165: Misty Rain Pavilion Plan

Inside the treasure pavilion of Beyond Heaven, the cold light of night-luminescent pearls spilled over the newly assembled remnants of the poison scripture, where spiraling toxic patterns glowed with a faint green light, perfectly overlapping with the mechanism patterns on the fifth floor of the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda map.

Jun Xiaoyao lightly tapped the intersection of the patterns, where an extremely tiny "Gu" character was marked.

"heart-eroding gu," he muttered to himself, turning his gaze to Zhao Gao. "What is Thousand-Faced Fox trying to control by hiding this thing?"

Zhao Gao bowed and handed over a scroll, the edges of the parchment still charred. "Reporting to Young Lord, The Net's deep-cover agents risked their lives to retrieve this from the Misty Rain Tower dungeon. The heart-eroding gu is a forbidden object of the Myriad Poison Grotto; the mother gu can control the mind of the host of the child gu. Even a powerhouse in the Heavenly Human Realm would become a Puppet after being infected. Thousand-Faced Fox stole this gu from the Myriad Poison Grotto three years ago and has been using living people to refine gu all these years. It is said that a 'Golden-Armored heart-eroding gu' has already been cultivated, capable of resisting the internal energy of those in the Grandmaster Realm."

Jun Xiaoyao tossed the scroll onto the table. The gu-refining diagrams within were horrific, with a few shriveled gu insect specimens stuck between the pages. "A ruthless character indeed." He looked toward the summoning array, where the purple-gold light at the array's core was brighter than ever. "Has the Mythical-grade summoning authority been unlocked?"

"Yes, Young Lord," Zhao Gao nodded. "The System indicates that the first Mythical-grade summoning requires 10,000 points and allows for specifying a character of the 'Mind Control' or 'Illusion Breaking' type, with a guaranteed minimum Realm of the Land Immortal Realm."

Jun Xiaoyao walked to the front of the array and traced his fingertips over the runes; the purple-gold energy slithered along his fingertips like a living creature. "The heart-eroding gu can control minds, so let's summon someone who can break all illusions and suppress the spirit." He said in a deep voice, "System, lock onto a 'Mythical-grade · Mind Control' character."

[System Prompt: Matching Mythical-grade character... Cross-planar coordinates locked... Detecting supreme Divine Power fluctuation...]

The summoning array suddenly erupted with blinding golden light. The purple-gold runes were swallowed by the golden light, transforming into a massive phantom—the phantom was dressed in imperial robes, holding a jade Seal in its left hand and a long sword in its right, with a "Suppress" character mark on its forehead exuding a pressure that could suppress the Divine Soul. As the golden light faded, a majestic figure appeared, none other than the "Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak," Huang Feihu, from Chinese mythology.

[Character Panel Expanded: Name: Huang Feihu; From World: "Investiture of the Gods" (Mythical Plane); Realm: Late Stage Land Immortal Realm (Divine Power equivalent to the pressure of the Early Stage Void Shattering Realm); Abilities: 1. Eastern Peak Soul-Suppressing Seal: Condenses a Soul-Suppressing Seal with Divine Power, capable of suppressing all sinister ghosts and demons, as well as mental illusions, with absolute restraint against Gu insects. 2. Five Peaks Divine Power: Mobilizes the Qi of the Five Peaks to bolster oneself, with defense comparable to the Void Shattering Realm, making it immune to ordinary attacks. 3. Imperial Majesty Suppression: The imperial aura surrounding him can cause those below his Realm to lose their composure and kneel in submission, providing natural suppression against mind-control abilities. Additional Items: - Golden-Eyed Divine Eagle (can see through falsehoods, perceive invisible objects, and has a special sensitivity to the traces of Gu insects) - Five-Colored Divine Ox (mount for travel, travels ten thousand li a day, its roar can shatter low-level Gu insects); Loyalty: 99% (Respects destiny, swore an oath with Divine Power upon recognizing his master, will never betray).]

Huang Feihu held the jade Seal and bowed to Jun Xiaoyao, the Dragon patterns on his imperial robes seeming to come alive. "Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, Huang Feihu, greets the Young Lord. This world is filled with Demonic Qi; does it require my suppression?"

Jun Xiaoyao pointed to the heart-eroding gu specimen on the table. "Misty Rain Tower has a Golden-Armored heart-eroding gu that can control human minds. Can your Soul-Suppressing Seal break it?"

