Chapter 330: As Expected, the Unexpected Still Happened!
“Why do I feel like my body is getting stronger and stronger? Is it just my imagination?”
At this stage, even some ordinary chosen ones had this doubt.
Because their physical strength seemed to be constantly increasing.
Normal people would experience all kinds of discomfort after entering a ghostly place like this.
They had been prepared for that too, but now, not only was there no discomfort, they were actually somewhat enjoying it.
“Could it be that this round of the strange tales is mainly about evolution?”
Rahman was an ordinary chosen one, and he was one of the quicker ones to grasp this point.
After all, the transcendents had basically already guessed it.
Rahman still remembered that Rule 7 mentioned staying here as long as possible.
But that rule said “as long as possible.” After all, he had done plenty of things here that he didn’t want discovered.
For example, saving the tomb robber and the raccoon cat person. If he didn’t get out quickly, and the four-eyed red-robed eerie and Young Master Kongxu found out, then he wouldn’t be able to leave even if he wanted to.
Rahman walked along the cold, quiet passageway. In front of him was the tomb robber leading the way, and behind him was the raccoon cat person.
Both of them were similar to him—masks on their faces, strange clothes on their bodies, and the exposed parts wrapped in cloth strips.
But the further he walked, the more something felt off to Rahman.
Because the time was approaching six o’clock. In the human world, people should be getting up soon.
But in the eerie world, this was the time to prepare for rest.
So as Rahman passed through, the passageway was especially deserted.
After all, he had been here for about ten hours. When there were more people, they had gotten used to it. Now that there were fewer people, he couldn’t shake a bad feeling.
When the group was almost at the exit, the unexpected still happened, just as expected.
Ahead appeared none other than Young Master Kongxu, who had been missing all night.
Judging by his appearance, Young Master Kongxu had probably just returned from outside. No wonder no one could contact him.
And beside Young Master Kongxu were two red-robed eeries. Aside from some unknown liquid staining their clothes, wounds could even be seen on their bodies.
Someone must have caused trouble last night, and they had gone out to deal with it.
Actually, clever chosen ones could guess this: last time at the general store, Young Master Kongxu had mouthed off to a red-robed eerie, and the two had even exchanged addresses and names.
Tonight, if nothing unexpected happened, the other side wouldn’t be able to swallow that insult and would definitely come looking for trouble. Young Master Kongxu had probably gone to deal with exactly that kind of problem.
But this had little to do with the chosen ones. They didn’t want to help, and they couldn’t help anyway.
However, there was a detail here: the tomb robber had been caught by Young Master Kongxu before. Now, if he was in front, there was a certain chance Young Master Kongxu would notice him. After all, he felt guilty too.
Thinking of this, Rahman quickened his pace and blocked the tomb robber behind him.
They couldn’t communicate here, but when the tomb robber saw this, he seemed to understand the logic too. He shrank into the middle, lowered his head, and followed Rahman, holding his breath and trying not to expose himself.
Seeing this kid’s performance, Rahman also found it remarkable. The natives here were all pretty smart. If he had run into some idiot teammate who exposed them here, the three red-robed eeries would absolutely be able to kill them all cleanly.
The chosen ones had only improved some abilities; it didn’t mean they had all improved as quickly as Zhang Yangqing.
Maybe they could already deal with shadow ghosts and white-clothed ghosts, but red-robed fierce ghosts were still far beyond them.
Rahman didn’t say anything either. He just walked with his head down, using his bamboo hat to block his face as much as possible.
This time period was almost daytime. If they were preparing to go out now, even eeries needed equipment to shield themselves from sunlight.
So the appearance of Rahman’s group of three wasn’t particularly strange.
When Young Master Kongxu’s group of three passed by, the three of them followed the rules and stood by the roadside with their heads lowered, waiting for Young Master Kongxu’s group to leave.
If they had directly brushed past them and left, it would have made Young Master Kongxu’s group unhappy.
It was already the final moment. Even some transcendents didn’t want trouble.
These three were no ordinary strength. Better to play it safe.
After watching Young Master Kongxu’s group leave, the chosen ones didn’t speed up either. They simply walked to the door at a normal pace and inserted the key into a mechanism shaped like a lion’s mouth.
As the mechanism turned, the stone door began to shake.
As long as they walked out, this stage was basically cleared.
