52: Blood Sacrifice

The illusion shattered like glass, and the hundred-zhang radiance surged back, all of it pouring into that square-inch market stall.

Heaven and earth returned to darkness, with only the mountain wind swirling the remaining ashes of the Talisman fire, letting out a sobbing sound.

Zhang Xuanyi felt a sweetness in his throat and forced back the surging blood. His body stumbled, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.

Three drops of heart-blood had nearly drained his Foundation as a Cultivator. At this moment, his qi sea was so empty that a horse could race through it, and a tearing pain radiated through his entire body.

That golden thread shot from the fingertip of the phantom Cloth Master was now quietly floating above the Qi Sea in his chest, like a miniature sun slowly rotating, emitting a gentle yet incomparably overbearing aura, repairing his nearly shattered Meridians bit by bit.

This golden thread was far purer than any Medicinal Pill rewarded by the System. It wasn't simple energy, but more like a... seed of authority.

"Cough... cough cough..." Not far away, Cheng Xinzi curled up on the ground, shaking like a sieve, repeatedly muttering the words "The Cloth Master has returned," his mind having completely broken down.

His "Law Ruler," which symbolized the laws of the Market Heart Association, had snapped into several pieces, losing all its spiritual light and becoming a mundane object.

The Old Market-Stall Dog walked to Zhang Xuanyi's side with steady steps and gently rubbed its head against his pant leg, its golden pupils full of vigilance as it stared intently into the depths of the mountain mist.

There, two more auras remained.

"Boss!"

"What do we do?!"

The dual envoys of the Market Heart Association—the Left Envoy holding the "Trust Scale" and the Right Envoy holding the "Righteous Rod"—were currently hiding behind an ancient pine tree, their faces filled with horror and struggle.

The world-destroying pressure from before, that phantom of the Cloth Master that seemed to come from the primordial era, had completely shattered their Dao Heart.

The "Trust" and "Righteousness" they took pride in were as fragile as sandcastles before that absolute authority.

"He... he must have reached his limit!" The Left Envoy's voice trembled, but a hint of greed and ruthlessness flickered in his eyes. "Sacrificing heart-blood to activate a forbidden technique—he must be at the end of his rope! Look at him, he can't even stand steadily!"

The Right Envoy gripped the "Righteous Rod" in his hand. That rod could normally sever Karma, but now it was buzzing due to its master's agitated heart.

"But... that's the Cloth Master! all laws return to the market, and the Cloth Master is supreme. This is an iron law etched into the very roots of the Dao Market! If we act, we'll be making an enemy of the entire Dao Market!"

"Fool!" the Left Envoy hissed. "What 'Cloth Master has returned'? It's clearly an ancient afterimage he summoned with some evil method! If the true Cloth Master were here, would there only be a phantom? Look at Lord Cheng Xinzi—his mind was crushed by this illusion! This is our only chance. Kill him, take that market stall cloth, and we can make up for our failures to the association, and maybe... maybe even peek into the secrets of the 'Cloth Master'!"

These words were like a devil's whisper, instantly igniting the hope in the Right Envoy's heart.

Indeed, wealth is found in danger!

The two exchanged a glance, their killing intent fully revealed.

Although their movements were light, they couldn't escape the perception of the golden-eyed old dog.

A low growl rumbled in the old dog's throat as its fur stood on end, adopting a pouncing stance.

Zhang Xuanyi took a deep breath. The nourishment from the golden thread in his chest allowed him to barely muster a bit of strength.

He knew that he couldn't even draw the simplest Talisman right now; fighting head-on would only lead to death.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the old dog and accurately locking onto the two figures behind the ancient pine.

His face was still pale, but his eyes became incredibly deep, as if the phantom Cloth Master who looked down upon all living beings had injected its Divine Soul into his eyes.

"Come out."

Zhang Xuanyi's voice wasn't loud—it was even a bit weak—but the authority contained within it made the hearts of the dual envoys leap, as if struck by an invisible giant hammer.

Their bodies stiffened, and they involuntarily stepped out from behind the tree.

"Seeing this seat, why do you not kneel?" Zhang Xuanyi said indifferently, walking forward step by step.

He walked very slowly, each step seemingly treading on the heartbeats of the dual envoys.

The golden thread in his chest seemed to sense his will, releasing an imperceptible golden light that flowed through his Meridians to his fingertip.

He slowly raised his right hand. On his index finger, a point of golden light flickered in and out, dimming and brightening, yet it emitted a terrifying aura that seemed to freeze the very space around it.

This, of course, was a bluff.

He was only channeling a ten-thousandth of the golden thread's power to create an unfathomable illusion.

He was betting—betting that these two were already scared out of their wits by the previous scene and wouldn't dare use their Magical Artifacts to probe his true condition.

Cold sweat instantly broke out on the Left and Right Envoys.

