The Post Sky Tipping Era
Chapter 134 - 116: The Mud Horse Elder

Chapter 134: Chapter 116: The Mud Horse Elder

Li Yi had a clear goal and acted with great determination, not dragging his feet at all.

Despite being eyed by some sinister figures as he sped along the way, it didn’t matter to him.

Once he purchased a Mud Horse, Li Yi would immediately take Zhao Qian and leave Ghost Street on it. Time was of the essence, and they couldn’t afford to delay.

Soon.

A familiar small street appeared before Li Yi’s eyes.

"This is it, the place where I bought the Coffin Ganoderma and the Mud Horse last time," Li Yi quickly entered the street.

Just like before, there were many strange and quirky individuals silent, squatting, standing, or lying askew by the roadside, displaying a variety of goods for sale in front of them—paper figures, paper clothes, coffins, spiritual tablets, burial objects...

Li Yi didn’t travel far down the street.

A familiar stall caught his eye.

It belonged to a deathly still, emaciated old man, who sat cross-legged in front of the stall, head bowed deeply, appearing either asleep or as though he had been dead for days, emitting not a hint of the living but instead a faint stench, like a corpse. However, some goods were laid out in front of his stall,

which had changed significantly since last time.

Li Yi stood at the stall, his eyes searching continuously.

"Which item are you looking at?" the old man’s low, hoarse voice emerged, showing he was still alive, not dead.

"??"

Under his mask, Li Yi’s expression turned odd, and his gaze lingered on the old man.

Was I just insulted?

"I’m looking for a Mud Horse," Li Yi stated immediately.

"The Mud Horses have been sold out," the emaciated old man now slowly lifted his head, his cloudy eyes glancing over and seemingly recognizing Li Yi.

After all, how could he forget the only person daring enough to spend sixty years of lifespan on Coffin Ganoderma? Yet strangely, the eighty-year lifespan he’d earned last time had not been cashed in. Could it be that the ghost soldiers and Yin Generals had failed to collect lifespan from this young man?

The collection of lifespan, however, was none of his concern; it was out of his hands.

"What? No more Mud Horses?" Li Yi was taken aback, "I wanted to buy another Mud Horse. When will there be more for sale? I’ll come back next time."

"There won’t be any next time," the emaciated old man blurted out coldly.

Li Yi’s expression shifted at once.

If he couldn’t buy a Yin Horse, the next time he returned to Ghost Street from Xingzhou, there would be no Mud Horse available, preventing him from getting back to Tianchang City. This meant he could be trapped in Xingzhou.

This was not good news.

"No matter, I’ll look elsewhere," Li Yi didn’t want to waste time and immediately prepared to leave.

"Wait." Suddenly, the emaciated old man called out to Li Yi.

"What is it?" Li Yi stopped, turning back.

At that moment, the emaciated old man shifted slightly, revealing a faded wooden box behind him. He then slowly opened the box and took out a small horse sculpted out of clay.

Li Yi’s sharp eyes caught a glimpse of many Mud Horses laid out inside the box.

Damn.

I was almost duped, thinking this old man really had no Mud Horses to sell. Turned out he was hiding a whole bunch, just like a wholesaler.

He even suspected the old man could make the Mud Horses himself.

"Same rules, ten years of lifespan," the emaciated old man said bluntly.

Li Yi immediately turned back, "Didn’t you say you had none earlier?"

"Scarcity brings value. If I sell too many, my Mud Horses will depreciate. Ever heard of steady flow and long-term gain?" the old man replied while producing a white piece of talisman paper, "You’re a regular, so no need for further talk. Make your mark here and take the item."

As Li Yi bit his finger and drew his mark, he said, "I don’t understand anything about steady flow and long-term gain. All I see is that you’re using scarcity as a marketing trick."

"Seeing how promptly you pay, I’ll give you a 10% discount next time," the emaciated old man remarked. "Although from what I see, you don’t have much lifespan left. Not sure if I’ll have the chance to do business with you again."

If he wasn’t mistaken, Li Yi had one hundred and fifty years of lifespan, and now less than half of it remained.

"Don’t worry, I am a cultivator. I will be immortal one day and will be able to buy your entire stall," Li Yi said. "I’m more concerned about you. At your age, it doesn’t look like you would last many more years. If you’re about to die one day, let me know. I’ll buy a few Mud Horses in advance to avoid the trouble of not being able to find them later."

"If I die, someone else will take over this stall, the craft of making Mud Horses won’t be lost. You can rest assured," the emaciated old man smirked, casting a murky gaze at Li Yi.

"That’s good. Next time, I’ll buy more Mud Horses, so you’d better be willing to sell them."

Having obtained the Mud Horse, Li Yi no longer had time to chat with the old man. He quickly took Zhao Qian and left swiftly.

