Chapter 1669: Darkness Hall

Han Buli appeared in a very ordinary courtyard. There were several buildings in the courtyard with the tallest one being a three-storey building. The building didn’t look big. There were also cultivators wearing ordinary clothes going in and out of it. It looked completely nondescript.

On the top of the building was a sign saying “Prospecting Hall”. Under the sign were three words saying “Rare Metals Branch”.

The Prospecting Hall was a very common division of the Black Tiger Gang. And it wasn’t one of the main halls of the sect. Its main purpose was to issue prospecting missions, keep records about the mineral veins of the sect, and detect new mineral veins.

It could be said that the Prospecting Hall was the most unnoticed Hall of the Black Tiger Gang. People would immediately lose interest upon hearing the name Prospecting Hall. 

But what n.o.body knew was that the Prospecting Hall’s Rare Metal Branch was the location of the sect’s Darkness Hall Headquarters.

The Rare Metals Branch still issues prospecting missions and receives intel about rare metal mines. Their operation was no different to the other Halls.

Due to this, people from the Darkness Hall who enter weren’t suspected. Others would only think that these were informers that brought back information. Han Buli was used to coming to this place, so he just walked towards the building.

Before long, he entered the small building. On the first floor were several windows  with setups that looked the same as banks. This was a huge place for cultivators to take missions.

Han Buli didn’t stay in this hall but instead took the staircase on the side. As he walked towards the staircase, Han Buli was followed by envious looks.

The first floor was where the missions were issued while the second floor was where the missions were handed in. In the eyes of these people, Han Buli was here to hand in his task.

On the second floor were a hall and two rooms. The two rooms were marked as the handover office. The doors of the two rooms were closed. There were two rows of chairs outside the rooms where people could sit down and wait. If they wanted to hand in their missions on these two rooms, they could only do it one by one.

As for the hall, it was like the first floor where windows were set up. There were staff members sitting on the opposite side tasked with receiving the missions. The hall handled the ordinary missions such as ore samples and information about mines. At the same time, it registered the person who handed the mission over.

The two rooms, on the other hand, handled the more important missions. Inside the rooms were Elders that received missions of high importance. Because of this, only very few people entered the two rooms. Most of the people went to the hall to handle their matters.

After Han Buli arrived on the second floor, he looked towards the two rooms. There were no people waiting outside but the light outside the door were red, which meant that there were people inside. Instead of walking around, he sat down and closed his eyes, recalling his encounter with Zhao Hai.

Han Buli was certain that his meeting with Zhao Hai wasn’t intentional but a pure coincidence. But he was still worried. He was prepared to check Zhao Hai’s details using the clan. He wanted to be sure.

To be honest, Han Buli was quite fond of Zhao Hai. Both of them hit it off very well. Although they didn’t know each other for a long time, he wanted to make Zhao Hai his friend. 

But because of Han Buli’s status, he couldn’t just casually make friends. This was because his relations.h.i.+ps would affect his clan. Therefore, he needs to be careful.

At this time, a sound of a door opening was heard from one of the rooms. Then a cultivator walked out. The cultivator wasn’t very strong and he looked very ordinary. After he came out, he immediately walked downstairs.

Han Buli stood up and walked towards the room. The person guarding the room didn’t block Han Buli. Naturally, he recognized Han Buli, so he gave him a nod.

Han Buli returned the nod and then entered the room. The room wasn’t that different from the outside. There was also a window inside that had a person on the other side. Inside was another door leading to a smaller room, it was so small that n.o.body could tell what was inside.

Han Buli nodded to the staff member before entering the small room. There was nothing inside the room beside a transmission formation. Han Buli stood on the formation and he disappeared after a flash of white light.

The next moment, Han Buli arrived inside another hall. One could see at a glance that this place was underground. Although there were daylight formations above, the place was very dry. There were also columns supporting the entire hall.

Just as Han Buli stepped out of the formation, a cultivator immediately arrived beside him. The cultivator looked at Han Buli without saying anything.

Han Buli knew the rules, so he immediately took out his jade token. Unlike the white jade token of the others, Han Buli’s jade token was purple. 

