# Chapter 929: Blood Dragon Hall
First of all, the black market was a mixed bag where many useful pieces of information could be gathered.
The battle between the Town Prison Ancient Clan and the Undying Blood Clan would surely alarm the entire Yuan Mansion, and even Tiantai Prefecture. When that time came, all sorts of news would quickly spread throughout the black market.
Therefore, even if Zhang Ruochen did not go to the Nether King Sword Grave, he could still learn some things he wanted.
Secondly, Zhang Ruochen's trip to the black market was also to purchase higher-grade Saint Yuan Pills, in preparation for breaking through to the Third Stage Half-Saint.
Only with higher cultivation could he grasp greater initiative. Otherwise, in front of the Imperial Court and the Undying Blood Clan, he would remain very passive.
Once he broke through to the Third Stage Half-Saint, even if Zhang Ruochen encountered a High-stage Half-Saint, he could handle it calmly, without having to exhaust himself just to escape.
After five days of travel, Zhang Ruochen, Grand Minister of Works, and Second Minister of Works finally crossed the vast region and arrived at the prefectural city of Yuan Mansion.
His cultivation.
By now, he had completely consolidated the Second Stage Half-Saint realm and had made some further progress.
At the same time, the Nine Life Sword Technique, True One Thunder Fire Sword Technique, and Scale Eight Variation he cultivated were also steadily improving.
Among the thirty-six prefectures of Tiantai Prefecture, Yuan Mansion was enough to rank in the top ten. Naturally, it was an extremely prosperous place, with a long history, majestic atmosphere, and many famous scenic spots and historical sites.
On the streets, traffic was heavy, with people coming and going. There were both magnificent carriages pulled by snow-white barbarian beasts galloping through the center of the street, and some rather ferocious-looking half-human cultivators carrying war weapons, walking in groups, as if they had just returned from some dangerous place, bringing back quite a few ores and spiritual medicines.
Both Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works were entering a city for the first time, so everything seemed especially novel to them. Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen kept an eye on them, so they didn't cause any unnecessary trouble.
Before stepping into the black market, Zhang Ruochen used the Formless Formless Thirty-Six Transformations to change his appearance, taking on the form of Lin Yue.
Because of the Ministry of War's vigorous propaganda, wanted posters had spread throughout Yuan Mansion. Therefore, Zhang Ruochen's appearance was already known to every household.
In the Central Domain, Lin Yue's appearance was rarely seen by anyone.
If not absolutely necessary, Zhang Ruochen didn't want to change his appearance at all. He only wanted to live openly and uprightly.
But for an ordinary person, this was a very simple matter. For him, however, it was far too difficult. Everything was beyond his control.
Compared to the prosperity and noise of the prefectural city, the black market had a bit more gloom, giving people a feeling of danger everywhere.
On the streets, there were also quite a few pedestrians. Most of these people had a certain level of strength, carrying war weapons on their backs. Some of them were even covered in blood, clearly not good people.
"Clatter, clatter!"
Just then, the sound of dragging iron chains and faint crying could be heard.
From behind the street, two rows of evil path cultivators wearing blood robes escorted nearly a hundred slaves into the black market. Those slaves were quite ornately dressed, wearing silk and brocade, clearly not poor people.
Among them, young and beautiful women accounted for seventy percent. The remaining thirty percent were all strong men whose cultivation had reached the Earth Extreme Realm or above, with the highest cultivation being at the Fish-Dragon Realm.
This was a batch of high-grade slaves, each of whom could be sent to the auction house and sold for an extremely high price.
In the black market, there were all kinds of goods, and "slaves" were one of the more important types.
Slaves were also divided into many categories, such as: laborers, poor slaves, war slaves, and female slaves.
Among them, war slaves had the highest price. A war slave with Fish-Dragon Realm cultivation could fetch an astonishing price anywhere.
In addition, stunningly beautiful female slaves were also the favorite playthings of the profligate sons of those great families.
Coming to the black market and seeing groups of slaves was actually not strange at all.
"I am an inner disciple of the Xuanjing Sect. How dare you evil people from the Blood Dragon Hall capture me? The elders of the sect will definitely not let you off."
Among the slave crowd, a young man spoke.
"Slap!"
Beside him, among the Blood Dragon Hall cultivators, a scar-faced giant who was two meters tall, riding on the back of a barbarian elephant, swung a whip burning with flames in his hand, striking the face of that Xuanjing Sect disciple, beating the left half of his face into a bloody mess.
That Xuanjing Sect disciple hugged his face and kept wailing, looking extremely pained.
The rest of the slaves were all trembling, showing expressions of fear.
The scar-faced giant sneered, "The Xuanjing Sect has colluded with the Undying Blood Clan and has already been annihilated. Your elders are probably all dead by now. You still want to wait for a bunch of dead people to stand up for you? Haha!"
A rather beautiful woman immediately retorted, "The Xuanjing Sect could not have colluded with the Undying Blood Clan. Absolutely impossible. You Blood Dragon Hall and the Zhu Holy Clan are the ones truly colluding with each other, specifically framing various families and sects, plundering cultivation resources..."
"Slap!"
The scar-faced giant swung another whip, striking the woman's back, causing her to curl up on the ground, trembling incessantly.