Zhang Yangqing’s side was actually about the same. After saving the person, he prepared to leave the tomb with him.
Young Master Kongxu’s group of three came toward them, and Zhang Yangqing went straight up to greet Young Master Kongxu.
When Young Master Kongxu saw it was him, he said apologetically, “Sorry, I went to handle some matters yesterday and didn’t get to greet you properly. How about you stay a few more days?”
The other two red-robed eeries also came up to greet him, inviting Zhang Yangqing to stay here a few days so they could entertain him and fulfill their duties as hosts.
Was it because they were naturally hospitable?
Of course not. It was because they sensed that the aura on Zhang Yangqing was somewhat strong.
This corpse qi was practically a level higher than theirs.
As long as you’re strong, everyone around you is a good person.
Even if they didn’t know Zhang Yangqing, as red-robed eeries, getting to know this kind of “fellow strong person” had certain benefits.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I had a pretty enjoyable night. You’ve all worked hard all night, and I still need to head back, so I won’t trouble you all.”
Zhang Yangqing said politely.
He was naturally fine. Anyway, he had used Young Master Kongxu’s name to have fun inside all night. As long as you don’t mind, that’s enough. No need to worry about me.
Other chosen ones were here acting like money-scattering fools, while he had made a profit here, so there was nothing for him to be unhappy about.
After saying goodbye to Young Master Kongxu, Zhang Yangqing successfully left the tomb.
As for what came later, Young Master Kongxu basically wouldn’t come to the general store to cause trouble. Because of this wedding, some eeries from other places had mixed into the tomb. They had naturally come for the tomb owner’s treasure—how could they leave so easily?
To obtain the treasure, these people would stop at nothing.
If he wanted to drive them all out, Young Master Kongxu would still need to expend a great deal of effort.
As for a living person escaping, he wouldn’t take it to heart at all.
This was also part of the strange tales world’s design. If the chosen ones were really short on money, they could return to the general store and continue earning some.
As long as they didn’t go too far in the tomb, they wouldn’t suffer Young Master Kongxu’s revenge.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t care. Anyway, he wasn’t planning to go back and continue making money. Even if he did go back, even if Young Master Kongxu knew it was him behind it, Young Master Kongxu wouldn’t dare take revenge.
When Zhang Yangqing’s group of three passed through the stone door and came outside, the sky was turning white at the edges.
Here, the raccoon cat person said goodbye to the chosen ones. He needed to return to the demon cultivators’ station. If he followed them to the city, not only would he not help, he would bring trouble to the chosen ones.
The purpose of saving him was actually to leave a way out. When they went to the demon cultivators’ station later, they could seek his help.
Now that he wanted to leave, the chosen ones didn’t stop him.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t bother with him either. It was all just a small favor.
Next, they needed to head to the city and find a place to rest.
After all, this tomb robber had come from the city. When Zhang Yangqing let him lead the way, he naturally began leading the way joyfully.
The tomb robber even felt like crying tears of joy. From being released from prison until now, he was finally useful.
On the way to the city, Zhang Yangqing kept having a suspicion. He felt this city definitely wouldn’t be too simple.
On Dragon Tiger Mountain, it was now also early morning.
Su Muyu and Zhang Xuanjing had also watched all night. Only after confirming Zhang Yangqing was fine did they plan to rest.
“Strange. This time, the sect master Celestial Master really won’t act unless absolutely necessary. Could it be that losing his heart has caused too great a drop in strength?”
Zhang Xuanjing found it a bit mysterious. Normally speaking, Zhang Yangqing could have directly killed many of the eeries.
Zhang Yangqing’s current behavior made Zhang Xuanjing wonder if this round of the strange tales placed too many restrictions on transcendents.
“Nonsense. Last round he just killed recklessly and almost couldn’t get out. Now of course he has to be more careful.”
Su Muyu said with a curl of his lip. Don’t look at how Zhang Yangqing said it was fine verbally, but after learning his lesson once, he really didn’t dare continue acting recklessly.
Who knew whether an eerie encountered by the roadside might be an important character who triggered later plotlines?
Last round, if he hadn’t happened to bring along a loli girl with an extremely long lifespan, and if it hadn’t happened that no one had seen the king’s true face, Zhang Yangqing very likely would have been stuck inside for ten days to half a month and unable to get out.
