Against the Gods - Volume 05 - Primordial Profound Ark

by Mars Gravity

  The young woman who had left, returned, carrying already brewed tea. The tea’s fragrance permeated everywhere, making Yun Che’s state of mind relax as he smelled it. Even though he didn’t really understand much about tea, he knew that the value of this tea should be extremely high. He raised the tea cup, drank a small mouthful, and praised: “Good tea. After hearing senior’s words, it seems that this junior thinking about hiding his identity would be an impossibility.”

  “You have concealed it with ice profound energy, unless they meticulously probed you, I’m afraid that even a Divine Phoenix Sect elder would not sense your phoenix flame ability.” Zi Ji smiled: “You had lit up the violet crystal on my Black Moon’s profound array, so it could even be said that your innate talent is universally shocking. Before, this old man had placed all his attention on you, otherwise, I would not detect your phoenix flame ability. However, to this old man, it doesn’t seem as though you are painstakingly hiding your own identity, or else you would not have paid any attention to that Divine Phoenix Sect junior, then also unrestrainedly revealed your innate talent on that crystal stage.”

  “As expected of the master of Black Moon Merchant Guild’s seventh floor, your insight is perceptive.” Yun Che sincerely praised. On Black Moon’s seventh floor, the people that this Zi Ji made contact with were all kinds of peak level figures in the Profound Sky Continent. His ability to perceive and appraise someone was absolutely not one that an ordinary person could reach. He said lightly: “This junior had previously been hunted by others all year round, and is long weary of avoiding and hiding all over the place. After half a month, junior will be up against the Divine Phoenix Sect. Since that’s the case, there isn’t really a need for me to be trembling in fear and be overcautious within this half a month. Not being noticed by Divine Phoenix Sect is of course the best scenario, but even if I were to be noticed, it wouldn’t really matter anyway. If I was cautious about everything, wouldn’t it mean that I was afraid of the Divine Phoenix Sect?”

  Yun Che drained the tea in the cup in one gulp. When talking about the Divine Phoenix Sect, there was not the least bit of fear in his expression.

  This kind of courage made Zi Ji secretly praise him in his heart. He nodded, revealing his approval: “The reason why Divine Phoenix Sect did not really care enough to actively seek you out two years ago when you revealed your Phoenix bloodline and existence, is because in Divine Phoenix Sect’s eyes, every profound practitioner from the six nations outside of Divine Phoenix Empire are ants unfit for them to look at. However, after talking with you for a bit, this old man suddenly feels as if Divine Phoenix Sect may perhaps have to pay dearly due to them holding you in contempt… but that cannot be now. Even though you are not the least afraid, it does not mean that you are capable of opposing the Divine Phoenix Sect’s power. Your talent could be said to be extremely high, but it has not matured. You might be far stronger than what the Divine Phoenix Sect expected by many times, but it would still not be the least bit threatening.”

  “Junior is well aware of this point.” Yun Che nodded, then proceeded to talk about the main reason why he had come here today: “The reason why this junior had come to the Black Moon Merchant Guild today is because this junior wishes to buy two things, and two intelligence, but…”

  Yun Che’s gaze swept the surroundings… because this place truly did not seem like a place that sold things.

  Understanding what Yun Che was puzzling over, Zi Ji laughed: “Don’t hesitate to just open your mouth and tell this old man whatever you need. The seventh floor is different from the first six floors. There is no difference between the first six floors and the Black Moon Merchant Guild you know of, while this place rarely has customers. Esteemed customers that come here are all personally received by this old man. Whatever an esteemed customer wants, as long as they say the word, no matter if Black Moon has it or not, as long as our esteemed customer asks for it and can afford to pay the price, Black Moon will do its utmost to fully satisfy it. If you want the little things, someone would still accompany our esteemed customer to the sixth floor.”

  So it’s like that… Yun Che no longer hesitated as he said directly: “Of the two things this junior needs, one is a Heavenly Brahma Jade, the purer the better. The other is a completely preserved Phoenix Helianthus.”

