Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 373: Really a Ghost City
When he was about to walk out of the room, Shang Lu suddenly slowed down, reached out his hand, and touched the umbrella bag he was carrying.

A tender little hand stretched out from the umbrella and squeezed his hand, as if to say to him: "I'm here."

Shang Lu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as Sanniang was by his side, he would not be afraid even if the journey was dangerous.

After leaving the room, Shang Lu looked around and found that all he saw was strange smoke.

Even though Shang Lu's eyesight and hearing were far superior to others, he was still affected by the strange smoke. He could not see the other rooms in the inn, nor could he hear the sounds that should be inside the inn.

The only thing Shang Lu could hear was the cold wind blowing in the smoke. The sound was like the weeping of people at the graves during the Qingming Festival.

Although he couldn't see anything, Shang Lu still subconsciously looked towards the dormitory where Zhu Quan, Du Feng, Tu Bin and others lived, wondering whether to take them with him.

However, the old woman with the lantern who was leading the way had no intention of waiting for him. She walked deeper into the smoke on her own. Soon her figure disappeared in the billowing smoke, leaving only the flickering light of the lantern.

Shang Lu thought about it for a moment and gave up the idea of ​​calling Zhu Quan, Du Feng and others.

According to the information he had heard in the past two days, the ghost market takes place every night.

If that's the case, this kind of thing of leading people to the ghost market must be happening every night.

But last night, Shang Lu was catching thieves and killing spies, but he didn't see anyone going to the ghost market, nor did he encounter these strange smoke.

This shows that this strange smoke should be a special bridge that connects the real world and the secret world of the ghost market.

The inside and outside of the smoke are like two different worlds. Even if Shang Lu walked into the dormitory room through the smoke, he probably wouldn't be able to see Zhu Quan and others.

Shang Lu figured out the situation, stroked his knife, and quickly caught up with the old woman with the lantern.

I was afraid that if I fell behind, I would get lost in this strange smoke, unable to tell the direction and unable to get out.

Soon Shang Lu followed the old woman with the lantern and walked out of the inn.

There was no more smoke outside the inn blocking the view and hearing, but it was no longer Black Wind Ferry. Instead, it had changed its appearance and become another town.

The reason why Shang Lu came to such a conclusion was that the town before him, whether it was the layout of the streets or the architectural style, was completely different from Heifengdu.

It is even completely different from the current popular style in Pakistan and even the styles of other countries!
On the contrary, it is very similar to some architectural styles that Shang Lu had seen in the secret realm of Yunhua Mountain.

"Sure enough, from the moment I stepped into the smoke, I was brought into a secret realm."

Shang Lu quickly came to a conclusion in his mind and reached out to touch the umbrella pocket again. He was not relieved until he touched Sanniang's tender little hand again.

The old woman with the lantern continued to walk forward on her own, not caring what Shang Lu was doing behind her.

Seeing this, Shang Lu followed without stopping.

At the same time, I was curious about the identity of the old woman holding the lantern - was she a guide sent to the ghost market by the Guling County Witch Academy? Or was she already present in the ghost market secret realm?

If it is the latter, can you get some unexpected benefits by contacting her?

Just like Chu Yun and the Sibu Xiang in the secret realm of Yunhua Mountain.

Thinking of this, Shang Lu tried to walk up to the old woman with the lantern to get close to her.

But he found that when he sped up, the old woman with the lantern also sped up.

As he walked faster, the old woman with the lantern walked faster.

But when he slowed down, the old woman with the lantern would not stop to wait for him.

So Shang Lu changed his approach and directly used his eloquence and sophistry to try to get close to the old woman with the lantern.

But no matter how he moved his lips and tongue, the old woman with the lantern said nothing, as if she didn't hear anything.

If Shang Lu had not heard the old woman with the lantern say "the market is open" before, he would have suspected that she could not speak.

Because the speed increased, it didn't take long for Shang Lu to follow the old woman with the lantern to the bank of the Qiang River.

The Qiang River in the secret realm is larger and more dangerous than the real Qiang River, both in terms of scale and the turbulence of the river water.

Shang Lu even saw a huge black dragon in the middle of the river, which seemed to have merged with the Qiang River and was staring at the crowd on the shore with a fierce look.

Previously in the town, Shang Lu followed the old woman with the lantern and did not see anyone else along the way. Now that he had reached the shore, he saw the shadows of other people.

After getting closer and seeing the appearance of these people clearly, Shang Lu couldn't help but feel a chill on his back and a creepy feeling.

