Chapter 488: Chapter 442: Ghost Market (March Bonus Chapter Complete)

"Ahead is the Ghost Burial Valley. Zhongyuan City is at the border between Ghost Burial Valley and Black Demon Mountain. Black Demon Mountain is the territory of the Demon Dragon, making it difficult for outsiders to enter."

The howling wind swept by as Jiang Yuebai stood atop the barren mountain peak, looking in the direction Lu Nanzhi pointed.

Dark clouds covered the sky, the mountains and land seemed stained with blood, a dim red, white bones littered the wild, and tilted, broken tombstones were scattered everywhere.

Jiang Yuebai looked up at the sky, then turned to look back toward Jieshi Ridge.

Just across a ridge, it was as if two worlds had been forcibly pieced together; behind was sunny and hot with abundant Spiritual Energy.

In front was cold and gloomy, enshrouded in darkness, with Demonic Qi pervading.

In between, the howling Gang Wind formed a natural barrier.

"Is this the supernatural power of the Mahayana Immortal Monarch? They can forcibly merge two different regions together."

Jiang Yuebai was very curious about the principle behind it but couldn’t find the slightest clue, merely sighing at its divine craftsmanship.

"The Demonic Qi here is very intense, always remember to maintain your Protective Gang Qi," Lu Nanzhi reminded, handing Jiang Yuebai a black mask and a black cloak.

Jiang Yuebai donned the mask and cloak, concentrated three layers of Protective Gang Qi around her, specially focusing a thread of Divine Thought on the Protective Gang Qi.

Lu Nanzhi summoned the Ice Soul Sword, unleashed a burst of Demonic Qi, and flew down the hillside with Jiang Yuebai, speeding past countless tombstones.

Some Yin Ghosts within Ghost Burial Valley were startled, just emerging from the tombstones, but were frozen into ice by the Sword Qi released from the Ice Soul Sword, shattering on the spot.

Instantly, the whole Ghost Burial Valley filled with the cries of Yin Ghosts, making one’s scalp tingle.

The pair sped along, taking three days to reach the outskirts of Zhongyuan City, encountering several Ghost Generals blocking their way, otherwise they could have arrived in two and a half days.

"Why is there no one in the city?"

Jiang Yuebai and Lu Nanzhi walked into the crumbling ancient city, the Yin Wind lifting paper money from the ground, white banners fluttering roadside, crooked paper figurines, a ghostly presence everywhere.

The shops didn’t look like shops, more like ownerless mourning halls, some even had coffins toppled by the roadside.

Lu Nanzhi glanced at the sky, "It’s not yet the hour of the dog, the city only opens at the hour of the dog, after nightfall."

Jiang Yuebai heard a bit of noise, looked towards the sound, and saw two Qi Refinement Realm children dragging a paper man, running from afar.

"Are there normal people here too?" Jiang Yuebai asked curiously.

"Yes, but very few. Most have a Yin Gathering Constitution, so they can only walk the Ghost Dao or Demon Dao. Furthermore, the Demon Cultivators here are very capricious, they might let you cut them when good-humored, but a bad look could mean death when they are ill-tempered," Lu Nanzhi replied.

"I once witnessed a cultivator get his head taken by a Demon Cultivator simply for talking too loud and disturbing their conversation," Lu Nanzhi said.

Jiang Yuebai grinned, switched to transmitting sound, "So domineering?"

"Yes, that’s how capricious they are. In this realm, Demon Cultivators pursue living as they please, unrestrained and uninhibited. As long as their strength is formidable, they fear no righteous Dao cultivator’s pursuit or bounty," Lu Nanzhi replied, also via sound transmission.

Jiang Yuebai brushed away the paper money fluttering towards her face, then asked, "The last time I asked you to look out for Yellow Springs Flower and Three Paths River Water, any news?"

Lu Nanzhi lifted her chin, motioning to the street ahead which resembled a ghost building, with red lanterns hanging at the entrance.

"Last time I heard that Spring Boudoir recently had new goods for auction, maybe you’ll find them."

