Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 426 Mountain Abyss Ghost Market
A full moon rises, a chilling wind blows through the mountains and fields, and a hundred ghosts roam the night.

On a hilltop, three figures stood.

Chi Mei's eyes darted around, looking in one direction. She pointed and said, "The Ghost Market is over there..."

Lu Zheng looked closely and saw a mountain abyss from which a ghostly aura soared into the sky.

It is said that there is a ghost market in the mountains. Every month around the 15th of the lunar month, many ghosts or other cultivators gather here to hold a grand trading event.

"Alright, you can go back now," Lu Zheng said.

Red Demon couldn't help but say, "Are you sure you don't need me to lead the way? I know this ghost market very well..."

Chi Mei wanted to be their guide and make a good impression.

"No need," Lu Zheng said calmly. "I've taught you quite a bit these past few days; go back and review it carefully. We'll be traveling around Ghost Prefecture for a while, and we'll come to see you again before we leave. If you don't perform well..."

Chi Mei's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly said, "Of course I won't disappoint you, young master. I'll head back now."

With a respectful expression, Chi Mei gracefully transformed into a gust of cold wind and disappeared into the distance.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan then leisurely made their way to the mountain abyss.

Along the way, they also encountered many ghosts.

Because they were very good at concealing their energy, some fierce ghosts, seeing that they seemed to be bullying them, thought of coming over to absorb some of their yang energy, but were instead smashed to pieces by Qingwan.

Then, Qingwan slightly revealed her aura, and the surrounding ghosts dared not approach, knowing that the two were not benevolent.

"Huh? A person?"

Just then, a voice came from not far away.

A plump Taoist priest strolled over leisurely, smiling, and said, "I didn't expect to meet two fellow Taoists here!"

Lu Zheng glanced sideways at the Taoist priest who was wearing a Taoist robe but whose aura was a bit strange.

The Taoist saw that Lu Zheng's eyes were flashing with light, clearly indicating that he had used the Qi Observation Technique on him.

He couldn't help but explain, "I'm a proper human cultivator, but I've recently been tainted by some impurities. It's inevitable to encounter unclean things in this awful place. But the two of you have pure auras, which is quite remarkable..."

He saw that the two had pure auras, and even without using magic, the surrounding yin energy could not get close to them, which clearly showed that they had extraordinary cultivation.

The Taoist priest paused, then bowed again and said, "This humble Taoist priest is Pang Yun. May I ask your names?"

“Lu Zheng,” Lu Zheng began, “my companion, Qing Wan.”

Pang Yun nodded with a smile, "Judging from your demeanor, you two are Confucian scholars, right?"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "Daoist Master has keen insight."

Pang Yun waved his hand and said, "Not at all, I've just seen a lot of them. You're going to the ghost market too? Come on, let's go together... It's been a long time since I've met any living people, it's rare to meet you all, let's chat a bit more..."

Pang Yun is naturally outgoing and feels friendly towards everyone he sees. He's just been cooped up in this awful place for too long and is really getting restless.

Pang Yun asked curiously, "Judging from your appearance, you don't seem suited to stay in a place like this. Why did you come here?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles, go around and broaden your horizons."

Pang Yun nodded and said, "I see. However, this place is not a good place. You might as well go to Yunmengze for some fun. It's not far from here."

“We came from that direction,” Lu Zheng said. “And why are you here, Daoist Master?”

Pang Yun counted on his fingers and said, "I had my fortune told a few days ago, and it said I would encounter a great opportunity here, so I came to take a look. I'm usually very accurate with my predictions, would you like to have your fortunes told?"

Although Lu Zheng hadn't studied fortune telling extensively, he had a good understanding of it and had even consulted with elders of the Yunmeng Sect.

This path is unpredictable; even sages cannot accurately foresee the future. Divination can only serve as a reference.

Hearing Pang Yun say this, Lu Zheng simply smiled and said, "There's no need to trouble you, Daoist Master."

Not to mention their profound good fortune and the treasures that conceal their secrets, Pang Yun's attempt to predict their future fortunes would likely be inaccurate.

Pang Yun said leisurely, "Hey, what's the trouble? It's just a matter of counting on your fingers, let me tell you..."

Pang Yun paused, and the hand he had hidden in his sleeve also stopped moving.

He found himself inexplicably hindered, unable to calculate the situation of the two people, and only felt a sense of chaos.

Pang Yun couldn't help but glance at Lu Zheng and the other person again, secretly surprised.

He was skilled at locating auspicious burial sites, even finding the tombs of ancient powerful figures, but these two young men in front of him left him completely disoriented.

These two have quite a background... Pang Yun's mind raced.

Ahead, at the entrance to the abyss, are guarded by ferocious demons clad in armor.

There were long lines of people, demons, and ghosts, who paid fees with spirit stones or essence stones to enter the Ghost Market in the Abyss.

Qingwan curiously observed the procession ahead, her gaze lingering on the demons and ghosts.

The main reason was that these demons and ghosts looked so strange and varied, many of them not even resembling human beings, which made Qingwan feel curious.

She even pulled out a photo album to compare, exclaiming, "Tsk tsk tsk, they really do look alike, they're exactly the same..."

This is a picture book she obtained from the Yunmeng Sect, which records various living beings.

Pang Yun, who was standing next to him, also took a look and found that the book was extremely detailed, even describing the characteristics of those strange-looking ghosts.