  Zi Ji closed his eyes, then opened them a few breaths later. He reached out his hand to lightly stroked the purple jade ring on his finger, took out a jade box that was releasing cold air, and showed it to Yun Che: “This is the biggest, and also the purest piece of all the Heavenly Brahma Jade that Black Moon possesses.”

  A young woman walked forward and gently placed the ice jade case before Yun Che: “Esteemed customer, please have a look.”

  Yun Che no longer hesitated, and directly opened the ice jade case. From within the cold pervading mist, Yun Che saw a light piece of stone shimmering with silvery light, which contained veins that look bloodshot. Yun Che extended his left hand; after an instant of feeling about, he sensed its purity with the Sky Poison Pearl’s perception… Things from Black Moon Headquarters would naturally not be fake. Yun Che immediately closed the ice jade case, and said: “Alright, may I ask senior to state a price?”

  “Heavenly Brahma Jade is six hundred purple profound coins per fifty grams. This Heavenly Brahma Jade weighs six hundred fifty grams, and needs seven thousand eight hundred purple profound coins.” Zi Ji nonchalantly quoted a price.

  The hell, so expensive! The corner of Yun Che’s mouth twitched, but he had a huge sum of ten million purple profound coins on him, so he certainly could afford it. Immediately after, he took out seven thousand eight hundred purple profound coins from his Purple Gold Card. Then, he put the Heavenly Brahma Jade inside the Sky Poison Pearl.

  “As for the Phoenix Helianthus, the last thirteen Phoenix Helianthus Black Moon possessed had just been all bought by Divine Phoenix Sect six hours ago.” Zi Ji said: “If you urgently need them, outside of Black Moon, there is actually another place where you could buy it.”

  “Where?”

  Zi Ji said slowly: “One hundred fifty kilometers south of here is a merchant guild called the ‘Falling Flame Merchant Guild’. Tomorrow, at three in the afternoon, they ought to be auctioning out precious materials, among them is precisely the Phoenix Helianthus.”

  Yun Che nodded “Junior has taken note of this, I thank senior for telling me this… Er, do I have to pay for this information?”

  “Hoho, no need.” Zi Ji laughed faintly, then reminded: “However, even though the Falling Flame Merchant Guild is called a ‘merchant guild’, it is actually a black market. The things it sells are also unofficial public sales, once you get there, you’ll understand. But this old man believes that with your wisdom, you probably would not suffer a loss. Now, what are the two pieces of intelligence you wanted?”

  “This junior hopes that Black Moon will help me look for the whereabouts of two individuals.” Yun Che stated grimly: “Of the two, one is named Chu Yuechan, formerly a disciple of Blue Wind Nation’s Frozen Cloud Asgard, head of the Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies. The other is Xia Yuanba…”

  Yun Che described the two to Zi Ji in as much detail as he could. Zi Ji slightly closed his eyes, remembered everything, then said while nodding: “This old man will personally dispatch people for intelligence on these two people. Only, Black Moon’s relay network in Blue Wind Nation is thinly spread out, so it would be hard to guarantee swift news within the short term. Leave behind your sound transmission imprint. After possessing solid information, this old man will immediately contact you. Since you are an esteemed customer, there is no need for you to pay for the intelligence in advance. At the date of confirmation, we can settle the bill. Among the two, even though this old man does not know the whereabouts of Xia Yuanba, this old man does know a few matters concerning him, and can tell you a thing or two.”

  Stunned, Yun Che immediately stood up: “You know Yuanba?”

  “Not only do I know h
im, many people within Divine Phoenix City know of this name as well.” Zi Ji said slowly: “Back then, his name had actually resounded within half of Divine Phoenix City for a short period of time, he was a crazy madman. But shortly after, he suddenly disappeared without a trace. Not long after his disappearance, his father had also come rushing over to Divine Phoenix City, and actually stayed within this Black Moon Headquarters… Heh heh, if this old man has not remembered wrong, Xia Yuanba’s father, Xia Hongyi, should also be one of your father-in-laws, right?”

