309: Flying Knife Asks About Love

On the stone table in the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, a map of Qingzhou City was spread out, with the locations of the three iron mines in the south of the city conspicuously circled in cinnabar.

Jun Xiaoyao's fingertip hovered above the map. Under the activation of spiritual power, a three-dimensional illusion of the iron mine appeared—the ore veins meandered like coiled dragons, with a silvery glowing area hidden in the deepest part, which was the rich layer of Profound Iron.

"If this ore vein can be taken, it will be enough to forge a hundred sets of Profound Iron armor, and the 'Heaven' Rank Luowang Assassins's combat power can be increased by at least 30%." Zhao Gao stood by, holding the newly compiled account book. "The City Lord of Qingzhou has sent word that as long as the Young Lord's head falls, the mining contract will be handed over within three days."

Jun Xiaoyao withdrew his hand, and the illusion dissipated. "Is there any news from Li Xunhuan?"

"A secret letter arrived half an hour ago, saying that he has ascertained the Young Lord's whereabouts and will be entertaining guests at the 'Yihong Courtesan House' tonight. Besides the Iron Sword Sect Elder, there are also eight Grandmaster Realm guards," Zhao Gao handed over the secret letter, the edges of the paper stained with a faint trace of wine. "Great Hero Li said he would resolve it in the cleanest way, without disturbing the common people."

Jun Xiaoyao opened the secret letter. The handwriting was unrestrained yet carried a hint of desolation, with a small Flying Dagger drawn at the end. He lightly tapped the three characters "Yihong Courtesan House" with his fingertip, and the water mirror lit up in response. In the image, a richly decorated restaurant was brightly lit. In a private room by the window on the second floor, Qingzhou Young Lord Zhao Kang was embracing a courtesan and drinking heavily. Behind him stood a stern-faced old man in grey, with a simple, unadorned iron sword at his waist—it was Wei Changfeng, the Iron Sword Sect Elder.

[Character Panel: Wei Changfeng]

[Realm: Grandmaster Initial Stage]

[Martial Skill: Iron Sword Thirteen Forms (Perfection), Indestructible Vajra Body (Minor Achievement)]

[Weakness: Old injury on the right shoulder]

"Indestructible Vajra Body?" Jun Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow slightly. Although this hard Qigong was not at Perfection, it could still withstand ordinary swords and blades. "Tell Li Xunhuan to pay attention to his right shoulder. It was injured by the 'Heart-Shattering Palm' of the Qingcheng School back then and has not fully recovered to this day."

Just as Zhao Gao was about to send the message, there was a sudden commotion in the water mirror. Zhao Kang, for some unknown reason, became enraged and smashed a wine pot on the courtesan's head, her clothes instantly stained with blood. The surrounding guards not only did not intervene but laughed instead.

"He deserves to die, indeed." Jun Xiaoyao's tone was calm, but his eyes held no warmth. "Tell Li Xunhuan, no need to hold back."

As the message talisman transformed into a stream of light and flew out, Li Xunhuan in the private room had already put down his wine cup. Dressed in a blue shirt, he was inconspicuous among the drinkers, but the Flying Dagger in his fingertips was already poised. When Zhao Kang was about to kick the fallen courtesan again, Li Xunhuan flicked his wrist, and a cold glint broke through the window, precisely piercing Zhao Kang's wine gourd.

"Who?!" Wei Changfeng reacted extremely quickly, his iron sword unsheathed and blocking in front of Zhao Kang, his gaze sweeping out the window like lightning.

Li Xunhuan walked out slowly, playing with a second Flying Dagger in his hand: "The one who takes lives."

Zhao Kang, frightened, hid behind Wei Changfeng and shouted with a fierce but timid facade: "Kill him! This Young Lord will reward you handsomely!"

Wei Changfeng snorted coldly, his iron sword twirling into a sword flower, aiming directly at Li Xunhuan's face: "Iron Sword Sect is handling business, idlers retreat!"

Li Xunhuan dodged sideways, his fingertip spinning a Flying Dagger. It wasn't aimed at Wei Changfeng, but at the two guards behind him. The two guards screamed and fell to the ground, a Flying Dagger embedded in each of their throats, the blade buried to the hilt.

"Little Lis Flying Dagger, never misses." Li Xunhuan's voice was gentle, but his eyes were as cold as ice. "Elder Wei, you are protecting the wrong person."

Wei Changfeng roared, unleashing the Iron Sword Thirteen Forms in succession, Sword Qi crisscrossing and enveloping Li Xunhuan. His Indestructible Vajra Body was pushed to its limit, his skin turning bronze, and he actually took a palm strike from Li Xunhuan head-on, only retreating half a step.

"Interesting." Li Xunhuan smiled, his figure suddenly becoming elusive, using the Treading Snow Without a Trace light body movement technique. He no longer clashed directly with Wei Changfeng but moved among the guards. With every Flying Dagger, one person would fall.

Zhao Kang was so scared that his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering. He scrambled to escape but was struck in an acupoint by Li Xunhuan's finger from a distance, freezing him in place. Wei Changfeng, seeing this, grew anxious, his sword moves becoming even more fierce. The old injury on his right shoulder throbbed with the intense movements, and his flaws gradually became apparent.

"Now!" Li Xunhuan seized the opportunity, his Flying Dagger like a shooting star, heading straight for Wei Changfeng's right shoulder. Wei Changfeng hastily parried with his sword, but the Flying Dagger shook his iron sword out of his hand, and blood gushed from his right shoulder—the old injury was completely ruptured.

"Thank you for the concession." Li Xunhuan sheathed his dagger and looked at Zhao Kang, who was slumped on the ground. "In your next life, be a good person."

The Flying Dagger struck again, this time, its target was Zhao Kang's throat.

