Shadow Tower's Price

Night fell, and the lanterns were lit.

Tianfeng City shed its daytime clamor, but it didn't fall silent. Instead, it revealed another bustling scene.

Various colored lanterns hung high, illuminating the wide streets as bright as day.

In the restaurants, the sounds of silk and bamboo music were incessant, and cultivators clinked cups and talked animatedly.

Street vendors were still enthusiastically hawking their wares, selling all sorts of novel trinkets.

Chen Chen changed into a clean black outfit, donned a bamboo hat, and wove through the bustling crowd.

The battle with the Mighty Demonic Ape had drained him significantly, but it had also yielded substantial rewards.

Not only had it completely solidified his Second Level of Qi Condensation cultivation, but it had also given him a clear understanding of his own strength.

Now, he had absolute confidence that he had few rivals within the Qi Condensation Realm.

He didn't rush to the Immortal's Abode.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

Before heading to the casino, he needed more detailed intelligence.

Intelligence about Liang Feng.

While the information from the Sky Listening Pavilion was fast, most of it was superficial.

He needed to know everything about Liang Feng: his personality, his habits, his weaknesses, and even the strength of his escorts.

Only by mastering these details could he formulate a foolproof plan.

Chen Chen took many twists and turns, eventually arriving at a dark and secluded alley.

At the end of the alley was an unremarkable teahouse.

The teahouse had no sign, only a dilapidated lantern hanging at the entrance, painted with a black shadow.

This was the base of another, more mysterious, and more expensive intelligence organization in Tianfeng City—the Shadow Tower.

Unlike the Sky Listening Pavilion, the Shadow Tower never inquired about public secrets.

They dealt in truly clandestine business.

Hiring assassins, prying into privacy, selling all sorts of forbidden intelligence.

As long as you could afford the price, they could even help you find out what color undergarments the City Lord's wife wore today.

Of course, their prices were also terrifyingly high.

Chen Chen pushed open the teahouse door and walked in.

Inside the teahouse, the light was dim, with only a few tables of guests. They all kept their heads down, silently drinking tea, with no interaction between them.

The air was filled with a suppressive and dangerous aura.

Chen Chen's entrance did not attract anyone's attention.

He walked to the counter, where a drowsy, wrinkled old man was dozing on the counter.

"I'm here to buy information," Chen Chen said in a low voice.

The old man didn't even lift his eyelids and said weakly, "Name, target, requirements."

"Liang Feng, young master of the Liang Family in Tianfeng City. I need all his movements, habits, relationships, and... detailed information on all his escorts for the past month."

The old man's dozing motion paused slightly.

He slowly raised his head, his cloudy old eyes scanning Chen Chen.

"Young master of the Liang Family? Heh heh, this is a big order."

"One thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, non-negotiable."

One thousand!

This price was a full double that of the Sky Listening Pavilion!

Chen Chen didn't even frown.

"Deal."

He directly threw over a Storage Bag.

A flicker of surprise flashed in the old man's cloudy eyes.

He hadn't expected this seemingly ordinary man in the bamboo hat to be so straightforward.

He took the Storage Bag, probed it with his divine sense, and nodded after confirming it was correct.

"Wait."

He turned and walked into the darkness behind the counter.

Chen Chen found a corner seat and sat down, waiting quietly.

He knew the rules of the Shadow Tower.

Cash on delivery, immediate transaction, no delays.

After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

The old man walked out of the darkness and placed a black jade slip on the table in front of Chen Chen.

"Everything you need is inside."

"Also, a word of advice. The Liang family is not to be trifled with. Although Lin Feng is trash, his father, Liang Hu, is not to be underestimated."

"Thank you for the reminder."

Chen Chen picked up the jade slip and got up, ready to leave.

"Wait." The old man suddenly called him back.

"Is there something else?"

"Recently, quite a few unfamiliar faces have appeared in the city, all seeming to be looking for a young man wearing a bamboo hat." The old man's voice was full of meaning.

