Changing Times (3)

Madam Ge looked at the people standing in her restaurant and sighed.

"Hila, how has business been?" a chatty young man said and Madam Ge threw him a glare.

"Sorry, I mean Madam Ge," he chuckled softly.

"That is not why we are here. Someone stepped out of the Baju Valley, who was it?" a frowning man said.

"Straight to the point as always, Se Tibe," the young man smiled.

"No one has been sent there for thirty years. Who would survive that long?" a beautiful woman asked. She was veiled in soft white, making her out as ethereal.

"The demon general of old is the only person I can think of. Still, it is very impossible that he survived that valley all these centuries," an old man said. They all looked to Madam Ge in question.

"Stop all your assumptions. It is Tie Nse's student," Madam Ge said and they all frowned. Soon, their eyes turned to a man by the corner.

"Patriarch never said anything about having a student," the old man shrugged.

"He got a student and shoved him inside the Baju Valley," Madam Ge said cleaning glasses, "In fact, you just missed them,"

Silence took the place as even the smiling young man looked to be in thought.

"Who is this boy?" the veiled woman asked.

"Where did he find such a person?" the second lady asked.

"Am I the only one who wants to know how he did it?" they started to ask at the same time.

"I have told you what I can. This is only because you are entitled to know. Any other information," she narrowed her eyes, "You know the rules,"

"Ha ha... Sorry, Madam Ge. Of course, we will pay for the information. How much do you want for it?"

"One thousand ethereal ores," she said and they blanched.

This price was too much to swallow. Of course, the people in the room are the top powers in the realm, but Ethereal Ores were important training ores for those from the soul-seeking stage upwards. These ores are rare as they are only available in the light realm. This realm was long destroyed in the heavenly calamity. Now, it is a training ground for all realms. Those of the younger generation are sent there to seek for fortune and importantly, bring back ethereal ores for their different sects and clans.

They all glanced at each other and nodded. This was already a small amount. But the rarity of these ores caused one's heart to bleed when giving them out.

"Payment first," Madam Ge said and they sighed and complied.

They all contributed equally into a space ring and threw it to Madam Ge. Only Si Namfi, the council head of the heaven alliance felt wrong by doing this. He stood in place of Patriarch Tie Nse when he was gone, and the information they were paying for in question, was about their patriarch and his new disciple. No one could take such humiliation.

When Madam Ge had looked inside the ring and confirmed the amount, she put it away and sighed.

"Tie Nse sat here for Ten plus years waiting for his disciple. The boy had been in the Baju Valley for around that same time. He said the boy was special and it was necessary he went through the valley so that his chances of surviving outside would increase. He did not explain further. He had a life stone with him all through to know if the boy lived. The boy came out of the valley himself, completely unscathed. I can at least confirm that this boy had not yet done his spirit-picking. That is all the information I have about this," Madam Ge summarized and their eyes shrunk as they all descended into thought.

"He did not say where he found this boy?" the veiled woman asked.

"He only said he picked up the boy hoping he was a tad bit special. He did not think he would be that special. That is all I know,"

"Did you see what this boy looked like?" Si Namfi asked.

"Your patriarch paid to keep this a secret. I cannot tell you this. So, that is all the information I have. No more questions allowed," she said and they all remained silent.

They had never truly understood how the Baju Valley worked. This information meant a lot of things. Not only has Tie Nse gotten a one-of-a-kind Disciple adding to the power of the Heaven Alliance, it means that Tie Nse knows how the Baju Valley works and this scared them. The Baju Valley is used as an execution ground because of its ability to kill cultivators from the inside out, attacking their internal energy.

Because of this, no clan or power has been able to make claims to it. If the Heaven alliance can now use it, that puts them at a disadvantage. What the boy gained from staying Ten-plus years is unknown to them and has probably been monopolised by Tie Nse.

Si Namfi understood what everyone must be thinking and the way they would view this. He needed to return to the alliance and call for the council and protectors to analyze this. He was the first to vanish, letting those who remained frown. They too returned the same way they came as their various powers needed to sit down and figure out what to do about this.

When they had all left the restaurant, Madam Ge sighed as she understood that trouble was brewing.