Before the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao watched Li Xunhuan disappear into the night and said to Zhao Gao: "Let the 'Xuan' Group go and collect the mining contract. Also, bring that courtesan from the Yihong Courtesan House back to the Beyond Heaven separate courtyard. Give her some silver and let her rest well."

Zhao Gao was somewhat surprised: "Young Lord, this is not according to the rules..."

"Rules are dead." Jun Xiaoyao interrupted him. "If Li Xunhuan cares about it, granting his wish will increase his loyalty by quite a bit."

Indeed, a moment later, Li Xunhuan's loyalty on the light screen jumped from 85% to 88%.

At this moment, the summoning array in the underground palace suddenly glowed faintly. The spiritual power in the array's core increased to 62% due to the acquisition of the Qingzhou iron mine, and a new summonable list appeared:

[Summonable Character: Murong Fu]

[From: demi-gods and semi-devils world]

[Realm: Late Stage Great Grandmaster]

[Martial Skill: Shifting Stars (Major Achievement), Canhe Finger (Perfection)]

[Loyalty: 75%]

[Summoning Cost: 40% Spiritual Power]

[Summonable Character: Zhou Zhiruo]

[From: the heaven sword and dragon saber world]

[Realm: Grandmaster Peak]

[Martial Skill: Nine Yin White Bone Claws (Major Achievement), Emei Sword Art (Perfection)]

[Loyalty: 80%]

[Summoning Cost: 25% Spiritual Power]

Jun Xiaoyao's gaze lingered on Murong Fu's name. Shifting Stars could deflect attacks, perfectly compensating for Luowang's defensive shortcomings. More importantly, Murong Fu was familiar with aristocratic power struggles and might be able to help Beyond Heaven manage its relationships with various noble families.

"Summon Murong Fu."

The light in the array's core condensed, and a figure in brocade robes with a handsome and elegant face appeared. Though he carried an air of arrogance, he still bowed according to custom: "Murong Fu of Gusu greets Young Lord."

[Character Panel: Murong Fu]

[Status: Stable (with a hint of unwillingness)]

[Loyalty: 76%]

Jun Xiaoyao pointed to the scene in the water mirror where the mining contract was being exchanged: "The City Lord of Qingzhou has long been colluding with the 'Wang Clan of Langya'. The Wang Clan wants to get involved in the iron mine business. You go there and, under the name of 'Murong Family', tell them that this mine belongs to Beyond Heaven, and no one should think of touching it."

A flicker of surprise crossed Murong Fu's eyes—using the Murong Family's name? This was exactly what he wanted. He cupped his hands and said, "Your subordinate will not fail in his mission."

"Remember," Jun Xiaoyao added, "no need to fight, just let them know that 'Gusu Murong' is backing Beyond Heaven."

Murong Fu understood, turned, and stepped into the teleportation array. He knew that the Young Lord wanted to use his name to create momentum, and he could also use this opportunity to make the name of the "Murong Family" resound in the Jianghu once more.

After sending off Murong Fu, Jun Xiaoyao looked at another water mirror. In the image, Duan Yanqing was working with The Unruly to clear the Sand Wolf Valley granary. His One Yang Finger was indeed powerful, easily breaking through the underground Restriction, revealing mountains of grain and fodder inside.

[Mission Progress: Sand Wolf Valley granary has been taken over, three hundred thousand stones of grain and fodder acquired, enough to support Beyond Heaven for three months.]

"Not bad." Jun Xiaoyao nodded and said to Zhao Gao, "Let Duan Yanqing stay in the Western Regions and cooperate with the 'Ying' Group to map out the Blood Shadow Cult's main altar, focusing on marking the core of the mountain-protecting array."

Zhao Gao had just finished recording when Moon Invitation sent news from Jiangnan. She not only brought back the "Flower Transfer Detailed Explanation" but also conveniently annihilated three small Schools that were colluding with the Blood Shadow Cult, increasing her loyalty from 70% to 73%.

[Item: "Flower Transfer Detailed Explanation"]

[Rank: Earth Rank High Grade]

[Effect: Can enhance the defensive counterattack ability of Luowang Assassins]

Jun Xiaoyao opened the Secret Manual. The annotations inside were more detailed than rumored, even indicating how to use Flower Transfer to deflect hidden weapons. He said to Zhao Gao, "Make a hundred copies and distribute them to the 'Heaven' and 'Earth' Rank Assassins. They have one month to master it."

Zhao Gao took his leave, and the underground palace returned to silence. Jun Xiaoyao walked to the summoning array, looking at the 62% spiritual power value, and gently slid his fingertip across the light screen. The next target should be the Blood Shadow Cult's Bloody Purgatory.

He took out the token he had confiscated from Xuesha. After spiritual power was injected, intricate patterns appeared on the token, which turned out to be a fragmented map. Jun Xiaoyao compared the map with the Sand Wolf Valley's terrain map and found that the two could be pieced together to form half of the Western Regions, with the location of the Bloody Purgatory right in the center of the map.

"It's getting more and more interesting." Jun Xiaoyao put away the token, his eyes deep. The secrets hidden by the Blood Shadow Cult were probably not as simple as just void stone and bone-corroding powder.

Outside the underground palace, the moonlight of Hanyue Valley filtered through the stone cracks, illuminating the flowing runes on the summoning array. Luowang's power had spread like a spiderweb to Qingzhou, Jiangnan, and the Western Regions. Although Beyond Heaven had not yet revealed itself, it had already secretly controlled many resources. Jun Xiaoyao knew that the day Bloody Purgatory was breached would be the day Beyond Heaven officially stepped onto the continental stage.

And before that, all he needed to do was wait patiently, accumulate strength, and weave this net a little tighter, a little stronger.