One Person: I, the Dragon Tiger Stall King! I Won!

67: The old dog barks at the sky, and his cry settles the mountain.That power no longer hid itself, surging domineeringly through every inch of the street stall’s leaf veins; the edges of the lush green leaves actually began to take on a layer of cold, heavy bronze luster.

In the center of the leaves, upon that budding flower, the three ancient characters for ’Twelfth Successor’ seemed to be retraced by an invisible carving knife, the strokes sharp and forceful, nearly piercing through the leaf with an unquestionable majesty.

However, the transformation of the street stall came at the cost of Cui Wujiu’s life.

”Pfft!”

Cui Wujiu suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood, his body swaying as he nearly collapsed.

His face, already pale from the Reverse Talisman, now lacked even a trace of color. Beneath his skin, networks of black talismanic veins flickered in and out of sight like venomous snakes about to break free from the constraints of flesh; every surge of the leyline Dragon Qi made these snakes grow a degree more tyrannical.

”Old Cui!” Zhang Xuanyi was startled and grabbed his teetering body. Upon contact, he felt only a searing heat, as if he were holding a piece of branding iron about to explode.

The Reverse Three Caverns Talisman was originally a method used by the Tianshi Mansion to control its sharpest ’blades,’ using one’s own Dao foundation as a cage to lock down all cultivation.

Now, this pure and vast leyline Dragon Qi was no different than adding fuel to the fire for it, frantically stimulating the Talisman to completely burst Cui Wujiu, the ’cage’!

”No, you have to leave this place! The stronger the Dragon Qi, the more danger you’re in!” Zhang Xuanyi roared, attempting to drag him away from the stall.

Cui Wujiu, however, used all his strength to grip a corner of the stall tightly, his knuckles turning white from the effort. He panted heavily, his eyes full of resolve and stubbornness as he rasped, ”No... I’m not going anywhere! This stall... is my only home. Even if I die, I’ll die here!”

He wasn’t guarding the stall for the Tianshi Mansion; he was guarding this last bit of sentiment for himself.

Zhang Xuanyi’s heart sank abruptly. Seeing Cui Wujiu’s aura growing weaker and weaker, his mind raced, and he suddenly flipped open the System mall that only he could see.

A row of gray items suddenly lit up with the glow of being unlocked—Pseudo-Three Caverns True Qi Liquid: can neutralize the tyrannical aura of the Reverse Three Caverns Talisman and reshape the Dao foundation.

However, when his gaze fell upon the price, a sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

spirit coins: 100,000.

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Zhang Xuanyi’s mouth as he mocked himself, ”I’ve been selling mung bean soup for three days, working myself to death, and only earned 8,000 spirit coins... Where the hell am I going to get the rest?”

Just then, a slender but powerful hand pressed onto his shoulder.

Su Qingzhu stood silently behind him, without a hint of hesitation in her eyes. She took out her phone and took a deep breath, as if she had made a major decision.

”Let me,” she said, her voice not loud, yet carrying an unquestionable power. ”Tonight, we’ll hold an extra ’Power Of Will Auction’ livestream. Not for money, but for a life!”

Before her voice had even faded, the livestream room opened instantly.

There was no warm-up and no promotion, but the two words ’Cloth Master’ were now the most resounding brand in the entire Huaxia Extraordinary world.

Almost the moment the livestream began, extraordinaries from all over the country swarmed in, and the number of people online exploded in a geometric progression.

”The situation is urgent, so I’ll keep it short.” Su Qingzhu’s face appeared on camera, with the dying Cui Wujiu and the anxious Zhang Xuanyi in the background. ”The person beside me is Cui Wujiu of the Tianshi Mansion. He needs a sum of spirit coins to save his life. Tonight, all of the Cloth Master’s collection, including Talismans and guidance, can be auctioned. But we don’t want money—we only accept Power Of Will!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the livestream room erupted.

A second later, a golden bullet message streaked across the screen.

”The Wang Family of Yanjing is willing to donate ten years of bitter cultivation Power Of Will, seeking only one ’Soul-Soothing Talisman’ to comfort the heroic spirit of my brother who died on the battlefield!”

”The Tang Sect of West Shu offers a remnant chapter of our unique Mind-Cultivation Technique, ’Heavenly Star Eye,’ requesting the Cloth Master to point out a path of redemption for my wayward Disciple!”

”A Northeast Shamanic Disciple is willing to offer a hundred years of incense Power Of Will from my lineage, requesting one ’Mind-Clearing Talisman’ from the Cloth Master to help my Immortal pass through the Heart Demon Tribulation!”

Each bullet message represented a powerful extraordinary and a heavy entrustment.

Without the slightest hesitation, they turned their most precious things—cultivation, techniques, incense—entirely into the purest Power Of Will, surging toward this tiny livestream room.

On the screen, the number of spirit coins jumped frantically.

50,000! 70,000! 90,000!

In just two short hours, the number froze at 103,000!

”Enough!” Zhang Xuanyi growled, a sharp light exploding in his eyes as he pressed the exchange button in the System mall without hesitation.

A tube of liquid shimmering with a gentle, precious glow, as if condensed from moonlight, appeared in his hand.

”Pseudo-Three Caverns True Qi Liquid, obtained!”

Without a moment’s delay, he pried open Cui Wujiu’s mouth and poured the entire tube of True Qi liquid into him.

