373: Letter Silkworm Gu

On the ice wall of the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, the water mirror clearly reflected the scene of the Longmen Grottoes.

Inside the Scripture Cave deep within the grottoes, candlelight flickered, illuminating the mottled Buddha statues on the rock wall. The eyes of the statues had been dug out and replaced with two bronze mirrors, which faced the entrance, clearly acting as a surveillance mechanism.

"Young Lord, the Heavenly Silkworm Cult has set up the 'Mother-Child Chain Formation' in the Scripture Cave." Zhao Gao's voice came from the shadows. He held a sheepskin map marked with red lines showing the Formation's layout. "The mother silkworm is hidden in the base of the Buddha statue, while the child silkworms are planted inside thirty-seven captives. If the mother silkworm is startled, the child silkworms will immediately devour the host's heart meridian."

Jun Xiaoyao tapped his finger lightly on the ice table. A glazed lamp on the table held half a cup of clear water, reflecting the scene in the water mirror—the Vice Minister of Personnel was kneeling outside the cave, kowtowing to the Buddha statue. The blood from his forehead stained the stone steps red: "Please, spare my son! I am willing to hand over all my family assets!"

In the water mirror, an old man wearing a black robe patterned with silkworms slowly walked out. This was Silkworm Bane, the leader of the Heavenly Silkworm Cult. He was playing with a white jade box, from which faint insect chirps could be heard: "Minister, you jest. We don't want money; we want the distribution map of the Beyond Heaven's black iron mother lode."

"They intend to use the captives to force us to show ourselves." Jun Xiaoyao looked up at the summoning array. The spiritual power in the eye of the Formation had risen to 88% due to the threat posed by the Formation. As the runes circulated, an insect-shaped phantom appeared.

[System Notification: Gu technique threat detected, triggering "Gu-Breaking Type" summon.]

[Summonable Character: Blue Phoenix]

[Origin: The world of "the smiling, proud wanderer"]

[Realm: Mid-stage Grandmaster]

[Martial Skill: Five Poisons Scripture (Transcendent), Ten Thousand Gu Devouring Soul (Can control all rare Gu in the world)]

[Specialty: Gu Identification (Can identify 95% of Gu insect species), Gu Exorcism (Can counteract enemy Gu techniques)]

[Summon Cost: Spiritual Power 85%]

Jun Xiaoyao's finger descended, and the summoning array suddenly erupted in emerald green light. Runes fluttered like a swarm of insects, and the figure of a woman dressed in Miao Jiang attire materialized in the light. Blue Phoenix wore a multicolored gourd on her waist, and a faint, exotic fragrance wafted from its mouth. She curtsied gracefully to Jun Xiaoyao, her silver-bell-like voice carrying a hint of wildness: "Blue Phoenix greets Young Lord."

[Character Panel: Blue Phoenix]

[Status: Standby]

[Special Ability: Gu Speech (Can communicate with Gu insects), Silkworm Breaker (The nemesis of Heavenly Silkworm Cult's Gu insects)]

[Loyalty: 83%]

[Current Thought: Although the Mother-Child Silkworm Gu is poisonous, it fears my 'Gu-Eating Ants'.]

"Can you handle the Heavenly Silkworm Cult's Mother-Child Silkworm Gu?" Jun Xiaoyao pointed at the white jade box in the water mirror.

Blue Phoenix patted the gourd on her waist. A sharp ant chirp came from inside: "Young Lord, don't worry. My Gu-Eating Ants specialize in eating silkworm Gu. In just fifteen minutes, they will leave nothing behind." She turned and stepped into the teleportation array. When her figure appeared on the cliff face outside the Scripture Cave, she was already wearing a set of night clothes.

In the water mirror, seeing no response, Silkworm Bane suddenly opened the white jade box. The mother silkworm inside let out a sharp shriek. Among the captives outside the cave, three immediately clutched their chests and fell, their bodies curling up like shrimp. It looked as if insects were crawling beneath their skin, and their screams were heartbreaking.

The Vice Minister of Personnel's eyes were splitting with rage. He pulled out a scroll from his bosom and threw it toward Silkworm Bane: "This is a copy of the black iron mother lode map! Quickly release my son!"

Silkworm Bane took the scroll, but just as he was about to open it, his expression suddenly changed—the scroll was covered in black ants. As the ants devoured the scroll, they also crawled up his fingers toward his arm. Everywhere they passed, his skin instantly festered.

"It's the Gu-Eating Ants!" Silkworm Bane was filled with shock and rage. He waved his hand, shooting out a thread of silkworm silk, but it was completely devoured by the ants. He turned to flee, only to see Blue Phoenix standing gracefully atop the Buddha statue. She tilted the gourd in her hand, and more Gu-Eating Ants poured out like a tide.

