378: Multiple forces

The morning mist in the Imperial hunting grounds had not yet dissipated when three horn blasts pierced the sky.

In the open space before the throne, the Emperor stood dressed in hunting attire, holding a longbow. Behind him, the Imperial Guards wore gleaming armor, and five honored guests stood with auras as deep and heavy as an abyss, their gazes sweeping over the royal clansmen and civil and military officials present, carrying an invisible pressure.

"Today's Spring Hunt: whoever shoots the most game shall be rewarded with one hundred catties of black iron!" The Emperor's voice, amplified by internal Qi, spread throughout the hunting grounds. His gaze lingered briefly on the Empress Dowager and the First Prince, seemingly full of hidden meaning.

Before the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao watched this scene, his fingertips tapping lightly on the ice table. In the glass cup on the table, the movements of three factions were reflected—the Empress Dowager's eunuch was quietly distributing pastries laced with sub-silkworms to the attendants, the First Prince's guards had message talismans from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect hidden in their boot soles, and Li Song's capital battalion was quietly moving along the edge of the pine forest, forming a semi-encirclement.

"Full of Towers, how many people are carrying sub-silkworms?" Jun Xiaoyao's voice came through the message talisman.

Full of Towers, currently disguised as a musician, sat in a corner tuning his strings. His ears twitched slightly: "Replying to the Young Lord, thirty-one sounds of sub-silkworms squirming can be heard from the Empress Dowager's tent, and seventeen have already approached the Emperor's throne." He plucked the strings, and a clear, resonant sound wave spread out. The attendants near the throne suddenly felt an itch at their waists and subconsciously reached for their incense pouches—that was exactly where the sub-silkworms were hiding.

[Character Panel: Full of Towers]

[Status: Alert]

[Current Perception: A Land Immortal Realm aura has awakened in the Empress Dowager's tent, suspected to be silkworm venom driving the Gu King]

[Special Mark: Sound waves have been used to interfere with the activity of twelve sub-silkworms]

Just then, the Empress Dowager suddenly clutched her chest and coughed, and the eunuch hurriedly handed her medicine. The moment she drank the medicine, the silkworm venom in the tent crushed the Gu King's container, and in the water mirror, countless insects could be seen flying toward those attendants who carried the sub-silkworms.

"Act!" Jun Xiaoyao nodded to Zhao Gao.

Blue Phoenix, having long disguised herself as a palace maid, was mixed in the crowd of attendants. Seeing the insect shadows fly out, she immediately crushed the incense pouch at her waist, and pale gold medicinal powder drifted with the wind. Gu-Eating Ants poured out like a tide, chasing after the sub-silkworms and the Gu King. Those sub-silkworms, about to burrow into human bodies, fell to the ground upon encountering the powder and were devoured by the Gu-Eating Ants.

"What is happening?" The Empress Dowager's expression changed drastically as she looked at the insect carcasses on the ground, her eyes filled with disbelief. The silkworm venom spat out a mouthful of fresh blood inside the tent—the Gu King had been destroyed, and he had also suffered heavy injuries.

Seeing this, the First Prince thought Beyond Heaven had intervened and immediately gave his guards a look. The message talisman in the guard's boot sole popped out and shot into the sky like a trail of fire. Deep in the pine forest, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's Falling Snow Sword Array was suddenly activated, and thousands of sword lights drifted toward the center of the hunting grounds like snowflakes, aiming directly at the Emperor's throne!

"Protect the Emperor!" Li Song roared, and the capital battalion soldiers raised their shields to form a defensive line, only to be shattered by the sword light. He swung his meteor hammer to meet it, the hammerhead colliding with the sword light with a sound of clashing metal, but he was forced to retreat repeatedly by the impact.

In the water mirror, Fragrant Bat waved his folding fan lightly, and the stone shot by his Finger Flicking Divine Skill accurately hit the seven pivots of the sword array. The sword light immediately became chaotic, and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect Elder said in shock and anger: "Who broke my sword array?"

"It is because your Young Sect Master did not teach you the rules properly." Fragrant Bat's voice came from behind the throne. He had already changed back into his original attire, toying with the sword tassel he had "borrowed" from the Elder. "You have quite the nerve to wield weapons in front of the Emperor."

The Emperor looked at the chaotic scene and, far from being panicked, sneered: "I knew you were restless. Take them all!"

Five honored guests struck simultaneously, their palms and fists weaving into a net, trapping all the Ten Thousand Swords Sect Disciples and the Empress Dowager's private soldiers. Marquis Zhenbei led his cavalry charging in from the north gate, his silver armor shimmering in the morning light as he slammed his meteor hammer toward the First Prince who was trying to break out: "You wretch, surrender now!"

Seeing this, the First Prince knew the situation was lost and suddenly pulled a porcelain bottle from his bosom, intending to drink poison and commit suicide. Blue Phoenix's Gu-Eating Ants were faster than him, crawling into his sleeve and gnawing the porcelain bottle to pieces, spilling the poisonous wine on the ground and emitting wisps of white smoke.

"Keep him alive." Jun Xiaoyao's voice reached Lord Bao's ears through the message talisman. Lord Bao understood and threw his iron ruler, knocking the porcelain bottle from the First Prince's hand. The bailiffs behind him swarmed up and tied him up securely.

In the chaos, the silkworm venom rushed out of the Empress Dowager's tent, holding the last "Exploding Silkworm Gu," aiming directly at the Emperor. Just then, a flash of red light passed, and Lu Zhishen's Zen staff swept over, knocking the Exploding Silkworm Gu away. The remaining force of the staff shook the silkworm venom, causing him to spit blood and collapse to the ground.

"I hate scum who use poison the most!" Lu Zhishen's eyes widened in anger, and he stepped on the silkworm venom's chest. "Speak, how many accomplices are left?"