As the True Qi entered the body, it was like sweet rain falling on parched land, but also like a ladle of cold water being splashed into boiling oil!

The Reverse Three Caverns Talisman inside Cui Wujiu launched a final, frantic counterattack. Strands of black Qi seeped out from his pores, blood instantly flowed from his seven orifices, and his entire body convulsed violently. A beast-like roar issued from his throat as he seemed to be enduring the most extreme pain in the world.

”Hold on!” Zhang Xuanyi pressed his hands firmly onto the man’s shoulders, his True Qi penetrating the body to stabilize his heart meridians. He shouted word by word, ”Cui Wujiu, listen up! You are not a dog raised by the Tianshi Mansion, nor are you a blade in their hands! You are yourself! Your name is Cui Wujiu! Live for yourself!”

”For... myself...”

In Cui Wujiu’s unfocused eyes, a spark of light suddenly coalesced.

”Ah—!”

He let out an earth-shattering howl, and those black talismanic veins beneath his skin snapped inch by inch!

A mass of spiteful black Qi, as solid as substance, suddenly erupted from the crown of his head. Carrying endless curses and resentment, it did not dissipate; instead, it turned around and lunged straight for the transforming stall!

At this critical moment, a sudden change occurred!

The remnant soul of the old dog that had been lying by the stall like a dead object suddenly leaped out from the leaf veins of the stall!

It was no longer a murky canine shape, but a blurred human figure that stood between heaven and earth!

The figure was clad in tattered Daoist robes, one hand hanging empty, while the other... actually held half of a broken ruler!

It looked up at the incoming black Qi, opened its mouth, and uttered its first complete human sentence in a halting yet incredibly clear voice. The sound seemed to come from thousands of years ago, echoing in every corner of Mount Longhu.

”My name is Zhang Shouzhuo. The First Cloth Master. I have guarded the vows for seventy years.”

As the words fell, he suddenly threw back his head and roared towards the sky!

”Roar—!”

This long roar was no longer a bark, but a grand Daoist sound like a great bronze bell!

Wherever the sound waves passed, the void vibrated and rocks crumbled. Under this Daoist sound, that spiteful black Qi didn’t even have time to struggle before it was instantly blasted into oblivion, leaving not a single trace!

The roar did not stop, spreading like ripples; all thirty-six peaks of Mount Longhu actually hummed in unison along with it!

The leyline Dragon Qi buried deep underground seemed to hear the command of a sovereign. It stopped its agitation and, under the guidance of this long roar, all returned to its proper place!

The roar ceased, and the storm subsided.

The figure named Zhang Shouzhuo landed back by the stall, his form already so faint it was nearly transparent, as if he would dissipate at any moment.

The half-broken ruler in his hand fell to the ground with a ’clack.’

At the same time, from the depths of the leyline, the last faint wisp of consciousness from that old turtle, which had slept for untold ages, leisurely drifted into the hearts of Zhang Xuanyi and Su Qingzhu: ”The spark has been inherited; the Dao Market shall not perish. You all... may act on behalf of the Tianshi to perform the Mountain Sacrifice Ritual.”

Zhang Xuanyi understood instantly.

What was a true Tianshi?

It wasn’t the person in the Tianshi Mansion’s seclusion room who ignored the world, but the one where Power Of Will converged, the one the people’s hearts turned toward!

He helped up Cui Wujiu, who had been completely transformed and now had clear eyes, and gave a heavy nod to Su Qingzhu.

”Prepare to publish the post. The title will be—’Mount Longhu Holds Mountain Sacrifice Today, Cloth Master Acts on Behalf of Heavenly Duty’!”

The first ray of dawn broke through the clouds, spilling over the messy mountaintop.

Zhang Xuanyi stood solemnly before the stall. He bent down and picked up the half-broken, ancient ruler.

Then, pressing his fingers together like a sword, he made a cut on his palm, drawing a streak of blood. Using the blood as a medium and the ruler as a brush, he drew an ancient and complex ’Mountain Sacrifice Talisman’ in the void!

The Talisman was complete!

All the bronze leaves of the stall moved without wind, unfolding together as a ball of golden flame shot into the sky from the flower bud, reflecting across the entire sky in a brilliant blaze!

The Power Of Will gathered from the livestream, belonging to thousands of extraordinaries, seemed to find an outlet at this moment, turning into a mighty golden river that poured back into that golden flame!

Rumble!

The sea of clouds over Mount Longhu’s thirty-six peaks churned. The tamed Dragon Qi surged out once more, but this time it was no longer violent; instead, it condensed into the phantom of a giant dragon spanning the horizon. It circled the thirty-six peaks three times, and then, slowly lowered its proud head, bowing in submission toward the stall at the foot of the mountain!

Ten thousand mountains come to pay homage!

Watching this scene, Cui Wujiu’s eyes shone with divine light. He knelt on one knee, performing a grand salute he had never once given to the Tianshi Mansion.

Su Qingzhu, with tears in her eyes and trembling fingers, pressed the publish button on her phone.

One stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Thousands of miles away, atop Mount Longhu, that vermilion gate representing the highest authority of the Daoist sects—which had not wavered for a thousand years—at the same moment the dragon phantom bowed its head, let out a dull and long—

”Crack.”

That was not the sound of a door bolt opening.

But rather, something even more solid... cracking open a seam from the inside.