343: Xuanbing Jade Guide

On the ice wall of the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, the water mirror was reflecting the scene of the Southern Chu Imperial Palace.

The Southern Chu Emperor smashed a celadon vase on his imperial desk; the shards scattered onto the memorial regarding the "theft of the mysterious ice jade," where the ink characters were smudged by the water stains, looking like a mournful face.

"Useless! You are all useless!" The Emperor's roar came through the water mirror, shaking the candlelight in the underground palace. "You could not even protect three carts of mysterious ice jade. What is the use of me raising you Ironclad Guards?!"

The Guard Commander kneeling at the foot of the stairs had dried blood on his armor, and his left arm was twisted unnaturally—that was the wound slashed open by Fu Hongxue's saber. Although it had been bandaged, black blood was still seeping out; clearly, the Saber Qi of the "Extinction Cross Saber" carried a bone-eroding chill.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger," the Guard Commander said in a hoarse voice. "Those who intercepted the goods were Luowang Assassins. The two leaders had bizarre saber techniques, especially that lame man in black; his saber was so fast... so fast that one could not see the Move clearly."

The Emperor's face turned livid, and he slammed his imperial desk. "Luowang? It is Luowang again! Pass on my decree: have the Prince of Zhennan lead five thousand Imperial Guards to encircle and suppress all Luowang strongholds on the border. Dig three feet into the ground if you must, but bring the mysterious ice jade back!"

In front of the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao twirled a piece of mysterious ice jade between his fingertips, the fragment condensing fine white frost in his palm. "The Prince of Zhennan?" He chuckled softly. "I do want to take this opportunity to weigh the mettle of the Southern Chu Imperial Family."

Zhao Gao timely handed over a dossier: "The Prince of Zhennan, Zhao Yan, is at the Initial Heaven Human Realm and excels at using the 'Overlord Spear.' Under his command is the 'Mountain-Breaking Army,' all of whom are veterans who survived a hundred battles, with combat strength comparable to the 'Kill' rank group of Luowang." He paused and added, "The 'Shadow' rank group also discovered that Zhao Yan has secretly trained a group of death warriors, led by 'Blood Hand' from the former Blood Shadow Tower, who is at the Late Grandmaster Realm and is said to be able to crush cold iron with his bare hands."

Jun Xiaoyao tossed the fragment of mysterious ice jade back into the jade box, making a crisp clinking sound. "Remnants of the Blood Shadow Tower? Perfect. Let Li Xunhuan go meet him."

The water mirror's image switched. In a post station in the Northern Territory, Li Xunhuan was drinking by the window. Outside, light snow was falling. He gazed at the distant military camp of the Prince of Zhenbei, the Flying Dagger at his waist gleaming coldly in the firelight. Flying was leaning against the door, his iron sword tucked obliquely into his boot, his gaze vigilantly scanning the alley entrance—the secret sentries of Luowang had sent word that the men of the Prince of Zhennan had already infiltrated the surroundings of the post station, clearly intending to strike during the interval while Li Xunhuan was escorting the mysterious ice jade.

"They are here," Flying suddenly spoke, his voice extremely low.

Li Xunhuan put down his wine cup, his fingertips already gripping a Flying Dagger. The snow at the alley entrance suddenly exploded, and five black shadows darted out like ghosts, the short blades in their hands gleaming with a faint blue light, clearly quenched with deadly poison. The leader had pitch-black palms; it was none other than "Blood Hand" from the former Blood Shadow Tower.

"Li Xunhuan, hand over the mysterious ice jade, and I will leave your corpse intact!" Blood Hand lunged over with a sinister grin, his palm wind carrying a fishy, sweet scent, clearly having cultivated some kind of evil art.

Li Xunhuan did not dodge or avoid. When the palm wind was less than three feet from his face, he suddenly turned to the side, and the Flying Dagger left his hand. The angle of this strike was tricky, aiming right at Blood Hand's wrist—that was the vital point for channeling his energy, and also the weakest part of his evil art.

"Clang!" The Flying Dagger was actually caught by Blood Hand with two fingers! He laughed wildly in triumph: "Little Lis Flying Dagger is nothing more than this!"

At this moment, Flying's iron sword thrust out like a viper, the sword tip pointing straight at Blood Hand's heart from behind. Blood Hand reacted extremely quickly, striking back with a palm at Flying, but he did not notice that Li Xunhuan's second Flying Dagger had already silently shot out; this time, the target was his throat.

"Pfft!" The Flying Dagger sank into his throat, and Blood Hand's laughter stopped abruptly, his eyes filled with disbelief. Even in death, he could not understand why Li Xunhuan's Flying Dagger could change its trajectory at such a close distance.

The remaining four death warriors were so terrified that their souls flew away and spirits scattered, and they turned to flee. However, Li Xunhuan had already finished his wine, and a third Flying Dagger was released, precisely piercing the ankle of the last man.

"Leave a live one," he said to Flying. "Ask them what else the Prince of Zhennan wants besides the mysterious ice jade."

In front of the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao watched this scene and said to Zhao Gao, "Have the 'Punishment' rank group bring the captive back to Hanyue Valley; I want to know the extent of the collusion between the Prince of Zhennan and the remnants of the Blood Shadow Tower."

"Yes." Zhao Gao bowed and responded, then handed over a message talisman. "Mr. Ouyezi sent word that the first furnace of 'cold iron' from the meteorite iron mine has been smelted. Its hardness is thirty percent higher than expected, enough to forge fifty 'Water-Severing Swords'."

