367: The sound of the zither can refute falsehoods

On the ice table in the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace lay a map of the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions. Master had just used Cinnabar to circle seven suitable allied forces.

The Scorched Tail Zither on the zither stand was still faintly vibrating, its lingering sound circling the ice pillars with a clear, penetrating force.

"Young Lord, these seven kingdoms are willing to offer thirty percent of their annual Ore production, only asking for the protection of Beyond Heaven." Master plucked a zither string, and the sound transformed into a light screen, reflecting the faces of the envoys from those kingdoms. "The other twenty-nine kingdoms harbor ulterior motives. Some want to use us to eliminate their enemies, and some are secretly hiding Blood Shadow Cult remnants; The Net has already marked them."

Jun Xiaoyao's fingertip tapped the face of the Loulan Kingdom envoy on the light screen. That person's eyes flickered, clearly concealing something. "The Loulan Kingdom's 'Night-Shining Jade' mine borders our hanyue iron mine, and their envoy avoided the topic of the mine boundary three times."

Zhao Gao slid out of the shadows, the secret report in his hand still carrying sand: "As the Young Lord surmised, The Net's operative in the Loulan Kingdom sent back news that they secretly dug a tunnel that is nearly connected to our black iron mother lode."

The water mirror suddenly lit up, showing the Loulan Kingdom's mine tunnel. A dozen miners were swinging pickaxes, striking fiercely. The mysterious iron luster on the tunnel wall grew brighter and brighter. The supervising National Preceptor held a Bronze Mirror, and the Blood Shadow Cult Talismans flashed within the mirror—they were actually using a Spell to accelerate the excavation.

[Character Panel: Master]

[Source: A New Account of the Tales of the World World]

[Realm: Peak Grandmaster Realm]

[Martial Skill: Guangling Melody (Sound Killing Technique, can disrupt the mind or soothe the soul), Sword Courage and Zither Heart (30% combat power bonus when wielding a sword)]

[Current Status: Distinguishing Falsehood]

[Special Ability: Zither Music Shatters Delusion (Has exposed seven lies told by the Loulan Kingdom envoy)]

[Loyalty: 82%]

"It seems they don't know what's good for them." Jun Xiaoyao tapped a cold, hard rhythm on the ice table. "Have Yang Guo take the mysterious iron sword to Loulan, cut off their tunnel, and 'retrieve' their Night-Shining Jade mine along the way."

Master suddenly pressed down on the zither strings, and the music stopped abruptly: "Young Lord, the Loulan National Preceptor is the last high priest of the Blood Shadow Cult. He has practiced the 'Blood Sacrifice Art,' which allows him to burn the essence and blood of his citizens to boost his combat power. Caution is needed."

In the water mirror, Yang Guo had already arrived outside the Loulan mine tunnel, treading on yellow sand. The mysterious iron sword was plunged into the sand, its ringing causing the surrounding dunes to rustle and collapse. The National Preceptor, draped in a blood-red Spell robe, stood at the mine entrance and sneered: "Dogs of Beyond Heaven, dare you interfere with the affairs of my Loulan?"

"Digging my Ore vein and colluding with an evil cult—two crimes, enough for you to die." Yang Guo pulled out the mysterious iron sword. The sword wind whipped up the yellow sand, forming a wall of sand that completely sealed the mine entrance.

The National Preceptor suddenly raised the Bronze Mirror. Red light shot out from the mirror, shining upon the surrounding Loulan citizens. The citizens instantly showed looks of pain, their essence and blood forcibly extracted and merged into the National Preceptor's body. His aura unexpectedly surged from the Peak Heaven-Human Realm to the Early Earthly Immortal Realm.

"Blood Sacrifice Art?" Yang Guo's eyes turned cold. He swept the mysterious iron sword horizontally, and the sand wall turned into countless sand blades, slashing toward the National Preceptor.

The National Preceptor neither dodged nor avoided, taking the sword strike head-on. The Talismans on his blood robe lit up, actually reflecting the sword energy back. He lunged toward Yang Guo with a ferocious grin, his sharp claws carrying a bloody light, and the toxins on his fingernails turned the yellow sand purplish-black.

In front of the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao watched this scene and said to Zhao Gao: "Have Cheng Lingsu send the 'Evil-Breaking Pill.' The backlash from the Blood Sacrifice Art is extremely strong; he won't last long."

Just as Zhao Gao was about to respond, the water mirror suddenly shook violently, and the scene of the hanyue iron mine jumped out—the black iron mother lode deep within the Ore vein was glowing. The patterns on the Ore moved like living things. The miners knelt and kowtowed in terror, claiming that the "Mountain God was angered."

