211: Fighting for the Heart-Rotting Grass

The water mirror in the Core Hall of Beyond Heaven reflected two scenes, and Jun Xiaoyao tapped his fingers on the armrest of his black iron chair, his gaze shifting between the miasma pool of Myriad Gu Valley and the entrance of Netherworld Valley.

In the water mirror on the left, Marshal of the Unruly stood by the miasma pool, playing with three soul-severing nails in his hand.

The cold light from the iron nails reflected off the furrows on his face, making him look exceptionally sinister.

"Is the kerosene ready?" Marshal of the Unruly's voice was hoarse as he tapped sparks from his iron pipe into his palm.

"Great Doctor Ping said the man-eating water algae at the bottom of the pool fear fire. Burn a path, get the heart-rotting grass, and retreat. Don't get entangled with the remnants of Myriad Gu Valley."

The Unruly behind him, carrying over a dozen oil barrels, responded in unison upon hearing this: "Yes!"

One burly man with a thick beard grinned and said, "Boss, once we get the heart-rotting grass and brew the complete version of Netherworld Water, we, The Unruly, will be able to refine powerful Gu. By then, those guys from The Net will have to look at our faces!"

Marshal of the Unruly snorted coldly, pointing his pipe at the churning dark green miasma on the pool's surface: "Stop talking nonsense and get to work. Remember, the roots of the heart-rotting grass are connected to the 'poison vein' at the bottom of the pool. You must use a silver shovel; if iron touches it, it will wither and die."

In the water mirror on the right, Sweeping Monk and Let I Go had already arrived at the outskirts of Netherworld Valley.

Sweeping Monk slammed his black iron monk's staff onto the ground, and the precious pearl at the head of the staff lit up with a gentle Buddhist light, dispelling the surrounding Netherworld cold Qi: "The resentment of the Nine Netherworld Rakshasa Formation is heavier than expected. My Buddhist light can only protect a range of three zhang. Sect Leader Let, your Star Absorbing Great Technique needs to keep up."

Let I Go laughed wickedly, his Star Absorbing Great Technique activated, and black Qi surged from his palms. He actually began to draw in the gray resentful spirits permeating the formation: "Don't worry! The essence of these resentful spirits is enough for me to supplement myself! When we break the formation later, I'll let you see what real dominance is, old monk!"

As the two were talking, Li Xunhuan's figure flashed out from the forest, playing with a Flying Dagger in his hand: "The people from The Net have already set up the 'Heavenly Net Formation' outside the valley. If anyone from the Nether Lord's side escapes, they won't be able to fly out."

He looked at the black mist vaguely visible in the valley, "The resentment inside can affect the mind. After you enter, I will use the Flying Dagger to send messages."

Jun Xiaoyao, in front of the water mirror, watched this scene and said to Zhao Gao: "After Marshal of the Unruly gets the heart-rotting grass, send it immediately to the Far North Ice Plain. Send half to Moon Invitation, and keep the rest for research. Also, notify Great Doctor Ping to bring the mother-child heart devouring gu back to Beyond Heaven. It's not safe to keep this thing in Myriad Gu Valley."

"Yes, Young Lord." Zhao Gao bowed and replied, handing over a file, "This is the background of the Nether Lord found by The Net. It is said that he was once an expert in the 'Shattering the Void' Realm. He destroyed his own Realm to Cultivate forbidden techniques back then and hid in Netherworld Valley to heal his wounds. The Nine Netherworld Rakshasa Formation is the 'cocoon of resentment' he uses to heal."

Jun Xiaoyao opened the file, his fingertips pausing on the four characters "Shattering the Void": "No wonder he dared to study the 'Shattering Gu'; it turns out he had personal experience."

He closed the file, "Tell Sweeping Monk not to force his way in. Just find out the location of the formation eye. If we really want to act, we have to wait until we are fully prepared."

At this moment, by the miasma pool in Myriad Gu Valley, Marshal of the Unruly had ordered the kerosene to be ignited.

The oil barrels were thrown into the pool. The moment the torches fell, a raging fire ignited on the surface of the pool, and the dark green miasma was scorched by the flames, emitting a pungent odor.

The man-eating water algae twisted wildly in the fire, emitting screams similar to shrieks, and soon curled up into a charred mass.

"Now!" Marshal of the Unruly waved his hand. Two of The Unruly, wearing breathing masks, jumped to the bottom of the pool with silver shovels.

The mud at the bottom of the pool was black and purple. Where the silver shovels landed, several dark red herbs suddenly emerged, their leaf edges serrated, and their roots entangled with tiny poisonous thread worms—this was the heart-rotting grass.

"Watch out for the roots!" Marshal of the Unruly warned, "Don't let the poisonous thread worms crawl up. That thing can burrow into the skin and eat bone marrow!"

The two members of The Unruly did not dare to be negligent. They carefully dug up the heart-rotting grass by the roots with silver shovels and put them into a special jade box.

The moment the jade box was closed, a faint sound of the poisonous thread worms hitting the box wall came from inside. Obviously, this thing had extremely strong vitality.

Just at this moment, the sound of arrows piercing the air suddenly came from the opposite bank of the pool!

A dozen Men in Black holding poison crossbows rushed out of the forest. The leader was the "Wood Poison Envoy" who had luckily escaped from the Twelve Poison Envoys of Myriad Gu Valley: "Scum of The Unruly, how dare you steal the Valley Master's heart-rotting grass! Pay with your lives!"

Marshal of the Unruly had long been prepared. He swung his iron pipe, and the sparks in the pipe turned into hidden weapons and shot towards the arrow rain. At the same time, he shouted: "Form up!"

