Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Half a month later, the information Zhou Quan could gather became scarcer, causing him great distress as he appeared gloomy over the past few days. Enjoy new chapters from empire

After all, the less information he had, the fewer Spirit Stones he could earn.

Zhao Sheng paid no attention to Zhou Quan's troubles.

Having spent a month hibernating in Quanxia City, it was time for him to take action.

In the depths of Quanxia City, underground, there was no day or night, no concept of time passing.

To track time, the floating light balls on the ceiling would change in brightness according to the outside world's day and night.

That day, as the light balls slowly dimmed, the fluorite on the ceiling emitted a star-like radiance, and Quanxia City welcomed the new night.

Zhao Sheng, dressed in a hooded robe, walked into Joyous Tower.

Joyous Tower, located in the bustling area of Joy Square, was not a place of indulgence but a well-known Wind Carrier organization in Central Continent.

Rumor had it that Joyous Tower was an espionage organization set up under the Vast Sect, its name derived from the words "a beam of mighty spirit, a thousand miles of joyful wind!"

Upon entering Joyous Tower, Zhao Sheng saw no one, only an empty hall with eight plain wooden doors on either side.

In the center of the hall was a screen wall inscribed with the words "Heaven and Earth, Mysterious and Yellow."

Below each character, there stood a wooden cabinet labeled "ten thousand, thousand, hundred, ten."

Without hesitation, Zhao Sheng walked beneath the character "Mysterious," placed a mid-grade Spirit Stone on the cabinet.

Hum!

A faint buzzing sound as the cabinet surface flipped instantly, making the Spirit Stone disappear, replaced by a bronze token.

As Zhao Sheng picked up the bronze token, the third wooden door to his left suddenly snapped open.

Zhao Sheng, without hesitating, walked through the wooden door with the token.

After passing through a corridor, Zhao Sheng arrived in a narrow room.

The room was quite spartan, furnished only with a wooden table and two chairs.

An ordinary-looking middle-aged man sat behind the table, silently waiting for a visitor to enter.

Zhao Sheng entered the room and sat down directly.

"Visitor, what would you like to inquire about?" the middle-aged man, though unremarkable in appearance, spoke with an unusually deep and magnetic voice that felt like a spring breeze.

Zhao Sheng spoke directly, "I want information about the Zhou family of the Da Yong Dynasty, especially regarding the Golden Core Ancestor and the Foundation Establishment Clan Members."

"Is the client referring to the Zhou family from Hongyang State?"

"Correct!"

"Hmm, for information regarding the Golden Core Family, charges usually start at one thousand Spirit Stones. The exact price will depend on the quality of information collected. Please come back after three days."

"Alright!"

Shortly after, Zhao Sheng left the Joyous Tower.

Three days passed in a flash!

Zhao Sheng returned to Joyous Tower and placed the token on the cabinet under the character "Mysterious."

The cabinet surface flipped, making the token disappear.

Snap!

The wooden door opened again, and Zhao Sheng stepped inside.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Upon reaching the same room as last time, he saw the same middle-aged man.

As soon as the man spoke, he delivered bad news to Zhao Sheng:

"Visitor, I'm very sorry! The Zhou family has purchased an Earth-level confidentiality decree from this establishment. For a hundred years, we cannot divulge any secret information about the Zhou family."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng frowned.

The confidentiality of an Earth-level decree was extremely high, and breaking through its restrictions would require at least a Heavenly-level authority.

However, in Joyous Tower, obtaining Heavenly-level authority was extremely difficult, not something that could be achieved merely by spending Spirit Stones, but at least requiring the status of a Golden Core Master.

After pondering for a moment, Zhao Sheng asked, "If secret information isn't possible, what about the public information?"

"Hmm, there is some public information available, one thousand Spirit Stones!"

As he spoke, the middle-aged man pushed a thin booklet towards Zhao Sheng.

Zhao Sheng took out ten mid-grade Spirit Stones, aligned them on the table, then picked up the booklet and put it into his Storage Bag.

"Farewell!"