Pang Yun couldn't help but ask, "Where did you buy this book?" Qing Wan replied, "We found it in a cultivation sect. I heard it was written by an elder of that sect."

"Which sect?" Pang Yun immediately became curious.

Qingwan said, "Yunmeng Sect."

Pang Yun was surprised to hear this. Could these two people really be related to a top-tier immortal sect like Yunmeng Sect?
The Yunmeng Sect is not something anyone can access. He had tried to find that immortal sect in Yunmeng Marsh, but even with his abilities, he couldn't locate the Yunmeng Sect.

He was somewhat relieved that he hadn't tried to force a calculation about the two of them, otherwise he would have definitely suffered a backlash.

As they approached the entrance to the abyss, the number of ghostly creatures around them increased, and the aura of malevolent spirits grew stronger.

Many ghosts cast their gazes at Lu Zheng and his companions, their eyes filled with a sinister light, as if they wanted to devour them.

There were other humans in the group, but most of them cultivated Yin Sha Ghost Qi and were able to blend into the environment.

Lu Zheng and his group possessed the purest charm, like fireflies in the dark, making them hard to ignore.

Seeing the gazes of the many demons and ghosts, Pang Yun couldn't help but let out a cold snort, and an aura rippled out.

The aura of the four realms spread out, intimidating the surrounding demons and ghosts.

The demons and ghosts who were queuing up here to go to the ghost market must have some intelligence. Sensing the aura emanating from Pang Yun, their eyes became much more restrained, and reason temporarily prevailed over greed.

Pang Yun relaxed slightly upon seeing this. If he couldn't control these thousands of demons and ghosts, he wouldn't be able to deal with them easily.

Pang Yun glanced at Lu Zheng and Qing Wan again and found that Lu Zheng looked nonchalant and didn't take it seriously, while Qing Wan looked eager to try, as if she couldn't wait for these demons and ghosts, as well as the countless wandering ghosts and spirits nearby, to rush over.

Before long, it was finally Lu Zheng and his group's turn to queue up.

The burly ghost guarding the entrance said in a muffled voice, "Humans, ten times the price, one hundred spirit stones. Once inside, follow the rules, or you will bear the consequences."

"Ten times? Aren't you discriminating against us?" Qingwan couldn't help but say.

The big ghost explained, "Because it's very dangerous for humans here, the ghost market needs to protect you, so the fees they charge are naturally higher."

Qing Wan pondered, "That seems to make some sense..."

"I'll pay for you, it's on me." Pang Yun took out a bag of spirit stones.

"No need!" Qingwan waved her hand. "One hundred and ten spirit stones, count them yourself."

The big ghost paused for a moment, then said, "The two of you..."

Do you think he's a ghost who can't do math?
Qing Wan rolled her eyes. "I'm a demon, what kind of look is that?"

Qingwan didn't want to waste money, so she waved her hand, and a demonic aura emanated from her.

The big ghost was stunned, and even Pang Yun next to him turned his head to look at him.

Seeing this, the great ghost had no choice but to accept the spirit stones and give him two wooden tokens, made of a kind of yin wood. With these tokens, he could enter and exit the ghost market and be protected within it.

The big ghost warned again, "Don't fight in the ghost market, otherwise..."

"What if it's other demons or ghosts causing us trouble?" Qingwan asked.

The big ghost said, "There is an enforcement team in the ghost market, and they will enforce the law."

Qing Wan thought to herself, what if the law enforcement team doesn't enforce the law impartially?
However, given that asking such a question was pointless and there were other demons and ghosts in line, they went directly into the ghost market.

The entrance to the Ghost Market was filled with a thick, eerie atmosphere, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. However, the wooden plaques emitted an aura that guided those who came in.

Pang Yun walked beside Lu Zheng and the other person, and used magic to isolate the cold aura here with spiritual power.

"Have you practiced body tempering?" Pang Yun asked curiously.

He discovered that Lu Zheng and the other person could still move freely here without having to resist the yin energy.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "We've practiced it. Of course, the main reason is that we are scholars and are not afraid of this kind of yin energy."

“I haven’t seen you use any literary flair,” Pang Yun said. “When I’ve seen Confucian and Taoist scholars in this situation, they would at least recite a few words of the sages, and then their literary flair would radiate outwards…”

Lu Zheng thought to himself that this was someone else's territory. If he were to recite a few words of sages here, his righteous energy would surge forth, not only would the surrounding yin energy be completely cleared away, but even those demons and ghosts would be either killed or maimed.

Lu Zheng didn't explain much and continued on his way.

After walking about a hundred feet, the view suddenly opened up, and a small town market came into view.

Lights flickered everywhere, people came and went, and the noise was constant, making it a very lively place.

Outside the town, some people or demons set up stalls, selling strange and unusual things.

Pang Yun counted on his fingers and said with a smile, "This humble Taoist priest will go for a stroll first. See you two later."

After saying that, Pang Yun disappeared into the town in a flash.

Qingwan blinked, and asked suspiciously, "Could he have figured out what kind of treasure there is?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "If he really has that kind of ability, then he deserves it."

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes, his gaze shining as he looked at the entire ghost market. He discovered that the yin energy here was extremely heavy, covering up all other auras, especially in several places where the yin energy was dense.

The Fifth Realm... Lu Zheng thought to himself that this small ghost market was hiding such a powerful ghost.

(End of this chapter)