"What's going on?" Jun Xiaoyao sat up straight. Tiny red lines suddenly seeped out from the Ore vein map on the ice table, spreading along the location of the mother lode.

Yue Fei's message talisman flew out of the water mirror and landed on the table: "Young Lord, the mother lode is acting strangely, and the associated Spirit Stones are inexplicably shattering. It seems something is about to emerge from the depths of the Ore vein!"

Master's zither strings suddenly vibrated on their own, emitting a rapid warning sound: "This is... a sign of chaotic Earth Vein Dragon Qi. An ancient evil entity might be awakened!"

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the summoning array. Due to the conflict at the Loulan mine and the anomaly of the mother lode, the spiritual power in the array core unexpectedly surged to 98%. The Talismans spun like a whirlpool, and a line of ancient Seal Script floated in the center—[Earth Vein Evil Spirit detected, triggering Evil-Suppressing Type Summon].

[System Prompt: Summonable Character—Zhong Kui]

[Source: The Legend of Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts World]

[Realm: Mid-stage Terrestrial Immortal Realm]

[Martial Skill: Zhong Kui Sword Technique (Specializes in slaying Evil Spirits, damage doubled against Yin Evil Entities), Ghost Catching Talisman (Can Seal Evil Spirits within a thousand years)]

[Specialty: Guarding the House and Warding off Evil, capable of communicating with Earth Veins and appeasing Spiritual Objects]

[Summon Cost: Spiritual Power 95%]

The summoning array suddenly erupted in golden light. The Talismans turned into countless Talismans flying everywhere. Zhong Kui's figure, clad in a red robe and holding a Peach Wood Sword, appeared in the light. His bristling beard was flared, and his eyes were like lightning. When he cupped his hands toward Jun Xiaoyao, his voice was like a great bell: "Zhong Kui is here. May I ask the Young Lord, where is the Evil Spirit causing trouble?"

[Character Panel: Zhong Kui]

[Status: Standby]

[Special Ability: Yin-Yang Eyes (Can see through the true form of Evil Spirits), Evil Suppressing Seal (Can suppress Earth Vein anomalies)]

[Loyalty: 88%]

[Current Thought: The Evil Qi from the mother lode is heavy; it's an Old Ghost accumulated over many years.]

"The hanyue iron mine, mother lode anomaly." Jun Xiaoyao pointed to the water mirror. "Leave the Loulan matter to Yang Guo for now. You go stabilize the Earth Veins."

Zhong Kui waved his Peach Wood Sword, and a Talisman appeared out of thin air, sticking to the water mirror. The glow of the mother lode in the water mirror immediately dimmed, and the moving patterns slowed down. "Don't worry, with me here, the Evil Spirit won't be able to cause havoc!" He turned and stepped into the Teleportation Array. As his red robe vanished in the golden light, he left behind a deafening shout of "Slaying Demons and Eliminating Devils."

The water mirror switched back to Loulan. The National Preceptor's Blood Sacrifice Art had reached its limit. Blood constantly spilled from the corners of his mouth, and his aura fluctuated wildly. Yang Guo seized the opportunity, stabbing the mysterious iron sword into his Spell robe. The extreme Yang power on the sword tore apart the blood Talismans. The National Preceptor screamed and turned into flying ash.

"The tunnel is destroyed, and the Night-Shining Jade mine has been claimed by Beyond Heaven." Yang Guo said into the message talisman. The mysterious iron sword was plunged into the center of the mine tunnel, its cold light declaring ownership.

The underground palace returned to silence, only Master's zither music sounding again. This time the tune was steady and profound, carrying the power to soothe the heart. Jun Xiaoyao watched Zhong Kui drawing Talismans in front of the mother lode in the water mirror. Each time the Peach Wood Sword fell, the tremor of the Earth Veins lessened slightly.

"Loulan is handled, the mother lode is stabilized." Jun Xiaoyao picked up the map of the Loulan Kingdom's Night-Shining Jade mine distribution and overlaid it onto the map of the hanyue iron mine. The two fit together perfectly. "Next, it's time to let the Western Regions know who the real authority figure is."

Master stopped plucking the strings, and the lingering zither music contained a hint of understanding: "Does Young Lord intend to... convene a Western Regions Alliance Conference?"

Jun Xiaoyao pointed a finger at Quicksand City in the center of the map: "Three days from now, Quicksand City. Have the rulers of all forces come."

The spiritual power of the summoning array slowly dropped back to 85%. The flashing Talismans seemed to echo this decision.

The wind and snow outside Hanyue Valley had stopped at some point. Moonlight shone through the ice window, casting bright, clean spots of light on the ground, much like the stabilized glow of the black iron mother lode.

The territory belonging to Beyond Heaven was being pieced together bit by bit, and every new piece of the puzzle was stained with undeniable power and rules.