Chapter 166: Second Entry into the Ghost Market
After leaving Three Forked Medicine Valley, Hua Changxi returned directly to the Capital City. She sent a message to Lin Sheng using a communication talisman and soon received a reply to meet tomorrow at a land temple located to the southeast of the Capital City.
“A land temple?”
Recalling that the entrance to the Ghost Market last time was also near a land temple, Hua Changxi guessed that the entrances and exits connecting to the Nine Netherworlds were the land temples scattered everywhere.
On the first day of November, early in the morning, when Hua Changxi arrived at the land temple designated by Eunuch Lin, people from the Eastern Depot had already arrived.
Not only were there people from the Eastern Depot, but also over twenty other cultivators.
Hua Changxi’s gaze swept over those cultivators, her eyes flickering slightly.
The eunuchs from the Eastern Depot were relatively thin, while the cultivators accompanying them were tall, burly, and muscular. The contrast between the two groups standing together was too stark.
Hua Changxi noticed that the cultivators’ arms were very strong, and their hands had thick calluses, very much like blacksmiths working in a forge.
“Hall Master Hua.”
When Eunuch Lin saw Hua Changxi appear, the worry in his heart finally subsided. They had distributed quite a few Ghost Market Tokens, but if a cultivator’s cultivation was too low, they wouldn’t be able to break through the prohibition.
Hua Changxi’s cultivation was not low. When it came to seizing the Divine Hammer, she could help block the sealing power along with a few other high-cultivation individuals.
The previous attempts to go to Soul Severing Mountain had failed; hopefully, this time would be successful.
“Please wait a moment, some people haven’t arrived yet.”
Hearing that there were still more people, Hua Changxi asked in surprise, “So many people are going to the Ghost Market?”
Eunuch Lin chuckled, “The more people, the safer it is.”
Hua Changxi said nothing and stood to the side, waiting.
Soon, three more waves of cultivators arrived, each wave consisting of five or six people.
Hua Changxi looked at the newcomers. As she employed the Diagnostic Technique, she could not only see through everyone’s Spiritual Roots but also their Dantian Qi Seas were laid bare before her eyes.
Seeing that each wave of newcomers included Core Formation Realm cultivators, and one wave even had two Core Formation cultivators, Hua Changxi felt a degree of surprise.
Her interactions with cultivators were limited, and she didn’t have a clear understanding of the general cultivation levels of cultivators nowadays. Coupled with the five Core Formation cultivators from the Eastern Depot, she had seen a total of nine Core Formation cultivators this time.
There were already so many Core Formation cultivators?
What about Nascent Soul cultivators?
Hua Changxi had always felt her cultivation speed was very fast, but now she was somewhat uncertain. Especially thinking about the group of people who had embarked on the path of cultivation before her, she felt a sense of urgency.
The issue of Realm Points being unable to break through ten billion points needed to be resolved quickly!
Hua Changxi suppressed the anxiety in her heart and surveyed the people present again.
Deploying nine Core Formation cultivators at once was no small combat power. Moreover, these cultivators all carried the same Ghost Market Token as she did. Seeing this, Hua Changxi’s wariness towards Eunuch Lin increased.
“Everyone is here, let’s go.”
Eunuch Lin beckoned the Eastern Depot personnel to follow and walked directly into the alley beside the land temple, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The others saw this and followed suit.
As soon as Hua Changxi felt the spatial shift, she quickly donned her black robe. Soon, the scene before her transformed into a dark, mist-shrouded, eerie long path.
The first time she came, visibility was extremely low. But this time, she found she could see clearly within a radius of tens of meters.
Was it because she had cultivated Spiritual Sense?
With her vision no longer so obstructed, Hua Changxi felt a sense of calm.
Eunuch Lin walked at the front of the group, occasionally looking back to check if everyone was keeping up. Seeing that the cultivators who had received their specially made Ghost Market Tokens were prepared, he frowned slightly.
This batch of cultivators was clearly more cautious than the previous ones.
However, he wasn’t afraid of them being uncontrollable, considering the puppet curse had long been cast on the Ghost Market Tokens.
Hua Changxi noticed Eunuch Lin’s frequent glances back. While secretly on guard, she observed the surrounding situation.
