stonecrandall Chapter 108: The Plan
Chapter 108: The Plan
A boundary within a boundary, a remote and desolate stone forest.
This place is barren, with strange rocks riddled with holes from wind and sand erosion, a stark contrast to the vibrant ancient forests in the distance.
This region is remote, and almost no force is willing to waste its manpower. While the elites of the major forces are fighting bloody battles for mineral veins in the ancient forest, not even a shadow of a martial artist can be seen on this barren land.
Hong's team of five stopped in this forgotten corner.
The five of them carved out a temporary base in a secluded underground cavern. Hong did not relax at all, immediately compressing his light domain to ten meters around his body, isolating all the auras and energy fluctuations of the five of them from the outside world.
After settling everything in place, Luo Feng released the Moyun Vine, which had just broken through to the first level of the Universe level.
The thick, dark red vines, covered with golden patterns, burrowed into the hard rock with a powerful force. Hong was not idle either; he also released his own peak-level Hengxing Moyun Vine.
The two plant life forms cooperated with each other, and under the command of Babata and Qiujian, they carried out a large-scale excavation in the vast underground.
Although the boundary ore in this poor mining area is scattered, thanks to the extremely high mining efficiency of the Moyun Vine, pieces of gray-black boundary ore with peculiar lightning patterns are still being precisely extracted from the depths of the earth and transported back to Luo Feng's spatial ring through the vines.
The underground cave was quiet, with only the rustling sound of vines probing the rocks.
Thor, who had been sitting cross-legged on a flat boulder on guard duty, was getting restless.
He scratched his shiny bald head, looked up at Hong, who was also resting with his eyes closed not far away, with a puzzled expression, and asked directly.
"Hey Hong, how long are we going to keep digging here?"
Thor's voice broke the silence inside the cave.
He stood up, walked over to Hong, and started counting on his fingers.
"Look at our harvest this time, it's a treasure that even the Realm Lord would envy. We got the Life Fruit that can evolve plant life. We also got our hands on Realm Lord Kabu's anonymous account at the Star River Bank. Plus that Thunder Secret Technique, a bunch of fifth-tier Origin Force weapons, and other treasures big and small, we're now the biggest winners in the entire Realm Within a Realm."
Thor plopped down next to Hong.
"Now that we've taken all the top-tier treasures, we can find a more secluded place to hide and wait to evacuate this world with the people from Three Axe Mountain."
"Why bother doing this backwater mining work in this godforsaken place? Could it be... Brother Hong, you're really after that inheritance crystal ball?"
Hearing Thor's question, Babata and Qiu Jian also moved closer, standing on Luo Feng's shoulders and looking at Hong.
Hong slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calm, and glanced at Thor, whose face was full of doubt.
"That Ninth Prince Brolin, relying on his superior numbers, has already gathered ten million Boundary Ore through sheer numbers. Just two days ago, he exchanged the first layer of inheritance code from Mist."
"Right now, the entire Imperial Martial Corps, with its 600,000-strong army, is acting like madmen. For the remaining two codes, they're frantically clearing out the inner world, killing anyone they see and robbing every mine they find. In the entire inner world, apart from here, there's nowhere safe anymore."
Hong paused for a moment, then continued his analysis.
"Apart from the crystal ball, everything else of value on the list has already been swept away by us. Now, all Brolin cares about is that so-called crystal ball."
Thor was stunned.
"What does that have to do with us continuing to mine? Let them fight it out, we can just watch the show."
"Watching a play?"
Hong shook his head.
"No, we don't just want to watch the show, we want to be the ones who hand over the knife."
He turned his head, looked at Luo Feng who was also listening attentively, and said confidently.
"We already have several million Boundary Ore left that we haven't had time to exchange. Making up the ten million shouldn't be difficult for us. My plan is to also exchange for a layer of code."
"Then, we turned around and sold it to Three Axe Mountain, which had already promised to shelter us."
When the plan was mentioned, both Thor and Luo Feng were stunned.
Hong ignored their astonished expressions and continued to analyze his plan.
"As one of the top powers in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, Three Axe Mountain and the Black Dragon Mountain Imperial Martial Corps, which represents the orthodoxy of the empire, are inherently in competition for interests. Normally, they keep to themselves, but given the opportunity, each wants to trample the other underfoot."
"Right now, Ninth Prince Brolin is completely obsessed with that elusive inheritance, displaying an attitude of absolute determination. If we were to hand over a code that we have no use for to the Three Axes Mountain at this moment, what would the higher-ups at the Three Axes Mountain do?"
Thor followed Hong's train of thought and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"I understand! Sanfushan can use this as leverage to demand an exorbitant price from that Ninth Prince! Anyway, that kid is in a hurry right now, and he'll definitely do whatever it takes to get the password from Sanfushan!"
"That's right."
Hong snapped his fingers.
"In this deal, we can not only exchange a string of codes that are meaningless to us for a massive amount of cosmic crystals and various cultivation resources that we desperately need from Three Axe Mountain, but what's even better is that by doing this, we can directly transfer the hatred and attention of Brolin and the entire Royal Martial Corps to the behemoth that is Three Axe Mountain."
"By then, since Three Axe Mountain has taken our benefits, they'll have to take the fall for us. Meanwhile, we can take advantage of their infighting, escape unscathed with the real treasure, and quietly amass a fortune!"
"Wonderful!"
Thor slapped his thigh excitedly, praising Hong's intricately planned scheme. He finally understood why Hong had so readily agreed to Ming Yu's seemingly disadvantageous deal.
The team reached a consensus, and the excavation work became much more energetic.
As time went by, Luo Feng counted the amount of ore inside his spatial ring more and more frequently.
Three days later, when Luo Feng once again probed his spatial ring with his mental energy, he suddenly opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and excitedly announced to everyone in the team.
"That's enough. Ten million. The total amount of Boundary Ore we have has officially surpassed the ten million mark."
The resource accumulation phase is finally complete.
But this also means that the whole plan has entered its final and dangerous phase: who should be sent to the central square to complete the exchange from that unreliable intelligent life form, Fog, right under the noses of the major forces in Black Dragon Mountain?
Hong calmly stood up and looked around at everyone in the cave.
"The fog has already revealed our physical characteristics. Two young men with black hair and yellow skin, one with a shiny bald head, plus a level nine mentalist of the Eternal Star level."
"Me, the third brother, and you, the second brother, are too obvious targets. If we dare to show our faces in the central square, we will be instantly focused by the army and blasted into nothingness."
"As for Taino, although you weren't specifically named, your strength as a first-tier Constant Star is still a striking feature. In this blood-red battle, a first-tier Constant Star running alone to the central square would also arouse suspicion."
Finally, Hong's gaze slowly fell on Fu Xi, the ninth-level spiritual master slave who had been standing silently in the corner from beginning to end.
Fu Xi's face was plain and unremarkable, with no obvious features. With a little disguise, he could easily be mistaken for an ordinary martial artist from another force.
Hong walked up to Fuxi and took out a set of Sanfushan standard combat uniform from his spatial ring.
"Fuxi, put this on."
Hong's voice was low and calm. He handed the combat uniform to Fuxi and explained the details of the operation and several backup emergency escape routes.
"Remember, you have only one mission: obtain the second password, and then come back alive."