288: Mo Yu calculated the network of interests

Deep within the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, the faint golden halo of the summoning array pulsed like a breath, the spiritual power level steadily holding at 80%.

Jun Xiaoyao tapped his fingertips lightly on the black ice armrest, his gaze falling on the busy figure of Jiang Jing in the water mirror—this newly summoned accountant was holding the smuggling ledger of the Li family's cloth shop.

Using a copper coin to sketch dense calculation symbols on the paper, he had set the Ink Jade Abacus aside, with some ink stains still lingering on the jade beads.

"Young Lord, according to the black market arms prices, selling thirty sets of black iron armor at a thirty percent premium can earn an extra hundred taels of gold; the bowstrings of the armor-piercing crossbows are fragile, requiring a ten percent maintenance reserve. When calculated, the actual net profit from the Li family's smuggling trip is three thousand two hundred taels of silver."

Jiang Jing didn't even lift his head, his abacus clattering for a moment before he added, "But they failed to calculate the Imperial Dynasty's customs duties. By law, they need to pay an additional fifty percent. When we hand the ledger to the Secret Agent Division, we can mention this so they go to collect the arrears—the Secret Agent Division will definitely share thirty percent of that money with us as a 'clue fee'."

Zhao Gao listened from the side, clicking his tongue in amazement, the Luowang Assassins' mission list nearly slipping from his hand: "Mr. Jiang, you can calculate all that? Thirty percent is four hundred and eighty taels, enough to buy new crossbow bolts for twenty assassins!"

Jiang Jing smoothed his square cap, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly: "An accountant's skill is to make one cent of profit grow into two." He suddenly pointed toward the direction of the Wanfa Holy Land branch in the water mirror, "Young Lord, look, the Spiritual Qi fluctuations in the branch warehouse are abnormal. Besides the Ink Jade Abacus, I'm afraid there are other treasures. Judging by the energy reaction, there are at least three Grandmaster Realm Magical Artifacts. If we can retrieve them, the survival rate of the Luowang Assassins can increase by twenty percent."

Jun Xiaoyao tapped his finger lightly on the water mirror, and the view inside the warehouse immediately appeared—sure enough, on the sandalwood shelf in the corner, besides the Ink Jade Abacus, there was a bronze mirror, a short dagger, and a compass. [Bronze Mirror: Grandmaster Realm Magical Artifact, can reveal invisible assassins; Short Dagger "Rending Wind": Cuts iron like mud, comes with armor-piercing effect; Compass "Soul Fixing": Can warn of Killing Intent within ten miles]

"Have the Marshal of the Unruly cooperate with Star Plucker," Jun Xiaoyao said calmly. "Give the Ink Jade Abacus to Jiang Jing, and distribute the other three items to the three Luowang Assassins squads."

[Mission Assignment: Star Plucker (Team Leader), Marshal of the Unruly (Support)]

[Mission Objective: Steal three Magical Artifacts and the Ink Jade Abacus from the Wanfa Holy Land branch warehouse]

[Mission Reward: Luowang combat power increased by 15%, three new Magical Artifacts added to the Beyond Heaven resource library]

In the water mirror, Star Plucker had already changed into the gray robes of a Wanfa Holy Land Disciple, three copper coin darts hidden in his sleeves, and was sneaking toward the warehouse following Hong Ling. The Marshal of the Unruly transformed into a black shadow, creating a commotion outside the branch—he deliberately ignited three fire starters, making the patrolling Disciples think a fire had broken out, and sure enough, half the warehouse guards left to fight the fire.

"Miss Hong Ling, do you think this branch leader is an idiot? Stacking all the treasures in one room." Star Plucker tapped his palm with his folding fan, looking at the Eight Trigrams Formation lock on the warehouse stone door. His fingertips fiddled in the keyhole for a moment, and with a "click," the lock opened.

Hong Ling raised the night-luminescent stone to illuminate the warehouse and whispered, "The branch leader is the Young Lord's Senior Brother; he always feels that no one dares to touch things from the Wanfa Holy Land." She pointed to the Ink Jade Abacus, "That's the thing Mr. Jiang wants, it has the most Spiritual Qi."

