Chapter 402: Black Moon Society

At 20,000 zhang, even as a ground distance, this is not a small number. When applied to height, it can only be described as terrifying. Yun Che, across his two lifetimes, had never even come close to a height of 10,000 zhang, let alone 20,000. He had never seen a profound ark capable of reaching such an altitude. In fact, even Monarch Profound practitioners, let alone those in the Sky Profound Realm, could never reach this height on their own.

No wonder Cang Wanhe had once said that boarding the Primordial Profound Ark required the power of the Overlord. It was truly an astonishing altitude.

At such an immense height, the black shadow in his sight still appeared enormous, hinting at its unimaginable true size.

However, most of the surrounding crowd paid it little mind, as this enigmatic Primordial Profound Ark had already been visible for several months.

“Jasmine, can you tell what this ‘Primordial Profound Ark’ truly is?” Yun Che asked, craning his neck. From such a distance, and with layers of clouds obscuring it, all he could discern was a massive shadow and a rough outline. No details were visible.

“This does appear to be a profound ark,” Jasmine mused. “I’ve seen many of similar size, but this one gives me a peculiar sensation...”

“Peculiar?” Although Jasmine had said something similar before, Yun Che was still taken aback. She had apparently seen numerous profound arks of this immense scale, and her tone suggested it was an everyday occurrence! He wondered what kind of terrifying place she had been born and raised in.

“Over tens of millions of years of evolution, profound arks have developed increasingly uniform and perfect designs. For instance, to minimize the consumption of profound stones, profound crystals, or even divine stones and crystals, their front ends are typically elongated and pointed, with exceptionally smooth lines to drastically reduce aerodynamic drag during flight. However, this profound ark defies that trend; it looks more like an ancient artifact. Most bizarrely, for a profound ark of this size floating at such an altitude, it should consume an enormous amount of energy with every passing moment, yet I detect no traces of energy flow on it whatsoever! This should be utterly impossible!”

Yun Che was speechless.

“If you can resolve your conflict with the Divine Phoenix Sect and successfully compete in the Seven Nation Ranking Tournament, strive for a top-three finish, and then board this Primordial Profound Ark to investigate. I’ve suddenly become very curious about what it truly is,” Jasmine said with genuine interest. Clearly, this enigmatic profound ark, which even she couldn’t comprehend, had piqued her curiosity.

“Alright,” Yun Che nodded. “I hope everything goes smoothly.”

“You seem to have a comprehensive plan?”

“...More or less. But a plan is always just a plan; no one can truly predict what will happen,” Yun Che responded, though his expression remained remarkably calm and composed.

“With two weeks remaining until the ranking tournament, what do you intend to do?” Jasmine inquired.

“I’ll dedicate thirty percent of my time to familiarizing myself with Divine Phoenix City; that way, if I ever need to make a quick escape, I won’t be scurrying around like a headless fly. The remaining seventy percent, naturally, will be spent on improving my strength.” Yun Che slightly narrowed his eyes, a thoughtful frown on his brow. “I’ve been focusing solely on the Ice Phoenix Divine Arts for the past few months, which means my profound strength cultivation has lagged significantly. The Seven Nation Ranking Tournament is the premier event for the top young experts across the entire Profound Sky Continent, far surpassing the Azure Cloud Ranking Tournament. With my current strength, I don’t have much confidence in securing a top-three spot. In these remaining days, I must employ some special methods to boost my profound strength.”

“Currently, I possess a Monarch Profound Dragon Heart, Monarch Profound Dragon Whiskers, Devil Burning Blood Crystal, Kongtong Grass, and Qionghua Jade Liquid. All I need are Heaven Brahma Jade and Phoenix Sunflower to refine the Heaven Profound Universe Pill. Once consumed, it should be enough to elevate my profound strength to Level 10 of the Earth Profound Realm. While Heaven Brahma Jade and Phoenix Sunflower are unobtainable in the Azure Cloud Nation, Divine Phoenix City hosts the main branch of the Black Moon Merchant Guild. With enough money, there should be nothing I can’t acquire.”

