A Chance Encounter with an Old Friend

Without hesitation, Li Qi jumped down; he had already made his plans.

First, check if anyone is selling anything in this kind of place.

This is already deep ocean territory. Those who venture here and trade with others are mostly adventurers seeking wealth, many of whom are after the Dragon Lord's remains.

We can acquire some ingredients from them to complete the commission for the Sea Cooking Pot. Even if we can't buy everything, it doesn't matter, the research vessel will continue to move forward, and we will definitely be able to buy everything.

Anyway, Sea Cooking Pot has already paid Li Qi all the money for the goods, and there is still a lot of surplus, so there is no need to worry about not having money.

Secondly, prepare offerings and personally perform a ritual to worship Shentu and Yulei, expressing gratitude for their past help.

Next, look around the East China Sea for any special souvenirs, buy some, carve them into hairpins to give to the rabbit, and also bring back some local specialties for other friends.

Finally, take a stroll through Duoshuo Mountain, and memorize the memories. Make these memories your own foundation; they might come in handy someday and become the key to unlocking a new door for you.

With a plan in mind, all that was left was to take action. So Li Qi was among the first to jump ashore, showing no fear whatsoever of Duoshuo Mountain or the Gate of Ten Thousand Ghosts.

They've already said the treasure ship will protect everyone. Li Qi can now see an invisible aura surrounding him, preventing ghosts from getting close and keeping him safe from yin Yin Qi.

This is an invincible pass; it's that useful when you travel with Fifth Rank Treasure Ship. If you came on your own, you'd probably be eaten by monsters outside.

It's just... a bit of a coincidence.

Fifth Rank Treasure Ship is no ordinary thing, but after getting to know it, boarding the ship seemed like a natural thing to do, and I was naturally invited by Reason Way to come.

The knowledge of Reason Way and spirit is also included, as is the knowledge of Shen Yijun related to the Dragon Soul.

It's impossible for this to happen without someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Li Qi's current guess is that the mastermind is Zhenlong, after all, that was his original idea. After he came to the East Sea, Zhenlong would definitely take action to test him and throw bait at him.

Now we can just eat the bait without any guilt. There's nothing else we need to do. At most, we can give the East Sea some hints, and then we can just sit back and wait for the East Sea to get involved in the Sun and Moon Path.

With the East China Sea stirring things up, it will be easier to break the deadlock and allow the vitality of Mount Luofu to emerge.

Li Qi acted as a mediator, believing he could become a bridge between Mount Luofu and Wushen Mountain, and that after Mount Luofu's revival, he could align Mount Luofu with Wushen Mountain.

Often, the difference between cooperation and division is just a little bit of trust.

Li Qi believed that as the Shaman, he could become the fulcrum of this trust, allowing Mount Luofu to hand over the Great Dao Opportunity to Wushen Mountain, thus completely ensuring the safety of life and inheritance.

But all of this requires stirring up the water first.

Therefore, Li Qi did not hesitate to step in despite the temptations of the real dragon, hoping to eventually climb up the fishing rod and see the dragon fishing for him.

But...

Li Qi hadn't really figured out what was going on with Old Master Shen Yijun and his dragon-slaying squad. Maybe it was just a coincidence? After all, Li Qi didn't think that such a powerful person would necessarily be schemed against by others.

No one can predict everything; this has always been Li Qi's belief that there will always be all sorts of unexpected events.

Man proposes, God disposes.

Thinking about all this, Li Qi had already walked to a city gate on the shore, where he saw a market outside the north and south sides of the city gate.

There are many ghosts and monsters moving around inside. Some are short ghosts, about two feet tall, while others are giants, several feet tall. There are men, women, children, officials, soldiers, monks, and Daoists, bustling about. People are buying and selling goods, carrying loads on donkeys and carts. There is everything.

It was still dark all around, and the yin energy surrounding it prevented Yin Qi from penetrating. The only source of light was the Great Peach Tree that pierced the sky, so the weather remained chilly and pitch black.

Li Qi squinted at the city, feeling it was illusory and subtle, as if he could see it, yet also as if he couldn't.

He turned his head to look at the market over there, and could vaguely make out two rows of Buddha Statue on the side of the road. The Buddha Statue had their eyes closed, as if they dared not open their eyes to see anything.

An ordinary person would be trembling with fear at this moment because of such a strange thing, but Li Qi was not afraid. He knew that he had encountered a 'Ghost Market'.

Well, not bad luck. This kind of thing, although it's strange and inexplicable to ordinary people, is just right for Li Qi.

Shaman are a type of 'strange' beings. Generally speaking, Shaman are an indispensable character in many Ghost Market stories recorded by mortals.