Huang Feihu suspended the jade Seal above the specimen, and the runes on the bottom of the Seal lit up, instantly turning the shriveled gu insect specimen into ashes. "Such a minor trick is not worth mentioning. If the Young Lord wishes to retrieve that mother gu, Feihu is willing to go."

"No rush," Jun Xiaoyao shook his head. "Thousand-Faced Fox is cunning, and Misty Rain Tower is riddled with mechanisms. Let Blue Phoenix and Lara probe the situation first." He looked at Huang Feihu. "I would like to borrow your Golden-Eyed Divine Eagle."

Huang Feihu raised his hand, and a golden light flew from his fingertips, transforming into a divine eagle with gilded wings. The divine eagle landed on Jun Xiaoyao's shoulder, its sharp eagle eyes scanning the crowd, and it let out a clear cry. "The divine eagle can see through the illusion mechanisms of Misty Rain Tower. If it encounters the heart-eroding gu, its cry can break it."

Three days later, at Luoyang's Misty Rain Tower.

Blue Phoenix wore a dancer's gauze dress, with a silver snake whip wrapped around her waist, disguised as an ornament. Lara was dressed as a merchant from the Western Regions, with a bronze compass hidden in the interlayer of a cargo box, its needle spinning wildly toward the top floor of Misty Rain Tower.

"The Golden-Eyed Divine Eagle says that the 'Wind-Listening Pavilion' on the top floor has three layers of illusions," Blue Phoenix whispered in the Miao language. "The real entrance to the dungeon is under the rockery, and there are twelve trapdoor mechanisms."

Lara nodded and threw a small metal ball onto the ground. The metal ball transformed into a mechanical spider, crawling along the corner of the wall toward the rockery. "My mechanical spider can crack mechanisms within three layers; it will be able to open the entrance in five minutes."

At this time, inside the Wind-Listening Pavilion, Thousand-Faced Fox was toying with a jade box, from which faint insect chirps could be heard. Sitting opposite him was a masked person, with a blood-colored skull embroidered on their black robe. "Is the heart-eroding gu ready? At next month's 'Ten Thousand Immortals Assembly,' I want all those so-called Holy Land Sect Heads to become our Puppets."

Thousand-Faced Fox chuckled, his voice sounding like metal grinding. "Rest assured, the Golden-Armored heart-eroding gu has been refined to the ninth level. We only need them to drink wine mixed with the child gu, and even those in the Land Immortal Realm will have to obey obediently." He opened the jade box, and a golden gu insect lay on the brocade, its pair of compound eyes flickering with an eerie red light.

Suddenly, the cry of the Golden-Eyed Divine Eagle came from outside the window, and the Golden-Armored heart-eroding gu in the jade box struggled violently, even attempting to bite through the jade box to escape. Thousand-Faced Fox's expression changed abruptly: "Someone has broken in!"

Beneath the rockery, the mechanical spider had opened a secret door, revealing a bottomless staircase. Blue Phoenix released a golden silkworm gu to scout the path, but the gu insect suddenly froze in the middle of the staircase and turned into a puddle of pus.

"There is anti-gu powder." Blue Phoenix frowned, took a pill from her poison pouch, and crushed it. She sprinkled the powder onto the staircase, causing bursts of white smoke to rise. "It can only last for a quarter of an hour; we must be quick."

Lara drew the adventure knife from her waist, the blade springing out with serrated notches. "Follow me closely." She stepped on the marks left by the mechanical spider, avoiding hidden poison needles and trapdoors, and soon arrived at the entrance to the dungeon.

Complex Talismanic Incantations were carved onto the stone door of the dungeon. Lara placed her bronze compass close to the stone door, and the needle spun wildly before stopping at the intersection of the Talismanic Incantations. "The core of the mechanism is here." She inserted her adventure knife into the gap and pried it gently; the stone door made a heavy sound and slowly opened.

The dungeon was filled with a thick smell of blood. Dozens of iron cages held prisoners infected with the heart-eroding gu, their eyes hollow, their mouths constantly repeating the word "Master." On a stone platform in the deepest part, there was a bronze tripod filled with hundreds of gu insects, and a fist-sized Golden-Armored mother gu was perched on the edge of the tripod, hissing toward the direction of the stone door.

"Found it." Just as Blue Phoenix was about to step forward, the Golden-Eyed Divine Eagle suddenly dove down, its beak pecking toward the bronze tripod—a bronze mirror was hidden inside the tripod, and as the mirror's light flashed, countless illusions attacked!

