139: Chapter 139 Strange Changes in the Ghost Market (4k)

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn passed.

Several gusts of wind swept past as two figures in black suddenly appeared in view, kneeling on one knee.

"My Lord, after investigation, the Young Miss's Life-protecting Talisman has not been triggered."

"Furthermore, according to the Young Miss's colleagues, although those missions were dangerous, she managed to turn peril into safety every time."

Hearing this, Lin Zhentian's brow relaxed.

As long as the Life-protecting Talisman hadn't been triggered, things were still manageable.

Life-protecting Talismans were expensive and had an extremely long production cycle; they were personally inscribed by the Formation masters of the Directorate of Astronomy and could only be owned by direct descendants of the Lin family.

"It seems these few incidents have dealt a significant blow to Wan'er; otherwise, she wouldn't have voluntarily requested to enter the Marrow Cleansing Pool."

With a serious expression, Lin Zhentian said to the two hidden guards:

"You two keep a close eye on Wan'er during this period. If anything unexpected happens, intervene directly."

"Those old geezers in the Grand Secretariat really think they're above the law, daring to bully my Lin family!"

As Lin Zhentian spoke, he actually caused the surrounding air to vibrate, a powerful pressure sweeping through the entire space.

The two hidden guards were drenched in sweat, their hearts racing.

For the Lin family to become one of the Four Great Families after the change of dynasties...

...it wasn't through luck, but through achievements forged in battle back then.

The Master of the Lin family was enraged; the people in the Grand Secretariat were surely going to have a massive headache.

...

...

In the back mountains of the Lin family, amidst a dense forest.

At this moment, it was shrouded in mist and clouds, as if it were a fairyland.

From within that mist came the sound of splashing water.

Within a pearl-white jade basin, a pool of crystal-clear water appeared before the eyes.

Lin Wan stood by the pool, her expression complex.

Merely standing nearby and absorbing a hint of the drifting medicinal power made her True Qi exceptionally excited.

Marrow Cleansing Pool.

As one of the Lin family's most precious cultivation resources, it was not to be used by anyone other than direct descendants.

The lowest-grade medicinal ingredients consumed in this pool were Century-old Herbs; precious Spirit Medicines were continuously purchased from the outside and thrown in every month.

The daily expenses alone amounted to over a thousand taels of silver, just to maintain the essence of the medicinal liquid and prevent it from dissipating.

Lin Wan shed her outer garments, leaving only her underclothes, and slowly stepped into the pool.

As soon as she entered the pool, she felt a powerful medicinal force spreading upward from her toes.

Mmh.

Lin Wan let out a muffled groan, her jade-like toes curling together.

This medicinal power pierced into her Meridians; in just a few breaths, she actually sensed a faint trend of expansion within her Meridians.

Even though she had been mentally prepared, experiencing it again still left her feeling extremely shocked.

Just staying here for a while was almost equivalent to several hours of bitter cultivation.

This was one of the true foundations of the Four Great Families, possessing cultivation resources comparable to top-tier Sect Holy Lands.

With the support of such resources, even an ordinary person's cultivation could advance by leaps and bounds, catching up to those martial arts prodigies.

Lin Wan immersed half her body in the pool water, thinking calmly to herself,

"One day, I will arrest you with my own hands..."

...

...

Deep within the Heavenly Prison, in the Prison Officers' rest area.

Chen Ran sat cross-legged on a wooden stool, slowly exhaling a mouthful of turbid air.

The True Qi in his body surged like a river; his cultivation at the Peak of the fourth-grade Aperture Condensation Realm became increasingly stable.

There were only a few days left before he would break through to the Return to Truth Realm.

"Life is really becoming more and more promising."

Chen Ran stretched and pushed the door open.

Today it was his turn to patrol the Jia Ward cells,

As soon as he stepped into the corridor, a heavy scent of blood wafted toward him.

In the cells on both sides, many new faces had been added.

Most wore prison uniforms; although their clothes were disheveled, they couldn't hide the Aura of former high-ranking officials.

"Prison Officer Chen." An old Jailer approached and lowered his voice, "Several more lords were sent in last night, all from the Grand Secretariat."

Chen Ran glanced at an old man with disheveled hair in a cell. "Was it the First Prince's doing?"

"Exactly." The old Jailer smacked his lips,

"The First Prince has been in the spotlight lately, removing several Eunuchs in a row. The court... it's likely about to change."

Chen Ran was noncommittal.

When the gods fight, it's the Mortals who suffer.

As long as it didn't affect his daily free gain of cultivation power, it didn't matter who was Emperor.

However, since liberating those officials whose reputations had been slandered, the First Prince's power had been growing day by day.

