Chapter 258: Ghost Market of Shenglin Island, Dark Yuan Stone

It took several years and many obstacles to finally reach Shenglin Island. Even if the Dragon and Phoenix tribes really joined forces to block the entrance, the five of them had to go and see for themselves.

If it is true as the monk just said, if the two tribes block the entrance and prevent others from entering, it will incur public anger.

It is hard to say what the attitude of other racial forces will be, but at least the human race and the demon race will definitely not submit obediently.

Under the control of Zhao Lingyun and other four people, the Sky-Splitting Shuttle crossed the vast sea and gradually approached Shenglin Island.

Even though Chen An and others had already heard about the situation on Shenglin Island, they were still secretly shocked when they saw it with their own eyes. They were stunned by the horrific scene before them.

The entire Shenglin Island is shrouded in a layer of mist, hazy, like a dark fog filled with impurities. But anyone who knows a little about Shenglin Island will know that this is not fog at all, but dark energy!

After tens of thousands of years of infiltration, the entire Shenglin Island has long been filled with dark energy, which has penetrated almost every pore.

If you don't go to the island, you can't easily see what's going on inside from the outside.

But if you want to get to the island, you must enter from the four major entrances of the east, south, west and north. You cannot reach the island from any direction.

Since the dark energy is a yin energy, and most cultivators absorb spiritual energy through their practice, when the two completely different energies meet, a rejection reaction will occur, similar to the phenomenon that water and oil do not mix.

If cultivators in the human world come into direct contact with large amounts of dark energy, they may be corroded, causing disorder in their true essence or even injury. In the most serious cases, it may affect their soul and turn them into something that is neither human nor ghost.

In addition, due to the combination of dark energy and spiritual energy, some wonderful changes have occurred on the island over the years.

The combination of dark energy and spiritual energy formed a barrier similar to a barrier on Shenglin Island, which distorted the surrounding space and made normal passage impossible.

If you force your way through, you may encounter resistance like hitting a wall, or get stuck in an infinite space loop and be unable to move forward.

The most important thing is that the existence of the underworld energy is very likely to represent an extension of the laws of the underworld.

However, since the dark energy only permeated over, the laws were not extended much. This also led to incomplete laws on the island. Currently, it can only accommodate cultivators who have reached the perfection of the Void Refining Stage.

If a cultivator in the combined state were to force his way in, at best Shenglin Island would be destroyed, at worst he would suffer the backlash of the laws of the underworld.

It was based on this that the Dragon and Phoenix tribes guarded the four entrances, and indirectly controlled the opportunity for the fusion.

"Hmm? I seem to have seen that person somewhere before?" Zhao Lingyun looked towards an entrance in the south of the island and asked puzzledly.

"Isn't that the Barbarian Shadow of the Barbarian Tribe?"

"How come in just a few decades, this kid has already broken through to the ninth level of the Refining Void Realm?!"

"Good boy, I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't told me."

Upon hearing this, Chen An also looked towards the bronze animal head door.

The huge bronze animal-head door was tightly closed, and patterns of Qilin and other rare auspicious animals were carved on the door. It was said that this door was the gateway to the Qilin clan's island protection formation ten thousand years ago.

The Qilin clan poured a lot of effort into it, and because of this, the four beast doors were not eroded by the dark energy, but instead became one of the entrances to the island.

At this moment, Man Ying was standing at the door, and six cultivators from the Dragon and Phoenix clans who were above the ninth level of the Refinement Void Realm stopped him.

It wasn't just Chen An and his four companions. There were hundreds of people gathered in the distance, watching the situation here.

"Without the order from the two tribes, no cultivator from other tribes can enter the island!" The leading dragon cultivator who had reached the perfect stage of refining emptiness blocked them.

The Dragon and Phoenix clans, each with three people, are composed of people who have reached the perfection of the first level of the Void Refinement and the ninth level of the second level of the Void Refinement.

"Hey, when will it be your turn as the Zerg and the Birds to have the final say on Shenglin Island!" Manying teased, playing with an extremely ugly lump of iron in his hand.

His voice was not deliberately concealed, and almost all the monks around heard it clearly. Immediately, this place attracted the attention of everyone around.

Seeing this, Chen An whispered a few words in the ears of Zhao Lingyun and Mu Baichen. The next moment, the two nodded solemnly and jumped away from the Sky-Splitting Shuttle.

They were scattered around, standing and watching like the other scattered monks.

"How dare you insult us? If I don't kill you today, I'm afraid no one will take the dignity of our Dragon and Phoenix clans seriously in the future."

The people of the Dragon and Phoenix tribes were angered by Man Ying's words, and they immediately became hostile and the situation became tense in an instant.

“Majesty? I, Ling Xuanxiao of the human race, don’t take your shitty majesty seriously. If you block my way, I, Ling Xuanxiao, will trample the road flat!”

As he spoke, Man Ying threw the iron lump in his hand. Every inch he pressed it down, the size of the iron lump increased by one inch.

By the time it hit the ground, it was as big as a mountain.

