Han Shuo rushed towards the Death Dominion at his maximum speed. After entering the Skybreak Realm, it seemed that his body no longer felt the effects of Elysium's gravity. He was able to travel over a million miles a day. He was flying faster than an average being could even imagine.
It had taken Han Hao's godhunter nearly four months to reach the edge of the Death Dominion. But Han Shuo, by pushing himself to the limit, took only seven days to reach the Death Dominion.
After seven days of marathon travel at top speed, Han Shuo had exhausted much of his energy. He decided to enter the next city - the City of Wraiths. Aside from resting and replenishing his energy, he also wanted to find out the current situation of the House of Han.
Han Shuo knew that the House of Han had travelled hundreds of thousands of miles from Fort Lasberg to seek refuge in the Death Dominion. Ronson Canyon bordered the Death Dominion. If the House of Han had escaped from the Godhunters of Ronson Canyon, they would be somewhere in the territory of the Death Dominion.
Han Shuo did not know if his clansmen had managed to escape from Ronson Canyon, but he held out some hope. He knew that the first thing he had to do was to find out if they had entered the Death Dominion.
It took Han Shuo half a day to travel through the outlying villages and towns. By nightfall, he stood at the gates of the City of Wraiths.
As one of the six major cities of the Death Dominion, the City of Wraiths had its own distinctive architectural style and characteristics. The most notable feature was the Wraiths that filled the city.
The City Lord of the City of Wraiths, Talbot, was a master at controlling the wraiths. His hobby was to collect the souls of all living creatures and imprison them in energy towers. He would twist these souls with a mysterious energy or seal them directly into the city wall. Though these wraiths were weak, they could watch over every corner of the city for him.
Talbot, the City Lord, would be informed very quickly by his wraiths if there were any disturbances in his city. He would also be notified immediately if enemies tried to invade the city, allowing him to respond to the threats very quickly.
Han Shuo couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows in disdain as he glimpsed the weak life forms poorly hidden within the city walls and energy towers of the Wraith City.
The wraiths might have appeared to be parallels to Han Shuo's demon generals. However, Han Shuo knew that even the strongest of these wraiths were nothing compared to his weakest demon general. They were just 'eyes' that Talbot had placed in every corner of the city for anyone to see.
The offensive power of a Wraith was so small that it couldn't even threaten a Basegod. Even if Han Shuo were to stand still and allow thousands upon thousands of wraiths to swarm towards him, he would not suffer the slightest injury.
These wraiths had almost no offensive capabilities, being immobile as they were sealed within walls, and certainly could not constantly evolve to become stronger. Regardless of the aspect, this life form was light years inferior to Han Shuo's demon generals. That was why Han Shuo was so disdainful when he sensed the life form attached to the walls.
In every city, there were merchants who traded information, not goods. The City of Wraiths was no exception. Where there were consumers, there would be sellers.
*** In the western region of the City of Wraiths.
Many foreign gods resided in this area. There were all sorts of goods for sale. And of course, information was for sale.
An Information Brokerage Firm was a shop that collected and sold information. With enough Black Crystal Coins, you could get almost any information you wanted. Even if they did not have the information you were looking for, all you had to do was pay a reasonable amount of Black Crystal Coins as a deposit, and the firm would send out their investigators to obtain the information you needed.
Information Brokerage Firms were usually quiet and empty on normal days. But when something major happened in one of the Dominions, these firms would be swamped with clients. Many of the large family clans that did not have reliable intelligence networks in other Dominions would patronise such a firm.
Han Shuo entered one of the information brokerage firms. Immediately, he saw an old woman with drooping eye bags sitting in a dark corner. Her eyes were closed, but she was not sleeping. With a single glance, Han Shuo determined that she was a Mid-stage Lowgod of Death.
Han Shuo scanned the brokerage house with his consciousness and discovered that there was no one on the premises except for the old woman. After calming his mind, Han Shuo made a beeline for the old woman. He tossed a bag containing ten thousand black crystal coins onto the wooden table in front of her. A loud clinking sound broke the silence.
"I want to know about the House of Han in the City of Shadows. If you have information about their well-being, this bag of black crystal coins is yours," Han Shuo said. He was a bit nervous to find out the truth, fearing that they had all been killed in Ronson Canyon.
The sharp sound of the crystal coins bumping against each other immediately woke the old woman who was resting in her seat. She opened her eerie green eyes like a hungry beast sniffing its prey. Without saying a word, she put her hand on the bag of black crystal coins, grasped it, felt it with her greedy hand.
She nodded as if to confirm that the black crystal coins were not fake. Then she began to size Han Shuo up with narrowed eyes.