Just as Star Plucker picked up the Ink Jade Abacus, a mechanical whirring sound suddenly came from the corner of the warehouse, the ground cracked open, and three poison-tipped long spears thrust out! He waved his folding fan rapidly, using the fan ribs to block the spears, while dragging Hong Ling backward: "There's a trap!"

The voice of the Marshal of the Unruly came from outside: "There is a mechanism hub in the northwest corner!" Clearly, he had already figured out the warehouse structure.

Hong Ling immediately threw a flying needle, accurately hitting the hub, and the spears retracted upon hearing the sound. Star Plucker seized the opportunity to grab the bronze mirror. As the mirror surface flashed, it indeed revealed two hidden guards concealed on the rafters—they were wearing robes the same color as the walls; had it not been for the bronze mirror's warning, they would never have been discovered.

"Lend me the Rending Wind Dagger." Star Plucker smiled at Hong Ling, took the short dagger, and threw it. The tip of the dagger sliced through the air, piercing straight into the hidden guard's throat, the movement so fast that only a streak of silver light remained. The Marshal of the Unruly happened to break in at this moment, his palm wind sweeping across, and the other hidden guard was knocked off the rafters, falling to the ground unconscious.

"The compass is mine, the bronze mirror is for the Marshal of the Unruly, and the Rending Wind Dagger is for you to protect yourself." Star Plucker divided the three Magical Artifacts and carefully wrapped the Ink Jade Abacus in a cloth, "Let's go, the pretense of the fire won't last long."

The three quickly retreated. By the time the branch Disciples discovered the warehouse had been burgled, they had already returned to the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace with the Magical Artifacts.

Jiang Jing received the Ink Jade Abacus; the jade beads felt warm and smooth in his hand, and he immediately used it to re-calculate the resource list of Beyond Heaven. He slid his fingers across the jade beads, the abacus beads automatically returned to their positions, and the numbers on the ledger actually began to jump accordingly: "Young Lord, with this abacus, resource allocation efficiency has increased by thirty percent! For example, Luowang's poison, which used to have a twenty percent loss every month, can now be precisely rationed, consuming only fifteen percent." He pointed to the virtual ledger projected by the abacus beads, "And I discovered that among the Wanfa Holy Land's arms smuggling accounts, a sum of gold flowed to the Third Prince's mansion—this is a big clue."

In the water mirror, the Imperial Dynasty's Secret Agent Division indeed sent people to collect the Li family's customs duties. When Li Qian was taken to the government office, he was still roaring: "That gold was for the Third Prince! Do you dare to touch me?" This statement was recorded by the Luowang Assassins hiding in the shadows, and the footage was transmitted back to the Underground Palace in real-time.

"The Third Prince is involved?" Zhao Gao looked at the water mirror, somewhat nervous, "He is a Heavenly Human Realm expert."

Jiang Jing's abacus clattered, and he said calmly, "So what if he is in the Heavenly Human Realm? The ledger shows that the Third Prince used the gold sent by the Li family to buy a batch of Western Region medicinal herbs, and among those herbs is a 'Heart-Corroding Grass', the main ingredient for refining the forbidden drug 'Burning Body Powder'—this drug can increase cultivation for a short time, but the side effect is that the Meridians are completely severed. We will leak this news to the First Prince, and I guarantee the Third Prince will be too busy to care about anything else."

Jun Xiaoyao's fingertips slid over the mark of the Third Prince's mansion on the water mirror, where the Spiritual Qi fluctuations faintly echoed with the Wanfa Holy Land Main Altar. "Have Star Plucker investigate the whereabouts of the Heart-Corroding Grass." He paused and added, "Take the Rending Wind Dagger."

[Character: Star Plucker]

[Current Status: Resting, Loyalty 97%]

[Equipment: Rending Wind Dagger (Grandmaster Realm Magical Artifact)]

[New Mission: Investigate the Heart-Corroding Grass inventory in the Third Prince's mansion and map the medicinal herb warehouse]

When Star Plucker received the order, he was playing with the bronze mirror. Upon hearing this, he immediately tucked the bronze mirror into his embrace: "Heart-Corroding Grass? I've seen this thing in the Western Regions; it has a hint of almond scent." He checked himself in the mirror and disguised himself as a water-delivering servant, "I guarantee I'll bring back a complete medicinal herb list for the Young Lord."

