Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 622 An Amazing New Message

Having achieved his goal, Shang Lu did not linger in the county town and left immediately.

As he left the county town, Shang Lu encountered the group of white-clad laborers again.

Because he wore a mask with the face of a member of the Zongheng family, making it difficult for people to remember his appearance, the group of white-clad servants did not recognize him.

Even though he was wearing a Confucian robe, they still treated him as just another Confucian scholar.

"What's going on today? Why are there so many scholars in our county town, and they're all unfamiliar faces?" a servant said, frowning.

His companions didn't take it seriously and even imagined the reason: "What's so strange about it? These Confucian scholars like to travel in twos and threes. If they encounter bad people or wild animals on the road, they can work together to protect themselves."

The other servants nodded in agreement. One of them stopped Shang Lu and asked, "Do you know a scholar in this city? His height... well, about the same as yours, and his build is similar, but his appearance... hey, does anyone remember what my brother looks like?"

The white-clad soldiers were taken aback when they heard this. They tried to recall, but none of them seemed to remember what their "good brother" looked like.

One of the constables couldn't help but sigh, "You guys kept calling each other 'good brother' so enthusiastically, but what happened? In the blink of an eye, you've forgotten what he looks like! We absolutely can't let the head constable find out about this, or we'll all get a scolding—a bunch of constables who can't even remember what people look like, what kind of constables are we?"

The servants first nodded in agreement, then immediately complained, "How dare you talk to us like that? Haven't you forgotten what it means to be human too?"

They started arguing amongst themselves, completely unaware that Shang Lu had quietly left.

After leaving the city gate and walking a distance, Shang Lu then summoned the witch gourd and flew away on it.

Shortly after he left, the talismans hidden throughout the county town began to take effect, releasing the rumors and prophecies sealed within them.

"The king has transformed into a man-eating monster..."

"The king is practicing evil arts and wants to consume the internal organs and blood of children..."

"In his quest for immortality, the king has worshipped an evil, mad god who now devours the organs and blood of children. Next, entire cities will be sacrificed to appease the souls of the dead! All those sacrificed to this evil god will suffer eternal torment, with no hope of release!"

"With such a king who disregards human life, remaining in Chu will only lead to certain death!"

"All the noble families and sects are like livestock raised by the king. Once they become fat and strong, the king will make his move, kill them, and eat them..."

"The three dukes and nine ministers, the scholar-officials in the capital have all been devoured by the king! What's in the court now are just empty shells controlled by the king!"

"The eldest prince is long dead, eaten by the king. The current eldest prince is a demon in disguise..."

All sorts of rumors and prophecies exploded almost instantly, reaching everyone in the county town.

Before this, many people had been secretly discussing and speculating whether the mysterious deaths of children in the county were related to the king.

The incident involving the child and the arrival of the Black-Clad Guards in the county town happened almost simultaneously.

At the same time, rumors about the King of Chu transforming into a monster spread like wildfire.

Not to mention, the rumors and prophecies compiled by Liu Quan are very attractive, making people unable to resist listening to the whole thing, and after listening, they can't help but believe them.

Therefore, once these rumors and prophecies started, no one bothered to figure out who was spreading them; everyone just followed suit and spread them like wildfire.

Even in the county government, after the magistrate and the county constable lashed out at their subordinates and ordered them to suppress the rumors and find the mastermind behind them as soon as possible, they couldn't help but wonder: Is this rumor true or false?
This time, the rumors are different from the past. They are not veiled or vague. They explain everything clearly, with a beginning and an end, leaving no room for doubt.

The county magistrate and the county constable certainly couldn't reveal these thoughts to their subordinates, but after pondering it privately, they secretly wrote to their connections in the prefecture to inquire about the truth of the matter.

As for the officers they sent to suppress speech, although they were running around frantically and were extremely anxious, they ultimately failed to control the speech.

The more the government suppressed the situation, the more suspicious the public became. Suddenly, all sorts of distorted versions of rumors emerged, spreading wider and wider...

Although Shang Lu did not witness the chaos in the county town firsthand, he could guess what was going on.

After all, he had once governed a region.

Next, Shang Lu continued northward, stopping at every town he came across to let the wicked heart lamp devour its desires and order Liu Quan and Yin Ling to spread rumors and prophecies.

Thus, along the way, Shang Lu not only successfully spread various rumors, causing the Black-Clad Guards and the Disciplined Black Witches to run around trying to quell the prophecies and not have time to investigate him anymore, but also left behind various strange legends in these towns.

