Chapter 683 677: City of Sin (Part 2)

Seeing Shen Haoran slay those Martial Artists, the guard's eyes didn't show the slightest flicker of emotion. In fact, he even looked a little excited. In this City of Sin, human life was truly cheaper than a mouthful of food. Just as the guard had said, this place only had room for the strong!

Still, the guard was a little surprised that Shen Haoran could instantly slay that group of Martial Artists. In the past, plenty of disciples from prominent clans had come to the City of Sin for training. Though they were all arrogant, none of them carried the slightest hint of killing intent. If their Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills hadn't been superior to those of the desperadoes here, they would have died countless times over. But Shen Haoran was different. When he had killed those Martial Artists, his eyes had shown no emotion, and not even a trace of killing intent could be felt. This wasn't because Shen Haoran lacked killing intent, but because he had concealed it so perfectly that even the guard hadn't noticed. 'A man like that must have crawled his way out of a mountain of corpses.'

Shen Haoran nodded at the guard and led Ji Lingxuan and the others into the city. Just as they were leaving, the corpses on the ground suddenly turned into ice sculptures. An instant later, they shattered explosively, leaving the surrounding Martial Artists stunned. The guard's eyelids twitched. He had just seen the two beautiful women beside the young man make a move. 'None of these people are ordinary.'

"Wait, young man!" The guard hurriedly called out to Shen Haoran, who had not yet gone far. "Just a friendly warning," he said. "The two beauties by your side are far too attractive to the Martial Artists in the City of Sin. If you don't want endless trouble, you'd best disguise their faces. Otherwise, you'll have your hands full!"

Hearing the guard's words, Shen Haoran gave him an appreciative nod. He'd had the same thought. He then retrieved two black robes from his Storage Ring and draped them over the two women, completely concealing them before striding into the City of Sin.

Upon entering the City of Sin, a din of noise assaulted them. The streets were a chaotic mess, the ground covered in dried blood. Even the air was tinged with the faint, metallic scent of it. The sounds of fighting were constant. This was a paradise for the wicked. There were no rules to speak of—or rather, if one had to name a rule, it would be that the strong reign supreme. Here, strength was the only law.

As they walked through the streets, gruff shouts echoed from all around. The Martial Artists were all hardened cutthroats who lived on the edge, and their fights were lethal, every strike aimed to kill. Meanwhile, the onlookers would either cheer them on or simply continue drinking their tea and eating their meals, as if this were an everyday occurrence. The reasons for these fights were often bizarre: "You bumped my arm," "You ate the last of my noodles," or even just not liking the look of someone. In any case, here in the City of Sin, fighting and killing were the greatest forms of entertainment.

"Brother Haoran, where are we going?" Ji Lingxuan asked, ignoring the chaos around them.

Shen Haoran mulled it over for a moment before replying, "The auction house. If we want to gather information, that's our best bet. It's a hub of activity and gossip, so news should travel quickly there."

Having made his decision, Shen Haoran led the group toward the auction house. Along the way, they came to truly understand the nature of the City of Sin and why it had earned its name.

On their way, they were harassed by numerous Martial Artists. Shen Haoran's clean-cut appearance was a rare sight for the ruffians here, and they naturally pegged him as a disciple from some rich clan. Many who didn't fear death tried to get something off of him, but Shen Haoran sent every last one of them to Hell.

Shen Haoran felt no guilt for killing those Martial Artists. Anyone who ended up in the City of Sin was a heinous criminal, infamous throughout the lands of the Demon Race. Each of them had the blood of at least dozens of innocent people on their hands. 'Killing them is simply making them atone for their sins!'

Eventually, Shen Haoran was splattered with blood, and he finally let the cold killing intent in his eyes blaze forth. Only then did the other Martial Artists grow wary and stop trying to cause him trouble.

After fighting their way through constant provocations, Shen Haoran and his companions finally arrived at the largest auction house in the City of Sin: the Hell Auction House. This establishment was run by the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave. Since Shen Haoran wanted to find information about the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave, this was the natural place to start.

Inside the auction house, the din was still deafening, but there were no signs of fighting. It seemed even the lawless Martial Artists, who feared neither heaven nor earth, held some reverence for the City of Sin's overlord, the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave. They knew this was Ten Thousand Snakes Cave territory. Anyone who dared to fight here would be dragged away by their Martial Artists and punished in public. The punishment was the Ten Thousand Snakes Devouring Body—the thought of tens of thousands of venomous snakes crawling over you and burrowing into your flesh was absolutely terrifying.

The first floor of the Hell Auction House was a trading hall. Shen Haoran led Ji Lingxuan and the others as they browsed the various stalls, eventually stopping at one selling Elixirs. He casually picked one up from the display and asked, "How much are these Elixirs?"

The Elixir vendor was a young man with sharp, monkey-like features. When he saw Shen Haoran's fine clothes, he immediately scrambled up from the ground, his eyes gleaming. "You have a keen eye, young man!" he said excitedly. "The Elixirs I'm selling are the absolute cheapest in this entire hall, and every single one was crafted by a Seventh Grade Alchemy Master! Their effects are incredibly potent, and I'm giving you an honest price—five hundred Spirit Stones each!"

"Five hundred Spirit Stones? That's highway robbery!" Long Aotian, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but curse when he heard the vendor. He himself was a Seventh Grade Alchemist and could tell at a glance that these were just ordinary medicinal pills; they couldn't be called Elixirs at all. And he dared to ask for five hundred Spirit Stones for them? What a blatant rip-off!

"Tch! Do you have any idea what a Seventh Grade Alchemist even is? Five hundred Spirit Stones is a bargain, and you're complaining? Take it or leave it. If you're not buying, then scram and stop bothering me!" the vendor shot Long Aotian a disdainful look, his voice full of impatience.

"You..." Hearing the vendor's words, Long Aotian was fuming. 'I'm a Seventh Grade Alchemist, and this peddler is telling me I don't understand Alchemy? I can't let this slide!' But just as he was about to erupt, Shen Haoran stopped him. He then turned to the monkey-faced vendor with a smile and said, "Five hundred Spirit Stones it is, then. But before we buy, I have a few questions for you. If you tell us everything you know, I'll buy out your entire stock of Elixirs. How does that sound?"

At Shen Haoran's words, the vendor's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly. 'Looks like I've run into a big spender today!'

Seeing the vendor agree, a cunning smile touched the corners of Shen Haoran's lips as he began to ask his questions...