93: Get the news

“Interesting. I’m here to collect information and need to inquire about the Jianghu intelligence from the past six months.”

However, this was ultimately the strength of a Mortal, and for Gu Chang, it was merely amusing.

“Of course, no problem, Your Excellency, please come in!”

The attendant immediately agreed to Gu Chang’s words and then led the way. After passing through several corridors, he was brought to a courtyard.

The entire courtyard was square, with nothing obstructing the view around it, only a wooden table and a few chairs in the very center.

“Your Excellency, please, if you want to know anything, just ask Old Gu directly.”

After bringing Gu Chang here, the attendant withdrew.

“What does this customer want to know?”

The person referred to as Old Gu was a thin, elderly man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, but the occasional gleam in his eyes indicated that he was also an Expert.

“What happened in Taihu Lake six months ago, and all subsequent intelligence!”

Gu Chang didn’t care about these pleasantries and sat directly opposite him, then stated his request.

“…”

“This matter concerns Immortals. It’s better if Your Excellency doesn’t know.”

However, the other party fell silent, then advised Gu Chang with a meaningful look.

“What? You run a business; do you need to consider me?”

Gu Chang laughed when he heard him say that, and immediately retorted.

“Fine, if you want to hear it, I’ll tell you.”

“However, once you leave this door, I will deny everything I’ve said!”

Old Gu, being rebuffed by Gu Chang, immediately stopped trying to persuade him. After all, if the other party was determined to seek death, why bother stopping him?

“Six months ago, no, it should be about a year ago, when Taihu Lake had just entered winter, someone from the Demonic Path happened upon a Heaven And Earth Treasure called an ice lotus seed. After eating it, all Heart Demons vanished, and their martial arts greatly improved!”

“Later, the Immortal guarding Qingzhou heard this news and had an idea. He summoned Innate Expert Remnant Shadow Sword Lu Jie and several First-rate Experts, intending to search for Immortal treasures in Taihu Lake.”

“But they almost turned Taihu Lake upside down without any results. Coincidentally, a small fisherman born in Taihu Lake became an Innate Expert overnight.”

“This news immediately led the guarding Immortal to a guess, so he used his Spell and set up a Formation to lure the other party into a trap.”

“But then the guarding Immortal and the Martial Forest Experts who followed him all perished in battle. After the news of the guarding Immortal’s death spread back, the Cultivation Grand Sect Cloud Firmament Palace was even more enraged!”

“On that day, an Immortal descended, and a flying boat soared across the sky. Based on various clues, they found the body and identified the culprit, but they just couldn’t catch the target.”

“So they could only issue a large bounty, but unfortunately, that Taihu Expert never reappeared, and the matter was left unresolved.”

“However, the forces originally associated with that Taihu Expert suffered. The Divine Image Sect was directly wiped out, Bai Xiaosheng was investigated for withholding information, and even the Pai Jiang Sect was implicated.”

“Alas, truly, when an Immortal is enraged, heads roll!”

The other party spoke quite concisely, without any unnecessary words, but this also allowed Gu Chang to learn some of the aftermath.

“So that’s how it is. Thank you for clearing my doubts.”

With that, Gu Chang directly took out twenty taels of silver, placed them on the table, and then left.

“People, they always like to find trouble for themselves!”

Watching Gu Chang’s disappearing back, the other party slowly shook his head, but what fate awaited the other party next was no longer his concern.

After leaving the Wind and Rain Tower, Gu Chang wandered around Xinyang City until sunset, when he finally settled down in an inn called “Immortal Guest Inn.”

“It seems the Cloud Firmament Palace is indeed still investigating my movements, and even mundane forces like the Divine Image Sect and Bai Xiaosheng have suffered.”

“This entire Zhao Country is under the control of the Cloud Firmament Palace, and the newly appeared Wind and Rain Tower might even be an intelligence agency they set up.”

Sitting by the window, Gu Chang looked at the bustling streets outside and couldn’t help but fall into contemplation.

Even though he hadn’t specifically inquired about Cloud Firmament Palace’s intelligence when he was in Qing Ling Market, relevant information still uncontrollably reached his ears.

It could be said that the Cloud Firmament Palace was the supreme ruler of several surrounding countries, and an existence that low-level Cultivators had to look up to.

The entire Cloud Firmament Palace had thousands of Qi Cultivation Stage Disciples. Although most of them were Outer Sect Disciples, their status was many times higher than that of ordinary Loose Cultivators, almost equivalent to the elite Disciples of various Cultivation Families.

In addition, the Cloud Firmament Palace also had more than ten, even twenty or more Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators. Compared to other Cultivation Families that only had one or two Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators, their strength was overwhelmingly powerful!

But the most crucial point was that the Cloud Firmament Palace possessed an incredibly powerful Golden Core Stage Old Ancestor, whose strength was immeasurably greater than that of Foundation Establishment Stage Experts.

Anyway, according to the available intelligence, Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators were nothing in front of a Golden Core Stage Old Ancestor and could be killed at will.

Such is the Dao of Cultivation; the higher the level of strength, the greater the gap, making it impossible for people to overcome!

As for the novels Gu Chang had read in his previous life, things like killing across realms at every turn, or Geniuses killing Old Monsters, hardly ever happened in reality.

“So, I can’t stay in Xinyang City for long. My behavior today has probably already attracted the attention of some people.”

“Although I don’t need to fear them, attracting people from the Cloud Firmament Palace would also be a nuisance!”

So, after nightfall, Gu Chang directly left Xinyang City and then flew directly towards another city.

Before leaving the Divine Image Sect, Gu Chang and Xie Wanling had agreed on a meeting method.

Now, the other party must have brought the surviving members of the Divine Image Sect to this city to hide.

Black Mountain City, compared to a large city like Xinyang City, was just an inconspicuous small county town.

The entire city was not large, and the population was not numerous, but because it was close to Black Mountain, merchants often came here to buy and sell goods.

In this city, there was a martial hall with some years behind it, named White Cloud Martial Hall, which was considered a hegemon in the entire Black Mountain area.

However, in reality, this White Cloud Martial Hall was a secret fallback left by the Divine Image Sect.

In the backyard of White Cloud Martial Hall, Gu Chang came directly here, then transmitted a message to Xie Wanling in the room using a Spell, and then he left directly. The other party would know what to do next.

“Thump, thump, thump!”

Late at night, in a superior room of an inn in Black Mountain City, Gu Chang’s door was knocked.

Inside the room, Gu Chang looked at the Sky-Gazing Mirror in his hand. The situation within three kilometers was clearly visible, and there were no ambushes or anomalies around.

“Come in directly!”

“Creak~ Bang.”

Immediately, the door was pushed open and then gently closed. Following that, Xie Wanling, whom Gu Chang hadn’t seen for a long time, appeared before him.