301: The mole has been exposed.

On the stone table in the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, the jade thumb ring engraved with the Wanfa Holy Land mark was being twirled between Jun Xiaoyao's fingers, reflecting a faint light that made his eyes cold as ice.

On the other side of the desk, Zhao Gao was using a silver needle to prick the fingertip of Xuan Character Seven, squeezing out a drop of blood onto a specialized Revealing Paper, which gradually displayed a line of small characters: "Wanfa Inner Sect, Code Name 'Green Snake'."

"Green Snake?" Jun Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow slightly, tapping the water mirror with his fingertip. The mirror immediately displayed the files of all assassins in The Net with the code name "Green." "Search, list everyone whose code name contains the character 'Green' since The Net's founding, regardless of Rank, list them all."

Zhao Gao did not dare to delay, quickly searching through the dossiers, and soon produced a list: "Reporting to Young Lord, there are seventeen people in total. Twelve are 'Green' Rank assassins, three belong to the 'Xuan-Green' combination, and... 'Green Face' under the Marshal of the Unruly."

"Green Face?" Jun Xiaoyao's finger paused on the name. "Is that the one responsible for transmitting external intelligence for the Wanfa Holy Land?"

"Precisely." Zhao Gao handed over Green Face's dossier. "This person joined The Net three years ago, personally recruited by the Marshal of the Unruly. His Realm is Late Grandmaster Realm, and he specializes in disguising himself as a merchant. He has never made a mistake."

Jun Xiaoyao placed the jade thumb ring on the Revealing Paper. The blood characters actually resonated with the mark on the inner side of the ring, emitting a faint red glow. "It seems it is him." He traced Green Face's activity trajectory on the water mirror. The image showed that this person had just left Qingzhou City half an hour ago and was heading towards the Wanfa Holy Land Main Altar.

"Does the Marshal of the Unruly know?" Jun Xiaoyao asked.

"A message has been sent," Zhao Gao replied. "The Marshal of the Unruly said Green Face should be near the Black Wind Stockade ruins right now, and he is taking people to intercept him."

The water mirror screen switched. Amidst the broken walls and ruins of the Black Wind Stockade, Green Face was indeed meeting with an envoy from the Wanfa Holy Land. The envoy handed him a Brocade Box, and Green Face passed over a scroll containing The Net's Defense Map. Just as the two were about to separate, the Marshal of the Unruly's voice suddenly rang out: "Green Face, where are you going?"

Green Face's expression drastically changed. He turned to flee but was blocked by The Unruly. Seeing this, he drew the Soft Sword from his waist, sending Sword Qi straight toward the Marshal of the Unruly's face—it was a full-strength strike from the Late Grandmaster Realm. The Marshal of the Unruly sneered, lightly waving his Smoking Pipe. The seemingly casual movement accurately struck the Soft Sword seven inches from the tip. With a clang, the Soft Sword flew out of Green Face's grasp.

"Yuan Tiangang! How dare you betray your master?" Green Face shouted, trying to sound fierce while inwardly trembling, attempting to stall for time.

"You are the one who betrayed the master." The Marshal of the Unruly pointed his Smoking Pipe, and Green Face was instantly bound by several Chains. "The Young Lord anticipated that The Net had an inner ghost and had me watching you for a long time."

In front of the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao watched Green Face being escorted away, lightly tapping the summoning array with his fingertip. The spiritual power of the array core increased by 5% because the inner ghost was caught, reaching 75%. A new list of summonable characters appeared on the light screen.

[Summonable Character: Shangguan Jinhong]

[Origin: The sentimental swordsman, ruthless sword World]

[Realm: Initial Heaven Human Realm]

[Martial Skill: Dragon Phoenix Rings (Perfection), Meteor Hammer Technique (Major Achievement)]

[Loyalty: 80% (Requires display of absolute strength to increase)]

[Summoning Cost: Spiritual Power 60%]

"Shangguan Jinhong?" Jun Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow. This Gang Leader of the Money Bag Gang was famous for his ruthlessness, and he would be perfect for rectifying The Net's discipline. He chose to summon him. Runes in the array suddenly condensed, and a figure dressed in Brocade Robes appeared, holding the pair of Dragon Phoenix Rings, his eyes sharp as an eagle's. It was Shangguan Jinhong.

"Young Master of Beyond Heaven?" Shangguan Jinhong clapped the two rings together, creating a crisp sound. "I hear you can gather resources from all under heaven. I wonder how that compares to my Money Bag Gang?"

Jun Xiaoyao brought up The Net's wealth inventory. The dense numbers on the light screen made Shangguan Jinhong's pupils contract slightly: "The Treasure Pavilion of the Wanfa Holy Land, the accumulated wealth of the Netherworld Cult, and the secret tributes from the Imperial Dynasty... are these enough?"

