''The Murong family?'' The silver-robed Liao Huo raised his eyebrows as he looked at the black-robed person who was sitting opposite to him, since he clearly hadn't expected Shun Long to ask about the Murong family.
After all, the Murong family was still the ruler of Murong city, so even if someone wanted to learn information about them, they would usually go to some other city and ask the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' there.
After staring at Shun Long silently for a few moments, Liao Huo's lips curved upwards before he answered calmly
''Of course, if dear guest wants to learn information about the Murong family, our 'White tiger chamber of commerce' can naturally help you. However, dear guest, I must inform you in advance, that depending on the information that you want to learn, the price that you will have to pay may not be cheap.
After all, the Murong family is still the strongest force in Murong city, and even our 'White tiger chamber of commerce' don't want to clash with them unless absolutely necessary.''
Although Liao Huo had just said that the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' didn't want to clash with the Murong family unless absolutely necessary, Shun Long could see from the confident look in the silver-robed Dao Emperor's eyes, that there wasn't even a single hint of fear inside them when he mentioned the Murong family.
But of course, Shun Long knew that this was only natural.
The 'White tiger chamber of commerce' was rumored to have branches throughout the entire northern part of the central region, including major cities like the 'Northern Sovereign's city' and the Holy city. Although the place where Shun Long was in right now was just a branch in Murong city, one could guess how terrifying the power behind the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' really was, to allow them to operate a branch in every single major city in the northern part of the central region.
This was why, even powerful families like the Murong family didn't want to clash with them, unless it was an irreconcilable situation where one of the 2 forces had to truly disappear.
Staring at Liao Huo, Shun Long nodded his head calmly before he said
''I want information about every single Dao Emperor of the Murong family, including how many Dao Emperors they have within the city as well as their cultivation levels.''
Liao Huo's eyes instantly lit up as a friendly smile quickly covered his face soon after, before the silver-robed old waved his hand and said
''No problem.''
A moment later, a piece of pure-white jade appeared on the table in front of him, as Liao Huo pushed the jade towards Shun Long and continued
''This memory jade contains exactly what you asked for, dear guest... information about every single Dao Emperor of the Murong family, including how many of them there are inside and outside the city right now, their cultivation levels, and even the details of some of the cultivation techniques and martial skills that most of them use.
But of course, this is only the information that our 'White tiger chamber of commerce currently has, and some of it may be slightly inaccurate, so I hope that dear guest can understand. After all, some of them are Dao Emperors who have entered seclusion for thousands of years while others may have found some rare treasures to consume in secret, so it's possible that their strength has also advanced.''
Shun Long took the memory jade from the table, but he didn't send his soul sense inside it right away, and instead, he turned to look at Liao Huo in front of him before he asked in a calm tone
''How much?''
Liao Huo didn't beat around the bush as he answered straight away
''60.000 high-grade spirit stones. The price is non-negotiable as well. I hope that dear guest understands the reason.''
Nodding his head, Shun Long didn't try to haggle and simply waved his right hand, taking out 60.000 high-grade spirit stones from the 'Stone of Time' and letting them fill the private room in the blink of an eye.
Although 60.000 high-grade spirit stones was indeed a sky-high price that one could even use to buy a peak 1-star weapon, Shun Long knew that it was absolutely worth it.
Even if the price was higher, he was still going to pay.
What Shun Long lacked the most at this point, was any information about the Murong family itself, as well as information about Murong Tian.
Although he knew that he could simply ask about information for Murong Tian instead of asking for details about every single Dao Emperor of the Murong family, Shun Long knew that doing so would be no different than telling Liao Huo that he had come here for Murong Tian.
Without knowing what relationship Liao Huo may have with the Murong family, doing so would be no different than throwing himself in the mouth of the lion.
Liao Huo accepted the spirit stones with a bright smile on his face, before he turned to look at Shun Long and asked a moment later
''Dear guest, is there something else that I can help you with? Hehe, I am sure that you have also heard about the auction that our chamber of commerce is hosting a month from now, and that many Dao Emperors from all over the central region have come to participate in it. If you want to know the details about any of those Dao Emperors, our chamber of commerce can provide that as well... for the right price of course.''
Shun Long's eye twitched behind the black robes but he didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he fell silent for a brief moment, before he turned his attention towards Liao Huo and waved his right hand.
A thud resounded throughout the private room in the next moment, as a rusty-looking iron halberd and 3 golden scrolls all appeared on the surface of the jade-white table in front of Shun Long!
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Liao Huo was momentarily stunned as he stared at the iron halberd and the 3 golden scrolls that had appeared in front of him, before he turned to look at Shun Long and asked in a confused manner
''Dear guest?''
