273: Blood Shadow Gate

Jun Xiaoyao sat on the black iron throne in the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest as his gaze fell upon the translucent panel floating before him.

On the panel, the "The Net Force Distribution Map" was slowly rotating; the red dots in Qingzhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou had connected into a single expanse—these were the stations of the Luowang Assassins.

However, the golden light point representing the core members of Beyond Heaven was still only in Hanyue Valley—this was something he had done deliberately, as the Foundation of Beyond Heaven was not yet stable, and exposing it too early would only invite the wariness of the Holy Land.

"Young Lord, we have just received news that the Governor of Bingzhou has secretly colluded with the 'Blood Shadow Gate' and detained three carts of black iron ore that we were transporting to Youzhou."

Zhao Gao stood bowing below the steps, holding a secret report in his hands.

"The Blood Shadow Gate Sect Leader, 'Blood Fiend', has sent word that you must go to Bingzhou personally to 'negotiate', otherwise he will melt the iron ore to forge weapons and gift them to the barbarians of the Northern Frontier."

The information on the Blood Shadow Gate instantly popped up on the panel: [Blood Shadow Gate, a third-rate assassin organization, skilled in using poison and assassination; the Sect Leader Blood Fiend has a cultivation at the Peak Grandmaster Realm, with thirty Innate Realm assassins under his command, and their stronghold is located at Black Wind Stockade in Bingzhou].

Jun Xiaoyao tapped his fingertip on the panel to bring up the "Uses for Black Iron Ore" note—this batch of iron ore was intended to forge the outer armor for Xuanzang's purple gold alms bowl to enhance the effect of purifying evil arts; if it were obtained by the barbarians, it would likely be used to forge siege equipment, which would jeopardize the Northern Frontier defense line.

"Does Blood Fiend think he has a handle on me?"

A cold arc curled at the corner of Jun Xiaoyao's mouth.

"Zhao Gao, have the Marshal of the Unruly take twenty Luowang Assassins to Black Wind Stockade and tell Blood Fiend: either return the iron ore obediently, or I will turn his Black Wind Stockade into a true 'land of fiends'."

As Zhao Gao bowed and retreated, the panel suddenly popped up a prompt: [Sufficient energy detected, Intermediate summoning can be performed].

Jun Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow; recently, The Net had taken on three assassination missions in the black market, and combined with the "tribute" from Bingzhou merchants, the energy value had just reached the standard.

He raised his hand and tapped the "Summon" button on the panel; the summoning array in the center of the underground palace instantly lit up with a cyan-blue light, runes circulated within the array, and gradually condensed into a burly figure.

"I am General Qin Qiong, greetings, Young Lord."

The person who arrived wore bright light armor, held twin maces, and had a resolute face; he was none other than General Qin Qiong, a famous general from the Sui and Tang dynasties.

The information on the panel refreshed simultaneously: [Character: General Qin Qiong] [Realm: Early Stage Grandmaster Realm] [Martial Skill: Qin Family Mace Technique (Perfection), Finishing Blow (Unique Skill)] [Loyalty: 92%].

Jun Xiaoyao nodded slightly; the arrival of General Qin Qiong just happened to fill the vacancy in Beyond Heaven's combat power at the Grandmaster Realm.

He pointed to the Blood Shadow Gate stronghold on the panel: "General Qin, accompany the Marshal of the Unruly to Bingzhou. If Blood Fiend is not sensible, use your twin maces to teach him the rules."

General Qin Qiong cupped his hands: "Subordinate obeys."

Before the words fell, the Marshal of the Unruly was seen walking out from the shadows, dressed in black tight-fitting attire with a bronze token hanging from his waist—that was the symbol of the highest command of The Net.

The two looked at each other, needing no further words, and turned to leave through the secret passage of the underground palace, their footsteps silent, with only the soft sound of armor rubbing echoing in the passage.

Three days later, news came back from Bingzhou: the Blood Shadow Gate stronghold had been destroyed, Blood Fiend's right arm had been broken by a mace from General Qin Qiong, his cultivation had been crippled, and the three carts of black iron ore were intact and being escorted back by The Net.

Attached to the letter was also a map of the Blood Shadow Gate's Scripture Pavilion; Zhao Gao said that General Qin Qiong had found a copy of the "poison scripture" in the stockade, which might be useful for breaking the witch poison of the barbarians.

Jun Xiaoyao was flipping through the handwritten copy of the "poison scripture" when the panel suddenly popped up an urgent notification—[Movement detected from the Holy Land 'Haoran Academy'; their Elder 'Yan Hui' has led a hundred Disciples into Youzhou, claiming to 'cleanse evil spirits', and has already sealed three shops associated with The Net].

Haoran Academy?

