Chapter 68: What I Saw at the Ghost Market.
Chapter 68
At the critical moment when the battle was about to break out, the Liu family member who had successfully persuaded Liu Chongshan and the second elder of the Zhao family to stop the dispute came out again.
"Chongshan, don't act rashly!" Liu Cheng'an took a quick step, his movements swift as lightning, his arm firmly in front of Liu Chongshan. His usually gentle and peaceful expression, as if capable of dispelling any hostility, was now shrouded in a layer of cold frost. This great elder, renowned within the Liu family as a peacemaker, now radiated spiritual energy like a raging sea, roaring and surging, effectively suppressing the intense, pungent, and almost materialized bloody aura emanating from Liu Chongshan.
"Brother, are you determined to go against me today?" Liu Chongshan's eyes were bloodshot, bulging outward like hideous blood beads. His dry and shriveled hands gripped the crutch tightly like an iron clamp. The crutch made a teeth-grinding creaking sound under his strong grip, as if it would break into two pieces in the next moment under his rage.
"Take a good look around you!" Liu Cheng'an swung his long sleeves, seemingly dispersing the haze that permeated the sky. In an instant, the blood-mist-like barrier that permeated the surroundings, resembling a hellish heap, vanished into thin air. Around the clifftop, a quiet silence had descended without anyone noticing. The forces of the major clans, who had previously engaged in a frenzied fight for the Shangli Order, had now all ceased their attacks simultaneously.
"Tell me, why don't they come over here to cheer you on?" Liu Cheng'an gently pinched three light green jade pieces between his fingers. The jade pieces hummed and trembled endlessly, reflecting the blood-red light, and glowed with a strange glow, like ghostly fire from the underworld. "If you really fight to the death with others today, my Liu family will follow the Gu family's footsteps tomorrow and become the fat meat for everyone to divide and conquer!"
Liu Chongshan's eyes twitched violently, as if in a spasm, as he slowly glanced around. He saw that nearly every member of the Bai family held a cold jade sword, its blades gleaming with a chilling coldness that, caught in the sunlight, seemed to cleave the very void. The second elder of the Zhao family stood with his hands behind his back, twirling his beard, a faint sneer playing at the corners of his mouth, as if mocking the farce. Farther away, he could even see the Nangong family's red-eyed cloud eagles, wings spread, circling in the sky, their sharp eagle eyes surveying everything below, searching for the perfect opportunity to hunt. These "allies," who normally treated the Liu family like brothers and shared drinks and conversation, now gazed upon them with bloodthirsty greed and impatient anticipation, like hungry wolves gazing at wounded lambs.
"Good...very good!" Liu Chongshan suddenly raised his head and burst into wild laughter. The laughter pierced the clouds and cracked the rocks, revealing endless sadness and anger. The carefully carved blood python pattern on the crutch in his hand actually broke apart inch by inch, as if unable to bear the surging emotions. "When the Shangli Secret Realm opens in three days, I will see if you have the ability to protect this little beast!"
As the Liu family disciples retreated as quickly as the receding tide, a wave of disappointed boos erupted from all around. A Bai family cultivator, treading on a chilling jade sword, rode the wind like a sword immortal. The Zhao family's second elder fiercely kicked the puppet beast beside him. The beast roared in dismay, then carried the Zhao family members away on a cloud, like a fleeting dark cloud.
The other families and scattered cultivators gradually left. When the clifftop returned to silence, Gu Jiuge suddenly turned and bowed deeply to the three people beside him, his posture as straight as a pine tree, his attitude sincere and humble. Three tokens slowly emerged from his palms. The dark silver characters "Shangli" shone with a brilliant starlight, like the brightest stars in the night sky. "I am deeply grateful for your help today. Jiuge is truly grateful."
"What are the conditions?" The man in green opened his folding fan with a swish, his movements graceful and smooth. A sly smile hung on his face, like a clever fox, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness. "You're not going to give us such a treasure for no reason, are you?"
"Each of you promise me three things." Gu Jiuge slowly raised his head, his eyes reflecting the gorgeous sunset glow, as if absorbing all the gorgeous colors in the sky. "You and I sign this contract as proof. If he asks for something in the future, as long as it does not violate morality—"
"Deal!" The short old man suddenly stuffed the wine gourd in his hand into Gu Jiuge's arms with a straightforward and generous action, "Keep it for me first!" The dull sound of the red python's spirit colliding with each other came from the gourd, mixed with the strong and mellow aroma of wine, as if it could intoxicate the soul.
The slender fingertips of the woman in green gently stroked the star pattern on the token, as if touching a rare treasure. Suddenly, she laughed softly, her laughter clear and pleasant: "Young Master Gu, I have already thought of the first thing for you."
