Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

Chapter 158: Entering the Ghost Market

Golden River City.

On the city’s most prosperous waterway, a small boat drifted lazily down the center of the current. No one rowed; no one steered.

A single figure sat at the bow—a middle-aged man in Confucian robes, holding a fishing rod with the patience of a seasoned angler. His face was square and archaic, his bearing rigorous and proper, exuding the air of a grandmaster of classical studies.

Though the riverbanks were bustling with crowds, the people seemed to look right through him, as if he didn’t exist.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed ever so slightly. He gently set down his rod, straightened his posture, and cast a gaze toward the outskirts of the city, as if sensing a ripple in the ether.

“Chang Qu, Lin Wu, Lu Xin… extinguished in a single breath.”

“Did Jianyi run afoul of a formidable foe?”

At this thought, his already stern expression grew even more solemn. He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them a moment later.

“Fortunately, the larvae remain intact.”

“However…”

“Who possesses the sheer gall to touch my people within the domain of Golden River City?”

A flicker of anger passed through his eyes.

With the birth of this anger, the river around him instantly began to churn violently.

The sudden turbulence capsized nearby boats, scattering them like dry leaves. Mortals who couldn’t dodge in time were swept into the roiling water. The wails of children, the screams of women, the desperate sounds of struggle and pleas for help filled the air…

On the scholar’s face, the anger gradually dissipated, replaced by a terrifying tranquility.

He watched the scene silently. He watched the small bodies of children bobbing in the waves, watched the soaked men and women on the shore crying out to the heavens. His expression remained as still as an ancient well, devoid of ripples.

He was like a deity high above, gazing down upon the struggles of ants.

And all around him, still, no one seemed to see him at all.

Zhu Jianyi slowly opened his eyes.

Sensing a glimmer of light, memories of the previous battle flooded back. A trace of confusion surfaced in his mind.

I’m not dead?

Did Master save me?

His eyes snapped open. He struggled to sit up, scanning his surroundings.

What he saw made his heart stop.

He was inside a tree hollow. From the grain of the wood, he instantly recognized it as the interior of a ‘Great Willow,’ a tree unique to the Golden River region.

But the tree wasn’t the problem. The problem was the decor.

The walls of the hollow were lined with severed limbs, fragmented hands, minced flesh, and clots of blood.

Zhu Jianyi was a ruthless man with broad experience; normally, gore wouldn’t make him flinch. But his powerful memory forced him to recognize these particular pieces. They belonged to the cultivators who had followed him.

And the untrustworthy Foundation Establishment cultivator—the one who had defeated them—was currently wearing a bizarre mask. He sat amidst the carnage, holding a severed finger, turning it over and over in his hand, lost in deep contemplation.

A chill shot down Zhu Jianyi’s spine, making his hair stand on end.

Having followed his master, True Cultivator Lin, for years, Zhu Jianyi was no stranger to the depravity of the Demonic Path. But even those perverts usually tortured for a reason—cultivation, interrogation, or ritual. They didn’t fondle severed limbs like they were precious curios.

This stranger seemed to be enjoying the research. He was engrossed.

In that moment, Zhu Jianyi’s fear of this masked cultivator reached its peak. He swore to himself that if he survived this, he would never provoke such a person again.

Wait, he thought, grieving for himself. I didn’t provoke him! He came after me!

“Awake?”

A voice interrupted his internal lament, making his heart tremble.

Zhu Jianyi recognized the voice immediately. It belonged to the finger-studying maniac. He didn’t dare entertain any rebellious thoughts. He scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Senior, for sparing this Junior’s life!”

In the short time it took to stand, he had calculated his position. Since he wasn’t dead, he had value. And that value was likely related to the Ghost Market. If he played his part well, he could stall until his Master arrived.

The others were dead, but their soul imprints would have alerted True Cultivator Lin. Once his Master descended, this masked cultivator was dead meat!

Zhu Jianyi trusted his Master implicitly. He had seen True Cultivator Lin suppress other Foundation Establishment cultivators with the ease of crushing bugs. One word: Godlike.

“Oh, hold your gratitude,” Wang Ba said, tossing the severed finger aside. He pulled off his mask, revealing a mild, seemingly ordinary face, and offered a faint smile. “You are still useful, that is all. But don’t celebrate just yet—I’ve planted something inside your body.”

Zhu Jianyi’s heart seized with shock and rage.

He dared not voice his anger, but he hurriedly circulated his Qi, checking his internal state. To his surprise, the other party didn’t stop him.

The energy flowed smoothly through his meridians. He couldn’t detect a single anomaly.

Is he bluffing?

But when he met Wang Ba’s amused gaze, Zhu Jianyi strangled that hope immediately.

The methods of a Foundation Establishment cultivator are unfathomable. How could a mere Qi Refining cultivator like me detect his restrictions? It must be hidden deep in my marrow.

