Chapter 403: Black Moon Seventh Floor
The moment he stepped into the seventh floor of the Black Moon Merchant Guild, before he could even take in the scene before him, an incredibly fresh scent rushed toward him... That's right! It was the scent of freshness! For a massive merchant guild, the most prominent atmosphere should have been one of ancient profundity and weight, but Yun Che felt as if he had suddenly been transported into a pure and immaculate natural landscape, with absolutely no sense of being inside a merchant guild.
He opened his eyes and looked ahead. What lay before him was a vast, boundless garden. Amidst the lush green were scattered all kinds of colorful exotic flowers and rare herbs, with towering trees standing tall and numerous streams crisscrossing through the area, bringing the never-ending sound of flowing water.
Yun Che's senses blurred for an instant... This was the seventh floor of Black Moon, the interior of a building?
It was clearly a paradise-like haven, as if from a fairyland!
Ahead, three young women dressed in different colored garments walked gracefully toward Yun Che. Their features were nothing short of one in ten thousand, their bearing noble and elegant, and their profound force aura was strong enough to reach the Heavenly Xuan realm!
The three young women arrived before Yun Che and bowed gracefully: "Honored guest, welcome to the Black Moon Merchant Guild. If you require anything, please feel free to instruct us."
The treatment on the seventh floor of Black Moon was indeed extraordinary. With the astonishing strength of these three young women before him, any one of them would be a respected grandmaster in the Cang Feng Kingdom, yet here, they were merely guest-attending maids.
Yun Che quickly swept his gaze around, but didn't see any place where things were sold, nor any trace of a merchant guild at all. He thought for a moment, then spoke: "Three fairy maidens, may I ask where the senior who was speaking with me just now is currently located?"
"Hehe," a gentle laugh came from somewhere unknown: "Bring him over."
"Yes... Honored guest, please follow us." The three young women replied crisply, one in front and two flanking him, respectfully leading Yun Che forward.
They passed through the garden, through a flower nursery, through a cluster of small hills and a small waterfall, until a simple yet exquisitely styled courtyard came into view. In the middle of the courtyard was a pavilion, and before it stood an old man in full purple robes of medium build, smiling as he appraised Yun Che.
Yun Che took a step forward and said politely: "Junior Ling Yun pays respects to Senior."
Of course, Yun Che wouldn't use his real name, so he conveniently borrowed Ling Yun's name.
"Hehe, please sit." The purple-robed old man waved his hand, then sat down first on a stone stool in the pavilion. Yun Che gave a slight nod and sat across from the old man. One young woman departed lightly, while the other two stood on either side of Yun Che, heads slightly bowed, faint smiles on their lips, their posture respectful, as if awaiting Yun Che's orders.
"May I ask how to address you, Senior?" Yun Che said.
"This old man's surname is Zi, given name Ji." The old man said with a smile.
Zi? Yun Che was slightly startled. This was the first time he had heard this surname. He nodded and said: "Senior Zi, thank you for your help with those words earlier."
"As for that matter just now, there was no need for this old man to speak. As for help, it was even less so. This old man was merely preventing Black Moon from having to deal with a minor nuisance." Zi Ji's gaze rose upward, looking directly into Yun Che's eyes, and said with a smile: "Young one, should this old man address you as Yun Che, or Prince Consort Yun, or as you wish, address you as Ling Yun?"
"..." Yun Che's expression stiffened for a moment, then he laughed heartily, showing no panic at all: "As expected of the Black Moon Merchant Guild, your intelligence capabilities are truly unmatched in the world. For junior Yun Che to try and show off his cleverness before Senior Zi's discerning eyes is truly ridiculous. I hope Senior Zi will not hold it against me."
"Hehe," Zi Ji gave a faint smile: "Black Moon's intelligence capabilities are not that exaggerated. It's just that your identity happens to be easy to identify. This old man has long been in contact with people from the Fenghuang God Sect and is extremely familiar with the Phoenix Flame Force. Although you are suppressing it with all your might, I can still sense a trace of Phoenix aura from you. And currently, the only person outside the Fenghuang God Sect who possesses the Phoenix bloodline is the Prince Consort of the Cang Feng Kingdom, Yun Che."
The young woman who had left returned carrying freshly brewed tea. The fragrance of the tea filled the air, refreshing Yun Che's mind. Although he wasn't well-versed in the way of tea, he knew that the value of this tea was undoubtedly extraordinary. He picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and praised: "Excellent tea. From what Senior says, it seems that concealing my identity in the Shenhuang City is probably impossible."
"You used Ice Profound Force as a disguise. Unless someone makes a detailed probe, even the elders of the Fenghuang God Sect would find it difficult to detect your Phoenix Flame Force." Zi Ji said with a smile: "When you lit the purple crystal on my Black Moon Profound Array, your talent was astonishing. This old man had all his attention focused on you just now; otherwise, I wouldn't have detected your Phoenix Flame Force. However, in this old man's view, it seems you aren't deliberately trying to hide your identity. Otherwise, you wouldn't have bothered with that junior from the Fenghuang God Sect just now, nor would you have unreservedly displayed your talent on that crystal platform."
"As expected of the master of the seventh floor of Black Moon Merchant Guild, your eyes are truly blazing sharp." Yun Che praised sincerely. On the seventh floor of Black Moon, this Zi Ji interacted with all kinds of top-tier figures from the Tian Xuan Continent. His insight and ability to judge people were far beyond ordinary people. He said freely: "Junior has been hunted down for many years and has long grown tired of the feeling of hiding and evading. In half a month, I will inevitably face the Fenghuang God Sect. Since that's the case, why should I tread cautiously and be bound hand and foot during this short half-month? It would naturally be best if the Fenghuang God Sect doesn't take notice of me, but if they do, it doesn't matter. If I were to go about everything with great care, wouldn't that be saying that I'm afraid of the Fenghuang God Sect?"