"I should be the one saying this, how come you beat me to it?" The man in green took the third Shangli Order with a hint of annoyance on his face, as if he was annoyed that he spoke a step too late and missed the opportunity. The corners of his mouth were slightly pouting with a bit of childishness.
Before Bu Xingjin could comprehend what this first incident referred to, Gu Jiuge suddenly groaned, his legs limp as if the tendons and bones had been pulled out, and he collapsed to his knees. From beneath his black robe, spiderweb-like blood veins spread at a visible speed, extending from his neck all the way to his eyes. Even the afterglow of the setting sun seemed to be dyed a dark red, as if consumed by this evil force.
"The Blood Curse can no longer be suppressed." The green-clothed woman's expression was stern. She put two fingers together and gently pressed them on Gu Jiuge's eyebrows. A trace of frost quickly climbed up his eyebrows along his fingertips, like frost flowers blooming. "Little Taoist friend, may I borrow your spiritual power?"
Upon hearing this, Bu Xingjin hurried to Gu Jiuge's side, his expression filled with concern and anxiety. Just like last time, he slowly infused his own plant spiritual energy into him. He was shocked. In just a few days, the thick black energy he had dispelled once before had once again settled in Gu Jiuge's heart meridian, spreading rapidly to the surrounding organs, as if a black demon was eroding his vitality.
At this moment, a light flashed from the sleeves of the green-clothed woman, and twelve green talismans flew out one after another, quickly forming an Ouroboros formation in the air, like a nimble green snake connected head to tail, forcibly pressing the surging blood veins on Gu Jiuge's body back under the skin, as if suppressing a beast that was about to escape.
"Is this the Qinglan Sect's secret twelve-turn soul-soothing talisman?" The short old man took a few steps closer and sniffed the talisman paper, as if trying to discern some rare and exotic fragrance. Then his eyes widened in shock and realization. "No, this is also mixed with the fragrance of the Nine-petal Snow Lotus—Little Yunluo, you really did steal the Sect Master's Ice Soul Cold Jade to raise the Nine-petal Snow Pear!"
"What do you mean by stealing or not!" The green-clothed woman glared at him fiercely, then turned to face Gu Jiuge with a look of concern: "My name is Yunluo, an abandoned disciple of the Qinglan Sect. This is Xie Qingchen, the traitor of the Tianxing Pavilion—"
Before she could finish her words, the folding fan hit her shoulder with a "snap", like a crisp warning.
"Hey, hey, we agreed not to bring this up!" The blue-robed man's golden bell on his wrist rang softly. The bell tongue turned out to be an exquisite eight-diagram plate, as if hiding the mysteries of heaven and earth. "My name is Xie Qingchen, but now I prefer to be a wandering fortune teller, free and unrestrained."
He suddenly leaned forward, staring intently at the bloodstains on Gu Jiuge's neck, his brows furrowed slightly, as if pondering a way to solve the world's most difficult puzzle: "This curse is quite tricky. It requires the Pure Lotus of the Fallen Dragon Abyss as a guide, and then supplemented by..."
"With my thousand-year-old cold pond brew!" The short old man suddenly opened a green wine gourd he had pulled out from nowhere. In an instant, the rich aroma of wine filled the air, and even tiny ice crystals condensed in the air, as if this space had been transformed into a world of ice and snow. "I am Baili Xuan, the former leader of the Beastmaster Sect. Now, I am just a full-time winemaker, free from worldly desires and intoxicated by fine wine."
He proudly shook the gourd in his hand, as if showing off his most proud work, "Thinking back then, the three of us were in the East China Sea..."
"Don't mention the past!" Yun Luo's fingertips glowed with a radiant green light, like a flash of lightning. The bloodstains on Gu Jiuge's body finally faded to his collarbone, as if the demon had been sealed away again. "The most urgent thing is to quickly find the Pure Lotus of the Fallen Dragon Abyss. If you don't consume the Pure Lotus within twelve hours, this curse will merge into your Nascent Soul, and then you will be dead."
"Where can I find this pure lotus?" Bu Xingjin withdrew his hand that was transmitting spiritual power, and asked anxiously with a worried look on his face.
"I haven't introduced myself formally yet. My name is Bu Xingjin." Bu Xingjin said his name simply, without many suffixes like theirs. It was like a clear spring, simple and pure.
"Let me calculate for you." Xie Qingchen flicked his wrist and tossed three copper coins. His movements were skillful and smooth. When the coins landed, he only glanced at them and said slowly, "Traveling on the great river, observing the prosperous market, although there are dangers and obstacles, you will eventually gain benefits. You may be confused at first, but with a firm will, you will succeed. Think carefully and act steadfastly, value harmony, and with the help of others, you can achieve great things."
What are you talking about? Bu Xingjin was about to ask, but Yun Luo interrupted him: "Speak human language."
Xie Qingchen put away the copper coins unhappily, as if his mood had been disturbed: "How can this not be human language?"
