As the century-old Treasure Fish was dismembered day by day, only its mangled remains were left.
Most of its flesh had already been stripped away. After its organs were simply dried, wealthy families and merchants in the city bought them as collectibles. Only the fish stomach remained intact.
The market entrance was bustling with activity as butchers processed scraps of fish from every corner.
"Blackwater Hall has bid for two pieces of century-old Treasure Fish meat~~"
A clerk called out loudly. Shopkeeper Chen hurriedly took the fish wrapped in oiled paper, intending to send a merchant association clerk to Blackwater Hall.
"I'll go."
A woman voluntarily took the oiled-paper parcel. She bore some resemblance to Chen Baosheng.
"Qian'er, there's no need for you to make a special trip to Blackwater Hall."
Chen Qian was Chen Baosheng's only daughter. Seeing Shopkeeper Chen's current state, she was deeply worried and could not help reminding him, "Father, you haven't slept for three days and nights..."
"I'm fine!"
Blood trickled from Shopkeeper Chen's nostrils, and exhaustion filled his eyes.
Chen Qian only felt that the father before her was becoming increasingly unfamiliar. There was even an indescribable strangeness between his brows, as though... he was no longer human.
"Where did the Treasure Fish even come from? Our Fuyang Merchant Association rarely deals with strange objects, much less Treasure Fish found in great rivers and lakes."
"Shut up!"
Shopkeeper Chen's eyes widened. His body was bloated, and his stomach was a full circle larger than an ordinary person's.
"The Fuyang Merchant Association is only responsible for transporting the Treasure Fish. Does it matter where it came from?!"
The more Shopkeeper Chen spoke, the more agitated he became, but he soon stroked his abdomen in fear.
Chen Qian said nothing more. Carrying the fish meat out of the market entrance, she took out a bottle of liquid and smeared it over her eyelids just before entering an alley.
This was Clear Sight Elixir Water, which she had purchased at great expense.
It was said that the elixir water could conceal one's Yang Fire, allowing one to temporarily... see ghosts!
"Whew."
Chen Qian opened her eyes and cautiously looked toward Shopkeeper Chen. Her pupils immediately contracted as she witnessed something that overturned everything she knew.
There really was a ghost inside Shopkeeper Chen's swollen belly!!
It was a shriveled little ghost covered in copper coins. It greedily stared at the instructors bidding on the fish meat and let out a piercing wail.
Chen Qian's face turned deathly pale with fright, while the shriveled little ghost noticed her spying.
The shriveled little ghost turned its head and pressed close to the flesh to inspect Chen Qian. She fled into the alley in a panic, her clothes already soaked through with sweat.
Distraught, Chen Qian wiped away the elixir water, but the ghostly image would not leave her mind.
Blackwater Hall was clearly not far away, yet the short journey left her feeling weak. At the same time, she felt as if something alive were wriggling inside her body.
"Miss Chen, how could we trouble you to deliver it personally?"
Master Zhao received Chen Qian, then motioned for the fish meat to be taken to the inner room.
Blackwater Hall was not large, nor did it have wealthy merchants or powerful families backing it. It had not been easy to purchase two pieces of fish meat near the end of the century-old Treasure Fish's dismemberment, so they naturally treasured the resources immensely.
Chen Qian's thoughts were in turmoil as she forced herself to respond to Hall Master Zhao.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Violent coughing rang out, soon growing worse and worse. Chen Qian heard the weakness in the sound, and an inexplicable fear surged through her heart.
"Hall Master Zhao... I still have things to do, so I'll be leaving first."
Chen Qian hurried away and nearly collided headlong with someone.
"I'm terribly sorry."
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Perhaps because some elixir water remained, she felt that the man's eyes were incomparably deep. At the same time, she seemed to hear indistinct murmuring by her ear.
"It's fine."
Yang He frowned slightly as he watched Chen Qian vanish into the crowd.