The light in her eerie green eyes grew brighter and brighter. She had a strange expression on her wrinkled face. She seemed puzzled, but at the same time, unperturbed. After staring at Han Shuo for a long, long time, she took a deep breath and asked in a slow, deep voice, "Why would you be interested in the House of Han? Hehe... there are quite a few who are interested in them lately..."
Han Shuo was a little taken aback. He replied in an annoyed manner, "Cut the crap. I gave you my money, now give me my information." Normally, an information broker would not ask about the identity and origin of the buyer. It was taboo. In her line of work, the old woman's actions could be considered unprofessional.
"Do you know how many variations there are in the Eight Desolation and Torment Formation?" the old woman suddenly asked as she looked at Han Shuo.
Han Shuo's face instantly shook and his eyes opened wide. His right hand moved forward and grabbed the old woman's neck, lifting her into the air in one fell swoop. Han Shuo's face turned dark and cold as he shouted, "WHO ARE YOU? HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?"
At the same time, the wide open doors and all the windows closed with a loud 'bam! A bizarre, obstructive energy instantly filled the Information Brokerage, preventing those outside from knowing what was happening inside.
The old woman's face quickly turned purple. She tried to kick and punch Han Shuo to free herself, but that only made things worse for her as the Omen Invincible Body automatically countered. Soon she had no strength left. Her green eyes began to roll back and it looked like she would die at any moment.
Han Shuo then threw the old woman away. She was pinned against the wall by an invisible force. Although she could breathe heavily, she could not move.
"Speak! How do you know about the Eight Desolation and Torment Formation?" asked Han Shuo who was standing five metres away from the old woman. With a thought, a demonic blade glittering with cold light shot out from his right index finger. Han Shuo could not look more threatening.
The old woman gasped heavily and coughed for a while before she could speak. Looking at the murderous Han Shuo and knowing how helpless she was, the old woman couldn't help but scream in panic, "I have no idea what the Eight Desolation and Torment Formation are! Someone came to our agency and gave us a large amount of black crystal coins and asked us to relay some words!"
"Speak clearly or I will skin you alive!" threatened Han Shuo.
"Every information broker is instructed this way: if someone comes and asks about the House of Han in the City of Shadows, we will ask the person if they know how many variations there are in the Eight Desolation and Torment Formation. If the person can answer correctly, we will give them some information," the frightened old woman replied hastily. "There are many who have asked about the situation of the House of Han. I have asked all of them that question but none of them knew what it was. You are the only person who reacted so violently. It seems that you are the person we have been waiting for."
Bam! The energy that restrained her body abruptly vanished and she fell to the ground. Immediately, she knew that her life was no longer in danger.
"There are eighteen variations!" Han Shuo opened his palm and the old woman was pulled back to her seat. Han Shuo wore a dark face as he instructed, "Speak, tell me everything I should know!"
"So it is you!" The old woman nodded as she massaged her neck that was nearly snapped. She forced a smile and said, "Someone gave our agency a large sum of money, they want you to know the House of Han is currently at Witherbone City and they are in a bad situation. They ask that you look for them at the Kiaran Residence with haste."
"Anything else?" Han Shuo inwardly heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that the House of Han was not exterminated in the Ronson Canyon. His face calmed and his voice grew less threatening.
"No, that is all. They want you to look for them at the Kiaran Residence in Witherbone City as soon as possible," the old woman replied as she looked at Han Shuo. She pushed the bag of black crystal coins towards Han Shuo and said, "This information is free. You can take your crystal coins back."
"I apologise for my actions. You may keep the crystal coins. Consider it compensation," Han Shuo said after forcing a smile. Han Shuo no longer felt so restless after knowing that the House of Han was fine. He immediately left the house and headed towards Witherbone City.
"Damn it! He almost killed me!" the old woman said after Han Shuo left. She put on a dark face and thought for a moment. Then, as if she had remembered something, she hastily went into a room at the back of the building and fiddled with a magic mirror that was entrusted to every information brokerage firm.
After punching a series of numbers into the magic mirror, the impatient face of a young man gradually appeared on the smooth and flat device. The young man glanced at the old woman before arrogantly asking, "What's going on?"
"Young Master Portlem, I heard that you were looking for Bryan of the House of Han. Are you still interested in his whereabouts?" the old woman asked modestly with a flattering smile.
The House of Batchelder was one of the leading family clans in the City of Wraiths. Portlem, as the young master of the house, was famous in the city for having attained Highgodhood at a young age.
After being injured by Han Shuo, Portlem spent every minute of his life thinking about revenge. But unfortunately for Portlem, Han Shuo had always stayed in the Darkness Dominion's City of Shadows, out of Portlem's reach.
