18: Specializes in treating all kinds of dissatisfaction

Three days after the hearing, the sea of clouds on Mount Longhu surged like a boiling pot.

Zhang Xuanyi was still tending his dilapidated stall, idly squatting on a small stool, cracking melon seeds and spitting the shells all over the ground.

Just as he was about to change his posture, the light from above suddenly dimmed, and a strong atmospheric pressure descended, as if an invisible giant beast had torn through the air.

He squinted up, only to see a pitch-black helicopter tear through the thick clouds and mist. The Vermilion Bird totem, born from fire, on the side of its fuselage gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the sunlight, arrogant and overbearing.

The helicopter showed no intention of landing, hovering a hundred zhang above the mountain gate. The strong winds stirred up by its propellers made the pine trees along the mountain path roar, kicking up sand and stones.

“Click—”

The cabin door slid open, and a precise mechanical arm slowly extended, its claw clamping three crystal-clear objects.

As the mechanical arm released them, the three crystals, like meteors trailing their tails, drew three dazzling arcs of light and fell precisely onto the flat ground at the end of the stone steps. “Thud! Thud! Thud!” Three dull thuds, and they embedded themselves deeply into the hard bluestone slabs, a third of the way in!

These were three fist-sized spirit crystals, sealed within them pure Qi flow of a hundred years’ cultivation. Their light shimmered like three beating hearts, emitting a palpable energy fluctuation.

Some young Daoists near the mountain gate, who were meditating, felt the surrounding spiritual energy instantly thicken several times over. Their faces flushed, and they almost lost their breath.

A slip of paper, carried by the turbulent winds from the rotor, fluttered down and finally landed in front of Zhang Xuanyi’s stall.

“photocopy yellow paper technology, valued at three hundred spirit coins, exclusive usage rights bought out. Sincerely, Yan Jiuzhang.”

The handwriting was strong and forceful, exuding an undeniable dominance.

Three hundred spirit coins was enough to bankrupt a mid-tier sect, yet it was now only for buying out a “photocopying” technique he had casually fiddled with.

Behind a tree, Su Qingzhu poked her head out, lowering her voice, her tone filled with gravity: “What’s this guy’s background? He throws out three hundred years’ worth of spirit crystals right off the bat… Zhang Xuanyi, is he trying to buy you off with money, or test you with his life?”

Zhang Xuanyi picked up the slip of paper, rubbing it between his fingertips, feeling a faint, cold aura lingering on it.

He spat the melon seed shells to the side, a sharpness unbefitting his age flashing deep in his eyes, and grinned: “Neither.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three spirit crystals radiating deadly allure, his voice low and clear: “He’s trying to shackle me with ‘order’.”

In this world, some cultivate the Dharma, some comprehend it, and some transmit it.

But what this Yan Jiuzhang wanted to do was monopolize, price, and set the rules.

His stall, this anomaly that didn’t bargain but only sought “sincerity,” had clearly touched the other party’s most sensitive nerve.

The helicopter circled in the air for a moment, like a raptor patrolling its territory, then changed direction and roared away, disappearing into the depths of the sea of clouds.

That night, everything was silent.

Zhang Xuanyi sat cross-legged behind his stall. The three spirit crystals were still embedded in the distance, like three bright lamps, radiating constant light and heat.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his mind.

“Warning: High-purity spiritual energy aggregate (spirit crystal) detected. Can be used as fuel for system upgrade.”

“Special Reminder: This level of spiritual energy contains the will of heaven and earth. Forcibly absorbing an excessive amount will trigger a ‘Qi Tribulation’—heavenly backlash, thunder and fire burning the body, soul annihilated!”

Zhang Xuanyi’s brows furrowed.

Qi Tribulation, that was no laughing matter.

Ordinary cultivators facing tribulation had a one-in-ten chance of survival.

His small physique, plus a system of unknown origin, to directly confront heavenly backlash?

It was like throwing an egg at a rock.

His fingertips unconsciously stroked the worn stall cloth.

Just then, a strange scene occurred.

In his spiritual vision, the three spirit crystals in the distance seemed like living things, their light pulsating with his heartbeat, creating a profound resonance with the tattered cloth beneath him.

A stream of information, not through the system, but directly from the cloth surface, poured into his mind.

He suddenly remembered A Che, the young Daoist who had just entered the inner sect, who had excitedly whispered to him after finding a tattered scroll while cleaning the Scripture Pavilion: “Senior Brother, Senior Brother! I saw a saying in a broken book called ‘Records of Dao Market’s Lost Tales’ that in ancient times, the Grand Pure Dao Ancestor once had a ‘Myriad Dharma Cloth.’ When spread out, it became a Dao field, capable of containing all the Dharma in the world, and even turning the Virtual into Reality, creating all things by thought… Do you think our broken stall might be that legendary item?”

At the time, he dismissed it as a child’s nonsense, laughing it off.

But now… Zhang Xuanyi’s heart trembled violently, and he missed half a beat in his breath.

