The wilderness of Tianshiyuan was in total darkness, and one could only vaguely see the outlines of the mountains and the shadows of the woods. Suddenly, a light like a rosy cloud appeared from a desolate grave and shone through the grave!
The light turned into countless words, each as big as a bucket, piled up like a wall, rising up from the tomb into the sky, ethereal and colorful, brilliant like brocade, the light illuminated the sky, competing with the stars and the moon!
“That is the tomb of the great scholar.”
Qiu Shuijing reminded everyone, saying: "When great scholars were alive, they recited the articles of saints and used classics to govern the world. The profound meanings of the articles were imprinted in their souls and transformed into spiritual powers. After their death, their souls and spiritual powers did not dissipate. At night, magnificent articles would rise from their tombs. These articles were their spiritual powers."
The scholars looked around and saw that among the barren mountains and ridges of Tianshiyuan, tombs were glowing with colorful lights. For a moment, Tianshiyuan in the dark night was as bright as day.
Of course, this is what the heavenly eye sees.
If it were an ordinary person, with his mortal eyes, he would definitely not be able to see this strange sight.
Some of the tombs have brocade patterns above them, while others have giant Buddhas sitting on lotus pedestals, with solemn expressions, glowing bodies, and majestic appearances.
Some are jade-like buildings, with stacked bricks and tiles, carved beams and painted rafters, supported by brackets, winding corridors, and high eaves.
Some are flowers, trees, weapons, and utensils; others are mythical beasts such as dragons and phoenixes; or they are mountain spirits, water monsters, demons, ghosts, and so on, which are dazzling to the eyes.
This is the vision transformed by the spiritual power.
The magical powers of the spirits above the thousands of tombs actually formed a magnificent golden portal, rising from the countryside of Tianshiyuan and standing high in the sky.
Countless strange and bizarre characters spread from the ground to the air, shining brightly, all the way to the front of the door, like a staircase.
Behind the gate is a magnificent and beautiful city, like a divine city in heaven, which is awe-inspiring.
The scholars raised their heads, staring blankly at the gate and the city in the sky, unable to recover for a long time.
A lady murmured, "So this is the Heavenly Gate... The strong men who died here used their spiritual powers to form this strange gate..."
Another scholar suddenly shuddered: "Then behind the Tianmen is the ghost market! When the Tianmen comes out, the ghost gate opens, and countless ghosts appear in the night market..."
The other scholars' faces changed slightly and they looked at each other silently.
"When a person dies, it's like a light going out. How can there be ghosts? This is just a lie from religion."
Qiu Shuijing's eyes were as sharp as swords, and he glanced at them: "It's fine for a country bumpkin to say that, but you are all scholars who have studied in the official school for many years and have cultivated your spiritual nature. Why are you still so superstitious?"
He shook his sleeves, and said with a righteous spirit: "The so-called demons and ghosts are nothing but the evil spirits of people. Even the so-called gods are the incarnations of the spirits! Some spiritualists cultivate their spirits, and their spirits do not die after death. They attach themselves to the animals and plants in the mountains and fields, and thus become the demons and ghosts in people's mouths!"
A scholar asked, "Mr. Shuijing, is the wild fox we met in the evening also a human spirit?"
"Not only is Mr. Wild Fox a human spirit, but even those little fox demons are human spirits."
Qiu Shuijing's sleeves fluttered as he flew down from the school and walked towards the Heavenly Gate. He said, "Their spirits are too weak and they are ignorant. They cannot manifest themselves, so they can only attach themselves to birds and beasts and transform into fox demons. Because they are ignorant, they often have no humanity but only animality. Animality is cruel, so we need to subdue the demons and get rid of them."
Another scholar asked, "What if it attaches to plants?"
Qiu Shuijing said: "That is a spirit. If it is attached to a vessel, it is a monster."
A scholar asked curiously, "What if the spirit is attached to a person?"
Qiu Shuijing's expression suddenly darkened, and he said grimly, "That is the human demon! The human demon is extremely evil and is the public enemy of the world. He must be eliminated no matter what!"
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the long staircase under the Heavenly Gate, which was written with huge characters.
Everyone looked up and saw that each word was shining. Faintly, they seemed to hear the voices of the ancient sages reciting their own articles.
Qiu Shuijing took a step up the stairs made of these words, and walked towards the Heavenly Gate step by step. He said in a deep voice: "Once you reach the Heavenly Gate and enter the Ghost Market, you must follow the rules of the Ghost Market and cannot act recklessly. If you violate the rules of the Ghost Market, even I may not be able to protect you! Do you understand?"
It was the first time for the scholars to see him so serious, and they felt awe-inspiring.
"Listen carefully, there are three rules in the ghost market. The first rule is that you are not allowed to look directly into the eyes of ghosts!"
