Chapter 38 - 38 Immortality i
Chapter 38 Immortality i
Translator: 549690339
The characters for “Ghost Market” on the village signboard seemed to be made up of countless delicately twisted lines. These constantly writhing lines radiated a chilling Yin Cold Qi that was frightening.
Especially one character, “ghost”, which looked like a livingly cruel ghost clinging to the signboard with its greedy and eerie claws and teeth bared.
On top of Maine Coon’s head, Bai Xue was already shivering from fear and had turned into a palm-sized ball of fur, not daring to look towards the inside of the Ghost Market.
The scenes reflected in her heterochromatic eyes seemed to be the terror itself.
Maine Coon couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, reaching out a paw to comfort the small fur ball on his head.
As a cat demon in the Qi Transformation Stage, Maine Coon at the time when the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge had just returned, had every right to claim to be the king of a mountain, a Great Demon.
But after ascending to the Qi Transformation, what it encountered was either a World-Banished Immortal like Shen Yuan, or this eerie Ghost Market before its eyes, which started to make it question its life.
“Sir, it seems that things aren’t quite right here. Why don’t we take another route and leave?”
Maine Coon couldn’t help but suggest.
At this moment, the Darkness-Light Sword transformed into a streak of light flew down from the night sky and landed in Shen Yuan’s hand.
The purple mist that rose from the fusion of Morning Glow Purple Qi on the sword’s body gradually dispersed, transforming back into the unremarkable Bronze Fire Stick.
Shen Yuan’s gaze swept across the signboard of the Ghost Market. The twisted characters resembling Zheng on it provoked an instinctual disgust in him.
Having seen the Ghost Market, Shen Yuan realized that from the moment they stepped into the mountains, they had already been under the influence of this Ghost Market before their eyes.
Whether it was the area that the Peace-restoring Army tried to seal off, or that eerie twilight illusion that obscured their perception, they were essentially a part of this Ghost Market.
But the Ghost Market didn’t seem to be an independent entity. It was merely transmitting on a large scale, incorporating all living beings in the area into the scope of the Ghost Market.
When Shen Yuan broke the illusion with a sharp sword stance, he finally piqued the interest of the Ghost Market, which was evident by the appearance of the Ghost Market in front of him.
Under the gaze of the Ghost Market, a simple change of route would be absolutely impossible to escape from this place, Shen Yuan immediately dismissed Maine Coon’s suggestion.
As such, it seemed there was only one thing left to do now.
Glancing towards the interior of the Ghost Market, Shen Yuan said placidly: “This is an invitation from the Ghost Market. It would be rude to leave hastily.” As he said this, Shen Yuan took a step and entered the Ghost Market.
Seeing this, Maine Coon felt a lot more at ease immediately, and hurriedly followed. How could this eerie Ghost Market be compared to a World-Banished Immortal?
The moment they stepped into the Ghost Market, the previously cold and silent atmosphere of the outside world immediately underwent a dramatic change.
There were all sorts of people coming and going in the streets. Some were dressed in ancient robes, others in modern shirts and jeans, as if they had come to a space where ancient and modern times merged.
These people hurried through the alleyways or chatted with the vendors around them.
There was a breakfast stall with a large frying pan, a butcher shop with a pig-slaughtering knife, a stall selling miscellaneous crafts and toys…and some well-dressed people could be seen going in and out of the shops on both sides of the street.
If one ignored the different styles of clothing from different eras, the whole street was completely like an ancient style market.
As Shen Yuan strolled ahead observing this bustling market, even Maine Coon was momentarily deceived by the scene before them.
However, when he looked intently at a booth he had just passed by, his muscles tensed, his eyes instinctively shrank.
What he saw in the nearest breakfast stand’s large frying pan was not any dough fritter, but fingers rolling in the hot oil.
These fingers, still retaining their nails, swelled rapidly in the hot oil, transforming into aromatic dough fritters.
The breakfast stand’s owner was a plump middle-aged man. The heat from the frying pan has already caused him to sweat profusely, his greasy sweat continually splashing into the pan, feeding the never-ending supply of frying oil.
And hanging at the nearby meat shop were not pig parts, but visibly human arms. A huge butcher knife expertly severed the bones, dividing the flesh into pieces, ready for sale.
Even the stalls selling handicrafts were filled with dolls embedded with eyes, kites sewn with bones and human skin, and skull heads that constantly emitted cackling laughter.
As the name of this market suggested, it was indeed a Ghost Market filled with ghostly creatures.
The sweaty breakfast stand owner, upon noticing Shen Yuan who had just entered the Ghost Market, broke into a smile, his eyes nearly squinting.
“Esteemed guest, would you like to try some of our Ghost Market’s special breakfast?”
“Look at these aromatic dough fritters and juicy steamed buns. If you prefer stronger flavors, we also sell brain here. Does the guest prefer sweet or savory?”
Just hearing these words was enough for Bai Xue to hide nervously in the Maine Coon’s neck, while the Maine Coon glared fiercely at the breakfast stand owner. The breakfast stands’ owner still wore a smiling face, seemingly unafraid of the Qi Transformation Stage Maine Coon in front of him.
At this moment, Shen Yuan, who had been observing on the side, spoke.
“How do you sell these things?”
The breakfast stands’ owner’s smile became even wider, and he quickly spoke: “Our Ghost Market accepts any form of trade, whether it’s an item, a limb, an organ or even life duration from your body, all are within the range of trade.” His words paused slightly, and the breakfast stands’ owner surveyed his surrounding before adding in a low voice:
“It seems that this is your first time to our Ghost Market, you have made a good choice.”
“Our Ghost Market has a great opportunity for achieving immortality. If you buy a breakfast from me, I can tell you this opportunity for free.”
Shen Yuan’s gaze sank slightly as he did not immediately respond to the breakfast stand owner. Instead, he turned his attention to the hurried pedestrians on the roadside.
Although the Ghost Market seemed busy and prosperous, if one observed carefully, they would notice that the pedestrians on the road were all in a hurry, but most of the people in quaint clothing had a vacant and confused look in their eyes, looking like walking deads.
And those dressed in modern clothing, while still retaining a shred of sane mentality, appeared lost and confused.
Among the calls of the market stall owners, they seemed to instinctively approach the stalls to trade.
Some would tear off a finger to exchange for a horrific doll, some would use a blood-soaked kidney to get a skewer of candied ghouls, or even get their lifespan invisibly reduced to complete the trade.
No matter what form of currency they used, once the transaction was completed, they would immediately become a member of the walking dead.
Seeing all this, Shen Yuan calmly said to the breakfast stand owner:
“The immortality you mentioned, is it to become a part of this Ghost Market? “