58: The Imperial Decree of All Laws

At the third quarter of the Yin hour, the night was at its darkest.

From the direction of Dragon Head Peak, where the Tianshi Mansion was located, a blinding golden light suddenly tore through the thick, ink-like clouds, like a divine sword of punishment, accurately striking towards the mountain gate.

The golden light receded, transforming into a three-foot-square talisman edict, suspended in mid-air. It shimmered with brilliant light and exuded awe-inspiring divine power, solidifying the surrounding air.

On the talisman edict, ancient seal script, written in cinnabar, was rendered with iron strokes and silver hooks; each stroke seemed to contain the power of thunder—"Wan Fa Dao Market, formally sanctioned as orthodox; Ninth Successor Cloth Master, acting as the Tianshi."

Inside and outside the mountain gate, the silence was instantly shattered.

The common people, who had been startled by the phenomenon, couldn't understand its profound meaning but recognized the majestic heavenly might. They fell to their knees, shouting "Tianshi manifests!" Their devout kowtows converged into a tide.

However, in the eyes of the extraordinary individuals hidden in the shadows, with their diverse auras, this talisman edict was nothing short of a thunderclap from a clear sky.

"Acting Tianshi? Has the Tianshi Mansion gone mad?!"

"An unknown street stall, an obscure young man, by what right?"

"This is setting him up for failure! They want to put him on a roasting fire!"

Discussions, exclamations of surprise, and jealous snorts rose and fell.

Su Qingzhu's face was colder than the night. She stared intently at the talisman edict. On her satellite tablet, the dozens of Qi flows that had just gathered, now saw more than half of them begin to fluctuate violently, hostility emanating through the screen as if it were tangible.

She sneered, lowering her voice to Zhang Xuanyi: "Is it you they're sealing, or this cloth beneath your feet?"

Before her words finished, beneath the bronze stele, the Old Earth Vein Turtle, which had been silent, suddenly poked its wrinkled head out from a crack in the stele. It opened its mouth, and a turbid, heavy stream of Earth Vein turbid Qi surged out. Its voice, ancient and urgent, resonated directly in Zhang Xuanyi and Su Qingzhu's minds: "The young lady is right! The edict is false, the array core is real! This talisman edict is fundamentally an array nail! They want to use the incense and vows of the myriad people below this mountain to firmly nail the foundation of the Dao Market to Mount Longhu, beneath the words 'Tianshi'! From now on, the Dao Market will be the Tianshi Mansion's Dao Market, and there will be no more Myriad Laws returning to the heart!"

"Woof!"

A low growl interrupted the Old Turtle's words.

The old dog guarding the stall, its once dim golden eyes now flickered with a faint light, clearly reflecting the back of the talisman edict.

There, a line of small characters, imprinted with a secret method, was imperceptible to ordinary eyes: "Those who return to the market, return to the edict; those who disobey, shall be treated as rebels."

What a "treatment as rebels"!

The old dog let out a threatening whimper from deep in its throat. The crack on its back, stretched open by golden patterns, widened a few more points, and crimson blood continuously seeped out, dripping onto the stall cloth, instantly being absorbed.

The laws of the Dao Market, at this moment, gave the most direct judgment—this edict, deceives heaven!

Its price, is execution!

Zhang Xuanyi's heart sank to the bottom.

He finally understood where the burning brand on his chest came from.

This was not a crown of coronation, but chains of enslavement!

The sky was faintly bright. At the beginning of the Chen hour, the morning glow in the east had not yet completely dispelled the cold mist in the mountains.

"Thump—thump—thump—"

Heavy and uniform footsteps came from the end of the mountain path, each step seemingly treading on everyone's heartbeats.

Dust rolled, and the clang of weapons pierced the tranquility of dawn.

A figure first appeared at the bend of the mountain path, golden armor reflecting the morning light, dazzling.

The person who arrived was none other than Cui Wujiu, the Head of the Tianshi Mansion's Enforcement Hall!

