Chapter 170

After turning past a stone screen, one could no longer see even a glimmer of the light emitted by the False Sun of Wa Valley.

The passage ahead twisted and turned, clusters of large and small luminous mushrooms dotted the corridor sporadically; some strange little beasts seemed to sense something, and they scurried away in groups, making a "shush-shush" sound.

In the dim passage, the faint footsteps of these small beasts sounded like the receding tide, gradually fading away.

That feeling was just like a dragon suddenly descending from the heavens, frightening all the beasts into fleeing together.

Wu Tie narrowed his eyes, a flash of gold-red light flickering in his pupils.

In the dim passage, to his eyes it was as bright as daylight; within a radius of several li, every minute detail was visible—even the finest hairs on the fleeing beasts, if he focused on them, could be seen clearly; he could even see the tiny mites parasitizing beneath the fur.

Even if those beasts had fled over a thousand meters, he could still see them perfectly clearly.

"Gold Coin, lead the way." Wu Tie supported the shamaness sitting on his shoulder with his left hand, while his right hand deftly played with three gold coins.

The three exquisitely forged gold-snake stones nimbly jumped between his fingers, stirring up circles of mesmerizing gold light. Gold Coin grinned, stared intently at the gold coins jumping between Wu Tie's fingers, and swallowed hard.

Behind Wu Tie stood Tie Da Jian, Shi Fei, Yan Han Lu, Lu Ji, and Lao Bai—four of them, all old comrades of Wu Tie.

Behind the four of Old White, Demon Chapter King wore a splendid court ceremonial robe, a sharp sword at his waist, and whistled easily. With his golden hair and blue eyes, he was quite handsome; the robe added an air of nobility.

Yet this fellow had stuck two pale red flowers at his temples, each flower the size of a fist; paired with his handsome face and solemn ceremonial robe, it only made him seem even less like an upright person.

Setting aside Demon Chapter King, who clung to Wu Tie refusing to leave, Shan Dun—who had once accepted a commission from Wu Jin to post a bounty for finding Wu Tie—stood beside Demon Chapter King, holding a large shield, chest out and head high.

Shan Dun left his old partners behind in Wa Valley.

Under the Wa Clan's care, the veteran hunters of the hunting team Shan Dun organized would live quite well.

As for Shan Dun, he was to fulfill his promise to Wu Jin: Wu Jin had him bring Wu Tie to a more distant, prosperous region to find a peaceful, stable place to settle down.

Wu Tie's current strength fundamentally does not require Shan Dun's protection.

But Shan Dun decided he would still fulfill his promise to Wu Jin. Since he could not protect Wu Tie in a peaceful, stable region, he would instead "follow" Wu Tie to see the scenery of the wider world outside.

Doing this both fulfilled his promise to Wu Jin and broadened his own horizons—what a fine thing! To be honest, although Shan Dun is no spring chicken, he still has a passionate, hot-blooded heart.

Gold Coin poked its head out, sneaking about like a thief as it darted swiftly through the passage.

Along the way it kept twitching its nose, gradually turning into one side passage after another.

In the end, the passage they walked had become especially remote and rugged; in many places even burly men like Iron Big Sword and Shan Dun had to bend over to squeeze through.

Several times Wu Tie heard the dull thuds of Iron Big Sword's and Shan Dun's heads bumping against stalactites, and he couldn't help asking Gold Coin: "How much farther? Is every transaction of your Dark Guild always this complicated?"

Gold Coin muttered without turning its head: "Small-time trade can't afford losses… The Dark Guild, you know, big powers like the Wa Clan, the Six Paths Palace, and the Changsheng Sect all know of our existence. The Wa Clan and the Six Paths Palace are tolerable… but the Changsheng Sect is really no good—how many times have they tried to swallow the Dark Guild's resources in their territory?"

After a sigh, Gold Coin murmured: "So, being careful never hurts; better to run a bit more, better to be a bit troublesome—when wandering the jianghu, safety first… Isn't it precisely because our Dark Guild has been cautious all these years that we've survived to this day?"

With a "swish", it leapt over a turbulent dark river seven or eight meters wide, then Gold Coin turned to Wu Tie and said: "Besides, the Wa Clan is overbearing; the Dark Guild's official members in Wa Valley are just me alone… Setting up a teleportation array is no simple matter—I can't do it, and the Wa Clan would never allow our people to install one near them."

Wu Tie nodded and said nothing more.