Years later, the people in these towns still talked about how a strange ghost lived in their land, and how it loved to steal people's luck and energy.

Many gamblers, after losing money, claim that their luck has been devoured by some ghost.

Many people with poor kidney function have a new excuse: they say that their inability is not due to their own fault, but because they are haunted by ghosts.

This "ghost" actually saved a lot of people's face.

Because spreading prophecies and feeding the evil spirits along the way took a lot of time, it was three days later when Shang Lu arrived at the Immortal Spirit Market.

This fairy market is located in a valley and is the property of a local family of sorcerers.

Shang Lu was quite familiar with this family of sorcerers; their current head was none other than Li Zisi, the Minister of Justice of the Chu Kingdom.

Li Zisi is dead, his body no longer exists, but the Li family is clearly unaware of this—Li Zisi's family members, who fled the capital overnight, received a message from "Li Zisi" the very next day and were summoned back...

However, during this time, because Shang Lu spread prophecies everywhere, the Li family also heard about them. Although they did not believe that their patriarch had been eaten by the King of Chu, they still sent two groups of people to the capital to find out the situation.

After making some inquiries, Shang Lu found the valley and saw a witch formation in the distance that covered the entire valley, making it impossible to see the truth inside.

Before Shang Lu could enter, a member of the Li family flew over on a paper bird, blocked his way, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Fellow Daoist, do you wish to enter the Immortal Spirit Market? Please pay the fee first."

"Pay a fee?" Shang Lu was taken aback. You have to pay to browse the market? Is this some kind of membership system?
The Li family members seemed used to such reactions and questions, and were not surprised at all. They explained, "As long as you pay the fee, no matter what problems you encounter in the Immortal Spirit Market, we will guarantee your safety and recover your losses."

Shang Lu understood; this was a way of demanding protection money. If he didn't pay, even if there were no problems entering the Immortal Spirit Market, these members of the Li family would create trouble.

Who knows, they might even kill and rob!
Li Zisi was the Minister of Justice in the Chu court, responsible for apprehending bandits and investigating cases. Little did he know that his clansmen in his hometown were engaged in such illicit activities.

Shang Lu simply wouldn't believe it if someone said there was no tacit approval or protection from him.

Shang Lu cupped his hands and asked, "This is my first time here. How much is the fee?" "One bottle of spirit liquid," the Li family member quoted the price.

The price wasn't cheap, and the Li family member then added, "A bottle of spirit liquid is just the entry fee. In our Immortal Spirit Market, whether you buy or sell, we will take a 10% cut."

Good heavens, they're taking advantage of both the seller and the buyer! That's incredibly ruthless!

Shang Lu thought to himself.

However, there was no other way. Within this area of ​​thousands of miles, it was impossible to find all the materials needed to make Nuo masks anywhere else.

For Shang Lu, however, making Nuo masks was an urgent matter—making the Nuo masks for Dong Jun and Shan Gui as soon as possible would allow him to improve his strength sooner, and he would be able to deal with danger more calmly if he really encountered it.

So, although he felt ripped off, Shang Lu still took out a bottle of spirit liquid and paid the entrance fee—fortunately, he had killed quite a few Chu witches before and seized quite a lot of spirit liquid, not to mention that there was still unrefined flesh and blood spirit ore in the Impermanence Token.

The Li family members accepted the spiritual liquid, made hand seals, and quickly chanted a spell.

However, Shang Lu saw through it and realized that the so-called witchcraft and incantations were just a smokescreen.

The real effect came from the remnants of spirits carried by the Li family members.

As the remnant spirit released specks of magical light, the magical array enveloping the valley immediately responded, opening a "door".

"Go ahead, and I wish you a satisfactory deal." The Li family member pointed to the gate of light and said, perhaps because he had received the spiritual liquid, he also added a blessing to Shang Lu.

After passing through the portal, Shang Lu finally saw the real Fairy Market. Unlike the deserted valley he had seen before, the Fairy Market, which was covered by a magic array, was bustling with people, if not teeming with them.

Not only were there cultivators from the Chu Kingdom here, but also many people from other countries. Shang Lu even saw several Kunlun slaves here, all of them jet black and strong.

Moreover, this fairy market even has demons and monsters that have opened their spiritual apertures.

As Shang Lu looked around, he mentally compared this place with the Ghost Market of Black Wind Ferry.

The Ghost Market of Black Wind Ferry relies on its geographical advantage as a transportation hub, while this Fairy Spirit Market depends on the endorsement of Li Zisi and the Li family... The two are equally prosperous.

