Chapter 39: The Essence of The Ghost Market i
Translator: 549690339 |
Shen Yuan’s words instantly turned the breakfast stall owner’s initially cheerful face, stone cold.
The bustling market, in an instant, plunged into eerie silence. Countless eyes focused on Shen Yuan, his twisted figure reflected in their hollow gaze.
The Maine Coon cat was carefully studying its surroundings, growls of warning resonating from its throat while its fur shimmered with a metallic hue.
But Shen Yuan seemed oblivious to his surroundings.
He wasn’t bothered by the unfolding drama.
No doubt the Ghost Market was fraught with issues.
Though it had exhibited no overt aggression yet, the twilight illusion and the strange market were testaments to the Ghost Market’s specialty.
Conventional means could not contain it. The blockade by the Zhennan Army and Shen Yuan’s deliberate attempts at evasion had not been able to free them from the influence of the Ghost Market.
All these facts seemed to portray the Ghost Market as immensely powerful.
But Shen Yuan knew very well that in the early stage of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge revival, even a special entity like the Ghost Market could hardly manifest much power.
If even an immortal sword like the Darkness-Light Sword had been severely damaged after experiencing the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, then what could be expected of the Ghost Market?
If the Ghost Market was indeed as powerful as it seemed, it could have easily absorbed the Zhennan Army and the refugees into itself.
But it couldn’t. All it could do was disrupt Shen Yuan’s progress and lead him voluntarily into the Ghost Market.
Perhaps, from the Ghost Market’s perspective, when Shen Yuan willingly stepped into it, he walked into a trap. But Shen Yuan didn’t see it like that. Because he had sensed that this Ghost Market did not exist in the real world, but in a separate, independent space.
The Ghost Market could use its specialty to deceive others, but it couldn’t deceive Shen Yuan, who possessed Pot’s Heaven Divine Power.
He just had to find a weak point in the space, detonate a storage ring and he would be able to leave this space easily.
Thus, Shen Yuan wasn’t concerned about his own safety at all, rather he was more interested in understanding the peculiarities of the Ghost Market.
The prosperous scenes after entering the Ghost Market, and the zombie-like creatures, all conveyed to Shen Yuan the core essence of the Ghost Market. Trading!
Being a market, its main purpose was to facilitate trading.
The apparent trading partners in the Ghost Market seemed to be the stall owners, but in reality, the whole Ghost Market was the partner.
Any life form that traded their life span or a part of their body would merge with the Ghost Market, becoming a part of it.
In other words, the core of the Ghost Market was not the “ghosts” within, but the Ghost Market itself was a peculiar life form.
Gazing at the cold-faced breakfast stall owner, Shen Yuan’s words carried a profound undertone.
“The shopkeeper seems a little dissatisfied; does he intend to coerce an unwilling customer into a transaction?”
As soon as these words resonated, every chilling gaze endured an abrupt pause, and the pedestrians swinging in the streets resumed their flurry activities without hesitation.
Even the breakfast stall owner immediately readjusted his smile.
“Noble guest, you joke too much. We’re traders, where there is no deal, there is only benevolence. How would we ever resort to forceful tactics?”
This sudden shift in behavior left Maine Coon Cat puzzled for a moment as it took a while to react.
One moment they were on edge, the next they were donning a sweet smile.
Maine Coon Cat found this transition hard to comprehend.
However, from Shen Yuan’s statement, it picked up on the subtle phrase, “forced sale”.
It also seemed to have a guess at what that implied.
And at that moment, Shen Yuan spoke.
“Since it’s the Ghost Market, it must abide by the fundamental rules of a marketplace no matter how strange it is.
It can assimilate other beings into itself by bargaining, it can deceive others by dealing with them, but there is one norm it can never violate.
No forceful sales are allowed in the Ghost Market.”
“The essence of forceful sales is not trading but plundering, and once such an incident occurs, it implies the undermining of the foundation of the entire Ghost Market. Even if these fellows are part of the Ghost Market, they cannot break its rules.”
Shen Yuan’s words brought the Maine Coon Cat to sudden enlightenment, while the breakfast stall owner attempted to maintain his outwardly cheerful expression yet there was a hint of discontent on his face.
“What a discerning eye you have, noble guest, seeing right through the essence of our Ghost Market.
In that case, we will not present you with those low-profile items.”
As he spoke, a frail hand pierced through the corpulent body of the Breakfast Stall Owner, an enchanting silhouette ripped through and began to emerge, tearing its way out.
She was an irresistibly beautiful woman, her slender image exuding a captivating charm in every move she made; the only prerequisite being ignoring the pale yellow fat smeared across her body and her skirt tailored from what seemed to be human skin.
She tossed the corpulent figure into the boiling oil where it quickly disintegrated. The mysteriously attractive woman then slowly uttered, “I am Zhi, your guide in this Ghost Market.”
With a subtle wave of Zhi’s hand, particles of yellow fat flowed out, rearranging the street.
The space distorted; the bustling stalls around gradually began to dissolve, replaced by a few empty buildings.
Glancing over the structures, words were etched on them in strange fonts: “Fortune”, “Treasure”, “Magic”, “Gamble”.
Just as Shen Yuan stepped into this place, he could feel the worldly chaos enveloping it. The resentment, joy, rage, desires, all intertwining, looming incessantly since thousands of years.
Zhi stood at the sidelines, gently introducing the place to Shen Yuan,
“Since the last Spirit Energy Tidal Surge era, the Ghost Market has been wandering through the Primal Chaos Realm, sought after by countless beings. As long as you have sufficient wealth, you can obtain anything you desire…” “Do you have Heavenly General Divine Skills?”
Zhi’s dialogue broke off abruptly, her words lodged in the throat.
It was after a long silence that Zhi spoke,
“Noble guest, you jest. The Heavenly General Divine Skills, which are beyond the bounds of the lower realms, could certainly not appear in the Ghost Market. If it’s high-ranking Profound Divine Skills that you seek, they could be available in the Ghost Market – it merely depends on whether the noble guest can afford the price.”
“No Heavenly General and Earthly Destroyer Divine Skills, but audacious enough to boast of providing everything.” Shen Yuan shook his head, a hint of scorn evident in his eyes.
Zhi clenched her teeth at the side, yearning to confront Shen Yuan about whether he knew the value of Heavenly General and Earthly Destroyer Divine Skills. But due to the Ghost Market rules, Zhi forced a smile and continued, “Aside from Divine Skills, the Ghost Market has treasured artifacts and mystical methods from the last Spirit Energy Tidal Surge era. Noble guest, would you be interested in these?”
“The last Spirit Energy Tidal Surge era?”