Martial artists? Clearly a source of disaster.

As the Treasure Fish were successively gutted, numerous stalls appeared in the southeastern corner of the market. While they claimed to be selling the miscellaneous items found in the fish stomachs, this was not the case; the various merchant guilds clearly had other intentions.

Yang He noticed the Treasure Fish skins drying on both sides of the street.

Fish skins were relatively low in value, insufficient for a martial artist's initiation and difficult to use for making leather armor, so they were placed among the stalls for sale.

Yang He narrowed his eyes. The bellies of the fish skins were clearly damaged.

It looked like...

Someone had previously attached hands, but the merchant guilds had preemptively removed them.

"Jialiang Water Town hasn't experienced high tide, yet the merchant guilds have inexplicably caught a large number of Treasure Fish. Could it be that the schools of fish aren't in the water?"

"But on land?"

Yang He shivered. He found it hard to imagine a scene of Treasure Fish crawling everywhere.

"The merchant guilds definitely wouldn't pay attention to the miscellaneous items in the stomachs of century-old Treasure Fish, but it's hard to get away with just muddling through. Alas..."

"Those two cultivators also have plans in Peibai City."

Yang He found the situation troublesome. The sounds of slaughtering century-old Treasure Fish had already begun at the market entrance.

While contemplating, he wandered among the stalls, seeing all sorts of antiques whose authenticity was hard to discern, as well as some casually placed, worn-out ancient texts.

Several constables recognized Yang He as Old Man Yang's youngest son and greeted him.

Yang He responded to each of them, but his mind was focused on observing the Chāng ghosts within them.

What the coachman had said was true; the cultivators in the yamen who housed the tiger ghosts were on the verge of death, and the Chāng ghosts also appeared unusually listless.

Yang He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the number of constables in Peibai City seemed to be decreasing.

"Tiger ghost, Sun Qi..."

Head Constable Sun, whom Old Man Yang had mentioned, should be Sun Qi.

Yang He suspected that Sun Qi might have already lost all consciousness and would completely die within one or two months, which was why the coachman dared to be so brazen.

"One or two months. Even if the Lore World advances to the Hungry Ghost stage, it would be difficult."

"Unless a new mundane item is acquired."

Seeing Yang He picking and choosing at the stalls, the merchant guild assistants showed disdain, their eyes conveying everything that should and shouldn't be said.

Yang He paid them no mind, weighing the remaining silver in his hands.

He picked up a book.

"How much?"

"Three Liang of Silver."

Yang He picked up two more books describing folk miscellaneous records, "Add these two."

The merchant guild assistant waved his hand impatiently.

After paying, Yang He got up and left. He opened the book titled "Pure Yin Soft Water Strength," and the information displayed already indicated its authenticity.

[Pure Yin Soft Water Strength]

[Created by a Heavy Water Martial Artist. Requires consuming Treasure Fish meat for initiation. Once mastered, the Hungry Ghost born within the body will transform into the dantian.]

All the way here, Yang He had noticed that the merchant guilds were intentionally disseminating martial arts, with secret manuals for sale at almost every stall.

The martial arts halls in the city did not intervene, clearly having reached an agreement with the merchant guilds regarding profit distribution.

Yang He had no intention of becoming a martial artist; he was purely collecting them. The drawbacks of housing a Hungry Ghost were too terrifying; one wrong move and it could revive.

"With the proliferation of Treasure Fish and martial arts inheritances available for just three or four Liang, it won't be long before we see batches of martial artists."

Martial artists who initiated through secret manuals were not true cultivators at their core.

Lacking the Ghost Nurturing Method, they were more like vessels that housed Hungry Ghosts.

Yang He suppressed his thoughts, pretending to be an onlooker among the crowd and continued to wander. He then managed to find a Hungry Ghost eyeball as a lucky find.

[Dried Hungry Ghost Eyeball]

[A yin object derived from a Hungry Ghost's organ. It can be refined through the Hungry Ghost Path and allows martial artists to possess extraordinary eyesight.]

The ghost eyes needed twelve eyeballs to advance to the Hungry Ghost stage. He was still far from advancing, but he could collect the materials in advance.

