Chapter 782: Zhongli Royal City
They have little Taoist skills, and when they transform into human form, they don't have the posture of a human. They walk with a wriggling gait, and their entire bodies twist unconsciously, which looks really weird.
However, they were still very responsible and introduced themselves, "We two brothers practice cultivation on the banks of the Haoshui River and often come to the Haozhou Ghost Market to try our luck. Although we don't always find treasures, we share what we have and have gained a lot of knowledge."
Gong Mengbi asked, "Are you from Haozhou?"
The older snake demon replied, "I was born and raised in Haozhou."
"I've traveled extensively, and within the Dagan territory, I've rarely seen a city god setting up a ghost market."
"Is that so? I'm not sure. To be honest, my brother and I have been practicing in Haozhou and haven't been to other places yet. When our practice is more advanced and we can transform into dragons and travel, we can go along the Huai River and see the scenery of the universe."
The Skull God was very perceptive. He knew what Gong Mengbi wanted to ask from the beginning of his words, so he took over the conversation and said, "Other places are quite different from Haozhou."
"The City Gods of other places rarely allow demons and ghosts into the city, fearing that evil spirits will cause trouble. If there is a ghost market, it is hidden in the deep mountains and old forests where few people go. When you go outside, you will see that Haozhou is special. The City God of Haozhou is particularly tolerant of demons and ghosts. Even small demons like you are allowed to enter the city."
"Is that so? King Zhongli is what you call the City God of Haozhou, but we all call him King Zhongli here. Even when we offer sacrifices to him on earth, we often call him King Zhongli. Not many people call him the City God."
"In the land ruled by King Zhongli, there are gods, ghosts, monsters, and humans. During the day, monsters like us with shallow cultivation are not allowed to enter the city. Only those great monsters who have cultivated into human form and are indistinguishable from humans are allowed to stay in the city. The ghost market at night is just the opposite. Monsters, ghosts, gods, and monsters can enter, but only those who have achieved success in cultivation can stay in the ghost market."
The Skull God wondered, "If ghosts, gods, and monsters coexist with humans, won't there always be trouble? If there are no cultivators to exorcise the monsters, won't the monsters eat people?"
"Of course there are," said the younger snake demon. "Some humans catch demons, and some demons eat humans. There are people who don't follow the rules everywhere."
"Before, there was a water monster in the Hao River that ate people. That attracted a Taoist priest from Phoenix Mountain. He crossed the river with his sword, caught the monster, and killed it. My two brothers watched from the riverbank, so scared that we didn't go out for several days."
The Skull God asked curiously, "King Zhongli doesn't care?"
The two snake demons shook their heads and said, "Normally, we don't care."
"Usually we would find some capable people to solve the problem and would not alarm King Zhongli. There's no need to alarm King Zhongli, right?" The two snake demons were not quite sure and were not sure if what they said was right.
Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of him by asking this way, the Skull God tried to ask indirectly about other things in Haozhou.
Naturally, I also learned the names of some big monsters and ghosts, as well as great cultivators and virtuous people in Haozhou City.
These people were all under the rule of King Zhongli. Although they practiced different cultivation methods, they did not seem to have any life-or-death feuds with each other.
Walking through the alleys and entering the ghost market, you will see all kinds of people moving around. Various shops and stalls display all kinds of strange things. Big monsters and small monsters, as long as they can find a way to change their shape, they can enter the city by wearing a human skin.
The monsters are quite down-to-earth in exchanging what they have with each other, such as precious jade dug out from the ground, wild herbs picked from the mountains, magical fish caught from the water, and even millet grains, which is not much different from the markets in the human world.
Only those tall buildings contained valuable items, such as ghost energy collected from secluded places, which were placed in clumps in earthen altars. This would save a lot of effort if one needed to cultivate with ghost energy.
The two snake spirits stretched their necks and looked around the market until their eyes were dazzled.
The Skull God was surprised and asked, "Are there so many monsters in Haozhou?"
The two snake demons were staring at a vendor who had several pieces of fine iron in front of him, but the vendor was trembling under the gaze of the two snake demons.
The snake spirit withdrew its gaze and said with a hint of regret, "What a fat rat."
"But fighting is not allowed in the ghost market."
"There are many monsters from other places here. Some have already settled in Haozhou, and some come to the ghost market regularly to buy things."
"Come to think of it, the market is almost here, no wonder there are so many people here today."
The older snake spirit said, "The 21st of every month is the big market. On that day, great demons and ghosts from all over the surrounding areas will come to the ghost market. It is the busiest time ever, and King Zhongli will personally make an appearance."
Counting the days, it will be four days later.
The two snake spirits cast their gazes towards the huge palace, their eyes filled with longing, and said, "I wonder when we will have the honor of visiting King Zhongli."
The Skull God glanced at Gong Mengbi.
Gong Mengbi asked, "Do you want to go?"
The two snake demons looked at Gong Mengbi with confusion.
The young man said calmly, "We are going to visit King Zhongli. If you want to come, you can come with us."
As they spoke, the Five Ghosts took on divine forms. They were tall, looking both ghosts and gods, and looked awe-inspiring.
The appearance of ghosts and gods in the street immediately caused a commotion.
"Where are you from? Why are you disobeying the rules? Don't you know you're not allowed to reveal your true form in the city? Aren't you afraid that King Zhongli's guards will come and capture you?"
Someone immediately stopped him, saying, "Why don't you change back?"
The Five Ghost Gods said, "We were just about to go see King Zhongli."
Five ghosts rose up from the ghost market in a cloud of smoke. The five-colored smoke gathered into clouds and flew towards the huge palace city.
The two snake demons knew that they had met a master. They were excited and frightened at the same time. In the end, their longing for King Zhongli's city overwhelmed their hesitation, and they grabbed Yunxia's tail and flew into the sky together.
The two snake demons flew high into the sky, screaming in fear.
The clouds were like a rainbow, dragging a falling tail as they flew towards the royal city.
The guards in the royal city had already been alarmed. One after another, armored and armed ghosts and gods appeared. Among them, a general riding a flaming horse leaped out of the royal city and transformed into a huge ghost and god. He stopped the cloud and shouted, "Who has trespassed into the royal city?"
Five-colored smoke spread out in all directions. Gong Mengbi stepped on the smoke, and circles of mysterious light lit up behind him, revealing bright moons. A huge image of the Yin God slowly emerged, and six long tails turned into six clouds that spanned the sky and the earth.
"Gong Mengbi, a student from the Sky Fox Academy, has come to visit King Zhongli. Please inform him."
The general riding the Flying Flame Horse was stared at by the faceless Yin Shen Dharma Image, as if he was trapped in a hole in the moon and unable to escape.
It was the voice of the Dharma Image that awakened him, giving him a start. He shuddered and said humbly, "Great Immortal, please wait a moment. I will report this to my king."
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