Having stated his plan, Yun Che retrieved a map of Divine Phoenix City. His gaze quickly pinpointed the strikingly prominent crescent black moon marked on it, and he set off directly in that direction.

The Black Moon Merchant Guild operates in every corner of the Profound Sky Continent, its dominant position in commerce utterly unshakeable. As the main headquarters of such an organization, it was expected to be grand and magnificent. Yet, when Yun Che finally arrived at its entrance, he was still utterly dumbfounded.

The Black Moon Merchant Guild’s headquarters spanned dozens of miles in both length and width, a scale comparable to a small city. It was hard to believe this was merely a merchant guild’s base. The structure was eight stories high, but each floor was astonishingly tall. Stacked one upon another, the eight levels seemed to pierce the heavens, with a massive crescent black moon atop its highest point, soaring into the clouds. It was clearly visible from nearly any vantage point in the vast Divine Phoenix City.

The walls gleamed with the pure luster characteristic of fine jade, and every brick and tile was incredibly precious, far more opulent than the glazed tiles of the Azure Cloud Imperial Palace. An overwhelmingly grand and magnificent aura permeated the area, inspiring an almost irresistible urge to prostrate oneself in awe upon looking up.

“They’re absurdly wealthy…” Yun Che muttered to himself, gazing at the Black Moon Merchant Guild before him. He suddenly wondered about the true identity of its Guild Master. To command such an astonishing commercial empire, one surely needed more than just money.

Before Yun Che now lay an expansive plaza teeming with people. At its most densely crowded point stood a massive crystal platform, from which dozens of crystal pillars rose. In front of each pillar, a vertical profound array rotated slowly. These arrays were evenly spaced in a circle around the platform, each shimmering with mysterious, multicolored light. On closer inspection, one could discern the uniform alternation of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.

“This is the Black Moon Merchant Guild? It’s just… too… too exaggerated!” A young man beside Yun Che stared ahead in stunned disbelief, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time. From his attire, he appeared to be a profound practitioner from another nation, visiting Divine Phoenix City for the first time.

“This is just the exterior,” his companion replied. “I hear it’s even more extravagant inside.”

“Why are all these people gathered around that crystal platform? Why isn’t anyone going in? Also, I don’t see a main entrance. Where do we go in?”

“Heh, the Black Moon Merchant Guild’s headquarters isn’t so easily entered. Even I, your senior brother, didn’t qualify to enter when I first came years ago. Just look, but don’t hope to get inside. If you need anything, it’s better to go to a branch office or another smaller merchant guild. Besides, even if you did get in, the items at the Black Moon Headquarters are likely beyond your means.”

“Why can’t we go in? Do they actually turn away customers? And what kind of people are permitted entry?”

“Do you see that crystal platform? The thirty-six profound arrays surrounding it are the sole entry points into the Black Moon Merchant Guild! To enter, you must strike an array with your own power. These arrays completely absorb the force, then determine a qualification level based on its intensity, which is then displayed on the corresponding crystal pillar behind the array. Red signifies the lowest level, followed by orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, in ascending order of qualification. A displayed level of at least green grants access to the first and second floors. Cyan allows entry to the third and fourth floors. Blue grants access to the fifth and sixth floors. And the highest, purple… permits entry to the seventh floor!”

Yun Che took in every word, sighing inwardly once more. In the commercial world, buyers typically choose sellers, and merchant guilds expend all efforts to attract customers. Yet, the Black Moon Merchant Guild selectively screens its clientele. Without sufficient strength, one doesn’t even qualify to enter its main headquarters; even immense wealth won’t grant you entry to transact business there.

Despite this, the Black Moon Merchant Guild’s clientele never dwindles. On the contrary, countless individuals endeavor to gain entry each year.

Throughout the entire Profound Sky Continent, only the Black Moon Merchant Guild possessed such power and audacity.

“That’s incredibly unfair!” the young profound practitioner exclaimed indignantly. “If entry is judged solely by profound strength, then aren’t we young people at a massive disadvantage? This clearly favors those who’ve cultivated profound energy for centuries.”

