Chapter 284: Fengdu Ghost City
Jiang Li picked up a few stalks of carefree grass and placed it at the tip of his nose to smell it. Immediately, he felt the anxiety in his heart disappear greatly.
The function of the carefree grass was actually not much different from the spider lily. They were both magical spiritual materials that could have an effect on the mind and will.
This kind of spiritual grass and spiritual flowers that existed on a large scale in the Netherworld also created a unique environment suitable for ghosts to gather here.
To a living person with a physical body, as long as the concentration was not very high, the effect was not very big. However, to ghosts with only souls, casually taking a breath was like drinking ten kilograms of white wine. The effect was very obvious.
Ghosts were originally thought to be the gathering of all unclean and ominous things by humans. When mortals came into contact with ghosts, they would either be plagued by bad luck or suffer a serious illness, or they would be tortured to death on the spot.
This kind of uncleanness would also make ghosts suffer at all times, so low-level ghosts could almost not maintain their rationality.
However, this was not the case here. In the environment of the spider lily and carefree grass, no matter how ferocious and violent the ghosts were, they would become quiet.
The sea of spider lilies in Jiang Li’s coffin had already proven this, and the effects of the two had multiplied.
Of course, most of it made them muddle-headed and easy to control.
He put away the carefree grass in a special container. When he returned it to the main body, he could use the Yin Burial Coffin to reproduce it.
He had gained nothing from multiple acquisitions, but in the end, he still had to take action himself.
Jiang Li put away the carefree grass and touched the new tire that appeared under his feet. He controlled his clone and continued walking forward.
However, as he walked, a figure that was also rushing appeared beside him.
They walked in groups of three or five like living people.
Why did they look like living people? That was because as they walked, some of their intestines were dragged all over the ground, some had a sharp knife in their stomachs, and some did not even have heads. It was simply the Parade of Hundred Demons that could scare people to death.
However, for some reason, these ghosts formed from the condensation of Yin qi souls automatically transformed into their dead forms after entering the Netherworld Illusion.
However, as they advanced in the sea of spider lilies, they began to change. The fatal injuries on their bodies began to disappear. Their expressions and movements became more and more lively, and as they walked, they began to converse with each other and make noise.
Some of them carried baskets on their shoulders and turned into ordinary peddlers who entered the city to gather. Some had armor on their bodies and weapons on their waists. They should have been soldiers before they died.
They were attracted by something and walked in the same direction.
Jiang Li transcended a mouthful of dense Yin qi from his main body. After making his clone look more like a ghost, he followed along.
“Did you see my child? My child is three years old.”
“I’m from Chang Mountain. Do you know where my home is?”
“When I enter the city today, I must sell these mountain products for a good price. Once I save enough money to buy a cow, I can marry Xiao Hua.”
Amidst this voice, the sword cultivator clone became a little absent-minded. He did not know what he was doing and just walked forward.
The clone and mental world were already enveloped by a strange fog.
Jiang Li’s main consciousness could still maintain clarity. However, for the sake of safety, he did not forcefully awaken his clone and only allowed him to move forward like a zombie.
Before long, a city appeared before Jiang Li.
This name was hung on the city gate.
Was it the legendary Ghost City? Regardless of whether it was in his previous life or this life, this name was famous.
After Jiang Li approached, he discovered that there were two city gates in this city a hundred steps away. One was the Life Gate, and the other was the Death Gate.
What was the difference between these two doors?
He hid in the middle of a group of ghosts and continued to approach. First, he walked to the vicinity of the Life Gate and saw soldiers using the Soul Luring Chains to hang a row of wailing ghosts on the city wall.
There were also a few ghosts that looked like soldiers cutting their flesh with curved sabers.
Beside the city gate was a sign that said, “The toll to enter the city is 30 years of life or 15 kilograms of flesh.”
Gasp~
This was the first time Jiang Li had seen such an expensive city toll.
Even the most luxurious cultivation city only accepted spirit stones.
Otherwise, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would not be able to pay 30 years so casually.
Of course, this was actually Jiang Li’s misunderstanding. This was the netherworld, so what it meant was naturally their Yin lifespan.
The legendary Book of Life and Death was actually divided into two: Life Book and Death Book.
The Life Book recorded the Yang lifespan of humans, and the Death Book recorded the Yin lifespan of the ghosts in the netherworld.
