12: Close your eyes and see Qi. Who is writing on the cloth?

As dawn broke, the first ray of light pierced through the clouds, bathing Mount Longhu in a pale golden hue.

Zhang Xuanyi remained seated before his dilapidated blue cloth stall, his eyes tightly closed, his expression as solemn as a stone statue in meditation.

His fingertips gently traced the rough surface of the cloth, touch no longer his sole sense.

He was attempting to harness the unexpected gift left after the Blind Calamity—the nascent form of Spiritual Sight.

With a thought, the entire world in his “eyes” dramatically deconstructed, reassembling into a different scene.

It was no longer solid matter, but a shimmering ocean of energy.

The yellowed talismans on the stall, their residual faint spiritual qi, resembled delicate golden threads, spiraling and weaving; deep beneath the earth where he sat, the earth veins’ yin qi converged into a turbulent, dark river, profound and vast; he could even “see” Su Qingzhu nearby, wiping her sword hilt, the aura of life within her, though weak, burning stubbornly like a candle in the wind.

This was an unprecedented sense of control, as if the world had shed its disguise, revealing its most fundamental truth before him.

Zhang Xuanyi slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of golden light passing through them, and he exhaled a long, turbid breath.

The Blind Calamity had passed, but this “Spiritual Sight,” which allowed him to perceive the essence of all things, was now imprinted upon his soul.

Just as he was about to delve deeper into this new ability, a rapid series of footsteps approached from afar. Crippled Chen stumbled over, his face a mixture of terror and fanaticism.

“Daoist priest! Daoist priest! Last night… last night I didn’t dare to say it, but I saw… on your tattered cloth, there were words moving! Truly, words were moving!”

Zhang Xuanyi’s heart jolted violently, as if a clap of thunder had exploded in his mind.

He immediately closed his eyes again, immersing his entire consciousness into his Spiritual Sight, “staring” intently at the cloth stall before him.

This time, he saw it clearly.

The previously scattered and chaotic spiritual energy now seemed to possess life, slowly wriggling, converging, and outlining under his gaze.

Strokes intertwined, and finally, three ancient, vigorous characters coalesced in the center of the cloth, exuding an aura of timeless antiquity—

Keeper of Artifacts!

In an instant, fragments of memory were strung together by these three words.

The Deaf-Mute Daoist Child, that mysterious figure, that bamboo slip engraved with the character “ start” (Qi)!

He unhesitatingly pulled the bamboo slip from his embrace; it felt warm and smooth to the touch.

Under Spiritual Sight, a faint glow also circulated within the bamboo slip.

He turned it over, his thumb carefully caressing the back, and finally, at the edge, he felt almost imperceptible, extremely fine etchings.

He channeled his spiritual qi into his fingertip, slowly tracing the etchings, and a line of small characters clearly appeared in his mind:

“The Myriad Laws are eternal, their legacy passed down; the Artifact Spirit chooses its master, only the pure of heart may inherit.”

Zhang Xuanyi felt as if struck by lightning, his mind suddenly enlightened.

He understood!

This street stall, this seemingly tattered blue cloth, was not some inanimate object at all!

It was a living “filter,” a supreme treasure with an Artifact Spirit!

It had been waiting, sifting, searching for the “Keeper of Artifacts” who could inherit its mission!

And he, Zhang Xuanyi, was the chosen one!

As his thoughts churned, Su Qingzhu quietly approached him, handing him a mobile phone.

On the screen, a processed video was playing, showing the Hall of Law Enforcement members clearing the scene after last night’s fierce battle.

Su Qingzhu paused the video, pointing to a corner of the stall.

There, captured by the camera, a row of ethereal figures made of spiritual light flashed by, too quickly for the naked eye to perceive.

After slow-motion and sharpening, the line of characters clearly appeared: “Xuanmen’s lineage broken, Myriad Laws await continuation.”

These eight characters were identical to the inscription on the back of the “ mysterious” (Xuan) character copper piece he had found in Zhao Family Village!

“I’ve looked up some information,” Su Qingzhu’s voice was low, tinged with gravity, “‘Xuanmen’ was another name for the Wanfa Pavilion three hundred years ago. What you’re fighting against is probably not just a few abnormals, or the Hall of Law Enforcement of Mount Longhu. You’re fighting against an entire… old order that sealed history and is trying to bury it forever.”

Old order… Zhang Xuanyi chewed on these three words, feeling a heavy pressure, like a mountain, settling on his shoulders.

In the afternoon, the mountain wind picked up, rustling through the forest.

Li Songyang appeared alone outside the mountain gate.

He brought no Hall of Law Enforcement members, simply wearing an ordinary blue Daoist robe, standing a short distance away with a complex expression, his gaze fixed on the blue cloth before Zhang Xuanyi.

After a long while, he finally stepped forward, his voice hoarse and low: “Last night, I checked the Hall of Law Enforcement’s secret archives.”

His eyes did not look at Zhang Xuanyi, but seemed to pierce through time, gazing into the distant past.

“Three hundred years ago, on the day the Wanfa Pavilion was destroyed, the first Qingyuan Envoy of the Hall of Law Enforcement personally gouged out the eyes of that generation’s Keeper of Artifacts, using blood as a sacrifice to seal that supreme treasure which could ‘impart Daoist methods to the people.’ The secret archives recorded that the Qingyuan Envoy said, ‘The wisdom of the common people must not be awakened, Daoist methods must not be lightly transmitted; this is the Way of Heaven.’”

