"Does the location for entering the Ghost Market change every time?"
"No wonder I didn't see anyone at the Luo Family Archway last time."
Song Chengan looked at the pond before him, somewhat hesitant.
Duck Herding Candy.
It was a pond in the west of the city.
People usually liked to release ducks in it and wash clothes there, which was how it got its name.
But the problem was—
Song Chengan reached out and tested the pond water.
It was real water, all right.
He felt that if he jumped straight in, there was a good chance he would turn into a drenched chicken.
"This feels like they're messing with people."
Song Chengan shook his head.
Then he jumped in.
He could swim, anyway.
There was no harm in giving it a try.
Song Chengan plunged into the water, and darkness surged over him.
But the Ghost Token in his hand immediately gave a faint tremble.
Then he appeared within the Ghost Market.
"So that's how it is."
"I was wondering why the Ghost Token trembled once last time too."
"Only the Ghost Token combined with the proper method of entry can enter the Ghost Market."
"The force behind this Ghost Market must have an astonishing background."
Though Song Chengan knew nothing about formations,
he understood that any force capable of setting up Ghost Markets in nearly every prefecture and county throughout the Chen Kingdom had to be a towering, heaven-reaching existence.
To say nothing else,
those ever-changing Ghost Market entrances alone formed an incomparably profound formation.
Formations?
If he had the chance, Song Chengan wanted to become a formation master as well.
With my Void Heaven Mirror Phantom Body, I have a uniquely blessed advantage in comprehending formations.
Song Chengan thought.
Of course, for now, he could only think about it.
How could a Rogue Cultivator so easily get started in formations, pills, and such things?
Those inheritances were all controlled by the great sects and Aristocratic Clans.
Passed down generation after generation.
"There are monopolies everywhere."
Song Chengan arrived at the Blacksmith Shop.
"Shopkeeper, I'm here to collect my weapon."
Song Chengan took out the slip.
"It's you, fellow cultivator!"
The blacksmith clearly remembered Song Chengan. He smiled as he accepted the slip, then brought out a long staff.
The staff was forged from refined iron, measuring two zhang and three cun long. Its entire body was pitch-black, engraved with demon-subduing patterns.
"Fellow cultivator, see if it feels right in your hand."
Song Chengan took it and gave it a swing.
"Just right. Thank you!"
"Fellow cultivator truly possesses Innate Divine Strength."
The blacksmith exclaimed in amazement.
Innate Divine Strength?
Song Chengan froze upon hearing that.
Didn't everyone have this kind of strength after cultivating?
Perhaps it was merely flattery.
Song Chengan left the Blacksmith Shop and began wandering around the Ghost Market.
"This time, the Ghost Market entrance is at Duck Herding Pond. Before dawn, people will come to release their ducks there."
"I need to get back early."
Song Chengan had no desire to hear people tomorrow saying that Scholar Song had gone mad and was bathing in a pond early in the morning.
"Buy a staff technique."
Song Chengan began looking around for stalls selling martial arts manuals and the like.
"Shopkeeper, how much is this?"
Song Chengan's heart stirred.
He had spotted a Demon Core.
It was the size of a fingernail.
A fish demon's Demon Core.
"One hundred Talisman Coins."
The stall owner was an old man in his sixties. He said it with a genial smile.
Song Chengan gave an "oh" and put the Demon Core down.
Then he turned and walked toward the Daoist who had bought his Demon Core the other day.
"Daoist priest..."
"Oh, damn..." The Daoist caught sight of Song Chengan, rolled up the cloth on the ground, and bolted.
The Daoist had skill in his feet. After a few leaps and bounds, he had vanished without a trace.
"Does anyone have manuals for staff techniques or something similar..."
Doing business in the Ghost Market was quite interesting.
These people were like peddlers of sundries; they sold everything.
Magic artifacts, pills, manuals.
Like that Daoist who had bought Song Chengan's Demon Core last time.
He collected goods on one hand while reselling them on the other.
Song Chengan had seen several manuals on his stall, which was why he had asked.
But the Daoist had clearly misunderstood.
He thought Song Chengan had come to make trouble for him.
"That Daoist really is like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring."
Song Chengan shook his head.
When doing business, it was normal to pay some tuition when one lacked experience.
Song Chengan continued strolling around.
At last, he stopped before a stall.
The owner was a middle-aged man.
Many books were laid out before his stall.
Song Chengan casually picked one up.
Zhang Sheng's Amorous Encounters on West Mountain.
Song Chengan flipped through it casually, then put it back down.
He smacked his lips.
Not as good as Eggplant's author.
"Little brother, I have something even more exciting."
The middle-aged stall owner leaned closer and lowered his voice.
"Vulgar. I, Song, am a reader of the sages' books."
Song Chengan shot him a disdainful glance and turned to leave.
What a lunatic.
All he sold were erotic books.
Song Chengan stopped.
Before him was the Old Monk.
He still wore the same old patched monk's robes.
He sat cross-legged, with many small bottles placed before him.
Along with several books.
"Little benefactor, are you here to buy pills?"
Seeing Song Chengan approach, the Old Monk pressed his palms together and asked.
"However, I want to buy a staff technique."
"Do you have one?"
The Old Monk smiled. "Benefactor, you have come at just the right time. This humble monk happened to acquire a staff technique by chance not long ago."
As he spoke, the Old Monk rose, picked up a book, and handed it to Song Chengan.
Song Chengan accepted it and took a look.
Fire Cloud Staff Technique.
"Thirty-six forms of the Fire Cloud Staff. Once mastered, fire clouds..."
"May I ask, Master, how many Talisman Coins is this staff technique?"
The more Song Chengan read, the more tempted he became.
The Old Monk pressed his palms together.
"Thirty Talisman Coins."
Song Chengan immediately felt a little awkward.
"Master, would you sell it for twenty-five Talisman Coins?"
Thirty Talisman Coins for a staff technique.
It was a very fair price.
But twenty-five of Song Chengan's fifty Talisman Coins had already been spent last time.
He only had twenty-five Talisman Coins left.
The Old Monk smiled. "Selling it to you for twenty-five Talisman Coins is fine as well."
"Thank you, Master!"
Song Chengan clasped his fists.
Monks truly knew how to make their words sound pleasant.
Song Chengan remembered this kindness.
Having obtained both a weapon and the Fire Cloud Staff Technique, Song Chengan did not linger and left the Ghost Market directly.
The scene shifted.
Song Chengan emerged from the pond.
"Ghost!"
Song Chengan had not expected to run into someone even though he had returned so late.
It was a fellow dressed in black night clothes, carrying a bundle on his back.
He was probably someone who made a living without capital.
But clearly,
his courage was not that great.
After letting out a scream, he fainted on the ground.
"He's over there!"
"Catch the thief!"
The thief had fainted from fright, while a burst of clamor rose in the distance.
Several patrolling constables rushed this way with lanterns in hand.
Song Chengan shook his head, took off running, vaulted over a courtyard wall, and vanished.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
"Don't run!"
"He has accomplices!"
But these constables, who were at most martial artists, clearly had no way to catch Song Chengan.
Back home,
Song Chengan casually placed the Demon Subduing Staff behind the door, then sent his consciousness into the Void Heaven Mirror.
With a thought,
a new Phantom Body condensed.
This Phantom Body had the same appearance as Song Chengan and held an identical Demon Subduing Staff as it began practicing.
"A month for the staff, a year for the saber, a lifetime for the spear."
"Comprehending this Fire Cloud Staff Technique should be quick."
Song Chengan withdrew from the Void Heaven Mirror's space.
Before you continue