33: The Broken Monument Order is the Taoist's divorce certificate

The night wind, like a knife, whipped up a sky full of yellow sand, making the newly reborn stone tablet forest appear even more desolate.

Gongshu Yin's cold metal fingers traced over his back armor one last time, completely imprinting the new Dao rule, "To bear the wishes of kin, to suffer the tribulations for kin," with a soft sizzling sound.

He looked at Zhang Xuanyi, his eyes flickering with complex data streams: "The foundation of the Dao Market has been shaken by you. The old order will not let this rest."

Zhang Xuanyi spat the last sunflower seed shell onto the sand, clapped his hands, and smiled nonchalantly: "If the foundation is rotten, should we leave it to grow mushrooms instead of digging it out? Besides, I didn't shake it; I just gave it a small upgrade, a version iteration, that's all."

As soon as he finished speaking, the newly unlocked "Regional Spirit Net" suddenly unfurled in his spiritual consciousness.

This was an unprecedented experience, as if his consciousness instantly transformed into an invisible grand net, covering a hundred-mile radius.

Every wisp of wind, every grain of sand in this desert, and even the faint thoughts of every living being, transformed into fragmented information streams flooding into his mind.

There were desperate prayers from lost caravans, greedy desires from sand bandits, the bloodthirsty instincts of demonic beasts, and… a faint yet resolute will.

Zhang Xuanyi's gaze pierced through the night, looking in the direction Yan Jiuzhang had departed.

Within the perception of the Spirit Net, he could "see" that stumbling figure stop on a sand dune.

Yan Jiuzhang raised his arm, which was once rusty but now reborn with flesh and blood. His five fingers slowly opened and closed under the moonlight, feeling the long-lost warmth.

He lowered his head, trembling as he caressed the lost-and-found wedding ring on his chest. Tears streamed down, silently.

It wasn't sadness, but a release of being redeemed.

A moment later, Yan Jiuzhang bowed deeply towards the direction of the stone tablet forest.

He didn't look back, only his steps became more resolute than ever, walking towards the mortal world, opposite to the Dao Market.

He was going to seek an answer, or rather, to fulfill a promise that was a century overdue.

"He is free." Gongshu Yin's voice was devoid of emotion, yet it seemed to be tinged with a different meaning: "To exchange freedom for responsibility, is this your Dao?"

"My Dao?" Zhang Xuanyi withdrew his gaze, picked up the "examinable" jade token left by Xuan Weizi, and toyed with it between his fingers. "My Dao is very simple—let those who should go home, go home; let those who should reunite, reunite. As for those who don't want people to go home and reunite… just send them on their way."

His words were flippant, but as his fingertips touched the jade token, a pure surge of wish power poured into his palm.

This power was not his own spiritual energy, but the gratitude and relief emitted by countless souls, bound by old rules, at the moment of their liberation when he had just reconstructed the "Broken Tablet Order." This power was quietly collected by the system and stored in his Dantian.

"Buzz!"

The jade token emitted a clear ringing sound, no longer an ordinary object.

On its originally smooth surface, countless hair-thin golden lines lit up, intertwining into a complex map and several lines of ancient seal script.

"Northeast Jue Long Ridge, Ice Cave Cold Heart Furnace. Once, a great craftsman, having lost his beloved, sought to rekindle the lamp of his heart with heavenly fire, and thus cast this furnace. Yet, deep love is easily broken, and a dead heart is hard to warm. On the day the furnace was completed, the great craftsman used his body as fuel and his soul as a fire starter, leaving a message written in blood: Burn my remaining life, perhaps it can warm one person's heart."

Gongshu Yin leaned over, the analysis module on his back armor operating at high speed, scanning and recording the information on the jade token: "Jue Long Ridge… According to the database, that is an extremely cold and bitter land in the far north, covered in snow and ice all year round, with thin spiritual energy and a harsh environment. It is considered an 'abandoned land' by cultivators. Legend has it that a true dragon once fell there, and as its dragon qi dissipated, it took away all life within a thousand-mile radius."

"Abandoned land? Perfect, I happen to like turning waste into treasure." Zhang Xuanyi stroked his chin. The warning "He who ignites the furnace must burn himself" on the system panel was still glaring red, but he was focused on something else.

"Hubby," he suddenly called out.

Gongshu Yin's movements stiffened, his data stream almost becoming chaotic: "Please call me by my full name, Gongshu Yin."

"Alright, Old Yin," Zhang Xuanyi readily agreed, "Look, this jade token says that the great craftsman cast the furnace because he 'lost his beloved.' And the rule we just changed is 'to bear the wishes of kin.' Don't you find it interesting that these two wish power tokens, one born from 'loss' and one changed by 'bearing,' are Before and After?"

Gongshu Yin fell silent.

His brain, comparable to a supercomputer, quickly linked the two events and performed logical deductions.

A few seconds later, he concluded: "Are you saying… these wish power tokens are different facets of the 'Dao' itself? Or rather, are they concrete manifestations of different rules? The old 'Broken Tablet Order' represented severance, while the 'Cold Heart Furnace' represents… irreparable sacrifice?"

"Correct, ten points added." Zhang Xuanyi snapped his fingers. "So, to get the 'Cold Heart Furnace,' the key might not be to force our way in, but to understand. Understand the great craftsman's 'obsession,' and then… sever it."

His words exuded a powerful confidence, as if everything was under control.

However, at this very moment, the "Regional Spirit Net," which had just stabilized, suddenly trembled violently, as if it had been harshly pierced by a cold, poisonous needle.

Zhang Xuanyi's smile instantly froze, and his expression darkened.

A cold, domineering will, filled with judgment, surged like a tide along the nodes of the Spirit Net, tracing back from a distant place.

Wherever this will passed, the prayers of the caravans and the greed of the sand bandits in the Spirit Net were instantly frozen, crushed, and turned into a dead void.

It wasn't merely power; it was an absolute authority that lorded over all living beings, viewing everything as mere straw dogs.

"Someone's coming." Zhang Xuanyi's voice was very low, devoid of any flippancy.

Gongshu Yin's back armor instantly switched to highest alert, countless tiny mechanisms opening and closing on his body, emitting a grating friction sound: "Who is it? So fast! They've already locked onto our Spirit Net coordinates!"

Zhang Xuanyi didn't answer. He closed his eyes, his entire mind sinking into the invaded Spirit Net, attempting to trace the source of that will.

Amidst the endless chaotic information and dead void, he finally captured a cold name, a title that was only occasionally mentioned in the ancient texts of the Dao Market, representing the old order and iron-fisted judgment.

"Dao Market… Enforcement Division."

Before he finished speaking, in the distant horizon, deep within the darkness shrouded by starlight and moonlight, a dazzling silver light suddenly flared.

That light seemed to tear through the night sky, carrying an undeniable majesty and killing intent, and was streaking through the air towards the desolate stone tablet forest where they were located.