Zhou was the courtesy name of Xiao Hang, current patriarch of the Xiao Clan of Longxi.

Back then, it was precisely because the Xiao Clan had aligned with the Tang court that internal unrest broke out within their ranks. Naturally, the Lin and Fang Clans grew hostile toward them.

But unless absolutely necessary, they too didn’t want Datong to return.

“All three clans — Lin, Xiao, and Fang — have gained significant influence in Datong,” the Empress continued. “But times have changed. Aside from them, two other families — the Han and Su Clans — also hold sway.”

Lei Jun raised an eyebrow slightly.

He had seen those surnames before in ancient records at the Tianshi Mansion’s Decree Pavilion. Thousands of years ago, the Han and Su families were once great clans that nearly rivaled the Five Great Surnames and Seven Prominent Clans. Though they lacked the deep foundations, they produced brilliant figures and built their own legacies. Over time, however, both clans had declined.

Few aristocratic families could endure for millennia.

Now it seemed those two had sent offshoots to Datong and successfully established themselves, thriving and rising once more.

“Their return to the Tang Realm faces many obstacles,” the Empress said. “But they've already connected with another mortal realm. From what Yuan Zhou recently learned, the dynasty in that realm is still called Han.”

Lei Jun nodded. He planned to confirm further details later through Kang Ming.

“I’m heading to Jingxiang now,” he told the Empress. “Once Scholar Xiao returns to Longxi from Qingzhou, I’ll pay him a visit.”

The Empress nodded slightly.

Lei Jun then asked: “Has Scholar Xiao Chunhui decided on his next move?”

The Empress replied: “He intends to enter Tianli — perhaps even visit the Ming Mortal Realm. He's read ten thousand scrolls; now, he wants to walk ten thousand miles.”

Lei Jun remarked: “All three Scholar Xiao are men of great talent.”

Xiao Chunhui had "died" — now a ghost on paper within the Tang records. Once viewed as a potential chancellor in waiting, his sudden ‘death’ had sparked rampant speculation about the future political landscape, especially after the battles in Chang’an and Luoyang.

Lei Jun sensed that the Empress's mention of Xiao Chunhui traveling abroad meant she didn’t plan to use him again as a stand-in. She was always a few steps ahead.

Xiao Chunhui’s graceful withdrawal would allow others in the academies to rise.

While in Cangzhou, Lei Jun had heard that Fang Yue had accompanied General Shangguan Yunbo to Jingxiang. Though many Fang Clan members resented him, Fang Yue had never truly severed ties with the clan.

Even when he left for the capital alone while the clan flourished, facing both open and hidden censure, his demeanor never changed.

Now that the Fang Clan was in decline, he wasn’t returning to seize power — on the contrary, he hoped to save what younger members he could.

Naturally, this left him at odds with both sides. Even the Tang court frowned upon his actions.

Still, Fang Yue went anyway.

This decision likely eliminated any chance of him replacing Xiao Chunhui. Even retaining his current position as Chancellor of the Academy would be a blessing.

But Fang Yue himself seemed to prefer it that way.

In the context of today’s Tang political scene, the collapse of the Four Surnames and Five Prominent Clans had its greatest impact not at the top, but in the middle and lower tiers — the collateral damage was extensive.

The coming transition could last for years. During this time, the four great academies — in Chang’an, Luoyang, Jianye, and Yuelu — would undoubtedly expand. Lei Jun had heard Fang Yue speak of such plans before. In the short term, large academies would remain the foundation. Over time, more academies would open across the land, encouraging travel, lectures, and scholarship.

The classical texts once hoarded by the Five Great Surnames and Seven Prominent Clans would be sorted and spread across the mortal realm. Literary knowledge would diffuse; more scholars would emerge; books would become accessible.

But the transition required time. It was a massive undertaking — one that demanded manpower, patience, and immense resources.

Fortunately, the reserves of the fallen noble clans and imperial households could serve as the initial investment.

The question was: what about the future?

Transferring surplus to fill deficits might win public support at first, but over time, resistance would grow. Those who rose from lacking to abundance might not want to help the next group.

New changes would be needed.

Change could take many forms. Which one would the Empress favor?

Lei Jun silently studied her.

In the Imperial Capital Luoyang, amid their many responsibilities, Zhang Ying, Shangguan Qing, and others were still keeping an eye on related developments.

“News just came from the Land of the Deep Sea — State Preceptor Tang has slain Li Yan, patriarch of the Broken Li Tribe,” Lu Zhen informed Zhang Ying and Shangguan Qing. “Next, while she was fighting Li Zhongding, the leader of the Deep Sea's Five-Tribe Alliance, the former ruler of the Deep Sea, Li Yuanheng, suddenly joined forces with him. Together, they triggered a massive upheaval across all seven Abysses beneath the heavens, shaking the entire Deep Sea and forcibly expelling all Tang Realm cultivators. The Deep Sea Portal has once again been sealed.”

