Chapter 630: The Fangshi Group, Luoyang Ghost Market

"Xu Fu?"

Hearing this name, Li Yan's pupils constricted.

Xu Fu was a very famous figure in history; the story of him leading three thousand boys and girls out to sea to help the Qin Shi Huang Huang find the Xianshan was known to everyone.

Ordinary people might not care, but when Li Yan heard it, he immediately became vigilant.

The Qin-Han Fangshi Group!

Li Yan had obtained much intelligence along the way, and as his understanding deepened, he realized more and more the terrifying strength of this group.

Whether in the history of the Shenzhou or the Mystic Sect, they had a profound influence, both good and bad, hidden in the many mists of history.

The influence they caused was also both good and bad.

The "Immortal Treasury of Longevity" was their handiwork, excavating ancient relics of the Investiture of the Gods, vainly seeking longevity, but in reality, they were influenced by the seventy-two demon gods, and the poison has flowed to this day...

They assisted Li Bing in suppressing the Great Lord of the River God and building the Dujiangyan, benefiting the Sichuan plains and making it the Land of Abundance...

Regarding the intelligence on these people, Li Yan naturally searched for it earnestly.

Lu Sheng, Han Zhong, Xu Fu, Hou Sheng, An Qisheng, Mao Meng...

There is no need to mention Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng; one influenced the Qin Shi Huang Huang to attack the Xiongnu in the north with the prophecy "Those who destroy Qin are the Hu," and the other advised the Qin Shi Huang Huang to follow the path of "indifference," later jointly triggering the "burning of books and burying of scholars" and fleeing.

Subsequently, these two became Yin criminals, appearing in different historical periods, secretly plotting for the Nine Tripods...

Mao Meng once predicted the "Jiaping" calendar reform, and his great-grandson, Mao Ying, was the founder of the Maoshan Sect...

Han Zhong, Xu Fu, and An Qisheng were related to the overseas Immortal Mountains.

An Qisheng talked with the Qin Shi Huang Huang for three days and left behind the words "Seek me at Penglai" before leaving, leaving behind many legends and being revered as an immortal; he is suspected to have successfully ascended to godhood.

Xu Fu sailed out to sea to find the elixir of immortality.

As for the other, "Han Zhong," he had fled the Qin Palace with Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng because of the "burning of books and burying of scholars," but he did not go with them; instead, he chose to sail out to sea to find the Xianshan.

It is rumored that he arrived on the Korean Peninsula and took root there...

After the battle in Sichuan, Li Yan discovered that Lu Sheng and Zhao Changsheng belonged to the same organization and were related to the big shots of the Great Luo Dharma Realm.

Some people of the Qin-Han Fangshi Group were very likely among them.

Li Yan suddenly remembered that Zhao Changsheng, in the northern frontier, was accidentally interrupted in his cultivation by the army of his grandfather, who seized the Daoist of the Tai Xuan Zheng Jiao, and then traveled far to Japan.

There was also a Japanese monk of the Ikko-ikki sect who was resurrected by him and brought to the Shenzhou, lurking near Chang'an, only to be beheaded by him.

From this, it seems Zhao Changsheng also had forces in Japan.

Xu Fu...

Could it be that he was also one of them?

Thinking of this, Li Yan's expression became solemn, "What relationship does Xu Fu have with the Luoyang Paper Doll Case? Did Zhao Donkey ever reveal anything?"

Jin Jin Yanfeng took a sip of tea, shook his head, and said, "The old man doesn't know about this, but there is one thing that is very strange."

"According to Zhao Donkey, this small bronze tripod did not come from a Qin tomb, but from a Northern Wei tomb, which is truly strange."

Northern Wei?

Hearing this, Li Yan felt the fog before his eyes deepen, and he shook his head, "This matter is indeed strange. Does Senior have any clues? Why did Earth Dragon's disciple come to trouble you?"

"It's also the old man's fault for being meddlesome."

Jin Jin Yanfeng was full of regret and said, "The Qin tripod appearing in a Northern Wei tomb reminded me of a legend, and out of curiosity, I got involved in this mess."

"Oh, what legend?"

Li Yan became interested and asked hurriedly.

"This is a long story."