Qiu Shuijing raised a finger: "If you look directly into the eyes of ghosts and gods, dig out your eyes within a breath, hold them in the palm of your hand, and let the ghosts and gods take your eyes away!"
He raised his second finger: "The second rule is no bargaining! If you have your eyes on a treasure of a ghost or god, then go up to them and ask them, and they will ask you to fulfill their last wish. If you think you have the ability to do it, then agree to it. If you don't have the ability and still covet the treasure of a ghost or god, then bargaining..."
Qiu Shuijing said coldly: "Pull out your own tongue. Listen to me, you definitely don't want the ghosts in the ghost market to pull out your tongue."
The scholars shuddered several times.
Qiu Shuijing said to himself: "The third rule is to leave when the rooster crows, and never stay!"
"What if they haven't left yet when the cock crows?" a young scholar couldn't help asking.
Qiu Shuijing's eyes twitched, and he took a step forward: "If you don't leave after the cock crows, you will disappear forever. I have never seen anyone walk out of the ghost market alive after dawn..."
The scholars had cold sweat on their foreheads, were worried, and followed Qiu Shuijing nervously.
Although they were children of wealthy families in Shuofang City and came from famous families, they all knew that this gentleman was extraordinary. Even the heads of their clans and patriarchs were respectful to Mr. Shui Jing.
The famous families in Shuofang City all knew that the Ghost Market in Tianshiyuan was extremely dangerous, but when they heard that it was Mr. Shuijing who would lead them there, they did not stop him. This shows how important Mr. Shuijing was in the hearts of the famous families.
Before they knew it, they had stepped on the steps made of words and reached the sky. The cold wind howled like ghosts, and the chill in the sky made everyone feel cold all over.
Everyone looked up suddenly and saw that the Heavenly Gate was already beside them, hazy and unreal, as if it was made of clouds.
They didn't know when they had stepped into the Heavenly Gate, and in front of them was the famous Tianshiyuan Ghost Market!
When they looked up from below, what they saw was the magnificent and golden city of gods. However, when they really reached high in the sky and passed through the Heavenly Gate, this magnificent and golden city of gods unexpectedly became eerie and ghostly, without any of its brilliance and beauty!
All that was left were the dim streets, the gloomy houses on both sides, the ghost lights floating on the streets, and the ghosts hidden in the shadows!
In other words, the spirit of the deceased!
Although they knew that the stories about ghosts and gods were false and that they, the scholars, were also cultivating their spiritual nature, they still felt uneasy when they really came here.
In front of the ghosts and gods in the shadows are a number of glittering treasures.
These treasures, also called Mingqi, are things found in tombs.
There are many large tombs in Tianshiyuan, and valuable treasures are hidden in these tombs, but no one dares to rob them. However, ghosts and gods are the owners of those tombs.
They took out the treasures from their own tombs and waited for the right person to fulfill their unfulfilled wishes.
Tianshiyuan Ghost Market has existed for thousands of years. The wishes that are easy to fulfill have already been fulfilled by humans, and the remaining wishes of ghosts and gods are wishes that cannot be fulfilled.
But since ancient times, money has moved people's hearts, let alone the treasures of ghosts and gods
Therefore, countless people in history entered the ghost market and took the treasures of ghosts and gods, but were unable to fulfill the wishes of ghosts and gods, and often died an untimely death in a very miserable way.
What's worse, some people think they are powerful enough to gather a crowd and rush into the Ghost Market in an attempt to steal treasures, but end up being killed without a complete corpse, and the Ghost Market is dyed red with blood, which only adds to its bad reputation.
"I know that a great man just passed away and was buried in Tianshiyuan. This time, besides showing you the world, I have another purpose."
Qiu Shuijing led them along the streets of the ghost market. There were ghost lights on both sides, which should be the eyes of ghosts in the shadows. Qiu Shuijing continued, "That great man had many wishes when he was alive. Now he has passed away, but his wishes are not fulfilled. You may be able to get some of his burial objects... Hey!"
Qiu Shuijing suddenly stopped, and the scholars behind him almost bumped into him, and they also quickly stopped.
Qiu Shuijing was confused and stared blankly ahead.
The scholars hurriedly followed his gaze and were also stunned.
On the street of the ghost market ahead, I saw a young man sitting upright on the side of the street with a harmless smile on his face and a small stall at his feet.
There were several funerary objects on the stall!
"That little blind man!"
A lady cried out in a low voice: "It's the little blind boy in the school!"
The boy on the street was the one they met in school, the boy who studied with Mr. Wild Fox and a group of little fox spirits!
"Su Yun!" Qiu Shuijing lowered his voice, but could not hide the heaviness of his voice.
The little blind man on the street seemed to have heard their voices. He tilted his head to look at them and smiled sweetly. It was an innocent smile.