At this point, Li Songyang finally raised his eyes, looking at Zhang Xuanyi with an almost equal gaze for the first time.

In those eyes, usually as cold as iron, a rare trace of struggle and bewilderment emerged.

“What they fear is that Daoist methods will no longer be monopolized by a few. What they fear is that everyone in the world can become a dragon. If you… if you can truly restart the path of returning the Myriad Laws to the people… perhaps I… should not stop you.”

His words were difficult, as if each word drained all his strength.

However, before he finished speaking, with a soft “boom,” a communication talisman in his sleeve suddenly ignited, transforming into a fiery red blaze!

From within the flames, a majestic and cold voice rang out, spreading in all directions: “Hall of Law Enforcement Order: Three days from now, a street stall hearing will be held at the Dharma Preaching Platform. The party involved, Zhang Xuanyi, must attend. If he fails to appear by the deadline, he will immediately be listed as a Class A wanted criminal, to be punished by all of Xuanmen!”

Li Songyang’s face instantly turned pale. He clenched his fist tightly, watching the flames extinguish and turn to ash.

He gave a bitter smile, said not another word, and turned to leave, his back forlorn and helpless.

The night was like ink, enveloping the entire Mount Longhu.

Zhang Xuanyi ignored the ultimatum; his entire mind was immersed in the tattered cloth stall before him.

Hearing? Wanted? Before finding the true path, these were merely fleeting clouds.

He took a deep breath, placing the three array cores he had obtained from the Zhao Family Village underground palace, along with the “ start” (Qi) character bamboo slip, solemnly in the center of the cloth stall.

Then, he closed his eyes, activating his Spiritual Sight with full power!

He was no longer passively observing, but actively guiding.

He mobilized the faint but pure spiritual qi within his body, carefully injecting it into the bamboo slip.

“Activate!” he silently chanted in his mind.

In an instant, the cloth surface suddenly grew hot, and the three array cores buzzed, emitting three different colored lights!

The lights intertwined with the spiritual glow on the bamboo slip, as if guided by something, madly surging into the blue cloth!

The entire cloth stall glowed as bright as day!

The previously scattered spiritual qi now resembled soldiers who had found their commander, converging, arranging, and extending at an unprecedented speed!

A complex diagram slowly unfolded on the cloth surface—it was a fragmented map!

The lines of the map were formed by light, with rolling mountains and winding rivers. Finally, all the lines pointed to the same place—the back mountain of Mount Longhu, a place marked as a forbidden area, with two ancient seal script characters beside it: Scripture Abyss.

The moment the map formed, a cold, mechanical voice sounded directly in his mind:

【Detected complete “Keeper of Artifacts” tokens collected, unlocking hidden mission: Myriad Laws Return to the People · First Lesson.】

【Mission Objective: Three days later, at the Mount Longhu hearing, give a lesson… a Dao that everyone can understand.】

【Mission Reward: ???】

【Failure Penalty: Soul annihilation.】

Zhang Xuanyi slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and piercing.

He was about to memorize the map and pack up his stall when a small, dark figure appeared before him like a ghost.

It was the Deaf-Mute Daoist Child.

He remained silent, simply gazing at the glowing map, then dipped his slender finger into a puddle of still-wet rainwater nearby, and lightly wrote a single character on a corner of the blue cloth.

After writing, he looked deeply at Zhang Xuanyi, his eyes complex and unreadable, containing both expectation and pity, then turned and silently melted into the thick night, as if he had never appeared.

Zhang Xuanyi looked down at the character “ deep” (Yuan) written in water, then looked up towards the brightly lit Hall of Law Enforcement in the distance, sensing the faint, almost imperceptible murderous aura in the air.

He suddenly laughed, from a low chuckle to a final, unrestrained, wild laugh, his laughter echoing before the silent mountain gate, filled with endless heroism and defiance.

“Good! A fine hearing! A fine ‘punished by all of Xuanmen’! You all want to see me die, want to see how I’ll be utterly ruined, is that it?”

He abruptly stood up, grabbing the two corners of the tattered cloth stall, and gave it a mighty shake!

Whoosh!

The previously scattered yellow papers, mung beans, candies, copper coins… on the stall instantly returned to their proper places as if alive, neatly arranged.

In his Spiritual Sight, at this moment, every seemingly ordinary item emitted its own unique faint glow.

The faint golden qi on the paper cutter, the vitality contained within the mung beans, the tiny power of wishes condensed in the candies… bit by bit, cluster by cluster, though not dazzling, they connected into a shimmering expanse, like a single spark igniting a prairie fire, blooming with breathtaking beauty in the deep night.

“Then I will go and teach you all a lesson!”

Zhang Xuanyi’s voice resounded through the night sky, filled with fearless fighting spirit.

“What it means when the Dao is in the marketplace, and the Dharma is among the people!”

In the distance, atop the cloud-shrouded mountain peak, a white-robed figure stood suspended in the air, robes fluttering, like an exiled immortal.

Li Wujiu stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the single spark igniting the prairie fire before the mountain gate, sensing the resolute aura rising to the heavens, a faint smile gracing his lips.

He murmured to himself, his voice scattered by the mountain wind: “The fire of Myriad Laws, it’s been three hundred years… finally, it’s going to burn again.”

The night deepened. The wind grew colder.

A storm destined to overturn the entire Xuanmen order was quietly brewing and taking shape above Mount Longhu.

And the center of that storm was merely a street stall, about to begin its lesson.