He even showed signs of becoming the most powerful person beneath the imperial throne.

"This kid is quite something—winning over hearts and following public will. If he continues to develop like this, the other princes won't even have a chance."

Chen Ran thought to himself while patrolling the cells.

Based on the information he currently had, he was quite optimistic about the First Prince, Wei Yanxi. If nothing unexpected happened, the Great Wei imperial power would likely fall into his hands.

But this was only the surface power; no one knew if the other princes or princesses had hidden cards up their sleeves.

After finishing his patrol, Chen Ran ran into Warden Wen Ruoxu in the rest area.

This kid had been much more well-behaved since the last time Chen Ran had put a sack over his head and beaten him up.

He spent all day in the Heavenly Prison indifferent to worldly affairs, managing almost nothing.

He only occasionally patrolled the prisoners with him or chatted and had fun.

If Chen Ran hadn't known Warden Wen Ruoxu was practicing a Cultivation Technique, he might have thought some Young Master had come here just to pad his resume.

What kind of martial arts was it... showing no signs of cultivation on a daily basis, yet making progress every day?

Every time Chen Ran used [Heavenly Net], he could sense the changes in Warden Wen Ruoxu's Aura.

Although the fluctuations weren't very obvious, careful observation revealed them.

Warden Wen Ruoxu's strength was indeed advancing at a slow pace, and at this rate, breaking through to the Return to Truth Realm was only a matter of time.

But since this involved the secrets of martial arts cultivation, Chen Ran simply assumed it was a supreme technique from one of the Four Great Families.

"Brother Chen, any new stories to tell today?" Warden Wen Ruoxu approached and handed him a cup of hot tea.

"I haven't finished hearing what happened after Sun Wukong stormed the Heavenly Court."

His expression was eager, his eyes full of curiosity.

Since he had started telling some of the novels from his previous life a few days ago, Warden Wen Ruoxu had been constantly amazed.

These stories passed down from Blue Star, having undergone the baptism of modern entertainment, even if they were just given a simple makeover...

...their appeal far exceeded the storybooks of this world.

It was a wave of cultural output for the people of this different world.

Chen Ran coughed lightly and said:

"Since we talked about that Stone Monkey attacking the Heavenly Court yesterday, the final result was quite simple: he was pinned down and sealed by a single palm strike from the Buddha, Tathagata."

"What? That Sun Wukong has Seventy-two Divine Abilities, the Fiery Golden Eyes, and an Indestructible Body—how could he be suppressed by a single palm?"

"It's a difference in Realms. If you were to fight a Grandmaster across Realms, and the Grandmaster struck with one palm, you'd be lucky to survive."

Chen Ran took the teacup and took a sip:

The magnitude of improvement between major Realms was enormous; except for a very few geniuses who could fight across Realms...

...other Martial Artists could only choose to avoid the brunt of the attack when facing an opponent an entire Realm above them.

Even he, as he was now, could only ensure his life within the Return to Truth Realm.

If he encountered a mighty expert of the second-grade Innate Realm, he would run as far as he could.

Seeing Warden Wen Ruoxu sink into thought, Chen Ran suddenly spoke:

"Brother Wen, I'd like to ask you something."

"Ask away, Brother Chen."

"Where in the capital can one obtain high-level monster cores?" Chen Ran's tone was casual.

That fourth-tier monster core in his hand was a hot potato; he might as well find an opportunity to sell it for some practical resources.

Warden Wen Ruoxu was stunned, then lowered his voice, "Brother Chen wants to buy monster cores? Those are contraband; the Demon Suppression Division investigates them strictly."

Warden Wen Ruoxu was a bit surprised; monster cores weren't ordinary medicinal ingredients and were something only a few Alchemists would consider.

But thinking of Chen Ran's mysterious demeanor, Warden Wen Ruoxu still spoke:

"However... there are ways to get monster cores." He changed the subject.

"In the Ghost Market of the Outer City, black market merchants occasionally resell them. As long as the price is right, you can even get an inferior monster core."

Chen Ran nodded. "Thanks."

...

Night fell.

The Ghost Market in the Outer City of the capital.

Beneath the pungent and foul-smelling turbid water, a rugged small path appeared.

Chen Ran changed into a black robe, put on an evil ghost mask, and silently blended into the night.

Just as he neared the edge of the Ghost Market, his steps faltered slightly.

The [Heavenly Net] Divine Ability unfolded silently.

Buzz.

An invisible Aura turned into ripples and spread in all directions.

Every rustle of grass within a hundred-zhang radius was clearly visible to him.

In his perception, an extremely obscure Aura was fleeing toward the city outskirts at an astonishing speed.

"Such speed?"

Chen Ran's brow twitched slightly.