"You Heavenly Silkworm Cult trash, dare to play with Gu in front of your grandma?" Blue Phoenix sneered. The Gu-Eating Ants split into two teams: one rushed toward the mother silkworm at the base of the Buddha statue, and the other crawled toward the captives, slipping into their collars.

The captives first let out painful moans, then showed expressions of astonishment—the child silkworms inside them seemed to be devoured by something, and the agonizing pain of their heart meridians being chewed gradually vanished. Blue Phoenix's voice came from above: "Don't be afraid. My ants are helping you kill the bugs."

Seeing the mother silkworm being gnawed down to white bone by the Gu-Eating Ants, Silkworm Bane's eyes immediately split with fury. He pulled out the last "Exploding Silkworm Gu" from his bosom, intending to detonate it and perish together with Blue Phoenix.

Just then, a flash of blade light tore through the air like lightning!

Flying appeared at the cave entrance without warning. His firewood knife precisely shattered the Exploding Silkworm Gu. The debris stirred up by the blade wind pinned Silkworm Bane's black robe to the rock wall. Silkworm Bane stared at his empty palm, his eyes filled with despair: "Beyond Heaven... you are truly ruthless!"

Blue Phoenix whistled. The Gu-Eating Ants suddenly changed direction and swarmed Silkworm Bane. In just a moment, the leader of the Heavenly Silkworm Cult was gnawed down to a skeleton, not even leaving his black robe behind.

In the water mirror, the Vice Minister of Personnel held his awakened son and kowtowed toward the cave entrance: "Thank you, Beyond Heaven, for saving our lives! I am willing to serve the Young Lord as a dog and horse!"

Blue Phoenix collected her Flying Ants and lifted her chin at him: "Go back and tell the court officials that Beyond Heaven's property is not something anyone can touch." She turned and stepped into the teleportation array. When she returned to the underground palace to report, she held Silkworm Bane's token. "Young Lord, the remnants of the Heavenly Silkworm Cult are recorded on the back of the token. There are seventeen strongholds in total."

Jun Xiaoyao took the token. Beneath the silkworm pattern on the back were densely carved place names, with "One Hundred Thousand Great Mountains of Miao Jiang" written at the very end. He tossed the token to Zhao Gao: "Have The Net's 'Kill' Group handle the cleanup. Leave no one alive."

"Yes." Zhao Gao paused, then added, "The Vice Minister of Personnel said he is willing to offer three jade mines in the Western Regions in exchange for an opportunity to cooperate with Beyond Heaven."

Jun Xiaoyao looked up at the water mirror. The miners at the hanyue iron mine were loading the newly excavated black iron onto carts. Yue Fei's Yue Family Spear Formation patrolled the area, the cold gleam of the spear tips reflecting the luster of the black iron.

"We can accept the jade mines, but cooperation is unnecessary." Jun Xiaoyao said indifferently, "Tell the Vice Minister of Personnel to watch his mouth. If today's events get out, there will be no antidote for the Gu-Eating Ants inside his son."

Hearing this, Blue Phoenix covered her mouth and chuckled lightly: "Young Lord, don't worry. My Gu-Eating Ants only listen to me, unless..." She paused deliberately, a sly look flashing in her eyes, "Unless the Young Lord wants them to listen."

Jun Xiaoyao glanced at her, neither confirming nor denying. The spiritual power of the summoning array had recovered to 80%. The flickering runes seemed to echo the victory.

Silence returned to the underground palace. Only the water mirror continued to show the aftermath in the Scripture Cave—Luowang Assassinss were escorting the captives to a safe area. A cloud-patterned token was left in the collar of each captive, engraved with the five characters: "Protected by Beyond Heaven."

"These people will become our informants in the Imperial Court." Zhao Gao whispered.

Jun Xiaoyao did not speak, merely looking at the black iron mother lode distribution map on the ice table. Although the Heavenly Silkworm Cult was destroyed, there was a faint shadow of Imperial Dynasty influence behind them. The Dragon Pattern carved on the bottom of the white jade box held by Silkworm Bane was identical to the Dragon Pattern in the Empress Dowager's sleeping palace.

"The Empress Dowager..." Jun Xiaoyao lightly tapped the phantom of the Dragon Pattern with his fingertip. "It seems she is desperate to get the black iron mother lode."

The runes of the summoning array suddenly flickered violently, clearly sensing a new threat. Jun Xiaoyao looked up.

The spiritual power in the eye of the Formation was rapidly increasing, having broken through 90%. The pattern formed by the runes was faintly similar to the Empress Dowager's Phoenix Seal.

He knew that the real opponent was finally about to surface. And within Beyond Heaven's summoning array, an even more powerful figure was waiting for the opportunity to emerge.

The wind and snow outside Hanyue Valley gradually stopped. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining on the black iron mother lode and reflecting a cold sheen.

The territory belonging to Beyond Heaven was constantly expanding through repeated clashes, and behind every expansion lay an undeniable iron rule—

Those who follow me may not prosper; those who oppose me shall surely die.