SQLJBFDTW Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Ghost Market – Master Brother, The Bargaining Novice

Chapter 66: Ghost Market – Master Brother, The Bargaining Novice

The half-demon made it sound simple, right next to the demon realm, but he himself was clueless about where the demon realm was, only knowing it was in the southeast direction, beyond the sand sea.

Thunderous sounds continued behind him, he guessed that the elders had also arrived, wanting to completely kill the half-demon.

If Yu Wei couldn’t find him after this was over, wouldn’t he worry to death?

Chao Jianxue hardened his heart and temporarily cut off the spiritual power attached to his jade token. After he found what the half-demon mentioned in the underground ghost market, it wouldn’t be too late to make up a reason to go back.

The rain was still falling even after leaving the narrow passage. He went straight into the forest. The clean rain washed away the ashy black residue on his face and body, but his clothes were no longer wearable. Chao Jianxue rummaged through his storage and found the only black clothes he had. He took off the dirty clothes and threw them into his storage, found a river, scrubbed himself clean, and changed his clothes.

Yu Wei would definitely look for him, he had to hurry.

He didn’t know how far he had flown, but he had already passed Nan Shan Island. He crossed the raging river and stepped onto the scorching sand sea.

Outside Nan Shan Island, there were no sects stationed; only rogue cultivators and demon cultivators roamed. Chao Jianxue pulled up his hood and tried his best to walk calmly.

The reason he wore black clothes was because they blended in better here. In short, he needed to look unapproachable, so trouble wouldn’t actively seek him out.

But Chao Jianxue had clearly overlooked his outstanding appearance; even with only his eyes showing, it wasn’t enough to avoid malicious prying. Someone reached out to lift his hood, and Chao Jianxue broke their fingers.

Annoyed, he slipped behind a sand dune. The buildings here were all made of piled-up sand, and the wind was strong, blowing everything into his eyes, making it hard to open them.

Chao Jianxue simply bought a special veiled hat, covering himself from head to toe.

He also deliberately spoke in a rough, altered voice, asking for clues to the underground ghost market.

Someone told him quickly enough.

But halfway there, Chao Jianxue suddenly remembered something else.

That disciple he knocked unconscious in the narrow passage, he wondered if he recognized him, and if he would tell others what he saw after he woke up…

If only… if only…

Before that terrible thought could fully form, Chao Jianxue dispelled it in time.

Even if that disciple identified him, as long as he found something to conceal his demon power, he could say that the other party was delirious and talking nonsense. Since no one else saw it, he would just deny it to the death.

He didn’t have the mind to think about these things that hadn’t happened yet, because the underground ghost market was right in front of him.

What appeared before him was a pitch-black well, with a mottled wooden sign next to it, written with the bloody words “Underground Ghost Market” in red paint that was almost completely corroded by the wind and sand.

—A long line of people was in front of the well.

Chao Jianxue: “…”

Did it have to be so much like a tourist attraction?!

The reason for the long queue was naturally that the well opening was small, allowing only one person to pass at a time. The queue pushed and shoved, with people constantly cutting in line, and peddlers selling ghost market entry passes on the side.

“Two hundred and eighty spirit stones, do you want it? A free admission ticket to the Youmin Casino…” A small, skinny old man squeezed in front of Chao Jianxue, waving the ticket in his hand.

“Not many tickets left, tonight is the night of the Heavenly Dog eating the moon, the ghost market will be very lively. If you buy my ticket, I’ll upgrade you to skip-the-line service!”

Chao Jianxue looked down at the two red and black entry passes in his hand, crumpled from being squeezed.

He was indeed lacking an entry pass.

Chao Jianxue lowered his voice: “Two hundred.”

Small old man: “Two hundred and seventy.”

Chao Jianxue: “Two hundred and thirty.”

Small old man: “Two hundred and seventy, not a penny less.”

Chao Jianxue: “Two hundred and fifty.”

Small old man: “Deal.”

