54: Dao City Account Book

The wind at midnight suddenly stilled.

The words 'Shall we confront this?' seemed not to come from Zhang Xuanyi's mouth, but roared up from the depths of the earth, accompanied by the newly awakened Dragon Qi.

The lead envoy holding the jade scroll stood rigid, his luxurious golden-threaded, cloud-patterned Daoist robe looking exceptionally stiff in the frozen air.

His pupils had already dilated from pinpricks of horror into unfocused pools of terror.

dao market ledger!

These four words struck his Sea of Consciousness like a thunderbolt from the Nine Heavens, utterly shattering all his arrogance, dignity, and composure.

How is this possible?

For three hundred years, the deepest, darkest secret of the Tianshi Mansion had been like an ancient well sealed shut by layer upon layer of Restrictions, known only to successive generations of Tianshi and a handful of core Elders. None knew what was truly buried within.

Each successive Cloth Master was merely a 'herb' carefully selected and nurtured by the Tianshi Mansion. When the time came, they would be 'harvested' under the guise of a 'tribute offering'.

All the resentment, unwillingness, and curses of these men before their deaths were ruthlessly suppressed by the 'all laws return to the market' stele and the earth vein's Dragon Qi, with no possibility of leakage.

And this 'dao market ledger', condensed from the lifeblood and resentment of successive Cloth Masters, was the very core of the core, the most forbidden of taboos!

It should only exist in legend, a specter used by the Tianshi Mansion to intimidate its own insiders. How... how could it truly appear in the hands of the ninth 'firewood'?

'Senior Brother Xuanchen, why waste words with him!' An impatient envoy beside him, seeing the lead figure frozen, could no longer restrain himself.

He assumed Zhang Xuanyi was merely bluffing and barked sharply, 'A mere street stall Cloth Master dares to recklessly discuss the Tianshi Mansion's secret decrees! Seize him! Alive or dead, take him back to the Mystic Altar for the Tianshi to decide!'

Before his words faded, he pointed his fingers like a sword, and a sharp golden Sword Qi shot through the air, aimed straight between Zhang Xuanyi's brows!

He would use the most direct, most brutal method to tear apart this absurd scene before him.

However, before the Sword Qi could reach its target, an earth-shaking roar exploded from beneath Zhang Xuanyi's feet!

"ROAR——!"

The Old Market-Stall Dog's gaunt body suddenly swelled a full size larger. Its scraggly, yellowish fur stood on end, revealing a faint golden sheen.

Its golden eyes, which seemed on the verge of shattering, now shone like two small suns. Within its bloody, gaping maw, interlocking fangs framed a swirling, indistinct mass of Chaos and Dragon Qi.

This roar was no canine bark, but a furious howl mingled with a dragon's cry and the pulse of the earth itself!

Under the impact of this roar, the golden Sword Qi wavered violently like a candle in the wind, shattering inch by inch into motes of light that scattered into the air.

The attacking envoy staggered back three steps as if struck by a heavy hammer, the color draining from his face.

He stared in horror at the old dog. This was no mere watchdog; this was clearly a town-guarding Spirit Beast connected to the earth veins!

"Ah Huang, calm yourself." Zhang Xuanyi's voice was not loud, yet it carried an undeniable authority.

Hearing this, the old dog's roar gradually subsided, but a deep, menacing growl still rumbled in its throat. Its golden eyes remained locked on the three envoys, as if any further movement from them would send it pouncing to tear them to shreds.

This brief clash completely shattered the balance of the scene.

The lead envoy, Xuanchen, finally snapped out of his immense shock.

He stared fixedly at Zhang Xuanyi, his voice dry and raspy. "You... what is that in your hand?" He dared not utter the four words 'dao market ledger', as if they were a forbidden phrase that would invite divine retribution.

Zhang Xuanyi smiled, a smile devoid of any warmth, filled only with bone-chilling cold and overwhelming grief and fury.

"What is it? It is eight lives, the blood and tears of eight Seniors! It is the truth of my Master, Zhang Yuan's, disappearance on the night of the Gui Xu Well! And it is the 'Tribute Decree' that you are about to use to send me, Zhang Xuanyi, to the slaughterhouse!"

With each sentence he spoke, the golden patterns beneath his feet on the stall brightened.

