333: Destroy the Azure Dragon Gate

The water mirror in the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace rippled, clearly reflecting the scene inside the Black Wind Mine.

Ye Gucheng's white-clad figure stood deep within the mine, his folding fan tapping lightly. A wisp of Sword Qi, like a silver thread, coiled around the Star Iron Mother—that was a piece of crimson-gold Ore the size of a human head.

Its surface flowed with a luster like starlight, and the surrounding stone walls had already been eroded by its spiritual energy into spiderweb-like cracks.

"Young Lord, the outer layer of the Iron Mother has a naturally formed spiritual barrier that requires a special method to strip away." Ye Gucheng's voice came through the message talisman, carrying a hint of surprise, "The patterns of this barrier are actually three parts similar to the sword momentum of Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens."

Jun Xiaoyao leaned obliquely on the black iron couch, his fingertips turning a fragment of star iron—this was a sample sent earlier by Stone Guanyin, and the fragment refracted a seven-colored halo under the candlelight. "Use your Sword Intent to trigger the barrier, and it will dissipate on its own."

In the water mirror, Ye Gucheng nodded. He closed his folding fan, which transformed into an invisible longsword. The Sword Intent of Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens erupted suddenly, like the Milky Way pouring down. The crimson-gold barrier indeed rippled, like water waves being cut by a sword net, shattering layer by layer.

West Gate Blows Snow's figure appeared at the mine entrance at this moment, his sword blade still stained with the blood of Azure Dragon Gate guards. He said coldly, "The small fry outside have been cleared out; the Azure Dragon Gate Master is arriving soon with two Great Grandmasters."

"Let them in." Jun Xiaoyao said to the message talisman, "Leave them alive; I want to know the details of the transaction between the Azure Dragon Gate and the Southern Chu Imperial Family."

Zhao Gao added from the side, "According to information sent back by The Net's secret agents, the Azure Dragon Gate Master holds a secret letter from the Southern Chu Imperial Family, involving a transaction of exchanging Star Iron for a 'realm-breaking pill'. The realm-breaking pill is a Medicinal Pill refined by a powerhouse of the Land Immortal Realm, which can help those in the Heavenly Human Realm break through a Bottleneck."

Jun Xiaoyao's eyes flickered. The realm-breaking pill was not urgently needed for Beyond Heaven, but the collusion between the Southern Chu Imperial Family and Jianghu forces involved a chain of interests behind the scenes that was worth digging into. He looked at the summoning array in the center of the underground palace. Due to the fluctuations of the mine's barrier, the spiritual energy at the array's core had quietly risen to 92%. As the runes flowed, the outline of a new figure emerged.

[Summonable Character: Qiao Feng]

[Origin: World of "demi-gods and semi-devils"]

[Realm: Middle Celestial Realm]

[Martial Skill: Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms (Perfection), Dragon Capturing Skill (Major Achievement)]

[Specialty: Unparalleled strength and ferocity, skilled in capturing alive, intimidating the small-minded]

[Summoning Cost: 85% Spiritual Energy]

"Perfect." Jun Xiaoyao tapped his fingertip, and the summoning array suddenly erupted with golden light, the runes circling like an angry dragon. Within the light, a burly figure dressed in a black robe condensed and took shape. With thick eyebrows and large eyes, his Aura was like a deep pool and a towering mountain; it was none other than Qiao Feng. He cupped his hands and said loudly, "Qiao Feng greets the Young Lord!"

[Character Panel: Qiao Feng]

[Status: Resolute]

[Loyalty: 95%]

[Current Thought: Although this place is remote, it possesses the air of a hero, comparable to the Beggar Sect headquarters.]

Jun Xiaoyao tossed him a token engraved with the character "Prisoner": "Black Wind Mine, Azure Dragon Gate Master, alive."

Qiao Feng caught the token and expelled Internal Energy from his palm, causing the token to embed into his palm without harming his skin: "Young Lord, rest assured, Qiao will certainly not fail the mission!" He turned and stepped into the teleportation array. With a flash of golden light, he had vanished from the underground palace.

The water mirror display switched. Azure Dragon Gate Master Zhao Lie had already arrived outside the mine with two Great Grandmaster guards. Zhao Lie was in the Initial Heaven Human Realm, and the green dragon crescent blade in his hand danced with the force of a tiger. His Saber Qi split the giant rocks at the mine entrance, and he shouted angrily, "Scum of The Net, how dare you steal this old man's Ore vein! Today, I will surely make you all be buried here!"

Inside the mine, Ye Gucheng and West Gate Blows Snow exchanged a glance, their figures retreating simultaneously, leaving the center of the mine passage open. Zhao Lie charged in with his men and was just about to swing his blade at the Star Iron Mother when he suddenly felt a vast, immense force attacking from the side—Qiao Feng's Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms had arrived, the palm wind like thunder, striking directly at his face.

"Middle Celestial Realm!" Zhao Lie was shocked, hastily turning his blade to block. With a loud "clang," the green dragon crescent blade was actually bent by the shock. The web between his thumb and index finger split, and he retreated three steps before steadying himself. The two Great Grandmaster guards behind him saw this and both drew their blades to attack Qiao Feng from the sides, but they were blocked by West Gate Blows Snow's sword light. In just one exchange, their hand tendons were severed, and they fell to the ground screaming.