Chao Jianxue clutched the light ticket. The small old man was overjoyed and beaming: “It’s a bargain for you, I’m not making any money at all!”

The deal was so quick, and it was two hundred and fifty… Chao Jianxue regretted it a little.

“Skip the line?” Chao Jianxue pursed his lips.

“Come, come, come with me, my business is honest!”

The small old man pushed him through the crowd, to the side of the front of the line.

Chao Jianxue wondered who he was looking for to trade with, because his eyes were sharp, as if he was searching for something.

People constantly jumped down the well, in an airtight circle.

Suddenly, the small old man moved.

He instantly spread out eagle-like wings, soaring into the air, his five fingers also becoming claws, grabbing Chao Jianxue’s shoulders, lifting his whole person up.

Then he threw him towards the well opening.

So he was a falcon demon.

Chao Jianxue fell perfectly into the well like this, the impact sending the person next to him who was jumping down flying.

Terrified, he inverted his body, his palms touching the slippery, moss-covered well wall in the darkness, barely slowing down his speed, and landed staggeringly.

So the so-called skip-the-line service was just throwing him in…

Chao Jianxue was still frightened. After the action just now, the injury on his waist started to ache again. He didn’t have time to heal on the way here, so he fed himself a medicinal pill.

The bottom of the well was surrounded by flickering blue flames, looking like ghost fires at first glance.

In the dim blue light, Chao Jianxue imitated the people in front of him, throwing the entry pass into a brazier on the side. The moment it burned, the scene before him changed abruptly in the rising flames, instantly transforming from the dark and damp bottom of the well into a dimly lit street lined with shops.

Chao Jianxue covered his injured waist, concealed his aura, and nervously stepped into the crowd of strangely shaped people.

In comparison, the markets of human cultivators were still too much of the mortal realm.

He glanced at the bloody things displayed on the stalls on both sides, all kinds of dan hearts, as small as chicken eggs and as big as leather balls, as if they had just been dug out of the dantian, still connected with vague flesh and blood.

There were human cultivators’ and demon cultivators’, very raw.

Chao Jianxue felt a faint pain in his own dantian and Purple Mansion, and he looked away, not daring to look too much.

There were also rare herbs, such as poisonous grass, sold here.

He walked past a shop that looked like a bookstore, and curiousity arose. After walking in, he found that they were all evil cultivation methods, of varying quality, which would be difficult for novices to identify.

The shopkeeper stared darkly at everyone who came in and out.

Before Chao Jianxue left, he also discovered a cabinet of lewd readings.

There were even fanfiction about the various prodigies of the current human cultivators, but the pictures and language were bolder and more terrifying than outside, something ordinary people could not easily accept. Chao Jianxue flipped through them out of curiosity and wished he could gouge out his eyes.

He threw down the book and quickly fled from the bookstore.

The distinction between human and demon cultivators was not as clear as outside. Demon cultivators openly revealed their demon forms, and human cultivators were also dressed in bizarre ways.

Chao Jianxue, wrapped in black clothes, was actually one of the more normal outfits.

Gradually, the Youmin Casino that the falcon demon mentioned earlier also came into view.

It was a dangerous building a hundred feet tall—as for why such a tall building would appear underground, it could be assumed that everything in the Xuanzhen Realm could not be judged by Chao Jianxue’s original common sense. The building was decorated with lanterns and colored hangings, adding a bit of festivity to this dark and gloomy place, but the ecstatic laughter and painful wails that occasionally came from the building made it seem ghostly.

Gambling was something that should never be touched. Chao Jianxue silently tightened his clothes and walked away quickly.

He had asked around on the ground earlier and already had a goal for this trip, so he walked all the way inside.

Perhaps demon cultivators’ sense of smell was always more sensitive. The demon cultivators who passed him turned their heads to look at him, twitching their noses, their eyes staring straight at him. Chao Jianxue instinctively felt uncomfortable and walked even faster.

At the end of the dark street, a white flag fluttered gently like a soul-calling banner, with the words “Omniscient Scholar” on it. His anxious heart calmed down slightly, and he walked straight forward.