Jun Xiaoyao took the message talisman, the talisman's light reflecting the satisfaction in his eyes. "Tell him to prioritize equipping the 'Heaven' rank assassins, and send the rest to the Northern Territory for the Prince of Zhenbei's people—after all, he spent fifty thousand taels of gold to hire us, so we must give him some sweeteners."

At this moment, the summoning array in the center of the underground palace suddenly lit up with a faint glow. The spiritual energy at the eye of the array, nourished by the energy of the mysterious ice jade, had risen to 70%. As the runes circulated, a zither-shaped phantom actually emerged.

[System Prompt: Detected that the host has recently acquired rare resources, triggering a special summoning.]

[Summonable Character: Invincible East]

[From: "the smiling, proud wanderer" world]

[Realm: Late Heaven-Man Realm]

[Martial Skill: Sunflower Manual (Perfection), Embroidery Needle (Major Achievement)]

[Specialty: Speed unmatched in the world, Embroidery Needle can break all hidden weapons in the world, excels at concealment and assassination.]

[Summoning Cost: 65% Spiritual Energy]

Jun Xiaoyao tapped his fingertip on the name "Invincible East." The summoning array suddenly erupted with brilliant red light, and the runes entwined like silk as a figure dressed in red condensed within the radiance. The person had a handsome face, held an Embroidery Needle, and emitted an aura that was indistinguishable between male and female; it was none other than Invincible East.

"Invincible East greets the Young Lord." The voice of Invincible East was soft, yet carried a heart-palpitating pressure. "In this world, there is actually such pure spiritual energy; it is much more interesting than Black Wood Cliff."

[Character Panel: Invincible East]

[Status: Sluggish]

[Loyalty: 80%]

[Current Thought: The cold air of the mysterious ice jade and the Internal Energy of the Sunflower Manual complement each other; perhaps it can make the needle even faster.]

Jun Xiaoyao nodded slightly. "The Prince of Zhennan's Mountain-Breaking Army is assembling in the Northern Territory. Go assist Li Xunhuan; you need not hold back."

Invincible East picked up an Embroidery Needle, the tip gleaming coldly in the candlelight. "Rest assured, Young Lord, the needle of Invincible East is faster than Little Lis Flying Dagger." Invincible East turned and stepped into the teleportation array, the red-clothed figure disappearing into the red light.

In the water mirror, the Prince of Zhennan's Mountain-Breaking Army had arrived outside the Northern Territory city. Zhao Yan rode a black horse, holding the Overlord Spear, and looked at the Prince of Zhenbei on the city wall, roaring, "Zhao Hong! Hand over the mysterious ice jade, or this Prince will trample your Northern Territory city!"

On the city wall, the Prince of Zhenbei, Zhao Hong, sneered, "Third Brother, do you think you can snatch the mysterious ice jade with just these people? Let me tell you, those guarding the mysterious ice jade are the top assassins of Luowang!"

At this moment, a patch of red shadow suddenly drifted over the sky of the Northern Territory city. The voice of Invincible East rang out like heavenly music: "Prince of Zhennan? Can your Mountain-Breaking Army withstand the needle of Invincible East?"

Before the words faded, dozens of Embroidery Needles shot down like a rainstorm, precisely piercing the gaps in the armor of the soldiers in the front row of the Mountain-Breaking Army. Those soldiers screamed and fell, black blood seeping from their wounds—the Embroidery Needles were quenched with Ouyezi's specially made "Paralysis Powder"; although not fatal, it could cause people to instantly lose their combat effectiveness.

Zhao Yan was both shocked and furious. He swept his Overlord Spear horizontally, blocking all the incoming Embroidery Needles. "Witchcraft! Charge for me!"

The Mountain-Breaking Army surged toward the city gate like a tide, but was blocked by the Flying Daggers and iron swords suddenly shot from the city. Li Xunhuan's Flying Daggers never missed, Flying's Fast Sword followed like a shadow, and coupled with the elusive Embroidery Needles of Invincible East, the Mountain-Breaking Army suffered heavy casualties and did not even manage to touch the city gate.

"Retreat!" Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, Zhao Yan decisively ordered a retreat. He looked at that red shadow on the city wall, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes—he finally understood why Luowang could make the Southern Chu Imperial Family so fearful.

In front of the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao watched the back of the Mountain-Breaking Army retreating in a sorry state and said to Zhao Gao, "After this battle, the Prince of Zhennan will not dare to covet the mysterious ice jade for at least three months. Have Li Xunhuan and the others guard the Northern Territory; wait until Ouyezi's Water-Severing Swords are delivered, then return to report."

"Yes."

The underground palace returned to silence, with only the runes of the summoning array still slowly circulating. Jun Xiaoyao leaned on the cold jade couch, his fingertips gently tapping the armrest. The struggle for the mysterious ice jade had temporarily come to an end, but he knew this was just the beginning of the confrontation with the Southern Chu Imperial Family.

cold iron from the meteorite iron mine was continuously transported to Hanyue Valley, and Ouyezi's furnace fire never went out day or night; Luowang's assassins executed missions across the continent, accumulating resources and prestige for Beyond Heaven; the summoned powerhouses performed their respective duties, causing the forces of Beyond Heaven to grow like a snowball.

Jun Xiaoyao gazed at the flag of the Prince of Zhenbei fluttering over the Northern Territory city in the water mirror, a cold arc curling at the corners of his lips.

On this continent where resources are king, only the strong are qualified to set the rules, and what he wanted to do was to make Beyond Heaven the existence that sets the rules.

The spiritual energy of the summoning array had recovered to 70%, 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 tread on solid ground, steadily advancing toward a higher Peak.