“No, no!” the self-proclaimed “senior brother” corrected, shaking his head. “The crystal pillars don’t merely judge based on profound strength; they assess talent! When you attack the profound array, it not only absorbs your power but also simultaneously determines your bone age, then combines both bone age and profound strength intensity to make a judgment. For example, with your profound strength, if you were only ten years old, you would absolutely qualify for entry! Conversely, even a powerful Monarch, if their bone age was several hundred years, might not achieve a green qualification.”

“I see… Senior brother, you mentioned that the highest, purple, only grants access to the seventh floor. How then does one enter the eighth?”

“The eighth floor is reportedly where the Black Moon Guild Master personally receives distinguished guests. Only individuals of extremely noble status, like the Divine Phoenix Sect Master, are qualified to enter. It’s likely that even ordinary Divine Phoenix Princes don’t qualify. We shouldn’t even dream of setting foot in there during our lifetimes.”

The conversations around him finally enlightened Yun Che on how to enter the Black Moon Headquarters. He lowered his gaze from the crescent black moon high in the clouds and approached the central crystal platform.

The crowd around the crystal platform was dense. Divine Phoenix City had recently seen a massive influx of profound practitioners from the six nations, and those gathered here were invariably the elites, or even supreme geniuses, of their respective countries. They naturally held a great desire to enter the Black Moon Headquarters, with gaining a glimpse inside being one of the primary reasons many had traveled here.

All thirty-six profound arrays were surrounded by people, each with a flushed face, gathering all their profound strength to strike the arrays. Yet, upon contact, the powerful forces caused no damage; even the sound was barely perceptible, and the energy was instantly absorbed without a trace. Though twenty to thirty individuals attacked simultaneously each time, scarcely any profound energy fluctuations were felt in the vicinity.

“Hah!!”

A profound practitioner in his early twenties, his face solemn and cheeks puffed out, let out a fierce roar after nearly ten breaths of profound strength accumulation, unleashing his strongest profound skill upon the array before him. Weapons were prohibited when attacking the arrays, but profound arts and skills were permitted.

“Heaven and Earth Collapsing Thunder Fist!!”

The young profound practitioner’s fist violently impacted the array, which immediately rippled silently like water. Subsequently, the corresponding crystal pillar instantly glowed: the first red section lit up, then the second orange, and the third yellow also began to glow. However, before reaching its full brilliance, it stopped, and all the colors rapidly faded.

The expression of the originally confident young profound practitioner instantly froze. His hands trembled as he cried out uncontrollably, “No… impossible… impossible… I was ranked thirty-seventh in the Black Fiend Nation’s Ranking Tournament! I am the foremost genius of the Jiangbei generation! This cannot be right; there must be some mistake…”

As a supreme genius of his nation, one who had grown up amidst pride, admiration, praise, envy, and flattery, failing to meet even the most basic entry requirement at the Black Moon Headquarters was, without a doubt, an immense blow to a prodigy who had once commanded awe across his entire country.

In his frenzy, his face flushed crimson, he suddenly roared, drew his weapon, and furiously slammed it against the profound array. But the instant his weapon made contact, the array flashed with a cold light, releasing an immense force. The young profound practitioner shrieked, was sent flying a considerable distance, and remained unable to stand for a long time after he landed.

“Senior Brother Yin!” Several companions who had arrived with him quickly rushed over and helped him to his feet.

“Hahahaha! A bunch of trash from humble little nations, daring to dream of entering the Black Moon Headquarters, even proclaiming yourselves the ‘foremost geniuses’ of the Jiangbei generation… Hahahaha! You’re utterly ridiculous. Your so-called geniuses from these minor nations are not even worth an ant in my Divine Phoenix Empire. I find your displays pathetic.”

An incredibly arrogant voice rang out from behind the crowd. Every word was abrasive, a direct insult to all profound practitioners from the six nations. The vast majority of those gathered were indeed from these six nations. Upon hearing the voice, they all glared angrily. However, when they laid eyes on the speaker, their burgeoning rage seemed to be violently suppressed, and not a single word dared to escape their lips.

The individual was clad in a fiery red robe, with an emblem of a phoenix spreading its wings embroidered on his chest. Both the attire and the emblem unequivocally declared his identity: a disciple of the Divine Phoenix Sect.