Against the Gods

Chapter 1069 – The Strange Black Feather Merchant Guild

Lower star realms made up thirty thousand of the vast God Realm’s forty thousand star realms, far more than seventy percent of the entire region.

Even though they could not compare to middle and upper star realms in terms of overall strength, inheritance, resources and background, they were the main bulk of the God Realm, based on quantity alone.

Amongst the many lower star realms, the Darkya Realm was an extremely special existence, especially in the Eastern Divine Region. Although its strength wasn’t in the upper echelons, its reputation was not inferior to any one of them.

Out of all the Eastern Divine Region’s lower star realms, it possessed the most merchant guilds.

If profound practitioners lacked any strange objects or treasures, they would never return empty-handed if they went on a trip to the Darkya Realm… the only prerequisite being that they brought along enough purple stones or crystals.

Darkya City was located at the center of the Darkya Realm. The entire city region was five hundred kilometers wide, with many famous merchant guilds of the God Realm gathered within and as for the medium and small sized merchant guilds, those were innumerable. There weren’t many sectoral forces within the city and it didn’t contain the Realm King’s forces either, yet it was able to take on the name of “Darkya”, the exact same name of its star realm. Just by that alone, it was obvious what kind of status Darkya City possessed in the Darkya Realm.

Yun Che appeared above the skies of Darkya City, looking down upon this unfamiliar star realm’s main city for a very long time.

His understanding of the God Realm was only limited to the Snow Song Realm. Since the Snow Song Realm was covered in perpetual snow year round, its population was sparse. It was an unique realm in itself. The Darkya Realm below him however, was bustling with activity. Its extraordinary liveliness gave Yun Che a few seconds of misperception when he arrived; he thought that he had returned to the lower realm’s flourishing cities.

“Darkya Realm… Darkya Realm,” Yun Che quietly muttered. Scene after scene of the Snow Song Realm flashed through his mind, bringing him a boundless sadness.

He withdrew his Ice Phoenix Engraved Jade and changed into a set of plain, white clothes before slowly descending onto this completely unfamiliar land that he wasn’t a part of.

In the Blue Pole Star, he was the ruler.

In the Snow Song Realm, he had the support of its Great Realm King and was the eviable direct disciple… Even when he had first entered the Snow Song Realm, he had the support of Mu Bingyun.

But now, he was alone. In this boundless star realm, in this boundless sea of people, there was not a single place he was familiar with, not a single person he was familiar with.

If another person were to take his place, they would’ve long since stopped breathing due to the fright and pressure brought about by the heavy loneliness.

“Master…” Yun Che said softly.

After a long bout of depression overcame him, both Yun Che’s expression and emotional state recovered to bright clarity. Since things had come to this point, he could only face it alone. What he had to do now was put all his effort into searching for a Wood Spirit Orb… and it had to be a first-rate Wood Spirit Orb.

Purple profound stone; purple profound crystal; purple profound jade; these were the God Realm’s commonly used currency. One thousand purple stones were worth one purple crystal, and one thousand purple crystals were worth one purple jade.

When he followed Mu Bingyun and joined the Thirty-sixth Ice Phoenix Palace, he was still able to receive a monthly allowance of five thousand purple stones but after becoming Mu Xuanyin’s disciple, he didn’t receive a single stone.

Although he profited greatly from his harvest in the Ice Wind Empire’s treasury there, he had unexpectedly already used up those gains.

Even though he had only taken from the Qilin Horn’s vicinity, those were still objects stored within a vast empire’s treasury. There was no doubt that they would amount to a great sum. Yun Che took inventory once more...

There were a total of three hundred thousand purple profound crystals and two hundred purple profound jades.

When converted, it was a whole five hundred million purple profound stones!

“How could I recklessly squander wealth plundered from a middle star realm’s country?” Yun Che muttered.

But where should I go?

Yun Che took out the black jade Huo Rulie handed him and his gaze suddenly focused.

When he had received it from Huo Rulie, it was just a lifeless black jade. But now, the center of the jade suddenly lit up as a feather, dark as the night, appeared upon it.

“A black feather?” Yun Che slightly focused and felt a weak fluctuation coming from its surface. Then, his gaze quickly shifted toward his front as he walked over… the profound energy fluctuation on this black jade’s surface was clearly pointing in that direction.

Even though it was his first time in the Darkya Realm, the difference between a lower star realm and a middle star realm could be seen with a single glance. The density and purity of the spiritual energy here was far inferior to the Snow Song Realm and the Flame God Realm… Though it was still far above the Blue Pole Star.

The stream of people within Darkya City was huge; it was extremely lively, no matter where he went. It was obvious that this place prohibited the use of profound arks and mounts because although there was an unceasing number of human figures flying past overhead, not a single profound ark or beast was in sight.

