47: The one who buried the bottle is the one who wants to buy the bottle the most

The heavy rain had just ceased, and the first light of dawn broke through, the damp air thick with the pungent scent of soil and grass.

The bluestone pavement was washed clean, mirroring the leaden gray sky.

Zhang Xuanyi's street stall was set up once more at its usual spot.

Unlike yesterday's dazzling array of bottles and jars, today's stall only held three of the most ordinary empty glass bottles, their surfaces refracting a cold light in the morning sun.

Looking closer, one could see a line of tiny characters carved into the bottom of each bottle with a Sharp Weapon: 'Clear Liquid for Truth.'

"Ding!"

A cold System notification tone sounded abruptly in his mind.

"High-concentration, high-intensity fluctuations of greed detected within range... Conditions met for unlock. 'Greed-Inducing Talisman (Pseudo)' has been issued to the storage grid."

A playful smirk tugged at the corner of Zhang Xuanyi's mouth, but not a trace of amusement reached his eyes.

He grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, cracking them noisily, and explained to Su Qingzhu beside him, who was frowning prettily, "This thing works wonders. Once activated, it makes everyone within a hundred meters see what they desire most in their hearts—even if it's a bottomless pit of damnation, they'll jump in willingly."

Su Qingzhu's face paled further, her voice trembling slightly. "You... you're using your own life as bait! What if it gets out of control?"

"My life?" Zhang Xuanyi spat out a seed shell, his gaze drifting into the distance, his tone as detached as if discussing someone else. "I sold it to this damned System three years ago. Now, I'm just collecting the debt, principal and interest."

Before his words faded, the old dog that had been lying beside the stall, feigning sleep, suddenly raised its head.

Its golden pupils, unlike those of ordinary dogs, contracted slightly, as if piercing through the thin mist between the mountain paths, fixing intently on one direction.

At the end of the mountain path, a figure approached, holding an umbrella.

Clad in a blue Daoist robe, with an immortal's grace and bearing—it was precisely the Tianshi Mansion Elder, Xuan Weizi.

His steps were measured, his posture elegant. Only a trace of grayish-white incense ash, inadvertently staining the wide sleeve of his robe, was identical to the mark on the sleeve of the shadowy figure that had attacked the stall last night.

A suppressed growl rumbled in the old dog's throat, and all its fur stood on end.

Xuan Weizi had arrived before the stall. He closed his umbrella lightly, water droplets sliding down its edge and splashing onto the bluestone with crisp taps.

His gaze swept like lightning over the three empty bottles, finally settling on Zhang Xuanyi's lazy face. With a sharp flick of his horsetail whisk, he thundered, "Wretched Disciple Zhang Xuanyi! Your Master's bones are not yet cold, yet here you are, indulging demonic objects at your stall, deluding minds, and disrupting the order of the mountain. What is your crime!"

His voice boomed like a great bell, infused with pure Daoist True Qi, causing the surrounding air to vibrate.

Yet Zhang Xuanyi acted as if nothing had happened. He cracked another sunflower seed and lazily lifted an eyelid. "Junior Martial Uncle, you jest. My humble business can't compare to the Tianshi Mansion. But you, visiting the 'Tongxuan Hall' at the foot of the mountain late last night... could it be... you were collecting bad debts on behalf of the Tianshi Mansion?"

"You!" Xuan Weizi's face darkened.

At that very moment, a sudden change occurred!

The old dog, which had been poised and ready, lunged out like a black bolt of lightning, completely without warning!

Its target was not Xuan Weizi's vitals, but the sleeve stained with incense ash!

"You beast, how dare you!" Xuan Weizi swept his whisk urgently but was a step too slow.

With a ripping sound, the old dog's sharp teeth tore through the fabric of the Daoist robe, biting out a small package tightly wrapped in oiled paper from a hidden layer in the sleeve.

It jerked its head violently, flinging the package to land at Liu Qingyi's feet.

Liu Qingyi reacted swiftly, picking up the package and carefully opening it.

A strange smell, mingling sandalwood with decay, wafted out.

Her face changed drastically, and she exclaimed in shock, "It's the special tribute incense from the Gui Xu Well! And mixed in it... the residue of a burned Purification Talisman!"

The Gui Xu Well—the most forbidden of the Forbidden Grounds within the Tianshi Mansion. Legend has it that beneath the well lies filth that generations of Tianshi have been unable to completely purify.

