57: What I sell is not the talisman, but the price of the Tao.

The Dragon Qi surged back like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, all sinking into the phantom of the Dao Market Stele in Zhang Xuanyi's palm.

That pressure, like burning the sky and boiling the sea, quietly dissipated, leaving only the midnight cold wind carrying the scorched smell of the Scripture Pavilion past everyone's noses.

The glow on the System panel gradually faded, but the words [dao market ledger · Traceability] were branded into the depths of Zhang Xuanyi's Sea of Consciousness.

His fingertips trembled, not from fear, but from an excitement that had been suppressed for too long.

This was not just a reward; it was a sharp blade capable of slicing open the century-old disguise of the Tianshi Mansion.

Li Zhiyai's body had not yet cooled, and the cold touch of that bronze key seemed to remain in his palm.

He slowly stood up, his gaze passing over the silent crowd, looking toward the brightly lit Forbidden Ground on the mountaintop that resembled a heavenly palace.

You want the Enshrinement Order? Fine.

You want this orthodoxy? That works too.

But this time, the accounts must be settled one by one!

“The three-hour countdown has already begun.”

Su Qingzhu had arrived by his side at some point; her voice was very low, but every word carried a metallic chill.

On the screen of the specialized tablet in her hand, a bright red countdown was ticking ruthlessly.

It was the Sword of Damocles hanging over the head of the Tianshi Mansion.

“Once the Liquid Poison Report is released, the Tianshi Mansion's century-old reputation will be ruined in an instant. They will stop at nothing to prevent you, and me.” She paused, her eyes sharp as knives, “Now, we are true allies.”

Zhang Xuanyi didn't look back, only giving a soft “Mm.”

He knew, of course.

From the moment he drew that [Pseudo-Innate Talisman], from the moment he spoke the secret of “extending life by three hundred years,” he had been standing on the edge of a cliff with no way back.

“What do you plan to do? Charge straight up the mountain?” Su Qingzhu pressed, a hint of worry in her tone, “The Forbidden Land Array is no small matter; forcing your way in is no different from suicide.”

“Charge up?” A cold, sharp arc curled at the corner of Zhang Xuanyi's mouth, “That would be too easy on them. What I want isn't their lives, but their ‘Root’.”

He slowly raised his hand, and with a thought, that illusory [dao market ledger] appeared in his palm.

The pages turned on their own without wind, rustling as if recounting the hidden transactions and sins of a thousand years.

“Traceability,” he softly uttered two words.

Target locked: the largest transaction of spiritual materials by the Tianshi Mansion three days ago.

[Transaction Subject: Tianshi Mansion Alchemy Room Manager, Zhang Weide.]

[Transaction Items: Nine Nether Grass ×3, Soul-Locking Wood ×1, Three-hundred-year-old Resentful Infant Blood Lingzhi ×1.]

[Transaction Cost: Thirty years of Tianshi Mansion's incense Power Of Will, recorded in the third account of the Dao Market Stele.]

[Traceability tracking... Tracking complete!]

Lines of golden blood-colored words appeared in the ledger, the contents of which caused Zhang Xuanyi's pupils to shrink suddenly!

[Nine Nether Grass, produced from the Yin Dragon Vein of Mount Beimang, used to suppress soul backlash.]

[Soul-Locking Wood, produced from the ancient battlefields of the Western Frontier, used to imprison living souls from dissipating.]

[Resentful Infant Blood Lingzhi, nourished by the resentment of infants who died unjustly, is the main material for refining the ‘life-stealing pill’...]

life-stealing pill!

These three words were like a clap of thunder exploding in Zhang Xuanyi's mind!

This wasn't some Spirit Pill for extending life at all, but an evil technique that seized the Luck and vitality of others to forcibly graft them onto oneself!

The so-called “extending life by three hundred years” was nothing more than a massive lie built upon countless sacrifices!

The “Ashes with Will” mentioned by Senior Li Zhiyai, could it be... A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind, causing his heart to tighten.

No wonder the Tianshi Mansion wanted to burn down the Scripture Pavilion; the forbidden books recorded there likely held the truth about the “life-stealing pill”!

He suddenly clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white from the force.

“What's wrong?” Su Qingzhu keenly sensed the change in his aura.

“Nothing,” Zhang Xuanyi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging killing intent, his voice cold as ice, “I've just found evidence that they cannot refute.”

Meanwhile, deep within the Forbidden Ground of the Tianshi Mansion.

Inside a simple, ancient quiet room, sandalwood smoke curled, yet it couldn't suppress the heart-palpitating pressure in the air.