As Shang Lu was looking around, someone approached him and struck up a conversation: "This scholar looks unfamiliar, as if it's his first time here? I wonder if he wants to sell or buy treasures?"

Seeing that Shang Lu didn't answer but just squinted at him, the man smiled and introduced himself again: "Don't worry, Scholar, I'm the gossip of the market. If you come a few more times, you'll definitely get to know me. I'm not bragging, but if you want to sell something, I can help you find a buyer. If you want to buy something, I can take you directly to the seller, saving you a lot of time and energy."

Shang Lu found out that this guy was the broker from the Immortal Spirit Market.
In the ghost market of Black Wind Ferry, there were also brokers. At that time, some brokers wanted to rob and kill, but in the end, they brought about their own demise.

Shang Lu wasn't afraid of the broker causing trouble. If he dared to have any ill intentions, Shang Lu wouldn't mind double-crossing him. He immediately asked, "How much is the fee?"

The broker quoted a price: "If it's just an introduction, I'll take ten knife coins. If you want me to help close a deal, I'll take 10% of the profit."

Shang Lu quickly considered the matter in his mind and finally decided not to bring the various treasures he had seized here to sell for the time being.

Although many of the treasures were useless or unusable to him, they were all seized from the Chu Kingdom's sorcerers. If someone recognized them in this Immortal Spirit Market, wouldn't that cause him a lot of trouble?

"There's no need to help facilitate the sale. I'm not here to buy or sell any rare treasures; I just want to buy some Crimson Sun Stones and Jade Bamboo..."

Shang Lu listed several auxiliary materials needed to refine Dongjun and Shan Gui Nuo Masks.

"Just these?" The broker was a little disappointed. Although these items were spiritual materials, they were not rare and their prices were relatively fixed, so there was no need for him to help bargain.

Despite the regret, after Shang Lu gave him the knife coins, the broker still led him to several merchants selling Red Sun Stone and Jade Bamboo, instead of just pointing out the way and then leaving him behind.

On the way to find the merchant, Shang Lu used his silver tongue and, after some hints, had the broker lower his voice and quietly ask him, "Sir, don't you Confucian scholars often say that traveling ten thousand miles is worse than reading ten thousand books? I have some information here, would you like to buy it? Buying it might save you a lot of travel."

"I didn't expect you to know so much." Shang Lu smiled, feigning surprise, before asking, "What kind of information do you want to sell?"

The man didn't say anything, but simply rubbed two fingers together.

"What's the price?" Shang Lu asked.

“It depends on what kind of news you want,” the man with the tooth said.

“Just as you said, we Confucian scholars travel all over the country and want to know all kinds of news.” Shang Lu was not stingy and immediately took out a bottle of spiritual liquid, shaking it in his hand.

The man with the fangs' eyes gleamed, his face practically splitting with a grin, repeatedly saying, "Sir, you are so generous!" He then glanced around and lowered his voice, saying, "There's news that our great king has transformed into a monster, and in his quest for immortality, he intends to sacrifice and devour the entire nation..."

Shang Lu was slightly taken aback, thinking to himself, "I haven't even spread any rumors or prophecies here yet, how did you all find out?"
It seems that my recent efforts have not been in vain.

Prophecies are already spreading!

Under the influence of the prophecy, the situation of the King of Chu's treacherous actions will surely worsen!

Who knows, one day, King Chu and the eldest son who was clearly turned into a human elixir will reveal their true forms in public under the influence of the prophecy!

Prophecies can come true!
After the broker finished delivering the message, he reached out to take the spiritual liquid, but Shang Lu dodged him.

The broker was taken aback: "Sir, what is this...?"

Shang Lu said, "I've heard this news many times on the road, and the versions are all different... It's not new, so let's try a different one."

The man hesitated for a moment, but ultimately still wanted the elixir. However, he didn't rush to speak. Instead, he reached into his robes and quickly chanted a spell.

Shang Lu immediately saw a surge of witchcraft energy enveloping the two of them.

It's also a remnant spirit used to prevent eavesdropping; it's mostly used by this dentist to negotiate prices with people.

Although the man with the tooth had activated his remnant spirit, he still kept his voice very low: "I do have some new information. But once this information comes out of my mouth and into your ears, I will absolutely not admit that I said it."

This behavior piqued Shang Lu's curiosity: "Tell me what the news is."

Shang Lu never expected that this broker would actually reveal such shocking news!

(End of this chapter)