Li Huowang laughed even harder when he sensed how angry they were. He wasn't afraid at all.
"You won't have the chance to laugh anymore!" The umbrella in his chest suddenly spun, cutting off Li Sui's tentacles.
Ru Shou unfolded the ragged umbrella, tearing Li Huowang's body apart into several pieces. His blood stained the water, turning it crimson red while his flesh descended into the depths of the muddy water.
Ru Shou held onto his umbrella and smiled at the pieces of Li Huowang's flesh.
Suddenly, black tentacles sprouted out from the pieces of Li Huowang's flesh. They stuck and pulled the chunk of flesh together before recombining Li Huowang's body together.
"Are you stupid? Did you really think there was no ambush just because I said so? Why don't you look around?"
Li Huowang had just said that when the water quickly subsided. Someone had blocked off the hole in the river bank.
Li Huowang stepped on the muddy ground, now completely free from the river's influence. He looked at his enemies and his allies.
There was the Righteous Monastery, the Antrabhara Temple, the Luo Sect, the Mo family, the Ao Jing Sect, the soldiers, and even several other sects that Li Huowang had never seen before. All of them encircled the Dharma Sect.
This was supposed to be an ambush to kill Li Huowang, but the situation had completely changed. Li Huowang now had the advantage.
Li Huowang inspected his enemies again. Due to how turbid the water was before, he had only seen them as shadows in the water. Now, he could see them clearly.
He recognized some of them, including Ru Shou.
But the most conspicuous one was a large pile of wet hair. On closer inspection, Li Huowang realized that they were the water monkeys. They huddled each other to protect something in the middle.
Their strength had greatly diminished without the river water.
Beside the water monkeys were four chicken-feet men. They all had a veil of viscera covering their faces. Li Huowang recognized them because he fought them before.
Beside them was someone he had never seen before. It was someone wearing a stone mask. The mask's eyes were empty, with rounded ears and a tall nose. The mask's mouth was slightly agape. Li Huowang had to admit that it looked somewhat divine.
It resembled the mask he had seen in the Liang Kingdom's palace. The difference was that those were made from copper, while the one in front of him was made of stone.
The final person was a hunchbacked man carrying a large gourd on his back. Half of his face was average, while the other half had been transformed into a large trailing lump of flesh. Various organs grew on the tumor on his face as he dragged it along the ground. The lump of the tumor also pulsated according to the person's breath.
Li Huowang wasn't sure what was happening, but he felt his body itching, so he scratched his chin with his arms. As he did, he noticed several red welts on his arms, resembling mosquito bites.
This was the battlefield. There was no reason to introduce themselves. The Righteous Monastery was the first one to attack.
"Mo lo... Di li ni... Mo suan li tai..." The flesh Bodhisattva was seated behind the Abbots. As they chanted, everything around the Bodhisattva turned into flesh and blood, regardless of what it was. Mud, stone, wood, and trees slowly transformed into flesh, including the ground beneath the Dharma Sect.
The low roar of a dragon came from the middle of the group of water monkeys. Rain began pouring heavily, and the group of water monkeys scattered.
A woman with fish-scale tattoos appeared from the group of water monkeys. Li Huowang recognized her tattoo as the same one Yang Xiaohai's family used. She was a boat person!
However, compared to the boat people who worked on the sea for food, the one in front of Li Huowang appeared to hold even more power. She smiled and revealed razor-sharp teeth. She was holding a statue covered in fish skin. It was small, but it gave Li Huowang a bad feeling.
"Come!" Peng Longteng rode her horse as she threw Li Huowang towards the woman. It was clear that she was the one who had brought the rain.
Suddenly, a bunch of limbs covered in white tassels covered the group of water monkeys and the woman.
The organs of the water monkeys shifted rapidly in different directions. Li Huowang remembered what they were—the white tassels of the Lion Dance Palace!
Even they had come to help for the sake of their survival.
Seeing that someone was dealing with her, Li Huowang changed directions and charged toward the man with the tumor.
Li Huowang didn't dare let his guard down in this life-or-death situation. He wasn't sure what abilities the man with the tumor had, so he decided to use his cultivation to test the waters first.
Li Huowang glared at the man and slowly turned him to stone. The petrification process had almost been completed when the stone suddenly cracked open. Yellow smoke billowed out from the gourd and flowed towards Li Huowang.
