A Blunt Blow

In his past life, Chen Xiao had come to the Mingyu Mountain mines many times to stir up trouble for the Nangong Family. Back then, however, his identity had to remain hidden; once exposed, he would surely face the Nangong Family's pursuit, so he had only ever caused a bit of chaos before leaving.

Of course, it wouldn't matter if he were discovered this time. This Young Master was the Third Young Master of Moon-Gazing City, and the mineral veins of Mingyu Mountain all belonged to the city. What was wrong with this Young Master coming here to mine?

Within Mingyu Mountain, there were over fifty mines of varying sizes. The largest among them was a high-grade Heavenly Mystery Stone mine, which produced thousands of high-grade Heavenly Mystery Stones every year to maintain the formation operations and various infrastructure throughout Moon-Gazing City.

The core of Mingyu Mountain was its largest spiritual vein. This vein was the main artery of the entire mountain, and all the other mineral veins had been born from it.

Naturally, no one dared to covet this spiritual vein. It had been driven into the mountain by a peerless immortal from the Glazed Heaven Palace when Moon-Gazing City was first established, serving as the very foundation of the city's existence.

It could be said that outside every major city in the Glazed Heaven, there was a spiritual vein established by the Glazed Heaven Palace. The presence of such a vein meant the city was directly under the jurisdiction of the Glazed Heaven Palace and held in high regard by them.

Of course, Moon-Gazing City was merely a small city within the Glazed Heaven, and the spiritual vein outside its walls was only a low-grade one.

Moon-Gazing City had existed for ten thousand years. Over these millennia, the ruling family had changed countless times; even the Chen Clan had only become the masters of Moon-Gazing City three hundred years ago after driving the previous ruling family out during a power struggle.

Only by becoming the Lord of Moon-Gazing City could one be considered a vassal of the Glazed Heaven Palace.

Naturally, the Glazed Heaven Palace would not intervene in the replacement of ruling families. Being driven out simply meant the original family had grown weak and no longer possessed the strength to hold the city; being ousted was only natural.

However, there was one exception: an official investiture by the Glazed Heaven Palace. Once a family received such an investiture, they became the true masters of the city. Anyone who dared to move against an invested family was challenging the majesty of the Glazed Heaven Palace and would be hunted down by the entire Glazed Heaven.

Outside the core of Mingyu Mountain, several significant mineral veins were occupied by the major families of Moon-Gazing City.

In addition to the Chen Clan and the Nangong Family, there were three other massive clans in Moon-Gazing City: the Beiyu Family, the Canghai Family, and the Li Family. Of course, these three were slightly weaker than the Chen Clan and the Nangong Family.

At this moment, aided by God-Speed Talismans and Heaven-Concealing Talismans, the three of them entered a large mineral vein belonging to the Nangong Family without a sound.

"Young Master, what should we do now?"

Watching the miners coming and going, clinking and clanking as they struck the stone to excavate Heavenly Mystery Stones, Mengmeng couldn't help but transmit her voice.

Although they had arrived at the mine, they were at a loss. They couldn't possibly dig for the ore themselves, could they? Even though Chen Xiao had said they were coming to mine, having them do the manual labor in such a massive vein would surely exhaust them to death.

Moreover, while it was called a mineral vein, the Heavenly Mystery Stones were not scattered everywhere. If one were lucky, they might dig up hundreds at once, but if unlucky, they might not find a single one in a year.

"Stubborn girl, who does this Young Master think I am? I am the Young City Lord of Moon-Gazing City; do I need to do the digging myself to get Heavenly Mystery Stones? Why not just go to the mine supervisor and take them?"

Chen Xiao curled his lip and transmitted back.

"Let's go, let's go."

With that, Chen Xiao led Mengmeng and Cai Di toward the end of the tunnel. At the end of the passage stood an incredibly ornate chamber furnished with a table and a chair, the table laden with exquisite food. A man who looked to be in his early thirties sat comfortably in the chair, a beautiful young woman standing behind him, kneading his shoulders.

This man was the mine supervisor stationed there by the Nangong Family. Every Heavenly Mystery Stone excavated from this vein was kept in his custody before being turned over to the family at regular intervals.

The position of mine supervisor was a lucrative one, and anyone who held it was invariably a core member of the Nangong Family.

This man was Nangong Shenyao, the younger brother of the Nangong Family head, Nangong Shenhe. His cultivation had already reached the late stage of the Division Spirit Realm, and he was the strongest expert stationed here to guard all the Nangong Family's mines in Mingyu Mountain.

Of course, this was Mingyu Mountain. While nominally under the jurisdiction of Moon-Gazing City, it was actually under the direct control of the Glazed Heaven Palace. Cultivators might scheme against Moon-Gazing City, but if anyone blind enough dared to stir up trouble in Mingyu Mountain, they would be courting death.

In reality, Nangong Shenyao was here to enjoy himself; it was both a fat job and an incredibly leisurely one.

"Cai Di, it's up to you."

Chen Xiao took a thick iron rod, as wide as a bowl, from his storage ring and handed it to Cai Di.

Although they were under the protection of the Heaven-Concealing Talismans, the three talismans were of the same origin, allowing them to see one another.

"What for?"

Cai Di took the rod, slightly stunned.

"To knock him out, of course. You're the only one here who can handle Nangong Shenyao. Don't tell me you expect this Young Master to do it himself?"

Chen Xiao gestured with his chin toward Nangong Shenyao, signaling him to use the heavy rod to deal with the man.

"Ugh... I am a dignified Poison Immortal, an expert of the Body Integration Realm, and you want me to go knock someone out?!"

Cai Di's face turned a liver-colored red, but looking at Chen Xiao, he had no choice. He could only take the heavy rod and walk toward Nangong Shenyao and the young woman.

"Keep them alive."

Chen Xiao sensed that Cai Di's emotions were unstable and feared that if the man lost control, he might smash their skulls to pieces.

In truth, Chen Xiao had a thousand ways to deal with Nangong Shenyao, but he specifically chose to have Cai Di perform the ambush to see just how loyal the man truly was to him.

Although the Heavenly Tribulation Oath prevented Cai Di from betraying him, Chen Xiao didn't want mere non-betrayal; there were many things he needed Cai Di to accomplish.

That was the reason for this absurd ambush. If Cai Di had resisted Chen Xiao's order, even if he didn't betray him, he would have lost Chen Xiao's trust forever.

Fortunately, while Cai Di was emotionally agitated, he did not defy Chen Xiao.

Thud! Thud!

After two muffled sounds, Nangong Shenyao and the pretty girl rolled their eyes and collapsed, unconscious.

A blow from an Body Integration Realm expert was not something a Division Spirit Realm cultivator could withstand.