Divine Tang Era

Where are they?

After a chase, the two suddenly disappeared into the vast night.

Looking around, all that remained in the world was boundless darkness that devoured everything else.

Xu Dan frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing. Within his eyes, the inner purple-gold pupil focused on the outer black pupil, unleashing an invisible, intangible divine light. Sweeping forward, the light shifted between clear and turbid, distinguishing yin and yang, and the darkness no longer obstructed his view.

"Um..."

Under the sweeping gaze of his double pupils, the vast night was no longer just endless darkness.

Before him, a huge whirlpool stood silently on the alpine meadow, spinning endlessly. Beside the whirlpool stood an old man holding a lantern, watching him with a smile.

Strange, strange, very strange.

In the still of the night, in the desolate wilderness devoid of any human presence, how could someone appear out of thin air, especially an old man? But then he thought that this was a world full of gods, demons, and monsters, and Xu Dan couldn't help but feel relieved.

I don't know what the old man was doing standing there.

Seeing the old man's kind face, Xu Dan walked over. After taking only a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked up at the top of the old man's head. In an instant, clouds billowed and changed shape, and amidst a patch of golden clouds, the moon rose and fell, shimmering with brilliant golden light.

What is that?

Xu Dan had been observing the Qi for so long, but he had never seen such a strange thing before, so he quickly took a closer look.

But when they met again, the moon in the clouds transformed into a golden light floating behind the old man's head. He thought there was something wrong with his eyes, so he rubbed them and looked again, only to find that there was nothing behind the old man's head. Looking at the clouds above his head, they were all jade white, just a little better than the average person's.

That's strange, really strange.

Why is it different every time?

Could it be something wrong with my eyes? Otherwise, why is it so strange? It seems I need to find some books related to divination when I get back, otherwise, trying to figure it out on my own will just be like building a cart behind closed doors, and I won't be able to figure anything out.

Upon approaching the old man, Xu Dan smiled before saying a word.

The old man always liked the younger generation who had a sweet tongue; he was very experienced in this, and he greeted them with a smile, "Uncle, have you eaten?"

The old man did not respond, but said, "Young man, you have too much yang energy from living people. Entering the Yin Ruins will cause trouble. You must wear spiritual clothes to go in." He stretched out his hand, revealing a black hooded cloak.

Xu Dan glanced at it and asked, "Does it cost money?"

"Three spirit stones."

"It's a bit expensive, can you make it cheaper?" Xu Dan bargained.

The old man smiled but said nothing.

It seemed he had no choice but to buy it. With no other option, Xu Dan took out three spirit stones and handed them over. The old man waved his hand, and a cloak flew out, covering Xu Dan, along with the three spirit stones that had disappeared from his hand.

Xu Dan reached out and touched the cloak, feeling that it looked a bit like the paper clothes worn by the dead.

But it was difficult to ask, because the cloak was clearly a condition for entering the Yin Ruins; without buying it, he couldn't enter, and he wouldn't be given a chance to change clothes.

The place seemed strange and eerie, somewhat like the black markets he'd been to before. Who knew if the Yin Xu (Shadow Ruins) sold illegal or prohibited items? To avoid being recognized inside, it would be safer to wear a mask or towel to cover his face.

But he didn't have any on him, so he asked the old man, "Uncle, do you sell face masks or anything like that? I'd like to buy one."

"I do have one. I'll give it to you since you're a polite little fellow." The old man was very easygoing and casually tossed out a mask.

Xu Dan hurriedly caught it. It felt cool to the touch and had a slight weight, so it was probably made of metal. He picked it up to examine it; fangs and a blue face, it was ferocious and terrifying—it was likely a visor from an armor. He took a rope from his storage bag, tied it to the visor's loop, and put it on. It did look rather frightening.

The old man was not frightened; he just smiled kindly.

"Uncle, can we enter the Yin Ruins from here?" Xu Dan asked, pointing to the huge vortex in front of him.

The old man nodded without saying a word.

Xu Dan walked towards the vortex, then suddenly turned back, took out three large meat buns, wrapped them in paper, and handed them to the old man. "Uncle, these are the best meat buns in Jingning City. Please try them." It's only right to reciprocate; the old man had given him a mask, so he had to return the favor. Although the gift was small, the sentiment was deep.

The old man was surprised that he would give him something. His eyes lit up with a strange light, but he quickly composed himself and accepted the gift.

Xu Dan handed out the steamed buns and stepped into the vortex.

The old man looked at the steamed bun in his hand, took a breath, and a wisp of white steam rose from the bun and entered his nostrils. Suddenly, the bun turned to ash.

"It tastes good. I'll have to go check it out sometime." The old man waved his hand, and the paper wrapping the buns caught fire, drifting away with a faint glow.

Xu Dan stepped out of the vortex, glanced back, and felt that the vortex resembled a door. Did that mean the old man was a gatekeeper? Suddenly, he remembered the halo behind the old man's head. He had seen this thing in TV shows, movies, and novels, and it was quite famous—the renowned Golden Light of Merit.

But the golden light of merit is not only for saints and those who have made contributions to heaven and earth. What virtue or ability does the old man possess?

Xu Dan couldn't figure it out either, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

Ahead lay a bustling street lined with shops on both sides: brothels, taverns, inns, calligraphy and painting shops, elixir shops, talisman shops, and blacksmith shops, all densely packed together. Everything that Jingning City should have, and shouldn't have, was here. In the gaps between the shops, there were even small stalls selling things like food, dried fruit, small jewelry, and painted fans.