"Longteng, go and see what kind of abilities he has!"
"Charge!" Peng Longteng kicked her horse and charged into the yellow smoke. Her target was the cracked statue.
When the yellow smoke touched her body, it quickly made her mutate. Screaming mouths grew on her body, along with several weird hands. They quickly seeped out from the chinks of her armor and continued to grow.
Her horse grew larger too. Its legs split into six before splitting into eight.
Several strange iridescent liquids dripped from Peng Longteng's armor onto the ground. It somehow gave life to inanimate objects.
Li Huowang had seen the same liquid before! It covered the entirety of the Qi Kingdom and could mutate everything!
God Yu'er is dead. Did something snatch its Heavenly Dao? Or is this the Heavenly Dao of another Siming? Li Huowang waved his arms to turn Peng Longteng into an illusion again.
But something was wrong. Peng Longteng's body continued to mutate. She didn't turn into an illusion. Under the influence of the strange liquid, Li Huowang's control over her had somehow been lost.
Peng Longteng was currently fused to her horse, and she started becoming slower and slower. She soon fell onto the ground and continued to mutate before becoming a strange fleshy gourd that continued to produce the strange liquid.
The strange man emerged from the back of the gourd and patted it before revealing his black teeth with a smile. "I am Tian Wu. I greet Daoist Li."
Chapter 791 - Heavenly Dao
Li Huowang stood motionlessly as he looked at Tian Wu, seemingly deep in thought.
The next moment, Tian Wu's head plunged into his chest, avoiding a crack that shot from behind.
Li Huowang's figure gradually appeared behind Tian Wu. As he did, the motionless Li Huowang pulled off his face to reveal Li Sui's cute face.
Tian Wu was hunched over. He dipped two fingers into the strange liquid that had leaked from the crack, then put them in his mouth to taste it. "Hehehe, Daoist Li, you really like to play tricks. You even used a fake person to fool me."
"Daoist Li, are you really not going to join our sect? This opportunity won't come again. If you join us, we can discuss everything else."
"Are you stupid? We have you cornered in an ambush! You still want to recruit me despite your position? Do you think that's possible?" Li Huowang sneered as he stepped on the soft flesh. He drew his sword and stabbed himself in the abdomen, exposing his internal organs to the air.
The opponent's powers seemed extremely strange, so holding back was not an option. After finally capturing an expert from the Dharma Sect, he had to make them suffer.
Li Huowang spread out a scroll of the Profound Records on the ground. He tore out his liver and slapped it onto the red bamboo slips forcefully. "Wood Liver!"
When the Five Elements Intercalation was complete, Li Huowang strode toward him with his abdomen covered in all sorts of twisted worms.
Just as he was about to touch the yellow mist, a gap suddenly cracked apart on the flesh on the ground and swallowed him whole.
"How interesting." Tian Wu shook his gourd as the yellow smoke floating in the air drifted toward the flesh where Li Huowang had disappeared.
After a while, the flesh came alive. Bizarre limbs continued to grow out and quickly broke free from the control of the Abbot of the Righteous Monastery. Another gourd of flesh appeared, which secreted the strange liquid in all directions.
Tian Wu suddenly felt a pain in his feet. Looking down, he saw countless worms covering his feet and gnawing away.
Just as they were about to gnaw through, a blister swelled on the gourd beside him.
Pop! The blister burst and sprayed the strange liquid all over his feet.
The liquid covered the worms, causing their bodies to deform as it contended with Li Huowang for control of them.
"Is this all you can do, Daoist Li? I really don't know why the Witch thinks so highly of you," Tian Wu said.
Suddenly, a crack flew out from the ground, attempting to cut him in two.
Tian Wu, who seemed able to foresee the future, quickly leaned back and dodged the flying crack.
To his surprise, a long purple-tassel sword was thrust through the crack.
It stabbed into Tian Wu's abdomen, then cleaved him in half with a forceful upward stroke.
Shortly after, the completely deformed Li Huowang emerged from a new crack. He held his head in pain while the wriggling things on his body quickly withered and disappeared.
He had used the crack to jump to the Great Qi and launch a stealthy attack, making this move hard to defend against. However, going to Great Qi in its current state clearly required a price.
If things in that place were all crazily deformed, a person could become a monster in just a few breaths.
