Lockdown

Night had fallen, yet Skywater City was still far from sleep.

The southern district remained lively, filled with the crisp clink of spirit stones and the shouts of merchants. But in the City Lord’s Manor at the heart of the city, every hall was brightly lit, and the atmosphere was grim.

In the great council hall, the seat that normally belonged to the city lord, Shu Wanjuan, was occupied by Elder Fang, who had come from Imperial Court Mountain.

He sat ramrod straight, his black-and-white Daoist robes immaculate, his resolute features sharp as if carved by a blade and ax.

He had not touched the spirit tea on the table. Instead, he merely lowered his eyes and examined a jade slip detailing Skywater City’s defenses.

More than a dozen people stood on either side below him.

Every one of them was a powerful figure with considerable influence in Skywater City.

The City Guard Commander, the Spirit Armor Guard Commander… On ordinary days, any one of them could make the entire city tremble with a single stomp of his foot. Yet now, they stood with their hands at their sides like frightened quails, scarcely daring to breathe too loudly.

“Elder Fang, you have nothing to worry about.”

In the end, someone could no longer endure the oppressive silence and spoke first.

It was Qin Shan, Commander of the Spirit Armor Guards—a burly man with a thick beard. He cupped his fists toward Fang Zheng and spoke in a booming voice.

“All three thousand of my Spirit Armor Guards are equipped with Law-Breaking Profound Crossbows and Spirit-Locking Heavy Armor. We were made precisely to deal with cultivators who think their cultivation is profound enough to defy the heavens.”

After the Old Emperor ascended the throne, he founded Imperial Court Mountain and promulgated the “Immortal Laws.”

From that moment onward, using overwhelming power to suppress the world and maintain absolute control over the cultivation sects became the foremost duty of the garrisons stationed throughout the realm.

And the Spirit Armor Guards under Qin Shan’s command were the sharpest blade in Skywater City’s arsenal.

However, even though Qin Shan spoke with complete confidence, Fang Zheng at the head of the hall did not so much as raise an eyelid.

He set down the jade slip and swept his gaze across everyone present. His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority.

“Commander Qin’s Spirit Armor Guards are indeed formidable.”

“But this time…” Fang Zheng’s gaze, sharp as two drawn swords, pierced toward the prosperous night beyond the hall doors. “The enemy is different from those we have faced before.”

“That sword of the Tong family has drawn not only the jackals of Skywater City, but also fierce dragons crossing the river from beyond the city.”

“The meaning of Imperial Court Mountain is very simple.” Fang Zheng rose to his feet and slowly paced through the center of the hall, his hands clasped behind his back. “The auction may proceed, and business may continue—but the rules must not be broken.”

“Anyone who dares to disrupt the rules in Skywater City…” He came to a halt and turned around. At last, a trace of cold killing intent appeared in his eyes, which had been as still as an ancient well.

“Will die.”

The temperature inside the hall seemed to drop several degrees.

Just then, someone lightly knocked on the hall doors.

A personal guard respectfully announced from outside, “Reporting to Elder Fang, Commander Cheng has returned from the city gates.”

“Let him in.”

The doors opened, and a dusty, weather-beaten man strode inside. It was Cheng Feng, who was in charge of the city gates’ defenses.

He dispensed with formalities, grabbed a cup of cold tea from the table, and gulped it down.

Gulp. Gulp.

After finishing the tea, he wiped his mouth and saluted Fang Zheng.

“Elder, everything has been arranged. The guests from all sides have been assigned to different areas according to your instructions, and we have people keeping watch over them. Nothing will go wrong.”

Cheng Feng paused, as though he had remembered something. He scratched his head.

“There is one thing, though. This afternoon, five people from the Puppet Heaven Sacred Land arrived. The leader was carrying a large wooden chest on his back and looked downright sinister. Relying on the fact that they were from a sacred land, they refused to register at the city gates.”

“I was afraid a conflict might break out, so I let them in for the time being.”

“Mm. You did well.” Fang Zheng nodded, his expression still revealing nothing. “These are extraordinary times, so extraordinary measures are necessary. Those people from the Puppet Heaven Sacred Land rely on their ancestors having some connection with the Immortal Emperor, and they are arrogant beyond reason. Besides, there is something wrong with all of them in the head. There was no need to clash with them over a registration.”