The water mirror switched to the scene of the Third Prince's mansion: Star Plucker pushed the water barrel, used the bronze mirror's warning to avoid patrolling guards, and successfully sneaked into the backyard. The door to the medicinal herb warehouse had an iron lock, which he easily pried open with a hairpin. As soon as he entered, he smelled a rich medicinal odor—sure enough, there was Heart-Corroding Grass! The warehouse contained hundreds of medicine chests, categorized and placed, with labels on each box.

"Good fellow, there are fifty catties of Heart-Corroding Grass alone." Star Plucker took out the parchment and quickly drew a map, when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door and hurriedly hid among the medicine chests. The person who entered was an imperial physician, checking the herbs with a ledger, muttering, "The Third Prince is also, insisting on refining Burning Body Powder; if His Majesty finds out about this..."

Star Plucker held his breath. After the imperial physician left, he immediately used the Rending Wind Dagger to pry open a few medicine chests, confirmed that the herbs inside matched the ledger records, and then quietly slipped out of the warehouse. By the time he returned to the Underground Palace, he had not only the map but also a small bag of Heart-Corroding Grass samples.

"Fifty catties of Heart-Corroding Grass can refine a hundred portions of Burning Body Powder." Jiang Jing calculated with the Ink Jade Abacus, his expression changing slightly, "Enough to ruin a hundred Grandmaster Realm experts! Is the Third Prince trying to create death soldiers?"

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the Heart-Corroding Grass sample, and the water mirror automatically associated information: [Burning Body Powder: Forbidden drug, increases combat power to Heavenly Human Realm within half an hour after taking it, Meridians will be completely severed and death will occur after three hours]. He tapped his fingertips: "Give the sample to the Hundred Herbs Elder and let him develop an antidote. Also, send the medicinal herb warehouse map to the First Prince."

Zhao Gao immediately arranged for people to deliver the letter, secretly clicking his tongue in his heart: The Young Lord is using the First Prince's hand to kill two birds with one stone, dealing with the Third Prince and the Wanfa Holy Land!

At this moment, the Spiritual Qi level of the summoning array rose by another 10% due to the intelligence energy brought back by Star Plucker, reaching 90%. Jiang Jing suddenly pointed to the direction of the Western Regions in the water mirror: "Young Lord, the merchant caravan of the Wanfa Holy Land Main Altar is about to arrive in Qingzhou, escorting a batch of 'Life-Rebirth Pills'—this drug claims to be able to bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh and bones, but in reality, it is refined using the living essence and blood of people. If we intercept it, we can not only sell it for a high price but also frame the Holy Land with the crime of 'harming living creatures'."

The water mirror immediately displayed the caravan information: [Escort: Three Grandmaster Realm experts, twenty Grandmaster Realm experts; Cargo: Life-Rebirth Pill x 50; Route: Passing through Black Wind Ridge at noon tomorrow]

"Let Zhao Yun lead the team." Jun Xiaoyao said, "His dragon gallbladder bright silver spear just happens to restrain evil things."

[Character: Zhao Yun]

[Realm: Early Stage Grandmaster Realm]

[Martial Skill: Dragon Gallbladder Spear Technique (Perfection)—contains righteous energy, has a restraining effect on evil martial arts]

[Mission: Intercept the Wanfa Holy Land caravan and seize the Life-Rebirth Pills]

When Zhao Yun received the mission, he was wiping his bright silver spear, the cold light of the spear tip reflecting in his eyebrows: "Young Lord, rest assured, such evil drugs must never flow into the market." He pointed to ten Luowang elites, all Grandmaster Realm assassins good at cooperation, "Tomorrow at noon, see you at Black Wind Ridge."

Jiang Jing calculated again: "The black market price of a Life-Rebirth Pill is one thousand taels of gold, so fifty pills is fifty thousand taels! Deducting the operation losses, The Net profit is forty-five thousand, enough to replace a batch of new crossbows for Luowang. Moreover, after intercepting the caravan, the Holy Land Main Altar will definitely send people to investigate, and we can just set a trap to lure their experts out."

