"This is a great opportunity to practice." The red-crowned phoenix (Miss Jiu) transmitted her thoughts to Jieyou slowly, her tone calm but with a hint of expectation. "Don’t worry, deal with it—leave it to you."

  The scene shifts to Pisha City, thousands of miles away, inside the most magnificent building in the city—the Pisha Palace.

  Han Jiuqiu came here in a private capacity, not on behalf of the imperial court, but still smoothly obtained a personal reception from Bruce, the Lord of Pisha City, relying on his own connections and power.

  There was another person traveling with him—Qiu Fuchun.

  Not only did this man’s name have a subtle connection with Qiu Ling, but his facial features and figure were also quite similar to Qiu Ling’s. If seen from a distance, he could even be mistaken for Qiu Ling.

  What was even more intriguing was that Qiu Fuchun’s real identity was actually a representative of the Beiyue Imperial Palace, and he had an unknown mission accompanying Han Jiuqiu this time.

  Since following Mo Ye through the secret passage of Wenliu Youyuan once before, Han Jiuqiu and Qiu Fuchun had secretly memorized the basic secrets of the Five Elements Array in the passage.

  Although this superficial knowledge was far from enough to break the real Five Elements Array where Jiuge lived, it was more than sufficient to navigate ordinary mazes and secret passages.

  For mazes and secret passages, people who had never walked through them would inevitably feel dizzy, anxious, and at a loss when exploring for the first time. But once they successfully passed through once, and paid a little attention to the layout and tricks inside, it would be easy for those who knew how to do it, and they would walk with ease afterward.

  Earlier, the two had secretly sneaked into Wenliu Youyuan, wanting to meet Jiuge, but unfortunately, they did not gain the favor of this "god-level existence" and failed to even see Jiuge’s face, so they had to return in disappointment.

  But this trip was not entirely fruitless—when Qiu Fuchun lingered near Jiuge’s residence, he not only was refused entry, but also accidentally came into contact with a strange and unpredictable thing.

  That thing was invisible and intangible, impossible to capture with the naked eye, but it really existed in the world, lingering with a faint strange aura.

  If described in the language of another civilization, this strange thing would be called quantum particles.

  It was also a coincidence, and Qiu Fuchun could be said to have turned misfortune into a blessing.

  By accident, he accidentally inhaled and swallowed those quantum particles, and immediately fainted, sleeping for several days.

  When he finally woke up, he had been quietly taken away from Wenliu Youyuan by Han Jiuqiu and placed in a hidden residence.

  Since then, fragmented pieces of information similar to revelations often appeared in Qiu Fuchun’s mind—disorganized, yet hidden with profound meanings.

  From these fragmented pieces of information, he gradually pieced together the truth: It turned out that humans were trying to use the principle of quantum entanglement to control and repair a certain mysterious existence—and that existence was most likely Jiuge.

  However, this technology was still immature and in the exploratory stage. At the same time, on the other end of the quantum entanglement, the other side of an unknown mysterious space, there was also a force trying to piece together and repair something from these intermittent revelation fragments, seemingly countering human actions.

  Through these revelation messages, Qiu Fuchun finally learned that the jet-black ore containing powerful energy was called Return Crystal—and this crystal was the necessity for Jiuge’s survival, the foundation that maintained its "god-level" power.

  But the surface of the Return Crystal was surrounded by thin electric currents homologous to Jiuge, intertwined like a spider web. Touching it would be counterattacked by the electric current, making it impossible for Qiu Fuchun to approach, let alone handle it.

  As a result, the unguarded Return Crystal mines and silicon-rich crystal mines scattered in every corner of the Dawn Continent became strategic resources competed for by various forces—whoever could control these mines would take the initiative in the future game with Jiuge.

  Qiu Fuchun immediately shared this major discovery with Han Jiuqiu in detail.

  After learning the truth, Han Jiuqiu immediately reported the news to the imperial court; at the same time, Qiu Fuchun also hurried back to the Beiyue Imperial Palace to report his mission, informing them of his adventure and discovery.

  The imperial court and the Beiyue Imperial Palace thought alike: seizing the Return Crystal mines and silicon-rich crystal mines was an urgent task, and there was no time to delay.

  Only by taking the lead in controlling these core resources could they hold sufficient chips in future negotiations with Jiuge, gain the upper hand in this game, and even have the opportunity to control Jiuge in their hands.

  For the already discovered mines within the territory of the Beiyue Imperial Palace, the imperial court would take charge of organizing manpower to mine them secretly, so Han Jiuqiu and Qiu Fuchun did not need to worry about them.

  The top priority at the moment was to seize the mineral veins within the territory of the Southern Dynasty—the Southern Dynasty had a vast land and a sparse population, with scattered mineral veins and loose supervision, making it the perfect time to make a move.

  Thus, Han Jiuqiu volunteered to take Qiu Fuchun, and relying on his superb long-distance escape technique, they sneaked into the territory of the Southern Dynasty quietly, heading straight for the border town—Pisha City.

  When the two met Bruce, the Lord of Pisha City, they happened to see this middle-aged greasy man with his collar open, revealing his round, shiny belly. He wore three smooth jade rings on his fingers, squinted his eyes, and slowly played with a string of high-quality beeswax prayer beads. His face was full of the shrewd look of a profiteer, smiling like an old fox who had stolen something.

  "Lord City Master." Han Jiuqiu bowed slightly to greet him, his tone calm but every word clear and precise, without any unnecessary pleasantries. "We two have come here this time to open a mine. I wonder if there are suitable mineral resources in Pisha? We are willing to buy the mining rights at a high price and will never treat the City Master unfairly."

  As soon as Bruce heard the words "high price", his originally squinted small eyes suddenly lit up like two bright lights. Deep wrinkles appeared on his greasy cheeks, and he waved his hand repeatedly, his tone extremely warm: "Easy to say! Easy to say! Pisha doesn’t have much else, but crystal mines are everywhere! The imperial court of the Southern Dynasty looks down on this stuff, thinking it’s worthless. If you two want it, feel free to choose! Pick whatever you like!"

  Afraid that Han Jiuqiu and the others would regret it, he immediately patted his greasy chest and agreed without hesitation. He not only readily agreed to let them mine the minerals, but also took the initiative to offer to send soldiers to guard the mine along the way and dispatch laborers to assist in the mining. He put on a warm look of "even if I lose money, I want to make friends with you two", but there was undisguised greed in his eyes.

  Han Jiuqiu and Qiu Fuchun exchanged glances, and each saw an imperceptible sneer in the other’s eyes—this Bruce was indeed a money-hungry profiteer, which was exactly what they wanted.

  The reason they chose to open a mine near Pisha Palace was precisely because of its location on the remote border, far from the imperial court’s supervision. This way, they could mine the crystal mines secretly, avoiding the Licao Alliance, Huixian Mansion, or other meddlesome sect forces, laying the foundation for their future plans.

  "You two have traveled a long way and must be tired. Hurry up and try the special products of my Pisha Palace!" Bruce rubbed his greasy palms, smiled and turned to order his men, his voice as hoarse as a broken gong. "This is the thousand-year-old cordyceps unique to Pisha. Look, it’s still in bloom. Eating it can prolong life, strengthen the foundation and replenish vitality—it’s a rare tonic. And this jade dew papaya, although it looks ordinary, it has great effects—women who eat it can enhance their bust, and men who eat it can strengthen their yang. The water and soil of Pisha can nourish people, and it’s thanks to this papaya!"