Despair washed over him.

“Of course,” Wang Ba continued, his tone casual, “if you cooperate, everything is negotiable. I’m not a bloodthirsty man. I merely wish to enter the Ghost Market to conduct a trade. Once the transaction is complete, I will release you.”

Zhu Jianyi involuntarily glanced at the severed limbs and minced meat decorating the cave.

He had a very different definition of “not bloodthirsty.”

And while he scoffed internally at the excuse of “just wanting to trade,” he clung to the sliver of hope it offered.

“Senior… can you… can you guarantee that?”

“Heh. What do you think?” Wang Ba retorted.

Oddly, this non-answer made Zhu Jianyi trust him more. If Wang Ba had sworn a solemn oath, Zhu Jianyi would have assumed it was a lie. The dismissal felt more genuine.

Gritting his teeth, Zhu Jianyi finally spilled the secret to entering the market.

Cloud Dragon Valley.

Located at the intersection of Golden River City, Three Rivers City, and Fengping City, this valley was a notorious ‘no-man’s-land.’

Bandits ran rampant, preying on the locals until the surrounding villages were abandoned, leaving the area desolate.

Few knew that a cultivator’s market—the Exquisite Ghost Market—hid within this chaos. It opened only during the full moon, for a duration of three days.

Two figures arrived at the valley entrance.

One was a young cultivator in blue, his handsome face marred by a flinching, timid expression. The other was a man of about thirty, looking entirely ordinary in a black Daoist robe.

They stood before a bandit stronghold, ignoring the jeers and curses raining down from the wooden ramparts.

The young cultivator lowered his head slightly. “Senior Shen, this is the entrance. It’s quite the coincidence; we arrived just as the market opened.”

“However, please remember what this Junior said. Once inside, you must follow my lead regarding procedure.”

The black-robed cultivator nodded. “Understood. Lead the way.”

This ‘Senior Shen’ was, naturally, Wang Ba.

Looking at the bandits, he silently applauded the ingenuity of the Ghost Market’s managers. Hiding a mystical market inside a mortal bandit stronghold? Even the great Sects would struggle to think of such a low-brow disguise. It explained why the Exquisite Ghost Market had operated safely for decades.

Zhu Jianyi stepped forward and exchanged a few coded words with a burly, rough-looking chieftain. The bandit grunted and led them into the stronghold, down into a filthy, foul-smelling dungeon.

But the dungeon wasn’t the destination. They passed the cells and arrived at a water prison filled with stagnant, black water, where the corpses of rats floated bloated on the surface.

Under Wang Ba’s astonished gaze, Zhu Jianyi activated a Water Avoidance Talisman and jumped straight into the filth.

Wang Ba stared for a moment, speechless. Then, with a pulse of Qi, he parted the foul water like a curtain and descended.

Sure enough, at the bottom of the water prison, a dark tunnel awaited.

“It reminds me of the Golden River Ghost Market,” Wang Ba remarked.

Zhu Jianyi shook his head. “Only the entrance is similar. Follow me, Senior.”

He walked into the darkness.

Wang Ba secretly tightened his grip on his Storage Bag—specifically the Spirit Beast Bag containing the Green Water Spirit Turtle—and followed.

To his surprise, the tunnel didn’t lead to a hidden cavern city like the one in Golden River. It led to a small chamber containing a single object.

A Teleportation Formation.

Wang Ba felt a jolt of shock.

Teleportation arrays were not something just anyone could construct. They required at least a Tier-3 Formation Master—someone at the Golden Core realm. The fact that the Exquisite Ghost Market could employ such a master spoke volumes about its backing.

The formation glowed faintly along the edges, but the central groove was dim.

It needs power, Wang Ba realized.

Zhu Jianyi didn’t dare ask Wang Ba to pay. With a visible wince of heartache, he fished twenty Low Grade Spirit Stones from his bag and placed them in the groove.

The formation hummed to life, light flooding the chamber.

Wang Ba and Zhu Jianyi stepped onto the platform.

The world twisted.

When the light faded, the quiet cave was gone.

Before his vision even cleared, a wave of noise crashed into his ears—the sound of haggling, shouting, and commerce.

“Tier-2 Low Grade Magical Artifact: Three Yang Dharma Sword! Only 1,260 Spirit Stones!”

“…Talismans! Talismans! Tier-1 High Grade and Top Grade available!”

“Red Origin Pills! 10 Low Grade Spirit Stones per pill!”

“Latest news! The Young Master of Flying Snake Palace has descended the mountain to gather ‘Cauldrons.’ Female cultivators, beware! Route information available for a price!”

“Latest news! A sword cultivator surnamed Zhao has challenged his way down from the North, defeating numerous Foundation Establishment experts. He will arrive in the Yan Country soon. Those wishing to seek apprenticeship, inquire within…”