65: Something truly valuable

The Heavenly Master's personal decree was rejected; those two blood-colored characters, 'Unwilling,' were seemingly branded onto the sky above Mount Longhu, lingering for a long time.

At the foot of the mountain, there was a deathly silence.

The wind stopped, the birds ceased their chirping, and even the inextinguishable golden flame on that strange cloth plant seemed to freeze for a moment.

Everyone's gaze slowly shifted from the Void Realm where the decree had vanished back to that worn-out bamboo lounge chair.

Zhang Xuanyi, the ninth Cloth Master of this street stall, was acting as if nothing had happened, casually spitting out the shells of the sunflower seeds he had finished eating, accurately flicking them into a bamboo tube three meters away.

He even stretched, his joints letting out a series of lazy cracks.

"The taste isn't that great," he smacked his lips and commented, "it's dry and astringent, with a stale, musty smell—not nearly as chewy as my roasted mung beans."

These light words were like a giant boulder crashing into stagnant water, instantly stirring up a thousand layers of waves.

"Crazy... You're crazy!" Su Qingzhu finally found her voice amidst the extreme shock; the tablet computer in her hand almost slipped to the ground, and the dense streams of data on the screen were jumping frantically.

She lowered her voice, yet her tone sounded like a scream: "That was the personal decree of the current Heavenly Master! A living ancestor who has been in seclusion for three hundred years and is revered as a Daoist myth! You... you just... ate it?"

She wanted to say "rejected," but the fact occurring before her eyes was far more impactful than a rejection—it wasn't a rejection; it was consumption, it was contempt, it was taking the supreme face of the Tianshi Mansion, ruthlessly trampling it underfoot, and grinding it twice for good measure.

"So what if I ate it?" Zhang Xuanyi shifted to a more comfortable lying position and glanced at her. "Buying things requires an offer; that's only natural. If he wants to use an empty promise to make me join up, wouldn't my stall be a sucker? I'm running an honest business with no deception for anyone."

"It's not the same!" Su Qingzhu stamped her feet in anxiety. "This isn't a business deal! This is a summons! It's the highest command of the Orthodoxy! The Tianshi Mansion won't let this go; they will... they will overturn the entire Mount Longhu!"

Before her voice had even faded, Cui Wujiu, who was sitting cross-legged on the north side, suddenly opened his eyes.

His gaze was no longer the dark struggle it had been before, but was sharper than ever.

The broken blade resting across his knees emitted a faint hum, as if sensing its master's Battle Intent.

The writhing black patterns on his heart were suddenly suppressed by an invisible force the moment the Heavenly Master's decree was consumed, and they were now as quiet as dead objects.

Cui Wujiu spoke slowly, his voice hoarse but steady: "It's coming."

He wasn't talking about the army of the Tianshi Mansion, but a kind of 'momentum'.

An overwhelming, magnificent momentum that sought to crush all heterodoxy into dust.

Sure enough, at the end of the mountain path, the clouds and mist suddenly churned violently, as if an invisible giant hand were stirring the wind and clouds.

A clear and high-pitched crane cry tore through the sky, piercing through the clouds and mist.

Immediately following, a figure stepped upon an extraordinarily majestic white crane, drifting over and hovering in mid-air.

The newcomer wore the mysterious black dharma robes unique to the Tianshi Mansion, the edges embroidered with complex silver thunder patterns; he had white hair and a youthful complexion, and as his eyes opened and closed, flashes of electricity faintly flickered within.

In his hand, he held a three-inch-long, crystal-clear jade ruler, with two ancient seal script characters carved on its body—'Guitian'.

"It's the Law Enforcement Elder of the Tianshi Mansion, Immortal Master Xuanjing!" Among the crowd, a knowledgeable Daoist Loose Cultivator cried out in shock, his face instantly turning pale. "In his hand is the Magic Treasure 'Guitian Ruler,' which is specifically for establishing Daoist rules and punishing those who betray the Dao! It's said that once this ruler appears, his words carry the weight of Law, and he can determine life and death!"

Immortal Master Xuanjing's gaze was like lightning, sweeping over the agitated crowd below and finally landing on Zhang Xuanyi.

There was no anger in his eyes, only a high-and-mighty coldness, as if he were looking at an ant.

