322: Luo Wang awaits the opportune moment.

Deep within the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, Jun Xiaoyao, on the profound iron couch, twirled an ink jade thumb ring on his fingertip, his gaze fixed on the water mirror before him. Within the nine-grid water mirror,

Eight grids displayed The Net's overt and covert strongholds in various prefectures, while the central grid focused on the

It was actually The Net's core liaison point in the Imperial City. At this moment, a figure was pacing under the locust tree tree in the tea house's back courtyard—it was Marshal of the Unruly.

From the shadows, Zhao Gao emerged, bowing, holding a newly organized scroll in his hand:

Jun Xiaoyao's gaze remained on the water mirror. In the mirror, Marshal of the Unruly was receiving a secret letter handed to him by the tea house's shopkeeper, tapping the letter three times with his fingertip—that was The Net's internal signal for

Zhao Gao replied in a low voice:

The ink jade thumb ring on Jun Xiaoyao's fingertip stopped at his knuckle:

Jun Xiaoyao looked up at the summoning array in the center of the underground palace. The array's core glowed with a faint golden halo, and the spiritual power meter stopped at 75%. With a slight thought, the runes at the base of the array lit up, revealing three new summoning options:

[Summonable Character: Yellow Pharmacist]

[From:

[Realm: Middle Celestial Realm]

[Martial Skills: Finger Flicking Divine Skill (Perfection), Eight Trigrams Formation (Major Achievement)]

[Specialty: Proficient in Mystical Arts of Wondrous Gates and Hidden Staves, skilled in breaking various formations]

[Summoning Cost: 60% Spiritual Power]

[Summonable Character: Duan Yu]

[From:

[Realm: Peak Grandmaster Realm]

[Martial Skills: Six Meridians Divine Sword (Major Achievement), Subtle Steps of the Rippling Waves (Perfection)]

[Specialty: Elusive movement, long-range suppression]

[Summoning Cost: 50% Spiritual Power]

[Summonable Character: Wang Chongyang]

[From:

[Realm: Early Earthly Immortal Realm]

[Martial Skills: Innate Skill (Perfection), Quanzhen Swordplay (Major Achievement)]

[Specialty: Mighty palm power, capable of breaking combined attacks]

[Summoning Cost: 80% Spiritual Power]

Jun Xiaoyao tapped on

As soon as he finished speaking, the golden light of the summoning array suddenly intensified, and the runes intertwined like flowing water, forming a cocoon. From within the cocoon, a clear and crisp flute sound, like ice and jade clashing, first emerged. Then, the cocoon layers broke open, and a figure in a green robe slowly walked out—wearing a Xiaoyao Scarf on his head and holding a jade flute, it was none other than Yellow Pharmacist. His gaze swept across the underground palace, finally landing on Jun Xiaoyao, and he bowed:

[Character Panel: Yellow Pharmacist]

[Status: Indifferent]

[Loyalty: 75%]

[Current Thoughts: The Yellow Springs Qi here is very heavy, it seems like an interesting place]

Jun Xiaoyao pointed to the deployment map of the

Yellow Pharmacist glanced at the map, twirling the jade flute in his palm:

Yellow Pharmacist nodded, and with a flash, stepped into the teleportation array. The light flashed, and he disappeared from the underground palace.

Zhao Gao watched as the spiritual power meter of the summoning array dropped to 15%, and said in a low voice:

Jun Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow slightly:

The runes at the base of the array subtly shifted, revealing a new name:

[Summonable Character: Zhang Wuji]

[From:

[Realm: Early Stage Grandmaster Realm]

[Martial Skills: Nine Yang Divine Art (Major Achievement), Qiankun Da Nuoyi (Minor Achievement)]

[Specialty: Strong defense, skilled in overcoming hardness with softness]

[Summoning Cost: 15% Spiritual Power]

The summoning array lit up again, this time with a much softer glow. The young man who emerged from the light was dressed in coarse cloth, his face showing a hint of simplicity; it was Zhang Wuji. Seeing Jun Xiaoyao, he somewhat awkwardly cupped his hands:

[Character Panel: Zhang Wuji]

[Status: Reserved]

[Loyalty: 80%]

[Current Thoughts: Everyone here has such strong Qi]

Zhang Wuji was startled, then nodded:

Zhao Gao added from the side:

Zhao Gao responded:

Jun Xiaoyao nodded in satisfaction, twirling the ink jade thumb ring again.

In the water mirror, Yellow Pharmacist had already led Marshal of the Unruly around to the side wall of Zhang Manor. With a flick of his jade flute, a brick in the corner of the wall quietly popped out—that was the first flaw in the Seven Star Formation. Marshal of the Unruly took the opportunity to flip over the courtyard wall, landing silently.

At the same time, in the water mirror showing the Qingzhou coast, Zhang Wuji was standing on the deck of The Net's grain transport ship. Ouyang Qian of the Sea Sand Sect lunged at him with a sinister smile, his Poison Sand Palm striking towards his chest with a foul odor.

Zhang Wuji advanced instead of retreating, his Nine Yang True Qi protecting his body. As his palm met the opponent's palm force, Ouyang Qian screamed and flew backward, his entire arm twisted at a strange angle—his Meridians had been shattered.

In the mirror, Yellow Pharmacist had already breached three array eyes of the Seven Star Formation. Marshal of the Unruly, taking advantage of the chaotic Formation, was moving towards Zhang Qian's study where he was feasting.

Suddenly, the water mirror rippled, and a short, sharp whooshing sound came from within Zhang Manor—it was the Iron Guard's alarm signal!

Jun Xiaoyao frowned slightly. He saw Yellow Pharmacist swing his jade flute horizontally, an invisible surge of Qi deflecting an Iron Guard who had lunged from the shadows, while simultaneously gesturing to Marshal of the Unruly.

Marshal of the Unruly understood, accelerating towards the study. Yellow Pharmacist remained in place, his jade flute dancing, drawing the other two Iron Guards in the opposite direction. The flute's sound transformed into invisible sword shadows, forcing them to retreat repeatedly.

A moment later, the sound of objects falling came from within the study, followed by silence. Marshal of the Unruly peeked out from behind a window, gesturing

Yellow Pharmacist's flute music changed, transforming into a soothing melody that enveloped the entire Zhang Manor—this was his slightly modified Blue Sea Surging Tide Melody, capable of making nearby people drowsy, perfect for covering up the recent commotion.

Zhao Gao immediately sent a message. In the water mirror, Marshal of the Unruly had already climbed over the back wall with a black cloth-wrapped bundle, and after meeting Yellow Pharmacist, they quickly withdrew.

Before leaving, Yellow Pharmacist left an inconspicuous jade pendant in the corner of the wall—it was a token of Duke Zhenguo's rival, enough to keep them investigating for a while.

At this time, the spiritual power meter of the summoning array had quietly increased by 2%, reaching 17%. Jun Xiaoyao looked at the gradually brightening sky in the mirror, the ink jade thumb ring on his fingertip reflecting the cold light in his eyes.

The waters of the Imperial City needed to be stirred up further. And on the Qingzhou side, Zhang Wuji had already returned with the grain transport ships. The people of the Sea Sand Sect lay groaning on the deck, no longer arrogant in the slightest.

Zhao Gao bowed in response, watching Jun Xiaoyao walk towards the hidden library deep within the underground palace—where all the summoned characters' scrolls and the distribution map of continental forces were stored.

He knew that the Young Lord was planning his next move, and the undercurrents beneath the Imperial City were just beginning to stir.