Still, everyone admired his on-the-spot reactions. He could play so wildly and still steer things back on track—that was real skill.
So to avoid causing another mess like that, Zhang Yangqing now tried his best not to act unless he had to.
Even so, he was still the most ferocious performer among this round of the strange tales so far. Without using transcendent-level strength, he could still be several times stronger than the other chosen ones. This was already showing the whole world who the textbook-level clearer was.
Quite a few expert team members and audience members who had stayed up all night went to rest one after another, but the chosen ones’ journey continued.
The whole way, the tomb robber led in front. No animals blocked the road, so it was relatively easy to walk.
After about an hour, the chosen ones followed the tomb robber to a city.
Seeing the city before him, Zhang Yangqing nodded.
“Just as I expected.”
What lay before them was a city where humans lived, and also the place marked on the map the chosen ones had bought.
Unlike what the other chosen ones had expected, the skyscrapers here not only towered into the clouds, they were also extremely magnificent.
The eaves of the buildings were upturned and finely carved. Whether it was the brightly colored glazed tiles or the imposing stone carvings, everything presented a gorgeous, grand momentum.
The city’s layout was like a phoenix spreading its wings to fly. The streets crisscrossed, forming a complex grid.
These ancient-style elements and modern high-rise buildings, vehicles, and architecture complemented each other, creating a unique aesthetic.
After entering the city, Zhang Yangqing’s guess was further confirmed.
The auras of the natives here were all very strong. Many people seemed to have cultivated.
According to Zhang Yangqing’s guess, the strange tales world had abundant cultivation resources, so it was possible to get most people to start cultivating.
This city was also a massive human fortress. Inside lived some powerful auras, not inferior to those purple-robed eeries at all.
Actually, thinking about it, with so many ghost cultivators and demon cultivators around, how could a human settlement possibly be weak?
The human race was the fastest-cultivating race among all the myriad races of the heavens. Without powerful strength, how could they permanently reside in a place like this? Those eerie creatures only dared to cultivate outside and didn’t dare attack this place.
While walking on the road, Zhang Yangqing could also sense that in every patrol car here, there seemed to be a strong person no weaker than a red-robed eerie.
In short, this was a world where everyone cultivated. Cultivation resources were extremely abundant, making it easier for strong people to appear than in a place like Blue Star, where cultivation resources were scarce.
Even the city’s location was one of the treasured feng shui spots, the Phoenix Perch Land, equivalent to a mountain range on Blue Star full of spiritual energy. You could also call it a cultivation holy land.
So all kinds of cultivators were born on the streets. Aside from normal human cultivators, there were also some stranger ones dressed differently.
You could even see people traveling with beasts and corpse herders.
Even though the chosen ones’ outfits were already strange, here they weren’t the most conspicuous.
The tomb robber began introducing the situation inside to the chosen ones.
This city was jointly ruled by three great families. See those three buildings piercing the clouds? Those were the residences of the three great families.
In this place, the three great families were the maintainers of order. No one could violate their rules.
According to the tomb robber, there were many cultivation schools here. Those with good grades could enter the patrol team through selection and basically become people with official positions.
“Grades” here meant things like combat strength.
Those who couldn’t enter the patrol team could only find their own ways to make a living.
This tomb robber was neither good at academics nor martial arts, so he just drifted around outside.
There were quite a few people like him. As long as they found some cultivation resources outside, they could scrape together a meal.
If they could discover some treasure or something, they could even have no worries about food and clothing.
He also believed that the more dangerous the place, the better the treasures that might be hidden there.
That was why he had been caught. If Zhang Yangqing hadn’t saved him, he probably would have died inside.
After listening to the tomb robber’s endless chatter, Zhang Yangqing nodded. It really was a decent method of control.
As long as the three great families recruited all the talented and strong people, gave them high-standard treatment, and used them as low-level managers directly controlled by the higher-ups, then order here wouldn’t fall into chaos.
Moreover, these capable fighters would also receive more resources and become even stronger.
While stabilizing the city’s order, they were also enough to intimidate the surrounding eerie creatures.
But was all this dazzling information important?
Maybe for the other chosen ones, it needed to be carefully remembered. It might be useful if they encountered danger and needed help.
But for Zhang Yangqing, this was all reference information, not very meaningful.
