"Compared to what you've brought out, there are cheaper items for exchange. Wouldn't the customer like to try?"

Just as Liu Yunqing was about to push the small tray back, a cold, emotionless voice rang in her mind.

Liu Yunqing paused, looking down at the spiritual fruits on the tray.

These spiritual fruits were worth only one spirit stone in total, and the spiritual fruits she exchanged were also ones that could be bought with just one spirit stone.

Does she, a Golden Core cultivator, seem like someone who can't afford to exchange a spirit stone for something?

Before Liu Yunqing could answer, that cold voice rang in her mind again.

After listening to it a couple more times, Liu Yunqing not only found the voice to be cold and emotionless, but also felt that the voice was simply repeating itself mechanically.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Yunqing responded when the voice sounded again:

"What item?"

Perhaps because it felt that everyone's memories would be wiped clean after leaving the Ghost Market, the voice gave a very clear answer when Liu Yunqing asked what it was.

"The grievances and resentments in a guest's heart, all their dissatisfaction with the world, can be used for exchange."

Negative emotions?

Liu Yunqing was taken aback, then realized that the black aura from that cultivator was most likely formed from these negative emotions.

What should I do?

Liu Yunqing readily asked questions, and the cold voice promptly explained the method for removing negative emotions from the body.

After pretending to peel it off without actually removing anything, Liu Yunqing pushed the small tray containing the spirit fruit into the cave entrance and said:

"I don't have that, so let's use this instead."

As Liu Yunqing pushed the small tray in, the stone tablet emitted a series of "click-clack" sounds from its mechanism, and then gradually returned to its original state.

After that, Liu Yunqing did not exchange any more items, but simply wandered around the ghost market. If he encountered any cultivators, he would follow them from a distance and watch them trade.

When no one was around, Liu Yunqing would try to go to areas she hadn't been to before, hoping to find out something unusual.

Liu Yunqing was somewhat moved.

Upon entering the ghost market, it truly lived up to its name. However, after spending more time there and observing more closely, Liu Yunqing began to notice some differences.

The entire ghost market was filled with a sinister atmosphere, and the color scheme of the entire cemetery was mostly black, gray and white, with a smoke that seemed to come from nowhere permeating everywhere, making it appear even more ethereal and eerie.

There were even various paper ingots and paper money scattered on the ground. Occasionally, a gust of evil wind would blow, swirling between the graves and making sharp, whistling sounds. The paper ingots and paper money on the ground would be rolled up, making the scene even more realistic.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have been scared to death long ago.

Even for cultivators, the complete absence of any living presence in such a vast and eerie environment is enough to keep their nerves on edge.

In addition, there were some questions that Liu Yunqing hadn't figured out, so the cultivators who entered didn't pay much attention to other parts of the Ghost Market.

Liu Yunqing didn't notice it at first, but after walking around a few times, she realized that the atmosphere of the ghost market was indeed there, and there were no signs of living people. But behind all this atmosphere, there were traces of human intervention everywhere.

Besides, the situations of the people Liu Yunqing was trading with were not entirely the same.

Only a very small minority insisted on exchanging goods; most people chose to follow the instructions of that cold voice, shedding their negative emotions in exchange for the items they needed.

Moreover, the circumstances of those who choose to exchange negative emotions for goods vary.

The time it takes for each person to shed negative emotions varies, and the intensity of the resulting dark emotions also differs.

Liu Yunqing initially thought this was normal, because everyone's negative emotions vary in degree.

Until she encountered several cultivators she had met before entering the Ghost Market, although she didn't recognize them, based on Liu Yunqing's observations of them, she didn't feel that their dark side was that strong.

However, just as the ghost market was about to close, Liu Yunqing encountered Meng Shu.

Meng Shu followed the instructions, stripping away her negative emotions in exchange for a bottle of pills.

Liu Yunqing sensed that something was wrong.

This ghost market desires people's dark emotions, so the amount of dark emotions collected from each person should be related to the quality of the items they exchange.

The pill that Meng Shu exchanged was a bottle of Qingxin Pill, which could only be used by those at the Golden Core stage, but the black aura she peeled off was so faint that it was almost invisible.

Among the people Liu Yunqing had worked with before, some of the items they exchanged were of a much lower grade than Meng Shu's, but the black aura that person shed was exceptionally dense and solid.

Even at the moment the energy sphere was separated, Liu Yunqing keenly sensed that the other party's soul swayed for a moment.

Just as Liu Yunqing was about to step forward to remind Meng Shu not to detach herself from her emotions, the Ghost Market closed.

A sensation of weightlessness from teleportation washed over her, and in the next instant, Liu Yunqing found herself on her bed in the guest room.

Liu Yunqing remained motionless, and the first thing she did upon seeing the scene before her was to recall what had happened last night.

After confirming that she had not lost her memory, she relaxed and stretched on the bed, then sat up and quietly slipped into Zhuo Ying's room.

"who?!"

The moment Liu Yunqing entered Zhuo Ying's room, she was discovered by him.

Seeing Zhuo Ying's clear eyes, Liu Yunqing's face lit up with joy, and he asked telepathically:

"So? You haven't lost your memory either."

Zhuo Ying was taken aback, her expression immediately changed, and she shook her head, saying:

"No, I also have amnesia, but I wasn't asleep."

Liu Yunqing thought for a moment and asked Zhuo Ying:

"Didn't you make a deal?"

Zhuo Ying didn't understand Liu Yunqing's meaning, but nodded nonetheless. Then, realizing what he meant, he asked Liu Yunqing:

"You...you haven't lost your memory?"

Seeing Liu Yunqing nod slightly, Zhuo Ying's eyes lit up, and he pressed for an answer:

How did you do that?

Liu Yunqing did not answer immediately, but stood up and said:

"Let's check on the others first."

Ultimately, the people who sensed the teleportation and remained conscious were Liu Yunqing, Jian Xing, Liu Yunzhao, and Zhuo Ying.

But only Liu Yunqing retained the memory.

The other three slept for a while before waking up.

The group arrived at a tavern, closed the door to a private room, and set up an array. Meng Shu couldn't help but speak first:

"Why is this happening? How did you all stay conscious? Especially Junior Sister Zhenru, why do you still have all your memories?"

This was a question that everyone was concerned about, and everyone turned their attention to Liu Yunqing.

But Liu Yunqing looked at Meng Shu first and asked:

"Fellow Daoist Meng Shu, did you see me in the Ghost Market last night?"

Meng Shu naturally shook her head and spread her hands, saying:

"I have no memory, how could I remember whether I've seen you before? But judging from your appearance, I must have seen you before?"

Liu Yunqing nodded and began to describe the scene from last night.

“I have met Fellow Daoist Meng Shu before, but when you were in the Ghost Market, it was as if you didn’t recognize me.”

"Furthermore, Zhuo Ying and I have also discovered a pattern."