Besides, ordinary people go in to exchange their lifespan or promises for the ghosts' items, but Li Qi has plenty of things to trade with these ghosts.

So he strode towards the Ghost Market.

Upon entering, one finds numerous monsters, some with blue faces and fangs, some covered in sores, some covered in pus and blood, and some glowing with phosphorescent light, appearing everywhere.

However, there are many others like Li Qi, who look similar to ordinary people, and even quite a few demons can be seen swaggering around in their original forms.

The snake demon coiled its body as it moved, while the Fox Demon swayed with every step, luring the ghosts behind it.

Li Qi also saw a big shot dressed as a powerful evil spirit, riding in a sedan chair, but inside the sedan chair was a coffin, carried by eighteen ghost servants. Behind him were fair maidens, wine and food, jade bowls and golden cups, the light reflecting off the tables and desks, extremely arrogant, parading through the city.

Ordinary people would probably be terrified in such a gloomy and eerie place, but Li Qi found it increasingly novel as he walked through this Ghost Market.

How interesting! It turns out that the powerful evil spirit who had achieved great cultivation actually had a coffin inside his sedan chair. How intriguing!

Li Qi looked around and wandered around for a quarter of an hour, only to see a ghost shop by the roadside, which looked like a pawn shop, with many dazed people standing inside.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that they were all souls that had left their bodies!

Li Qi saw that several demons were constantly blowing on these souls, exhaling Yin Qi to stabilize their spirits.

He immediately became interested. Li Qi had read about this kind of situation in a book before. It said that demons and ghosts would sneak into dreams and lure people's souls out of their bodies to the Ghost Market.

At this time, people are in a daze and think they are dreaming. So they will do business with the demons and ghosts in the dream, pawning their lifespan or other precious things in exchange for the help of the demons and ghosts.

Some people ask for wealth, and the demons will buy it with money. Others ask for children, and the demons will bribe the underworld officials to let the ghost be reincarnated into their family. There are also all sorts of strange and unusual requests. As long as the demon can satisfy them and can afford the price, a deal can be made.

Many wake up from their dreams in a daze, some even unaware that they have sold decades of their lifespan in exchange for money.

Li Qi observed the process of those living souls believing they were in a dream and constantly talking to demons and ghosts, and tried to record it.

However, at this moment, Li Qi suddenly realized that the demons and ghosts seemed to have seen Li Qi, so they stopped breathing on these souls and quickly ran away.

Li Qi saw that the demons and ghosts were calling out to someone as they slipped away.

But not long after, Li Qi heard a voice say, "Isn't it inappropriate for you to disturb other people's business in the Ghost Market?"

That voice... it sounds familiar.

When Li Qi became suspicious, he turned his head back to look.

Upon seeing it, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

A person... no, a ghost, dressed in a dignified yamen runner's uniform, was staring at him.

This is none other than Elder Li!

Back when Li Qi was in Li Prefecture, when he first dealt with a dispute between Human-Ghost, there was that Elder Li whose grave had been dug up by the Wang Family!

Unexpectedly, after escaping from that grave, he ended up in this Ghost Market, and judging by his appearance, he even managed to obtain a minor official position? I just scared the demons and ghosts, and they summoned me to warn me!

When Elder Li saw Li Qi, he first frowned, then suddenly seemed to remember something, and with a start, he clapped his hands, his previous stern expression changing, and exclaimed in surprise, "Shaman! How could I possibly meet you here?! Are you dead?!"

"Do I look like I'm dead? I've just come to this Ghost Gate to see what the Ghost Market looks like. Look at my Yang Energy, I'm perfectly alive," Li Qi said with a smile, taking the initiative to greet Elder Li.

This centuries-old ghost seems to be doing quite well now. He's wearing the clothes of a government official, and his cultivation has improved considerably. He's now considered quite good among the eighth-rank cultivators.

"Shaman, why have you come to this Ghost Market? It's quite a coincidence that we've come here," Elder Li said with a smile.

"It's truly fate. I never imagined I'd meet you again, Elder Li. There's nothing else to say but destiny," Li Qi said with a smile, sounding somewhat surprised.

It was truly surprising. This place is the Ghost Gate of the East Sea. To run into an old friend here is truly something to reminisce about.

"I came from the East Sea. How did you get here, Elder Li? You must have been in Baiyue back then. How did you end up here?" Li Qi started chatting with Elder Li, asking about his situation.

Elder Li seemed very happy and immediately replied, "That's a long story. I reconciled with the Wang Family and everyone was happy afterward. Shaman left with a lot of water vapor, and the Wang Family hired someone to rebuild my tomb according to the layout you Shaman. After that, I stopped Curse and started blessing them. Since then, the Wang Family has risen to prominence and even embarked on the path of cultivation."