As they spoke, the red lanterns at the entrance of Spring Boudoir suddenly lit up, initiating a chain reaction that brought every red and white lantern in the ancient city back to life, dispelling decay, reviving prosperity.

Whoosh~

A gust of Yin Wind swept by, Jiang Yuebai squinted her eyes, her ears filled with bustling chatter, seeing ripples arise before the spirit-hall-like shops.

Beyond the ripples, dusty tables and chairs were renewed, green-faced Ghost Cultivators appeared, hanging open signs, greeting Ghost Cultivators in the opposite shops.

Two almost transparent ghost children ran past Jiang Yuebai, one fell, its head rolling far away, the head cried loudly, the headless body stumbling in confusion.

The overturned coffins by the roadside also transformed into stalls selling yuanbao candles, ghostly flames flickering in the air, casting an eerie green glow.

What a ghostly spectacle of the Ghost Market!

One after another, flashes of Tunneling Light flew in from all directions outside the city, all wearing black robes and masks, with auras of the living, cultivators here to trade at the Ghost Market, including both Daoists and Demon Cultivators.

In the Spring Boudoir, beautiful ghost women floated out without touching the ground, giving Jiang Yuebai the feeling of looking at mortal world brothels.

She didn’t like such places!

"It’s fine, I’m here,"

Lu Nanzhi approached Jiang Yuebai, whispering softly, Jiang Yuebai glanced at her, her frown easing into a smile.

The purpose of cultivation is to become powerful enough to no longer fear what one once feared.

"Let’s go,"

On the way to Spring Boudoir, Jiang Yuebai glanced at the items being traded in the Ghost Market: hair of a hundred-year-old ghost, nails of a thousand-year-old zombie, eyeballs of a Fierce Ghost... Most were bartered, very few used incense money.

Lu Nanzhi had previously inquired, incense money and items containing Incense Fire Qi were extremely valuable to Ghost Cultivators, only used for trading precious items.

"Are you here for the auction? Please show your Spring Boudoir Order,"

A ghost woman at the Early-Stage Foundation Establishment blocked at the entrance, Lu Nanzhi pulled out two tokens she had exchanged last time.

Tokens need to be purchased and registered in advance, to let Spring Boudoir know how many participants to expect at the auction and prepare corresponding goods according to number and cultivation level.

"Alright, alright, please come in!"

Two rose-pink dressed ghost women met them, leading Jiang Yuebai and Lu Nanzhi into Spring Boudoir.

Jiang Yuebai noticed not only did it resemble a brothel outside, the interior was just as identical.

A stage in the center hall, sheer curtains, drum music playing, three ghostly women dancing enchantingly, stairs on either side of the stage leading to the second-level private rooms, only for VIP guests.

Lu Nanzhi, short on funds, only afforded regular tokens, with Jiang Yuebai, was led to a round table at a corner on the first floor, the stage barely visible.

Jiang Yuebai scanned the surroundings, whispered in earnest, "This is very good, very discreet, nobody can see us, and we won’t be killed for glancing around."

Lu Nanzhi chuckled, sat and helped tug up Jiang Yuebai’s cloak hood, covering her white hair underneath.

"Here is the list for tonight’s auction. You can preview it to see if there’s anything you want to bid on or sell. After the auction, inside Spring Boudoir, you can freely trade with assurance from them."

Jiang Yuebai took the pamphlet from the ghost woman, flipped through a page or two with brightening eyes, spotting Yellow Springs Flower, five blossoms in total.

Great, that means five chances for refining.

Jiang Yuebai flipped all the way to the end, but found no Three Paths River Water. She wasn’t very interested in other Ghost Dao items listed.

"Maybe write it down and try? Someone might have it?"

Lu Nanzhi pushed the paper and pen in front of Jiang Yuebai.

Jiang Yuebai nodded, wrote ’Three Paths River Water’ on the paper, and handed it to the waiting ghost woman.

The ghost woman smiled after reading it, "What a coincidence, there is indeed a Demon Cultivator guest with a bottle of Three Paths River Water, but they need a Spiritual Object that can complete the Divine Soul, which is hard to find. Even if found, it’s not worth exchanging for Three Paths River Water."