“What do you want to ask? Five thousand spirit stones per question.” The Omniscient Scholar was nonchalantly wiping the zither in his hand.

If you looked closely, the skin of his zither was delicate, with fine pores, unlike ordinary objects. But Chao Jianxue didn’t have the spare capacity to look closely at this time, and was only shocked by the sky-high price he was asking. He didn’t know what the price level of the underground ghost market was, but five thousand was enough for the Omniscient Scholar outside to answer ten questions.

But after what happened just now, Chao Jianxue realized that he wasn’t a talented bargainer. Five thousand it was. He had money on hand and was afraid of being resented if he bargained.

So he simply took out spirit stone bills of equal value.

The Omniscient Scholar’s hand wiping the zither paused slightly, and he raised a smile with interest: “Ask.”

“I want to find a magical artifact that can conceal demon blood.”

The Omniscient Scholar was unremarkable in appearance, the kind of person whose appearance would be forgotten after a single glance, but when he smiled, he suddenly became demonic, his eyes becoming slender and long.

“Sorry, sorry.” He used the zither to cover the lower half of his face. “Does the honored guest want to temporarily conceal it, or permanently abandon demon power?”

There was such a detailed breakdown?

Just as Chao Jianxue was about to speak, the Omniscient Scholar said again: “Logically speaking, these are two answers, so I should charge two fees. But seeing as the honored guest is generous and I have a connection with you, I’ll waive it.”

“…” Chao Jianxue said, “I want the permanent one.”

“Simple, the Youmin Casino!” The Omniscient Scholar casually plucked a string, and the zither string vibrated slightly, making a pleasant and crisp sound. “There is a treasure in the casino called Bone Cleanser. Swallow it, and you can wash away your demon blood and become a legitimate human being!”

“What about the temporary one?”

“Then go west, to the apothecary shop in Hungry Ghost Lane, and ask him for a Human Transformation Pill, which can temporarily hide your demon aura, one pill per month. But after eating it, for two days, every step you take will feel like walking on steel needles, and every breath you take will feel like a knife cutting your throat.” He said gleefully, stating the price that the Little Mermaid in the ocean fairy tale would have to pay for growing legs.

One was turning from a fish into a human, and one was turning from a demon into a human.

Chao Jianxue felt pain just listening.

He made his choice and stood up. The Omniscient Scholar was still covering the lower half of his face, his slender eyes narrowed: “Does the honored guest really want to be human? Isn’t it better to be a demon than a human, with freedom to come and go without shackles?”

Chao Jianxue didn’t answer, but instead spread out his hand to him: “My answer also costs five thousand spirit stones.”

The Omniscient Scholar stretched out his pointed fingers, pushing his hand away: “Don’t take this old man for asking too much.”

Chao Jianxue went to the Hungry Ghost Lane he mentioned and successfully bought two bottles of Human Transformation Pills.

Then, he walked to the entrance of the Youmin Casino, looked up, the casino’s high pavilion was out of reach, red silk hung down, and the noise, the sound of colliding mahjong tiles, all fell into his ears.

Chao Jianxue put away the Human Transformation Pills.

The Human Transformation Pill was just to seek insurance, he ultimately wanted to cleanse his bones.

–

“I can’t find him, but the light on the jade token hasn’t gone out either, where else could he have gone?” Li Zhenzhen flew back from the other side, shaking her head at Yu Wei.

Today, they had searched every corner of the surrounding area, but there was no sign of Chao Jianxue.

The rain washed away all traces.

Yu Wei’s expression was tense, and he raised his sword to leave. Suddenly, someone discovered a corpse, covered in bloody holes, the death was terrible.

Several people rushed over, and they saw that the disciples of the opposing sect had strange expressions. They stood up, pointed at the corpse on the ground towards Yu Wei and Li Zhenzhen, their words stern and harsh, their eyes bloodshot: “Junior brother left a last word in the jade token, the murderer is Chao Jianxue of the Wuwu Sect!”