"Surrender, and you may keep your whole corpse." Qiao Feng's voice was like a great bell. He secretly activated the Dragon Capturing Skill, and the secret letter pouch at Zhao Lie's waist suddenly flew out and landed in his hand.

Zhao Lie was shocked and angry. Knowing the situation was lost, he still gritted his teeth and said, "This old man is a guest of honor of the Southern Chu Imperial Family. If you dare to touch me, you are enemies with the Imperial Family!"

Ye Gucheng lightly waved his folding fan, and a wisp of Sword Qi flew past his neck, splitting off a stalactite from the top of the mine: "The Southern Chu Imperial Family? Before Beyond Heaven, they are not even worth looking at."

Zhao Lie's face turned pale. Looking at the secret letter pouch in Qiao Feng's hand, he finally collapsed to the ground: "I surrender... I will tell you everything!"

In front of the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao said to Zhao Gao, "Have Qiao Feng bring the person back to Hanyue Valley and lock him in the 'water prison'. Hand the secret letter to Stone Guanyin to decipher; let's see how many more trump cards the Southern Chu Imperial Family has."

"Yes. Additionally, the Marshal of the Unruly has already taken the Azure Dragon Gate headquarters. The martial arts classics in the Scripture Pavilion are being loaded onto carts. A total of 372 volumes of Secret Manuals have been seized, among which there is no lack of Earth Rank High Grade Cultivation Techniques like the 'Azure Dragon Saber Technique'." Zhao Gao handed over a list, densely packed with the names of the Cultivation Techniques.

Jun Xiaoyao took the list, his gaze pausing for a moment on the 'Azure Dragon Saber Technique': "Give it to Yue Fei and let him integrate it into the Yue Family Spear Technique; perhaps it can improve the close-combat Moves of the cavalry."

At this moment, the message talisman suddenly lit up. It was a message from Stone Guanyin in the Northern Desert: [The Black Wind Stockade Master has been turned; he is willing to offer half of his horse farms to pledge allegiance to Beyond Heaven, only asking to be spared.]

"Horse farms?" Jun Xiaoyao remembered that the cavalry in Liangzhou still lacked warhorses, "Tell him to hand over the horse registry for the farms, and The Net can guarantee his safety for three months. After three months, we will decide his fate based on his performance."

Stone Guanyin's response came quickly: [He has already complied. The horse registry shows 5,000 top-quality warhorses, enough to equip two cavalry battalions.]

Jun Xiaoyao nodded with satisfaction and looked at the summoning array in the center of the underground palace. Due to the destruction of the Azure Dragon Gate and the acquisition of the Star Iron Mother, the spiritual energy at the array's core had risen to 95%. As the runes flowed, it seemed as if the Aura of Shattering the Void was surging.

"Zhao Gao, tally the gains from this time."

Zhao Gao held the ledger and read aloud: "One piece of Star Iron Mother, worth a fortune; 372 volumes of Secret Manuals from the Azure Dragon Gate's Scripture Pavilion; one secret letter from the Southern Chu Imperial Family; 5,000 warhorses from the Black Wind Stockade's horse farms; Zhao Lie and his thirty confidants, who can be used to interrogate for intelligence on the Southern Chu Imperial Family..."

"That is enough." Jun Xiaoyao interrupted him, "Have the 'Craftsman' group of The Net start work immediately. Use the Star Iron Mother to first forge ten longswords to equip West Gate Blows Snow, Ye Gucheng, and the others. Seal the remaining Materials and save them for future use."

"Yes. Lord Ouyezi is already waiting in the forging room, ready to fire the furnace as soon as the Iron Mother is delivered."

The underground palace returned to silence, with only the scene of Qiao Feng escorting Zhao Lie back to the valley still flowing in the water mirror. Jun Xiaoyao leaned on the black iron couch, watching the 95% spiritual energy scale, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the edge of the couch. The destruction of the Azure Dragon Gate not only allowed Beyond Heaven to obtain such a precious treasure as the Star Iron Mother, but also revealed the trump cards of the Southern Chu Imperial Family, which could be considered an unexpected joy.

The night wind of Hanyue Valley passed through the cracks of the underground palace, carrying the smell of sulfur from the mine and the stench of blood from the Azure Dragon Gate. Jun Xiaoyao knew that as the power of Beyond Heaven grew larger, opponents like the Southern Chu Imperial Family would become more numerous, but he did not care. The Net had been woven, and the sharp blades had been honed; whoever stood in the way of Beyond Heaven's struggle for resources would only end up with the same fate as the Azure Dragon Gate.

At this moment, the message talisman lit up again. It was a message from Zhang Sanfeng from the Heavenly Dao Alliance: [The leader of the Heavenly Dao Alliance agrees to pay 100,000 taels of tribute every month, only asking that Beyond Heaven does not interfere in the affairs of the Central Plains.]

A cold arc curled at the corner of Jun Xiaoyao's mouth as he put away the message talisman. Not interfere? That depends on whether the resources of the Central Plains are worth Beyond Heaven making a Move.

He looked at the continental map on the stone wall. The position of the Azure Dragon Gate had already been crossed out with cinnabar; the next target might just be the Southern Chu Imperial Family.

The runes of the summoning array gradually calmed down, and the 95% spiritual energy lay dormant quietly, waiting for the opportunity for the next summoning.

Jun Xiaoyao knew that the journey belonging to Beyond Heaven was still very long, but every step would be taken upon the corpses of enemies.