He looked down at the greasy, dirty, tattered cloth that no one would pick up if it were thrown on the street, and murmured to himself: “No wonder… no wonder it doesn’t take money, only so-called ‘sincerity’… It turns out what it recognizes has never been ‘price,’ but ‘Dao’!”

Human hearts, intentions, and vows—these ethereal things were the true currency that drove it!

On the fourth day, the sky was overcast.

The pitch-black Vermilion Bird helicopter arrived as scheduled. This time, it brought not temptation, but naked intimidation.

The cabin door slid open, and three ominous objects radiating a strong, ill-boding aura were ruthlessly dropped.

The first was a tattered strip of cloth, dark yellow, as if it had just been peeled off a century-old corpse. Twisted runes were drawn on it with foul blood. The moment it landed, a chilling corpse aura exploded!

The second was a rusty broken sword, its blade soaked with long-dried black blood, emanating towering resentment, as if countless Revenant could be heard wailing within it.

The third, the most disgusting, was a palm-sized black pottery jar that shattered in mid-air. Inside, a colorful poisonous Gu worm wriggled and fell to the ground, instantly turning into a pool of emerald green venom that corroded the bluestone slab with a “sizzling” sound, emitting plumes of poisonous smoke!

The three ominous objects exploded simultaneously. Corpse aura, resentment, and poison gas, mixed with filth, soared into the sky, polluting this pure land in front of the Mount Longhu gate as if it were a demonic purgatory.

Soon, the Daoists from the Hall of Law Enforcement arrived upon hearing the news, their faces ashen. They quickly set up a barrier, sealed off the scene, and used purification talismans to dispel the filth little by little.

The one leading the team was Li Songyang. He cast a distant glance at Zhang Xuanyi, his eyes complex, and finally only sent someone to relay a message: “Junior Martial Uncle, the Headmaster said, ‘No more than three.’ If such misfortune happens again, regardless of the reason, your stall… will definitely be sealed!”

This was a warning, and a final ultimatum.

The surrounding Daoists’ gazes towards Zhang Xuanyi also changed, from previous curiosity and envy to current suspicion and estrangement.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Zhang Xuanyi not only showed no anger or panic, but instead looked as if he had found a treasure. While the Hall of Law Enforcement personnel weren’t paying attention, he quietly swept the remnants of the three ominous objects—a charred talisman cloth, a few fragments of the broken sword, and a handful of purified Gu worm ashes—all under his stall.

He ignored the gazes directed at him, only silently intoning to the system in his mind: “Using these remnants as a medium, bind an ‘Karma Imprint’ and trace it back for me!”

“Karma Imprint binding… Target locked… Tracing initiated…”

The tattered stall surface beneath him, in that instant, flashed with a subtle, almost imperceptible, faint glow.

Immediately after, a illusory image unfolded before his eyes—

In the scene, it was the interior of the Vermilion Bird helicopter’s cabin.

Yan Jiuzhang sat on a large leather seat, dressed in a well-tailored Confucian robe with gold trim, exuding an elegant demeanor, like a university professor.

But his left hand was a mechanical prosthetic hand gleaming with cold metal, its five fingers rhythmically tapping the armrest, making soft “tap, tap, tap” sounds.

There was no anger in his eyes, no satisfaction, only an unfathomable calm and calculation, as if observing the reaction of a lab rat.

“System Prompt: Target locked—Yan Jiuzhang.”

“Motive Analysis: Attempting to monopolize the circulation channels of all Dharma through the concept of ‘Dharma Industrialization,’ establishing a personal order.”

Zhang Xuanyi slowly opened his eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips. Dharma Industrialization? What grand ambition!

Time flew by, and it was the seventh day.

At noon, the scorching sun hung high in the sky.

These past few days, fearing more trouble, Zhang Xuanyi’s stall had been deserted.

However, he acted contrary to his usual self, actively stood up, fully unfolded the tattered stall surface, then took a deep breath, channeled his Qi, and his voice, like a great bell, resonated across half the mountain:

“Chairman Yan of the Under Heaven Society! You want to buy yellow paper, right? Alright! I’ve accepted your three spirit crystals! Three photocopy yellow papers, I’ll give them to you now!”

As soon as his voice fell, above the clouds, the familiar roar of an engine sounded again.

The Vermilion Bird helicopter broke through the clouds, and this time, the cabin door opened, and Yan Jiuzhang himself appeared at the door.

He was still in his Confucian robe with gold trim, a gentle smile on his face, looking down at the young Daoist on the mountain path, and said loudly: “Young Daoist has great courage. However, if you just hand over the technique like this, aren’t you afraid that I’ll take the goods and then destroy you, the source, with a backhand?”

Zhang Xuanyi grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth: “Chairman Yan is joking. What you want is the ‘replication technique,’ but what I’m selling you are three ‘talismans’.”

As he spoke, he took out three yellow papers he had already prepared from his bosom.

Two of them were ordinary photocopy talismans, with a basic “Heart Calming Talisman” clearly replicated on them.

