Among those surveilling outside the camp were not only Xiao Muhong's n but also mbers of the Black Killers.
Upon receiving the news, Xiao Qiwu secretly rejoiced and naturally seized the opportunity to kick soone when they were down, imdiately spreading the information far and wide.
When the Sacred King Xiao Qitian Dynasty learned of this, he summoned Xiao Muhong and gave him a severe reprimand.
"I intended to give you a chance to prove yourself, but look at the ss you've made! What's even more infuriating is that you tried to cover it up when things went wrong! Do you have any idea how much this has put us at a disadvantage? Now all those factions of formation masters are demanding answers from us. If we don't handle this properly, Xiao Qiwu and his lot will be laughing at us again!"
Xiao Muhong didn't dare to speak, only nodding repeatedly in acknowledgnt of his mistakes.
"Foolish! How could you trust the enemy's words?"
Xiao Qitian Dynasty sighed in frustration. After all, this was his own son. And despite Xiao Muhong's shortcomings, he was still more capable than his other sons.
So he shifted the topic and inquired about his plan: "How far along is the sche to lure Ye Liuyun into the war?"
"Father, he's already starting to take the bait. But this will take so ti—we won't see imdiate results!" Xiao Muhong quickly replied.
Hearing this, Xiao Qitian Dynasty felt slightly reassured. He realized his son had only been temporarily deceived but was still quite capable overall.
As for the trouble Xiao Muhong had stirred up, he would have to step in and handle it himself.
"Good. Keep communicating with him, but be more careful from now on. Don't cause any more trouble. I'll arrange for soone to deal with the families of those formation masters."
"Yes!" Xiao Muhong bowed in acknowledgnt before retreating from the palace, feeling considerably lighter.
anwhile, Ye Liuyun had already set his sights on the ore materials and dicinal herbs.
Now that he had both an artifact forger and an alchemist, the materials he had previously collected and the dicinal herbs he had cultivated were far from sufficient.
The basic iron ore and other resources of the Holy Land Dynasty were highly centralized. To counter the threat of the alien races, the royal family had taken control of most of them, limiting external supply.
Half of these resources were in the hands of the Fifth Prince, Xiao Mukun, while the other half remained untapped, still embedded in the earth as raw ore.
If Ye Liuyun wanted to obtain these ores, he had two options: either seize them directly from Xiao Mukun or mine them himself.
Between the two, snatching them was obviously the easier route. Mining would require significant manpower and ti—sothing he had no patience for.
So he headed to the mining area, draped in his invisibility cloak, and observed Xiao Mukun for several days.
Xiao Mukun was heavily guarded by powerful protectors, making it nearly impossible to approach him unnoticed.
After so thought, Ye Liuyun decided to target Xiao Muhong again and use him one more ti.
Having suffered a major loss at Ye Liuyun's hands last ti, Xiao Muhong would undoubtedly be extra cautious—which was exactly what Ye Liuyun could exploit.
Without hesitation, Ye Liuyun contacted Xiao Muhong via a communication talisman.
"I still need a lot of raw materials for forging artifacts. Think you can sell so iron ore?" Ye Liuyun proposed outright, framing it as a straightforward business deal.
Xiao Muhong tensed up imdiately. His first thought was: *This guy's after the iron ore!*
"Given your past betrayal, how can I trust you?" Xiao Muhong shot back.
"We can use a teleportation array for the exchange," Ye Liuyun suggested smoothly. "You send the ore, I pay you in divine crystals. If you're worried about being scamd, we can do small, frequent transactions. Besides, the ore I'm buying is to help you fight the alien races. Selling it to at half price isn't a bad deal for you. What do you say?"
"How can I be sure that once I sell you the ores, you'll actually help us fight the invaders?" Xiao Muhong shot back.
"There's always a period of adjustnt in any partnership! If you don't trust at all, how can we even begin to collaborate? Right now, I don't even have enough warships to join the battle—what do you expect?" Ye Liuyun countered.
Xiao Muhong pondered for a mont. Selling so ores to Ye Liuyun might be feasible, but the price would have to be steep. So he replied, "Let first check how much ore we can spare, then I'll get back to you with a price."
After the discussion, Xiao Muhong imdiately headed to the mining zone with a large contingent of guards. He even mobilized an entire battalion to reinforce the area, wary that Ye Liuyun might attempt a direct raid.
When Xiao Mukun saw Xiao Muhong arrive, he was visibly surprised. There was no love lost between the princes, and Xiao Muhong's sudden intrusion into his territory—the mining zone under his jurisdiction—did not sit well with him.
However, Xiao Muhong justified his presence by citing the Sacred King's orders and frad it as additional protection for the mines. Left with no valid reason to refuse, Xiao Mukun had no choice but to comply.
anwhile, Ye Liuyun inwardly rejoiced—Xiao Muhong had taken the bait.
The mont Xiao Muhong arrived, tension gripped the entire mining zone. Guards and martial experts patrolled relentlessly, leaving Xiao Mukun's personal security noticeably weakened.
After assessing the available ore and negotiating prices with Xiao Mukun, Xiao Muhong relayed the terms to Ye Liuyun.
"Your prices are outrageous—double the standard retail rate! This doesn't exactly scream 'good faith partnership,' does it?" Ye Liuyun scoffed. He had no intention of paying, not even half the quoted price.
"Ores are in short supply right now! If it weren't for my personal intervention, you wouldn't even get this much, no matter how much you offered. And you dare accuse us of lacking sincerity?" Xiao Muhong retorted.
But then, silence. Ye Liuyun stopped responding.
"Stay alert—he's going to attack!" Xiao Muhong barked, instantly ordering his soldiers and martial experts to brace for an assault the mont he realized Ye Liuyun had gone quiet.
Every move they made was being watched—by Ye Liuyun.
"Hehe, let them sweat it out for a couple days first!"
Ye Liuyun didn't make his move imdiately. Instead, he retreated quietly.
Two days passed without any sign of Ye Liuyun, and the martial cultivators, who had been on high alert, gradually let their guard down.
Xiao Mukun also began to voice his discontent. Xiao Muhong had taken complete control of the operation, acting as the chief coordinator, which made Xiao Mukun feel his authority was being undermined.
So, Xiao Mukun and his n started slacking off on purpose, deliberately refusing to cooperate with Xiao Muhong.
Even Xiao Muhong began to doubt himself—had he misjudged the situation? But when he tried contacting Ye Liuyun again, there was still no response. The frustration gnawed at him daily, and his attitude toward Xiao Mukun grew increasingly hostile.
Just as tensions between the two brothers reached a boiling point, Ye Liuyun summoned the Devouring Beast.
"I found you a perfect spot—go wild and absorb to your heart's content. But we don't have much ti, so make it quick!"
The Devouring Beast's eyes glead with excitent, its massive head bobbing eagerly in agreent.
With that, Ye Liuyun cloaked himself and stealthily approached the mining site. Using spatial teleportation, he deposited the beast right in the heart of the operation.
The Xiao brothers were in the middle of a heated argunt when suddenly, their spiritual senses detected an enormous Devouring Beast descending from the sky—landing squarely in the mining zone.
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