Blue Phoenix saw the poison pool of the Myriad Poison Grotto before her eyes, while Lara saw collapsing ruins; both lost their composure simultaneously, their footsteps unsteady. Just then, a golden light shot in from outside the door, and Huang Feihu's voice rang out like a great bell: "Eastern Peak Soul-Suppressing Seal, break!"

The golden light of the Soul-Suppressing Seal swept across the dungeon, and the illusions shattered instantly. The Golden-Armored mother gu let out a shrill scream, flipped out of the bronze tripod, and transformed into a golden arrow shooting toward Huang Feihu!

"How dare a firefly compete with the moon's brilliance?" Huang Feihu pressed down with his jade Seal, and the Soul-Suppressing Seal pinned the Golden-Armored mother gu firmly to the ground. The gu insect melted inch by inch in the golden light, emitting a pungent, charred stench.

When Thousand-Faced Fox arrived with his guards, he saw only the unconscious prisoners all over the floor and the melting mother gu. Huang Feihu turned around, his imperial majesty erupting suddenly. The guards instantly knelt to the ground, losing their composure, and only Thousand-Faced Fox managed to barely hold on with the help of a jade pendant in his bosom, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Beyond Heaven..." Thousand-Faced Fox laughed miserably. "Jun Xiaoyao, you have destroyed my Foundation, I will definitely make you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the Golden-Eyed Divine Eagle had already pecked the jade pendant in his bosom to pieces. Thousand-Faced Fox's eyes glazed over, and he collapsed to the ground, the cunning in his eyes replaced by emptiness—he himself had also been infected with the heart-eroding gu; with the mother gu destroyed, the child gu backlashed, and he was reduced to a complete idiot.

At Tianwaitian Headquarters, Huang Feihu placed a crystalline gu egg on the table. This was the core extracted from the Golden-Armored mother gu, already purified by the Soul-Suppressing Seal, emitting a faint golden light.

"This gu egg has been purified by Divine Power and can be refined into a 'Cleansing Heart Pill' to neutralize all mind-affecting toxins in the world," Huang Feihu explained. "In the secret chamber of Misty Rain Tower, there are also three ancient books hidden, which record the method to crack the 'Star Map Lock' of the sixth floor of the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda."

Jun Xiaoyao picked up the gu egg, and the patterns on the eggshell faintly resonated with the Star Map Lock. "An unexpected surprise indeed." He looked at Zhao Gao. "Has the power behind Thousand-Faced Fox been found?"

"It has been found, Young Lord." Zhao Gao handed over a secret letter. "It is the 'Outer Realm Heavenly Demons.' They infiltrated this world through spatial rifts and want to use the power of the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda to open larger rifts and devour the continent's Spiritual Qi. Thousand-Faced Fox was merely their pawn."

Jun Xiaoyao placed the secret letter over the candle flame, and countless twisted black shadows seemed to be reflected in the fire. "Outer Realm Heavenly Demons..." He looked at Huang Feihu. "Can your Five Peaks Divine Power block the spatial rifts?"

Huang Feihu nodded. "The Five Peaks Divine Power can suppress the earth's veins; as long as the nodes of the rifts are found, they can certainly be Sealed."

Outside the treasure pavilion, the cry of the Golden-Eyed Divine Eagle pierced the sky, intertwining with the sound of the horn practiced by Marshal of the Unruly. Blue Phoenix was refining the Cleansing Heart Pill, Lara was researching the ancient books on the Star Map Lock, and Huang Feihu was nourishing the gu egg with Divine Power; golden light and medicinal fragrance permeated the headquarters.

Jun Xiaoyao stood by the window, gazing at the starry sky in the distance. The heart-eroding gu had been eliminated, Misty Rain Tower had been destroyed, the traces of the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons had appeared, and the key to the sixth floor of the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda was within reach. This game of chess revolving around resources and survival had finally bared its most dangerous fangs.

"Zhao Gao," he suddenly spoke. "Prepare for the next summoning; the target—Outer Realm Heavenly Demons."

Zhao Gao bowed in acknowledgment, a trace of awe flashing in his eyes as he turned. The Young Lord's gaze seemed to have long ago crossed the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda, looking toward more distant planes. And this giant net of Beyond Heaven was about to be cast over a broader world.