Yun Luo gave him a fierce look, as if blaming him for his pretense of being profound.
"The hexagram indicates that going to Shangli City will have a good result, as if a turning point in fate is hidden there."
"Thank you very much." After the blood marks were suppressed by Yun Luo, Gu Jiuge gradually regained consciousness. He forced himself to stand up and bowed to thank the people around him. Although his posture was a little weak, he was still upright. "As long as this blood curse on me can be lifted, the kindness you have shown me today will be regarded as a favor each of you has done me. I don't need to thank you for this great favor, and I will repay you one day."
"I actually know a place where this thing might be found." Baili Xuan took a sip of wine, as if he was tasting the most mellow nectar in the world, and suddenly interrupted.
"Please tell me, senior." Gu Jiuge was very respectful, as if he was listening to the teachings of a saint.
"Xiao Qingchen's divination skills are quite impressive. All those years of learning have paid off." Baili Xuan seemed oblivious to Xie Qingchen's retort. With a mysterious smile on his face, he continued, "Have you ever heard of the Ghost Market?"
…
At three o'clock in the morning, when everything was silent, several figures in black robes and masks appeared quietly in the mass grave south of Shangli City like ghosts in the dark night.
"I've lived in Shangli City for so many years, but I've never heard of a ghost market here?" Someone whispered softly, with a hint of surprise and confusion in his voice.
"Of course there is no fixed ghost market here." A response sounded.
"Ah?" Gu Jiuge, who was walking in the middle, paused and couldn't help but let out a light cry, his eyes full of confusion.
"Don't worry," Baili Xuan explained. Of the few people there, he was the only one who had set foot in the Ghost Market. Yun Luo and Xie Qingchen might have known a thing or two about it, but they had never actually set foot there. "The Ghost Market is erratic, moving around everywhere. It just happened to have wandered to Shangli City this time. It's quite normal that you've never heard of it. The last time the Ghost Market appeared here, you were probably not even born yet."
Over the mass grave, the pale moonlight seemed shrouded in an eerie, bluish-gray veil. Baili Xuan suddenly raised his hand, scattering the wine from his wine gourd into the air. Instantly, amber beads of wine hung suspended in mid-air, condensing and slowly transforming into the shape of the Big Dipper formation. Simultaneously, the ground cracked open, revealing spiderweb-like fluorescent lines that snaked like spirit snakes, emitting a cold glow.
"Follow the direction of the seventh star of the Big Dipper, and the door will open." Baili Xuan said in a low voice with a serious expression.
Bu Xingjin stepped on a half-broken stele, on which the words "Xuanming Gengchen Year" were faintly engraved. At this moment, a dull sound of dragging chains suddenly came from deep underground, as if a giant beast in the Nine Netherworld Purgatory was turning over, shocking everyone with fear.
Descending the bluestone steps, they seemed like an endless corridor, extending deep into the earth. The air was filled with a putrid stench, strangely intermingled with the faint fragrance of flowers. Without warning, the hexagram plate in Xie Qingchen's hand emitted a sharp chime, and copper coins tinkled and scattering on the ground. "Something unexpected has happened in the Kan position. I'm afraid we'll meet an old friend today."
"Hold your breath!" Yun Luo reacted with remarkable speed. With a wave of her hand, three green talismans shot out like flying swallows. The talisman paper instantly ignited, sending billowing clouds of green smoke swirling around them in the blink of an eye. Bu Xingjin's gaze dropped, and he suddenly caught sight of an inky liquid slowly seeping out from beneath his feet. Within the viscous black liquid, countless distorted human faces loomed—the lingering souls of those who had strayed into the ghost market over the years.
Black robes rustled, as if blown by a chilling wind. In that instant, the steps beneath their feet collapsed, transforming into a pool of flowing ink. Immediately afterwards, countless skeletal arms emerged from the earth, slowly emerging from the surface, each holding a green lamp. Within each lamp, lingering fragments of a cultivator's past memories, like a shattered dream of the soul. Bu Xingjin's gaze was drawn to the nearest green lamp. Within it, a flickering light and shadow unfolded, revealing an image of a black-robed figure plucking snow lotus in an ice cave. The figure's cuffs were embroidered with delicate green scales.
"Once you enter the ghost market, do not touch anything without a price tag, and do not look directly at the stall owner's true face." A low warning sounded in everyone's ears.
As soon as I stepped through the bluestone archway, a bone-chilling chill like a venomous snake instantly seeped through my pores and into my bones. A loft, adorned with a gilded plaque reading "The Pawnshop of the Afterlife," stood before me. In front of it, the headless shopkeeper held a vertebra in his hand, rhythmically tapping the abacus. From the hollow neck, a hoarse voice, as if emanating from the netherworld, echoed: "Pawn one soul and one spirit in exchange for news of the Pure Lotus..."
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