He stared at the sky for several breaths. The rain in the First Layer of Hell showed signs of becoming torrential, while invisible standing water had already reached his calves.
That was right. Peibai City in the First Layer of Hell would not be long from flooding.
"Judging by her clothes, she should be from the Fuyang Merchant Association."
"There's a ghost inside her."
Greedy Dao (Merchant) Once mastered, the Greedy Ghost would occupy the stomach and intestines. It could be satisfied through financial transactions. No transactions could be made at a loss, or the Greedy Ghost would gradually crawl toward the heart.
Yang He's heart sank. Even the Fuyang Merchant Association had come into contact with cultivation methods. He only hoped that, apart from the coachman and the Beast Tamer, there was not a third Evil Ghost cultivator hiding in Peibai City.
"Not necessarily, but it won't hurt to be more cautious."
Yang He forcefully suppressed his distracting thoughts and entered Blackwater Hall under the pretense of asking about the price of martial arts training.
He had already noticed Jin Song's condition back at the teahouse. Without some means of extending his life, Jin Song would certainly die within a few days.
Now that there was hope of survival, how could Jin Song be willing to accept a natural death?
Yang He was about to head to the Lore World. He only wanted to see what would happen through Jin Song, so that he could find a way to deal with it when the time came.
Besides, he was unwilling to give up the new mundane item.
"Hm?"
The moment Yang He stepped into the martial arts school, he suddenly heard rustling sounds. Then the Pupil Ghost issued a warning, while the black cat at his feet clawed at his trouser leg.
"Jin Song is dead?"
He stood at the entrance, pretending to be timid and apprehensive before the martial arts school.
The martial arts school had no time to spare for outsiders. Martial Artists were calling Jin Song's name, while the children studying under him could not help sobbing.
Before long, a corpse covered in white cloth was carried out from the inner room.
To ordinary eyes, the corpse was merely emaciated.
But Spiritual Vision showed something different. The corpse's internal organs had been hollowed out. Something had clearly crawled out of its mouth before death, most likely the Hungry Ghost that had parasitized its abdomen.
Plop.
The sound of something falling into water rang out abruptly.
Yang He's expression did not change, but goosebumps rose all over his body.
The Hungry Ghost had already slipped into the standing water of the First Layer of Hell.
What Yang He found most unbelievable was that everyone in the martial arts school covered their noses and mouths. They had actually smelled the rancid stench unique to a Hungry Ghost.
Yang He could smell it because Spiritual Vision enhanced his five senses.
But what about them?
Could the rainwater in the First Layer of Hell be making the barrier between humans and ghosts disappear?
A chill ran down Yang He's spine. After pretending to ask a few questions about apprenticing himself to the martial arts school, he immediately returned home and prepared to head to the Lore World.
Ghost Lotus: 2/3 (2%)
He held the lotus seed and sat cross-legged in a side room of his home.
The carriage was parked at the market entrance, but the four horses had already vanished without a trace.
"Hehe, not bad, not bad."
The coachman squatted inside the carriage, puffing on his dry pipe as though admiring the torrential rain. The smoke he exhaled was mixed with a rancid stench.
"Zhou Mo, is the plan in Peibai City proceeding smoothly?"
Although there was clearly only one person inside the carriage, a second voice rang out.
"Smoothly! Of course it's going smoothly! There's only one half-dead Sun Qi blocking the way, and the benefits we obtain will be more than enough for us to divide!!"
"You should be careful."
The coachman opened his mouth, revealing rotten teeth that had nearly all fallen out. "Hehe, Sun Qi isn't dead yet, and besides..."
"There's another cultivator operating in secret. Song Zhi mentioned before he died that this person had already undergone a second revival. I was noticed by him the moment I entered the town."
Zhou Mo shrieked in reply, "Impossible!!!"
The coachman sneered. "Song Zhi died cleanly. He said that after this person's second revival, he neither abandoned his body nor went completely insane."
"But how could anyone in this world cultivate without paying any price?"
Before you continue