Zhao Yi explained that even he rarely saw such a massive piece of Sky-Quenching Jade during his time.

"Back then, back then..."

It seemed his mind suddenly short-circuited. Zhao Yi hammered his own head and spun around a few times, muttering dejectedly, "A superior officer of mine back then acquired a huge piece of Sky-Quenching Azure Crystal and refined it into an incredible magical treasure. What was it called again?"

A gap appeared in Zhao Yi's memory. Gu Xichen saw his struggling introspection and the intense pain in his expression. He quickly urged, "Since it's a treasure, just take it off!" The veins on Zhao Yi's forehead popped as he hastily and respectfully obeyed Gu Xichen's command, rubbing his hands together, ready to strike at the Sky-Quenching Azure Crystal. Gu Xichen, meanwhile, leaped onto the colossal Phoenix Throne and carefully examined the phantasmal image left by the woman. After scrutinizing it from top to bottom, Gu Xichen found that everything the woman wore was illusory, except for a palm-sized white silk pouch at her waist, which was a tangible object. Without ceremony, he directly snatched the pouch away. As the pouch moved, the woman's illusory form instantly dispersed, and a faint ripple of spiritual consciousness entered Gu Xichen's sea of awareness.

This woman styled herself the 'Brocade Fairy.' Gu Xichen's ability to break through her (proudly-held) formations like the Six Harmonies Wonder Gate Array, and to withstand the trials of wine, lust, wealth, and wrath along the way to reach this place, proved he shared a destiny with her. As an elder who had already attained the Dao, the Brocade Fairy greatly valued a brilliant yet steadfast junior like Gu Xichen, so she specifically left behind one of her personal magical artifacts as a reward.

This pouch was called the 'Minor Universe Pouch' (). It possessed an immense internal space capable of holding mountains and oceans, a famous storage artifact on the Wandering Immortal Star. Furthermore, it could actively capture enemies; once drawn inside, the foe would be assaulted by the elemental forces of wind, fire, thunder, and lightning, quickly reducing them to ash in a short time. To unleash the full power of the Minor Universe Pouch required the possessor to have sufficient strength. However, to activate only its storage function, one only needed to drip three drops of vital blood to initially refine it. Gu Xichen followed the Brocade Fairy's last words, dripping three drops of fresh blood onto the Minor Universe Pouch. Sure enough, a faint, nascent connection formed between him and the pouch.

Gu Xichen, satisfied, used the cultivation method left by the Brocade Fairy to examine the situation inside the Minor Universe. The result nearly made him curse aloud. "Damn it, all women are so stingy! The space inside this Minor Universe Pouch is truly vast—it could really swallow a mountain whole, but it's utterly empty, spotless! It’s as clean as a rice bowl licked clean by hundreds of dogs!" Gu Xichen gritted his teeth in frustration. "Brocade Fairy! You are too petty! Compared to me, Daoist Chen, you... you... you..." Gu Xichen shook his head repeatedly, finding himself speechless toward the Brocade Fairy.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yi excitedly retrieved the Sky-Quenching Azure Crystal. Although this crystal was an exceedingly rare treasure, Gu Xichen currently had no means to refine it, so he could only store it in the Minor Universe Pouch. The previously empty pouch finally held something, but Gu Xichen’s dissatisfaction only grew stronger. "Merchants are truly ruthless; they won't let go of even half a benefit!"

Thinking of the Brocade Fairy’s stinginess sparked a surge of wicked fire in Gu Xichen’s heart. Purple light flashed around him, and Zhao Yi’s seventy comrades emerged simultaneously beside Gu Xichen. "Stuff everything movable in here into the Universe Pouch! Even the paving bricks outside on the pathway—haul them out too!" Gu Xichen decided to go all the way, commanding, "If it's something valuable, take it. Ah... Zhao Yi, I'll have to trouble you. The main structure of this palace absolutely cannot be moved. As for all the restriction arrays inside the palace, restore them to their original state." Gu Xichen’s eyes glinted as he chuckled sinisterly, "This place still has a great use."

The seventy Heavenly Soldiers got to work, swiftly clearing out the pile of treasures the Brocade Fairy had left to test one's state of mind. After clearing everything of value, they left behind only an empty great hall. Gu Xichen and Zhao Yi retreated the way they came. The Six Harmonies Wonder Gate Array outside could not stop Gu Xichen; he lightly stepped out, crossing the boundary shrouded in the white mist generated by the array.

As soon as he stepped out of the white mist, Gu Xichen received a mental transmission from Xin Jia, filled with urgency and anxiety. "The Expeditionary Force Command has forcibly taken over command of the Hell Angel Mercenary Group. Major combat group leaders like Prajna and Moha have been imprisoned in the military jail under charges of disobeying military orders. Siren and Arete were severely injured by an attack from an unknown figure. Colonel Valerius, the commander of the 18th Armored Brigade of the Expeditionary Force, has forcibly ordered the Hell Angel Mercenary Group to attack the Romans, resulting in casualties of several thousand soldiers already."

