268: Yunlan Sect knocks on the door

On the jade steps of the Xuantian Hall, the morning dew had yet to dry.

Jun Xiaoyao was already sitting in the purple nanmu chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the crystal panel in front of him.

On the panel, the [Core Member Directory of Beyond Heaven] was slowly refreshing, next to the names of the three assassins who had just been promoted to the Grandmaster Realm last night.

It had been marked with the word "Standby"—this was the credit of the Breakthrough pill refined by Sun Simiao using a thousand-year snow lotus.

"Young Lord, the people from the Cloud Mist Sect have been waiting outside the hall for three quarter-hours."

Zhao Gao bowed and reported, his voice kept extremely low, "Leading them is Elder Yun Canghai of the Cloud Mist Sect, with a cultivation base of the Initial Heaven Human Realm. He brought ten Core Disciples, each with condensed Qi, clearly coming prepared."

Jun Xiaoyao did not raise his gaze. The information on the Cloud Mist Sect automatically popped up on the panel: [Cloud Mist Sect, one of the three major Sects in Qingzhou, specializes in wind-based techniques and controls the Spiritual Vein in the eastern part of Qingzhou. Recently, there has been an overlap with Beyond Heaven regarding the mining rights of the Spiritual Vein—this is also the reason for their visit today.]

"Let them in." Jun Xiaoyao spoke indifferently, his fingertips tapping on the panel.

The [Luowang Assassins] column lit up instantly, and twenty black-clad assassins silently sneaked behind the hall pillars and the side of the screens.

Their Aura blended with the surrounding environment; even if Yun Canghai was in the Heavenly Human Realm, he might not be able to detect the presence of these top Luowang Assassins.

Footsteps approached from afar. The leader, Yun Canghai, wore a green robe, his beard and hair were white, but he was in high spirits.

His eyes swept across the hall and finally landed on Jun Xiaoyao.

The Disciples behind him all had long swords hanging from their waists, their eyes filled with the arrogance peculiar to Sect Disciples.

One of them couldn't help but speak: "Your Excellency is the Young Master of Tianwaitian? Our Sect Elder has come to visit in person, yet you don't even stand up to welcome him. This is too disrespectful!"

Yun Canghai raised his hand to stop the Disciple and cupped his hands at Jun Xiaoyao: "Young Lord, no need for formalities."

"I have come this time for the matter of the Spiritual Vein mining rights—the 'Wind Singing Mine' in the eastern part of Qingzhou, according to the Sect Alliance covenant, should be led by our Cloud Mist Sect. Please, Young Lord, restrain your subordinates and do not send anyone to set foot there again."

Jun Xiaoyao finally looked up.

The crystal panel unfolded in front of him, clearly displaying the exploration report of the mine: [The core area of the Wind Singing Mine contains the rare metal "Wind Spirit Crystal". Beyond Heaven's mechanical improvements require this material, and there is a dispute over the boundary of the mine, which is not exclusive to the Cloud Mist Sect.]

"Elder Yun, you are joking," Jun Xiaoyao pointed his fingertip at the mine map on the panel, "Our Beyond Heaven mining team has never crossed the red line drawn by the Sect Alliance back then."

"On the contrary, it was your Sect's Disciples who broke into our mining area three days ago and destroyed three mining Puppets—shouldn't we settle this account first?"

The surveillance footage popped up on the panel at the right time: three Cloud Mist Sect Disciples were using wind blades to hack at the Beyond Heaven mining Puppets.

Beside the wreckage of the Puppets, the cyan sword tassels unique to the Cloud Mist Sect were scattered.

Yun Canghai's expression changed slightly, and the Disciple behind him flushed: "It was your Puppets that crossed the border first!"

"Oh?" Jun Xiaoyao raised his eyebrows.

The panel switched to a photo of the boundary marker in the mining area, with the covenant runes of that year carved on it.

"The boundary marker is here. The Puppet's recorder shows that they have always been operating inside the boundary marker."

"It was your Sect's Disciples whose sword tassels fell three feet outside the boundary marker—this can't be faked, right?"

Yun Canghai was silent for a moment, a fierce look flashed in his eyes: "Is the Young Lord determined to fight my Cloud Mist Sect for this mine?"

