21: Drawing the firewood from under the cauldron, Yun Feng's open conspiracy

The glowing portal to the Heavenly Illusion Sacred Realm rotated silently in the depths of the mine, emitting an alluring yet dangerous aura. Yun Feng sat cross-legged not far away, like an old monk in meditation, but his Divine Sense, like an invisible spiderweb, spread from the ore vein towards the entire City of Radiance.

His goal was clear: to seize the precious opportunity while the main forces of the Ye Family, the Sacred Aristocratic Family, and the Dark Guild were tied up in the Secret Realm, and deliver a heavy blow to them!

“System, bring up the distribution map of the Ye Family and Sacred Aristocratic Family's main businesses within the city, as well as the known hidden strongholds of the Dark Guild,” Yun Feng commanded in his mind.

“Instruction received. Integrating and inferring data based on existing intelligence...”

“Information generated.”

A massive stream of information poured into his mind. The businesses and strongholds of the three major forces in the City of Radiance lit up like stars, with some nodes flickering with a faint glow indicating “relatively weak defense” or “higher value.”

Yun Feng's gaze first locked onto the Ye Family. The Ye Family had sent out all its elites this time, led by Elder Ye Han, so the Family's interior was bound to be empty.

“Aside from a few ore veins, the Ye Family's biggest source of wealth is the 'Hundred Refinements Workshop' in the east of the city, which monopolizes nearly 30% of the city's mid-to-low-end weapon and armor forging,” Yun Feng's eyes flashed with a cold light. “Let's start with it!”

His figure vanished again, lurking like a ghost, and before long, he arrived near the Ye Family's Hundred Refinements Workshop in the east of the city. Inside the workshop, the furnaces blazed, and the clanging sounds were incessant, but the guards were noticeably sparser than usual.

Yun Feng did not directly attack, as that would expose him. He concealed himself in the shadows, his Divine Sense carefully scanning the core area of the Hundred Refinements Workshop—the central forging furnace, which relied on earth fire and was inscribed with Spirit Gathering and Fire Control Formations.

“System, analyze this furnace's structure and Formations, and infer a plan for its overload collapse.”

“Analyzing... Consuming 30 points of Rule Energy.”

“Inference complete! Three energy nodes have been found. Simultaneously impacting them at a specific frequency can cause the earth fire to lose control and the furnace body to overload and disintegrate.”

Yun Feng pointed his fingers like a sword, flicking them three times in succession towards the Hundred Refinements Workshop from a distance.

Three extremely subtle gusts of finger wind, containing specific Rule fluctuations, silently penetrated the walls and precisely hit the three energy nodes he had locked onto with his Divine Sense.

Initially, there was nothing unusual inside the workshop. But a few breaths later, the core forging furnace suddenly shook violently, the Formation runes on its walls abruptly became dazzlingly bright, and then emitted a buzzing sound of being overwhelmed! The earth fire, like a wild horse unbridled, furiously erupted from the bottom of the furnace!

“Oh no! The earth fire is out of control!”

“Run!”

The Hundred Refinements Workshop instantly descended into chaos, with artisans and guards fleeing in terror.

Boom—!!!

With a deafening roar, the core forging furnace, after accumulating immense energy, exploded! Violent flames and shockwaves swept through more than half of the Hundred Refinements Workshop, turning it into a sea of fire and ruins! This important business of the Ye Family was completely destroyed.

“Successfully destroyed the Ye Family's important business, the 'Hundred Refinements Workshop,' weakening its economic and equipment sources, indirectly affecting its Family strength. Received Rule Energy feedback: 200 points.”

Yun Feng's face was expressionless as he turned and left, heading towards his next target—the 'Spiritual Plant Pavilion,' the largest Spiritual Plant shop under the Sacred Aristocratic Family.

Using the same method, he used the System to analyze the Spiritual Plant Pavilion's storage Formation, found its core node that maintained the Spiritual Qi of the medicinal materials, and then used Rule power to subtly interfere, causing its Formation to temporarily fail and trigger a chain collapse.

A moment later, countless medicinal materials stored in the Spiritual Plant Pavilion, due to the instant disorder of Spiritual Qi and the backlash of the Formation, withered and deteriorated at a visible speed, their value instantly turning to naught. The manager of the pavilion's face was ashen, collapsing to the ground.

“Successfully dealt a heavy blow to the Sacred Aristocratic Family's business, the 'Spiritual Plant Pavilion,' causing huge economic losses. Received Rule Energy feedback: 180 points.”

Finally, Yun Feng turned his attention to several hidden strongholds of the Dark Guild. These strongholds were even more concealed, and their defenses had a more sinister quality. But for Yun Feng, who possessed the System's analytical capabilities, finding their weaknesses was not difficult.

He chose a stronghold responsible for intelligence relay and material stockpiling. Again, he did not launch a direct assault, but instead remotely interfered with its outer warning and concealment Formations, and simulated traces of Soul Power fluctuations from a powerful cultivator's battle.

Soon, the abnormality of this stronghold was noticed by the City Lord's Mansion's patrol team. Although the Dark Guild members evacuated in time, this stronghold was subsequently eradicated by the City Lord's Mansion, losing a large amount of intelligence and materials that could not be transferred in time.

“Successfully guided the City Lord's Mansion to eradicate a branch of the Dark Guild, weakening its intelligence network. Received Rule Energy feedback: 150 points.”

After completing all this, Yun Feng returned to his hidden spot outside the Secret Realm entrance as if he had just completed routine business, silently and without a trace.

In a short period, he, without shedding blood, used the System's precise analysis and his exquisite control over Rule power to deliver heavy blows to the three major forces. Although he could not harm their foundation, it was enough to make them feel immense pain, and it was done while their main forces were tied up and unable to react in time—a truly devastating move!

“Current Rule Energy: 1730 + 530 = 2260 / 5000.”

His energy reserves had once again significantly increased.

Yun Feng sat down cross-legged, continuing to monitor the Secret Realm entrance while digesting the gains from this operation and planning his next steps. He knew that the struggle within the Secret Realm would not last long. When Ye Han and Shen Fei returned and discovered their homes had been ransacked, they would undoubtedly be enraged. That would be the beginning of the true storm.

And what he needed to do was to ensure that the Yun Family had the confidence to face any storm before then!

“It's time to further enhance the Family's top-tier combat power.” Yun Feng's gaze turned towards the direction of the Yun Family's residence. Previously, limited by energy, he had mainly focused on cultivating core disciples. Now with abundant energy, it was time for his Grandfather, Yun Fengs Grandfather, and those loyal Elders to advance further.

He split off a wisp of Divine Sense, carrying pure Rule Energy and some optimized Cultivation insights, and quietly transmitted it towards the Yun Family's residence.

“Grandfather, Elders, the time has come. You may attempt to break through to a higher Realm...”

In the Yun Family's core secret chamber, Yun Fengs Grandfather and several Elders, who were handling Family affairs, simultaneously heard Yun Feng's voice in their minds. What followed was a pure, gentle, yet infinitely profound energy flow, along with insights pointing directly to the Peak of Gold Rank and even the threshold of Legendary!

The bodies of the several people trembled, both surprised and delighted. They immediately put everything aside and entered a deep state of closed-door Cultivation.

While Yun Feng stirred up trouble outside, the Family was quietly undergoing a transformation within. An invisible grand net, with him at its center, was slowly spreading, waiting for the prey to return and fall into the trap.