Fortunately, with his "Truth" cultivation abilities, Li Huowang could reverse the deformation of his flesh.
It can't be wrong! This feeling, the liquid this guy uses, is the same as the one in the Great Qi! Li Huowang grimaced at the gourds secreting liquid.
He didn't know which Siming's Heavenly Dao it was that Tian Wu was drawing upon, but it clearly had something to do with deformation.
"Is deformation also a Heavenly Dao? What's the name of the Siming in charge of deformation?" Li Huowang muttered.
The hunched old man who had been cut in two suddenly stood up. "In your terms, you can call it the God of Pestilence!"
Strange liquid spurted from his hump like a volcano and splashed toward Li Huowang.
Worms flew out from Li Huowang's chest to block the black liquid, giving him time to dodge.
Li Huowang stood on a piece of protruding bone. He lifted his sword and looked at Tian Wu with an expression of uncertainty. "Still not dead? Where is this guy from?"
"Hehehe... I have no origin. I'm just an ordinary old man," Tian Wu said, with his two mouths still split open and his body still deforming.
"You're an ordinary old man? Like I believe that!" Li Huowang roared and charged at Tian Wu, his veins bulging on his forehead. Tian Wu's body split apart and forcibly merged again, the deformations on his body rapidly disappearing.
Tian Wu was about to use his magical powers as Li Huowang approached, but his body didn't obey his commands. At that moment, he truly seemed like an ordinary old man.
By the time Tian Wu reached for the weapon at his waist, it was too late. There was a flash of white light, and Tian Wu's head soared into the sky.
The next moment, blood spurted from his neck, almost reaching a foot high.
Li Huowang felt uneasy about Tian Wu's strangeness. He rushed to the headless corpse and then opened his mouth wide towards the spurting blood.
As the blood gushed into his throat, worms poured out from Li Huowang's mouth like fish, swimming against the flow of blood.
Bleargh! As Li Huowang forcefully vomited, the worms burrowed into Tian Wu's body, gnawing and devouring everything they touched.
The worms chewed and caused Tian Wu's headless corpse to shrivel up quickly. When Li Huowang finally threw away the skin, which was now supported only by bones, the worms crawled back into his internal organs through his robes.
Li Huowang didn't dare to rest after having dealt with this enemy. He rushed to help Abbot Chan Du, who was fighting hard. He needed to finish this battle before the Five Elements Intercalation ended.
"Wait... wait!!" The voice from behind made Li Huowang freeze. He slowly turned around and saw Tian Wu's shriveled body, with its limbs moving, crawling toward its head.
"He's still not dead? How is that possible?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
As Li Huowang stood in shock, a hand grabbed his ankle. A monk, with half of his face covered in blisters and his eyes unfocused, pleaded desperately, "Master! Kill me! It hurts! It hurts!"
Li Huowang lifted his foot and crushed the monk's head. Even as the red and white matter sprayed from his nose, the monk continued to scream in agony. "Ahhh! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
Li Huowang looked at the monk writhing on the ground in pain, then at Tian Wu, who was standing up shakily with his head in his hands.
When he surveyed the area, he noticed that despite the intense battle, there were no corpses around. He finally understood what had occurred.
A Natural Disaster had struck. Death was gone.
Chapter 792 - Death
Li Huowang's breathing quickened and his pupils constricted. He half-squatted and gazed at Qian Fu lying on the ground, spitting frothy blood.
He reached out and tried to press his hand against the bloody hole in Qian Fu's chest. However, no matter how hard he tried to stop it, the blood continued to seep through his fingers.
He was injured, and it seemed like a fatal wound.
"Sister Wu, Sister Wu!" Li Huowang called out as he saw Wu Qi. Her face was also bleeding, but she ran over with a box to tend to Qian Fu's injury.
Li Huowang drew two military knives and charged out from the corner of the wall. "I'll hold them off! You guys go first!"
As soon as he came out, he saw that the enemy had already snuck to this side along the wall.
"Aaaah!" Li Huowang roared and rushed forward. He pinned an enemy against the wall and frantically plunged the knife into the man's abdomen, stirring it around.
Bang! A powerful force struck Li Huowang's shoulder and sent him flying. He had been shot.
As he got up, two bullets hit his helmet and knocked him down again.
