Immortal of the Nine Realms

When Huang Qingque heard the words ”Immortal Worshipping Palace,” he first frowned, then a faint trace of cold mockery flashed through his eyes. He smiled and said, ”The Immortal Worshipping Palace is a pure intelligence broker. Whoever offers the highest price becomes their honored guest.”

”I’ve heard that the first-generation Palace Master of Immortal Worshipping Palace once trained beside a powerful figure in the Immortal Realm. That individual passed down to them a method of communication that is so efficient that even across entire realms, they can still communicate.”

Fang Chen was slightly surprised. ”They can communicate across realms?”

Back in the Central Continent Empire, Heaven Prfound Mirrors were considered the most convenient form of communication, though they had clear distance limitations. A mirror of average quality couldn’t even link two neighboring prefectures reliably. The difference between prefectures and realms was incalculably vast.

Still, that cultivator he met in Luotian City within the Floating Pagoda Realm might not have known of this method either. Such techniques would not be accessible to those at the bottom.

Huang Qingque mused, ”When Xie Zhi was first founded, it relied heavily on the Immortal Worshipping Palace for information support. So, the amount of immortal crystals we’ve spent on them annually was no small figure. But as I said earlier, I want to establish our own intelligence network. It’s a long and arduous road, and results may not be seen for a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand years. However, the returns will come. At the very least, we won’t be subject to others’ control.”

Fang Chen nodded. ”That truly is a massive undertaking and is one with a long timeline.”

He only needed to make a rough calculation to grasp the scale of the effort.

Huang Qingque would start with the True Martial Realm, laying down a network across various regions. If each location required a department akin to Immortal Worshipping Palace’s structure, it could easily take thousands of years to complete.

Fang Chen continued, ”And the cost may not even be cheaper than what Immortal Worshipping Palace charges, possibly far higher. But it has one great advantage. It is free from external manipulation.”

Huang Qingque smiled. ”That’s the key. Freedom. It’s something money can’t buy anymore. My plan is simple. First, I will implement it in the True Martial Realm. If it bears fruit in a few millennia, the model will surely spread to other parts of the division. Perhaps even someone powerful from above will step in to oversee it. If that happens, it would be a huge leap forward for our Killing Spiritual Division!”

Suddenly, Division Head Duan, who had been quietly admiring the lake in the distance, turned around and said calmly, ”Young Master, this matter... will face tremendous resistance.”

Fang Chen glanced at Division Head Duan, then noticed that Huang Qingque’s expression had clearly darkened. He immediately understood part of the situation. This initiative had to have been Huang Qingque’s idea. Clearly, it had already met resistance even within the True Martial Realm.

The source of this resistance likely came from his own family, or even higher up in the Killing Spiritual Division.

Huang Qingque said, ”Let’s take it slowly. For now, the main information channel still has to go through the Immortal Worshipping Palace. We need to focus on expanding Xie Zhi first. Once our team starts delivering results, then the information network will finally be taken seriously by those in power.”

After a pause, Huang Qingque suddenly recalled something. He looked at Fang Chen with curiosity, ”You just mentioned Immortal Worshipping Palace. Do you have some thoughts on this matter?”

Fang Chen said, ”Oh, I recently met a friend who said he’s from the Hidden Guard Division in the Underworld. He is some kind of information broker. I heard... they have fairly close ties with several of the underworld’s Monarchs, and they’ve even met the head of the Killing Spiritual Division from the Lesser Underworld.”

Even Division Head Duan walked over at this point. Huang Qingque instinctively stood up and began pacing. After a few breaths, he turned to Fang Chen with a serious expression. ”Did he really meet the head of the Killing Spiritual Division from the Lesser Underworld? Does he know anything about this Monarch Yan? Based on all the traces and clues we’ve gathered, this Monarch Yan is very likely one of ours. But we just can’t locate him.

”If we could, then building our information network would become much easier. At the very least, on the lower level, the Lesser Underworld could help us transmit messages quickly.”

He paused, then added, ”As for mid and upper level transmission, we’d still need to rely on the Floating Pagoda Realm. But... the territory there is vast. Meeting anyone face-to-face over there is no easy task. The only real option is to station people in cities that have cultivators entering the Underworld. That has both advantages and disadvantages...”

Fang Chen replied, ”I don’t know the details. He only mentioned it briefly. They’re very secretive in how they operate. They don’t like outsiders poking into their background.”

Huang Qingque nodded. ”Information brokers are all like that. Secrecy is a form of self-protection. Just like us, or the Spirit God Sect, we also keep our inner workings closely guarded.

”To pry into their secrets carelessly is to risk enmity. This has to be approached carefully and gradually. Stay in contact with that friend of yours. Don’t give him any reason to grow suspicious or guarded.”

After a pause, he added, ”We’ve never heard of any Hidden Guard Division in the Lesser Underworld. But then again, moving freely through those cities has always been difficult. Each visit costs a heavy toll in Yin Lifespan Coins. Now it’s even harder.

”The capital’s surveillance on Yin Walkers has grown stricter than ever, even enforcing cultivation-level restrictions. Ordinary walkers can’t even get into the capital anymore. Maybe in the past few years, the Hidden Guard Division was established within that capital.”

At that point, Huang Qingque suddenly broke into a grin. ”So that’s why Monarch Yan is cleaning up the Lesser Underworld. He’s preparing to run an information business. If they enter the game, the Immortal Worshipping Palace’s operations at the local level will be severely impacted. They might not survive at all.

”This is a good thing. In the past, the Immortal Worshipping Palace had a monopoly, and doing business with them was a pain. Now it’s much better! Hahahaha!”

Huang Qingque glanced at Fang Chen and said, ”They contacted you because they hope to do business with Killing Spiritual Division, right?”

Fang Chen nodded. ”That’s probably the idea, but for big decisions, I can’t decide. For smaller matters... I will buy news about the Tuxiong Star and Chaotic Star from them.”

Huang Qingque said, ”Information from the Lesser Underworld can only cover a limited scope, but that’s enough. You handle contacting them. Ask if they have any news about the Killing Spiritual Division in the True Martial Realm. We can buy a few to test. Then I’ll compare them to the information from the Immortal Worshipping Palace.

”If their accuracy isn’t worse than Immortal Worshipping Palace’s, we can give them half the business in the future. Try a few times first. If it becomes an official partnership, they’ll need to send several people to meet with us in person for a proper discussion.”

After a pause, he added, ”When Myriad Immortal Palace takes action, I’ll notify you. During this time, Division Head Duan and I will stay here and leave after this matter is done.”

”Thank you, Lord Qingque.”

Huang Qingque patted Fang Chen on the shoulder. ”Fellow Daoist Fang, you don’t have to call me ’Lord’ in the future. I’m from Xie Zhi, and you are too. Among us, there’s no hierarchy. Just call me Daoist Qingque.”

Fang Chen nodded. ”All right, Daoist Qingque.”