"The Ghost Sect Hall?"
Hearing the name of this force, Chu Feng's heart stirred.
This place was something Chu Feng had heard of back in the Hundred Refinements Mortal Realm.
Chu Banruo had personally told him that it was within the Ghost Sect Hall that she had found that mysterious person.
It was from that mysterious person's hands that she had purchased the scroll capable of locating the Evil Ginseng King.
Although ripples had already formed in Chu Feng's heart, he did not show it. Instead, he asked very calmly: "Song Xi, what are the characteristics of these four forces you mentioned? Which one is the strongest?"
"The strongest of the four would be the Starfall Holy Land."
"The Starfall Holy Land has a long lineage. Rumor has it that the Starfall Holy Land was forged from a colossal meteorite that fell from the sky."
"That colossal meteorite contains extraordinary power that is immensely beneficial to cultivation, and that is what made the Starfall Holy Land so formidable."
"Of course, no matter how strong the Starfall Holy Land is, it cannot compare to the Chu Heavenly Clan."
Song Xi made a point of adding this, and it was clear that he held the Chu Heavenly Clan in considerable reverence.
"As for the Dao Imperial Palace and the Supreme Bliss Valley, it's hard to say which is stronger—they're probably about even."
"As for the Ghost Sect Hall, it is rather secretive. All that is known is that their forces are vast and their strength is formidable."
"But in my opinion, they might be slightly weaker than the Dao Imperial Palace and the Supreme Bliss Valley. At the very least, the Ghost Sect Hall doesn't have as many members as either of those two," Song Xi said.
"You say the Ghost Sect Hall is rather secretive—is there a reason for that?" Chu Feng asked.
"The other forces publicly recruit disciples every year. Although their requirements for admission are extremely strict—only those with exceptional talent are admitted—at least it's an open recruitment."
"But the Ghost Sect Hall has never been seen recruiting disciples. They select their own members on their own."
"Furthermore, the Ghost Sect Hall has no subordinate forces under its banner, yet its financial power is remarkably strong."
"Rumor has it that the Ghost Sect Hall's wealth, while inferior to the Starfall Holy Land's, surpasses that of both the Supreme Bliss Valley and the Dao Imperial Palace," Song Xi said.
"If they have no subordinate forces, then no faction pays tribute to them. How can they have such immense financial power?" Chu Feng asked.
Generally speaking, powerful forces like these would have subordinate factions under their command. Those subordinate factions, in exchange for protection, would be required to offer large quantities of treasures each year—a form of indirect exchange.
But if the Ghost Sect Hall had no subordinate forces, that meant it received no tribute. Its financial power should logically be comparatively weak.
"The rumors say they're involved in trade, but what exactly that trade entails is something people of our stature would have no way of knowing."
"Only those who are truly above the rest can do business with the Ghost Sect Hall."
"That is why, compared to the other forces, the Ghost Sect Hall remains relatively mysterious," Song Xi said.
"I see."
Chu Feng now had a general idea of what the Ghost Sect Hall was about. Their business was certainly not legitimate.
However, from the mere fact that the Ghost Sect Hall had been able to provide Chu Banruo with that scroll recording the location of the Evil Ginseng King, Chu Feng knew that the Ghost Sect Hall's strength was far from ordinary.
At the very least... among the four forces Song Xi had described, the one Chu Feng was most interested in at this point was the Ghost Sect Hall.
…………
After that, Chu Feng made his way to the Heaven Ascending Stairway that connected to the Hundred Refinements Mortal Realm.
This Heaven Ascending Stairway was under the control of the Chu Heavenly Clan, so trying to gather information about it required quite a bit of effort on Chu Feng's part.
But at last, Chu Feng managed to obtain the information he wanted—only the result was far from optimistic.
"How can this be? None of them made it through the Heaven Ascending Stairway to reach this place."
"Even the Chu Heavenly Clan doesn't know what happened?"
"This is definitely not a simple malfunction of the Heaven Ascending Stairway. It feels more deliberate—like someone's handiwork."
By now, Chu Feng already knew that Wang Qiang and the others had failed to reach the Greater Thousand Upper Realm through the Heaven Ascending Stairway.
This forced Chu Feng to seriously reconsider the situation they had encountered inside the Heaven Ascending Stairway.
Because the whole thing was far too bizarre. Chu Feng had entered the light vortex, yet he had appeared on that mysterious wasteland.
It was almost as if someone had deliberately lured him there.
Unable to figure out the reason, Chu Feng sought out Song Xi once again.
"Song Xi, do you know the origin of that mountain where we first met?" Chu Feng asked.
"You mean the Divine Mountain? Its background is extraordinary," Song Xi said.
Hearing the words "Divine Mountain" and seeing Song Xi's reaction, Chu Feng felt increasingly certain that his suspicions were correct—that everything was absolutely no coincidence.
"Could you tell me about the origins of that Divine Mountain?" Chu Feng asked.
"Of course."
Song Xi naturally had no intention of keeping anything from Chu Feng and proceeded to tell him everything he knew about the Divine Mountain.