On Gu Xichen’s communication device, a torrent of intelligence flooded the Hell Angel Mercenary Group's secure channel. "Damn it!" Gu Xichen swept his leg across a large tree beside him, the violent energy shattering the entire tree into dust. "Vicious Saint, Valerius, I curse your entire lineage!"

... The war between the Heaven Star Expeditionary Force of the Terrestrial Federation and the military of the great Roman Electoral Families has fully erupted. In space, two massive fleets faced off, countless fighter jets engaging in fierce dogfights centered around the two fleets, yet neither fleet had fired a single shot at the other. On the ground, the ten heavy divisions and twenty-five independent brigades of the Pangu Base pinned down the Roman forward base in a three-pronged pincer movement. The Hell Angel Mercenary Group was pushed to the very front as the vanguard of the assault, repeatedly charging the resolute Roman defenses. Without their own heavy weapons, fighters, or tanks, and under the strict supervision of the 18th Armored Brigade’s overseers, the ten thousand Hell Angel mercenaries were divided into more than a dozen waves, ceaselessly taking turns charging a nearby high ground day and night.

The high ground was bristling with nearly a thousand elite Roman warriors and three thousand Spirit Race soldiers. Dense firing points covered the entire elevation. Chh-chh-chh-chh... Several beams of laser fire zipped past Jin Hu’s plump body, carving deep holes into the mud behind him. A hint of uncontrollable exhaustion showed on Jin Hu’s round, white face. Holding his flimsy assault rifle, he stared blankly as more than a dozen subordinates were vaporized by a high-energy particle stream. With a loud boom, two high-energy shells exploded not far in front of Jin Hu’s face. Tens of cubic meters of earth were thrown nearly a hundred meters high. Large clumps of dirt rained down, clanging like a cacophony against Jin Hu’s steel helmet. Several mercenaries who failed to dodge were buried under the thick soil; a few comrades rushed over, desperately digging them out with trench shovels.

A dozen crescent-shaped fighter jets, painted entirely dark yellow, screamed past almost skimming the ground. Dozens of heavy bombs, their gleaming light reflecting everywhere and even adorned with ornate carvings on their casings, whistled down. The massive explosions caused sharp pain in Jin Hu’s ears, and the ground violently shook several times, causing a dull ache deep within Jin Hu’s internal organs. Ten deep, ten-meter craters appeared on the position. The section of the trench line, spanning two hundred meters, was completely devoid of mercenaries. The terrain, once crisscrossed with trenches, was utterly leveled, the ground now a full two meters lower than the surrounding area.

"This is impossible to fight!" Jin Hu laughed bitterly, spitting forcefully. Siren and Arete were severely injured and taken away by Pangu Base medics to an unknown location. Prajna and Moha were gravely wounded by Mentetedi and captured by the Military Police without any chance to resist. Gu Xichen was missing. But based on the intelligence Jin Hu had gathered, Gu Xichen himself had plunged into massive trouble; his survival was questionable. Now, the only one left in charge of the group was Jin Hu, who had remained in the command post. But what could one Jin Hu do? The overseers from the 18th Brigade only had about thirty true Innate Fighters among them! Jin Hu could only watch helplessly as the brave men of the mercenary group charged the high ground, one after another, and fell.

"Damn it, Uncle Beard is going to cry himself to death this time!" Jin Hu sighed deeply, his hands trembling slightly as he pulled out a crumpled, wrinkled cigar from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth. He lit the cigar using the light from a laser beam that narrowly missed his cheek. Taking a hard drag, the thick smoke swirled a few times in his lungs, and Jin Hu’s tense nerves found a moment of release. A heavy rifle butt slammed onto his helmet. A Federation soldier forcefully stomped on Jin Hu’s head. "Idiot, who told you to retreat and rest? Keep attacking, keep attacking! The latest order is for you to take this high ground within three hours!"

The dark muzzle was aimed squarely between Jin Hu’s eyebrows. The Federation soldier roared hoarsely, "I’ll give you three more seconds! If you dare to hesitate again, you will all be executed under battlefield law!"

Jin Hu slowly exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, forcefully pushed the rifle muzzle away, and cursed under his breath. He picked up the assault rifle beside him, gathered nearly a platoon of mercenaries near him, and armed himself with a few dozen high-powered offensive grenades, charging toward the high ground. The structure of the Hell Angel Mercenary Group had been completely shattered. Jin Hu could only command this small contingent of soldiers nearby. Fortunately, over eighty percent of the mercenaries in the group were violent convicts released from Federation prisons; the morale of these vicious men remained stubbornly high. The thirty-odd soldiers followed closely behind Jin Hu, shrieking wildly as they charged onto the high ground. Jin Hu threw the few dozen powerful grenades far out ahead of them. Propelled by his potent True Qi, the grenades flew over three hundred meters!

Dozens of explosions erupted across the Roman positions. Thirty-odd Spirit Race soldiers were blasted into the air with agonized cries. Jin Hu’s individual destructive power equaled that of a heavy machine gun, but the problem was that the Hell Angel Mercenary Group didn't have many offensive grenades allocated to them!

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