Seeing this, Chen An’s face looked strange. Ling Xuanxiao?
This guy is really good at stirring up trouble. He shifted the blame of this disaster onto the human race. Before, he was wondering why this guy was so righteous. It turned out that he was harboring a lot of bad intentions.

At this time, a loud voice rang out from the crowd: "The Dragon and Phoenix tribes are blocking my way and trampling on my dignity. I, the Man Ying of the Liman tribe, am the first to disobey!"

Perhaps it was because of the excitement of the crowd that a voice was heard from another corner: "While they are fighting, everyone rush in quickly, time is running out!"

After two shouts, everyone couldn't bear it anymore, and led by a few people, they all rushed to the beast head gate.

Seeing this, Man Ying's face darkened. He had originally wanted to put the blame on the human race, but he never expected that the human race hiding in the crowd would counterattack.

He had clearly observed just now that there were no human cultivators here, so why did several of them suddenly appear?
Without time to think about it, he no longer wanted to get entangled with the other party. He simply turned around and joined the army, then passed through the Beast Head Gate and entered the Shenglin Island.

"Rebellion, everything is reversed!"

The cultivators from the Dragon and Phoenix clans were furious, but there was nothing they could do.

Although the cultivation levels of these people varied, with some at the seventh to ninth level of the Refinement Void Realm, and even a few at the middle level of the Refinement Void Realm, there were still a hundred of them, and a single spit from each of them could drown them.

But several people also remembered the two leaders named Ling Xuanxiao and Man Ying. If it weren’t for them, this group of mob would never dare to be so bold!

Chen An followed the crowd and safely passed through the Beast Head Gate and entered the Shenglin Island.

Looking around, it was a wilderness here. Apart from a layer of dark air covering the sky, there seemed to be nothing worth noting around.

Since there were only a few hundred people, which was not too many, the five of them soon found each other and gathered together.

"Before, outside, that guy Man Ying framed Ling Xuanxiao and tried to throw dirty water on my human race. I was so angry that I took the opportunity to trick that guy. It really made me feel better!"

As soon as the five people met, Zhao Lingyun said indignantly.

"The strength of those people around Shenglin Island is uneven, and there is no major force here. No wonder they dare not say a word. If it weren't for Chen An's idea, it would be difficult for us to get in."

Mu Baichen said that the two of them had followed Chen An's instructions before, blending into the crowd, using the Barbarian Shadow to fight against the Dragon and Phoenix tribes, and inciting everyone through words, and only then did they successfully enter Shenglin Island.

"There are still about three years before the dark energy erupts. What should we do now?" While speaking, Situ Yanran couldn't help but look at Chen An, as if waiting for him to make a decision.

Chen An noticed the gazes of several people and said with a smile: "At present, everyone only controls the Ghost Market, so let's go there and wait for it first."

The place where the divine soul was born and controlled by the City Lord's Mansion was a dangerous place called Ghost Market on Shenglin Island.

It is said that the evil spirits there are called ghost merchants. They are both traders and fraudsters. They like to take advantage of the greed of monks in exchange for what they want.

After discussing the destination, the five people followed the information given by the City Lord's Mansion and began to explore Shenglin Island. It took more than a month to barely figure out their location. The terrain of Shenglin Island has changed compared to the past, and there are some obvious differences from thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago. It can't be blamed on the City Lord's Mansion for having backward information.

After figuring out the situation, the five people headed towards the Ghost Market.

They also encountered scattered evil spirits on the road. They would avoid conflicts if possible, and had to use force to resolve those that could not be avoided.

Most of the evil spirits outside Shenglin Island have the strength of the eighth or ninth level of the Refined Void Realm, and cannot pose much threat to the few people.

Be careful all the way and go straight to the ghost market.

When they arrived near the Ghost Market, Chen An and his companions discovered that many cultivators had already arrived here, waiting for the outbreak of the dark energy.

There were even a few bold monks who mingled with the ghost merchants here, making the scene indescribably strange.

The most eye-catching one is the white-haired ghost merchant with a basin of Styx sand in front of him.

The sand of the Styx is a specialty of Shenglin Island. Not only does it contain a large amount of underworld energy, but it is also extremely hard due to being soaked in the water of the Styx for many years. It is an excellent material for refining evil treasures.

"How much do you sell this Styx Sand for?" a wealthy middle-aged monk stepped forward and asked.

"Hehe, twenty pieces of Nether Yuan Stones, no cheating." The thin white-haired ghost merchant laughed.

There were a few bottles and jars placed randomly at his feet, with dark, sticky residues of unknown objects inside, which looked very disgusting.

Monks who often deal with the sands of the Styx may recognize that those unidentified objects are impurities left over from the tempering of the sands of the Styx, and are filthy things that have contaminated the Styx.

"I want it!"

The wealthy monk handed a bag to the ghost merchant, picked up the sand of the Styx on the table and was about to run away.

The white-haired ghost merchant was stunned when he found that the bag was filled with ordinary stones. Then his face turned grim and he roared, "You! Dare! Lie! To! Me!"