Three deacons who had just retreated from the foot of the mountain were kneeling tremblingly on the ground, not even daring to lift their heads.

Before them, separated by a heavy bead curtain, a withered figure could be faintly seen sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat.

That figure was motionless, like a stone statue, but the air in the entire quiet room stagnated and contracted with his faint breathing.

“Cloth Master? Holding the Decree to Establish the Market?”

From behind the bead curtain came an old and raspy voice, devoid of any emotion, yet it made the three deacons shake violently, cold sweat instantly soaking their Daoist robes.

“Reporting... reporting to the Old Celestial Master,” the leading deacon's voice trembled, “That brat... holding the Heart Imprint Yellow Paper and using heart's blood as a medium, indeed drew the prototype of an Innate Talisman. The Stall Golden Veins resonated with it, drawing down thunderclouds... We did not dare to move rashly.”

“He also said... ‘The Tianshi Mansion kills the Cloth Master only to extend life by three hundred years’...” another deacon added, his voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz, filled with fear.

The quiet room fell into a deathly silence.

Time passed minute by minute, and the three deacons felt their heartbeats like drums, each beat sounding like a death knell.

They could even feel that seemingly withered gaze behind the bead curtain seeing through them completely, from inside out.

“Hehe...”

After a long time, a soft chuckle came from behind the bead curtain.

The laughter was very light, but it was like a poison-tipped awl, stabbing fiercely into the hearts of the three.

“A brat who knows how to draw talismans, plus a record from a forbidden book found who knows where, dares to shake the Foundation of my Tianshi Mansion?” In the old voice, a hint of chilling amusement leaked out, “Who does he think he is?”

“Old Celestial Master, please appease your anger!” The three kowtowed in unison.

“Pass my decree.” The voice suddenly turned cold, like a cold wind from the Nine Nethers, “First, seal the mountain. The Forbidden Land Array is to be fully operational; not even a fly is allowed to fly out. Doesn't he want to do this in front of the people of the world? Then I will first cut off his connection with the outside world.”

“Second, order Zhang Weixin of the Hall of Discipline to take the ‘Dragon-Binding Rope’ and ‘invite’ the new Cloth Master up the mountain. Remember, it is an ‘invite’. Since he is the Cloth Master, he should be treated with courtesy. If he refuses, then break his legs and carry him up.”

“Third...” The old voice paused slightly, with a hint of a cruel smile, “Notify the Alchemy Room to open the cauldron and perform Alchemy at midnight tonight. Since he wants to see, let him see clearly. Let him understand what is destiny, and what is... the fate of an ant.”

“We... we obey the decree!” The three deacons, as if granted a great amnesty, scrambled out.

The quiet room returned to silence once more.

The figure behind the bead curtain slowly raised a hand; that hand was as withered as a chicken's claw, skin tightly wrapped around bone, fingernails black as ink.

“The ninth... Li Zhiyai, you old thing, even in death you won't stay quiet.” He murmured to himself.

At the foot of the mountain, by the stall.

Zhang Xuanyi slowly closed his eyes, hiding the [dao market ledger].

He already knew what he had to do.

Confront the tianshi cauldron?

No, not just a confrontation.

What he wanted to do was to uncover all the sins before that cauldron, judge all the culprits, and comfort all the swallowed souls!

He gripped the bronze key tightly in his hand, as if holding Li Zhiyai's final entrustment, and also his own Dao Heart.

Su Qingzhu looked at him with a complex expression.

She could feel that the man before her had completed some kind of astonishing transformation in just a few short hours.

In his eyes, there was no longer a single trace of confusion, only a mountain-like, steady determination.

Time flowed in silence.

Xushi had passed, and Haishi was approaching.

The lights on the mountaintop grew more brilliant, and an invisible barrier, like a giant colored glass bowl, inverted and covered the entire Mount Longhu within.

The air became thick and oppressive, even the wind seemed to be imprisoned.

The crowd at the foot of the mountain noticed this abnormality and began to stir restlessly, only to find that no matter what method they used, they could not contact the outside world.

They were trapped.

Zhang Xuanyi turned a blind eye to this.

He just stood quietly in front of the stall, like a silent statue, waiting for a certain moment to arrive.

Midnight was approaching.

The mountain wind had completely stopped.

All sounds were silenced; one could hear a pin drop.

The entire world seemed to have been pressed with a pause button, falling into an eerie deathly silence.

On the stall, that weather-beaten grey cloth did not even show a single wrinkle at this moment.

An extreme oppression loomed over everyone's hearts, making them almost unable to breathe.

Just then, a sudden change occurred.