Qiu Fuchun’s face turned livid with anger, his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves, and he was about to lash out—only to be stopped by a sharp glance from Han Jiuqiu.

  Han Jiuqiu slowly put down his teacup, his slender fingers gently brushing the warm rim. His expression was calm, as if he were talking about the weather, but his tone carried an unshakable certainty: "We agree. But we have three conditions—first, we will decide the scope of the mine ourselves; second, during the mining period, the soldiers of the Pisha Palace are only allowed to stand guard outside and must not step into the mine at all; third, after the task is completed, the thousand-year caterpillar fungus must be delivered on the spot, and the city lord himself must escort us to the mine."

  Bruce’s small eyes darted around, his mind racing as he calculated quickly.

  The scope of the mine? Pisha was rich in crystal mines anyway—giving them a remote one wouldn’t hurt. Soldiers not entering? That would save him a lot of trouble. Escorting them personally? It was just a formality, and he could keep an eye on their movements.

  "Deal!" Bruce slammed his round belly, his face crinkling into a grin full of wrinkles. "Early tomorrow morning, I’ll send a guide to lead you! But if you two fail... heh heh, don’t blame me for being unkind!"

  "Don’t worry." Qiu Fuchun sneered, his tone arrogant and confident. "No one has ever made me, Qiu Fuchun, fail."

  That night, the moon was hidden and the stars were sparse, and the Pisha Palace was shrouded in silence. But Han Jiuqiu and Qiu Fuchun did not rest; instead, under the cover of night, they sneaked into the back mountain of the Pisha Palace like two ghosts.

  With the secret method of the Five Elements Array they had learned from Mo Ye, the two walked as if they were in their own courtyard, easily avoiding the patrolling guards and quietly sneaking to the outside of a hidden warehouse.

  The warehouse door was tightly closed, but it couldn’t block the faint spiritual light emanating from inside. Qiu Fuchun condensed a wisp of spiritual power at his fingertips and tapped lightly—the door lock clicked open. Pushing the door open, they saw the warehouse filled with various rare ores. In one corner, there were dozens of Return Crystals glowing with mysterious light, as well as several boxes of pure Silicon-Rich Crystals—far more than the two had expected.

  The two exchanged a look, understanding each other, and quietly retreated. By the time they returned to their residence, the eastern sky had already turned pale with the first light of dawn.

  Early the next morning, Bruce kept his word and sent a guide. The man had a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, with shifty eyes—obviously a coward. He led the two all the way to the entrance of Black Wind Valley, then dared not take another step forward, trembling as he pointed to the wind-whistling valley inside: "T-Two lords, this is the territory of the Crystal Armored Scorpions. It’s full of murderous monsters. I-I’ll stop here!"

  Qiu Fuchun didn’t bother to waste words with him. He snorted, picked up his sword, and stepped into Black Wind Valley first. Han Jiuqiu followed closely behind, his steps steady.

  As soon as they entered the valley, the scene changed drastically. Cold winds howled through the valley, swirling gravel around, and the air was filled with a pungent stench that made people nauseous. Strange rocks jutted out on both sides of the road, and danger lurked everywhere.

  After walking no more than a few dozen steps, they heard a crisp "crack". A Crystal Armored Scorpion the size of a washbasin suddenly crawled out of a crevice in a boulder. Its body was covered in dark golden hard carapace, a pair of huge pincers glinted with cold light, its poisonous stinger raised high, and its scarlet compound eyes locked firmly on the two, filled with bloodthirsty killing intent.

  "Perfect timing."

  A cold glint flashed in Qiu Fuchun’s eyes. His Dragon Scale Sword was unsheathed in an instant, and a bright sword qi, wrapped in sharp momentum, slashed out. With a "pop", the Crystal Armored Scorpion didn’t even have time to scream before being split in two, its dark green blood splattering all over the ground.

  That sword qi was like poking a hornet’s nest. In an instant, the sound of "rustling" came from all directions, surging like a tide. Crystal Armored Scorpions crawled out from behind strange rocks, crevices, and dead trees—small ones as big as palms, big ones as big as millstones. Hundreds of them gathered together, a black mass that made people’s scalps tingle, and even the air seemed to freeze.