  Chapter 404: Ghost Mirage Sacred Hand

  “Uncle Xia… in Black Moon Headquarters? Here?” Yun Che was stunned. Half a year ago, after he returned to Floating Cloud City, he had first went to Xia Manor, and found out that Xia Hongyi had left a long time ago to search for Xia Yuanba, who had not been sending any letters. The servant who had remained at Xia Clan told him that Xia Hongyi had taken out something shaped like a black crescent moon when he was tidying things up… At that time, he suspected it was a thing related to the Black Moon Merchant Guild, and if that was so, then he assumed that Xia Hongyi was probably searching for Xia Yuanba through the Black Moon Merchant Guild.

  He never expected that he had actually remained within this Black Moon Merchant Guild.

  And this was not just a Black Moon branch that could be found throughout the Profound Sky… it was the legendary Black Moon Headquarters!

  Someone that was able to stay here was definitely not an ordinary figure. The relationship between Xia Hongyi and Black Moon Merchant Guild was in no way simple.

  “If you wish to see him, this old man can personally bring you to him now. He’ll surely be delighted to see you.” Zi Ji said with a chuckle.

  Yun Che’s expression became incomparably complex. After being silent for a long while, he slowly sat down and said: “Has Uncle Xia been doing well here?”

  “Only he himself knows if he’s been doing well or not. But at least here, everything is stable, and he would not be bullied by anyone.” Zi Ji replied.

  Yun Che nodded, and said half to himself: “Then that’s good. Knowing that Uncle Xia is safe and sound relieves me… I was the one who took Yuanba to Blue Wind Profound Palace, and it was also me, who took him to Heavenly Sword Villa. If he had remained in New Moon City, the things that happened afterwards would not have occurred. Without having found Yuanba yet, I don’t have the face to see him… Senior Zi, talk to me about Yuanba. This junior could not be any more clearer about his strength, so how could he have shocked half of Divine Phoenix City?”

  “Two years ago, a youth from another nation arrived in Divine Phoenix City. After the first day he arrived, as well as every other day after that, he went to challenge those famous sects within the city.”

  “He… challenged sects?”

  “Yes. Unfortunately, his profound strength cultivation was too low, and was easily injured severely by the other party. But on the second day, he continued to challenge the sect with a body full of injuries. The outcome, was obviously injury upon injuries. On the third day, he still went to challenge that sect, and had actually been struck to the brink of death due to the other party’s impatience… Even though his profound strength was feeble, his physique was exceptionally abnormal. He was obviously near death with heavily injuries, but on the next day, he still was able to stand up, and dropped in once more to challenge them. There was even one time when the other party had beaten two enormous bloody holes on his body, yet he still didn’t die. At first, everyone thought that he was a lunatic, but as the days and months passed, no one considered him to be a madman anymore. It was not rarely to see someone who strongly pursued strength, but being strongly attached to that extent, even if it’s this old man, it was the first time ever.”

  Yun Che: “…”

  “In the three months he had stayed in Divine Phoenix City, his body was riddled with heavy injuries everyday. There was practically no place on his body that was left intact, but he still dragged his heavily injured body and went to seek out opponents that he simply could not defeat. Among the ones he had challenged, there were inevitably a few impatient ones, or perhaps malicious ones who wished to put him to death, but no matter what kind of heavy injury he received, he had actually never died. In those three months, the people’s view of him changed from ridicule to that of shock, until that day after three months when he suddenly disappeared from Divine Phoenix City. There was not the slightest trace of him even until today, so he has probably been forgotten already. However, this old man believes that he was not secretly harmed by another, otherwise, he would never have escaped Black Moon’s eye.”

  Yun Che’s heart became incomparably complex. Even though Xia Yuanba was especially tall and appeared to make one feel oppressed, under Xia Hongyi’s nurture, he had an especially gentle temperament and a simple nature. Furthermore, he was always unwilling to fight against others. However, the Xia Yuanba described by Zi Ji was actually a lunatic, through and through. He was very clear on the reason why Xia Yuanba had suddenly changed…

  “…Senior Zi, thank you for telling me all these. I’ll be troubling you with everything else.” Yun Che said while standing up.

