Chapter 703 697: Shen Haoran's Plan

"A miracle? Hah! Some miracle!" Hearing Xue Ling's words, Shen Cheng burst out laughing, his voice dripping with venom.

SLAP…

Abruptly, Shen Cheng slapped Xue Ling across the face. Five crimson finger marks immediately appeared on her fair cheek, and a trickle of blood slid slowly from the corner of her mouth.

"What, did I strike a nerve? It seems you're nothing but a pathetic clown hiding behind a mask. I truly feel sorry for you!" Instead of anger, Xue Ling laughed, her eyes fixed on Shen Cheng, her face full of scorn.

'She was right.' When it came to Shen Haoran's "miracle," no one understood it better than Shen Cheng. The trash of the family, who hadn't been able to produce a shred of Spiritual Power in five years, had somehow managed to defeat him overnight. If it weren't for Shen Haoran's sudden explosion of power, he would have become the Young Clan Leader of the Shen Family. He wouldn't have ended up in this wretched state, neither human nor ghost. It was all because of Shen Haoran!

"Hmph!" At this thought, Shen Cheng snorted, violently jerking Xue Ling's head to the side. He then said coldly, "We'll see who the real clown is in a couple of days. I'll show you that in my presence, any so-called miracle is nothing but a joke. I will make Shen Haoran kneel before me and beg for mercy! I'll make him taste what it's like to live a life worse than death. You just wait and see!" With that, Shen Cheng flicked his wide sleeves, turned, and left.

Staring into the passage that had once again plunged into darkness, the rims of Xue Ling's eyes reddened as two streams of tears streamed down her face. No matter how tough she acted, she was still just a woman. Hearing that Shen Haoran was coming to save her, the icy wall around her heart finally melted. A woman's greatest need at a time like this is a sense of security, and Shen Haoran's imminent arrival was perfectly timed. At that moment, all of Xue Ling's resentment toward him finally vanished into thin air.

...

Meanwhile, in the Underground Boxing Market, after exchanging some pleasantries with Luo Yu and the others, Shen Haoran took up residence there and began to recover from his injuries. His left arm was still numb and immobile, its meridians completely blocked. He would need to clear them out slowly. The Spiritual Qi in his Primordial Small World was also depleted and would take a few days to recover. Fortunately, he had nothing else to do for the next few days and could focus solely on healing his wounds.

WHOOSH… Just as Shen Haoran was preparing to heal his injuries, an ethereal figure slowly materialized before him. It was Elder Yan.

After appearing, Elder Yan looked at Shen Haoran and asked doubtfully, "I say, Shen the kid, you can't have failed to notice that someone has been secretly watching you these past few days, can you?" For days, Elder Yan had sensed someone tailing Shen Haoran, but Shen Haoran paid it no mind and didn't seem to want a reminder. He had no idea what Shen Haoran was up to.

"I noticed," Shen Haoran nodded lightly, his tone nonchalant. 'After all, I'm a Seventh Grade Alchemist. My Spiritual Thought is countless times stronger than it used to be. If I couldn't even sense someone watching me, I'd really deserve to die.'

"Then why haven't you reacted at all? That person seems hostile toward you!" Elder Yan said with a frown. Being watched by a hostile individual in the City of Sin was definitely not good news.

"I know. It's someone from the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave," Shen Haoran nodded again, seemingly with no intention of dealing with the matter.

"You're letting him follow you on purpose?" Elder Yan asked, a puzzled look on his face as he studied Shen Haoran's expression.

"Of course. Otherwise, he would have been dead countless times over by now. I don't know how the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave learned of my whereabouts, but since they want to know, I'll let them. I'm also curious to see what tricks the King of the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave plans to pull," Shen Haoran said nonchalantly, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"There's another reason for this. I want the news of my arrival in the City of Sin to spread. We stayed hidden before because there were only four of us; we couldn't make any significant moves in the City of Sin. But now, with the help of the Underground Boxing Market, there's no need to hold back. I want Xue Ling to know I'm here. After all, she was captured by the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave because of me," Shen Haoran said with a long sigh.

After hearing Shen Haoran's explanation, Elder Yan nodded and then vanished. Shen Haoran sighed once more before closing his eyes and starting to heal his internal injuries. He didn't know if the news of his arrival in the City of Sin would actually reach Xue Ling, but at least taking this step made him feel a little better.

'Xue Ling, wait for me. I will definitely get you out!' A determined glint flashed in Shen Haoran's eyes. He then suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind and directed the last remnants of Spiritual Power in his body toward his left arm, beginning to clear its blocked meridians.

The days passed one by one. After ten days, Shen Haoran had finally cleared all the meridians in his left arm, restoring feeling to the limb. He also had a sense that after this recent use of the Demon Dragon Claw, his control over it had become much more proficient. He would no longer experience that previous awkwardness; at the very least, the meridians in his left arm wouldn't get blocked again when he used Demon Dragon's Descent in the future.

Just as Shen Haoran emerged from his state of Cultivation, Ji Lingxuan and Lady Ya entered from outside and handed him an invitation from Luo Yu.

"This is from Luo Yu," Ji Lingxuan said. "It's an invitation to the auction and wedding the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave is holding in five days."

At her words, Shen Haoran took the invitation. He glanced at the bright red characters on it, a flash of icy killing intent in his eyes. 'In five days, it will be time for me to make my move. It will also be the day the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave is destroyed!'

"Hm?" But just as his anger peaked, his gaze unintentionally fell upon a spot on the invitation. A fragmented ancient painting was printed there, covered in runes. Shen Haoran couldn't have been more familiar with those runes—they were identical to the ones on the two Tokens from the Chaos Celestial Ladder within his Sea of Consciousness!

'Could this be another Token?' A flicker of excitement ignited within Shen Haoran. Although he didn't know what purpose the Tokens served, he clearly remembered that one had saved his life. It had even frightened that white-robed young man back in Central City, proving their origins were anything but simple. If he had the chance, Shen Haoran was determined to collect them all.

"Is this one of the auction items?" Shen Haoran asked Ji Lingxuan, pointing at the ancient painting.

"Not just an item," Ling Xuan said with a light laugh, seeing the look on his face. "It's rumored to be the final, featured piece, so they're only showing the illustration, not the actual object. Why? Are you interested, Brother Haoran?"

"I absolutely must have it," Shen Haoran said, licking his lips, his gaze burning. Even though he didn't know the Token's purpose, he knew he had to get his hands on it.