Shun Long nodded his head and answered calmly
''There is indeed something that I will need your help with. Since your 'White tiger chamber of commerce' is hosting an auction, I want to auction these things as well. I hope you can help me take care of it.''
A look of understanding flashed inside Liao Huo's eyes before he stretched out his hand and began to inspect the iron halberd first.
A few seconds later, Liao Huo mumbled to himself
''A peak 1-star weapon with the 'Dao of Earth' engraved inside it. The quality is not bad, and the runes themselves seem to be in perfect condition as well... almost as if this thing was just forged. It should bring at least 70.000-80.000 high-grade spirit stones if it's sold in the auction.''
Without any hesitation, Liao Huo placed the iron halberd to the side before he turned his attention towards the 3 golden scrolls on the table in front of him.
A few moments later, after he finished inspecting the first scroll, the silver-robed Dao Emperor raised his head and stared at Shun Long with a somewhat surprised look on his face before he asked seriously
''Dear guest, this is a Saint high-grade cultivation technique! Are you sure that you want to auction this?''
Liao Huo's tone turned slightly solemn when he said this.
Of course, it wasn't surprising that Liao Huo would ask this question.
As a powerful Dao Emperor and the supervisor of the 'Intelligence room' in the 'White tiger chamber of commerce', Liao Huo knew how rare Saint high-grade cultivation techniques really were.
Even first-rate powers like the Holy sect and even the Murong family didn't have any immortal-grade cultivation techniques, and they only had Saint high-grade cultivation techniques in their treasury.
Even if one of their disciples had somehow managed to obtain an immortal-grade cultivation technique, they wouldn't share it with anyone else and would do anything to keep it for themselves.
At the same time, although it wasn't unprecedented for someone to sell a Saint high-grade cultivation technique during an auction, Liao Huo knew that instances like these were extremely rare, and that those cultivation techniques usually came from extremely powerful individuals who were already renowned throughout the central region and didn't have much use for these cultivation techniques.
Naturally, those individuals would choose to sell them for high-grade spirit stones instead.
However, aside from those powerful individuals, Liao Huo also knew that there was one other group of cultivators who would occasionally try to sell these cultivation techniques... people who had deserted their family or sect and had stolen their core techniques before they left.
Of course, Liao Huo didn't know whether Shun Long was an expert who belonged to the first group or the second, but he still decided to ask regardless.
Judging from Shun Long's reaction, Liao Huo would then know which group the person in front of him really belonged.
If Shun Long hesitated, Liao Huo would then be certain that the black-robed person in front of him belonged to the second group.
Using the resources and the information channels of the 'White tiger chamber of commerce', it then wouldn't be difficult for him to locate which power Shun Long came from simply by taking a look at the name of the cultivation technique, and then inform them that their cultivation technique would be auctioned at their branch.
No matter what, a cultivation technique was every power's utmost priority, and they would do anything they could to get back it back if it was stolen.
At the same time, Liao Huo could sell them the information about Shun Long's whereabouts and let that power come and take revenge.
Clearly, these were the skills of a shrewd businessman. Anything and everything that could be converted to money would be used by Liao Huo!
Unfortunately for him, Shun Long didn't hesitate for a moment, as he calmly nodded his head and said
''I have no use for these things so it's better to sell them.''
At the same time, inside the 'Stone of Time', Little Black had a mocking look in his deep azure eyes as he stared at the silver-robed Dao Emperor in front of Shun Long.
Although Liao Huo was shrewd, how could his intentions possibly escape the black dragon's eyes?
Shun Long could also guess what Liao Huo's intentions were, but he didn't care about it one bit.
After all, this cultivation technique clearly belonged to Huo Wuyi who had disappeared thousands of years ago.
Even if Huo Wuyi had stolen it from some power, it would be uncertain if that power would still be as strong as it had been in the past and if they would still be looking for it.
Even strong powers could end up disappearing after the passage of many years from the cultivation world.
Besides, as a powerful Dao Emperor who was also a talented formation master, Shun Long knew that Huo Wuyi was at least a rank 6 Dao Emperor and would definitely look for a cultivation technique that suited him perfectly instead of stealing the first Saint high-grade cultivation technique that he could get his hands on.
Liao Huo also understood that Shun Long had most likely found out his intentions, but he wasn't flustered in the slightest as he smiled brightly and nodded his head before he answered
''Of course, dear guest. You can leave this to me. I will make sure to put your items in our auction a month from now!''
A moment later, Liao Huo took a look at the other 2 golden scrolls that included 2 Saint middle-grade martial skills as well, before he swept everything inside his spatial ring.
Liao Huo then waved his hand, as he took out a silver token from his spatial ring and tossed it to Shun Long before he continued
''Dear guest, this is the VIP invitation from our 'White tiger chamber of commerce'. You should come and take a look at the auction even if you don't intend to buy anything.. I can assure you that the items will be worth your time. Hehe, even Sovereign realm experts will come to participate in this auction after all!''