The profound practitioners were mostly at the early stage of the divine way. The city guards that were visible everywhere were mostly in the Divine Origin or Divine Soul Realm.

In the Darkya Realm… as well as any other lower star realm, being able to enter the divine way and reach the Divine Origin Realm was shocking and being able to reach the Divine Soul Realm put one above the masses. Being able to reach the Divine Tribulation Realm meant that one was qualified to establish their own sect and if one was able to pass through the Divine Tribulation Realm, into the Divine Spirit Realm, they could be overlords of a region.

Entering the Divine Master Realm obviously meant that they could become rulers of a realm!

If one or more Divine Sovereigns appeared within a lower star realm, then the entire star realm would subsequently be promoted and rank up to become a middle star realm.

As a result, Yun Che, who was considered a genius within his age group in the Snow Song Realm after reaching the Divine Soul Realm in one step, was qualified to join the thirty six Ice Phoenix Palaces. This was why his current cultivation and age was enough to attract attention in this lower star realm.

Following the black jade’s weak profound energy guidance, Yun Che sensed Darkya City’s aura and the traveling profound practitioners as he walked toward the heart of the city.

As expected of the star realm of trade, within the thirty thousand lower star realms that was even well known within the middle star realms; wherever Yun Che went, what he saw the most were merchant organizations of various sizes. Aside from the merchant guilds, there were also countless small stores and stalls selling all kinds of different oddities.

Yun Che casually meandered for several hours and that was still what he saw.

The entire Darkya City was like an enormous bazaar.

When Yun Che’s footsteps finally stopped at a certain location, the reaction coming from the black jade completely disappeared.

Before Yun Che was an extremely tall building of an antique style. In Darkya City, this was definitely a conspicuous monstrosity.

This was a large merchant guild. Several tens of entrances could be seen at a glance and the stream of people going in and out was endless.

Yun Che raised his head high and read the few words that nearly reached the clouds in a low voice, “Black Feather Merchant Guild.”

The black feather outline that appeared on the surface of the black jade was exactly the same as the huge merchant guild’s engraving.

The Black Feather Merchant Guild before Yun Che was the biggest building out of all he had seen on his way here. From its vast, ancient style of construct, it definitely possessed a deep background and history.

Yun Che stood in place, deep puzzlement on his face: Why would such a huge merchant guild do underground business? And would… even be involved with the Wood Spirit Orbs the Eternal Heaven God Realm personally put a ban on?

Any sort of carelessness would result in damage to countless generations of fame and foundation. This Black Feather Merchant Guild was on a scale where it stood tall enough to pierce the clouds. Perhaps only a few others in the entire Darkya City could possibly compare to it, so why would it take such a huge risk?

He originally thought that it was a small merchant guild or a secret society that wanted big and quick profits that would hold such an underground black market but he never expected it would be such a huge merchant guild, of enormous proportions and history.

Could the profits gained from shady underground trade fairs be that huge?

Yun Che didn’t bother to think much more as he headed toward the Black Feather Merchant Guild’s most outer hall. A young girl stood inside the hall’s entrance, welcoming every visitor with a smile.

“Welcome to the Black Feather Merchant Guild. Esteemed guest, please come in. If you need something, feel free to say what you need at any time,” the girl said with a bow when she saw Yun Che come over.

This girl was at the Emperor Profound Realm. In the Blue Pole Star, she could be a respected master of a generation. Here, however, she could only be someone who greeted guests. Yun Che didn’t answer and instead came to a stop before the girl and silently took out the black jade.

Upon seeing the black jade in Yun Che’s hands, the girl’s expression slightly changed. She bowed even deeper as she spoke even more respectfully, “So it’s actually an esteemed guest visiting, please follow me.”

Yun Che withdrew the black jade and silently followed the girl… He was previously filled with doubt earlier but now he was completely certain that the largest merchant guild he had seen in his entire life was actually doing underground transactions like the Wood Spirit Orb.

That’s seriously strange!

How much profit does an underground transaction make?

I have five hundred million purple profound stones on me… don’t tell me that it’s not enough for a single Wood Spirit Orb?

Five hundred million was an absolutely enormous amount of wealth, absolutely an astronomical number, so he was completely confident before. However, if Wood Spirit Orbs were able to make such a large-scale merchant guild sell them… if it didn’t come with insurmountable profit, why would it dare take a risk like going against the Eternal Heaven God Realm’s ban!

This was why Yun Che began feeling a bit less confident.

Yun Che followed the girl and walked a considerably long distance. After walking through many floors of staircases, the surroundings completely quieted down with not a single sound to be heard.

The girl stopped at a tightly shut door to a hall. At a single glance, Yun Che noticed that this great hall was covered with many large-scale profound formations. There were so many that sound, sight and even auras were completely isolated. However, this isolation was only one-sided. The people inside were able to clearly see and sense everything outside.