Yun Che drained his cup of tea in one gulp, his expression showing no fear at all when mentioning the Fenghuang God Sect.
This kind of boldness earned a silent admiration from Zi Ji. He nodded in approval: "Although the Fenghuang God Sect became aware of your existence two years ago when you exposed your Phoenix bloodline, they haven't taken you too seriously. Because in the eyes of the Fenghuang God Sect, the profound practitioners of the six kingdoms outside the Shenhuang Empire are all mere ants, unworthy of their direct gaze. However, after just a few words with you, this old man suddenly feels that the Fenghuang God Sect might suffer a great loss due to underestimating you... But not now. Although you are fearless, that doesn't mean you have the power to resist the strength of the Fenghuang God Sect. Your talent is extremely high, but you are far from having grown into your full strength. You will be much stronger than the Fenghuang God Sect expects, but still, there's no threat to speak of."
"Junior is well aware of this." Yun Che nodded, then got to the main point of today's visit: "Junior has come to visit the Black Moon Merchant Guild today to buy two items and obtain two pieces of intelligence. However..."
Yun Che glanced around... because this place really didn't look like a place where things were sold.
Zi Ji knew what Yun Che was puzzled about and said with a chuckle: "Just tell this old man what you need. The seventh floor is different from the first six. The first six floors are not much different from the Black Moon Merchant Guild you know. But here, distinguished guests are rare. When a distinguished guest arrives, this old man personally attends to them. Whatever the guest needs, they only need to speak, and Black Moon will do its utmost to fulfill it, whether we have it or not, as long as the guest can pay the price. If you wish to browse for items, someone will naturally accompany you to the first through sixth floors."
So that's how it is... Yun Che didn't hesitate any longer and directly stated: "The two items junior needs are, first, a Heavenly Brahma Jade, as pure as possible. The second is a well-preserved Phoenix Sunflower."
Zi Ji closed his eyes, then opened them after a few breaths. He lightly touched his purple jade ring, and a jade box emitting cold air appeared, which he placed in front of Yun Che: "This is the largest and purest piece of Heavenly Brahma Jade that Black Moon possesses."
One of the young women stepped forward and gently placed the icy jade box in front of Yun Che: "Honored guest, please take a look."
Yun Che didn't stand on ceremony and directly opened the icy jade box. Amidst the spreading cold mist, Yun Che saw a piece of silver-glowing jade with thread-like patterns running through it like blood vessels. He extended his left hand, waved it in the air, and used the Heavenly Poison Pearl to sense its purity... Of course, something from the main branch of Black Moon would be genuine. Yun Che immediately closed the icy jade box and said: "Good. Please name your price, Senior."
"Heavenly Brahma Jade costs six hundred Purple Mysterious Coins per tael. This piece of Heavenly Brahma Jade weighs one catty and three taels, requiring seven thousand eight hundred Purple Mysterious Coins." Zi Ji quoted slowly.
Damn, that expensive! Yun Che's mouth twitched slightly, but with a fortune of ten million Purple Mysterious Coins on him, he could certainly afford it. So he transferred seven thousand eight hundred Purple Mysterious Coins from his Purple Gold Card and then stored the Heavenly Brahma Jade into the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
"As for the Phoenix Sunflower, the last thirteen Phoenix Sunflowers Black Moon had were all bought up by the Fenghuang God Sect three hours ago." Zi Ji said: "If you urgently need this item, there is one place outside Black Moon where you can buy it."
"Where?"
Zi Ji said slowly: "Three hundred li south of here, there is a merchant guild called the Falling Flame Merchant Guild. Tomorrow at three in the afternoon, this guild will auction several valuable items to the public. Among them is a Phoenix Sunflower."
Yun Che nodded: "Junior has noted this. Thank you for informing me, Senior... Uh, do I need to pay for this piece of intelligence?"
"Hehe, no need." Zi Ji gave a faint smile, then reminded: "However, although this Falling Flame Merchant Guild is called a 'merchant guild,' it is actually a black market. Its auction is also not a formal public one. You'll understand when you get there. But this old man believes that with your intelligence, you will certainly not suffer a loss. So, what are the two pieces of intelligence you want?"
"Junior hopes that Black Moon can help me investigate the whereabouts of two people." Yun Che said seriously: "One of them is named Chu Yuechan. She was once a disciple of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace in the Cang Feng Kingdom and ranked first among the Ice Cloud Seven Immortals. The other is named Xia Yuanba..."
Yun Che described the situations of the two as detailed as possible to Zi Ji. Zi Ji closed his eyes slightly, committing it all to memory, then nodded: "This old man will personally arrange for people to investigate the intelligence on these two individuals. However, Black Moon's network is most sparse in the Cang Feng Kingdom, so it's hard to guarantee quick results. Leave your sound transmission imprint. Once definite intelligence is obtained, this old man will contact you immediately. Since you are a distinguished guest, you don't need to pay the intelligence fee in advance. It can be settled on the day the intelligence is confirmed. As for this, although this old man doesn't know where Xia Yuanba is currently, I can tell you a few things about him."
Yun Che's spirit jolted, and he stood up abruptly: "You know Yuan Ba?"
"Not only I know him, many people in the Shenhuang City know that name." Zi Ji said slowly: "Back then, his name resounded through half of the Shenhuang City in a very short time. He was a madman-like maniac. However, soon after, he suddenly vanished without a trace, and no one knew where he went. Shortly after that, his father also rushed to the Shenhuang City and stayed in this main branch of Black Moon... Hehe, if this old man remembers correctly, Xia Yuanba's father, Xia Hongyi, should be one of your fathers-in-law, correct?"
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