Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 2 – The gate of heaven opens, the ghost market appears

In the wilderness of Tian Shi Yuan, it was pitch black and only the silhouette of the mountains and the shadows of the trees could be vaguely seen. Suddenly, from within a desolate tomb, a light as bright as the dawn shone through the burial mound, transforming into countless texts as big as a bucket and as thick as a wall. These texts rose up from the tomb and shone brilliantly like a tapestry, illuminating the night sky and competing with the stars and the moon.

"That is the tomb of a great scholar," said Qiu Shuijing, a male teacher from the city and a member of the school. "The scholar recited the classics of the saints during his lifetime and used his knowledge to govern the world. His words were full of great truths and were imprinted on his soul, transforming into spiritual abilities after his death. At night, these abilities manifest as magnificent articles. These articles are the spiritual abilities of the scholars."

The students looked around and saw that each tomb in the mountains and hills of Tian Shi Yuan emitted different colored lights, creating a bright and shining scene in the dark night. However, this was only visible to those with the "heavenly eye." Ordinary people with mortal eyes could not see this strange phenomenon.

Some tombs had brilliant articles, while others had Buddha statues sitting on lotus platforms, looking solemn and emitting a bright light. Some tombs were adorned with jade buildings and pavilions, with bricks and tiles stacked on top of each other, and decorated with carved beams and painted rafters. Some had flowers, trees, weapons, and utensils, while others had mythical creatures such as dragons and phoenixes, or mountain spirits, water monsters, and demons. All of these sights were dazzling and overwhelming.

All of the spiritual abilities above the countless tombs combined to form a magnificent golden gateway, which rose from the countryside of Tian Shi Yuan and stood high in the sky. Countless strange characters spread from the ground to the sky, shining like gold and forming steps leading up to the gateway. Behind the gateway was a magnificent and beautiful city, like a divine city in the sky, which left the students in awe.

One female student whispered, "So this is the Heavenly Gate... The powerful people buried here used their spiritual abilities to create this strange gateway..."

Another student suddenly shuddered and said, "Then behind the Heavenly Gate is the Ghost Market! When the Heavenly Gate opens, countless ghosts and monsters appear in the night market..."

The other students' faces changed slightly and they looked at each other in silence.

"Death is like a lamp going out. Where are the ghosts? It's just a religious scam," said Qiu Shuijing, his gaze sharp as a sword. "It's one thing for the villagers in the mountains to say that, but you are all scholars who have studied in the academy for many years and have cultivated your spiritual abilities. Why are you still so superstitious?"

He waved his sleeve and stood upright, saying, "So-called monsters and ghosts are nothing more than the workings of human spiritual abilities. Even the so-called gods and goddesses are transformed by spiritual abilities! Some spiritual practitioners cultivate their spiritual abilities and after death, their spiritual abilities do not disappear. They attach themselves to birds and beasts in the mountains and forests, or to plants and trees, and become the monsters and ghosts that people talk about!"

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"Aren't the wild foxes we encountered in the evening also transformed by human spiritual abilities?" asked a student.

"Not only are the wild foxes transformed by spiritual abilities, but even the little fox demons are transformed by human spiritual abilities," said Qiu Shuijing, his sleeves fluttering as he flew down from the school and walked towards the Heavenly Gate. "Their spiritual abilities are too weak and ignorant to manifest themselves, so they can only attach themselves to birds and beasts and become fox demons. Because they are ignorant, they often have no human nature and only have animal nature, which is fierce and ferocious. Therefore, they must be exorcised."

"What if they attach themselves to plants?" asked another student.

"That's a spirit. If they attach themselves to utensils, they become monsters," said Qiu Shuijing.

"What if spiritual abilities attach themselves to people?" asked a curious student.

Qiu Shuijing's face suddenly darkened and he said sternly, "Then they become human demons! Human demons are extremely evil and are the enemies of the world. They must be eliminated no matter what!"

As they spoke, they had already arrived at the long staircase made up of characters as big as buckets at the foot of the Heavenly Gate. Looking up, they could see that each character emitted a bright light, and they could faintly hear the voices of the ancient saints reciting their articles.Qiu Shuijing took a step and walked up the stairs made of these words, step by step towards the Tianmen, saying in a deep voice, "When we reach Tianmen and enter the Ghost Market, we must follow the rules of the Ghost Market and not act recklessly. If you violate the rules of the Ghost Market, I may not even be able to protect you! Do you understand?"

Several scholars saw him so serious for the first time and felt a chill in their hearts.