"The people from the Blood Fiend Tower have also arrived."

Chen Chen's steps suddenly stopped!

Blood Fiend Tower!

Those three words stabbed into his heart like a needle.

He turned back, his gaze under the bamboo hat sharpening like a knife.

"How do you know?"

"Heh heh, we are the Shadow Tower." The old man grinned, revealing a row of yellow teeth. "In Tianfeng City, there's nothing we don't know."

"Consider this news a gift. After all, you're a big customer."

Chen Chen was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Thank you."

He turned and quickly left the teahouse.

Back at the inn, he immediately set up a restriction and placed the black jade slip against his brow.

His divine sense probed inward.

A massive amount of information flooded his mind instantly.

The Shadow Tower's intelligence was indeed well-deserved!

The jade slip not only recorded Liang Feng's activities over the past month in detail, but even documented how many times he visited brothels and which women he chose each time.

Just as the Sky Listening Pavilion had said, this person was a complete dandy, gambler, and lecher.

The intelligence regarding his escorts was also extremely thorough.

Liang Feng was always accompanied by two personal guards, both born into the Liang family and fiercely loyal, with cultivation at the Third Level of Qi Condensation.

In addition, the Liang family would secretly dispatch a guest elder at the Qi Condensation Fifth Layer to protect him.

One at the Qi Condensation Fifth Layer, and two at the Third Level of Qi Condensation.

This lineup was enough to handle most dangers.

"It seems it truly won't be easy to move against him."

Chen Chen's brow furrowed slightly.

He continued reading.

Soon, a piece of information caught his attention.

"Wang Teng, an inner disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect and a member of the Wang Family, has had frequent contact with Lin Feng and maintains a close relationship. According to reliable sources, Wang Teng recently accepted a sect mission and will be leaving the sect. He will pass through Tianfeng City in three days to meet with Lin Feng and discuss important matters."

Wang Teng!

He was actually coming to Tianfeng City!

And in three days!

Chen Chen's breathing suddenly quickened.

This was truly... a stroke of luck!

He had originally thought he would have to find a way to infiltrate the Azure Cloud Sect to find Wang Teng.

He never expected him to come to him!

A bold plan began to brew wildly in Chen Chen's mind.

However, at that very moment.

A cold divine sense, filled with intense killing intent, swept over from outside the inn without warning!

This divine sense was sinister, evil, and reeked of blood.

It was exactly the same as the aura of that Blood Fiend Envoy outside Qingyang City!

Not good!

He'd been discovered!

Chen Chen's expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he immediately suppressed his entire aura and activated his Breath Concealment Art to its maximum!

Simultaneously, his Nine Nether Soul Refining Art, which had reached minor completion, erupted, forming an invisible soul barrier that firmly protected him!

That malevolent divine sense lingered outside his room for a full dozen breaths.

It seemed to be puzzled as to why it had clearly sensed a familiar aura just moments ago, only for it to suddenly disappear.

After a moment, the divine sense retreated, filled with unwillingness.

Chen Chen leaned against the wall, his back already soaked in cold sweat.

That was close!

If he hadn't just broken through to the Second Level of Qi Condensation, significantly increasing his soul power, he would have been exposed just now!

He walked to the window and quietly pushed it open a crack, peeking outside.

He saw at the street corner a young man in a blood-red robe with a sinister face slowly retracting his gaze. Confusion and unwillingness flickered in his eyes before he blended into the crowd.

It wasn't the same Blood Fiend Envoy from before.

But the clothes, that aura... it definitely belonged to someone from the Blood Fiend Tower!

They had actually tracked him all the way to Tianfeng City!

And it seemed they possessed some special method to track his aura.

This was troublesome.

Chen Chen's heart sank.

Wang Teng in front, and the Blood Fiend Tower behind.

He was now in a difficult predicament.

He had to eliminate this hidden Blood Fiend Tower assassin before Wang Teng arrived!

Otherwise, once he engaged Wang Teng, this person would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. At that point, he would be attacked from both sides and surely die!