There are not too many people on the shore at this moment, but not too few either.

At least as far as Shang Lu could see, there were about a hundred people.

These people were wearing solid paper clothes and looked exactly like the paper figures sold in funeral shops. Even their voices became sharp and vague, like the language of ghosts, completely different from their real voices.

Shang Lu's heart moved, and he walked quickly to the riverside. He looked at the river surface in the moonlight and saw his own reflection in the turbulent water.

Sure enough, he, like the people on the shore, turned into a paper man with pale skin and two big red dots painted on his face.

The magic tools, oil-paper umbrellas and other items he carried with him also changed their appearances and became mourning sticks, soul-calling banners, memorial flags, paper money and other items.

If he hadn't touched them and found that these things were still in their original state, Shang Lu would have really suspected that someone had swapped them out.

"phantom?"

Shang Lu guessed that their current appearance should be a special illusion created by the secret realm.

Everyone turned into paper figures, and the objects they carried also changed their appearance.

In this way, even if someone in the ghost market takes a fancy to someone else's treasure and does not want to pay for it or exchange it but wants to take it by force, there is no way for him to remember the other person's appearance and characteristics and follow him out of the ghost market to kill and steal the treasure.

As for stealing treasures in the ghost market, that is even more impossible.

Shang Lu has inquired a lot about the ghost market in the past two days and knows that there is a complete set of rules and regulations to ensure fairness and safety.

Those who do not comply will disappear in the secret realm and even their bodies will not be found.

Shang Lu had just withdrawn his gaze from the river when he suddenly heard a few exclamations from behind him:

"Dragon! Look, there's a dragon in the river!"

"It's staring at us. Does it want to eat us?"

"Fuck! I knew this old hag had bad intentions. She brought us here because she wanted to feed us to the dragon in the river!"

Shang Lu turned around and saw a few newcomers.

These people, like them, turned into paper figures, floating in the cold wind. At the same time, in front of them, there were old women holding lanterns to lead the way.

Although Shang Lu stood in front of the old women this time, what he saw were still their backs.

These old ladies holding lanterns seem to be walking backwards.

Of course they couldn't walk backwards.

Or maybe they were born weird, with their chest and back looking the same.

But this is unlikely.

Either the weirdness of these old ladies holding lanterns, like their transformation into paper figures, was an illusion.

Even the old woman holding the lantern is part of the illusion of the secret realm!

Unlike Shang Lu, the newcomers were not curious about the old woman with the lantern. They were only interested in the black dragon lurking in the Qiang River.

The man who cursed the old woman with the lantern as an old hag roared, and his body suddenly grew larger, like a burly human bear, and pounced on the old woman with the lantern who was leading him, wanting to kill her.

"Hey, what an idiot."

Shang Lu heard a few sneers coming from beside him, someone was mocking:
"So he's a barbarian from the south. No wonder he's so impulsive that he can't even tell the difference between a mirage and reality."

"A mirage from thousands of years ago could scare him like this, how shameful!" "This idiot, it's his first time in the ghost market, and he didn't even bother to inquire about the situation in advance?"

"Hey, attacking an extradited person is a felony. He's done for!"

As these people were talking, the man who tried to kill the old woman with the lantern disappeared with a loud bang.

His fierce attack failed to hit the old woman with the lantern, and all of it fell on the open space.

Just because he moved fast, the old woman with the lantern moved fast as well, always keeping a far enough distance from him so that he couldn't hit her at all.

This man's attack failed, and he was shocked and angry, and was ready to launch a new attack immediately.

But streams of smoke came from all directions and quickly penetrated into his body, making his body swell up like a balloon in an instant.

This man was obviously frightened. He tried his best to resist, but it was of no use.

Soon his body swelled to a terrifying size, and finally his skin and flesh could no longer support it, and it collapsed and exploded with a creepy "ripping" sound.

At the moment when this man exploded, countless ghost shadows suddenly rushed out from the smoke, pounced on his splattered flesh and internal organs, and ate them all in an instant.

They even tore the man's soul into pieces and devoured it.

Then the smoke dissipated, and those strange and terrifying ghosts disappeared without a trace.

It was as if nothing had happened.

However, those who witnessed this scene on the bank of the Qiang River couldn't help but gasp.

Except for a few old-timers who often go to the ghost market, the rest of the people couldn't help but compare themselves with the barbarian who had just died in their hearts.

