66: The Tianshi Mansion was punished by heaven?

Three days after the Golden Decree descended, Mount Longhu fell into a strange, deathly silence.

The mountain gates were tightly shut, the sounds of the morning bell and evening drum ceased abruptly, and even the most diligent Sweeping Daoist boys had vanished without a trace.

The entire thousand-year-old Daoist mountain felt as if an invisible giant hand were clutching its throat, severing all connection with the world below.

However, in stark contrast to the deathly stillness on the mountain, the market stall at the foot of the mountain was growing at an unprecedented rate.

Giant leaves unfurled like market tents, shielding the passing pilgrims from the sunlight.

Thick roots spread across the surface like coiled dragons, interlacing and knotting together to spontaneously form small paths leading to the center of the market stall.

As night fell, the golden flames flowing through the leaf veins grew more brilliant, projecting four illusory characters into the air—'Exchange Will, Not Money.'

On a bamboo chair, Zhang Xuanyi bit into a piece of chilled watermelon with a 'crack,' his mouth full of red pulp and overflowing juice.

He squinted, comfortably watching the scene before him as if admiring a peerless masterpiece.

Su Qingzhu squatted to the side, her slender fingers nimbly debugging a latest-model drone as dense streams of data flashed across the screen.

“Latest statistics show that there are already 2,371 registered folk Power Of Will points formed spontaneously across the country. Even in the back mountains of Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, monks have set up ‘Karma Redemption Stalls,’ and the incense offerings are incredibly popular.” She looked up, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. “But Tianshi Mansion... it’s too quiet, as if its soul has been sucked out.”

“Pfft.” Zhang Xuanyi spat out a shiny black watermelon seed, accurately flicking it into a nearby trash can.

“It’s not that its soul was sucked out; it’s that its soul doesn’t dare to come out.” He lazily shifted his posture and smiled. “It’s afraid. It’s afraid that if it opens its doors and sees the common people all over the mountains, it will realize that everyone no longer needs this high-and-mighty ‘Celestial Master’ to live their lives.”

Just as he finished speaking, a suppressed muffled groan suddenly came from not far away.

In the cool of the late night, the sound was particularly piercing.

Zhang Xuanyi and Su Qingzhu turned their heads simultaneously to see Cui Wujiu, who had been silently guarding the stall, suddenly hunch over. A mouthful of jet-black clotted blood sprayed from his mouth, hitting the ground with a sizzling corrosive sound.

At his heart, the Reverse Talisman black marking left by Tianshi Mansion was growing wildly like a living thing, crawling up along his Meridians, nearly wrapping around his throat!

In an instant, the leaf veins of the entire market stall trembled violently.

The remnant soul of the Old Market-Stall Dog appeared among the golden leaf veins, pacing back and forth anxiously and letting out silent roars inaudible to human ears.

“Using that tiny bit of shared Daoist charm in the Purple Gold Decree to trigger the Reverse Talisman and force him to turn?” Zhang Xuanyi’s gaze turned cold, his laziness vanishing without a trace.

He casually pulled a sheet of ‘photocopy yellow paper’ from the roots of the market stall. Pressing his index and middle fingers together like a sword, he dipped them into the black blood Cui Wujiu had spat out and lightning-fast drew half of a twisted ‘Evil-Suppressing Talisman’ on the paper.

“Command!”

With a low shout, the yellow paper spontaneously ignited. Zhang Xuanyi flashed forward and pressed the burning talisman paper onto the vital acupoint on Cui Wujiu’s back!

The paper instantly turned to ash. The hideous black marking seemed to be seared by a hot iron; it let out a shriek and abruptly shrank back into Cui Wujiu’s heart, temporarily going dormant.

Cui Wujiu gasped heavily, his face as pale as paper and his clothes soaked with sweat.

“That decree... wasn't an order...” His voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with lingering fear and determination. “It was a test... the Celestial Master wanted to use the Purple Gold Decree to trigger the resonance of the Reverse Talisman in my body, to make me lose my mind and force me... to betray you.”

Zhang Xuanyi sneered and helped him up, his voice carrying a hint of disdain. “He overestimated the reputation of those three words of his and underestimated your ‘unwilling’ heart. Cui Wujiu, remember, you are guarding this market stall that allows the people to live and work in peace, not that cold mountain gate of Tianshi Mansion.”

“I understand.” Cui Wujiu nodded heavily, his gaze no longer wavering in the slightest.

Su Qingzhu didn't speak; she quickly controlled the drone to ascend, activating the Geological Thermal Scanning Mode.

On the screen, the thermal map of Mount Longhu’s earth veins was clearly displayed. A second later, her pupils shrank violently.

“Xuanyi, something’s wrong!” She pointed at the screen, her voice urgent. “The earth vein fluctuations of Mount Longhu are abnormal! Look here—the Bronze Stele that was buried deep underground and had long been silent... the Dragon Qi at its base... is flowing in reverse!”

On the map, the golden energy flow representing Mount Longhu’s thousand-year Dragon Qi was not nourishing the entire Daoist mountain as it normally would; instead, it was being drawn like by a giant pump, converging in threads toward a single direction.

