289: The Rebirth Pill Appears

The summoning array in the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace glowed with a 95% pearlescent white light, while Jiang Jing used his black jade abacus to deduce the defense details of Black Wind Ridge, the sound of the abacus beads clashing crisp and sharp.

"Young Lord, Daoist Zuo's Eight Trigrams Formation requires the Qian, Kun, Zhen, and Xun four-image Formation eyes to be set up at Eagle Beak Cliff, with at least one person at the Grandmaster Realm guarding each eye. Among the ten elites of The Net brought by General Zhao Yun, there are exactly four Grandmasters, which is just enough to fill the positions."

Jun Xiaoyao sat on the mysterious ice throne, his gaze falling on the terrain of Black Wind Ridge in the water mirror—Eagle Beak Cliff had steep cliffs on both sides, with a narrow path in the middle that could only accommodate two horses abreast; it was indeed an excellent place for an ambush.

"How is it going with the Marshal of the Unruly?"

The water mirror switched scenes; the Marshal of the Unruly was dressed in black, crouching on the eaves of the Third Prince's residence, toying with a copper coin dart in his hand.

The Luowang Assassins beside him whispered: "The First Prince's men have already infiltrated outside the residence, just waiting for the 'big gift' we are sending."

The Marshal of the Unruly curled his lips into a cold smile, tossing the copper coin dart into the air and catching it again: "The Third Prince is still refining medicine in the pharmacy; the smell of that Heart-Eroding Grass can be smelled from three streets away." He glanced at the sky, "When noon arrives, we will act on time."

[Character: Marshal of the Unruly]

[From: Painted Jianghu World]

[Realm: Grandmaster Realm Middle Stage]

[Martial Skill: Copper Coin Dart (Perfection), Disguise Technique (Major Achievement), Soul-Bewitching Smoke (Minor Achievement)]

[Current Task: Cooperate with the First Prince's forces to expose the Third Prince for refining prohibited drugs]

The water mirror scene changed; General Zhao Yun had already arrived at Eagle Beak Cliff with the Luowang Assassins. He pulled on the reins, his bright silver spear gleaming coldly in the sunlight, and pointed at the narrow path ahead: "Daoist Zuo, is it feasible to set up the Formation here?"

Zuo Ci lightly waved his whisk, and pale golden Formation patterns appeared under his feet: "It is feasible. General Zhao Yun, please guard the Qian position Formation eye; it faces the entrance of the mountain road directly and is a place the caravan must pass." He took out four Formation Plates, "Embed these Formation Plates into the rock and inject spiritual power to activate them."

General Zhao Yun took the Formation Plates and said to the four people behind him: "Li Hu, guard the Kun position; Wang Kui, guard the Zhen position; Zhang Yi, guard the Xun position; follow me!" The four responded in unison and followed him to disperse to the four-image Formation eye positions.

Zuo Ci stood on the cliff top, his whisk sweeping across the Void Realm, and the phantom of the Eight Trigrams Formation flashed and disappeared over the mountain road: "After this Formation is activated, it will draw upon mountain winds to turn into sharp blades. Once the caravan enters the narrow path, they will be trapped. Unless the four-image Formation eyes are broken, they will not be able to escape even with wings."

[Character: Zuo Ci]

[From: Three Kingdoms Wuxia World]

[Realm: Peak Grandmaster Realm]

[Martial Skill: Eight Trigrams Formation (Perfection), Dun Jia Technique (Major Achievement), Heavenly Thunder Talisman (Minor Achievement)]

[Current Task: Preside over the Eight Trigrams Formation to trap the Wanfa Holy Land caravan]

Jiang Jing's abacus rang again: "According to the time calculation, the Wanfa Holy Land caravan should be arriving soon. Their guards include three Great Grandmasters and twenty Grandmasters. We won't have the advantage in a direct fight, but it's different if they are trapped in the Formation—the mountain wind blades can consume their spiritual power. If we then send Luowang Assassins to harass and sneak attack them until their spiritual power is exhausted, the Rebirth Pill will be ours for the taking."