Shangguan Jinhong was silent for a moment, then put away the rings: "I am willing to serve the Young Lord. But I have one condition—The Net's punishments will be under my control."

"Agreed." Jun Xiaoyao pointed at Green Face in the water mirror. "Your first mission: interrogate him to find out how many accomplices he has behind him."

A fierce look flashed in Shangguan Jinhong's eyes: "I guarantee he will talk."

At this moment, the Marshal of the Unruly sent back a message: Green Face had been escorted back to the underground palace Torture Chamber. Jun Xiaoyao got up and went there. Inside the Torture Chamber, Green Face was tied to an Iron Rack. Shangguan Jinhong was playing with the Dragon Phoenix Rings, their surface reflecting Green Face's terrified face.

"Speak," Shangguan Jinhong lightly tapped the two rings together. "Besides you, who else is there?"

Green Face gritted his teeth and remained silent. Shangguan Jinhong suddenly struck, the Phoenix Ring accurately clamping onto his shoulder. As spiritual power was released, Green Face immediately screamed, the sound of bones shattering clearly audible. "Won't talk? Then taste the flavor of the Dragon Ring."

Green Face was sweating profusely from the pain and finally broke down: "I'll talk! There are also numbers Three and Five from the 'Xuan' Group. They are Death Warriors planted by the Wanfa Holy Land!"

Shangguan Jinhong looked at Jun Xiaoyao, who nodded: "Go investigate."

In less than an hour, Xuan Character Three and Five were captured. They were tough, however, committing suicide as soon as they were brought to the Torture Chamber. Shangguan Jinhong inspected the bodies and found a tiny Brand Mark on their chests—the exact symbol of the Wanfa Holy Land.

"It seems the Wanfa Holy Land has been plotting against The Net for a long time." Jun Xiaoyao looked at the Brand Mark. "Zhao Gao, tally the losses this time. All missions that involved contact with the inner ghost must be re-evaluated."

Zhao Gao quickly agreed and began counting the dossiers. Shangguan Jinhong, standing nearby, said: "Young Lord, in my opinion, The Net's Rank system should be changed." He handed over a proposal. "We should establish four Ranks: 'Heaven,' 'Earth,' 'Profound,' and 'Yellow.' Each Rank will have one Commander, who reports directly to the Young Lord and is independent of the others. This will minimize the impact of inner ghost infiltration."

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the proposal and nodded: "Approved. You will serve as the Heaven Rank Commander, Phoenix of the Miao People as the Earth Rank, Li Xunhuan as the Profound Rank, and Star Plucker as the Yellow Rank."

Shangguan Jinhong accepted the order and was about to withdraw when the water mirror suddenly lit up. Phoenix of the Miao People sent back a message: the routines of the three Elders at the Wanfa Holy Land Main Altar have been figured out. They meet in the Treasure Pavilion on the fifteenth day of every month, seemingly researching something.

"The fifteenth?" Jun Xiaoyao looked at the calendar. "Three days left." He instructed Shangguan Jinhong, "Take the Heaven Rank Assassins and cooperate with the Phoenix of the Miao People. Act on the fifteenth. The target is the complete scroll of The Heart Sutra of Ten Thousand Dharmas in the Treasure Pavilion."

Shangguan Jinhong cupped his fist: "Your Subordinate obeys the command."

Outside the Torture Chamber, Zhao Gao was frowning at the Ledger: "Young Lord, this cleanup of inner ghosts cost The Net three Grandmaster Realm assassins, and seven ongoing missions need to be suspended..."

"It doesn't matter." Jun Xiaoyao said lightly, "What was lost will be recovered twofold." He looked at the summoning array; the spiritual power of the array core was down to 15%. "First, recover strength, then discuss expansion."

At this moment, Shangguan Jinhong came to report again: "Young Lord, Green Face confessed to one more thing—the Grand Elder of the Wanfa Holy Land Main Altar is actually a person planted by the Imperial Dynasty, intended to monitor the Holy Land's movements."

A trace of surprise flashed in Jun Xiaoyao's eyes, then he smiled: "This is getting more interesting." He traced the Imperial Dynasty's symbol on the water mirror. "It seems this game of chess is more complicated than I imagined."

The light in the underground palace flickered, reflecting the bloodstains in the Torture Chamber and Jun Xiaoyao's deep eyes. The painful process of excising The Net's rotten parts was not over, but he knew that only by eliminating the vermin could this net firmly cover the world. And the Wanfa Holy Land, the Imperial Dynasty, the Netherworld Cult... all forces standing before Beyond Heaven would eventually be crushed by this net.

Three days later, on the Full Moon Night of the fifteenth, things were destined not to be peaceful. Jun Xiaoyao gazed at the moonlight outside the window, lightly tapping the desktop with his fingertips, as if beating time for the approaching storm.