That point of golden light shared the same aura as the light shot from the phantom Cloth Master's fingertip!

Could it be... he wasn't exhausted, but was actually undergoing Fusion with the Cloth Master's Divine Soul?

"Do you... wish to use the scrap metal in your hands to measure the depth of this seat's Dao Heart?"

A faint, enigmatic smile played on the corner of Zhang Xuanyi's mouth as his gaze fell upon the Left Envoy's "Trust Scale" and the Right Envoy's "Righteous Rod."

"We wouldn't dare! We have no such intention!" The Left Envoy fell to his knees with a thud, his "Trust Scale" clattering to the ground.

He was afraid; he was truly terrified.

Using the "Trust Scale" to measure the reality of a "Cloth Master"?

That in itself was the greatest act of distrust!

Under the backlash of Karma, he would likely be turned to ash in an instant.

The Right Envoy's face turned ashen, his legs gave way, and he followed suit, kneeling down.

His "Righteous Rod" could sever Karma, but if he swung it at a Cloth Master, what he'd likely sever was his own Karma with the entire Dao Market. His fate would be even worse than Cheng Xinzi's.

Zhang Xuanyi felt a slight relief in his heart; he knew he had won the bet.

He walked up to them and looked down from above, his eyes as indifferent as an eternal glacier.

"The Market Heart Association... what audacity. Once this seat has unraveled the Karma of this world, I shall personally pay a visit to your headquarters."

He didn't speak of killing or punishment, but this non-committal attitude brought even greater fear.

The unknown is the most terrifying.

"Cloth Master, have mercy! We were only following orders; the culprit is Cheng Xinzi!"

"We are willing to serve the Cloth Master like dogs and horses, we only beg for the Cloth Master's forgiveness!"

The two kowtowed like pounding garlic, no longer possessing any of the prestige of Market Heart Association envoys.

Zhang Xuanyi ignored their pleas for mercy and simply said coldly, "Get out. Take him with you, and don't foul my place."

"Yes! Yes! We're leaving right now!" The dual envoys felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty. They scrambled to their feet, supported the unconscious Cheng Xinzi, and vanished into the thick fog, not even bothering to pick up the "Trust Scale" and "Righteous Rod" left on the ground.

Only after the auras of the three had completely vanished from his perception did Zhang Xuanyi suddenly relax. His body went limp, and he leaned against the bronze stele behind him, gasping for breath.

Cold sweat had long since soaked his back.

That was truly a close call.

He looked down at the two Magical Artifacts with dimmed spiritual light on the ground, then at his own empty qi sea, and couldn't help but smile bittersly.

Is this what power feels like?

Even if it was just a bluff, it was enough to inspire awe.

"Little kid, your Heart-Nature is not bad." From beneath the stele, the voice of the Old Earth Vein Turtle drifted over with a hint of approval. "The cloth chooses its master based not only on cultivation but also on this calm mind in the face of danger and the courage to make a grand gamble."

Zhang Xuanyi was about to respond when suddenly, the entire ground began to vibrate violently!

Rumble—

This wasn't an earthquake, but a resonance originating from the depths of the earth vein.

The bronze stele behind him, with its ancient inscription "all laws return to the market," began to radiate an unprecedentedly brilliant golden light.

The golden patterns on the market stall cloth also flickered wildly, as if welcoming the arrival of some monarch.

"It's coming..." The Old Earth Vein Turtle's voice became incredibly solemn, even carrying a hint of excitement. "It's returned! The Dao Market Dragon Qi, suppressed by the Tianshi Mansion for three hundred years, has finally returned!"

Zhang Xuanyi suddenly looked up toward the direction of the Tianshi Mansion's Forbidden Ground.

Under the night sky, a visible, majestic Dragon Qi—like a golden celestial river pouring into the mortal world from beyond the Nine Heavens—tore through the clouds and pierced the mountains. With incomparable power and rolling thunder, it surged straight toward his tiny market stall!

Wherever the Dragon Qi passed, all sounds fell silent, plants bowed, and even the mountain mist was instantly evaporated by its overbearing aura.

The vastness of the energy it contained far surpassed the combined total of the Hundred Ghost Array and the Cloth Master phantom from earlier!

Zhang Xuanyi's heart began to pound wildly.

He didn't know if the return of this Dragon Qi was a massive Opportunity for him or a catastrophic disaster.

He only knew that he had just exhausted his heart-blood and was at his weakest moment, completely unable to resist any of the impact from this power.

The golden torrent arrived in an instant, nearly illuminating the entire night sky.

As the first light of dawn appeared, the golden patterns on the market stall had not faded, and the afterglow of last night's hundred-zhang illusion still drifted through the mountains.

Yet beneath this seemingly calm afterglow, a golden Dragon Qi, capable of rewriting the landscape of this place, reached its three-hundred-year destination with the force of a thunderbolt.