Chapter 99: Death Flower Ascension Front
As she looked around, Wang Xue’er couldn’t help but sigh in resignation.
The trade valley was different from what it used to be.
When she went there for the first time, the trade valley was like a market in a big city.
Young cultivators from all regions had set up their stalls, shouting aloud to attract customers.
However, that lively atmosphere had long dissipated.
Now, the trade valley was covered in gloom.
There were still stalls dotting the valley and cultivators walking about, but the atmosphere was depressed.
"Look at that." Wang Xue’er pointed to something on her right.
The group of four walked to the right and came to a noticeboard.
"Death Flower Ascension Front..." Jiang Yue muttered as he read the notice.
Basically, the first notice was a warning that the secret organisation was hunting cultivators.
Although the BlueStar Treasure Pavilion and the border guards could offer a degree of protection in the trade valley, safety was not guaranteed.
The notice warned everyone to be responsible for their own safety and to offer any information they may have.
"I didn’t know the secret organisation is called ’Death Flower Ascension Front’." He muttered again.
"I heard it from my master." Wang Xue’er confirmed.
"I also heard it from my Bai family patriarch."
Jiang Yue sighed when he heard that.
He felt a little resentful that his master had never measured the name, especially since the group had attacked several times over the years.
"Look at the second and third notices." Yu Nianzhen said and cut through Jiang Yue’s resentment.
"List of dead cultivators and a wanted poster."
Jiang Yue focused his attention on the two notices.
The second was a list of all cultivators killed by the Death Flower Ascension Front in the trade valley.
On the list were nine names, and Jiang Yue recognised one.
He looked at Yu Nianzhen and secretly pointed at the name.
Although Yu Nianzhen was in seclusion for five years, he had made a point to memorise the names of everyone in the Sea Cloud sect who would enter the secret realm.
Now that he saw one of the names on the list, he couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive.
Until this moment, they knew that people had died.
However, they didn’t know their names which made everything feel a little distant from them.
The name on the list had effectively lessened the distance between them and the situation in the secret realm.
"Jiang Zhen previously heard that the group had already killed thirteen people. From this, we know that nine were in the trade valley."
After Bai Ruyue said that, everyone fell silent.
They had come to the trade valley for news, but this was not the kind of news they wanted to hear.
This kind of news told them they had jumped from the frying pot, and into the fire.
"Should we leave?" Wang Xue’er asked as she looked around.
It was always a risk coming to the trade valley, but they didn’t realise how much risk until they came.
"There is no rush." Yu Nianzhen answered.
Now that they were already there, it would be a waste to leave without achieving anything.
Anyway, he had a feeling that leaving wouldn’t actually help.
They had only been there for less than an incense stick, but he could feel eyes on them.
Some of the eyes were curious.
Others were cautious and assessing.
However, some eyes were hostile and predatory.
After they learned about the list and the group, the four took precautions.
Yu Nianzhen had changed his clothes and worn a nondescript black robe.
They had also tried to disguise themselves, and their efforts were not useless.
Although they only looked slightly different from themselves, it was enough to get by.
If one didn’t look at them too closely, they wouldn’t notice the disguises or the actual faces underneath the disguises.
’We should make better plans for entering secret realms when we return.’ Jiang Yue thought.
After everything they experienced, he had begun to make plans.
When they returned to the sect, Jiang Yue planned to buy a special set of clothes and masks to be used in the secret realms.
In this way, they wouldn’t have to reveal their faces.
It would not only give them more freedom in the secret realms, but it would also reduce the risk of revenge outside the secret realms.
"Do you recognise the person?" Wang Xue’er asked as she looked at the third notice.
The notice was a wanted poster of a male cultivator.
The man looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties.
He wore the black robe of the Death Flower Ascension Front, but half his face could be seen.
Jiang Yue didn’t know if the revealed face was because his mask was pulled during a fight or some other reason.
All he knew was that the person was an enemy.
"I don’t know him." Jiang Yue said.
"I don’t recognise him either."
"Me too."
Wang Xue’er sighed.
She committed the face to memory and then turned to her companions.
"I suggest we buy some information first." She said.
In normal cases, information could be gleaned from walking around the trade area and eavesdropping on conversations.
However, everyone was now subdued.
Unless they knew each other, no one dared to start a conversation with others.
If they wanted to eavesdrop for information, it would take forever.
They also had the option to ask around, but trust was at an all-time low.
No one could tell whether the person they were speaking to was part of the Death Flower Ascescion front.
Because of that, it was better to find a news broker to buy the news.
"Lead the way." Jiang Yue said.
As the four walked, many pairs of eyes stuck to their backs.
No one shouted to attract them to their stalls, and the four didn’t stop at any stalls.
However, they kept an eye on the offerings along the way.
After all, they still needed to trade what they could after buying the information they needed.
"There is a news trader over here." Wang Xue’er pointed to a tent.
The tent was grey and looked small from the outside.
The entrance was a flap that could only open when there were no customers inside the tent.
"I will let them know we want to buy news."
Without waiting for a response, a strand of qi left her body and fell on the flap.
A moment later, the flap swung sideways, and an opening was revealed.
"We can enter." She said.
The other three followed behind her and entered the tent.
Unlike how it looked from the outside, the tent was large.
It had a diameter of five metres and only had a few pieces of furniture, which made the space look even larger.
When they entered, the four saw there was only one person in the tent.
The person wore a grey robe, and half his face was covered by a black cloth.
He was seated at the farthest corner, and ten mats were placed in front of him.
"We want news." Wang Xue’er said.
"What news do you need?" The voice beneath the black cloth was nondescript.
Although the four were reasonably certain that the person was male, they couldn’t be sure.
"We want all the news related to the Death Flower Ascension front."
The news trade closed his eyes and was silent for a moment.
When he opened his eyes, both his eyes and voice were a little eery.
"Five hundred low-grade spirit stones."
The four looked at each other and quickly did the calculations.
Yu Nianzhen promptly paid two hundred and fifty spirit stones; for himself and Jiang Yue.
The other two also removed one hundred and twenty-five spirit stones each.
"Does the information include news about the allied forces to repel the Death Flower Ascension Front?" Jiang Yue asked.
"It mentions them."
When he heard that, his lips twitched.
Jiang Yue asked the question because he had a little experience dealing with news traders.
Off course, his experience wasn’t news traders in the traditional sense but paparazzi.
Back on earth, reporters would always contact his team to sell information.
However, this trade was never simple.
The reporters would always try to reduce the scope of each information package, forcing him to buy a few packages before he received all the information he needed.
In this case, he recognised a few pitfalls and was already prepared to continue shelling out spirit stones.
"We will also take all information about the allied forces."
"Three hundred spirit stones."
"We also need information about the current state of the thousand herbs garden."
"One hundred spirit stones."
Jiang Yue gritted his teeth.
"We need detailed information concerning the current state of the thousand herbs garden."
"One thousand spirit stones."
When they left the tent, none of the four companions was in a good mood.
Their faces were creased with frowns, and the number of their spirit stones was considerably lower.
