354: Chapter 354 Powerful Figures Gather, Crisis Imminent

Sand and dust swept across the wasteland as the first figure stepped out from the end of the horizon.

The person stepped on a pitch-black bone blade, kicking up three feet of yellow dust upon landing.

He didn't look around, his gaze fixed intently on Mo Yuan's face, his voice like gravel grinding against a knife: "Are you the one who sent the signal? Speak, how much do you know about the Chen Family's background?"

Mo Yuan stood in place, neither moving nor answering.

It wasn't until the man took a step forward, his hand already on the hilt of his blade, that he slowly raised his right hand and lightly tapped the Void Realm with his fingertip.

Hum—

A phantom image of a Jade Slip emerged in mid-air, the images shifting: the structural diagram of the Chen Family's main city energy hub, the distribution of spiritual energy pipelines, and the daily schedule of the three peak energy fluctuation times were all clearly displayed.

"This is data from three days ago," Mo Yuan's voice was low, with an echo like metal scraping. "If you don't believe me, fly there now; you'll arrive just in time to see them switch their power supply nodes."

The man squinted and watched for a long time before cold-snorting, "You have some skill. But you think this alone is enough to pull us in? Those iron lumps of the Chen Family aren't easy to chew through."

Before his voice had even faded, a second figure arrived through the air, landing five zhang away with sleeves fluttering.

He wore a gray robe with dark gold runes embroidered on the cuffs. His gaze swept across the scene before finally stopping on the first person:

"Oh, isn't this 'River-Severing Blade,' who was forced back three hundred li by a Chen Family brat's sword array last time? What, have you changed professions to become a hired thug now?"

"Who are you saying was forced back?" River-Severing Blade suddenly turned around, overflowing with Killing Intent. "In that battle, I clearly tore through their left wing! If it hadn't been for that damn mecha suddenly spitting fire, I would have made them die even more miserably!"

"Oh? Then why don't you tell us, who was it that died?" the gray-robed man sneered. "I heard that all seven Nascent Souls under your command were crushed by the Shockwave Hammer, with not even a bone fragment left."

The two glared at each other, Spiritual Qi already surging around them.

Mo Yuan finally moved.

He walked slowly to the middle, spreading his arms as if to separate the explosive tension. Then, he removed the Puppet shell from his face.

Click.

The mechanical joints separated, revealing a blood-red eyeball with runes slowly rotating deep within the pupil.

The other eye had long since lost its pupil, leaving only a pitch-black rift, as if leading to some unspeakable abyss.

"What are you arguing about?" he spoke, his voice even lower and colder than before. "What I want are blades, not mouths."

He raised his hand and pointed into the distance, where a faint golden halo could be seen rising—it was the edge of the Chen Family's main city protective shield, glowing faintly on the horizon.

"Within three days, their energy hub will undergo its seventh expansion. At that time, the high-purity spirit crystal reserves will reach over twenty-three thousand pieces. These crystals are enough for you to rebuild three Sects."

He looked at River-Severing Blade, "And enough for you to forge a true Life-bound Weapon."

He then turned to the gray-robed man: "As for you... you lost seven mineral veins in the Western Desert, right? And the new branch vein excavated beneath the Chen Family has a purity ten times yours."

The gray-robed man's brow twitched, but he didn't speak.

The corner of Mo Yuan's mouth curled slightly: "I won't ask who you were in the past, nor do I care why you hate the Chen Family.

I will only tell you one thing—they rely on technology for their defenses, but technology has blind spots.

I know where their communication dead zones are, and I know that every night during the Yin hour shift change, the southern line's surveillance has a seventeen-second delay."

After saying this, he took out a bronze compass from his robe and threw it onto the ground.

The compass spun several times on its own before finally stopping, its needle pointing directly toward a patch of ruins to the south.

"The Southern Line Ancient Battlefield once buried three thousand War Souls. The Yin Qi is heavy and the magnetic field is chaotic, so their Signal Towers cannot be built stably. Cutting in from there is the safest."

Mo Yuan stared at the two, "What you want isn't fairness, but benefits. And I can afford to give them."

River-Severing Blade was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Alright, you monster actually understand human nature quite well."

The gray-robed man also nodded: "The intelligence is indeed worth this price. But I have one condition—I must get thirty percent of the profits."

"Twenty percent," Mo Yuan responded immediately. "Any more, and I'll find someone else."

"Twenty-five percent, final offer." The gray-robed man extended his hand.

