48: What is buried under the cloth is not a monument, but a dragon

The bell toll spread from the depths of the earth, not deafening, but like a heavy hammer, striking precisely upon the Divine Soul of every person.

Su Qingzhu felt her eardrums buzzing, her mind a blank slate; Liu Qingyi's face turned deathly pale, the Qi circulating within her instantly disordered, nearly causing her to lose her breath.

Even the old dog that had been lying down all this time now had its fur standing on end, a low growl mixing threat and fear rumbling in its throat.

The Old Earth Vein Turtle retracted its head half an inch into the stele's crevice, its voice carrying an ancient gravity: "It's over... The unsealing ritual was interrupted, the blood sacrifice was impure, it has attracted the Dao Market's most ancient guardians... the Judgess of the Market Heart Association."

Judgess?

Zhang Xuanyi's pupils constricted sharply. That drop of blood that had deviated by half an inch had now solidified into a dark red scar on the cloth's surface.

Under the cloth, the golden patterns on the colossal bronze stele no longer flowed; instead, they grew dim. That bell toll was its final lament.

"Market Heart Association..." Zhang Xuanyi chewed on this name, a sense of unprecedented crisis shooting up his spine to the crown of his head.

This was a hundred times more terrifying than the System's warning of mission failure. It was a cold lock-on from a higher level, a more ancient rule.

Before his words faded, the air around them seemed to solidify into glass.

The night wind in the mountains, the chirping of insects in the forest, even the sound of footsteps from Xuan Weizi and his men rushing over from afar were all cut off at this moment by an invisible force.

Four blurred phantoms materialized without warning at the four directions of the bronze stele.

They wore ancient, dark-colored robes without a single pattern, yet they gave off a profound sense of encompassing the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

Their forms existed between the tangible and intangible, their faces shrouded in a chaotic mist, features indistinguishable. Only four pairs of utterly emotionless eyes, like deities indifferently observing the birth and death of all things, turned in unison towards Zhang Xuanyi.

One of the phantoms slowly raised a hand, its voice devoid of any emotion, as if proclaiming the Laws of heaven and earth: "The bell toll is the proof; the Market Heart shall adjudicate."

Another phantom continued, its voice equally icy: "Unsealing failed; sacrifice insincere."

The gaze of the third phantom fell upon the crack on Zhang Xuanyi's chest: "The heart anchor wavers; the Cloth Master is unqualified."

Finally, the voices of the four phantoms overlapped, transforming into a sound that struck directly at the Soul: "Thou, shalt be annulled!"

As the word "annulled" left their mouths, the surrounding air was instantly drained.

Zhang Xuanyi felt an irresistible, immense power envelop him. The Qi meridians within his body felt as if grabbed by countless invisible hands, about to be ripped out from his flesh and blood!

The wound on his chest instantly split open, blood soaking through his clothes. The intense pain nearly made him lose consciousness.

Liu Qingyi was horrified, wanting to step forward to help, but found she couldn't even move a finger.

That power wasn't directed at her; merely its residual force had already pinned her firmly in place.

Just as Zhang Xuanyi felt his Divine Soul was about to be torn apart by this force, a furious roar exploded like thunder, forcibly tearing through this solidified space.

"Demon Zhang Xuanyi, colluding with evil beings, causing trouble here! Disciples of the External Affairs Hall, heed the order! Form the array! Execute him!"

Xuan Weizi had finally arrived with his men!

Over a dozen External Affairs Hall Deacons, holding Talisman Swords and faces filled with Evil Qi, closed in from all directions.

They had clearly come prepared, their formation strict, Talisman light weaving into a net that enveloped the entire clearing.

However, when they charged into this area, they all froze in unison.

They couldn't see the four Judges phantoms. They only saw Zhang Xuanyi kneeling on the ground, his face ashen, while Su Qingzhu and Liu Qingyi seemed to have been hit by a paralysis spell, unable to move.

"Playing tricks with ghosts and gods!" Xuan Weizi's eyes immediately fell upon the tattered stall cloth emitting a faint glow and the exposed colossal bronze stele.

He didn't know what the "Market Heart Association" was, but he could sense that a heavy treasure had emerged here!

"Seize that tattered cloth first!" Xuan Weizi barked the order.

A deacon who was closest immediately responded. With a flick of his Talisman Sword, it transformed into a streak of light stabbing towards the stall cloth in front of Zhang Xuanyi.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

That sword light, powerful enough to split stone steles, silently vanished when it came within three feet of the stall cloth, as if it had never existed.

And that deacon seemed to have his throat seized by an invisible force. His eyes bulged, his body visibly withered at a rapid pace. In the span of a single breath, he turned into a desiccated corpse of skin and bones, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Everyone gasped in shock at this terrifying sight.