Seeing the jade token in Han Buli’s hand, the cultivator nodded and then left. All this time, the cultivator didn’t speak.

Han Buli was used to the person’s mannerisms. He took his jade token back and then walked into the hall. There were a lot of people in the hall being busy with their own matters. People would be seen speaking here and there, but the overall environment was quiet.

Upon seeing Han Buli, one of them laughed and said, “Little Buli, how did you do? Were you successful?”

Han Buli looked at the person and then he smiled and said, “Third Brother, I don’t want to talk about it. I failed. I have something to report to Third Uncle, so I won’t stay here.” The man nodded and then patted Han Buli’s shoulder to comfort him before going away.

Han Buli continued walking forward and before long he arrived outside a cave residence. Most cave residences wouldn’t have large entrances, but this one did. It looked like an entrance to another Hall. Han Buli entered the residence. Inside was a middle-aged cultivator. He sat behind a table as he read the contents of a jade slip.

Seeing Han Buli, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but smile as he said, “Little Buli, how are you? Did you succeed in your mission?”

The middle-aged cultivator was Han Buli’s third uncle, a Nascent Soul Expert. Moreover, he was the Hall Master of the Darkness Hall. Ever since Han Buli was little, the two had a good relations.h.i.+p.

Han Buli embarra.s.singly patted his head and said, “I’ve disappointed Third Uncle. I failed this time.”

Han Buli’s third uncle lightly frowned and said, “You failed? Alright, it doesn’t matter. As long as you return safely.”

Han Buli followed up, “Third Uncle, I was discovered by the Roaring Flame Sect immediately. I killed the person who saw me but I didn’t expect him to be the grandson of the Roaring Flame Sect’s Elder Firecloud. He chased me down, almost killing me.”

As soon as he heard Han Buli, his third uncle knitted his brows and said, “You were found out as soon as you got there? With your ability, you should have been able to infiltrate. Something’s wrong.”

Han Buli replied, “Third Uncle, I heard from Firecloud that the Roaring Flame Sect has established several warning formations on the Inferno Valley. Moreover, they employ tracking powder to see who pa.s.sed through the tracking formation. This is the reason why I was discovered.”

Hearing this, Han Buli’s third uncle couldn’t help but stare, “Firecloud said that? That old b.a.s.t.a.r.d, why would he tell you this?”

Han Buli also briefly talked about his encounter with Zhao Hai and fighting against the enemy with him. Then he said, “Third Uncle, if the Roaring Flame Sect used tracking powder, things would get complicated. Even sending jade sword messages would be difficult.”

Han Buli’s third uncle nodded and said, “It seems like we need to find a way to break through their measures. Right, Zhao Hai, you said that he’s reliable?”

Han Buli replied, “I don’t know his status, but Third Uncle should send people to find out about his details. If he’s reliable, then I want to become friends with him.”

Han Buli’s third uncle nodded and said, “We should do that. According to you, Zhao Hai is a talent. If the clan can win him over, it would be good for us. Alright, you go back, I’ll deal with this matter.” Han Buli nodded before he turned around and left.

Seeing Han Buli leave, Third Uncle took out a jade sword message and sent his message inside. After sending the jade sword message out, he said, “Zhao Hai, huh, interesting.”

What Han Buli didn’t know was that his Third Uncle already had a deep understanding about Zhao Hai. This was because Luo Ying of the Sky Tower was actually a person from the Darkness Hall. The Darkness Hall’s information about Zhao Hai is richer compared to the rest of the Black Tiger Gang. Even Zhang Feng didn’t know Zhao Hai more than the Darkness Hall.

Zhao Hai’s actions in the lower realms entered Third Uncle’s attention. He also knew how uncommon Zhao Hai’s strength was. Moreover, he has Faith Power. But Zhao Hai seems to have no method to make a Dao Avatar. Half of the reason why Zhao Hai was chosen by the Sky Tower was his capabilities, while half was because of Han Buli’s Third Uncle. He didn’t expect Zhao Hai to get to know Han Buli this early. It was truly interesting.

Third Uncle had his people check up on Zhao Hai’s conditions in the Black Tiger Gang. As for Zhao Hai’s ident.i.ty, he had no suspicions at all.