What surprised everyone was that more than a hundred ghost merchants whose cultivation level was at least the seventh level of the Refinement Void Realm all turned their heads to look over.

They worked in perfect harmony to chase and intercept the wealthy monk, and in the blink of an eye, they captured him.

"Have mercy! I will return the Sand of the Styx to you."

"puff!"

The white-haired ghost merchant broke the wealthy monk's neck without hesitation, then pulled out his soul and swallowed it in one gulp.

Afterwards, he did not forget to organize the spoils and placed the treasures in the opponent's storage bag one by one on the table in front of him.

Among them were several bottles of Sanyang Divine Water. The white-haired ghost merchant smelled it and frowned, as if he didn't like it very much. He poured it into a jar at his feet, and put the jar on the table for sale, and marked the price at ten Nether Yuan Stones.

Chen An and the other four felt a chill run down their spine, but it was not because of the ghost merchants' methods. As long as they didn't go too far, these ghost merchants would not act easily. The wealthy monk taught them a lesson with his life.

The main reason is that there are still a lot of black impurities left in those bottles and jars. If they do business like this, no one would dare to buy from normal merchants, let alone ghost merchants.

There is still a lot of time before the dark energy explodes. Many cultivators are bored, but they dare not go too far. After all, the Ghost Market is the only safe place nearby.

At that moment, many people set up stalls on the spot and trade with each other in exchange for what they need.

Chen An and others had nothing to do, so they started walking around.

"Hmm? Dark Stone!"

Chen An stopped in front of a stall.

The Nether Yuan Stone contains extremely refined and huge spiritual energy, which is even stronger than the Three Yang Divine Water. The only drawback is that a lot of Nether Qi is mixed in it, which pollutes it.

If you absorb it rashly, your body will be corroded by the dark energy, which will not be worth the loss.

It is generally used to charge treasures or as a source of energy for formations, and few people dare to absorb it directly.

After pondering for a moment, Chen An bought them all.

Then he visited all the stalls here and bought out all the Nether Yuan Stones.

"There are all kinds of people here, so just in case, we should not stay here for too long. Let's wait until the underworld energy erupts completely before deciding on the situation."

The few of them put safety first, and found a relatively hidden hill near the Ghost Market, dug a temporary cave, set up a formation to cover it, and waited for the opportunity.

Chen An set up formations and restrictions in a quiet room he had opened up to prevent any movement inside from being leaked out.

After making preparations, he took out a piece of Nether Yuan Stone and crushed it with a little force using his fingertips.

Immediately, a majestic spiritual energy surged out from it and diffused in the room. It was faintly stronger than the sixth-tier spiritual land. However, in comparison, the quantity was far from enough and very limited.

Moreover, this rich spiritual energy was slightly black, and it was obvious that it contained a lot of dark energy.

Chen An immediately started to practice the Qingling Huaqi Jue, removing the dark energy and impurities from it, leaving only the purest spiritual energy.

In this way, with the help of the Three Yang Divine Water, the speed of cultivation is actually several points faster than in the sixth-level spiritual land!

Three years passed by in a flash.

As time passed, more and more cultivators gathered near the Ghost Market. Three years later, their number far exceeded the number of ghost merchants. Among them, there were even cultivators who had reached the ninth level of the Void Refinement Realm or even reached perfection.

However, as time went by, there was no sign of the dark energy erupting.

The density of the dark energy in the surrounding air was gradually increasing, and it was about to exceed the limit that ordinary cultivators could bear.

These monks were a mixed bunch, and eventually some of them could not hold back. Instigated by them, a group of monks swarmed forward and started snatching all kinds of treasures from the ghost merchant.

After killing many ghost merchants, they discovered that a few of them actually contained a trace of the divine soul in their bodies!
As the news spread, more and more monks came to the scene after hearing the news. The monks launched a one-sided massacre against the ghost merchants.

But what frustrates them is that after killing the Ghost Merchant, the Shen Yuan Po cannot last forever. No matter what means are used to preserve it, it will disappear without a trace in less than a moment!
When the news reached the temporary cave, Chen An had just finished his cultivation.

After several years of diligent training, his cultivation finally broke through the ninth level of Refining Void!
Although he has not yet reached the perfection of refining the void, his own life is now more secure.

Hearing the news that Mu Baichen had found out, he said helplessly: "These idiots, the Fusion Spirit Soul cannot be taken directly, special means are needed to extract it from these evil spirits."

Even the City Lord's Mansion was not aware of this, and they only learned about it from the news that Chen Fengshuo sent him from the barbarians.

After all, the Great Barbarian King has studied Shenglin Island for many years and knows many details very well.

Chen An suddenly felt a little uneasy. The fusion of the soul and spirit also has many benefits for the fusion cultivators. Could it be that those fusion cultivators are already waiting for a massacre outside the Shenglin Island?
If this is true, the human race's several great emperors will not sit idly by and will certainly not be absent.

Thinking of this, Chen An felt a little relieved.

"Go out and take a look!"

The five people came out of the cave and quietly approached the Ghost Market, only to find that the Ghost Market was in a mess with corpses everywhere.

(End of this chapter)