Yin lifespan was the limit of time that ghosts could exist after death. Under the circumstances that ghosts had abundant Yin qi, they existed far longer than living people. Yin lifespan was also much less valuable. Ordinary mortal souls could enter and leave the city a few times.
Of course, there were also unlucky people with long Yang lifespans but extremely short Yin lifespans.
“Let go of me! Ah no! I’m a disciple of the Thousand Crane Tower! I have spirit stones! I have spirit stones! Let me go!”
At the front of the crowd, a female cultivator from the Thousand Crane Tower who was pretending to be an ordinary peddler was violently pulled out of the crowd.
Her disguise was actually quite exquisite. Even Jiang Li did not notice her at all. If not for her revealing her identity out of fear, Jiang Li would really not have discovered her.
Under the violent tug, the female cultivator’s disguise was removed, and the aura of a living person and her beautiful figure were revealed.
The quality of the disguise artifact was probably not low.
The female cultivator’s cultivation level had also reached the True Core stage, but under her full-strength struggle, she could do nothing to the two soldiers.
Since the forceful method did not work, she could only try something else. She reached out and forcefully took out the storage bag at her waist, but she could not take out anything.
This scene caused Jiang Li’s heart to turn cold. Fortunately, it was not his main body. This Netherworld Illusion was too dangerous. Any two guards could subdue a Core Formation realm True Core stage cultivator.
Apart from that, why couldn’t she take out her things? Jiang Li secretly took out the storage bag in his bosom, but this action caused his expression to change as there was no reaction at all.
The storage bag seemed to have become an ordinary cloth bag. No matter how he activated it, he could not feel the space inside. It was useless.
This time, it was slightly troublesome. For the sake of concealing his Burning Rainbow Sword and other artifacts, he had stored them in his storage bag. Now, he was unable to use the storage bag, and his combat strength had decreased by at least 50%!
Wait, could it be that the carriage tracks they saw on the road were used by those cultivators because they could not use storage artifacts?
He decisively gave up on the idea of wreaking havoc in Fengdu and seizing the Ghost City. He stood in the crowd obediently and became a spectator.
The female cultivator was still struggling desperately, but then two sharp iron hooks directly pierced through her lute bones and hung her up. All her resistance was completely dissolved.
Blood flowed out of her mouth, and the intense pain caused her eyes to go blurry. The female cultivator from the Thousand Crane Tower had never received such treatment before, and the storage bag in her hand fell to the ground powerlessly.
However, the two Fengdu soldiers did not care about her pleas at all. They held sabers in their hands as they started to scrape off the flesh on her body.
Her originally slim and curvy figure turned into a bloody figure after a few slashes under the sharp sabers.
Beside her, there was a professional butcher who held a dirty weighing scale and weighed the cut flesh.
It seemed that if they said he would cut 15 kilograms, they would really cut 15 kilograms. To a female cultivator who weighed less than 50 kilograms, she would probably only be left with a skeleton after this.
It was too tragic… After some important parts were cut off, the female cultivator from the Thousand Crane Tower directly fainted.
Jiang Li watched from the side for a while and did not have the mood to continue watching.
He quietly stretched out a cotton string and pulled back the storage bag before walking in the opposite direction of the crowd.
The sword cultivator clone was not a living person after death, and Jiang Li’s Parallel Mind would not transform into a ghost. Therefore, he did not have any so-called lifespan, be it Yin or Yang lifespan.
If he wanted to enter the city, he would probably have the same outcome as that female cultivator.
For the sake of the female soulmate who was still bitterly waiting for the sword cultivator clone at the Shu Mountain Five Elements Peak, Jiang Li planned to go to the Death Gate to see the situation.
“Kid, do you want to enter Fengdu? Give me that storage bag and I’ll bring you in.”
Jiang Li retreated against the crowd. At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded from beside him.
A pedestrian who had a stunned expression suddenly blinked at him. Clearly, this was also a cultivator.
“Follow me.”
That person made a hand gesture and brought Jiang Li out of the crowd before hiding behind a large mulberry tree outside the city.
Jiang Li observed warily. There were no traps under the tree, so they stood in together.
“Under the shade of the mulberry tree, those ghosts can’t see us. Consider this news a gift from me. Quickly bring that storage bag over. I can bring you into the city.”