Gold Coin made sense—unless they wanted to break with the Wa Clan and go to war, the Dark Guild would have to be crazy to lay a teleportation array in Wa Clan territory.

After shuttling through the rugged passage for a day and a night, not knowing how far they'd gone, the terrain ahead gradually leveled, and a stone cavern about an mu in size appeared before Wu Tie.

Inside the cavern there was no one, only a teleportation array several meters in diameter glowing brightly on the ground.

The cavern had several narrow passageways, pitch black and unknown where they led. Wu Tie did not release an invisible force field, but his keen senses detected that someone was lurking in each entrance.

These individuals had weak auras, low strength, and barely any vital-blood fluctuation—evidently they were small in stature and not physically strong.

They must be Gold Coin's kin—all lowly cultivated ratfolk.

They merely lay in ambush at the passage mouths, watching, and did nothing else. Wu Tie stayed silent and followed Gold Coin into the cavern.

Standing before the teleportation array, Gold Coin solemnly inspected the large colorless crystals on it, then stood and nodded to Wu Tie: "Lord Wu Tie, our Dark Guild always does business with clear pricing—one price for one price…"

Wu Tie raised his eyebrows; over the past two days he had come to fully understand the Dark Guild's manner of doing business.

So-called clear pricing means butchering people with a big knife—expensive, damn expensive, and those who bite the hook never get any discount.

Wu Tie and company's transmission from Wa Valley to the territory near the Black Snake Domain cost an astronomical sum of gold coins, and Wu Tie paid all the fees upfront; Gold Coin then handed the money to the Dark Guild's superiors, after which they set up the teleportation array here temporarily, waiting for Wu Tie.

"I know your rules… I paid you in gold coins according to your prices—what else do you have to say?" Wu Tie looked at Gold Coin: "Well, right, are the contact details you gave me reliable? If I ever come back, can I use them to reach your people?"

Gold Coin nodded seriously, looked at Wu Tie and said in a low voice: "Those contact details are definitely correct. However, I must remind Lord Wu Tie of another rule of our Dark Guild."

Gold Coin elaborated, and the faces of Wu Tie and company turned quite colorful.

Within the Dark Guild there is a so-called VIP system.

For example, Wu Tie and company this time spent an astronomical amount of gold coins, borrowing the Dark Guild's teleportation array from Wa Valley to reach the area near the Black Snake Domain; because of this expense, they have already skipped the lowest tier of Black Iron VIP in the Dark Guild and risen to Bronze Three Star VIP.

Bronze Three Star VIPs enjoy various privileges.

For instance, the message Gold Coin is now transmitting to Wu Tie is one of the preferential clauses attached to this transmission.

Gold Coin solemnly told Wu Tie that Gold Nether Spirit is a Platinum Seven Star VIP of the Dark Guild; they constantly deal with the Dark Guild, being a large organization, their transaction volume with the Dark Guild is enormous, so the privileges they enjoy in the Dark Guild are far, far greater than those of Wu Tie, a mere Bronze Three Star VIP.

The privileges enjoyed by the Gold Nether Spirit organization include, for example, when Wu Tie first queried Gold Coin for information on Black Ring Gentleman Sun Zuo, the Dark Guild had already warned the Gold Nether Spirit organization.

Moreover, Gold Coin frankly told Wu Tie—the transmission information of Wu Tie and company this time has also been relayed by the Dark Guild to Gold Nether Spirit.

Gold Nether Spirit surely already knows that their enemies are rushing via the Dark Guild's teleportation array to the Black Snake Domain, preparing to take revenge and settle scores.

Of course, the Dark Guild will not tell them the exact time and place, nor will it reveal Wu Tie and company's specific cultivation levels or appearances… after all, the Dark Guild still has a shred of principle; everyone is a VIP, so they cannot favor some and slight others to that extent.

However, Wu Tie and company roughly have a few people, and some vague information about them, which has already been prepared as intel to sell to Gold Nether Spirit.

"But Gold Nether Spirit has already received the warning… Of course, they also have to pay adequate compensation for this warning." Gold Coin gave Wu Tie a grave look: "As a Bronze Three Star VIP of the Dark Guild, we have the duty to remind you: be careful, be careful, be careful again!"

Wu Tie stared straight at Gold Coin, suddenly feeling the urge to punch him in the head.

"Dark Guild… fine, I get it." Wu Tie gritted his teeth in hatred.

