Chapter 540 - 506: The 3 Great Experts of the Demon Race

Chapter 540: Chapter 506: The 3 Great Experts of the Demon Race

’A secret organization like the Star Palace needs trade channels that can’t see the light of day, even if all its members have other public identities. Po Jun said the Star Palace has cooperated with the Black Market for a thousand years without a single mishap, so they should be a trustworthy partner.’

The Black Market wasn’t too large, built entirely from special Spiritual Materials designed to contain Spiritual Qi and suppress Divine Sense.

This was why one could walk through the surrounding forest of strange rock formations without noticing anything was amiss.

Bai Zichen noticed that everyone on the street seemed to be in a hurry, their steps quick. Almost no one stopped to chat.

The vast majority of Cultivators wore specially refined Conical Hats or masks to hide their identities.

After all, for those seemingly virtuous and respected High Cultivators, visiting a Black Market was still a reputation-damaging affair.

Only a few people made no attempt at concealment, their auras chaotic.

They were likely Loose Cultivators who already had notorious reputations and didn’t care about being exposed.

If they were Sect Cultivators, no matter how wild or unrestrained, they still had to consider their Sect’s reputation.

The Treasures that Star Palace members wanted to sell, as well as those they couldn’t buy directly with their public identities, were surely of immense value.

The Black Market wouldn’t want to lose such a long-term, high-quality client, so it would certainly do its utmost to maintain a good relationship.

Especially an organization composed entirely of Nascent Soul Sword Cultivators, which held sufficient deterrent power in the eyes of the outside world.

If the owner behind the Black Market wanted to double-cross them, they’d have to consider whether they could afford to offend such a group.

From what he knew, there had been commissioned transactions involving hundreds of Top-Grade Spirit Stones in the past, and the Black Market had never gotten any crooked ideas.

’I wonder who the owner behind the Black Market is. To be able to open over ten branch markets, intimidate the powerful experts who come and go, and protect countless Treasures... that’s not something an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator could achieve.’

Bai Zichen didn’t conceal his own fluctuations. Nearby Cultivators noticed that this newly arrived Cultivator had an aura as deep as the sea, as imposing as a great mountain. They all turned aside and lowered their heads, or simply stopped to let him pass first.

Even in a Black Market established specifically for High-Tier Cultivators, Nascent Soul True Monarchs were still as rare as morning stars.

’Celestial Listening Shop... "Within the cosmos, heaven and earth, we know everything"... What arrogance!’

On both sides of the road were rows of shops. Some were covered by black curtains, while others had their curtains raised.

The first shop had the two characters for "Celestial Listening" on its lintel, with plaques hanging on both sides, bearing the eight large words: "Within the cosmos, heaven and earth, we know everything."

Bai Zichen pushed the wooden door. It felt light and opened with a CREAK.

Inside, only a few dim rays of light filtered in, casting vague shadows. After taking two steps forward, he heard a stiff, female voice.

"Celestial Listening Shop, skilled in hearing sounds, knowing the before and after... To enter the shop, first offer one Top-Grade Spirit Stone to be guided."

A headless Female Cultivator holding a tray emerged gracefully from the darkness.

Looking closely, he discovered that the skin beneath the Female Cultivator’s gauze skirt had a metallic luster. It was a rare humanoid Puppet.

’So expensive. I haven’t even started buying information, and the entrance fee alone is one Top-Grade Spirit Stone...’

Bai Zichen grumbled internally, the corner of his mouth twitching as he took out a Top-Grade Spirit Stone and tossed it onto the wooden tray.

No wonder the Celestial Listening Shop was the most deserted of the dozen or so shops on the street.

Not all of the shops operating in the Black Market belonged to that mysterious owner.

Many were partnerships, originating from those demonic and heretical Outer Dao cultivators who were suppressed by the Moral Sect to the point they couldn’t even protect their own Mountain Gates and were forced to go underground.

This Celestial Listening Shop, for example, was famous for selling information, claiming there was nothing they didn’t know.

Of course, their fees were also so expensive that no ordinary Cultivator could afford them.

Many Cultivators speculated that the Celestial Listening Shop didn’t just rely on a powerful intelligence network, but must also possess some unknown legacy of Divine Inference.

Only by combining the two could it have become an intelligence organization unparalleled in the Cultivation Realm.

Once the Spirit Stone was in the tray, the headless female Puppet turned and led him deeper inside. A faint beam of light constantly shone behind it, guiding the way.

After passing through several pitch-black rooms, the headless Puppet stopped before a door and gestured for him to enter.

Bai Zichen stepped inside. It was a cramped, dome-roofed hut. Seventy-two Yin Candles burned on the floor, consisting only of wicks without any wax.

They burned and burned, yet the Yin Candles didn’t shorten by even an inch.

"So, a Star Palace True Monarch has come to visit. No wonder my humble home is graced with light... Forgive my crippled body for being unable to rise and greet you."

A dark shadow slowly shifted out from a dim corner. Only by the candlelight could Bai Zichen see that it was a disheveled Cultivator, paralyzed on the ground, with the entire lower half of his body missing.

"Tiann Canzi pays his respects to the Star Monarch."

This strange man who called himself Tiann Canzi had his hair unbound, obscuring his facial features. The only half of his body that remained was prostrated on the ground in a pathetic state.

"You who know the world’s affairs and understand all things... I wish to know the full story behind the great war between the Human-Demon Races in the Eastern Domain. How many Spirit Stones will that cost?"

Bai Zichen’s eye twitched. This man was actually a Core Formation Cultivator, but a remnant of Sharp True Intent lingered at his waist. Not even a Tier Four Spirit Pill capable of growing flesh on White Bone could restore his mutilated body.

To be able to run the Celestial Listening Shop with such a crippled body, he must be a capable individual.

"Five Top-Grade Spirit Stones. I guarantee you won’t need to set foot in the Eastern Domain to understand the situation as thoroughly as those Cultivators who were on the battlefield themselves."

Tiann Canzi propped himself up with his two arms. In the darkness, his eyes resembled two candle flames, emitting a faint glow.

Bai Zichen didn’t haggle. He directly laid out five Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

"Seven years ago, the Merfolk Race was simultaneously besieged by the three great Demon Race powers of the Outer Sea: the Star Constellation Sea, the Star Shattering Abyss, and the Netherworld Sea. Blood stained the waters for thousands of miles, and the corpses of countless Merfolk floated to the surface. This ancient race was nearly exterminated overnight. In the end, only a little over ten thousand Merfolk managed to escape. They found sanctuary with the Jinyue Sect and are now temporarily living in a Shuize Marshland in the Eastern Domain."