Zhang Ying and Shangguan Qing were both startled. “How could this happen?”

Among the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, countless treasures and opportunities were scattered. The Nine Heavens were relatively safe and stable — opportunities there greatly outweighed danger. In contrast, the Ten Earths were much more perilous.

But they had their own advantages. If someone had long been exposed to such a realm and understood its spiritual rhythms and natural laws, they could harness its chaos — using the realm’s instability to reject short-term intruders, forcefully ejecting them, or even annihilating them.

Only those who had long dwelled within could adapt to its spiritual energy patterns and remain. This had been the case for both Yellow Springs and now, the Land of the Deep Sea.

However, such a method wasn’t something just anyone could use. And once triggered, it brought massive future risks even to those left inside.

Li Yuanheng, head of the Greedy Li Tribe, was already injured — yet to aid Li Zhongding, he chose to expel the Tang Realm cultivators instead. Was this a case of “burning the bridge after crossing the river”? Well — perhaps he’d already crossed.

“Could this have something to do with the Southern Wasteland’s Witch Sect and their strange mystical arts?” Shangguan Qing murmured.

Zhang Ying added, “We don’t yet know the full picture. But for our currently war-weary Tang Empire, this may not be a bad thing. A temporary rest is still a blessing.”

Lu Zhen said solemnly, “State Preceptor Tang is quite displeased.”

This time, the closure of the Deep Sea Portal wasn’t like Ye Moquan’s covert sabotage. The entire realm had been overturned. Hence, the Tang court couldn’t reopen the portal using the same methods as before.

State Preceptor Tang had expressed her frustration. Thankfully, she had already personally slain her nemesis, Li Yan. Otherwise, she would likely have focused entirely on finding a way to break back into the Deep Sea.

“She’s not returning to Mount Longhu, nor to Luoyang either,” Lu Zhen added with a wry smile. “This time, she’s gone back to Tianli.”

Zhang Ying and Shangguan Qing let out a sigh in unison.

She had fled Tianli to go to the Deep Sea — now that she’d been expelled from the Deep Sea, she had returned to Tianli.

“And what about Master Lei?” Shangguan Qing asked.

Zhang Ying replied: “The Tianshi quelled the rebellion of the Ye and Lin Clans in Cangzhou. From Ye Moquan onward, all their top experts have fallen. The Northern Frontier is now secure.

Afterward, he didn’t go to Tianli. Instead, he turned west toward the ancestral grounds of the Fang Clan in Jingxiang. It’s said this relates to Datong.”

Shangguan Qing and Lu Zhen both nodded slightly.

“Ye Moquan makes five...” someone murmured at that moment.

Everyone fell silent.

For certain reasons, Crown Prince Zhang Hui had also “perished” in this war. The official story released by the Tang court was that he, Ye Yan, and the Qingzhou Ye Clan had turned against the Chu Clan of Suzhou and the Fang Clan of Jingxiang — splintering further into infighting.

Chu Xiuyuan and Fang Jingsheng had attempted to elevate Prince Han, Zhang Chengyu, as the new emperor, which resulted in a chaotic three-way battle in Luoyang. In the end, the Crown Prince was killed by Zhang Teng and Zhang Chengyu.

The fates of the others, as released publicly, did align with the truth.

Thus, the final version shown to the world was this:

Lei Jun, current Tianshi of Mount Longhu, returned from the Deep Sea, raced across a thousand miles, won battle after battle — and in Luoyang, single-handedly slew five Ninth Heaven Realm experts: Zhang Teng, Fang Jingsheng, Chu Xiuyuan, Ye Yan, and finally Ye Moquan, quelling the Luoyang chaos alone.

This didn’t even count the Eighth Heaven cultivators he defeated — Ye Jiong, Zhang Chengyu, Fang Shantong, Chu Taoyuan, Lin Liyu, Ye Moxin, Zhang Yang, Zhang Qiongrong, Shangguan Xiu... Nor the Seventh Heaven ones like Chu Lin, Fang Hezhou, Fang Tianshi, Chu Xicheng, and Ye Yue.

Then, Lei Jun went on to battle in Cangzhou, slaying Ye Moquan, another Ninth Heaven conspirator.

Having just ascended to the Ninth Heaven, he defeated five peers in rapid succession.

Among them were some whose cultivation stages were even more refined than his — including Fang Jingsheng, one of the most technically advanced among them, as well as Chu Xiuyuan and Ye Moquan, both long-established great scholars and veteran masters.

Though he had already made a name for himself thanks to the likes of Huang Xuanpu and Zhao You’an, this battle stunned the world anew.

The outside world might not know the full picture, but those like Zhang Ying and Shangguan Qing who had witnessed it firsthand were crystal clear: within the Illusionary Imperial Capital, rivers of blood had flowed, and corpses had piled up.

Based purely on combat record, this was likely the most brilliant debut any cultivator had made upon entering the Ninth Heaven Realm in thousands of years — and also the coldest bloodbath.