Mo Yuan stared at the hand for three breaths before reaching out and shaking it: "Deal."

Just as the two were breathing a sigh of relief, a third figure landed silently.

It was a woman wearing a silver-white cloak with seven bells hanging from her waist. Every step she took was silent—only the bells did not ring.

She didn't speak, only coldly scanning the surroundings before her gaze fell on Mo Yuan's face: "You say the Chen Family are just clowns?"

"That's right," Mo Yuan nodded. "A bunch of upstarts relying on gears and code to put on a show.

They have no foundation, no Legacy, and not even a decent mountain-protecting array.

All they have is a temporary technological advantage."

"But technology iterates," the woman said indifferently. "What makes you think you can win?"

Mo Yuan smiled.

That smile didn't look like a human smiling; instead, it seemed as if some mechanical device was forcibly pulling his facial muscles.

"Because I understand failure better than they do," he said. "I've tried the Righteous Path and was expelled from the Sect; I've cultivated Demonic Techniques and nearly had my Divine Soul extinguished;

I've even knelt before Immortals, only to be kicked down a cliff.

Finally, I understood one thing—this world only recognizes results."

He raised his hand, and a small crack appeared in his palm, from which a low-whispered hum emanated, as if countless voices were murmuring simultaneously.

"And now, I have the ability to hear 'outside the rules'." He closed his hand, and the crack vanished. "So I know that their greatest weakness isn't their defense or their troops, but—they trust their System too much."

The woman finally nodded: "I can join. But I only want one thing—the design blueprints for the Core Mecha in the Chen Family's main control hall."

"Agreed," Mo Yuan replied decisively. "As long as you can pin down their Aerial Sword Array during the general offensive."

"Deal." The woman tightened her cloak and stepped aside to sit cross-legged, speaking no more.

Over the next half hour, four more people arrived one after another.

A one-eyed old man carrying a coffin, saying he came specifically to "collect bodies";

A young man covered in chains, claiming he wanted to "collect a debt";

And a fat man wearing a mask who didn't say a word, only taking out a portrait of a young Chen Family Disciple and tearing it to shreds through gritted teeth.

Mo Yuan didn't ask about their backgrounds or their grudges.

He only did one thing—he gave each person a piece of customized intelligence that precisely hit what they wanted most.

By the time the last person landed, nine Nascent Soul Experts had gathered in the camp.

They were either sitting or standing, still wary of each other, but the hostility in their eyes had been replaced by greed.

Mo Yuan stood on a high point and looked around at everyone.

"Someone asked me why I chose to act now," his voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Because the Chen Family is currently challenging Nascent Soul Experts. They think this is an opportunity to showcase their strength, but little do they know—this is their most lax moment."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across their faces: "They are busy preparing the arena, busy arranging the observation seats, busy proving to the outside world how strong they are. But they've forgotten that true hunting never happens in the sunlight."

"We don't need to fight them head-on." He raised his hand and pointed toward the southern ruins. "We only need to cut off their energy, paralyze their communications, and then break into the main control hall amidst the chaos. As long as we kill Chen Wuwang, they will be like a Dragon without a head, and those mechas will be nothing but scrap metal."

River-Severing Blade grinned: "Sounds good. When do we act?"

"Not tonight," the gray-robed man suddenly spoke. "I just received word that the Chen Family strengthened their outer patrols last night and even activated a new type of Detection Array. Moving rashly now would be suicide."

"Then we wait," Mo Yuan said coldly. "The hasty die, the steady survive. If Chen Wuwang were truly that stupid, how would he dare to publicly accept challenges? He must be prepared."

He looked toward the faint golden halo in the distance, his voice dropping low: "But they don't know we're here yet. A true hunter never shouts first."

Everyone fell silent.

The sand and dust gradually subsided, and the wasteland fell into an eerie silence.

The nine figures sat scattered, each adjusting their breath, waiting for the final member to arrive.

Mo Yuan stood at the highest point, his eyes slightly closed. The familiar whisper sounded in his ears again—coming from the unspeakable existence within his body.

He neither moved nor spoke, letting the voice echo inside his skull.

In the distance, a faint light flickered on the horizon, as if spiritual energy fluctuations were rising.

He opened his eyes and whispered to himself: "You are already preparing for battle... unfortunately, you can't see me."

His finger lightly tapped the outside of his thigh, the rhythm slow—once, and then again.

Like a countdown.

And like a timer.