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Shun Long nodded his head and accepted the silver token from Liao Huo, before he placed it inside his spatial ring along with the memory jade with the information about the Dao Emperors of the Murong family.
Even if Liao Huo hadn't mentioned it, Shun Long was still planning to take a look at the auction and see if there were any treasures that could help him, as well as Liu Mei and the rest, all increase their strength before the opening of the City of Immortals.
As for the earth flame, although Shun Long wanted to get his hands on it, he knew that his chances of winning the auction were practically nonexistent.
Just like Liao Huo had said, there were bound to be even some Sovereign realm experts who would be fighting over the earth flame.
Although Shun Long knew that he would be considered wealthy even if he was compared to most peak rank 9 Dao Emperors like the Grand Elder, he also understood that if he wanted to fight Sovereign realm experts for the earth flame, even a million high-grade spirit stones wouldn't be enough to let him secure it.
Sometime later, under Liao Huo's attentive gaze, Shun Long left the 'Intelligence room' and walked towards the staircase that led him back to the third floor.
Since he had already obtained everything he needed from this place, Shun Long was planning to enter seclusion for the next month, until the auction of the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' began.
Meanwhile, inside the 'Intelligence room', a moment after Shun Long had left, the amiable smile quickly vanished from Liao Huo's face, as the silver-robed Dao Emperor stared at the door of the 'Intelligence room' and mumbled to himself in a calm manner
''More and more experts have been gathering in the city lately. If the Murong family wants to obtain the earth flame, it seems that they will have to bleed quite a bit.''
Liao Huo's serious expression disappeared soon after, as the silver-robed Dao Emperor continued to enjoy his tea with a calm smile on his face. No matter what happened, Liao Huo was certain that the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' would be the one who would end up profiting the most from this.
At the same time, sitting on Little Silver's back, Shun Long left the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' and walked around Murong city as he looked for a place to stay.
Around an hour later, he arrived at a large inn near the heart of the city and spent 4000 middle-grade spirit stones to rent a courtyard for the next one month.
After he entered the room Shun Long sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes, before he imagined himself entering the foggy space inside the 'Stone of Time'.
A moment later, sitting on his usual spot, Shun Long held the memory jade that he had purchased from Liao Huo in his hands and used his qi to activate it, before he sent his soul sense inside it soon after.
The moment that his soul sense entered the memory jade, Shun Long could feel a stream of information entering his mind, as different faces and information about those faces quickly filled his mind.
''Murong Chang: Early rank 1 Dao Emperor. Broke through to the Dao Emperor realm 30 years ago while cultivating a Saint middle-grade cultivation technique of the Murong family. He doesn't belong to the main branch of the Murong family and thus, he wasn't given access to the core cultivation technique of the Murong family, the 'Soul encompassing lotus' until he broke through to the Dao Emperor realm.
He wields a saber and has mastered a powerful Saint middle-grade martial skill for it, making him stronger than most other early rank 1 Dao Emperors.''
''Murong Hu: Middle rank 2 Dao Emperor. He belongs to the main branch of the Murong family. He broke through to the Dao Emperor realm 600 years ago, while cultivating the core cultivation technique of the Murong family, the 'Soul encompassing lotus'.
He wields a greatsword and although he has powerful physical strength that surpasses average early rank 3 Dao Emperors, his speed is his greatest weakness.''
As he kept taking in the information from the memory jade, Shun Long was surprised to see how detailed the information of the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' about the Dao Emperors of the Murong family really was.
Not only was there information about the cultivation techniques and the martial skills of most of those Dao Emperors, but it even included the weapons that they used, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
Of course, although Shun Long wasn't interested in most of these Dao Emperors, he didn't mind learning more about them either.
After all, some of them may end up blocking his path once he tried to kill Murong Tian.
Shun Long also noticed that the Murong family had several more Dao Emperors than the Holy sect.
At least as far as he knew, the Holy sect only had around 20 Dao Emperors, including the Grand Elder and all the inner court Elders, but the Murong family seemed to have well more than 30 of them.
Finally, after reading information for more than 30 Dao Emperors of the Murong family, a familiar name finally appeared in Shun Long's mind.
''Murong Tian: The current patriarch of the Murong family. He is the strongest Dao Emperor of the Murong family and one of the strongest experts in the entire city, breaking through to become a peak rank 9 Dao Emperor 3000 years ago! The old ancestor of the Murong family personally appointed him to become the patriarch after Murong Tian broke through to the peak of the Dao Emperor realm.''
Shun Long was momentarily stunned when he took in the information in his mind about Murong Tian.
The person that Huo Wuyi wanted him to deal with was actually the current patriarch of the Murong family?