Jin Jin Yanfeng was also someone who loved to show off, stroking his beard and saying, "It is rumored that when the King of Qin swept through the six states, although he unified the Shenzhou, there were countless deaths and injuries from years of war, and the resentment soared to the heavens. Moreover, those remnants of the fallen noble families recruited sorcerers, taking the opportunity to attack the Qin dragon vein..."

"The Qin dragon vein originated in the west, belonging to the western branch of the Qin Ling Mountains, with rolling mountains forming the momentum of the 'Ancestral Dragon.' The ancient 'Qin River' flowed through it, forming the feng shui pattern of the 'Water Entwining the Black Tortoise,' which was the foundation for the rise of the Qin people. Even now, the tombs of the Qin Dukes remain..."

"After Duke Xiao of Qin moved the capital to Xianyang, relying on the 'Four Fortresses' of the Guanzhong Plain, backed by the North Mountain range and leaning on the Qin Ling Mountains, it formed the imperial dragon vein pattern of 'backing the mountains and facing the water, hiding the wind and gathering the Qi.' The Wei River flowed through it, and together with the Jing, Luo, and other rivers, it formed the momentum of 'all waters paying homage to the ancestral sect'..."

"With the right time, the right place, and the right people, the Qin state achieved great success. When the Qin Shi Huang Huang ascended the throne, he ordered people to cut through Jin Ling Hill to suppress the 'Son of Heaven Qi' in the southeast, and at the same time built straight roads and fast roads to 'connect the dragon vein throughout the world,' wishing to suppress the mountains and rivers forever!"

As he spoke, his voice paused, and he looked at everyone, his expression becoming solemn, "But this method had a huge flaw!"

"The dragon vein of the Chu land still had residual power, and the Luoyang dragon vein also had signs of rising. Those remnants of the six states' noble families then played tricks on Mangshan, gathering the resentment from all directions, attempting to shake the Qin dragon vein and the state's destiny."

"However, the Qin Shi Huang Huang had already unified the world, and there were so many capable people and strange scholars under him. It is rumored that before Xu Fu sailed east, he led many sorcerers and the Qin cavalry to encircle and suppress these remnants on Mangshan, and built palaces to trap the resentment and evil Qi of the six states within them..."

Sha Lifei listened intently and asked hurriedly, "Did they succeed?"

Jin Jin Yanfeng shook his head, "Whether they succeeded or not, the old man doesn't know, but at that time, it triggered an event: a meteorite fell in Dongjun, which is the current Puyang area of Yu Prefecture, with the words 'The Qin Shi Huang Huang will die and the land will be divided' carved on the stone."

"This matter was regarded as an ominous sign of the Qin's fall and was recorded in the 'Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of the Qin Shi Huang Huang of Qin.' The old man thinks that perhaps they succeeded."

Li Yan rubbed his temples, "Even if this is true, that is an absolutely ominous place, difficult for ordinary people to approach. Why would Zhao Donkey and Earth Dragon be interested in it?"

"The old man did find out some things."

Jin Jin Yanfeng continued, "That Qin tripod came from a Northern Wei cave. After Zhao Donkey left, the old man immediately consulted the classics and discovered another thing."

"During the Northern Wei period, there was a general named Wang Xuanmo. Official history records that he died in depression after his northern expedition failed, but unofficial histories like the 'Record of Buddhist Monasteries in Luoyang' and the 'Northern Mang Ghost Records' all claim that after his defeat, he fled into Mangshan to practice Yin soldier arts, and was known among the folk as the 'Ghost Marshal of Mangshan.' But since the Southern Song Dynasty, he has completely hidden..."

"The old man suspects that this person has already occupied the Ghost Palace of the Qin era, so I searched everywhere for clues about this person, and finally, through someone, I found a book from the end of the Song Dynasty called the 'Record of Strange Monsters of the Hebei Region'."

"However, those few stupid disciples of Earth Dragon heard about this from somewhere and came to my door to demand it."

"Fortunately, I have many friends in the Ghost Market, so I drove them away. Who knew that those stupid fellows would be harmed by paper dolls as soon as they left."

"The people from the Enforcement Hall came to my door, and I couldn't argue my case, so I insisted I didn't know the inside story, and was locked in the prison."

"The old man feels that Zhao Donkey's wife being threatened is related to this matter."

Li Yan asked hurriedly, "What about that book?"

Jin Jin Yanfeng spread his hands helplessly, "The old man hadn't had time to read it before the people from the Enforcement Hall came to my door. In my panic, I hid it in a secret compartment in the shop; I have to go back and get it."