"Listen carefully, there are three rules in the Ghost Market. The first rule is not to look directly into the eyes of the ghost gods!"

Qiu Shuijing raised a finger, "If you look directly into the eyes of the ghost gods, you will dig out your own eyes within a breath and hand them over to the ghost gods!"

He raised a second finger, "The second rule is no bargaining! If you are interested in the treasure of the ghost gods, you must approach them and ask to fulfill their wishes. If you think you have the ability to do so, then agree to it. If you don't have the ability but still want the treasure and try to bargain..."

Qiu Shuijing said coldly, "You will cut off your own tongue. Listen to me, you definitely don't want the ghost gods in the Ghost Market to cut off your tongue."

The scholars shuddered.

Qiu Shuijing continued, "The third rule is to leave when the rooster crows, and you must not linger!"

"What if the rooster crows but we haven't left yet?" a young scholar couldn't help but ask.

Qiu Shuijing's eyes twitched and he walked forward, "If the rooster crows and you haven't left, you will disappear forever. I have never seen anyone who has walked out of the Ghost Market alive after dawn..."

The scholars followed Qiu Shuijing nervously.

Although they were all from prominent families in Shuofang City, they knew that Mr. Shuijing was extraordinary. Even the elders and clan leaders of their own families were respectful to him.

Shuofang City's prominent families all knew that the Ghost Market in Tian Shiyuan was extremely dangerous, but they did not stop Mr. Shuijing from taking them there, which showed how highly he was regarded in the minds of the prominent families.

Unknowingly, they had stepped on the stairs made of words and entered the Tianmen. The cold wind howled like ghosts crying, and the high altitude was so cold that everyone felt chilled.

Suddenly, they looked up and saw that the Tianmen was already beside them, hazy and surreal, as if made of clouds.

They didn't know when they had entered the Tianmen, and in front of them was the famous Ghost Market in Tian Shiyuan!

Looking up from below, they saw a magnificent divine city, but when they really came to the high altitude and passed through the Tianmen, this magnificent divine city became eerie and without any glamour!

Only dim streets, gloomy houses on both sides, floating ghost fires on the street, and the ghosts hiding in the shadows!

Or the spirits of the dead!

Although they knew that the talk of ghosts and gods was false, they, as scholars, also cultivated their own spirits. But when they really came here, they couldn't help but feel uneasy.

In front of the ghosts and gods in the shadows were treasures that shone with pearls and radiance.

These treasures, also known as bright tools, were things from tombs.

There were many tombs in Tian Shiyuan, and these tombs contained treasures, but no one dared to steal them. However, the ghosts and gods were the owners of these tombs.

They took out the treasures from their tombs and waited for someone with fate to fulfill their unfulfilled wishes.

The Ghost Market in Tian Shiyuan had existed for thousands of years, and the easy-to-fulfill wishes had already been fulfilled by someone. The remaining wishes of the ghosts and gods were impossible to fulfill.

But since ancient times, wealth has moved people's hearts, let alone the treasures of the ghosts and gods?

Therefore, countless people in history entered the Ghost Market, took the treasures of the ghosts and gods, but were unable to fulfill their wishes and often died tragically. Some even thought they were powerful enough to enter the Ghost Market with a group of people to try to rob it, but ended up dead and dismembered, staining the Ghost Market with blood and adding to its reputation as a dangerous place.

"I know that a big figure has just passed away and was buried in Tian Shiyuan. This time, besides showing you the world, there is another meaning to our trip."Qiu Shuijing led them on the streets of the ghost market, with ghostly flames on both sides, which were probably the eyes of ghosts and gods in the shadows. Qiu Shuijing continued, "The big shot had many wishes during his lifetime, but now that he has passed away, they remain unfulfilled. Perhaps you can obtain some of his burial objects... huh!"

Qiu Shuijing suddenly stopped, and the scholars behind him almost bumped into him and quickly stood still.

Qiu Shuijing was puzzled and stared ahead blankly.

The scholars hurriedly followed his gaze and were also stunned.

They saw a young man sitting upright on the street in front of the ghost market, with an innocent smile on his face and a small stall at his feet.

On the stall, there were several burial objects!

"That little blind guy!"

A female scholar exclaimed in a low voice, "It's the little blind guy from the school!"

The young man on the street was the one they met in the school, the young man who studied with Mr. Wild Fox and a group of little fox demons!

"Su Yun!" Qiu Shuijing lowered his voice, but couldn't hide the heaviness in his tone.

The little blind boy on the street seemed to hear their voices, turned his head towards them with a sweet smile, that was an innocent and pure smile.