I wonder if they could survive if they encountered such a strange attack.

The more I thought about it, the more I sweated.

So they all reminded themselves in their hearts not to break the rules of the ghost market.

They don't want to die without a complete body and even lose their souls.

"Let's get on board..."

A series of deep and cold voices suddenly came from the Qiang River behind everyone.

The crowd on the shore turned around and found that at some point, a number of small boats had appeared on the river.

The water of the Qiang River is turbulent, but these small boats are as steady as rocks in the rapids, without even the slightest bump.

On every boat, there was a boatman standing, wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, like a straw puppet.

Seeing the boatman's weird and scary appearance, many people whispered: "A straw man rowing the boat? This is really going to the 'ghost' market."

Fortunately, with the previous experience of the barbarian, the people who went to the Ghost Market for the first time, although shocked, did not do anything rash.

Many people have also learned to be smart. They stare at the people around them, watch what they do, and then imitate them.

Small boats soon docked at the shore.

At this moment, the straw man who was rowing the boat spoke again: "Get on the boat in an orderly manner, nine people per boat, don't rush or squeeze, everyone can cross to the ghost market..."

On the shore, people who had been to the ghost market immediately lined up and boarded the boat one by one.

Seeing this, Shang Lu immediately followed suit, lined up in the nearest team, and followed the people in front of him to get on the boat.

This boat is also strange. Upon closer inspection, it is also made of paper.

There were many people on the shore, but there were also many small boats coming, and they were all loaded soon.

There was no straw man paddling the paper boats, and the small boats just sailed towards the center of the river on their own.

At this time, someone on the boat suddenly spoke up: "Are you going to the ghost market to buy things or sell things?"

The people on the boat either looked at each other or stared at the river, and no one spoke.

The man was not giving up and asked again: "Why are you so nervous? Now everyone has the same face, how can I know who you are?" Seeing that the people on the boat still refused to answer, he cursed in a low voice and said no more.

Shang Lu snorted in his heart, guessing that this person probably had bad intentions.

Although everyone has the same face, maybe he has some strange tricks that can help him find out other people's identities and origins from just a few words?

Just like Shang Lu's eloquence and sophistry, if it is practiced to a high level, it can deceive people deeply with just a few words, and make them say everything that should and should not be said.

In this unknown environment, it is right to be cautious when facing a person with ill intentions.

Soon, the paper boat sailed into the river.

The huge black dragon lurking in the river suddenly opened its mouth, as if it had transformed into a black hole abyss, and swallowed the river water and the paper boat into its stomach.

Everyone just felt that everything in front of their eyes suddenly went dark and they could not see anything.

Among the people on Shanglu's ship, six remained calm, while two were in a panic.

Although Shang Lu was frightened, he did not show it. He just stroked his knife with one hand and was on guard.

Six people who have been to the ghost market either scolded or reminded:

"Why are you panicking? We've entered the ghost market!"

"If you want to die, jump off the boat by yourself, don't capsize the boat!"

"Don't blame me for not reminding you. You can survive on the boat, but it's hard to say what will happen once you get off the boat."

After hearing their words, the two frightened people felt a little relieved, but they also grabbed onto the boat, fearing that they would be thrown off the boat by the rapids.

After waiting for a while, there was suddenly a light in the darkness, flickering like the light of a candle or the flame of burning paper.

Along with the light, the ruins of a market place appeared.

The ruins are desolate.

Even so, it can be seen that this market was once glorious.

Because its scale and area are much larger than Heifengdu.

"We have arrived at the Immortal City, guests are disembarking!"

The straw man on the paper boat spoke again.

It was only at this moment that Shang Lu realized that the river under the boat was no longer a river, but land.

"Is this in the belly of the black dragon?" Shang Lu guessed curiously, while looking around, but couldn't see anything strange.

Soon all nine people got off the boat, and then the paper boat carrying the straw man disappeared without a trace as a gust of cold wind blew past.

When Shang Lu and the other two people who came back to the Ghost Market for the first time were still in a daze and didn't know what to do.

The other six people have already walked towards the ruined ghost market.

Upon seeing this, Shang Lu immediately followed without making any noise.

As we walked into the ruins, the desolate appearance suddenly changed.

There were already quite a few people who had arrived in this ghost market.

Among them, some set up stalls and loudly shouted out the goods they brought; others walked between the stalls, picking out goods and bargaining.

This scene was actually three times more lively than Shang Lu had imagined.

(End of this chapter)