"That's easy to handle."

Li Yan took out his pocket watch and looked at it, "It's still the dead of night, let's take advantage of the fact that there's no one around and go to your shop to get it."

Jin Jin Yanfeng chuckled, "Little brother is wrong; my place is empty during the day, but at night, there are many people."

"Where is it?"

"Luoyang Ghost Market!"

…………

"The 'Luoyang Ghost Market' arose during the Tang Dynasty."

In the dark alley of the night, Jin Jin Yanfeng introduced it as they walked.

"At that time, the Divine Capital of Luoyang was still the hub of the Grand Canal, with north and south markets set up in the city. Not only did merchants from the north and south gather there, but Persian Hu merchants and Sogdian camel caravans also flocked there, with spices, silk, porcelain, and even Kunlun slaves; it was truly worthy of being called a place where the whole world converged."

"Because the Tang had a curfew system, and combined with wandering knights selling illicit salt and wine, the Ghost Market was born."

"Later, the An Lushan Rebellion destroyed the Eastern Capital, and Pei Zhou built the Qiyun Villa. While using the 'Zhenyue Eight Dragon Plate' to suppress the Yi Que demon dragon, he also gathered Mystic Sect people from all over. At that time, with the rise of Mystic soldiers at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Luoyang Ghost Market became a place for Mystic Sect people to trade..."

"By the Northern Song Dynasty, Luoyang was called the Western Capital. Although it was not as prosperous as Bianliang, the Ghost Market was considered the best. The 'Record of the Eastern Capital' records: 'The Luoyang Ghost Market opens at the third watch and disperses at the fifth watch.' Commoners traded antiques and stolen goods in private, and the government could never ban it."

"As for what happened later, I suppose you all know. In the battle at Longmen Inn, the Grandmaster Chen Shoujing destroyed the 'Zhenyue Eight Dragon Plate,' released the Yi Que demon dragon, and perished together with the experts and cavalry of the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom."

"Sigh~ Now that Luoyang has declined, the Ghost Market is also somewhat deserted..."

While speaking, the group had already arrived at the South City.

This place was a slum, everywhere were low earthen walls and broken tile houses, the chimneys of every household were scorched black, and sewage flowed across the ground.

The Great Xuan Dynasty was prosperous, but the gap between rich and poor was also widening; Li Yan and the others had seen this often whether in Chang'an, Xiangyang, or Chengdu.

The only strange thing was that in this dilapidated slum, there stood half a stone gate tower, vaguely showing its former majesty, with firelight faintly visible beneath it.

Jin Jin Yanfeng seemed to see their confusion and lowered his head to explain, "This is the old site of Dingding Gate. During the Wu Dynasty, they built the 'Myriad Phenomena Divine Palace' and the 'Heaven-Reaching Pagoda,' and quarried stone here."

"After the Shenlong Coup, the project stopped, but it created a massive underground palace, which has now become the new Ghost Market."

"Remember, people from all walks of life gather in the Ghost Market, and there is a rule of 'Three Don't Ask': buyers don't ask where the goods come from, sellers don't ask what the money is used for, and idlers don't ask about other people's identities."

"If you break the taboo, you will surely invite trouble!"

"Senior, rest assured."

Hearing this, Li Yan and the others raised their masks one after another.

Very quickly, they approached the stone gate tower.

But they saw several men squatting below, all broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with fierce faces, chatting and bragging around a fire.

"Who goes there?!"

Hearing the noise, the men stood up one after another, reaching for their waists.

"Don't panic, it's me."

Jin Jin Yanfeng immediately walked out of the darkness.

He clearly had a high status in the Ghost Market; seeing him, the men hurriedly bent down and cupped their hands, "So it's Old Master Feng."

"I heard you were arrested?"

"A small matter, I spent some money to get released."

"And these few..."

"Friends from the road, don't ask too much."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

After some exchange, the men hurriedly made way.

One of them stepped forward two paces, reached into the crack of the stone gate tower, grabbed a thick hemp rope, and pulled hard.

Clatter!

A large wooden board on the ground to the side of the stone gate tower was immediately lifted, revealing a pitch-black hole with a wooden ladder leaning against it.

Led by Jin Jin Yanfeng, the group climbed down the wooden ladder; after about seven or eight meters, they touched the ground.

