Chapter 81: The Ghost Market’s Rules

Upon realizing Ke Qian and Wang Li were no longer by his side, Ye Cha paused for a moment. Instead of panicking, he simply lifted his foot and followed the crowd into the marketplace ahead.

This was his first time in the Ghost Market, and he wasn’t sure if their dispersal was due to random teleportation. Still, Ye Cha felt no concern for his safety.

His face was hidden beneath a mask, and since everyone around him was similarly disguised, there was little need for worry.

Besides, worrying would serve no purpose.

Rather than fret, he decided to focus his attention on the Ghost Market itself. He hoped to find the elixirs Ke Qian needed, fortunate that she had told him the names of the two specific pills beforehand; otherwise, he wouldn’t have known what to look for.

Lost in these thoughts, Ye Cha soon reached a bustling area. Simple stalls were set up barely half a meter apart, their wooden display boards laden with a dazzling array of items that could easily overwhelm the eye.

Yet, unlike ordinary vendors, the stall owners in the Ghost Market did not hawk their wares loudly. They merely crouched quietly beside their goods, adopting an indifferent, take-it-or-leave-it attitude, which the passing cultivators seemed to accept without reaction.

Evidently, this was the norm.

Ye Cha blended into the crowd, adopting their customs, and lowered his gaze to the items displayed on the boards. He quickly realized that with his shallow knowledge of the cultivation world, he couldn’t discern the purpose of anything laid out before him.

It was at this moment that Ye Cha finally understood his predicament. Even if he did stumble upon the elixirs Ke Qian needed, he possessed no spirit stones or magical artifacts with which to exchange for them.

While at the Lingtian Sect, his nominal master, Shen Ruotong, had gifted him a Sumeru Ring and an initiation present, both of immense value, more than sufficient to trade for anything.

However, Ye Cha had no intention of using the items Shen Ruotong gave him to curry favor with another woman.

It wasn’t a sudden awakening of conscience, deeming such an act too despicable. Rather, he simply believed these cultivation resources were his, and he saw no reason to give them away for free.

In Ye Cha’s lexicon, cultivation resources were second only to cultivation itself in importance.

Though gaining some often meant losing others, that was the path to progress. However, the benefits he could currently extract from Ke Qian seemed minimal.

He needed to weigh the pros and cons.

And so, his current situation was dire indeed!

Ye Cha stared blankly at the items before him, lost in thought. It was only when the sound of haggling broke through his reverie that he returned to reality.

“Boss, how much for this Ice Spirit Grass?”

“Fifty high-grade spirit stones. No trades, only sales.”

Ye Cha turned his head to see a person holding a spirit herb taken from a display board. Upon hearing the vendor’s price, fifty high-grade spirit stones, the buyer hesitated, finding it too expensive.

Despite their hesitation, they did not put the spirit herb down.

“That price is far too steep; even an auction wouldn’t fetch so much. How about thirty high-grade spirit stones and a low-grade magical artifact?”

“Fifty. No bargaining. If you think it’s too expensive, go buy from someone else!”

Upon hearing the buyer’s attempt to haggle, the vendor dismissively waved their hand, their words utterly impolite. They seemed completely unconcerned with whether the item sold.

The buyer was infuriated, yet even so, they did not put down the spirit herb and walk away.

Clearly, this spirit herb was of great importance to them.

Subsequently, the buyer appeared to make up their mind. They retrieved an item from their storage pouch and placed it on the display stand.

“Boss, I’ll exchange this for it.”

“I already said, only sales, no trades! Can’t you understand plain speech?”

The vendor merely glanced at the item the buyer produced. After confirming it held no significant value, their expression grew even more impatient.

They had set up this stall on a whim, hoping to clear out some unused inventory from their storage pouch and acquire cultivation resources to advance their own cultivation.

Instead, they were constantly bothered by paupers who bought nothing and tried to swindle them with empty promises.

Exchange, exchange, exchange for what? A worthless book!

What value could an ordinary, unremarkable book possibly hold? Truly powerful cultivation techniques were always stored in jade slips. Such a method of using a physical book for storage was a common practice only in the mortal world, implying it likely contained nothing useful.

Seriously, if one intended to deceive, they should at least show some sincerity. Only a fool would agree to such an exchange. Was the buyer insulting their intelligence?

With these thoughts, the vendor’s gaze at the buyer grew even more impatient. They wished they could simply drive the troublesome individual away from their stall.

However, the Ghost Market had a rule: no fighting. Any violation would result in severe consequences.

Of course, while that was the official stance, powerful cultivators often acted so swiftly that no one had time to react. By the time their actions were discovered, the victim’s body would already be cold.

Thus, if one possessed sufficient strength, even the Ghost Market’s rules could not truly restrain them. Conversely, those who lacked power yet tried to act tough would simply be quietly eliminated.

There was once an individual who harbored thoughts of robbing others in the Ghost Market. The very next day after their attempt, they were found brutally murdered near the market.

Their soul was utterly annihilated, preventing even reincarnation. Such a gruesome death immediately incensed their sect, who vowed to capture the killer, but their efforts ultimately came to naught.

The reason was simple: there were no traces, making it impossible to find the culprit. Faced with this, they could only swallow the bitter loss.

After such incidents occurred multiple times, even the most cunning individuals became compliant, no longer daring to scheme within the Ghost Market. However, while order was maintained inside the market, once outside, life and death were unpredictable.

The Ghost Market did not concern itself with such matters. In fact, many unfortunate souls who hadn’t even purchased anything from the market were still targeted. This contributed to the Ghost Market’s notorious reputation, causing many cultivators without genuine prowess to shy away from attending.

Recalling the Ghost Market’s rule against fighting, the vendor could only suppress their anger. They prepared to use the power of words to drive this annoying buyer away from their stall.

“Ah, Boss, you simply don’t recognize true treasure! This secret manual was found by my sister in an ancient cultivator’s ruin. It took a great deal of effort, and she nearly died in there!”

Despite the vendor’s impatience, the buyer, completely enveloped in a black robe, continued to praise their item, appearing utterly persistent and clearly unwilling to leave easily. Upon hearing the words ‘ancient cultivator’s ruin,’ the vendor couldn’t help but let out a few cold snorts. If it truly were a valuable item from a ruin, why would anyone be willing to exchange it for such a low price?

Unless they had a hole in their head, they would never do something so idiotic!

“Scram, scram, scram! If you keep causing trouble, I’ll call the Ghost Market’s guards!”

The vendor’s conversation with the buyer was not kept quiet, which naturally piqued the curiosity of passersby. One by one, they gathered, eager to see what was happening.

After understanding the full story, the onlookers gazed at the book on the display board and couldn’t help but burst into snickers, thinking how exaggerated the woman’s claims were.

Only a fool would buy something like that!

“Twenty high-grade spirit stones. I’ll take it.”

However, before the surrounding crowd could unleash their sarcastic remarks, a male voice suddenly rang out. The voice was clear and pleasant, soothing to hear.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Night of Arcbalis

BLContract RelationshipDark Fantasy

Read Now →
Not interested