And after news spread that Han Shuo had left the City of Shadows, Portlem had contacted his local information brokerage firms and asked for Han Shuo's whereabouts. However, after leaving the City of Shadows, Han Shuo had avoided populated areas and remained rather stealthy. Therefore, the companies were unable to get Han Shuo's exact location.
Back then, that old woman had reported to Portlem when Han Shuo was sighted in Ethereal City. However, since Ethereal City was simply too far away from the City of Wraiths, Portlem had no choice but to further postpone his quest for revenge. And after Han Shuo entered the fringe, these information broker companies lost track of Han Shuo as their intelligence network did not cover the fringe.
Even though it had been many years, Portlem's hatred for Han Shuo had not diminished with time. He was still interested in Han Shuo's whereabouts and he hastily asked, "Where was this guy last seen? If he is not too far from the Wraith City, I will make him pay for hurting me, the mighty Portlem!"
"Not far, not far at all!" The old woman smiled and said, "He just left my place and he should still be in the city. Hehe, your Batchelder residence is near the city gate from which he will leave. If you prepare now, you should be able to intercept him before he leaves the city!"
Portlet cackled ominously. Through the magic mirror, he replied, "If your information proves reliable, I will pay you one hundred thousand black crystal coins. Alright, I will get ready right away!" Portlem ended the call as soon as he finished.
Portlem's image faded and the magic mirror gradually returned to normal. The old woman let out an evil laugh and said to herself, "Youngster, I've given you the information you need to know, as I'm obliged to do. As for revealing your whereabouts to Portlem, that's my business with Portlem. It is in accordance with the rules of my profession!"
***Han Shuo's mind finally relaxed after knowing that his family clan had not perished in Ronson Canyon. For the time being, he was unaware of the humiliation and treatment his clansmen had received in Witherbone City. All that mattered to him was that they were still alive.
Although Han Shuo was at ease, he did not slow his pace. Soon after entering the City of Wraiths, he planned to leave the city through another city gate.
Han Shuo did not dare to fly at his shockingly high top speed within the City of Wraiths. There were wraiths in every inch of the city, and countless divine guards patrolling the city. If Han Shuo were to recklessly fly through the streets at his insane speed, he might attract unwanted attention, especially from the patrolling divine guards.
Therefore, Han Shuo had only been flying at a slightly higher speed than the crowd as he approached the city gate in the direction of Witherbone City. As he almost reached the gate, his consciousness suddenly realised that for some reason, many experts and divine guards had gathered in this area.
Han Shuo did not release demon generals to probe ahead. He thought that no matter what was happening there, it shouldn't have anything to do with him. As the city gate was the closest to Witherbone City, Han Shuo did not change his course. He reached the city gate after ten minutes.
The great city wall entered his sight. He saw large groups of divine guards carrying a unique emblem of a family clan. And barring the city gate was a young, arrogant-looking man. To Han Shuo's surprise, it was Portlem!
Upon seeing the expressions on those divine guards and that there were two Highgods from the House of Batchelder, Han Shuo took no time to realize that he was their target. And without thinking, Han Shuo figured out that it must be that old woman from that Information Brokerage Firm who had revealed his whereabouts.
While inside the Firm, Han Shuo had shut every door and window and even released an energy that obstructed prying ears. Even Talbot the City Lord who had wraiths all around the city wouldn't be able to find out what happened in the Firm.
Moreover, Talbot should not know of Han Shuo's identity or that he had grudges with Portlem. That old woman must have made out his identity from his reaction and the question he asked.
Duh, if I had known earlier, I would have killed that bitch... Han Shuo thought a little regretfully. However, he did not dodge Portlem, but continued to fly towards the city gate.
Given Han Shuo's current strength, no expert in the City of Wraiths had the power to stop him. This weak little Portlem would be as much of an obstacle to Han Shuo as a piece of paper. Even if Talbot and the patriarch of the Batchelder family were there, Han Shuo was confident that he could slaughter them without much trouble.
"Hey, Bryan, long time no see! I heard your House of Han was kicked out of the City of Shadows? I couldn't touch you then because Wallace was there to protect you. But what a surprise - you would enter the City of Wraiths, to your doom! Tired of life, I suppose?" Portlem had waited decades for this moment. He remembered being chased by Han Shuo in the Celestial Pearl's banquet hall. Had it not been for Charlotte's intervention, he might have died at Han Shuo's hands in the City of Shadows.
Han Shuo was in a hurry and had no time to chat with Portlem. He shouted impatiently, "Portlem, to be honest, I forgot about you long ago. But since you insist on seeking death, you shall have death!"