Li Huowang struggled to his feet, using the wall as support. He glared viciously at the enemies hiding behind cover not far away. They were the Simings of the Dharma Sect!
The Simings wielded weapons and were crouching with cold, statue-like expressions.
"Damn you!" Li Huowang hurled one of his knives, which spun rapidly and lodged itself in the head of one of the enemies.
There was a brief lull in gunfire, which Li Huowang took advantage of. He dashed into their cover, yanking the knife from the man's head and slashing it at the others around him.
Bang! Li Huowang was slammed against a wall. His head buzzed, and when he looked up, he saw a tall man raising the butt of his rifle to smash down on his helmet.
Li Huowang braced himself with his arms, enduring it before his head hit the ground.
"You dare to ambush us and kill Qian Fu!" Li Huowang shouted. He butted his head against the man's chest and caused a dent.
A stick swung down forcefully from the side, bending Li Huowang's left arm into an L shape.
Li Huowang screamed in pain as he slashed his knife across the attacker's neck. Blood splattered everywhere, staining the bulletproof glass of his helmet and turning his vision entirely red.
Amid the chaos, a smoke grenade landed at Li Huowang's feet and quickly spewed thick smoke.
The acrid smell seeped through the gaps in his clothes. It was clearly not an ordinary smoke grenade.
The pungent smoke made him cough violently. Soon, he felt dizzy, his head no longer feeling like his own.
"Huowang! Retreat!" Li Huowang quickly retreated while coughing violently, still using the wall for support. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
At the stairwell, he saw Chen Hongyu carry Qian Fu down.
He lifted his knife and vigilantly watched for enemies through the smoke before quickly following them.
Their expressions became grimmer upon reaching the ground floor.
Three pickup trucks blocked the exit. Their enemies were using the vehicle doors for cover while aiming their black gun barrels at them.
Li Huowang heard the footsteps above them. He took a deep breath and charged forward. Bullets struck him, and he was soon bleeding from his abdomen.
He used his severed limb to cover the wound and kept pushing forward.
Bang bang! Two bullets hit his right knee and caused him to fall. Though the armor could deflect bullets, it couldn't prevent the impact from breaking his leg.
He saw that they were about to be surrounded. A sudden explosion occurred—one of the pickup trucks burst into flames.
At that moment, the glass on the left shattered. The siblings Ba Shengqing and Ba Nanxu appeared on their motorcycles. "Over here!"
Upon hearing the siblings, Li Huowang and the others moved towards them. Li Huowang moved the slowest with his broken leg. Zhao Lei stepped in to support and help him move forward.
They heard footsteps behind them. Without turning back, Qing Wanglai took out three test tubes and threw them behind him.
When they reached the parking lots, they quickly got into their vehicles and sped away.
In addition to Wu Qi's RV, Qing Wanglai's sports car, and the motorcycles of Li Huowang and the Ba siblings, there was also a red sedan and an off-road vehicle present. It seemed like more help had arrived, beyond just the Ba siblings.
Li Huowang couldn't think about so much now. He quickly mounted his motorcycle, revved the engine, and sped away from the abandoned building.
Just as they thought they were safe, a green truck suddenly appeared ahead and barreled towards them.
Li Huowang revved his engine and rode his motorcycle towards the front. He accelerated to the maximum, aiming for the truck's left tire.
Li Huowang stood up from his motorcycle and prepared to jump. Finally, he saw the terrified driver turn the steering wheel in a panic to swerve away from his motorcycle.
When Li Huowang managed to scare away the truck, peace was finally restored.
The vehicles stopped at Orange Isle. Li Huowang dragged his injured body and rushed into Wu Qi's RV. He saw Qian Fu lying there, with his blood flowing down and soaking the bed.
Li Huowang saw Wu Qi shake her head grimly through his blood-red helmet. Li Huowang questioned Qing Wanglai tremblingly, "What's your backup plan?"
"You made us walk right into their trap! Whose side are you on?"
"Don't worry, didn't we get help? Otherwise, how would we have escaped?" Qing Wanglai replied with a faint smile.
Li Huowang strained to remove his shattered helmet and hurled it at Qing Wanglai's feet. "Qian Fu is dead! Don't you see? He lost his life!"
Qing Wanglai picked up the helmet and set it aside. "I'm pained by Qian Fu's death, but we learned useful information from that half-hour talk. Our chances are good."