And the Purification Talisman is precisely used to suppress the evil Qi within that well.

The meaning of these two items appearing together in Xuan Weizi's sleeve was unmistakable!

Xuan Weizi's face turned ashen, a flash of killing intent passing through his eyes before he regained composure. He sneered coldly, "Nonsense! You think you can slander this venerable one with a packet of ashes of unknown origin? Zhang Xuanyi, slandering an Elder adds another count to your crimes!"

"Junior Martial Uncle, don't be so quick to convict me." Zhang Xuanyi finally set down the sunflower seeds, slowly rising to his feet. His smile carried a chilling coldness. "First, take a look at what good stuff is really in my bottle."

He reached out and uncorked the stopper of the central empty bottle.

Instantly, Xuan Weizi's pupils dilated sharply. The image of Zhang Xuanyi in his eyes vanished, replaced by an illusion that captivated his very Soul—he saw himself clad in a Purple-Gold Tianshi Robe, seated upon the highest throne of the Tianshi Mansion, looking down upon thousands of Daoist Disciples below.

In his hand, he held the legendary mother liquid of the "Three Caverns True Liquid," monopolizing all the world's rare treasures from that moment on, commanding the entire Mystic Sect, with none daring to disobey!

That supreme power, that intoxicating thrill of dominance, made his entire body tremble.

"No! It's an illusion!" Xuan Weizi stumbled back a step, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he forcibly tore himself away from that ultimate temptation.

After all, he was an Elder-level figure, his Dao Heart firm and stable, far beyond ordinary Cultivators.

However, this was precisely the moment Zhang Xuanyi had been waiting for!

"Now!" he shouted in a low voice. His right hand formed a sword finger, and a pale yellow talisman paper materialized at his fingertip—it was the "Greed-Inducing Talisman (Pseudo)!"

Without hesitation, he slapped the talisman forward.

The talisman ignited spontaneously, instantly transforming into a faint golden mist almost invisible to the naked eye. Centered on the stall, it spread outwards like ripples!

"Thud!" "Thud!"

A bizarre scene unfolded.

Dozens of onlookers who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, or residents and Cultivators who were originally nearby, seemed to have all their strength drained away. They collapsed one after another, falling limp to the ground.

Their eyes were tightly shut, yet their faces wore expressions of infatuation and fanaticism, their mouths constantly murmuring in dream-like whispers:

"The liquid... I want the Divine Liquid!"

"Give me power... I want to become stronger!"

"Longevity... I see longevity!"

Their greed had been amplified infinitely by this talisman!

Of everyone present, only Xuan Weizi remained standing rigidly in place, resisting the illusion's erosion with his profound cultivation.

However, the fire of greed in his eyes burned even more fiercely than when he saw the illusion in the bottle, almost bursting from their sockets!

He saw it—the ultimate goal he had pursued all his life, now within reach, just one final step away!

"Roar—!"

At the moment his mental defenses faltered, the old dog launched another thunderous strike!

This time, it didn't aim for clothing. Instead, it opened its maw wide and bit down hard on Xuan Weizi's exposed wrist!

"Ah!" Xuan Weizi cried out in pain and instinctively struck out with his palm, sending the old dog flying.

A drop of crimson blood seeped from the bite mark on his wrist, dripping onto the smooth bluestone.

Yet, that drop of blood did not spread like normal blood. The moment it hit the ground, it writhed and gathered unnaturally, forming an extremely tiny yet crystal-clear rune on the surface—a rune of complex structure, filled with twisted and ominous Qi. It was precisely the most sinister and poisonous "Reverse Three Caverns Talisman" among the forbidden arts of the Daoist sects!

Liu Qingyi gasped sharply, pointing at the drop of blood, her voice altered. "His blood... his blood is tainted by a forbidden art! He has cultivated the Reverse Three Caverns Talisman!"

If the incense ash earlier was merely suspicion, this drop of blood was ironclad proof!

The color drained completely from Xuan Weizi's face. The immortal grace and imposing dignity he had maintained for half a lifetime crumbled to dust in this instant.

He stared fixedly at Zhang Xuanyi, genuine fear appearing in his eyes for the first time. "You... how do you know these things?! These should be... lost secrets!"

"Whether I know or not is unimportant." Zhang Xuanyi stepped closer, the smile on his face growing colder. "What matters is—Junior Martial Uncle, you are afraid."