Iron Big Sword grumbled from the side: "Lord Wu Tie, this is just the Dark Guild's way of doing business… Gold Coin kid, if you have anything else to say, spit it out—I know you lot are money-hungry!"

Jin Bi broke into a brilliant smile, he pulled out a piece of animal hide and waved it in his hand: "The Golden Netherworld has already dispatched a sniper squad, specially prepared to deal with you…… We have their exact numbers here, the personal cultivation realm of their captain, and even detailed information about the divine abilities and secret techniques that the captain and vice-captain are best at……"

"300,000 Gold Snake Stones, this information is yours." Jin Bi smiled so much his eyes narrowed into a line: "The creed of the Dark Guild is to maintain absolute balance between clients…… We are the scale that weighs interests; we will absolutely not destroy the clients' balance, we seek the point of maximum profit, we will absolutely not drain the pond to fish……"

"You want to squeeze every drop of bone marrow from your clients!" Tie Da Jian's tone was very unpleasant.

"As you said, this is our our greatest dream……" Jin Bi eagerly blinked his eyes at Wu Tie: "But we have never forced anything; we merely engage in mutually willing trade."

"We have the information and resources that the guests need, and the guests, for these information and resources, pay us a little bit of what they don't need, and we like the sparkling, cute gold coins, isn't that a matter of course?"

Jin Bi let out a heavy sigh: "Especially, for poor wretches like me at the bottom, we're always short on money…… If we don't do a bit more business, how can we get by?"

Wu Tie exhaled, pulling out one bright, shiny gold ingot after another from his bracelet and laying them neatly in front of Jin Bi.

Jin Bi's smile grew even brighter; he waved his hand, and from the surrounding passages a large crowd of rat people came scurrying out, snatching up the gold ingots and dashing away without a trace.

Jin Bi waited until the rat people had run far off, then he handed the beast‑hide paper to Wu Tie.

Wu Tie glanced at the beast hide—it bore only a name and a passphrase. Jin Bi watched him with a smile: "After you're teleported there, give that name and passphrase, and they'll hand over the information. I wish you…… a pleasant revenge!"

Jin Bi bowed deeply to Wu Tie: "Besides, if you're willing to pay enough gold, they'll provide any information you want about the Gold Undead…… Of course, some core secrets are beyond our reach, so if our service falls short, please forgive us……"

"After you finish your revenge, if you happen to meet our follow‑up envoy asking about your satisfaction with this full service, please give poor Jin Bi a ten‑star rating!" Jin Bi looked pleadingly at Wu Tie: "Just one ten‑star rating, and I can be transferred out of Nuwa Valley……"

"This really isn't a good place to do business…… The Nuwa women are terrifying…… In Nuwa Valley I can't even close two deals a year, poor Jin Bi, I'm just too poor, too poor……" Tears welled up in Jin Bi's eyes.

Wu Tie pointed at the grief‑stricken Jin Bi, then strode into the teleportation array.

Tie Da Jian gave Jin Bi a sideways glance, then followed Wu Tie inside.

The group filed into the teleportation array one after another; once everyone had steadied themselves, Jin Bi then began to chant the complex passphrase in a low voice.

Light on the array gradually brightened, eventually forming a huge cocoon of light that enveloped everyone.

When the light cocoon faded, Wu Tie and the others had vanished without a trace.

Jin Bi hastily blew a sharp whistle; inside a passage, several short‑figures in black robes rushed out, seriously and carefully dismantling the teleportation array piece by piece, hoisting them onto their shoulders, and swiftly withdrawing along another passage.

Jin Bi stood silently in the dark stone cavern for three or four hours; once everyone had gone far enough, he leisurely whistled and slipped back along the way he had come.

"Praise the generous Sir Wu Tie…… Wishing them a safe journey…… Ah ha, this commission will let Jin Bi live comfortably for several years…… Want to go throw a few dice? Want to? Want to? Ah, I really ought to chop off my hand!"

A swirl of light and shadow spun around Wu Tie and his companions.

No one could say how long it had been; when the surrounding light and shadow returned to normal, they found themselves standing in a stone cavern several hundred meters across.

A snake‑person covered in ugly scales, looking quite ferocious, stood beside the teleportation array, flicking a crimson tongue and glaring fiercely at Wu Tie and his companions.

"Hey, I hope you're a bunch of fat sheep…… If you're a bunch of penniless losers…… then, Sir Sa, I'm really out of luck."