The Unruly quickly formed a defensive formation, shields interlocking to block the attack of the poison crossbows.

The burly man with a thick beard rushed out of the formation with a spiked club, smashing the leading Man in Black into meat paste with one swing. The poison on the head of the club splashed on the ground, corroding small pits.

"Entangle them!" Marshal of the Unruly said to his subordinates, "I will take the heart-rotting grass and leave first. You follow later. People from The Net will meet you outside the valley."

After speaking, he tucked away the jade box, and his figure disappeared into the depths of the dense forest after a few leaps.

Seeing this, the Wood Poison Envoy roared, took out a pottery jar from his arms, and scattered the green Gu inside onto the ground. After the Gu landed, they instantly grew into poisonous vines a zhang high, entangling towards the formation of The Unruly.

In the water mirror on the right, Sweeping Monk and Let I Go had stepped into Netherworld Valley.

The resentment of the Nine Netherworld Rakshasa Formation was indeed powerful. The range covered by the Buddhist light was constantly shrinking, and the gray resentful spirits rushed towards the Buddhist light barrier like starving wolves, causing ripples in the barrier.

"Old monk, are you okay?" Let I Go teased while absorbing the resentful spirits with his Star Absorbing Great Technique, "If this goes on, we'll be torn apart by the resentful spirits before we break the formation!"

Sweeping Monk was unhurried. He drew a Sanskrit symbol on the ground with his black iron monk's staff. The symbol lit up with golden light, temporarily forcing back the surrounding resentful spirits: "What's the rush? The formation eye of the Nine Netherworld Rakshasa Formation is at the entrance of the Nether God Hall, three miles away."

He pointed to the black palace vaguely visible in front, "Do you see those three pillars? Hanging on them are the Soul Suppressing Gong, the soul locking chain, and the Soul Eroding Banner."

Let I Go looked in the direction he pointed, a flash of greed in his eyes: "That soul locking chain is not bad. My Star Absorbing Great Technique is just missing a handy weapon. It will be mine later!"

As the two were moving forward, they suddenly heard the sound of a Flying Dagger piercing the air behind them.

Li Xunhuan's voice came from afar: "Watch out for the left side, there is an ambush by a Nether General!"

Before the words fell, the ice layer on the left suddenly exploded. A figure in black armor rushed out from under the ice.

The long halberd in his hand carried thick Death Qi, aiming straight at Sweeping Monk's back—it was the "Black Nether General," one of the three great Nether Generals under the Nether Lord, whose Realm had reached the Earthly Immortal Early-Stage.

"Well come!" Let I Go did not retreat but advanced. His Star Absorbing Great Technique was fully activated, and his palms actually grabbed the tip of the long halberd directly.

The Black Nether General felt a powerful suction force coming, and the Internal Energy in his body drained crazily. He was suddenly terrified: "What kind of evil art is this?!"

Sweeping Monk took the opportunity to slap out a palm. Under the activation of the Indestructible Vajra Body, the palm wind carried Buddhist light and struck the Black Nether General's chest.

The Black Nether General's armor shattered in response, spraying a mouthful of black blood. He flew backward and hit the ice wall. When he slid to the ground, there was no sound.

"Unbearable." Let I Go weighed the long halberd in his hand and threw it on the ground casually, "Much worse than the Ice Nether General, not even satisfying to absorb."

Sweeping Monk chanted a Buddhist name and cast his gaze toward the Nether God Hall: "The resentment is even heavier ahead. I'm afraid the Nether Lord is inside."

Jun Xiaoyao, in front of the water mirror, watched this scene and tapped his fingertips on the armrest.

Marshal of the Unruly had already left Myriad Gu Valley with the heart-rotting grass and was rushing to the Far North Ice Plain; on the side of Netherworld Valley, Sweeping Monk and Let I Go were getting closer and closer to the formation eye, Li Xunhuan was responding on the outskirts, and the Heavenly Net Formation of The Net had also been set up.

"Zhao Gao," Jun Xiaoyao suddenly spoke, "Let The Net spread the news in the Central Plains, saying that the Nether Lord is refining the Shattering Gu in Netherworld Valley, wanting to use the people of the world as a Cauldron. Also, send a 'invitation card' to the major Schools, inviting them to Netherworld Valley to 'observe the ceremony'."

Zhao Gao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Is the Young Lord trying to let the Central Plains Martial Forest act as the vanguard?"

"Otherwise?" Jun Xiaoyao hooked his lips into a faint smile, "No matter how powerful the Nine Netherworld Rakshasa Formation is, it can't withstand the crowd. When they fight until both sides are hurt, we will step in to clean up the mess. Wouldn't that save trouble?"

The wind outside the hall carried the cold air from the Far North and the miasma from Myriad Gu Valley, forming an invisible air wall outside the Core Hall.

Jun Xiaoyao leaned on the black iron chair, watching the movements of various forces in the water mirror, his eyes without any ripples.

The heart-rotting grass was in hand, the formation eye of Netherworld Valley had been identified, and the "chess pieces" of the Central Plains Martial Forest were about to fall into place.

Next, he only needed to wait quietly for the opportunity, watching how this melee, which he had promoted single-handedly, would completely bury the Nether Lord's ambition.

The light of the summoning array quietly lit up at this moment, and the light cyan runes flowed. Obviously, new characters were about to descend.

Jun Xiaoyao knew that as the situation in Netherworld Valley heated up, the power of Beyond Heaven would continue to grow, and he, the Young Lord behind the scenes, only needed to sit steadily on the fishing platform, waiting to collect more and more abundant "spoils of war".