"If it weren't for the fact that you still have some looks and can fetch a good price, that whip just now would have split your body in two." The scar-faced giant said.
Not far away, Second Minister of Works asked, "Uncle Master, what is this? Why are those people bullying the weak?"
On the road, Zhang Ruochen had explained to Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works why he was proficient in the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, and had also told them some things about the Golden Dragon.
Second Minister of Works stubbornly believed that Zhang Ruochen was the Golden Dragon's successor, belonging to the same generation as Master Indra, so he insisted on calling Zhang Ruochen "Uncle Master."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on that group of cultivators wearing blood robes. He didn't want to court trouble, so he simply explained, "This is the black market. The strong prey on the weak. There's no reasoning to be had."
"I'll go reason with them."
Second Minister of Works clearly couldn't stand it, so he strode toward the center of the street.
Second Minister of Works had extremely high cultivation. The steps he took were quite profound, able to shrink the ground into inches. By the time Zhang Ruochen tried to stop him, he was already standing in front of that scar-faced giant.
Second Minister of Works pressed his palms together and said, "Amitabha!"
The scar-faced giant, sitting on the back of a barbarian beast, saw the cloth-robed monk blocking the way ahead and immediately felt it was somewhat unlucky. He laughed, "What's going on today? I actually see a monk in the black market."
"Benefactor, you should understand the principle that all living beings are equal. I believe you should set them free and not treat them like this." Second Minister of Works had a rather dull expression and spoke seriously.
The scar-faced giant was slightly stunned at first, then reacted, his gaze turning quite icy. He roared, "Monk, are you looking for trouble?"
"I think he's looking for death."
Another Blood Dragon Hall cultivator lifted a black dragon-headed long spear, leaped up from the back of a barbarian beast, and thrust the spear forward, aiming at Second Minister of Works' heart.
Second Minister of Works had only stood up and casually spoken a somewhat fair word, yet this man struck with such lethal force. It could be seen that this person was definitely a ruthless and merciless individual.
"Bang!"
Second Minister of Works stood still, motionless. The sharp spear tip struck his body, producing a sound of metal colliding.
"Vajra Indestructible Body?"
That Blood Dragon Hall cultivator showed a shocked expression. He was about to withdraw his long spear and immediately retreat.
"Whoosh——"
A ring of golden Buddha light radiated from Second Minister of Works' body, containing a powerful force that shattered the long spear into iron fragments.
The iron fragments flew backward, striking that Blood Dragon Hall cultivator's body, creating dense bloody holes.
With a bang, that Blood Dragon Hall cultivator fell to the edge of the street. Because his injuries were too severe, he fainted directly.
"Amitabha!"
Second Minister of Works pressed his palms together and recited another Buddha's name.
But the Blood Dragon Hall cultivators were all greatly alarmed. They immediately rushed over, surrounding Second Minister of Works, drawing their war weapons, looking as if they were facing a great enemy.
On the street, many evil path cultivators stopped to watch from the sidelines.
"Someone actually dares to provoke the Blood Dragon Hall. Are they tired of living?"
"Don't underestimate that monk. His cultivation is very strong. Didn't you see him use hidden force to shatter a True Martial Treasure into pieces? He probably has cultivation above Fish-Dragon Seventh Variation."
"No matter how powerful he is, so what? How vast is the Blood Dragon Hall's power in the black market? Opposing them is undoubtedly seeking death."
"Don't you see the Blood Dragon's sedan chair parked over there? The Blood Dragon is not someone to mess with. Just wait and see. That monk's fate will definitely be miserable."
Among the Blood Dragon Hall cultivators, there was a sedan chair carried by sixteen people. The sedan body was three zhang high, with golden silk curtains hanging down, like a moving small palace.
The Blood Dragon stepped out of the sedan chair, his left and right hands each holding a coquettish woman with scant clothing. His voice carried some evil energy, "Chen Xu, why aren't you sending the newly arrived slaves to the auction house immediately? Why are you still dawdling here?"
The scar-faced giant was sweating profusely, bearing considerable pressure. He turned around and said nervously, "Lord, there's a monk blocking the way ahead, wanting to save people."
The Blood Dragon gave a mocking smile, "Do I still need to teach you what to do? Deal with that monk immediately. Don't delay my business."
"Yes." The scar-faced giant's gaze darkened. He circulated Saint Qi, injecting it into the Red Flame Hou Whip in his hand. The flames on the whip became even hotter, making a sizzling sound.
With a flick of his wrist, the Red Flame Hou Whip lashed out, forming rings of air waves that coiled toward Second Minister of Works' neck. The wind force on the whip was sharper than a blade.
However, before the Red Flame Hou Whip could even strike Second Minister of Works, the scar-faced giant flew backward first. On his chest, there was a foot-long claw mark, continuously gushing blood.
The power of the claw mark had shattered all the meridians in his body, wasting all his cultivation.
Zhang Ruochen stood by the street, gently stroking his chin with his finger, "That monk who looks so dull is actually not sloppy at all when it comes to fighting."
Grand Minister of Works shook his head and sighed, "He's still young and not quite sensible. Uncle Master, rest assured. When he comes back, I will definitely educate him."
Zhang Ruochen didn't oppose Second Minister of Works' actions. However, doing so would certainly offend the Blood Dragon Hall.
He wanted to see how the situation would develop next. (To be continued.)