Yang He's silver was almost all spent, so he decided to leave.

He did not pass by the market entrance. He used his spiritual sight to observe, and because the century-old Treasure Fish were enormous, he could see them without getting close.

Currently, twelve butchers were scaling them. Conservatively, it would take at least seven or eight days to finish processing them all.

After walking only a few steps, Yang He picked up a piece of paper that resembled a flyer.

'Shanhe Martial Arts Hall is recruiting a large number of martial disciples. Affordable prices, honest dealings. Six months of body tempering will allow for martial artist initiation.'

Yang He's mouth twitched. In the past, he would have been tempted.

He threw away the flyer and disappeared into an alley. As soon as he returned home, he took out the miscellaneous records he had bought and began to read.

He was trying to find a glimpse into the current state of the Main World.

The miscellaneous notes were filled with stories similar to Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

However, one could indeed discern some clues from the myths and legends.

It was said that three thousand years ago, yin and yang were not yet separated, and spirits and monsters ran rampant in the mortal realm. A divine being descended to subdue them and separate yin and yang. In the following thousand years, there were no more hundred ghosts night parades.

Then, the Great Si Dynasty was established, and in the two thousand years that followed, there were no major disasters or calamities.

Logically, dynasties that have been divided for a long time must unite, and those that have been united for a long time must divide. Yet, the Great Si Dynasty never even experienced internal strife, which was baffling.

"Could the Lore World be three thousand years before the Main World?"

"Otherwise..."

Yang He looked up and gazed at Old Man Bigan for a few moments.

"Worrying about this is useless. Planning for the next trip to the Lore World is the best strategy. I must advance my ghost eyes to the Hungry Ghost stage as soon as possible."

[Ghost Lotus 1/3 (31%)]

Yang He suddenly heard footsteps approaching in the courtyard.

"A He!"

Old Man Yang, his voice filled with excitement, hurried into the earthen house.

"Dad, how come you have time to come back early?"

"Heh heh, isn't there good news?"

Old Man Yang held a flyer in his hand. "A He, practicing martial arts isn't as expensive as it used to be. Why don't you go to the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall to hone your body?"

Yang He was speechless and said with a wry smile, "Once the number of martial disciples recruited increases, how can the instructors possibly manage them all? It'll likely be a waste of time."

"That's true."

Old Man Yang didn't insist. After all, he had a child late in life, so he indulged Yang He in everything.

Seeing Old Man Yang preparing to continue his patrol, Yang He hesitantly asked, "Dad, is the Head Constable Sun you mentioned earlier doing alright?"

"Head Constable Sun is suffering from a stubborn illness and only appears for a short while every three to four days."

"Alas."

"He's been getting worse lately, and I haven't seen Head Constable Sun in a long time."

Yang He's heart tightened, and a few ideas began to form.

Old Man Yang noticed the miscellaneous notes in Yang He's hand. "Head Constable Sun also has many books in his study. If I have the chance, I'll ask Head Constable Sun if he can lend you a volume or two."

"What books?"

"I occasionally saw them when Head Constable Sun taught us martial arts. He rarely reads other books, primarily a copy of 'Inner Elixir Art'."

Yang He licked his lips. This was indeed the best opportunity to infiltrate the yamen.

"Dad, is the yamen still recruiting constables?"

As soon as Yang He said this, Old Man Yang's body emitted a surge of yin qi, and the Chāng ghost within him stirred. "The yamen recruits constables at Zi Shi, midnight. Remember, at midnight."

After saying this, Old Man Yang's tone became less stiff, and his expression returned to normal.

"A He, I'm going on patrol. I only came back for a brief moment of leisure. The yamen has been very busy lately, and the market entrance needs to be guarded day and night."

Yang He watched Old Man Yang leave, his mind filled with thoughts.

Head Constable Sun, as a cultivator stationed in Peibai City, might have left behind cultivation methods, and might even know how to accommodate a second ghost.

As for whether he could start with the Lore World.

Yang He didn't think Grandmaster Taiyi would teach him without reservation.

The other person called him "disciple" and "apprentice," but in reality, the Daoist Initiates were just backup bodies for Nezha.