Eternal Life

The two words "Ghost Market" on the village plaque seemed to be pieced together from countless tiny, twisted lines. Those constantly writhing lines emanated a chilling, horrifying coldness.

Especially the character for "ghost"—it was like a living malicious specter clinging to the plaque, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws in a greedy, eerie pose.

Atop the Maine Coon's head, Bai Xue had long since been frightened into trembling. She had curled into a palm-sized ball of fur and did not dare look inside the Ghost Market.

Within her mismatched eyes, scenes of utmost terror seemed to be playing out.

The Maine Coon could not help swallowing, stretching out a paw to soothe the little furball on its head.

As a cat demon in the Qi-Refining Realm, the Maine Coon was fully qualified to claim a mountain as its domain and proclaim itself a great demon in this era, when the Spirit Tide had only just returned.

Yet after advancing into the Qi-Refining Realm, the beings it encountered were either a banished immortal descended into the world like Shen Yuan, or this Ghost Market brimming with strangeness. It was beginning to doubt its entire existence.

"Sir, this place looks very wrong. Why don't we take another path and leave first?"

The Maine Coon could not help suggesting.

Just then, the Dark-Bright Sword descended from the night sky as a streak of light and landed in Shen Yuan's hand.

The hazy purple sheen formed from the Dawn-Glow Purple Qi on the blade gradually faded, returning it to the appearance of an utterly ordinary bronze fire poker.

Shen Yuan's gaze swept over the Ghost Market's plaque. Its twisted lettering, like savage malicious specters, filled him with instinctive disgust.

After seeing the Ghost Market, Shen Yuan realized that from the moment they entered the mountain forest, they had already fallen within the influence of this Ghost Market before them.

Whether it was the region the State-Guarding Army had attempted to seal off, or that bizarre twilight illusion that obscured one's senses, both were essentially part of the Ghost Market before them.

Yet the Ghost Market did not seem to be an independent entity. All it did was spread over a vast area, drawing every living being within that region into its boundaries.

When Shen Yuan shattered the illusion with a single sword strike in such a forceful manner, he had finally caught the Ghost Market's interest. The Ghost Market now appearing before them was proof enough.

With the Ghost Market's eyes upon them, simply choosing another path could never allow them to escape. Shen Yuan immediately dismissed the Maine Coon's suggestion.

That left only one thing they could do.

Looking into the Ghost Market, Shen Yuan said calmly,

"This is an invitation from the Ghost Market. Leaving rashly would be rather impolite."

As he spoke, Shen Yuan stepped into the Ghost Market.

Seeing this, the Maine Coon immediately felt much more at ease and hurried after him step for step. No matter how bizarre this Ghost Market was, could it possibly compare to a banished immortal walking the mortal world?

The instant they entered the Ghost Market, the cold, deathly silence outside underwent a heaven-and-earth upheaval.

The streets were filled with passersby. Some wore ancient long robes or rough cloth garments, while others wore modern shirts and jeans, as though this were a time and space where antiquity and modernity had merged.

Some hurried through the alleyways, while others chatted with the vendors around them.

There was a breakfast stall with a huge wok of boiling oil, a butcher shop where a cleaver was being waved about, and little stalls selling trinkets and toys. In the shops lining both sides of the street, well-dressed people could also be seen coming and going.

If one ignored the clothing from different eras, the entire street looked exactly like an ancient-style marketplace.

Shen Yuan strolled ahead, observing this bustling market. Even the Maine Coon was briefly deceived by the sight before it.

But when it carefully looked at a stall it had just passed, every muscle in its body tensed, and its tiger-like pupils abruptly constricted.

In the huge wok at the nearest breakfast stall, there were no fried dough sticks at all—only severed fingers tumbling about in the boiling oil.

Those fingers, some still bearing their nails, rapidly swelled in the hot oil and transformed into fragrant fried dough sticks.

The breakfast stall owner was a fat middle-aged man. The blazing heat beside the wok had left him drenched in sweat, and greasy perspiration continually splashed into the oil with his movements, making the oil in the huge wok inexhaustible.

The butcher shop beside it displayed no pork either, but human arms hanging in full view. A massive butcher's cleaver skillfully chopped through bone, dividing flesh and blood into pieces for sale.

Even the craft stall was filled with dolls inlaid with eyeballs, kites sewn from bones and human skin, and skeletal heads that continuously let out shrill, cackling laughter.

Just as its name suggested, this marketplace was entirely a Ghost Market where demons, specters, and strange creatures gathered.

The breakfast stall owner, sweating like rain, spotted Shen Yuan as he entered the Ghost Market. A smile immediately spread across his greasy face, and his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Honored guest, would you like to buy some of our Ghost Market's special breakfast?"

"Look at these fragrant fried dough sticks and these delicious, juicy buns. If Your Excellency has heavier tastes, I also sell brain matter. Would you prefer it sweet or savory?"

Just hearing this made Bai Xue shrink directly to the Maine Coon's neck, hiding there cautiously, while the Maine Coon glared fiercely at the breakfast stall owner.

The breakfast stall owner still wore a smiling expression, seemingly utterly unconcerned by the cat demon in the Qi-Refining Realm before him.

At that moment, Shen Yuan, who had been watching all along, spoke.

"How are these things of yours sold?"

The smile on the breakfast stall owner's face widened as he hurriedly replied,

"Our Ghost Market accepts transactions in any form. Any item on your person, any limb, any organ—even your lifespan may be used in trade."

He paused, glanced around, then continued in a lowered voice,

"I see that this honored guest seems to be visiting our Ghost Market for the first time. Then you have certainly come to the right place.

"Our Ghost Market possesses a great opportunity concerning eternal life. If you buy a serving of breakfast from me, I can tell you about this opportunity for free."

Shen Yuan's gaze darkened slightly. He did not immediately respond to the breakfast stall owner, instead turning his attention to the hurried passersby along the roadside.

The Ghost Market before him appeared lively and prosperous, but closer observation revealed that although the pedestrians on the road all hurried along, most of those wearing ancient clothing had vacant, bewildered eyes, like walking corpses.

Those dressed in modern clothing retained a trace of clarity in their minds, yet most wore lost, helpless expressions.

At the calls of the market stall owners, they seemed to follow their instincts to the stalls and make transactions.

Some tore off a finger in exchange for a horrifying doll; some traded a bloodstained kidney for a skewer of candied eyeballs; others had their lifespan silently shaved away to complete a deal.

No matter which form of payment they chose, once the transaction was completed, they immediately became one of that crowd of walking corpses.

Seeing this, Shen Yuan said coldly to the breakfast stall owner,

"The immortality you speak of is becoming a part of this Ghost Market?"