  But Han Jiuqiu’s expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected this. He took out an ancient bronze compass from his arms, his fingers flicking quickly on the compass as he chanted incantations silently—the core secret method of the Five Elements Array.

  In the blink of an eye, five colorful rays of spiritual light shot up from the compass, spinning rapidly around the two and forming a solid golden barrier. Countless Crystal Armored Scorpions swarmed up, their sharp pincers and poisonous stingers slamming into the barrier with a dense "ding-ding-dang-dang" sound, sparks flying, but they could never shake the barrier at all.

  "Attack!"

  Han Jiuqiu gave the order, and the golden barrier suddenly expanded outward, forcing the surrounding Crystal Armored Scorpions back several feet. Obeying the order, Qiu Fuchun swung his Dragon Scale Sword into a dazzling stream of light, his sword qi crisscrossing, sweeping out like a strong wind blowing away fallen leaves. The seemingly indestructible carapaces of the Crystal Armored Scorpions were as fragile as tofu under the Dragon Scale Sword’s qi. Wherever the sword qi passed, the Crystal Armored Scorpions fell one after another, with broken limbs and arms scattered everywhere.

  Han Jiuqiu focused on controlling the Five Elements Array, constantly adjusting the array eyes on the compass. The five rays of light contracted and expanded from time to time, cleverly changing the terrain of the valley and forcing the fleeing Crystal Armored Scorpions step by step into a narrow depression deep in the valley.

  The two cooperated seamlessly—one attacking, one defending. In less than half an hour, the originally noisy Black Wind Valley gradually fell silent. Looking around, the valley was covered with the bodies of Crystal Armored Scorpions, the pungent stench even stronger, and the hundreds of Crystal Armored Scorpions had all been slaughtered by the two.

  Qiu Fuchun, holding his blood-stained Dragon Scale Sword, strode to the entrance of the scorpion nest deep in the depression. It was a huge cave, with thick piles of scorpion shells at the entrance. He kicked hard, and with a "boom", the entrance was kicked open. Deep in the cave, a huge Return Crystal raw stone, half a person tall, lay quietly, emitting a strong mysterious light and abundant spiritual energy—far better in quality than those in the warehouse.

  "Wow, that old fox hid it really well." Qiu Fuchun grinned, his eyes shining with excitement. He raised his hand and put the precious raw stone into his storage bag.

  Then, the two spent another half an hour collecting the scattered scorpion shells in the valley, filling three large bags—more than a hundred catties in total. Only then did they pat the dust off their hands and walk out of Black Wind Valley slowly.

  The guide waiting at the valley entrance had long been prepared for the two to die in the valley. Now, seeing them walk out unharmed, not even a scratch on their bodies, and carrying large bags of heavy scorpion shells, he was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg, and he couldn’t close it for a long time.

  The two took the scorpion shells and went straight back to the Pisha Palace. At this time, Bruce was drinking wine leisurely in the main hall. When he heard his men report that the two had returned, he was stunned for a moment, then immediately put on a warm smile and went to greet them personally: "You two brothers are really powerful! You destroyed the scorpion nest so quickly—I really admire you! Admire you!"

  His eyes inadvertently swept over the three large bags of scorpion shells that Qiu Fuchun had casually thrown on the ground, then fell on the seemingly ordinary storage bag in Han Jiuqiu’s hand. A hint of unconcealable greed flashed in his eyes, but he didn’t dare to show it at all, fearing the two’s strength.

  "City Lord, where is the thousand-year caterpillar fungus?" Qiu Fuchun didn’t bother to play nice with him, getting straight to the point, his tone filled with unshakable urgency.

  "You won’t be disappointed! You won’t be disappointed!" Bruce quickly waved his hand, his smile becoming even more obsequious. He turned around and shouted to the servants behind him: "Hurry! Bring up the thousand-year caterpillar fungus I prepared!"