But the third one appeared blank, clean as new.

This was his greatest gain these past few days—the “Heart Imprint Yellow Paper,” replicated through the “Myriad Dharma Cloth” using his own inner thoughts as a guide!

What it replicated was not the runes, but something more fundamental.

Yan Jiuzhang did not descend. The mechanical arm extended again and took the yellow papers.

He received them from afar. The moment his fingertips touched the blank yellow paper, a certain imprint deep within his Dantian that had been sealed for many years seemed to tremble imperceptibly.

But his cultivation was profound, and he had external objects separating him, so he dismissed it as an illusion and did not notice any abnormality.

He smiled indifferently: “Very good. At this time tomorrow, I will come to collect the remaining two hundred ninety-seven spirit crystals and complete this transaction.”

With that, he turned and returned to the cabin. The cabin door closed, the propellers roared again, and the helicopter turned and flew away.

That night, at midnight.

Inside the Vermilion Bird helicopter on its return journey, Yan Jiuzhang sat still, the three yellow papers laid flat on the table in front of him.

He picked up the blank yellow paper, his eyes gleaming with a researching light.

What he wanted to analyze was the “technique” of creating talismans out of thin air, not the talisman itself.

He took out a spare high-purity spirit crystal from his bosom, activated his Qi flow, and slowly injected it into the blank yellow paper, attempting to analyze its internal energy structure.

However, the moment the spirit crystal’s energy touched the paper surface!

A sudden change occurred!

On that blank yellow paper, countless characters suddenly appeared. They were not positive runes, but chains of inverse runes, winding backward and filled with destructive and violent aura!

Once activated, this rune chain gave him no time to react. It transformed into a faint glow and, with a “puff,” directly penetrated his protective Qi shield, rushing straight towards his Dantian Qi Sea!

Yan Jiuzhang’s face instantly changed from composed and elegant to deathly pale. His eyes widened, filled with incredible horror!

“This… This is my ‘Heavenly Gang Suppressing Prison Talisman’?! My innate talisman seed?!”

He roared, and sealed memories surged like a tide!

It turned out that back then, he had proposed the astonishing concept of “Dharma industrialization,” which violated the fundamental taboos of the Tianshi Mansion. The Old Celestial Master of that generation had personally abolished his innate talisman seed, which he had cultivated painstakingly for many years, and dispersed and sealed it deep within the forbidden grounds of Mount Longhu!

Now, Zhang Xuanyi’s “Heart Imprint Yellow Paper,” using his own greedy desire for “analysis technology” as a guide, had actually activated that abolished talisman seed seal from afar in reverse!

The talisman seed rioted, and the Qi meridians flowed backward!

“Ah—!”

Yan Jiuzhang let out a shrill, inhuman scream. The vast Qi flow he had painstakingly accumulated within his body instantly went out of control, surging wildly through his meridians like a breached flood!

His proud, precise mechanical prosthetic hand, amidst a series of electric sparks, “bang!” exploded into countless parts!

The pilot was scared out of his wits by this sudden turn of events. The helicopter instantly lost control, tumbling wildly in the night sky like a black giant bird with broken wings, dragging a long trail of fire, and plunged headfirst into the deep ravine of Mount Longhu’s back mountain!

“Boom—!!!”

A deafening roar, and flames shot into the sky, illuminating half the night sky red.

Almost at the same moment, in front of the Mount Longhu gate, Zhang Xuanyi’s stall moved without wind.

The three hundred-year-old spirit crystals that Yan Jiuzhang had left as a “deposit” seemed to be summoned by an invisible force. They simultaneously rose from the bluestone slab, flew into the air above the tattered cloth, and then their light converged, completely absorbed by the unremarkable tattered cloth, leaving no trace.

The cold system prompt sounded punctually in Zhang Xuanyi’s mind.

“Absorbing high-purity spiritual energy, system upgrading…”

“Breaking the illusory to manifest the real, leveraging the situation to upgrade… Upgrade complete!”

“New function unlocked: spirit coin exchange. Exchange rate: 1 standard spirit crystal = 100 spirit coins.”

“System Prompt: Spirit is not gold or stone, but the breath of heaven and earth, the cornerstone of all Dharma. Use with caution.”

Zhang Xuanyi slowly stood up, gazing into the distance at the soaring flames and rolling smoke from the valley. The night wind stirred his Daoist robe, making it flap loudly.

He sighed softly, his voice dissipating in the wind.

“Chairman Yan, you are so intent on industrializing all Dharma… Unfortunately, all Dharma should never be ‘produced’.”

The day after the crash, the scorched earth in the mountains still emitted residual warmth.

Zhang Xuanyi was sitting cross-legged behind his stall, calmly checking his system account: his fingertips glided lightly across the holographic panel, and lines of new data flowed past. It wasn’t just the numbers of spirit coins fluctuating, but more like a path leading to an unknown future, a path he had personally laid, slowly unfolding beneath his feet.