And the destination of that convergence was precisely the market stall beneath their feet!

Su Qingzhu suddenly realized and took a sharp breath. “It’s not you borrowing the power of the earth veins! It’s the earth veins borrowing your momentum! Xuanyi, your stall... it’s growing right on the main root of Mount Longhu’s dragon vein! The Power Of Will of hundreds of millions of people is converging here through this stall, and it is in turn pulling and nourishing this thousand-year Dragon Qi that has been silent for three hundred years!”

Before she could finish, a muffled, thunderous boom echoed from deep underground.

An ancient and weary consciousness flashed through Zhang Xuanyi and Su Qingzhu’s minds along the roots of the market stall, leaving behind only a few intermittent words:

“...Kindling... Inherit the Dao... Must not be broken...”

It was the remnant soul of the Old Earth Vein Turtle!

The morning of the fourth day.

A strange phenomenon occurred at Mount Longhu.

Clouds across the sky condensed like iron, pressing heavily upon the mountain peak, yet not a single drop of rain fell.

Within the clouds, lightning gathered. Nine streaks of Purple-Gold Divine Lightning, as thick as buckets, boomed into formation, suspended directly above Tianshi Mansion. Electric light moved like dragons and snakes, letting out deafening roars, yet they never struck down.

The heavenly might was magnificent; the momentum of judgment was set, yet it remained poised without being released!

The Disciples hiding in various halls throughout the mountain looked up at the lightning punishment in terror. Each one was pale and scared out of their wits, yet not one dared to step a single foot out of the hall doors.

Su Qingzhu had already set up a high-definition camera and fully captured this wonder, even drafting a news headline—

Tianshi Mansion Facing Heavenly Retribution? Nine Purple Lightning Bolts Suspended Overhead for 48 Hours Without Falling—Is it a Loss of Morality or a Distortion of Daoist Arts?》

Zhang Xuanyi, however, stood before the stall with his hands behind his back, squinting at the nine dancing lightning dragons in the sky. He said calmly, “This isn't heavenly retribution; it’s a Heavenly Inquiry.”

The corners of his mouth curled into an arc. “That Old Celestial Master has been in secluded meditation for three hundred years and has long since broken the Power Of Will contract with this world. Now that my Dao Market has established itself, it is equivalent to rebuilding the rules. The heavens and earth have sensed this and naturally want him, the ‘predecessor,’ to give an explanation.”

“But as long as he doesn't speak, this lightning will never fall. The Heavens are also waiting for an answer.”

That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.

Zhang Xuanyi pulled a jar of aged rice wine of unknown years from under the stall. He slapped open the mud seal, and the mellow aroma of wine instantly filled the air.

He didn't drink it; instead, he slowly poured the entire jar of wine before the main root of the market stall.

“Old Turtle,” he said softly, “you said the kindling must be inherited and the orthodoxy must not be broken. Fine, today, I’ll light a fire for you.”

After speaking, he suddenly bit his fingertip, and a drop of bright red blood with a faint golden tint seeped out.

Without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed that fragment of yellow paper that carried the lifeblood of the first generation Celestial Master. Using his finger as a brush and blood as ink, he boldly wrote five large characters on it:

Acting on Behalf of the Celestial Master!

After writing, he flicked his finger, and the blood-stained yellow paper fragment drifted down onto the soil where the rice wine had just been poured.

There were no flames, yet it was better than flames!

Those five blood-red characters seemed to possess life, glowing brilliantly and instantly igniting the wine vapors of the entire area.

A cluster of invisible golden flames soared into the sky. They carried no heat, yet possessed an unmatched will, boldly pouring into the depths of Mount Longhu’s earth veins along the roots of the market stall!

“Rumble—”

The earth shook violently, as if a sleeping giant dragon were waking up.

Deep within the earth veins, the remnant soul of the Old Turtle was completely activated by this power, letting out a roar that spanned a thousand years!

In an instant, the Dragon Qi of the entire Mount Longhu earth vein was like a river bursting its banks. Finding an outlet for release, it crazily flowed back, all of it surging into the seemingly ordinary main stem of the market stall!

The golden flames on all the leaves of the market stall flared up by three feet. The light was so intense that it illuminated the surrounding ten miles as if it were broad daylight!

Amidst the shifting light and shadows, a giant, incredibly clear ancient map was projected into mid-air—it was none other than the earth vein layout of the entire Mount Longhu territory!

Thousands of veins, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, finally all pointed to a dazzling red dot in the center of the map.

The location of that red dot was precisely beneath Zhang Xuanyi’s feet.

Zhang Xuanyi grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. Toward the silent Mount Longhu, he spoke softly yet clearly: “Look closely. This time, it’s not me stealing your orthodoxy.”

“It is this earth vein that has recognized its own master.”

As his voice fell, the crazily surging Dragon Qi seemed to reach a critical point.

The main stem of the market stall emitted a muffled hum, like an ancient bronze bell being struck. An indescribable sense of weight and desolation spread from its interior.

It was no longer simple plant vitality, but a more ancient, more majestic power that was brewing an unprecedented transformation within the body of this peculiar ‘plant.’