In the water mirror, a caravan was slowly approaching Eagle Beak Cliff. Leading them was a sturdy man with a red face, with a "Wanfa" token hanging from his waist; he was the caravan leader. He reined in his horse and looked vigilantly at the cliffs on both sides: "Stay alert! This place looks suspicious."

[Character: Wanfa Caravan Leader]

[Realm: Grandmaster Realm Early Stage]

[Martial Skill: Blazing Fire Palm (Major Achievement)]

[Carrying Goods: Rebirth Pill x 50, Guards: 3 Great Grandmasters, 20 Grandmasters]

General Zhao Yun injected spiritual power into the Qian position Formation eye, and the Formation Plate lit up with red light: "They are here."

Zuo Ci shouted from the cliff top: "Activate the Formation!"

The four-image Formation eyes erupted with light simultaneously, and wild winds suddenly swirled from the cliffs on both sides of the narrow path, with wind blades whistling as they slashed toward the caravan. The horses were startled and neighed, and the guards hurriedly raised their spiritual power shields, but they were slashed by the wind blades, making sizzling sounds.

"It's a Formation!" The red-faced leader roared, striking out with his Blazing Fire Palm. The flames collided with the wind blades, stirring up waves of heat across the sky, "Break the Formation eyes!"

The three Great Grandmaster guards immediately rushed toward the four-image Formation eyes but were entangled by Luowang Assassins—Li Hu brandished a heavy blade to block the guard attacking the Kun position, Wang Kui used double hammers to block the enemy at the Zhen position, and Zhang Yi's long sword fought against the guard at the Xun position.

General Zhao Yun flicked his bright silver spear, the tip pointing directly at the red-faced leader: "Your opponent is me."

He unleashed the Dragon's Gall Spear Technique, the spear shadows blooming like pear blossoms, forcing the leader to retreat repeatedly. The leader shouted angrily and struck out with his Blazing Fire Palm with all his might, and raging flames immediately ignited on the mountain road, attempting to burn down the Formation.

Zuo Ci flicked his whisk from the cliff top, and a Heavenly Thunder Talisman flew out, exploding into a bolt of lightning in the air and striking the flames: "This Formation borrows the power of heaven and earth; how could it be burned by ordinary fire?"

The lightning collided with the flames, stirring up a large amount of water vapor, and the caravan's spiritual power shields gradually thinned under the continuous attacks of the wind blades.

Meanwhile, over at the Third Prince's residence, the Marshal of the Unruly seized the opportunity and threw a burning copper coin dart at the pharmacy window. The copper coin dart shattered the glass, carrying sparks into the pile of Heart-Eroding Grass beside the medicine furnace, instantly igniting a large fire.

"Fire! The Third Prince's medicine refining has caused a fire!" The Marshal of the Unruly shouted from the roof, his voice spreading throughout the entire street.

The First Prince's men, who had been waiting outside, immediately rushed in, shouting "Fire rescue," but in reality, they headed straight for the pharmacy. The Third Prince was adding medicine in front of the furnace; seeing the fire soaring to the sky and hearing the shouts outside, he panicked, and the medicine pestle in his hand fell to the ground.

"Catch the Third Prince! He is refining prohibited drugs and has ulterior motives!" The First Prince's confidant kicked open the door and pinned down the flustered Third Prince.

The Marshal of the Unruly crouched on the roof, watching this farce, and took a sip from the wine gourd at his waist: "Done."

In front of the water mirror, Jiang Jing's abacus beads clicked rapidly: "Young Lord, over at Eagle Beak Cliff, the caravan guards' spiritual power has been consumed by 60%, and the box of Rebirth Pills is right on the leader's horse!"

Jun Xiaoyao tapped his fingertips on the armrest, his gaze falling on the entanglement between General Zhao Yun and the red-faced leader—General Zhao Yun's bright silver spear had already pierced through the opponent's shield, and the spear tip was only an inch away from the leader's throat.

"It's time to close The Net."