His face was as still as water, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, and in his hand, he tightly gripped a talisman saber over four feet long. The saber's blade was covered with golden talismans, the very symbol of the Tianshi Mansion's enforcement authority—the "Orthodox Talisman Saber."

Behind him, three hundred enforcement Dao soldiers, clad in dark black Dao armor, silently fanned out. Their steps were strange yet uniform, and in an instant, they set up a massive array, completely enveloping the entire mountain gate along with Zhang Xuanyi's street stall.

Eight array masters, whose auras were exceptionally powerful, each stepped onto a star position. Their Qi meridians connected to each other, drawing upon the earth's energy, forming an invisible barrier that sealed off a ten-li radius!

The Nine Palace Spirit Locking Array! The Tianshi Mansion's strongest killing array used to suppress evil demons and heretics!

Cui Wujiu stood at the array's core, looking down from above. His voice, amplified by the array's power, transformed into rolling thunder that echoed through the mountains and fields: "Zhang Xuanyi! The Tianshi Mansion, considering you possess a rare treasure, has granted you a special favor, decreeing you as a Dao Market devotee. This is a heaven-sent opportunity, not a negotiation! Now, immediately hand over the Myriad Laws Street Stall and follow me into the mansion to receive your title. If you dare to resist, you will be treated as a heretic disturbing orthodoxy and executed on the spot!"

What a complete distortion of right and wrong!

Zhang Xuanyi, however, seemed not to have heard the thunderous interrogation. He leaned lazily back in his bamboo chair, casually pulled a sunflower seed from his pocket, cracked it with his teeth, and precisely flicked the kernel into his mouth. Only then did he slowly lift his eyelids: "You say devotee, but why does it sound like 'incorporation' to me?"

His fingertips idly stroked the cloth surface covered in golden patterns.

It was at this very moment that the system's alarm suddenly blared in his mind:

[Warning!

High-intensity external Qi pressure detected!

Dao Market projection system stability -47%!]

Before his words finished, the twelve golden patterns that had just lit up on the street stall instantly dimmed, and the hundred-zhang light curtain soaring into the sky began to tremble violently, like a candle in the wind, threatening to extinguish at any moment.

"Stubborn and unyielding!" A murderous glint flashed in Cui Wujiu's eyes. He sneered, then suddenly swung his talisman saber downwards, bellowing, "Lock the spirits!"

In an instant, the wind and clouds changed color!

The Nine Palace Spirit Locking Array was fully activated. The earth trembled violently, and eight black chains, thick as a child's arm and shimmering with talismans, broke through the ground. Like eight venomous pythons eager to devour people, they carried a terrifying aura of sealing all things, coiling directly towards the ancient bronze stele in the center of the street stall!

"Roar—!"

The Old Earth Vein Turtle let out an angry roar. It pressed its entire body firmly against the base of the bronze stele. A deep, bone-visible bloody gash instantly appeared on its shell, yet it did not retreat an inch, using its very life to resist the array's suppressive force!

"Awooo!"

The old dog guarding the stall let out an even more mournful howl. Its golden eyes, which had just revealed the secret of the talisman edict, instantly burst under the immense pressure!

Two lines of blood streamed down from the corners of its eyes, yet it still fiercely guarded the street stall, letting out a trapped beast's low growl from its throat, not retreating half a step!

Because its bursting pupils, at the last moment, saw a truth it would protect at all costs—in the heart position covered by Cui Wujiu's golden armor, a faintly visible black talisman was hidden—the "Reverse Three Caverns Talisman"!

The aura of that talisman came from the same source as the poisonous talismans found in the innocent people who were refined into "Liquid People" back then!

In a flash of lightning, Zhang Xuanyi's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpricks!

He abruptly stood up from the chair. A terrifying thought exploded in his mind, connecting all the clues together!

The Tianshi Mansion's "pseudo-liquid," those enforcement Dao soldiers cultivated as consumables, this "Nine Palace Spirit Locking Array" that required vast life force to activate... "So that's how it is..." Zhang Xuanyi's lips trembled with anger, his voice hoarse, "You use 'pseudo-liquid' to raise soldiers, then use the name of 'orthodoxy' to kill people... This grand array was forged with countless human lives!"