"Ninth Cloth Master," he spoke, his voice not loud but clearly reaching everyone's ears with an unquestionable authority, "the Heavenly Master is merciful. Considering your Legacy was not easy to obtain and your first offense was out of ignorance, he specially grants you a second chance. Immediately withdraw this demonic plant, bind your own hands, and follow me into the Mansion to kneel before the 'Stele of Self-Repentance' for a hundred years of penance; perhaps then you may avoid the punishment of total annihilation of body and soul."

He paused, his tone becoming several degrees colder: "This is not a transaction, but the regulation of the Heavenly Dao and the Law of the Tianshi Mansion. You do not have the right to refuse."

As his words fell, the 'Guitian Ruler' in his hand emitted a soft white light that enveloped the entire stall.

That light seemed gentle, but it carried an irresistible power of Law; the air seemed to become viscous, pressing down until people could hardly breathe.

Su Qingzhu nervously clenched her fists, and Cui Wujiu's hand was already pressed against his sword hilt, his muscles bulging.

However, Zhang Xuanyi only lifted his eyelids, too lazy to even sit up.

He fished another handful of 'heavenly eye mung beans' from the small basket nearby, slowly skewering them with a bamboo stick while muttering, "Here comes another one who only gives a quote but doesn't pay... Is your Tianshi Mansion so poor that all you have left are rules?"

Once he finished one skewer, without even looking at Immortal Master Xuanjing in the sky, he instead handed the skewer toward the previously mentioned one-armed old Daoist.

"Old man, that 'Soul-Redeeming Talisman' from just now was exchanged for ten years of your lifespan, right?"

The one-armed old Daoist was currently kneeling on the ground, his body trembling slightly from excitement and fear.

He hadn't expected things to develop to this point, but hearing Zhang Xuanyi's question, he still subconsciously nodded and said tremulously, "Yes... it was this old man's willing choice."

"That's good." Zhang Xuanyi smiled and stuffed the roasted mung beans into his hand. "This is a free gift to warm your body. My stall does business based on mutual willingness. Anyone who wants to use 'rules' to freeload—that won't work."

These words seemed to be addressed to the old Daoist, but in reality, every word was like a resounding slap across the face of Immortal Master Xuanjing in mid-air.

Immortal Master Xuanjing's expression finally changed.

He had cultivated for over three hundred years, was in charge of punishments, and his words carried the weight of Law; when had he ever been subjected to such disregard and humiliation?

"Stubbornly incorrigible!" he roared, his killing intent fully revealed. "Since you are seeking death, this seat shall execute punishment on behalf of Heaven and first destroy the source of your chaos!"

With that, he raised the 'Guitian Ruler' high, and the ruler's body shone brilliantly. A highly condensed bolt of lightning erupted from the tip of the ruler, transforming into a massive 'Break' character divine talisman, carrying the rolling majesty of heaven as it struck straight toward that cloth-like strange plant!

This one strike was enough to level a small hilltop!

The crowd let out terrified screams and scattered in flight.

Su Qingzhu closed her eyes in fright.

Cui Wujiu roared, his broken blade unsheathed, prepared to meet that bolt of lightning!

But at that moment, an even weirder scene occurred.

Facing that world-destroying lightning divine talisman, the strange plant didn't resist; instead, like a long-starved Taotie smelling blood, all its leaves excitedly unfurled, and the inextinguishable golden flame at the center of the flower suddenly surged!

When the lightning divine talisman was still three feet away from the plant, it suddenly stalled, as if it had hit an invisible barrier.

No, that wasn't a barrier, but a massive suction force!

The lightning on the divine talisman began to twist and decompose, turning into the purest energy, which was greedily swallowed in one gulp by that golden flame!

"Burp~"

A tiny sound, like a burp after a full meal, came from the center of the plant's flower.

The golden flame flickered once, and its color seemed to become a bit purer.

Meanwhile, Immortal Master Xuanjing was struck as if by lightning himself; his body jolted violently, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood, and his face instantly became withered.

The 'Guitian Ruler' in his hand grew dim and let out a wail.

"How is it possible... my 'Heaven-Regulating Evil-Breaking Incantation'... how could it be treated as nourishment..." he murmured in disbelief, his gaze toward the strange plant carrying deep fear for the first time.

