CHAPTER 178: CHAPTER 177: TAKE REVENGE WHEN YOU HAVE A GRUDGE

Walking into Tingfeng Tower, Bi Jie seemed quite familiar with everything in Tingfeng Tower and directly said:

"A Profound Character Room."

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant appeared and led Lu Yan and Bi Jie to the third floor.

Bi Jie stayed at the door with the attendant, while Lu Yan stepped into a pitch-black secret room.

In the secret room, a figure shrouded in a black robe sat in front of the counter, speaking to Lu Yan with a voice that had a vague, slippery texture:

"What information does the gentleman wish to inquire about?"

With the Profound Unity True Intent, Lu Yan could clearly perceive that the black-robed person in front of him and the darkness in the room were both false. The entity speaking with Lu Yan was not human but a giant squid covered with tentacles.

It sprayed ink to cloak the room in darkness, making it difficult for ordinary means to discern truth from falsehood. Its tentacles were disguised as the black-robed figure appearing in the room, with its enormous body hidden in the center of Tingfeng Tower, controlling the entire building.

With a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes, Lu Yan spoke calmly:

"Li Family, Underworld Envoy."

Inside Tingfeng Tower, the giant squid grinned, responding in a vague voice:

"The price for information about the Underworld Envoy isn’t cheap."

Lu Yan said nothing, reaching into his robe with his right hand, pulling out a piece of blood-stained gold from his storage bag, and tossing it toward the black-robed figure.

"Demon Blood Gold!"

The squid gasped in a low voice, immediately displaying a look of greed in its eyes.

Demon Blood Gold is gold that has been long contaminated by Demon Blood, and holding it for a long time can increase the level of physical contamination and help a Mortal Martial Artist shed their mortal form.

According to Bi Jie, ten taels of Demon Blood Gold are enough to purchase a low-grade True Technique practiced by less than a thousand people.

Although it’s only the lowest-grade True Technique, the fact that fewer than a thousand cultivators practice it means there’s hope for comprehending the True Intent of the Great Dao, a value incomparable to ordinary treasures.

The piece of Demon Blood Gold Lu Yan threw was part of the gold left from the previous urban version, totaling fifty taels.

"Not enough!"

The squid monster greedily said:

"The Underworld is a mythological force, with the Lord of the Underworld suspected to be an Enlightened One. A mere fifty taels of Demon Blood Gold can’t buy information on the Underworld Envoy."

Lu Yan was unmoved, sneering as he said:

"Fifty taels of Demon Blood Gold indeed can’t buy real Underworld Envoy information, but the one in the Li Family is nothing but a fake."

The squid monster’s breath hitched, its expression darkening as it said:

"Since you already know, why come to Tingfeng Tower?"

"Just verifying a piece of information, and checking if Tingfeng Tower truly lives up to its name."

The squid monster was silent for a moment, then its tentacles wrapped around a scroll and tossed it to Lu Yan.

Lu Yan raised his hand to catch the scroll, looking at its contents.

The demon version of the Li Family differs from both the Xianxia and urban versions, where Li Hao stands alone, suppressing any disagreement within the family.

But in the demon version, the Li Family has three branches.

The first branch is led by the Patriarch Li Hao, who is at the Peak of the Mara Realm, the most powerful individual in the Li Family.

Yet, the second branch has two Mara Realm True Martial Artists, and even the third branch has a newly promoted Mara Realm strongman.

Despite the first branch’s strength, it cannot completely suppress the other two branches.

Half a year ago, during the chaos in the Underworld, the Patriarch, Li Hao, was the first to pledge allegiance to the Underworld ghosts and gods, gaining considerable prestige and pushing the Li Family’s momentum to its peak, allowing the first branch to completely suppress the other two.

However, the news of the Underworld Envoy’s arrival was first leaked from the second and third branches.

At that time, Patriarch Li Hao was in the Imperial City performing his duties, and by the time he learned of this, the news had spread throughout the human territories.

Li Hao returned from the Imperial City in a fury, chastising the Mara Realm powerhouses of the other two branches, even sparking a conflict within the Li Family residence.

The exact process is unknown, but after this incident, the Li Family became completely divided internally.

Here, Tingfeng Tower deduced that the Underworld Envoy who came to the Li Family is likely fake, and the so-called grand feast to display Underworld might is nothing but a joke born from the Li Family’s internal strife.

Yet, the major millennium-old families responded to this. Even if Li Hao knew it was false, he could do nothing but temporarily acknowledge it.

After browsing through this information, Lu Yan gradually breathed a sigh of relief.

What worried him most was Li Hao colluding with external forces, deliberately concocting this so-called Underworld Envoy to test the Underworld.

Now it was just a power struggle within the Li Family, a few fools creating a so-called Fake Envoy for power and profits, which made Lu Yan feel much more at ease.

Although there were still many doubts within this information, no sign indicated that Li Hao had betrayed the Underworld.

Burning the scroll in his hand into ashes with a flame from his right hand, the squid monster spoke in an unhappy tone:

"Does the esteemed guest require anything else?"

"Li Hao’s whereabouts in recent days."

The squid monster’s eyes flashed with a thoughtful look, but it still said, "Ten taels of Demon Blood Gold."

Lu Yan once again took out ten taels of Demon Blood Gold and tossed them to the squid monster, exchanging them for a scroll.

About to leave with the scroll, the squid monster suddenly said:

"Dear guest, are you interested in selling spatial treasures? We at Tingfeng Tower are willing to purchase them for a high price."

Lu Yan frowned, his voice cold as he said: "Not interested."

With that, he strode toward the door.

"We at Tingfeng Tower conduct legitimate business; if the esteemed guest does not wish to trade, we will not force it.