About twenty feet further ahead, there is a crossroads.

The streets on both sides of the intersection were not lined with shops, but with stalls selling all kinds of goods.

A crowd surged on the road in front of the stall. Upon closer inspection, however, it became clear that these people were quite unusual. Unlike normal people who walk openly and honestly, these individuals floated off the ground, some shrouded in mist and riding beasts; others, like him, wore cloaks and masks, stealthily concealing their movements.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, its yellowish light spilling onto the dimly lit streets, making the place seem even more eerie and terrifying.

They come, the security.

Xu Dan, always bold, felt there was nothing to be afraid of and continued walking forward. People kept coming from behind, squeezing into the surging crowd.

The food stall in front of the shop saw him and greeted him warmly, "Sir, would you like to try some glutinous rice balls? Our small meat glutinous rice balls are a specialty of the market; everyone who has tried them raves about them."

Xu Dan glanced at the glutinous rice balls in the pot and suddenly his eyes widened.

These aren't glutinous rice balls at all; they're clearly eyeballs. A chill ran down my spine.

Suddenly, he remembered what the man and woman had mentioned about the Yin Xu Ghost Market. Could this be a market run by ghosts?

He quickly activated his double pupils and looked around. The sky and earth were dark and gloomy, and the ruins were shrouded in heavy mist, as if they were wrapped in something and floating in the void. Clearly, this was no longer the desolate borderland, but the ghost realm of the underworld, or some other unknown place.

Xu Dan swallowed hard, not daring to look any further, lest he alert the important figure.

Keep a low profile.

We must keep a low profile now to avoid any accidents. If we can't leave the ghost market, we're doomed.

I hadn't thought much of it before, but now that I know it's a ghost market, the people selling things at the stalls seem strange no matter how I look at them. They all look eerie, not like human beings at all. Especially the old woman selling jewelry in front of me—her face was bluish-purple, her hands were like chicken claws, and she looked like a withered old tree, but the gold, silver, and jade jewelry she was selling did look beautiful. However, it looked like it had just been dug out of the ground, carrying a natural earthy smell.

Upon this discovery, Xu Dan dared not look any further and quickly walked forward.

When they reached the crossroads, they happened to see the man and woman who had come in earlier, so they walked over to them.

The two women were looking at things at a stall. The woman pointed to one of the bottles and asked, "How much is this Pure Yang Liquid?"

"Ten spirit stones per bottle," the stall owner said casually.

The woman picked up the bottle, opened it, smelled it, and said, "Your Pure Yang Liquid isn't pure. Ten spirit stones is too expensive; five at most."

The stall owner didn't seem like he was in the business at all. He glanced at her and said bluntly, "I, Old Liu, have always been honest and fair in business, and I don't haggle. If you want to haggle, go somewhere else."

Xu Dan, who was standing nearby, smelled something like urine coming from the bottle and exclaimed, "Is this urine in there?!"

"Isn't pure yang fluid just urine? Little one, maybe you have some too! Hehehehe..."

The woman recognized him by the voice, glanced downstairs, and then, as if remembering something, burst into laughter. The man beside her said disapprovingly, "Do you want to buy it or not? If you do, buy it; if not, leave."

"Okay!"

The woman responded, put down the bottle, and continued walking with the man. As she left, she didn't forget to turn back and wink at Xu Dan.

Xu Dan had no idea what she meant. Did she want to eat a young chicken? Good heavens, how could she do that? She's inhuman!

Not knowing what the two were, a thought struck him, and he activated his double pupils to look at them. The divine light swept over them, and the two were like thick fog, seemingly real yet illusory, seemingly real yet illusory, floating and swaying, but thankfully they were human-shaped, unlike other ghosts with hideous and terrifying faces.

The man seemed to sense something and turned around to give a cold look.

Xu Dan felt a chill run down his spine and quickly turned to look at the items on the stall, pretending he knew nothing.

The man didn't argue with her, glanced at her, and then, urged by the woman, moved forward.

"Let me give you a friendly piece of advice: don't look at people randomly here, lest you get yourself killed," Old Liu said calmly.

"Thank you for reminding me." Xu Dan thanked him sincerely.

"Are you going to buy anything?" Old Liu asked.

Xu Dan glanced at the items on the stall and shook his head, saying, "I'm not buying." He wasn't stupid; why would he buy urine?

"What are you doing here if you're not buying? Get out of here, you're getting in my way," Old Liu shooed them away.

Xu Dan was speechless. They were just chatting happily a moment ago, how could he suddenly turn his back on him? Nobody would buy from someone like that. But he didn't say anything, just nodded, turned and left, still thinking about the fact that Pure Yang Liquid was urine. Suddenly, he remembered reading in a book that virgins possessed a Pure Yang body, representing boundless vitality and primordial energy filling their entire bodies.

Urine is produced by the warming and nourishing Yang energy of the kidneys. Although it is a metabolic product, it still retains the innate pure Yang energy of the body. Therefore, children's urine is also called "pure Yang liquid" or "pure Yang water".

According to local folklore, consuming children's urine can strengthen bones and muscles, improve digestion, cure various diseases, and prolong life.

Many famous doctors in ancient times referred to children's urine as "resurrection soup," "rejuvenation liquid," and "reincarnation wine."

Thinking of this, Xu Dan looked down. He had come here before reaching adulthood, still considered a virgin, and his urine was naturally pure yang fluid. If that guy could sell it at a stall, why couldn't he?

In an instant, thoughts raced.

Never mind, let's see.

So they continued walking forward.