2: Yellow paper attracts evil spirits, night attacks on stalls

The night wind was chilling, whistling through the dilapidated window frame, emitting a mournful wail.

Zhang Xuanyi had just shoved half a cold steamed bun into his mouth, before he could even savor the faint wheat aroma, a hurried and shrill gong suddenly rang out from the village below the mountain.

“Dong! Dong! Dong——”

The sound seemed to rip through the silent night, filled with panic and despair.

Zhang Xuanyi shot up, rushed out of the woodshed in a few steps, and stood on his tiptoes to look down the mountain.

He saw a thick, visible black aura rising into the sky from the direction of Crippled Chen’s house, like an ink-black venomous python ready to devour someone, roaring ferociously.

However, just as the black aura was about to spread, a bright talisman light exploded from within the Chen family courtyard, forcefully suppressing the black aura back!

Although the talisman light was bright, it carried a trembling hint of diminishing power, clearly unable to last much longer.

But even so, its power far exceeded any evil-dispelling talisman Zhang Xuanyi had drawn himself.

He abruptly lowered his head, looking at the warm tattered cloth in his arms, and a thought that made his heart pound wildly surged forth—the talisman Crippled Chen had asked for that afternoon was one he had copied using “photocopy yellow paper”!

That talisman light was clearly more than just a little bit stronger than the original official talismans from the Tianshi Mansion!

This broken thing actually had an enhancing effect?

Before he could process this astonishing discovery, a low laugh, as if from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds, echoed without warning from deep within the mountain forest.

The laugh was light and airy, yet carried a heavy, substantial quality, like countless wronged souls sighing together among tombstones, piercing his ears and directly assailing his soul.

“Three hundred years… Someone has finally touched the ‘Source of All Laws’.”

Before he finished speaking, a white figure tore through the darkness.

He seemed unbound by gravity, walking barefoot, stepping through the air from the distant treetops.

The moonlight shone down, illuminating his wildly flowing snow-white hair and his pristine white Daoist robe, untouched by dust.

The most eerie thing was the palm of his open left hand, where a reverse Bagua talisman array made of pure Yin Qi slowly rotated, each rotation causing the surrounding air to condense into frost.

The newcomer was Li Wujiu!

His gaze was like two unsheathed sharp swords, piercing through dozens of feet, accurately locking onto Zhang Xuanyi in the woodshed, and the tattered cloth he instinctively clutched to his chest.

“photocopy yellow paper… It can even copy talismans from the Tianshi Mansion? And enhance their effect?” Li Wujiu’s lips curled into a cold, fervent arc, “Good! What a ‘Return of All Laws to the People’ beginning!”

The moment he was locked on by that gaze, all the blood in Zhang Xuanyi’s body seemed to freeze.

A primal fear, stemming from the instinct of life, made his hands and feet cold, and cold sweat instantly drenched the single layer of clothing on his back.

This was a terrifying pressure he had never felt in his two lifetimes combined, as if an ant was being indifferently watched by a god overlooking the human world.

He instinctively clutched the tattered cloth tightly to his chest, as if it were his only lifesaver.

Fear was fear, but he refused to lose face, sticking out his neck and shouting, “Where did this old man come from! Don’t you know the rules? Peeking at a young Daoist bathing in the middle of the night, aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?”

Li Wujiu was startled at first, then let out a disdainful sneer, “Sharp-tongued.”

He couldn’t be bothered with more nonsense; dealing with such a minor character required no extra words.

With a gentle flick of his wide sleeve, a visible blast of Yin wind instantly materialized, transforming into a jet-black sharp blade, tearing through the air with a shriek, and directly slashing towards the wooden door of the woodshed!

This strike was enough to reduce the entire woodshed, along with Zhang Xuanyi inside, to dust!

Zhang Xuanyi’s pupils contracted sharply, his mind went blank, and the shadow of death instantly engulfed him.

He wanted to dodge, but his body was stiff and unresponsive.

Just at this critical moment, an unexpected change occurred!

The tattered cloth in his arms suddenly flew out on its own, instantly soaring into the air, and automatically unfolded with a “whoosh” in front of him.

On the cloth, lines of complex runes Zhang Xuanyi had never seen before flashed like flowing light, finally coalescing into a translucent light barrier in front of the door.

Temporary Stall Protection Barrier (Duration: 3 minutes)

A line of light blue virtual text flashed on the barrier and disappeared.

“Boom!”

The black blade formed by the Yin wind crashed heavily onto the barrier, but instead of the expected shattering sound, it was like a mud ox entering the sea, exploding into ripples of golden light.

The violent energy shockwave spread outwards, even scraping away a layer of topsoil from the ground outside the woodshed!

Zhang Xuanyi was so shocked he nearly bit his tongue, his heart trembling violently: “This… this tattered cloth can even defend itself?!”

A hint of astonishment finally flickered in Li Wujiu’s ancient, unmoving eyes.

He stared intently at the seemingly fragile yet incredibly resilient barrier, muttering, “A stall with a spirit? No… no, this isn't a spirit artifact, this is… a system-type exotic treasure!”

The fervor in his eyes intensified.

If it could only copy talismans, it would merely be a “tool,” but if it was a system-type exotic treasure with its own rules, then it would be a “Dao foundation” capable of overturning the entire cultivation world’s structure!

Li Wujiu no longer probed.

He cast aside his contempt, and the reverse Bagua talisman array in his left palm suddenly accelerated its counter-rotation.

In heaven and earth, endless Yin Qi seemed to be summoned by an emperor, frantically converging in his palm.

A talisman seal, a hundred times more terrifying than the previous wind blade, materialized in his palm.

“Law-Breaking Talisman Seal!”

With a low shout, he struck out with his palm through the air.