Jun Xiaoyao slid his fingertip on the panel to bring up the other party's information: [Haoran Academy, one of the top Holy Lands, advocates 'benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom', but in reality, it controls the literary lineage of the Central Plains, and every successive Dean is in the Land Immortal Realm. Yan Hui, the Third Elder of the Academy, is in the Great Scholar Realm (equivalent to Late Stage Grandmaster Realm), skilled in suppressing evil arts with 'Haoran righteous Qi', and many of his Disciples hold official positions in the imperial court].

"Young Lord, Yan Hui has posted 'exorcism charms' on the lintels of our shops. The common people now dare not approach our shops, and even news from the black market cannot get in."

Zhao Gao said urgently, "Even more troublesome is that the Governor of Youzhou is a student of Yan Hui and has just issued an official document saying he wants to 'verify' the business Aptitude of The Net; I fear he is about to take action."

Jun Xiaoyao tapped his fingertip on the "Summoning Energy Bar", which had exactly enough for one Low-level summon.

The summoning array lit up again; this time, an old man wearing plain clothes and carrying a medicine basket appeared, holding a freshly picked herb in his hand.

The panel information popped up: [Character: Famous historical physician] [Realm: Late Stage Grandmaster Realm] [Skill: Qingnang Scripture (Medicine Perfection), Anesthetic Powder (Unique Skill), Five Animal Frolics (Major Achievement)] [Loyalty: 95%].

"I, Famous historical physician, heard that the Young Lord needs to heal people and the world, so I have come to assist."

Famous historical physician bowed and saluted, the herbs in his medicine basket emitting a clear, bitter fragrance that actually lessened the murderous aura of the underground palace.

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the annotation for "Anesthetic Powder" on the panel—it could paralyze the Meridians of Martial Artists below the Grandmaster Realm—and immediately had an idea.

He said to Zhao Gao: "Let the Luowang Assassins in Youzhou suspend their activities and close all the shops. Also, prepare a medicine hut for Famous historical physician and provide him with whatever medicinal materials he needs."

Seven days later, news suddenly spread on the streets of Youzhou: the Disciples of Haoran Academy had contracted a strange illness, their bodies itching all over, their strength gradually fading, and even Yan Hui's Haoran righteous Qi could not suppress it.

Some commoners said that it was because the Academy Disciples had touched evil objects when they forcibly occupied the shops; others said that it was because the revenge of The Net was too ruthless, and even the heavens could not bear it.

When Yan Hui was overwhelmed, he received an anonymous letter saying that he only needed to let the Disciples withdraw from Youzhou to be given the antidote.

He originally wanted to hold on, but seeing his Disciples scratching themselves until they were covered in bloodstains, without even the strength to hold a pen to write, he finally relented.

That night, a hundred Academy Disciples withdrew from Youzhou; just after passing the state border, they saw a few masked men deliver several carts of ointment.

Half an hour after the Disciples applied the medicine, the itching actually disappeared.

Little did Yan Hui know, this "strange illness" was itching powder mixed by Famous historical physician, mixed into the tea that the Academy Disciples often drank, while the antidote was just ordinary peppermint ointment—what he could not have imagined was that among those masked men, an old man carrying a medicine basket was standing at a street corner watching them leave, stroking his beard and laughing softly.

When the news reached Hanyue Valley, Jun Xiaoyao was looking at the [Youzhou Control +30%] prompt on the panel.

General Qin Qiong and the Marshal of the Unruly happened to return from Bingzhou, followed by several Luowang Assassins pushing prison carts, with Blood Fiend and several Blood Shadow Gate core members locked inside.

"Young Lord, Blood Fiend has been brought."

The Marshal of the Unruly took off the mask on his face, revealing a face covered in knife scars.

"This guy has a very stiff mouth; we interrogated him for three days before he spilled the truth, saying that he had people from Haoran Academy supporting him from behind, who gave him three chests of gold to let him obstruct our iron ore transport."

General Qin Qiong handed over a confession: "Blood Fiend also said that Yan Hui has correspondence with the barbarians of the Northern Frontier, using the Central Plains defense map to exchange for the barbarians' war horses."

Jun Xiaoyao took the confession, tapped his fingertip on the panel to bring up Yan Hui's information, and added the words "Northern Frontier barbarians" to the "Suspicious Connections" column.

He looked up at Famous historical physician: "Old Hua, I'll trouble you to use some 'materials' on Blood Fiend and the others; don't let them die, they are still useful."

Famous historical physician nodded: "Young Lord, rest assured, I have ways to make them obedient."

He turned and walked towards the prison carts, the silver needles in his medicine basket flashing with cold light in the light.

The night in the underground palace was always quiet, with only the faint light of the panel and the sound of patrolling footsteps in the distance.

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the [Beyond Heaven Energy Value] slowly climbing on the panel, knowing that the next summoning was not far away.

He tapped the armrest lightly; the wind outside Hanyue Valley was blowing through the pine forest, carrying the chill of the Northern Frontier, as if reminding him—the water in this continent was deeper than he imagined, and his Net still needed to be woven more tightly.