Zhang Xuanyi then slowly sat up straight, brushed the sunflower seed dust off his hands, and kindly explained: "Like I said, this is a stall, and I'm doing business. That move of yours just now—to me, it's not called an 'attack,' it's called 'making a wish.'"

He pointed at the strange plant: "The wish you made was to 'destroy this stall.' The stall evaluated it and felt that your wish was of high value, so it happily... accepted your 'deposit'."

"Deposit?" Immortal Master Xuanjing was stunned.

"That's right," Zhang Xuanyi said as if it were a matter of course, "the magic power contained in your talisman was the deposit. But... to realize the wish of 'destroying the stall,' this little deposit is far from enough."

His tone shifted, and his smile became meaningful: "The stall also gave you a price just now; I guess you were too excited and didn't listen carefully. Let me repeat it for you."

His voice echoed in the silent valley, clearly reaching everyone's ears:

"To destroy this stall, the price must be paid: either your entire lifetime of cultivation, the thousand-year Luck of the Tianshi Mansion, or... the truth you buried beneath the Dragon Locking Well a hundred years ago. Choose one of the three, pay the final balance, and your wish shall be fulfilled."

These few sentences were more powerful than the lightning divine talisman from before, exploding directly in Immortal Master Xuanjing's mind.

His body swayed, and he nearly fell off the back of the white crane.

"You... how could you know about the matter of the Dragon Locking Well?!" he screamed, and on that previously calm face, an expression of utter horror appeared for the first time.

That was a fear more terrifying than death, as if the darkest and most secret Forbidden Ground in his heart had been bloodily ripped open and exposed to the light of day.

Zhang Xuanyi didn't answer; he just lazily lay back down, picking up a grass root to dangle from his mouth.

The answer was already self-evident.

Immortal Master Xuanjing stared fixedly at Zhang Xuanyi, then looked at the strange plant that seemed to be showing him a mocking smile. Killing intent, horror, malice, regret... all sorts of emotions intertwined in his eyes, eventually turning into dead ash.

He couldn't afford this price.

He couldn't afford any of them!

"We... leave!" He ground his teeth and squeezed out those two words. He steered the white crane and, without looking back, turned into a streak of light and fled in a pathetic state.

That panicked retreating figure no longer had even a hint of a Law Enforcement Elder's majesty; he looked more like a stray dog.

A storm capable of subverting the order of the Daoist world had ended just like that, in an anticlimactic fashion.

At the foot of the mountain, peace was restored once again.

But this time, the atmosphere was completely different.

The Loose Cultivators and pilgrims who had scattered in flight cautiously gathered back, and their gazes toward Zhang Xuanyi had changed from looking at a spectacle to looking at a god.

The one-armed old Daoist was even more moved, with old tears streaming down his face as he heavily kowtowed three times toward Zhang Xuanyi.

He said nothing, but his 'Wish' had already been transmitted through this action.

Su Qingzhu's breathing was still rapid; she looked at the frantically refreshing information on her tablet and murmured, "Something's happened... something big has happened..."

"What's wrong?" Zhang Xuanyi asked.

Su Qingzhu held up the tablet; the screen showed a real-time updated map of the country.

At the exact moment Immortal Master Xuanjing retreated in defeat, the more than three hundred spontaneously formed 'Power Of Will trading points' across the country—whether they were a single grass talisman or a stone—simultaneously lit up with a faint but determined glow.

These points of light connected into a single field on the map, echoing the main root here at the foot of Mount Longhu from afar, like a massive network that was waking up.

"They... they are responding to you!" Su Qingzhu's voice carried a hint of trembling. "The authority of the Tianshi Mansion has been challenged, and these folk 'Dao' that have been suppressed for over a thousand years seem... seem to have collectively come to life!"

Hearing this, the corners of Zhang Xuanyi's mouth curled up slightly. He raised his head and looked at the cloth-like strange plant.

On the back of the flower bud, the 'Twelfth Successor' tender stamen—which was originally just an outline—had become clear and solid at a visible speed after absorbing Immortal Master Xuanjing's lightning magic power and witnessing this 'inclination of the people's hearts'.

Those three ancient-looking characters seemed to be announcing the arrival of a new era.

Zhang Xuanyi withdrew his gaze and laughed softly: "This is just the beginning. The Tianshi Mansion's 'rules' are sold out; next, it's time for them to sell... something truly valuable."