Just as the silkworm venom was about to grit his teeth, Blue Phoenix walked over, the Gu-Eating Ants crawling on her fingertips: "If you don't speak, these little guys will crawl into your seven orifices and let you taste the feeling of being devoured." Looking at those ferocious ants, the silkworm venom turned ashen and intermittently confessed the remaining accomplices of the Heavenly Silkworm Cult in the court.

Before the water mirror, Jun Xiaoyao saw that the situation was settled and nodded to Zhao Gao: "Let The Net's 'Shadow' group clean up the stragglers, and have the Marshal of the Unruly go to assist Lord Bao to bring the witnesses and evidence back to Kaifeng Prefecture."

[Character Panel: Marshal of the Unruly]

[Status: Action]

[Current Task: Escort Lord Bao to transport the prisoners, three waves of assassins attempting to break the prison have been cleared]

[Special Record: Tiangang Art trapped two Land Immortal Realm remnants]

[Character Panel: Zhao Gao]

[Status: Coordinating]

[Current Dispatch: The Net's 'Kill' group is controlling the hunting ground exit, and the 'Xuan' group is hunting down the remnants of the Heavenly Silkworm Cult]

[Special Instruction: Copy the evidence of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect colluding with the First Prince to all major Schools]

The chaos in the hunting grounds gradually subsided. The Empress Dowager was placed under house arrest in the brocade tent, looking ashen. The First Prince and the Ten Thousand Swords Sect Elder were locked in iron chains and taken to Kaifeng Prefecture. Li Song was rewarded with a chest of black iron by the Emperor for his "meritorious service in protecting the Emperor," but in reality, The Net's people were already "waiting" on his way back to "retrieve" the things that belonged to Beyond Heaven in the first place.

Marquis Zhenbei walked to the Emperor and clasped his fists: "Your Majesty, the rebellion has been quelled. Should we strike while the iron is hot and take down the Beyond Heaven in Hanyue Valley?"

The Emperor looked at the distant pine forest, where the aura of Beyond Heaven vaguely flashed, but he shook his head: "Beyond Heaven helped us clean up the internal troubles, so we will not move against them for now. Issue an edict: appoint the Young Lord of Beyond Heaven as 'Marquis of Zhenxi,' allow him to mine the Western Regions' mineral veins, and only require him to pay one-tenth of the proceeds annually."

Jun Xiaoyao heard this and a sneer curled his lips: "One-tenth of the proceeds? He certainly knows how to do business." He said to Zhao Gao, "Reply to the edict and thank him for his kindness. The proceeds can be handled as he said, but the hundred miles around the mineral veins must be under the jurisdiction of Beyond Heaven; let him cede the land to us."

After Zhao Gao left to carry out the order, the spiritual energy of the summoning array had risen to 97% due to this victory. As the runes flowed, a figure wearing a dragon robe emerged.

[System Prompt: Imperial power turbulence detected, triggering 'Emperor-type' summoning.]

[Summonable Character: Li Shimin]

[From: The world of 'Sui and Tang Romance']

[Realm: Peak Land Immortal Realm]

[Martial Skill: Emperor's Heart Arts (Transcendent, can influence others' decision-making), Xuanwu Sword Technique (Perfection)]

[Expertise: Command (Increases the cohesion of subordinates by 30%), Personnel Assessment (Can see through the potential of talents)]

[Summoning Cost: 97% Spiritual Energy]

Jun Xiaoyao dropped his fingertips, and the summoning array erupted with dazzling golden light. The runes circled like dragons and phoenixes, and Li Shimin's figure condensed in the light. He was dressed in casual clothes but possessed an inherent imperial dignity, bowing to Jun Xiaoyao: "Li Shimin, greets the Young Lord."

[Character Panel: Li Shimin]

[Status: Standby]

[Special Ability: Accepting Advice (Can listen to the optimal suggestions of summoned characters), Imperial Might (Has a suppressive effect on royal family members)]

[Loyalty: 88%]

[Current Thought: The imperial power of this world is unstable, which is the perfect opportunity for Beyond Heaven to expand]

"The Emperor wants to recruit us. What do you think?" Jun Xiaoyao asked.

Li Shimin smiled slightly: "Your Majesty's move is called recruitment, but it is actually a test. We can accept his title for now and use the name of Marquis of Zhenxi to integrate the Western Regions. Once our forces are stable, we can plan for the future." He paused and added, "I am willing to go to the Western Regions to take charge and manage the mineral veins and trade routes for the Young Lord."

Jun Xiaoyao nodded: "Very good. Have Yue Fei transfer two thousand men from the Northern Desert to your command, and have Shi Qian assist you in opening up the trade routes between the Western Regions and the Central Plains to ensure the smooth transport of black iron."

"I obey the order." Li Shimin turned and stepped into the teleportation array, his figure disappearing into the golden light.

The Hanyue Valley Underground Palace returned to silence. In the water mirror, the brocade tents of the Imperial hunting grounds were being dismantled, and the Imperial Guards were cleaning up the bloodstains on the ground, as if the slaughter just now had never happened.

Jun Xiaoyao watched the slowly recovering spiritual energy in the summoning array, knowing that the influence of Beyond Heaven had quietly infiltrated the veins of the Imperial Dynasty, and the next step was to take full control of these veins.

The morning mist in the hunting grounds dissipated completely, and the sunlight shone through the pine forest onto the ground, illuminating the scattered fragments of black iron. These fragments would be retrieved by The Net, re-melted, and become the cornerstone of Beyond Heaven's expansion.

The chess game belonging to Jun Xiaoyao had entered the closing stage, and the pattern of the entire continent would be completely rewritten by the shocking changes of this Spring Hunt.