Chapter 671 - 265: Purchasing Information, Entering the Black Market
Chapter 671: Chapter 265: Purchasing Information, Entering the Black Market
First, I’ll go to the Sea of Clarity, then Armor Dragon Island, and finally the new Relic.
It was a journey from the northwest corner of the Compassion Sea all the way to the southeast corner.
If you were to draw this route on a Nautical Chart, it would form a perfect crescent moon.
"A life destined for constant travel!"
Xiao Chen sighed, once again feeling nostalgic for his days of cultivation back in Cuiwei Valley in Li State.
The journey was uneventful.
「Nine days later.」
He successfully arrived within the Clarity Sect’s territory.
He spent another day traveling deeper, and on the sixth day of the sixth month, he finally laid eyes on the legendary Three-leaf Islands.
Over sixty islands of varying sizes were divided almost perfectly and evenly into three main clusters.
They clustered around Clarity Island, which sat right in the middle.
From a distance, they resembled a three-leaf clover, hence the name Three-leaf Islands.
Before the Clarity Sect unified the area, three great families had each occupied a portion of the Three-leaf Islands.
At the time, each family had built its own Marketplace, and they all pretended to be in competition with one another.
Interestingly, however, even though the Clarity Sect had now made its presence public, Xiao Chen could still see all three Marketplaces operating normally. They hadn’t torn down the two "extra" ones or merged them.
In fact, apart from replacing the old family emblems, the overall layout of the Marketplaces was almost identical to the old illustrations from his intelligence reports.
He picked a Marketplace at random and descended.
Immediately, a number of guides looked his way.
Xiao Chen had plenty of time on this occasion, however, so he didn’t hire a guide.
Instead, he headed into the Marketplace to find a local Intelligence Organization, taking the opportunity to listen in on the conversations of Loose Cultivators to get a general sense of the place.
Soon, he spotted the familiar Spiritual Communication Pavilion.
This time, however, Xiao Chen didn’t linger inside.
He got straight to the point, asking, "Are there any other Intelligence Organizations here? What are their addresses?"
The Spiritual Communication Pavilion wasn’t secretive about such things; they didn’t mind if customers went to their competitors.
Thus, for the price of just ten Spirit Stones, Xiao Chen obtained a rough map.
With the map in hand, he easily found the Film Appreciation Tower, which had been established by the Clarity Sect.
"Welcome to our tower, Senior!"
The moment he stepped inside, a female Foundation Establishment Cultivator came forward to greet him. "As per our rules, all Core Formation Cultivators are honored guests. Please, make your way to the third floor!"
Seeing Xiao Chen’s youthful face, the smile she wore became a little more genuine.
She led him to the third floor, stopping before a Quiet Chamber covered in engraved runes.
"Please wait inside, honored guest. I will go and inform the steward."
The female Cultivator took a Token from the wall and opened the door to the Quiet Chamber.
Xiao Chen pushed the door open and entered, finding the room inside to be exceptionally simple, furnished with only a square table and two wooden chairs.
As he entered, runes on the surrounding walls began to glow.
The noise from outside vanished instantly. Even with his Divine Sense, he couldn’t penetrate the walls.
There was no need to worry about eavesdroppers here.
He didn’t have to wait long before a young man dressed in black pushed the door open and entered.
"Greetings, Senior. My designation is Jia Twenty-one."
The young man closed the door to the Quiet Chamber as he entered and bowed. "I will be the one assisting you today, Senior."
"If you are unsatisfied or know someone else here, you may request a replacement."
Xiao Chen waved his hand. "No need. You’ll do."
He wasn’t concerned with such formalities and stated his request directly. "I need intelligence on all major events that have occurred this year."
"I also want the latest information on the new Relic appearing in the latter half of the year."
"And finally, I want information on the Black Market situation within the Clarity Sect’s territory."
’Since I’ve come all this way, I might as well not limit myself to one purchase.’
"These three items..."
The black-clothed youth lowered his gaze, calculating mentally. He paused for barely a second before replying, "The total will be three thousand five hundred Spirit Stones."
"As per our rules, we require half as a deposit."
"Furthermore, unlike ordinary goods, once the intelligence is viewed, there are no refunds or exchanges."
Xiao Chen waved his hand, producing three thousand five hundred Spirit Stones. "Don’t worry, I know the rules."
The young man bowed first. "Thank you for your understanding, Senior."
Then he put away the Spirit Stones, walked over to the right-hand wall, and took a Token from his waist to touch a Restriction.
It opened a hidden passage.
From the passage, he retrieved the three intelligence reports Xiao Chen had requested.
"It is all here. Please review it, Senior."
The black-clothed youth laid the reports out on the table in order, then bowed once more.
"The Quiet Chamber is protected by an Array, so you may remain here to review the contents."
"If there is nothing else, then I will take my leave."
Xiao Chen nodded. "Very well. You may go."
With a final bow, the black-clothed youth departed the Quiet Chamber through the hidden passage.
’Since they provided a Quiet Chamber, there’s no need to rush off.’
Xiao Chen first picked up a thin booklet from the table. It contained a mere twelve pages, the first ten of which were illustrations.
And yet, this booklet had cost him a full two thousand Spirit Stones.
The eleventh page contained a timeline, marking the major events that had occurred throughout the Compassion Sea in the first half of the year, all in chronological order.
This included the Five Sects’ joint tournament, the Tingtao Sea auction, the conferment ceremony for a Golden Body Arhat at Lianhua Temple, and so on.
Xiao Chen skimmed through it, mainly to gather more information on the Buddhist Sect.
The most important part was on the final page.
It contained only four lines of text, which recorded two major events.
The first event: At Midnight on the seventh day of the first month, Sanskrit chants echoed from outside Pudu Temple, audible for hundreds of miles.
More than one Loose Cultivator claimed to have personally witnessed a sixty-thousand-zhang-tall Buddha manifestation. It was colossal, its eyes glowing with golden light as it gazed far to the east.