On her second descent, without the trepidation of the first time, she noticed some overlooked details.
The first time she came, she only felt a sense of gloom and dread. But this time, she felt as if she had entered another World.
As the light intensified, looking up, she couldn’t see the top. Through the hazy mist, she could still see white starlight twinkling. This scene gave a sense of profound vastness, like a night sky.
“Nine Netherworlds…”
Was this another Realm?
Not long after, the verdant Underworld River appeared in her sight.
It was exactly the same as she had seen the first time. On the Underworld River, an old wooden bridge was built. At the entrance of the wooden bridge, a hunched, white-haired old woman was simmering soup.
On the other side of the river, dim yellow lanterns were lit. Behind the dim yellow light were streets, and on the streets, figures flickered.
Soon, the group arrived at the bridgehead of the Underworld River.
Eunuch Lin led the way, taking the Spirit Sealing Soup first. Seeing that everyone had drunk the Spirit Sealing Soup, he smiled and said, “Let’s cross the bridge.”
Immediately after crossing the Underworld River, Hua Changxi took the Spirit Dispelling Elixir. Once she confirmed she could mobilize Spiritual Energy, she calmly continued to follow Eunuch Lin and his group.
Not long after, they arrived at the bustling trading street filled with cultivators.
The last time she came, she hadn’t even approached the trading street. Looking at the street, which not only had various shops but also numerous street stalls selling all sorts of things, she finally felt like she had entered the world of cultivators.
Eunuch Lin smiled and said, “Many of the items on the street stalls are fake. The Eastern Depot has shops specifically for purchasing Cultivation Resources. If anyone needs anything, you can come with us.”
Immediately, a Core Formation Realm cultivator spoke up, “We’ve already arrived at the Ghost Market. We’d like to browse around freely and meet up afterward.”
Eunuch Lin heard this and smiled, “Fellow Daoist, please be patient. This is your first time in the Ghost Market, so you must first go to the Ghost Messenger Pavilion to obtain the Yin Wood Token distributed by the Ghost Messengers. Otherwise, you will be troubled by them later.”
He then lowered his voice, “Ghost Messengers cultivate by absorbing Soul Power. They are always ruthless towards cultivators without a Yin Wood Token.”
Upon hearing this, everyone could only continue to follow Eunuch Lin.
Hua Changxi didn’t know if the ‘Yin Wood Token’ was something Eunuch Lin had fabricated. For safety’s sake, as she passed by a few cultivators, she quickly applied an Invisibility Talisman, concealing her figure.
Afterward, she didn’t wander off. She wanted to find out what Eunuch Lin was planning, so she followed Eunuch Lin’s group from a moderate distance.
At the entrance of each street stood a pavilion, with a plaque hanging on it bearing the three green characters ‘Ghost Messenger Pavilion’. Inside the pavilion were two terrifying-looking, tall, and burly Ghost Messengers.
The first Ghost Messenger Pavilion that Eunuch Lin’s group saw was too crowded, so Eunuch Lin led them toward another street entrance.
“There really is a Yin Wood Token!”
Hua Changxi saw that in the Ghost Messenger Pavilion, the Ghost Messengers were indeed registering and issuing a wooden token engraved with numbers to the cultivators.
Afterward, Hua Changxi continued to follow Eunuch Lin’s group through several more Ghost Messenger Pavilions. Some Ghost Messengers had bad tempers and refused to issue Yin Wood Tokens, while others ran out of Yin Wood Tokens, forcing Eunuch Lin to lead the group into the Ghost Messenger Pavilion on the last street.
“There are Yin Wood Tokens here, let’s go in quickly.”
Hua Changxi watched as Eunuch Lin led the group into the Ghost Messenger Pavilion. As soon as they entered, a large amount of mist surged from outside the pavilion, obscuring it from view.
When the mist dissipated, Eunuch Lin led a group of people out of the pavilion.
However, the three waves of cultivators who appeared behind her had all turned into puppets, mechanically following Eunuch Lin towards the direction where the mist was thickest.
Looking at their expressions, they were extremely resistant, but their bodies were no longer under their control.
Witnessing this scene, Hua Changxi was filled with shock.
The Ghost Messengers inside the Ghost Messenger Pavilion were actually cooperating with Eunuch Lin to control those cultivators!