And deep in the cave on the left, firelight was faintly visible.

"Heh~ This Ghost Market is quite secretive."

Sha Lifei found it novel and joked, "The Chang'an Ghost Market is in the ruins of the Great Ming Palace, gathering at night and dispersing at dawn; it's not as good as the Divine Capital."

"This is also a last resort."

Jin Jin Yanfeng shook his head and sighed, "The government is clamping down tightly, often coming to the Ghost Market to harass us; if we could do otherwise, who would want to drill into this hole."

"The yamen also knows about this place, but now they just turn a blind eye; if they really want to arrest people, that would be like catching a turtle in a jar, and the old man wouldn't be able to escape..."

While speaking, the group had already passed through the hole.

The view before them suddenly opened up, revealing a massive stone chamber, with neat stone walls all around, covered in traces of stone quarrying.

Inside the stone chamber, candlelight flickered, the light was dim, and one couldn't see how many people were there; every few steps, someone was setting up a stall.

All the stalls were laid out with oilcloth on the ground, covered with all kinds of things, ranging from funerary objects dug out of graves to all sorts of stolen goods.

Li Yan even saw someone selling "coal essence."

Just as Jin Jin Yanfeng said, with the decline of Luoyang, the Ghost Market was no longer prosperous; there were not many customers inside, all were masked with black scarves, and even transactions were done with hand signals, without much talk.

Shadows flickered in the candlelight, like ghosts.

Jin Jin Yanfeng signaled with his eyes, led the group through this area of stalls, turned left and right, and arrived at a small street in the center.

This place was clearly much more high-end; instead of setting up stalls at will, they had built small wooden houses with all kinds of discarded wood.

Among them was a small wooden house that looked quite neat from the outside, with a flag hanging at the entrance, on which a yellow eye was drawn; this was clearly "Jin Jin Yanfeng's" small shop.

However, it was already a mess inside, turned upside down, the light was dim, and even the tables and chairs had been smashed.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Jin Jin Yanfeng flew into a rage, cursing on the street, "You bastards, the old man was just eating a prison meal, I wasn't dead, yet you were in such a hurry to ransack my belongings!"

"Hehe~"

A beggar covered in sores sleeping in the corner laughed upon hearing this, "Old Blind Man, you didn't keep your eyes open, invited disaster, and caused everyone to be unable to do business for several days; you have to compensate us."

"Compensate your mother's egg!"

Jin Jin Yanfeng cursed, "It's you, Old Lame, who is dishonest; I even treat you to drinks on weekdays, get lost next time."

Although he cursed fiercely, he didn't ask any more questions, but his expression turned gloomy, and he whispered, "Someone else has been here, quick, take the things and go!"

Clearly, this old beggar was using secret language to warn him.

The secret languages of the martial world in various places, although mostly similar, had differences; some people even created their own jargon, which outsiders couldn't understand at all.

Li Yan and the others didn't ask any more questions and followed Jin Jin Yanfeng into the broken shop.

But the old man didn't look at the damage in the shop at all, ran to the corner in two or three steps, dug around in the soil with both hands, and pulled out a leather bag.

Seeing this, Li Yan was somewhat surprised.

This leather bag looked gray and unremarkable, just ordinary dog skin, but it could actually isolate supernatural detection; it was clearly a spiritual treasure.

Jin Jin Yanfeng had been mixing in the Ghost Market for years, and clearly had gotten some good things.

The old man didn't look at it carefully, stuffed the leather bag directly into his bosom, and whispered to the group, "Go!"

Li Yan nodded, but as soon as they stepped out, he felt a chill in his heart and pulled Jin Jin Yanfeng behind him.

But they saw a man with a cold expression walking out of a wooden house in the distance, dressed in a black robe; he didn't talk nonsense, slowly drawing his saber as he walked.

Clang!

The saber light was sharp and chilling.

And in the corner opposite, the old beggar who wanted to warn them had already had his mouth covered from behind, and with a flash of saber light, his throat was slit.

The man with the cold expression raised his saber slightly:

"Hand over the things, and I'll leave you a whole corpse."

While speaking, over a dozen people quickly ran over from the stalls in the distance, guarding all the exits and surrounding them.

"Chang Family Saber?"

Looking at the stance of the man holding the saber, Li Yan's eyes narrowed.

"Be careful, it's the people from the Commandant's Office..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 631 =====