Cheng Feng breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately began to complain.

“This blasted auction is going to work Old Cheng to death!”

Looking at Cheng Feng’s unkempt appearance, Fang Zheng rarely showed a trace of helplessness in his eyes.

He slowly returned to the principal seat and sat down again, surveying the people in the hall, whose expressions varied from person to person.

“Discuss the remaining details among yourselves.” Fang Zheng’s eyelids drooped slightly. “I’m going to meditate in the rear hall for a while.”

With that, he rose and walked straight toward the rear hall, leaving everyone behind to exchange awkward looks.

…

Rear hall. Quiet chamber.

Fang Zheng sat cross-legged.

“Come out,” he said calmly.

A translucent child’s figure emerged. It was one of the two sword-bearing youths who had accompanied him here.

“Master.” The child bowed respectfully.

“Has there been any movement from Shu Wanjuan’s side?” Fang Zheng asked with his eyes closed.

“Reporting to Master, Shu Wanjuan has been very obedient,” the child replied. “Ever since you took over the City Lord’s Manor, he handed over all authority over the defenses. He then shut his doors and refused all visitors. I heard that he did not even go to see his precious son, whose leg was broken.”

“Oh?” Fang Zheng opened his eyes, a hint of disdain flashing within them. “He has more patience than I expected.”

“That’s only natural. Immortal King Shu entered the path of cultivation back then by offering his wife…”

The child had barely begun speaking when Fang Zheng glared at him, silencing him at once.

“Stop gossiping. What does someone else’s family business have to do with you?”

“You’re indulging in a moment of verbal satisfaction, but do you realize it might bring down a great disaster upon you?”

The child did not dare answer directly. Instead, he took a storage pouch from his robes.

“Immortal King Shu also sent over a generous gift, saying that he had been an inadequate host and wished to offer you compensation.”

Fang Zheng did not even look at it.

“Send it back.”

“Tell him that Imperial Court Mountain is on official business and does not accept bribes.”

“Yes.”

The child hesitated before continuing, “There is one other matter… Regarding the Masked Man who acted on the pleasure boat, the Shadow Guards have already uncovered some clues. He seems to be two young people, one man and one woman. Their cultivation is not high, and they appear to be wandering cultivators from outside…”

“Wandering cultivators?” Fang Zheng let out a cold laugh. “They broke the Shu family’s ‘Flowing Light Sword’ with two fingers and forced that girl Tong Xiaoxiao to make a desperate move with a single sentence. You call people like that wandering cultivators?”

The child lowered his head and dared not say another word.

“Continue investigating.” Fang Zheng waved his hand. “I have a feeling that this person’s appearance was no coincidence.”

“The game in Skywater City runs too deep.”

“The Tong family’s sword is the bait, the Shu family’s greed is the hook, and the various factions are fish drawn by the scent of blood.”

Fang Zheng’s voice grew more profound.

“But I keep feeling that beneath these troubled waters, there is a true shark hiding.”

“It is waiting.”

“Waiting for everyone to enter the game. Waiting for that sword to appear. And then…”

He did not continue.

Inside the quiet chamber, the candle flame flickered, stretching his shadow until it shifted between light and darkness.

Suddenly, Fang Zheng seemed to sense something. He abruptly raised his head.

The token at his waist, which represented his identity in the Black-and-White Hall, had begun to grow faintly hot. The two characters carved upon it—“Law Command”—were glowing with a dim warning light.

“What is this…?”

Fang Zheng sprang to his feet. With a single step, his figure appeared outside the quiet chamber, in the courtyard.

He looked toward the southern part of the city. For the first time, uncertainty and alarm appeared in those eyes that had always been as still as an ancient well.

Just moments ago…

He had sensed an extremely subtle aura flash into existence—and vanish just as quickly.

Although it lasted only an instant—so fleeting that he almost thought it was an illusion—the “Ordinance” at his waist could not lie.

“Who... was it?” Fang Zheng muttered, his expression turning more solemn than ever before.

He suddenly swept out his sleeve.

“Someone, come here!”

“Relay my decree!”

“Seal the city!”