Yun Che’s brows furrowed greatly… But after thinking that it was impossible for Huo Rulie to want to harm him, his brows slowly relaxed, though he didn’t let down his guard in the slightest.

“Mister Ji, an esteemed guest has arrived,” the girl said respectfully before the hall door.

After a brief silence, the hall door slowly opened.

“Esteemed guest, please enter. Mister Ji is waiting for you inside.”

The girl gently bowed and then turned to leave.

Yun Che didn’t hesitate as he walked in with large strides. As soon as he entered, the hall door tightly shut behind him.

The hall was rather spacious and an old man sat before a wooden table. This old man ought to be the “Mister Ji” the girl had mentioned. Seeing Yun Che, he rose and welcomed him with a smile, “This esteemed guest looks rather unfamiliar, may I ask what you have come to seek from my Black Feather Merchant Guild?”

“I want a Wood Spirit Orb, the purer the better!” Yun Che got right to the point.

Yun Che’s words caused the smile on the old man’s face to disappear. It was replaced with a slightly angry look. “What does esteemed guest mean? The hunting of wood spirits brings the resentment of both men and gods, it is an act that goes against the heavenly law! My Black Feather Merchant Guild has a history of several hundred thousand years and has never done any dishonorable business. How could we possibly do such a repulsive thing. Esteemed guest, if you are here for Wood Spirit Orbs, I’m afraid you’re in the wrong place.

“...”

Yun Che inwardly frowned… This old mans anger doesn’t seem to be an act. When the words “hunting of wood spirits” were spoken, he clearly felt intense anger and moral indignation.

What’s going on? Did I come to the wrong place?

After a moment of pondering, Yun Che walked forward and silently placed the black jade Huo Rulie had given him on the table.

The old man also did not say a single word as he picked up the black jade and used his profound energy to brush across its surface. He asked calmly, “Do you have proof?”

Yun Che stretched his hand out again, taking out the command tablet Huo Rulie had given him. He said expressionlessly, “If you know who the original owner is, then you ought to know his strength, so it’s impossible for me to have stolen this.”

Once he saw the Golden Crow command tablet, the old man’s expression eased into a smile. “So it is a recommendation from the Flame God Realm’s Sect Master Huo. I apologize for my previous behavior. Sect Master Huo is one of my guild’s most important customers, so anyone he recommends is obviously the most esteemed out of esteemed guests. Please have a seat.”

“No need,” Yun Che said bluntly. “I want to purchase a Wood Spirit Orb.”

The old man looked into his eyes and asked, “May I ask for this esteemed guest’s name?”

“Ling Yun,” Yun Che said calmly. He obviously wouldn’t use his real name.

“Hohoho,” laughed the old man. “This old man has worked in this guild his entire life. I have seen too, too many people and have cultivated a pair of eyes that can see through people. Whether or not someone is lying or saying the truth, whether someone is here to sincerely make a transaction or has a different plan in mind, can be seen in a single glance.”

“For example, you wanting to purchase a Wood Spirit Orb is true but the name Ling Yun is false.”

Yun Che, “...”

“But no matter. A name isn’t important, for it is only a means of address and nothing more. In a transaction with an esteemed guest, both parties maintaining confidentiality and trustworthiness is the most important principle. Take Sect Master Huo for example, aside from this old man, no one in Darkya City knows that he had ever set foot here. As such, please be at ease, Sir Ling and comply with us,” the old man said with a smile.

Yun Che believed his words. Otherwise, Huo Rulie would not personally visit the Darkya Realm every time.

“Don’t worry, I don’t even have the face to speak about such a thing,” Yun Che replied.

“Hoho.”

The old man chuckled, its meaning unknown, as he cast a few more glances at Yun Che. When he withdrew his gaze, a deep complexity flashed through his eyes and he said, “As for Wood Spirit Orbs, your timing is impeccable but at the same time, unfortunate.”

“What do you mean?” Yun Che asked.

“What’s impeccable is that our merchant guild has just obtained a Wood Spirit Orb and is preparing to sell it tomorrow. What’s unfortunate is… that this Wood Spirit Orb is very special… no, extremely special! It is the most special Wood Spirit Orb our merchant guild has ever obtained all these years. As such, it is very expensive! So expensive that you can’t afford it even if you sell an entire family’s fortune.”

Yun Che’s brows slightly sunk. “Special in what way? Could it be that its spirit energy is extremely high?”

“Hoho, this old man has no authority to inform you in that regard. I have said what I am allowed to say.” The old man smiled and said, “If you are confident in your pocket, then leave behind your sound transmission imprint and I will inform you of the exchange location tomorrow night.”

“Alright.” Yun Che slowly nodded, “Then I’ll wait until tomorrow!”

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