The old man watched Li Yi leave and then reverted to his previous demeanor, bowing his head and sitting cross-legged before his stall, a complete picture of lifelessness.

Li Yi returned to the main thoroughfare of Ghost Street with Zhao Qian, not walking far before immediately finding a relatively safer spot to stop; he then quickly took out a clay horse and placed it on the ground.

"Drip a few drops of blood on it, and the clay horse will transform into a Mud Horse, taking us back to Master’s side."

Zhao Qian nodded, bit her finger, and dripped fresh blood onto the clay horse.

Very soon.

A familiar yet bizarre scene occurred.

The clay horse, nourished by the fresh blood, started to transform immediately. A black Yin wind arose around it, whirling as if forming a small tornado, and within this dark wind, the neighing of a fierce horse could be heard.

Before their eyes appeared a robust steed, modeled from a lump of clay.

The steed snorted, emitting black Qi, an aura of eerie darkness surrounding it.

Li Yi leapt onto the back of the Yin Horse and then extended his hand, saying, "Miss Zhao, let’s go save Master."

Zhao Qian reached out her hand and was immediately pulled onto the horse.

Li Yi secured her in front of him, gripping the Yin Horse tightly to prevent them from being jolted off during the ride.

They had just made their preparations.

The Yin Horse reared and neighed, then bolted like a wild beast, charging recklessly through Ghost Street without the slightest regard for the Vengeful Ghosts wandering the path, even causing misfortune to some fierce ghosts, which were struck and sent flying by the Yin Horse.

Seeing this, Li Yi slightly understood.

Why the clay horse was so expensive, costing ten years of life span.

It turned out this thing was not only capable of taking people back to their kin but also served as a mount to repel fierce ghosts.

"What incredible speed."

Zhao Qian was taken aback at this moment; she felt the surroundings flying back at a frantic pace, her vision blurring, as if she was mounting the clouds and riding the mist. Just as she was coming to grips with reality, she saw they were about to leave Ghost Street.

"The speed of the Yin Horse is astonishingly fast. I hope everything goes smoothly and it doesn’t disintegrate midway like last time," Li Yi thought to himself, also feeling a bit anxious.

This time he was truly leaving the familiar city for an unknown world.

Along with the galloping of the Yin Horse.

In a short while, Li Yi and Zhao Qian had completely left Ghost Street, but the scenery around them was no longer the familiar high-rise buildings, but an open, pitch-black wilderness. The wilderness seemed endless, stretching all the way to the distant horizon, and above their heads appeared a strange constellation of stars.

The stars twinkled brightly, and two pale-red moons hung side by side, high in the sky, adding an eerie ambiance.

Li Yi raised his head slightly to look and felt his heart tremble.

Indeed.

He had successfully arrived in an unfamiliar place; this was no longer within Earth’s domain.

"Since I’ve made the preparations to visit Xingzhou, there’s nothing to worry about. My family has relatives to look after them, and I’ve left enough nutrient solution to last several months. I can go back after dealing with Master’s situation," Li Yi thought to himself.

"Brother Yi, I’ve reached Xingzhou. I passed through here before when I was fleeing with my father..." Zhao Qian’s voice came from in front of Li Yi, filled with excitement.

Everything seemed somewhat surreal, as if she really was riding a Yin Horse with Brother Yi to find her father.

Li Yi felt somewhat oppressed at the moment, thinking that this place was no longer Ghost Street; he took off the human skin mask and carefully put it into his backpack before saying, "Are you sure this was the direction in which Master fled?"

"Certain, I remember it very clearly. We dug a hole here and took a short rest," Zhao Qian declared confidently.

"That’s right; the Yin Horse will seek out your closest kin. If the direction is correct, that means Master is still alive, not dead. It looks like my earlier thoughts were correct. And with the speed of the Yin Horse, we should be able to see Master very soon. However, considering the presence of enemies, we must be fully prepared before that," Li Yi said seriously.

"Yes," Zhao Qian clenched her fist, ready for battle.

Li Yi then noticed another detail.

As the Yin Horse galloped across the wilderness, its body showed no signs of damage.

This was quite different from their previous return to the danger zone.

In the danger zone, the Yin Horse would sustain damage after running for a distance; large chunks of mud would fall from its body, and in the end, it would no longer be able to hold on and would simply disintegrate.

"Right, I remember now; our world has been polluted, even Vengeful Ghosts couldn’t live normally. Since the Mud Horse is a kind of ghost, it should also be like a ghost. That’s why it started to deteriorate and disintegrate upon leaving Ghost Street and entering the danger zone. It made me think the Yin Horse was just a one-time-use item," Li Yi finally understood the true nature of the Yin Horse.

Lacking experience and not understanding it fully before, he hadn’t considered pollution, but now as the Yin Horse galloped across the land of Xingzhou and with a point of comparison, he finally found the reason.

Indeed, you live and learn. With more experience naturally comes more understanding.