Those patterns, originally mere etchings on the bluestone slabs, now seemed to come alive, undulating slowly like dragon scales. Golden light flowed across them, transforming the entire stall area into a sacred and inviolable Domain.

The phantom market guards flanking the sides grew increasingly solid, their long halberds tilted menacingly, radiating palpable Killing Intent.

"You say that under the tianshi decree, the ninth Cloth Master is to enter the mansion to receive the tribute position," Zhang Xuanyi slowly raised his left hand. The 'Fate-Defying Talisman' written with his heart's blood burned with an eerie red light in his palm. "Today, I too shall issue a decree."

His voice suddenly rose, echoing throughout the silent night market. Each word seemed like thunder erupting from the depths of the earth veins:

"Under the Dao Market Decree, envoys of the Tianshi Mansion, kneel and stand trial!"

"Outrageous!" The final envoy flew into a rage. Swinging his horsetail whisk, three thousand silver strands transformed into three thousand sharp blades, sweeping towards Zhang Xuanyi. "To blaspheme the Tianshi is a crime worthy of ten thousand deaths!"

Xuanchen's face changed drastically, but it was too late to stop him!

Zhang Xuanyi neither dodged nor evaded, standing firm before his stall. The 'Heart-Protecting Talisman' on his chest suddenly erupted with a soft yet resilient yellow light, firmly shielding him.

Simultaneously, the 'Market Decree' yellow paper covering the stall cloth spontaneously ignited without wind, transforming into a pure golden rune that instantly merged with the earth beneath his feet.

BOOM——!

The entire Dao Market seemed like a slumbering giant beast, completely awakening.

Centered on Zhang Xuanyi's stall, a visible golden shockwave violently expanded outwards!

The three thousand whisk-strand blades, upon contacting the golden shockwave, dissolved and disintegrated instantly like ice meeting the blazing sun, without even stirring a single ripple.

The attacking envoy grunted as if struck by lightning, blood trickling from his nose and mouth, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

He had not attacked a mere person, but the very rules and power of the entire Dao Market!

Su Qingzhu stood behind Zhang Xuanyi, gripping her sword hilt tightly, her palms slick with cold sweat.

She looked at Zhang Xuanyi's back. That usually somewhat lazy, somewhat mercenary youth now seemed like a deity stepped out from ancient myth, his every word and action stirring the power of heaven and earth.

She understood that from the moment Zhang Xuanyi pressed his hand upon the stele, he was no longer the person he once was.

He now carried the blood-soaked vengeance of eight generations of Cloth Masters, and the fate of the entire Dao Market's survival.

Xuanchen's heart was utterly submerged by boundless chill.

He finally understood that the situation had completely spiraled out of control.

The man before him was no lamb to the slaughter, but a vicious Dragon baring its fangs at the Tianshi Mansion, empowered by the Dao Market's strength!

Not only did he know the secret, but in an astonishingly short time, he had also begun to grasp the true power of a Cloth Master—commanding the Dao Market!

"If the sacrifice is refused, the market perishes, the mountains crumble."

The bloody words from the Tianshi Mansion's secret decree flashed frantically through his mind.

This was both a threat and a statement of fact.

The Tianshi Mansion had the power to destroy the Dao Market, but on one condition... that the Dao Market had no true Master capable of wielding it!

And now, a Master had appeared.

From the direction of the mountain gate, the three-long-one-short tolling of the bell finally faded completely, its lingering echoes vanishing into the cold night.

The entire world sank into a deathly silence.

Xuanchen stood rigidly before the stall, the jade scroll in his hand heavy as a thousand pounds.

The 'Tribute Decree' personally inscribed by the Tianshi upon it now seemed the height of irony.

To advance was to step into an abyss of eternal damnation; to retreat was to shoulder an unbearable responsibility.

The cultivation he took such pride in, his status within the Tianshi Mansion—all became a joke before this small, yet radiating supreme majesty, golden stall.

The air grew thick as mercury, suffocating to breathe.

The earth vein's Dragon Qi that had already risen, though no longer roaring, exerted a pressure more terrifying than any sound, a prickling sensation on their backs.

It was like a true Dragon poised to strike, its cold, vertical pupils staring unblinkingly at the three of them through the heavy strata of earth, waiting only for its new Master to deliver the final judgment.