Immortal Kingdoms



The young man didn't know why the sudden shift in the atmosphere after he laid out that statement, but the wise and experienced elders saw through it too clearly. 

This statement was like a rude awakening. In hindsight, they have willingly allowed themselves to become Leonardo's selected subjects. Nonetheless, this was no longer a motion that could be stopped or counterattacked, they can only lie low and slowly proliferate their influence in the cities. 

Leonardo made an error here by surrounding himself on all fronts with these sects and forces, but he had no choice in the matter as the only way to prevent the Jin Dynasty from outright obliterating his territory at the moment was to lease it out for behemoths on the same level. With this, he could buy enough time to head over to the Jin Dynasty and strike them in their base, especially since they have the coordinates for him to return to that stellar world. 

With that thought in mind, the elders no longer had the mood to dally about in Leonardo's presence and the birds shot out like rapid fire. Even the young masters, as overbearing as they were, felt the change. Thus, they kept silent to themselves while the elders did the bidding without consulting. 

Eventually, it was the Violet Mountian Sect and the Golden Pill Pavilion that obtained the credentials for a seat of power as respective city lords. 

The rivalry between the Golden Pill Pavilion and Heaven's Remedy Pavilion was so much that the former didn't wish to lose out and pay taxes to their rival, while the other sects didn't have enough wealth to contend with the nominal strongest sect of the Eight Mountains. For now, the cities were also named after the respective sects with Heaven's Remedy City to the north, Pill City to the south, and Violet Mountian City to the west. The sole exception was Blackrain City to the east. 

Everyone quickly left the meeting hall to report back to their sects while Leonardo and the cultivator from the black market remained seated next to one another. 

Leonardo's eyes flickered, thinking that there wasn't much to be desired from the black market at this point since the Heaven's Remedy Pavilion solved his problems for him. He lied to the sects about giving the City Lord Estate to the black market as the only thing they asked for in the previous negotiations was a guarantee of safety. 

Leonardo more than just delivered in terms of providing safety. 

"What can your black market offer me?" 

Leonardo broke the silence with a question, his tone faint. 

"Information," a hoarse voice responded a moment later. "You already have one of our secret agents in custody, though I'm pretty positive you have your own guesses." 

Leonardo nodded, one name in his head; Blaire. 

She seemed to have connections to the black market. It was from her that he learned of Lord Fredrick's involvement with the black market and the location of some other hideouts pinpointed throughout Greenheart City. 

Since the black market agents could dispatch personnel to the City Magistrate Manor, this reflects heavily on their influence and power. It's not that Memento Mori couldn't do the same, they simply lacked the resources and manpower as a desolate organization that survived the culling of the Lost Dynasty. 

Their members were too strong, albeit too few, and stretched thin with no solid foothold on the mainland. 

"Are you saying I can get this information without joining the black market? Info is indeed valuable, but no amount of intelligence warrants an entire city in exchange… Moreover, the resources provided to me by the pavilions are more than sufficient to overlook our previous transaction, even while I am generous enough to provide you with a safe location to open a black market." 

"We can pay with ether fragments, but the treasures and resources we have are things that cannot see the light of day lest it brings disaster to you. Hmm, we can also provide information on the Lost Dynasty, especially locations of ancient ruins with many secrets. I'm pretty sure the people behind you are very interested…" 

Leonardo's eyes flashed as he said, "Continue…" 

The cultivator cleared his throat. "Our black market is a coalition of various lords and officials of high status, it is fair to say that many ancient families are involved in the black market and they made it so that their descendants, and the ones after them, are involved in the business. 

"Our network extends to the three dynasties and they used to extend to the fourth dynasty as well, the Lost Dynasty. Many of the activities in the Lost Dynasty have the shadows of our machinations and not all of the surviving members of that dynasty are under Memento Mori's control. For example, Blaire is someone with a mixed bloodline; the bloodline of a noble house of that era runs through her veins. 

"Memento Mori banded together after the catastrophe but our agents were mingling with the great figures of the Lost Dynasty from way back, we have some valuable information and ancient records that not even Grandmaster Sin is aware of, pardon me when I say this is no shameless boasting." 

Leonardo rubbed his chin, a bit intrigued. 

Memento Mori may be a few thousand years old, and its core members are even much older than that, but their individual focus wasn't keen on a specific goal until it was too late. As for the people behind this black market, they truly stretched far back to tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. 

Their power was in their numbers and their inexplicable link to the skeletons of each faction. Even now, they tried to sneak one of their agents into Leonardo's house in the guise of Blaire. If Leonardo wasn't in a particularly impatient bad mood on that day, Blaire might have gone from a captive to a maid in his house. 

This thought gave Leonardo the chills. 

What about Elizabeth? Was she also a mole designed to lure Leonardo in by using Merlin as a proxy? His eyes suddenly flickered with a cold and sharp light. The cultivator to the side didn't notice this, and their conversation carried late into the night afterward... 

Eventually, both parties came to a satisfactory deal that provided the black market with a Vice City Lord position in Blackrain City, but that was the most Leonardo could relent in exchange for the resources and information they offered.