General Zhao Yun seemed to have heard the order; his spear momentum suddenly accelerated, and he unleashed the first move of the Dragon's Gall Spear Technique, "Dragon Roars in the Nine Heavens," the spear shaft emitting a humming sound like a dragon's roar, directly blasting the red-faced leader away, who crashed into the cliff wall and passed out.

"Take them!" At General Zhao Yun's command, the Luowang Assassins swarmed up and tied up the caravan guards who had lost their ability to resist. Li Hu pried open the caravan's cargo box, and inside, fifty jade bottles were neatly arranged, with the words "Rebirth Pill" engraved on the bottle bodies.

Zuo Ci put away the Eight Trigrams Formation, his whisk sweeping across the mountain road: "This pill has a very heavy evil aura and needs to be handed over to the Hundred Herbs Elder for processing as soon as possible."

General Zhao Yun grabbed the red-faced leader by the collar, his bright silver spear carrying the cargo box: "Reporting to the Young Lord, the mission is complete."

[Task Result: Successfully intercepted the Wanfa Holy Land caravan, captured 50 Rebirth Pills, captured 23 guards, 0 casualties on our side]

[Revenue: 50,000 taels of gold (estimated), new prohibited drug samples added to the Beyond Heaven evil medicine warehouse]

The water mirror scene returned to the Underground Palace; Jiang Jing returned his abacus beads to their position, his eyes curving with a smile: "Young Lord, with the credit from the Third Prince's side, our reputation in Qingzhou for Beyond Heaven has risen again! Just now, news came from the black market that three aristocratic families want to cooperate with us and are offering a high price to buy the antidote formula for the Rebirth Pill."

Jun Xiaoyao watched the spiritual power scale on the summoning array jump to 98% and said indifferently: "Let the Hundred Herbs Elder first decipher the medicinal properties of the Rebirth Pill; hold off on the formula for now." He paused and turned his gaze to the center of the summoning array, "There is still the last 2% left."

Zuo Ci stroked his beard and smiled: "When I was setting up the Formation just now, I sensed a pure spiritual power fluctuation in the east, which might be able to complete this last bit."

The water mirror immediately locked onto the eastern direction—that was the largest auction house in Qingzhou, which was holding an appraisal meeting, and one of the auction items was a piece of "Soul-Nourishing Jade," which was said to contain a hundred years of spiritual power.

[Item: Soul-Nourishing Jade]

[Rank: Heaven And Earth Treasure]

[Effect: Can be directly converted into summoning array spiritual power, the pure Soul Power contained can stabilize the Divine Soul of the summoned character]

Jiang Jing's eyes lit up, and his abacus went "clack": "Young Lord, we must take this jade! Winning the bid will not only replenish the spiritual power but also make it less likely for problems with unstable Divine Souls to occur when summoning high-Rank characters in the future."

The Marshal of the Unruly's voice came from the water mirror: "The Third Prince's matter is already done; should I head to the auction house now?"

Jun Xiaoyao nodded: "Take five Luowang Assassins and be sure to win the Soul-Nourishing Jade."

[Character: Marshal of the Unruly]

[New Task: Seize the Soul-Nourishing Jade, ensure the summoning array spiritual power is fully replenished]

The Marshal of the Unruly whistled and leaped off the roof: "Got it, I guarantee it will be done."

The light of the summoning array in the Underground Palace became brighter and brighter; on the 98% scale, a golden line was slowly climbing upward. Jiang Jing stared at that golden line and muttered: "It's almost time... who will be the next one?"

Jun Xiaoyao didn't speak, only tapping his fingertips lightly on the mysterious ice armrest, the rhythm inexplicably in sync with the flickering light of the summoning array.

The sound of wind blades at Eagle Beak Cliff, the firelight at the Third Prince's residence, the bidding sounds at the auction house... all sorts of sounds came through the water mirror, interweaving into the prelude of Beyond Heaven's expansion, and the final chapter of this prelude seemed to be approaching, little by little, along with the light of the summoning array.