  Zi Ji also stood up right after, and said with a laugh: “No need to be polite, it is our Black Moon’s honor to have the privilege of servicing our esteemed customers.”

  Yun Che understood why Zi Ji was so courteous to him. Since the Black Moon Merchant Guild had developed up to today, it naturally had an established reason for its existence. Toward those with extremely high innate talent that might possible rank within the Profound Sky’s peak experts, Black Moon naturally would show preferential treatment. Not only would their service be at its utmost respectful, they were even eager to make the other party owe them a debt of gratitude.

  “Oh right,” Yun Che suddenly thought of another matter: “I don’t know if Senior Zi has heard of the ‘Netherworld Udumbara Flower’?”

  The Netherworld Udumbara Flower was one of the three items Jasmine needed within thirty years. She needed a Netherworld Udumbara Flower, three Tyrant Profound Beast Cores, and thirty five kilograms of Purple Veined Divine Crystals.

  “Netherworld Udumbara Flower?” A pondering look emerged on Zi Ji’s face. After a short while, he said slowly: “This old man knows of this flower, it is an extremely yin, demonic, and evil item. It only grows within extremely wicked places, and would only bloom once every twenty four years, then wither three days later. This flower is frightening, let alone touch it, just being near it would allow the netherworld’s aura invade one’s body, and damage the soul. If the effect was light, it would make one lose consciousness, if heavy, it would make one a living dead person, even so much that one would lose their life. Apart from this, I have never heard of any positive value to this flower. Why are you looking for this flower?”

  “Junior naturally has a special use for it, if senior knows where one is, I’d like it if you’ll inform me about that as well.”

  Zi Ji thought for a while, then shook his head: “The last written record of a Netherworld Udumbara Flower was one thousand three hundred years ago. After that, there were no more written accounts nor rumors about it. The human race within the Profound Sky Continent is continuously increasing, nowadays, there are more than four times the number of people since a thousand years ago. As a result, the yang energy of the entire continent has greatly surpassed the yin, perhaps the Netherworld Udumbara Flower has thus become extinct in the Profound Sky Continent.”

  “…I thank senior for telling me this, this junior shall take his leave.”

  After unexpectedly learning about some news concerning Xia Yuanba, even if it made his mood a bit heavy, it had at least comforted him somewhat… No wonder he was never able to find any signs of Xia Yuanba within Blue Wind’s borders, it turned out that he had actually come to the Divine Phoenix Empire after leaving Heavenly Sword Villa.

  In terms of profound strength level, Divine Phoenix Empire was after all, a place that was far hi
gher than Blue Wind. Did he come here to seek strength in his extreme sorrow and self-blame…?

  And Little Fairy, where exactly are you anyway…

  ——————————————————

  Divine Phoenix Sect.

  The date of the Seven Nation Ranking Tournament grew closer and closer. Feng Xichen’s mood also became more and more impatient by the day. The scene of that day’s humiliation never stopped upsetting his mental state. After he had finally informed Feng Ximing about the Yun Che related matter yesterday, he had become even more restless.

  Because what he had described to Feng Ximing was a world of difference from the truth that happened several months ago. Even though he was certain that Divine Phoenix Sect would absolutely not pardon Yun Che if he were to truly come to Divine Phoenix City, he was unable to worry about Yun Che possibly mentioning the events of that day during the ranking tournament. If the events of that day were to be made public in front of thousands of eyes, the brand of humiliation would not only be carved into his soul, it would be carved onto his face from then on.

  The door was pushed open, and a tall figure, accompanied by a scorching heatwave, stepped in. The anxious Feng Xicheng quickly turned around. Just as he was about to get angry, when he saw who had come in, his surging fury was panicky taken back, and he hurriedly made a frontal salutation: “This son greets royal father.”

  “You may rise.” Feng Hengkong lifted his hand, and got straight to the point: “Ximing has already told us in detail about what you had experienced in Blue Wind Nation a few months ago. Although you have concealed it till this day, it is still pardonable, we are not here to blame you.”