152: Even robbing a bank isn't that fast.

Jiang Lan had a pile of questions in his mind, and hearing the woman in the plain dress speak now, he was momentarily unsure which to ask first.

He lowered his head, pondered for a moment, took a sip of tea, and then looked up, saying, "Why are there only Martial Artists in this city? On the way here, I don't seem to have seen any common people."

The woman in the plain dress chuckled softly.

"Is Young Master not from Ling Country?"

Jiang Lan nodded, but he did not reveal his background to the woman.

He came to Cold Crow Pavilion to ask for information.

He hadn't even gotten the information yet, so what kind of situation would it be if he revealed everything about himself first?

The woman in the plain dress didn't press further; instead, she said,

"This isn't really classified information. I find Young Master's face friendly, so I won't charge you this time."

She continued, "This place is the border of the Human Race, with frequent wars and rampant demons. Common people simply cannot live in such a place. If they were to settle in Lingtian City, who knows when they might die an unknown death.

"Even if Martial Artists marry and have children here, they send them to other, relatively safer cities."

Jiang Lan nodded, finally understanding.

No one had told him before, which was why he found it strange, but after the woman in the plain dress explained, Jiang Lan felt she had a point.

After all, although the chasm outside the city was bottomless and wide,

who knew if demons had some mysterious means to bypass the chasm?

There would definitely be some stragglers.

Otherwise, where did the demons he saw before come from?

Born and bred locally?

There should be some that were born and bred locally, or animals that, by chance, transformed into demons.

But even so, most demons must have infiltrated from various places outside.

Having understood the first matter, Jiang Lan continued to ask,

"Do you know anything about demons?"

"I wouldn't say I know everything, but I definitely know more than Young Master," the woman in the plain dress chuckled, showing no hint of timidity.

Jiang Lan calculated for a moment and then asked,

"How many demon factions are there? How large are they respectively? What is the general Realm of the demons within them?"

The woman in the plain dress was taken aback.

What kind of strength did this person have? To ask such questions right off the bat?

Besides, what did the number of demon factions have to do with him?

However, thoughts were thoughts, but when business came knocking, there was no reason not to take it.

The woman thought for a moment and said, "I can't answer all of these questions. The demon factions are too complex and intricate; even Cold Crow Pavilion doesn't know everything."

"It's fine." Jiang Lan had already expected this.

As the Human Race's largest faction, Zhenwu Pavilion didn't even have a map of the demon territories. It was already good that Cold Crow Pavilion knew some information.

Of course, it was also possible that Zhenwu Pavilion had it, but simply hadn't displayed it openly.

He continued, "You just need to tell me the information you already have."

"Alright." The woman in the plain dress nodded, then extended her hand. "A thousand taels, please."

Jiang Lan: "?"

Is my money not money?

You say a thousand taels, and it's a thousand taels?

Although he didn't know the exchange rate here, if he calculated based on the previous rate in Great Yan, where one tael of silver was approximately equivalent to two thousand of later generations' money, then a thousand taels would be... two million?

Robbing an armored car wouldn't be this fast.

Although he had this money, it was all stored in Great Yan and he hadn't brought it with him.

When he left, he had some cash and silver notes, but the silver notes became unusable outside of Great Yan.

The cash was usable, but after traveling for some time, he only had about a hundred taels left in his hand.

"Young Master?" Seeing Jiang Lan's troubled expression, the woman in the plain dress raised an eyebrow. "Young Master doesn't have silver, does he?"

Jiang Lan didn't dally; he reached into his bosom and pulled out a small pile of gold and silver.

"This is all I have."

The woman looked down.

"If all of these were exchanged for silver, it would only be about one hundred thirty or forty taels. Young Master, it's not enough."

Jiang Lan twitched the corner of his mouth.

This was a pure rip-off.

He said, "Then just tell me what you can for one hundred thirty or forty taels."

The woman in the plain dress smiled charmingly.

"Young Master is quite interesting. Alright, then. I will tell you.

"Demons are powerful. If not for those few pillars supporting us, our Human Race would probably have perished long ago.

"The demon factions can roughly be divided into Three Demons, Five Emperors, and Seven Sovereigns, a total of fifteen great demons, who divide the territories. These great demons are incredibly terrifying, capable of moving mountains and filling seas, omnipotent. And the Realm of these great demons are all Spirit Transformation Realm. It is even rumored that a certain great demon is about to Breakthrough to Void Return.

"As for the subordinates of these demons, they all have their own factions.

"I won't tell you about the distant ones; I'll just say that outside Lingtian Pass, it is controlled by the Kunpeng Demon Emperor, whose subordinate faction is called the Ten Thousand Demons Hall."

"Within the Ten Thousand Demons Hall, there are countless, immeasurable demons. As for their strength, naturally, there are demons of all strengths, from the weakest Skin Refinement to the strongest Soul Transformation. However, the core strength is generally those Mortal Shedding demons. Outside Lingtian Pass, it is also Mortal Shedding Realm demons who lead the most incursions."

Jiang Lan listened intently, but the woman in the plain dress stopped there.

Jiang Lan was startled.

"It's over?"

The woman in the plain dress nodded. "Even for one hundred forty taels, I can only tell you this much. If you want to hear more, then go gather more silver."

Jiang Lan: "..."

Was this money made a little too easily?

With a flick of her tongue, she hadn't even spoken more than three hundred words in total, and she took over a hundred taels of his silver?

Good heavens, what did they call 'a word worth a thousand gold'?

Even if it wasn't a word worth a thousand gold, it was close enough.

However, Jiang Lan had no intention of arguing.

He stood up, ready to leave.

Since she had already said it, and he had no money on him, what else could he do but leave?

However, this trip wasn't in vain.

Don't forget, he still had a token from the Ten Thousand Demons Hall in his hand.

And the demon faction in this area happened to be the Ten Thousand Demons Hall.

Now, what he needed to do was earn some money, and then see if Cold Crow Pavilion had more detailed information about the Ten Thousand Demons Hall.

Of course, asking the demons directly would also work.

Provided he could catch one.

Turning around, Jiang Lan suddenly paused.

He turned his head to the woman in the plain dress and asked,

"What's the fastest way to make money in this place?"

The woman in the plain dress: "Information business."

Jiang Lan: "..."

He had indeed noticed that.

But where would he get information to do business?

Seeing Jiang Lan's expression, the woman smiled.

"I was just teasing you. If your strength is decent, going to Lingtian Pass is a good choice. Hunting demons and bringing back their corpses can be sold. The price varies depending on the type of demon; if you're lucky enough to kill a Mortal Shedding demon, it's a thousand taels of silver at minimum. My Cold Crow Pavilion also has a purchasing business; if you really encounter one, you can come find me."

Jiang Lan nodded.

"Thank you."