"Brothers and sisters, family in the livestream! Look closely!" Su Qingzhu had, at some point, raised her phone and started a livestream. The lens was precisely aimed at Xuan Weizi and the bizarre blood rune at his feet. "What you are seeing now is the Tianshi Mansion Elder, caught red-handed admitting involvement with the source controlling the 'Divine Liquid'! The evidence is conclusive and undeniable!"

The livestream exploded instantly, comments flooding the screen like a tidal wave.

Xuan Weizi panicked completely. He turned, intending to transform into a streak of light and escape.

But the old dog he had sent flying with his palm had, at some unknown time, blocked his escape route. Its golden pupils were filled with a chilling killing intent, standing like an insurmountable wall.

Zhang Xuanyi no longer looked at him. Instead, he crouched down and, at the spot where the empty bottles had been placed, pried open the bluestone pavement beneath his feet with his bare hands.

From beneath, he dug out a fourth bottle—one that had been buried there long ago.

Unlike the previous three, the moment this bottle was unearthed, a line of blood-red characters automatically appeared inside, as if imprisoned Souls were crying out in lament:

"A Yuan drank the reverse liquid, his Qi exhausted in seven days, his Soul locked in the Gui Xu."

Zhang Xuanyi's body shuddered violently. He stared fixedly at this line of text. When he looked up again, his gaze had transformed into ice that had not melted for ten thousand years, piercing straight into Xuan Weizi's heart.

"My Master's childhood name... was A Yuan." His voice was soft, yet carried a weight that could freeze a Soul. "So, back then, it was you? You were the one who took him to drink the first sip of the so-called 'Experimental Liquid'?"

"No... it wasn't me!" Xuan Weizi staggered back, appearing deranged. "That was... that was for the revival of the Tianshi Mansion! For the glory of the Tianshi Mansion! Someone had to make a sacrifice!"

"Sacrifice?" Zhang Xuanyi laughed, a laugh filled with boundless sorrow and rage. "So you used innocent Mortals as medicinal dregs, used me as your tool for amassing wealth and selling the liquid, used my Master's life, used the bones of countless dead, to pave your so-called road to revival?"

His voice suddenly rose, each word spoken with deliberate force, like thunderclaps exploding in everyone's hearts.

"This stall—I'm not running it anymore—"

He suddenly reached out, grabbed the stall cloth spread on the ground, the one painted with a star chart, and yanked it hard!

"I'm tearing it down!"

The moment that tattered stall cloth was rolled up, the star chart on its surface began to swirl madly, like a miniature Universe.

Immediately after, the cloth flipped over, revealing two large characters written in cinnabar on its back—"Repay the Debt"!

Those two characters seemed to come alive, transforming into two blinding beams of red light that instantly shot out from the cloth and merged into Zhang Xuanyi's body!

"Host's Dao Heart Awakening detected. Broken and rebuilt. First stage of the 'Repay the Debt' contract completed. Ultimate reward unlocked—'Reverse Three Caverns Talisman · Copy (Incomplete)!'"

Zhang Xuanyi slowly clenched his fist, feeling the newborn yet destructive power surging within him.

A tattered copy of a talisman quietly floated within his Sea of Consciousness.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the layers of mountains towards the depths of the Tianshi Mansion, that Forbidden Ground perpetually shrouded in clouds and mist.

"A Yuan... Master."

"This time, it's my turn to enter that Gui Xu Well."

The moment his words fell, the night wind howled, whipping up a sky full of dust and sand.

The old dog guarding the stall lifted its head towards the firmament and let out a long, distant, and mournful howl!

The howl spread out like ripples, echoing for a hundred miles.

The next second, starting from this mountain town and extending for a hundred miles in all directions, the huge stone tablets serving as signs in front of all shops named "Tongxuan Hall" cracked simultaneously with a sharp crack, splitting open with a hideous fissure right down the middle.

Black, foul-smelling blood slowly seeped from the cracks, appearing utterly bizarre under the night sky.

The wind stopped, and the howling ceased.

A deathly silence fell over heaven and earth, leaving only that faint, lingering scent of blood and the charred odor of incense ash, hanging in the cold air for a long time.

Xuan Weizi collapsed on the ground, his face ashen, while the fallen onlookers remained immersed in their greedy dreams.

Everything seemed to have ended.

Yet, it also seemed as if it had only just begun. Morning mist was quietly beginning to spread.