That person threw up his hands and urged Jiang Li to give him the storage bag.
“How did you recognize me?”
Jiang Li was not in a hurry, and he spoke to the other party.
In fact, he was a little curious. The sword cultivator clone had attacked very secretly just now. Furthermore, his body had fallen into a state of false death. There was also dense Yin qi covering his entire body. At a glance, he should be deader than dead.
How could he be discovered so easily?
“All of you newbies have the same expressions and movements. Is it difficult to recognize you?”
Jiang Li came to a realization. It turned out that his hesitant expression in front of Fengdu had betrayed him.
Compared to the group of ordinary ghosts who could only repeat their obsessions when they were alive, the change in expression was very obvious.
“How is it, new kid? That female cultivator is from the Thousand Crane Tower. In any case, you can’t open her storage bag now. Even if you go out and open it, it’s easy for others to find you.”
“Give it to me. You don’t need to lose 30 years of your lifespan. I can bring you into the city safely. This is a very good deal. What are you hesitating for?”
He urged impatiently, as if he had lost a lot in this deal. However, from his words, it could be seen that he was still very interested in the storage bag of the Thousand Crane Tower’s Core Formation disciple.
Jiang Li thought for a moment before taking out the storage bag.
“Alright, but I’m new here. Can you introduce the situation of Fengdu to me? In addition, how do you plan to bring me in?”
That cultivator was clearly a little excited when he received the storage bag. Disciples of large sects like the Thousand Crane Tower were usually rich. Being able to obtain such a storage bag this time was already beyond his expectations.
“Heh, that female cultivator is really a newbie. In this Netherworld Illusion, ordinary spatial artifacts can’t be opened at all. She dares to come in without even knowing this.”
“Since you’re so straightforward, eat this first.”
He squatted down and dug out a few gray roots that were the size of a human head.
“This is a netherworld pumpkin. How can you pretend to be dead and not eat the food of the dead?”
Jiang Li controlled his technique and pointed his sword finger. He gently slid it towards one of the pumpkins, and the gray pumpkin immediately split into two. The flesh inside revealed the color of a human brain, and it seemed to be unappetizing.
Jiang Li was once again glad that this was a clone. Otherwise, he would not be able to eat such a thing.
After eating the pumpkin, a cold and withered aura of death emerged from the clone’s body. This cultivator did not lie to him. Indeed, he became much more like a dead person now.
“Hehe, follow me. This Fengdu is a good place. As long as you can enter the city, even if this illusion dissipates, you won’t be thrown back to the Ghost King Desolate Ground.”
“There are countless fortuitous encounters inside. Some time ago, there was a lucky fellow who obtained an Earth-rank artifact inside. It’s even said that there are immortal medicinal pills passed down from the ancient times hidden in this city! Hehe, those large forces are all here for this.”
“Also, kid, this is the most useful currency in Fengdu.”
That cultivator took a glance at Fengdu with a strange expression and took out two purple coins from his belt.
Jiang Li held them in his hand and touched them, understanding a little about the coin.
This coin seemed to be refined from a soul. It was unknown what special function it had.
Jiang Li followed the other party through the Death Gate. He glanced at the door and noticed it was not easy to enter and leave that place.
There was a huge pot of oil at the door, and miserable screams sounded.
It seemed that if there was no tax on entering the city, they would have to roll in the pot of oil.
Jiang Li suddenly asked very naturally, “Right, a convoy passed by earlier. I was with them. Did you see it?”
This cultivator who was unwilling to reveal his name seemed to have stayed in Fengdu for a long time and knew many things like the back of his hand.
Jiang Li obtained some important information and felt that the payment of a storage bag was well worth it.
“You’re from the Dragon Transformation Island? No wonder you got separated and don’t know anything.”
As expected, that person said it casually.
Jiang Li’s expression did not change, and he understood in his mind. So the convoy that entered was from the Dragon Transformation Island?
The Thousand Crane Tower, Dragon Transformation Island, were two medium-sized forces that were not inferior to the Myriad Slaughter Sect. Such large forces would flock to the Netherworld Illusion.
It seemed that the news of the precious treasure hidden in Fengdu was not groundless.
After another period of time, a joyous sound of gongs and drums entered Jiang Li’s ears.
In front, there was a bridal party!