This movement technique was extremely agile; in just a few moments, it had covered several miles.

It was currently fleeing out of the capital at high speed, as if running for its life.

But in the context of the Ghost Market, this was normal.

Once out of the market and free from the constraints of its rules, life and death were up to fate, and wealth was in the hands of heaven.

Many people even specialized in this trade, keeping an eye on the "fat sheep" who spent money in the Ghost Market every day and robbing them as soon as they left.

He didn't meddle and walked straight into the Ghost Market.

As soon as he stepped in, he noticed the atmosphere was off.

At the entrance of the Ghost Market, all the guards responsible for keeping watch and checking credentials had disappeared.

The usually bustling black market was now deathly silent.

All the stalls had been packed away; the stallholders looked vigilant, their eyes fixed on the distance.

A few dozen meters away...

...squads of armored and armed City Defense Army soldiers were holding torches and searching the stalls one by one.

"Everyone, behave! Hands behind your heads!"

A City Defense Army soldier shouted harshly, slamming the back of his blade onto a merchant's back.

The merchant's expression changed drastically; his fingernails suddenly grew long and needle-like, and killing intent emerged.

He was likely an expert who practiced claw techniques.

Facing such a scene, the City Defense Army soldier instead grinned:

"What, do you want to commit treason?"

Hearing this, the surrounding City Defense Army soldiers instantly surrounded the merchant, their spears encircling him like a hedgehog's quills.

The merchant's face paled slightly,

With such a heavy label being pinned on him, it would be disastrous if he dared to act.

This wasn't just a simple matter of disobeying an official order; it would be turning against the Great Wei Dynasty.

In the end, the merchant retracted his claws, and his Aura settled down.

"If you don't want to die, stay put!"

The City Defense Army soldier laughed loudly and spat on the ground.

He picked up all the items displayed next to the merchant and threw them into a bulging snakeskin bag.

"You are suspected of privately trading dangerous goods. These items are confiscated. If you have any questions, you can report to the imperial court."

The other companions also went through the motions, taking many things from the surrounding stalls.

The vendors in the Ghost Market were furious but dared not speak out, only able to watch helplessly as their goods were taken away.

Transactions in the Ghost Market already operated on the edge of the law and were not protected by anyone; now that the goods were seized and put into the others' pockets...

...there was no reason to report it, unless one was tired of living.

Fortunately, these City Defense Army soldiers only took the goods from the stalls and did not conduct a detailed background check on the merchants.

If they pushed any further and the oppression became too severe, the people in the Ghost Market would surely fight to the death.

The City Defense Army soldiers moved very quickly, with squads of a dozen or so conducting varying degrees of extortion based on the influence of the opposing party.

They directly snatched all the goods from small vendors, but when encountering merchants with decent influence and strength, they simply collected a sum of silver and left.

Chen Ran blended into the crowd, his gaze sweeping over everyone.

His gaze paused slightly upon seeing a man in a short blue shirt, with knotted muscles, holding a heavy giant axe.

This was likely the strongest merchant in this area; even the City Defense Army soldiers who approached were sent away after being handed some silver.

Soon, these City Defense Army soldiers left in a grand manner, leaving behind a mess.

The people in the Ghost Market also dispersed, leaving only this well-preserved merchant stall.

A short, shifty-eyed man beside the giant axe-wielding hunk flattered him:

"Boss, it's lucky you stepped in this time. The other side saw you and left immediately!"

"Of course. You think the wine I drank with their captain was for nothing? Look at whose territory this Ghost Market is."

Hu Han put down the giant axe in his hand and instructed the man beside him:

"During this period, tell the brothers not to act for now. There's likely going to be a big purge. Don't open the Ghost Market business for the time being."

"What happened here?"

Suddenly, a flat voice came from beside his ear.

Hu Han was stunned and looked down, seeing that a man wearing an evil ghost mask had appeared before him without him noticing.

With his perception at the Meridian Opening Realm, he actually had no idea when this person had appeared before him.

This person's strength is definitely extraordinary!

Alarm bells rang in Hu Han's heart. He raised the giant axe he was about to put down, his right arm muscles bulging.

Clatter!

Seeing this, the surrounding lackeys also raised their weapons, looking at the man in the evil ghost mask with unfriendly expressions.

If the person before them couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, his end would likely be miserable.

Hu Han's reaction was the quickest; he held the axe blade across Chen Ran's neck and grinned hideously:

"Kid, who sent you?"

The next moment, the ghost-masked man raised his right arm and delivered a slap.

Slap!

A violent gust of wind howled,

Before Hu Han could react, he felt the world spinning as he flew backward like a cannonball.

With a boom, he smashed through the wall behind him, creating a human-shaped crater.

...