"Welcome back next time, guest!"

…

Patriarch of the Zhou Family

True name: Zhou Xilai

Life Span: Unknown (celebrated his 600th birthday a hundred years ago)

Cultivation: Unknown (was in the late-stage Golden Core a hundred years ago)

Main Cultivation Technique: Unknown (Fire Element)

Life experiences: Entered the Earth Flame Palace in his early years…

Family Head of the Zhou Family

True name: Zhou Yingze

Life Span: Unknown

Cultivation: Unknown (estimated to be at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment)

…

…

Zhao Sheng slowly flipped through the intelligence booklet in his hand, his frown deepening as he read.

It truly was "public" intelligence, not only irrelevant but also severely outdated.

Most of the contents, Zhao Sheng had already inquired about clearly, some even more detailed by tenfold than those listed in the booklet.

Take, for example, Zhou Yingze, the Family Head of the Zhou family. Zhao Sheng had a detailed understanding that this man had already reached the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm ten years ago, and though there was no specific intelligence now, he might have successfully upgraded to Golden Core.

However, having said that, the intelligence from Joyous Tower, though outdated, was highly accurate.

The records on the booklet mostly matched the information he had gathered.

An hour later, Zhao Sheng finished reading the intelligence booklet and quietly estimated the strength of the Zhou Family

The Zhou family currently had one Late-stage Golden Core Ancestor, eighteen members in Foundation Establishment, among which one was at Foundation Establishment Perfection, two at Late Stage, six at Mid-stage, and nine at Early-stage; those in the Qi Refinement Realm were insignificant.

Summing it up, only one thought remained in Zhao Sheng's mind: they could not be confronted with force, only outsmarted.

Opening his eyes, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but exhale a breath of frustration, his thoughts shifting to Quanxia City.

The person in charge of the Zhou family's businesses in Quanxia City was named Zhou Zhongyu, with three spirit roots, his cultivation at the Second Level of Foundation Establishment, meticulous nature, fond of liquor but not lustful…

Zhao Sheng repeatedly pondered over this individual Zhou Zhongyu, slowly forming a plan in his mind.

After solidifying his plan, Zhao Sheng, accompanied by Zhou Quan, returned to Mystic Iron City and first ensured that Zhou Quan was well settled.

Then, he gathered the Four Great Vajra and ordered them to collect various kinds of Spiritual Wine, including ordinary wines.

Chen Shao'ang and the others did not understand why their uncle-master issued such a strange order, but they dared not delay and immediately carried out his commands.

In just a few days, hundreds of different types of alcoholic beverages had been delivered to the inner courtyard of Wind Feather Hall.

Then, Zhao Sheng instructed everyone to purchase various medicines, spices, and even odd items like fruits and vegetables.

This directly confused Chen Shao'ang and the others, they couldn't understand what their uncle-master was planning to do.

Zhao Sheng had no intention of explaining to them.

He stayed in the courtyard, not leaving the house, and stayed put for three months.

Chen Shao'ang and the others tried a few times to understand his intentions, but they gained no insights.

Every time they came, though, they could smell the rich scent of alcohol from the courtyard, mixed with sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy fragrances.

Three months later, Zhao Sheng finally stepped out of the courtyard.

Seeing this, Chen Shao'ang breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly reported the affairs of Wind Feather Hall of the past three months to his uncle-master.

After hearing a few details, Zhao Sheng nodded and told them to make decisions on their own in the future. He wanted no disturbances unless it was something significant.

Two days later, Zhao Sheng left Mystic Iron City as if floating on air.

When he showed up again, he was already on the second floor of the Immortal Delicacies Workshop in Quanxia City.

Zhao Sheng ordered a table full of dishes.

Shortly, specialties like Devil Bear Honey Claw Roast, Ten Birds Golden Marrow, Eight Treasures Five-Colored Meat, and Red Steamed Tiger and Leopard Tongue were served like flowing water.

Once all the dishes were served, Zhao Sheng took out a palm-sized White Jade Gourd.