He finally understood. Cui Wujiu wasn't here to "incorporate" him; he was here to "sacrifice" him!

To use the lives of these three hundred Dao soldiers, plus the vows of the myriad people, to completely lock down the Dao Market and seize this immense opportunity!

Rage burned in his heart!

Zhang Xuanyi didn't hesitate. He bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of vital blood, then formed hand seals, attempting to use his blood as a guide to activate the "Reverse Fate Talisman" on his chest, forcibly summoning the Dao Market's phantom to descend.

However, the system interface completely froze at this moment, the progress bar stuck at 99%, unmoving.

The golden patterns of the street stall were firmly suppressed by the Nine Palace Spirit Locking Array, and the core projection system simply couldn't activate!

At this critical juncture, an unexpected change occurred!

The street stall cloth, which had been passively enduring the suppression, suddenly began to vibrate on its own, without any warning!

Buzz—!

The twelve golden patterns simultaneously emitted a high-pitched hum. The sound seemed to come from primeval antiquity, completely unaffected by the array.

The next second, the previously dim golden patterns not only did not extinguish but instead, like hungry beasts opening their greedy jaws, began to frantically and inversely pull at the immense Qi flow of the Nine Palace Spirit Locking Array!

"What?!" The triumphant smile on Cui Wujiu's face instantly froze, turning into endless horror. "Impossible! How can mere mortal objects counter-devour the Tianshi Mansion's mountain-suppressing grand array?!"

Before his words finished, a heart-wrenching pain suddenly erupted in Zhang Xuanyi's chest!

The twelve dark-gold seal marks, which he had regarded as brands of enslavement, now suddenly became scorching hot, like red-hot irons, producing an unprecedentedly strong resonance with the twelve golden patterns on the street stall!

He lowered his head in pain, horrified to see drops of crimson blood actually seeping out from beneath the flesh of those twelve seal marks, then transforming into faint bloodlines, slowly absorbed by the street stall cloth beneath him, disappearing without a trace.

An unprecedented realization surged into his heart.

Zhang Xuanyi suddenly raised his head, the painful expression on his face replaced by a nearly frenzied smile. He looked at the terrified Cui Wujiu, at that hypocritical talisman edict, and burst into a hoarse, great laugh, his laughter filled with endless desolation and relief: "Haha... Hahahahaha! I understand... So... It wasn't sealing me, it was... nurturing me!"

The moment his words fell, the light of the twelve golden patterns on the street stall surged a thousandfold!

The tottering hundred-zhang light curtain, with a thunderous roar, completely shattered before the horrified gazes of everyone!

But it did not dissipate. Instead, it transformed into billions of burning rune flames, like a breached star river, or a karmic fire blazing across the sky, overwhelming everything, forming a boundless waterfall of light!

The system interface let out a final roar in Zhang Xuanyi's mind:

[Level limit removed... Authority upgraded... Lv.7—Myriad Laws Edict, officially unlocked!]

And in that impending torrent of rune fire light, a line of huge and desolate ancient seal script finally flashed, each character as heavy as a mountain:

"The Cloth Master is not human, but a seed of fire."

At the same same time, deep within Mount Longhu, in the unknown underground mystic palace, an ancient, verdigris-covered coffin made a soft "click" and a tiny, imperceptible crack appeared.

A drop of ink-black dark blood, like a solidified tear, slowly slid down the crack of the coffin.

The light curtain had shattered, the star river hung upside down.

The torrent formed by billions of rune flames, carrying the scorching heat that could incinerate all things and the majesty of creating new life, locked onto its sole target below.

Zhang Xuanyi raised his head, spreading his arms, letting the violent energy storm tear at his clothes, making them flap wildly.

He felt no fear; instead, he felt an unprecedented sense of familiarity, like a wanderer returning home.

He was the fire. And this sea of fire was his destiny, and his new life.