The jet-black talisman seal flew from his hand, growing explosively against the wind, transforming into a massive imprint like a small mountain, carrying the terrifying might to crush all laws, and slammed down towards the small stall protection barrier!

“Buzz—!”

The barrier vibrated violently, its light flickering erratically, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface, clearly on the verge of collapse.

The three-minute countdown, under this immense pressure, seemed to be compressed into a few seconds!

Zhang Xuanyi’s mind raced to its limit at this moment.

Run?

Absolutely no way to outrun him!

Beg for mercy?

Judging by the other party’s demeanor, the probability of him killing himself and taking the treasure was one hundred percent!

What to do? What to do?!

In a flash, his gaze swept over the blank “photocopy yellow paper” he had thrown on the firewood pile.

An extremely crazy idea surged into his mind.

He lunged forward, grabbed the last remaining yellow paper, bit his index finger without hesitation, and pressed a drop of fresh blood firmly onto the paper!

He didn’t have time to think about specific operational commands, he just used all his mental power to frantically shout in his mind: “Copy! Copy that talisman he just unleashed for me!”

“Buzz!”

The blood-stained yellow paper emitted a faint glow.

Immediately after, an incredible scene unfolded.

The complex runic structure of the “Law-Breaking Talisman Seal” suspended in mid-air, about to crush the barrier, was actually captured by the yellow paper from afar, and rapidly imprinted onto the paper in a reverse, inverted structure!

Almost the instant the talisman seal was imprinted, Zhang Xuanyi had a flash of inspiration, and without thinking, he slammed the scorching hot copied talisman in his hand onto the ground with all his might!

“Go back for me!”

One positive, one negative, two “Law-Breaking Talisman Seals” clashed violently in mid-air!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a muffled sound capable of annihilating the soul.

Two forces of law, originating from the same source yet diametrically opposed, annihilated each other, forming a temporary energy black hole.

The talisman seal unleashed by Li Wujiu, along with the reverse talisman seal copied by Zhang Xuanyi, both turned into nothingness.

“Pfft!”

Li Wujiu grunted abruptly, as if struck by lightning, staggering back half a step.

Beneath his pristine white Daoist robe, at his chest, illusory black chain images flashed by, revealing that he had been Backlash by his own most prized unique talisman power, triggering the seal within his body!

He stared in disbelief at Zhang Xuanyi and the yellow paper in his hand that had already turned to ashes, his voice for the first time filled with horror: “You… you can even copy my unique talisman?!”

How could this be!

The Law-Breaking Talisman Seal was something he created by combining ancient fragments and his own Daoist methods; he was the only one in the world who could use it, and its legal structure was incomparably complex. Let alone copying it, even a fellow Daoist in the Land Immortal realm might have their soul Backlash by merely looking at it!

Yet this young man, who hadn’t even touched the threshold of cultivation, actually copied it in reverse with a piece of tattered paper?!

While Li Wujiu’s mind was reeling from the setback, the “Temporary Stall Protection Barrier” held on until its final countdown.

With a flash of light, it quietly vanished.

Zhang Xuanyi’s survival instinct overwhelmed everything; he scrambled and rolled, hiding in the thick pile of firewood behind him, only his wide, startled eyes visible.

Li Wujiu clutched his faintly aching chest, the towering rage and uncontrollable ecstasy in his eyes intertwined, making his handsome, god-like face appear somewhat distorted.

“Interesting… truly interesting!” he muttered with a low laugh, his voice echoing throughout the entire back mountain, “photocopy yellow paper, not only can it break the monopoly of talismans, but it can even Backlash the original owner… If this item can be passed down, the high walls and shackles built by the so-called orthodox talisman paths of Tianshi Mansion and Mount Longhu will crumble in an instant!”

He did not attack again.

One Backlash had already destabilized the seal within him; furthermore, his interest in this “photocopy yellow paper” had far surpassed the idea of killing Zhang Xuanyi.

“Young Daoist, you’ve already entered the game.” Li Wujiu’s gaze pierced through the firewood pile, saying coldly, “Guard your treasure well. At this time tomorrow, I will surely return.”

As his voice fell, his figure, like a wisp of smoke, dispersed with the wind, as if he had never appeared.

A deathly silence enveloped the woodshed.

After an unknown period, a cold, mechanical prompt sounded in Zhang Xuanyi’s mind:

“Ding! Successfully repelled a high-level Stranger (Quasi-Land Immortal), hidden quest complete!”

“System evaluation: Host, with a mortal body, intelligently repelled a powerful enemy, S+ rating for challenging above your level, rewards greatly increased!”

“System level raised to Lv.2!”

“Reward 1: Unlocked ‘heavenly eye mung beans’ official version, inventory × 10.”

“Reward 2: Activated ‘Special Customer Request’ quest line.”

Zhang Xuanyi was completely drained, slumping onto the cold ground, gasping for breath.

He looked down at his still slightly trembling hands, then at the warm, tattered cloth that had automatically flown back into his arms, his mind a chaotic mess.

Leveled up? Rewards? And new quests?

But none of this could dilute the fear of surviving a catastrophe in his heart, and the greater confusion and unease that followed.

He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse as if abraded by sandpaper: “Did I… did I just provoke something I shouldn’t have?”

The night grew deeper, and the mountain wind brought bone-chilling cold.

Zhang Xuanyi huddled beside the firewood pile, feeling for the first time that this dilapidated Daoist temple where he had lived for over a decade had become so strange and dangerous.

He knew that from tonight onwards, everything would be different.

That madman named Li Wujiu was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.

And his only reliance was this mysterious tattered cloth.

He closed his eyes wearily, but in his mind, Li Wujiu’s fervent yet cold gaze, and the deathly prophecy, “At this time tomorrow, I will surely return,” played repeatedly.

This night was destined to be sleepless.