"I spent three years in seclusion in the tomb, and after three years, messengers from the underworld came to my door."

"I originally thought the underworld officials came to arrest me and put me into reincarnation. I had already lamented and surrendered, but the underworld officials said that I had a karmic connection with the Dharma, had been touched by divine energy, and had the Five Elements structure attached to me. Now that I have become powerful, I can avoid reincarnation unless I actively choose to do so. I can cultivate the ghost path and live a second life."

"Only then did I realize that the whip Shaman used to strike me actually contained the divine power of the Ghost Emperor. It was thanks to Shaman's help that I was able to escape the cycle of reincarnation."

Upon hearing this, Li Qi smiled and said, "I didn't know about this at the time either. I can only say that it was all your destiny."

"That's what I say, but I, Li Weng, will never forget your great kindness. Speaking of that underworld official, he said I was no longer subject to reincarnation, so he asked if I would like to take the exam to become a City God and get a proper status. I thought it was a good idea, so I went to the City God Temple, took the exam to become a yamen runner, and even entered the Gates of Hell to become a proper underworld official. Now I've been assigned to this place under the big peach tree on Dushuo Mountain to supervise this ghost market and uphold justice for all the little ghosts. That's the righteous path." As Li Weng spoke, he bowed respectfully to Li Qi, thanking him for his help.

It was Li Qi the Ghost Emperor's divine power to transform him and designed a true Five Elements structure to temper his ghost body, enabling him to cultivate independently and escape reincarnation. He relied entirely on the other party, and it is no exaggeration to say that he was given a second life.

Now that he has become a ghost messenger and gained more experience, he understands even more how astonishing it was that a low-ranking Shaman could produce a Law Treasure with the Ghost Emperor Spirit Qi.

I'm afraid... this Shaman is a disciple of Wushen Mountain, which is far more illustrious than I, a mere underworld official.

As for the Ghost Emperor theory, both sides understood this point.

The brothers Shen Tu Yu Lei are actually the Eastern Ghost Emperor among the Five Directional Ghost Emperors.

The Eastern Ghost Emperors Shen Tu and Yu Lei, brothers, ruled over the Great Peach Tree of Dushuo Mountain.

The Southern Ghost Emperor rules over Mount Luofu.

The Western Ghost Emperor rules over Mount Fanzhong.

The Central Ghost Emperor governs Baodou Mountain.

The Northern Ghost Emperor rules over Luofeng Mountain.

That's right, Mount Luofu is also a place of great dread.

As one of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, Mount Luofu naturally possesses many unique features. First and foremost is its layout, which has existed since ancient Mount Luo. Mount Fu was originally a peak of Penglai, but during the reign of Emperor Yao, a great flood swept across the sea and landed on Mount Luo, hence the combined name Mount Luofu.

At the top of the mountain is a cave called 'Zhu Ming Cave'. It is also called Zhu Ming or Yao Zhen. It belongs to Yangming and its color is red. It is an extremely Yang place.

There is another ghost gate underground, an extremely yin place.

The combination of the two creates the Yin-Yang fusion pattern of Mount Luofu, which is why Mount Luofu's Cultivation Method and Dao Lineage place such importance on the changes of Yin and Yang.

"Haha, I didn't know that Shen Tu Yu Lei's divine energy had such effects. It was a lucky accident. By the way, when I came here just now, I saw countless souls being tortured outside. Do you know what happened?" After exchanging pleasantries, Li Qi Elder Li n't wait to ask.

There's an old acquaintance from the underworld here, so why not ask? This is knowledge that only underworld officials would know.

"Oh, Shaman asking this? Although it's the Ghost Gate in the mortal realm, it's still the underworld. Those outside are all evil ghosts and sinners. If their merits and sins cannot be redeemed, they will be punished until they atone." Elder Li explained, "So all the ghosts that are caught here must first be examined by the Ghost Emperor. If they are extremely wicked, they must be punished outside before they can enter the cycle of reincarnation."

Li Qi nodded and said, "I see. So, all the ghosts that can appear here aren't actually that bad?"

"That's true. They can't be called good people, but at least they're not vicious. However, their time on this island is limited. Unlike the underworld officials who don't enter the cycle of reincarnation, their spirits gradually dissipate. This is called 'underworld lifespan.' Once their underworld lifespan is over, they have to be reincarnated."

At this point, Elder Li asked curiously, "Shaman, this Ghost Gate isn't easy to enter. You said you came from the East Sea? How are you able to remain unaffected by the Yin Qi?"