Zhao Gao looked at the rapidly increasing numbers on the ledger, smiling from ear to ear: "Mr. Jiang, at this rate, within half a year, Beyond Heaven will be able to buy half of Qingzhou!"

Jiang Jing shook his head, his abacus clicking faster: "More than that, once the Third Prince and the Wanfa Holy Land are dealt with, their industries in Qingzhou will all become ours—the ten silk shops alone can bring in twenty thousand taels of silver every month."

Jun Xiaoyao's gaze fell on the summoning array; the 90% Spiritual Qi was enough to summon a Peak Grandmaster Realm character. He tapped his fingertips: "Summon another one who is good at Formations to cooperate with Zhao Yun to guard Black Wind Ridge."

The light of the summoning array lit up again. This time, the runes carried distinct Formation patterns. As the spiritual power rotated, a figure wearing Daoist robes gradually became clear—he held a whisk, a Bagua mirror hung at his waist, and his eyes were as clear as autumn water.

[Summoning Successful]

[Character: Zuo Ci]

[From: Three Kingdoms Wuxia World]

[Realm: Peak Grandmaster Realm]

[Martial Skills and Cultivation Technique: 1. Eight Trigrams Formation (Perfection)—can set up the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, trapping and killing experts below the Heavenly Human Realm. 2. Dunjia Technique (Major Achievement)—can change local space and hide aura. 3. Heavenly Thunder Talisman (Minor Achievement)—uses spiritual power to activate the talisman, releasing heavenly thunder to restrain evil spirits.]

[Loyalty: 95%]

Zuo Ci bowed to Jun Xiaoyao, his whisk sweeping lightly: "This poor Daoist Zuo Ci greets the Young Lord. I hear you want to set up a Formation to trap the enemy? My Eight Trigrams Formation will let those evil spirits taste its power."

Jiang Jing's eyes lit up, and he immediately took out the map of Black Wind Ridge: "Daoist Zuo, the caravan will pass through Eagle Beak Cliff. The terrain there is narrow, which is perfect for setting up a Formation! What do you think about this..." The two huddled together to study the Formation layout, the sound of the abacus and the rustling of the whisk sweeping over the map intertwining.

In the water mirror, Zhao Yun had already set off with the assassins and was surveying the terrain at Black Wind Ridge; Star Plucker had handed the Heart-Corroding Grass sample to the Hundred Herbs Elder, and the old man was so angry that his beard was blowing and his eyes were stareing, vowing to refine an antidote within three days; the Marshal of the Unruly had set up secret sentries outside the Third Prince's mansion, waiting to watch the First Prince and the Third Prince turn on each other.

Jun Xiaoyao leaned on the black ice throne, watching the busy crowd before him, the halo of the Ink Jade Abacus reflecting on his face, flickering. The Net of Beyond Heaven, borrowing the strength of these summoned experts, was little by little covering the sky of Qingzhou, and he only needed to sit in the depths of this Underground Palace, calculating all the pros and cons, and controlling the overall situation.

"Tomorrow at noon." Jun Xiaoyao suddenly spoke, his gaze cast toward the direction of Black Wind Ridge, "Do not let me down."

Zuo Ci stroked his beard and chuckled: "My Eight Trigrams Formation has yet to be broken by anyone."

Zhao Yun's voice came from the water mirror, filled with awe-inspiring righteousness: "Young Lord, await the good news!"

The Spiritual Qi level of the summoning array, under the resonance of everyone's aura, quietly jumped to 95%, only 5% away from being able to summon an even more top-tier existence. Jiang Jing stopped his abacus beads and suddenly said: "Young Lord, perhaps it won't take long before we can turn the Wanfa Holy Land Main Altar into the territory of Beyond Heaven as well."

Jun Xiaoyao didn't speak, just lightly drew the character "Kill" on the black ice armrest with his fingertips.

The wind of Hanyue Valley passed through the cracks in the Underground Palace, rolling up some dust, which fell on the Ink Jade Abacus and was gently brushed away by Jiang Jing's fingertips—just like brushing away those obstacles that were about to be crushed by Beyond Heaven.