Xuan Weizi was both shocked and furious, but his mind was clouded by greed, attributing this only to the cloth's strange ability.

He roared, "Useless! This object is strange! Everyone use 'Zhenyuan Talismans'! First immobilize him personally!"

Several yellow Talismans flew from their hands, carrying waves of Qi-suppressing power, heading straight for Zhang Xuanyi.

But the fate of these yellow Talismans was identical to that sword light; they spontaneously combusted into ashes mid-air.

"A bunch of fools!" Seeing this, Xuan Weizi decided to take action himself.

He saw that Zhang Xuanyi was currently extremely weak, the perfect opportunity to seize the treasure.

"How could a Divine object like this be fit for a useless person like you! Give it to me!"

He pushed off with his feet, his body moving like lightning. Circling around at a tricky angle, his five fingers formed a claw, aiming directly for the stall cloth on the ground!

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the fabric, Zhang Xuanyi, who had been pinned down by the adjudicating power, unable to lift his head, suddenly grinned, laughing.

His laughter was soft, mixed with bloody froth, yet it clearly echoed throughout the deathly silent space.

He did not resist, did not dodge, didn't even look at Xuan Weizi.

His gaze remained fixedly locked onto the four Judges phantoms. Using the last of his strength, he spoke word by word, his voice hoarse yet firm:

"All methods return to the Market; those who come uninvited are thieves."

"Those who forcibly seize the heart anchor are bandits."

He raised a blood-stained finger, pointing at the charging Xuan Weizi, and asked the four phantoms an earth-shattering question:

"Market Heart Association... how should this person be judged?"

As these words were spoken, it was as if an ancient switch had been triggered.

Those four pairs of indifferent eyes shifted away from Zhang Xuanyi for the first time, turning in unison towards Xuan Weizi.

In that instant, Xuan Weizi felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss.

A pressure a thousand times more terrifying than what Zhang Xuanyi had just endured crashed down upon him.

He felt he was no longer a living person, but had become a piece of "merchandise" being appraised, a "stain" that had trespassed into a Forbidden Ground.

"Edict: Those who disturb the market order shall be cleansed."

One of the phantoms slowly raised a hand. In its palm, a simple, ancient-looking ruler made of light materialized out of thin air—the very same one Zhang Xuanyi had seen in the old dog's illusion!

The ruler gently swung towards Xuan Weizi and the group of deacons behind him.

There was no sound, no explosion, no dazzling light effects.

But something more terrifying than any Divine Ability occurred.

Xuan Weizi and the over ten External Affairs Hall Deacons he brought began to turn transparent.

Their expressions froze in the final moment of terror. Their Qi, flesh, blood, bones, even their Divine Souls, under that ruler, were completely "cleansed" from this world by an incomprehensible rule.

They were like erroneous lines of code, deleted by merciless Law.

The wind blew past. Only a few dropped weapons and Talismans remained on the spot, proof they had ever been there.

The entire process lasted no more than three breaths.

The Old Earth Vein Turtle's shell trembled slightly as it muttered to itself, "This... this is the enforcement of the 'Dao Market Law'... he... he actually... invoked the Dao Market Law!"

After cleansing all the "intruders," the gazes of the four phantoms returned to Zhang Xuanyi.

The light ruler did not disappear. Instead, it slowly turned, aiming distantly at him.

The icy voice sounded again: "The Market Gate is open; the Master's Seat is undecided. In consideration of your first offense and merit in invoking the Law, this is recorded for now. At the next bell toll, the crime is unforgivable."

As the words fell, the four phantoms, along with the ruler, slowly dissipated like smoke.

The confinement around them vanished instantly. The mountain wind rushed back in, bringing with it a heavy smell of blood and scorched filth.

"Pfft—"

As his taut nerves relaxed, Zhang Xuanyi could no longer hold on. A mouthful of rebellious blood sprayed out violently, and he toppled forward.

Summoning his strength, he reached out and desperately grabbed the cold stall cloth, as if clutching his only lifeline.

The intense pain in his chest and the aftereffects of his Qi meridians being torn made his vision darken repeatedly.

Liu Qingyi and Su Qingzhu finally regained their ability to move. Shaken to the core, they rushed over, supporting him from left and right.

"Zhang Xuanyi! Are you alright?"

"Your wound!"

Zhang Xuanyi shook his head, wanting to say something, but only felt a wave of dizziness. Boundless exhaustion washed over him like a tide.

Leaning against the cold colossal bronze stele, he gasped for breath in large gulps, each inhalation tugging at the wound on his chest, bringing piercing pain.

He looked down. The cloth surface that recorded "A Yuan drank the Reverse Liquid, Qi exhausted in seven days" now lay quietly by his hand. The characters "Repay the Debt" on the back seemed to burn more intensely than before.