It wasn’t that Zhang Yangqing’s martial strength this round was that great. It was that he knew how to distinguish excessive information.
His main storyline was to go to the demon cultivators’ station and find his heart. The settlement might have a huge connection to this.
There was no need to come into conflict with this city’s defense forces.
If he encountered trouble, Zhang Yangqing could solve it himself.
The most important point was that when he entered, he hadn’t discovered any rules. That meant that as long as the chosen ones kept a low profile and didn’t cause trouble in this city, there wouldn’t be any danger.
Probably only when the time came and they entered the ghost market would they encounter danger. Maybe rules would appear then.
The so-called ghost market was this city’s black zone, a lawless area.
Some human cultivators obtained things that weren’t exactly clean. If they wanted to dispose of them, they could sell them here to ghost cultivators.
After all, if these things were confiscated by the patrol team, they could only be sold for a little in exchange.
Or if ghost cultivators from outside wanted to trade with people here, they could also go to the ghost market.
According to the information the chosen ones had bought from the tomb, the ghost market opened at a specific time. When it did, there would be many masked “people” inside.
Those who knew the method could enter and buy what they wanted.
Ghost coins were the only currency that could be used for transactions in the ghost market.
The ghost market opened at eight in the evening, and the chosen ones also knew the location.
Now, what they needed to do was rest. The tomb robber could provide the place where he lived for the chosen ones to rest.
Not to mention Zhang Yangqing, the chosen ones now were all veterans.
You could say they grasped timing very precisely.
If they removed the interference factors, this stage could be spent sleeping from now until four in the afternoon.
From four in the afternoon to eight in the evening, there were still four hours. Those four hours were the time to go to the riverside and look for the old blind man.
Once they thought all this through, the chosen ones could temporarily rest.
The tomb robber lived alone. His place was considered relatively remote in this city.
After all, he did this line of work, so he couldn’t expose too much. Thus, he didn’t have many friends either.
Zhang Yangqing wasn’t picky either. Having a place to rest was enough.
There was also a small detail to note here: never let the tomb robber know you have treasures or even ghost coins on you.
Otherwise, there was no telling when he might turn on you.
Don’t be fooled by his harmless look and poor strength. Once he knew you had something good, he would reveal his true nature.
Actually, the general store’s rules had already hinted at this.
[Rule 16: Remember, the money obtained in the general store can only be used in the ghost market. Do not expose it in front of normal people, otherwise “they” will find you.]
The tomb robber was a normal person. His strength was poor, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t call for backup.
However, the chosen ones who had survived to this point were already extremely cautious.
When sleeping, they didn’t even remove the bandages on their bodies.
More cautious chosen ones like Rahman placed bells or bottles behind the bedroom door.
As soon as the door was opened, they would climb out the window.
Their escape routes were all prepared.
Even without danger warnings, this was still the strange tales world after all. Making extra preparations was never wrong.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t have too many worries. He had already told the tomb robber never to come near him while he slept.
Otherwise, Zhang Yangqing would show him what “killing in a dream” meant.
The tomb robber also kept this firmly in mind. He didn’t think Zhang Yangqing was joking. This was a man even red-robed fierce ghosts had to make way for.
Between three and four in the afternoon, the chosen ones woke up one after another.
Nothing happened during this rest.
To express his gratitude, the tomb robber even prepared a meal for the chosen ones.
Here, the chosen ones’ plotlines seemed to undergo a subtle change.
On Rahman’s side, the tomb robber prepared a farewell meal.
It wasn’t that he was repaying kindness with ingratitude. After all, he was also broke, and tonight he seemed to need to follow his team out to explore the wilderness.
Here, the tomb robber tried to recruit Rahman, but Rahman politely refused.
After this meal, the chosen ones and the tomb robber parted ways. Everyone went about their own business.
The chosen ones ate this meal especially carefully. Without knowing the ingredients, they tried not to eat meat.
The difference was that on Zhang Yangqing’s side, the tomb robber actually turned down his team’s invitation and was preparing to work as Zhang Yangqing’s assistant.
This made the audience watch in astonishment. Sure enough, in the strange tales world, NPCs were all snobbish.
The other chosen ones weren’t very capable, so the tomb robber couldn’t be bothered with them. But Zhang Yangqing’s heaven-defying performance made even the tomb robber want to suck up to him!