A faint cyan airflow appeared around his body, and the pressure of the Heavenly Human Realm quietly spread out.

The air in the hall seemed to be cut by wind blades; ordinary Disciples would probably have been kneeling on the ground long ago.

Jun Xiaoyao, however, seemed unaware and just clapped his hands lightly.

"It seems Elder Yun doesn't want to reason."

As soon as the words fell, a slight sound came from behind the hall pillars, and twenty black shadows appeared instantly.

The leader, the Marshal of the Unruly, held a long spear, the tip of which shone with cold light.

Although the Luowang Assassins behind him were all in the Grandmaster Realm, they relied on the blessing of the Formation to forcefully withstand Yun Canghai's Aura.

"Elder Yun," the Marshal of the Unruly said in a deep voice, "Beyond Heaven does not cause trouble, but it is not afraid of trouble either."

"Whoever the mine belongs to depends on strength—why don't we set a time, each send our own people, and have a competition in the center of the mine? The winner will dominate the mining, how about that?"

Yun Canghai looked at the suddenly appeared assassins, especially the Aura on the Marshal of the Unruly that was no less than his own, and was secretly shocked: This Beyond Heaven actually hides so many experts!

He snorted coldly: "Good! Three days later, see you at the center of the mine!"

"If my Cloud Mist Sect wins, Beyond Heaven must withdraw from the mine immediately and compensate for our losses!"

"If we win," Jun Xiaoyao added, "Your Sect must apologize publicly and compensate for the Puppet maintenance costs—in addition, for the next three years, 30% of the Wind Spirit Crystals mined by your Sect must be shared with Beyond Heaven."

"It's a deal!"

Yun Canghai turned and left. Although the Disciples were unwilling, they were taken away by the Elder's momentum and left the Xuantian Hall quickly.

Watching their backs, Zhao Gao whispered: "Young Lord, there is more than one Heavenly Human Realm expert in the Cloud Mist Sect. They are likely to ask for help."

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the newly unlocked [Summoning Authority: Heavenly Human Realm] on the panel, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly: "Then let them ask."

He tapped his fingertip on the panel, and the words [summoning array activated] lit up.

Pale cyan light gathered in the center of the hall, more intense than any previous summoning.

In the light, a figure slowly condensed. He wore a green robe, held a folding fan, and had a jade pendant hanging from his waist.

It was Star Plucker, who was famous in the Jianghu for "Wind Passes Without a Trace"—with a cultivation base of the Initial Heaven Human Realm, he was good at light movement techniques and concealment, and was even more proficient in the methods of breaking wind-based techniques.

[Summoning Successful] [Character: Star Plucker] [From: gu long wuxia world] [Realm: Initial Heaven Human Realm] [Martial Skill/Cultivation Technique: 1. Treading Snow Without a Trace (Perfection)—The world's number one light movement technique, can cross a hundred feet in an instant, and the movement is agile and unpredictable; 2. Folding Fan Acupoint Pointing (Major Achievement)—Using a folding fan as a weapon, the acupoint pointing is precise and can break the force points of most wind-based techniques; 3. Stealing Heaven and Changing Earth (Perfection)—Good at breaking Formations and mechanisms, extremely sensitive to energy flow, and can find the flaws in wind-based techniques.] [Loyalty: 92%]

"Subordinate Star Plucker, greets the Young Lord."

Star Plucker shook his folding fan lightly, with a bit of cynicism in his eyes, but he couldn't hide the pressure of the Heavenly Human Realm.

"The competition in three days will be left to you." Jun Xiaoyao smiled.

Star Plucker closed his folding fan: "Young Lord, don't worry. The Cloud Mist Sect's wind-based techniques are like an unlocked window in my eyes—it opens with a push."

The wind outside the hall seemed to be more urgent, blowing the bells under the corridor to jingle, as if playing a prelude for the competition three days later.

Jun Xiaoyao knew that this was just the beginning. With the rise of Beyond Heaven, more and more Sects would notice this fat piece of meat, and what he had to do was to let the light of the summoning array illuminate every corner that dared to provoke him.