Li Huowang stepped back in shock. He stared at Qing Wanglai as if he were a stranger.
Chapter 793 - Change
Qing Wanglai looked at Li Huowang with a confident smile. "Based on my previous analysis, I thought dealing with them would be very difficult. But after our encounter, it turns out their situation isn't as good as we imagined."
"Madman! You're a madman!!" Li Huowang yelled at him.
"Huowang? What's going on?" Yang Na hadn't gone with them and was unaware of the situation. As she walked up to the RV, she saw Qian Fu on the bed and screamed in fright.
She hurried to the bedside and tried to help Qian Fu, but she realized there was nothing she could do. Tears streamed down her face.
At that moment, Qian Fu's bloody hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Yang Na, making her scream again.
Li Huowang rushed to the bed with rekindled hope.
He quickly turned to Wu Qi. "Sister Wu, start the car! Get to the nearest hospital!"
Wu Qi only sighed softly and walked towards the driver's seat.
Li Huowang leaned closer to Qian Fu and said, "Hold on, we're taking you to the hospital! Hold on!"
However, Qian Fu seemed oblivious to Li Huowang's words. With his eyes fixed on Yang Na, his mouth widened into a grin and his grip on her tightened. "So... beautiful... truly magnificent..."
With those last words, Qian Fu released Yang Na. His pupils dilated, and his body went limp. Qian Fu was dead.
Yang Na stared at the corpse and the blood on her hands. She couldn't hold back any longer and broke down in tears while backing off.
Li Huowang walked over with a solemn expression, gently reaching out to hold her and silently comforting her.
After a few minutes, Yang Na seemed to snap out of it. She opened her bag shakily. "Call the police! Call the police!"
A long hand reached over and snatched her phone away.
They looked up to see Qing Wanglai. His long fingers slid along the side of the phone and pressed the power button. "We can't call the police."
"Why not? Why can't we? He's dead!" Yang Na stammered.
Qing Wanglai looked at Li Huowang. "In your understanding of the world there, do the police exist?"
Qing Wanglai answered his own question. "We are projections, reflections. So what are they?"
Then, a woman's raspy voice came from the front. "They are the rules. Every world has its own rules, and they are the embodiment of those rules."
A woman wearing a white cotton shirt walked over. Her soft, black ponytail draped over her shoulder.
Her crimson lips parted as she explained to Li Huowang. "Don't expect the rules to help you. Rules are rules. Those who rely on them will ultimately find themselves hurt by them."
"Like being mistaken for a lunatic and locked up in a psychiatric hospital," Qing Wanglai quipped.
The woman continued, "True existence isn't as simple as you think. Do you know why the projection in our minds is different for everyone?
"Actually, according to my theory, everyone's thoughts are correct because true existence is beyond human comprehension. We can only perceive it through a distorted worldview that we can understand.
"It's like blind men feeling an elephant. You felt the trunk, I felt the mouth, Qian Fu felt the tusk, and Wu Qi felt the leg.
"But I'm different from you. I didn't use my hands. I used the most powerful human sensory organ to explore everything over there. Mathematics.
"Therefore, I understand that world better than anyone here."
Li Huowang stared in shock at the woman, then at Qian Fu's lifeless body. He was unsure of what to say.
"Zhao Shuangdian," the woman said, extending her slender white hand to Li Huowang. "Nice to meet you, Li Huowang."
Li Huowang finally said, "You're all insane! Don't you see there's a dead person here? Qian Fu is dead!"
Qing Wanglai nodded. "I know Qian Fu is dead. We're all sad, but as adults, we should control our emotions and not let them interfere with important matters."
"Besides, were you really that close to Qian Fu? Weren't you also wary of him? Why are you so upset about his death?" Qing Wanglai looked puzzled.
Li Huowang glanced at Qing Wanglai and the unfamiliar Zhao Shuangdian before guiding Yang Na out of the RV.
"Huowang, where are you going? There's important stuff to discuss. Don't you want to know the information I got? Beauty Zhao brought people to rescue us. Shouldn't you get to know her a bit?"
Li Huowang glanced at the distraught Yang Na then quickened his pace towards his motorcycle. "I need to take care of my girlfriend. Everything else can wait!"
Li Huowang cradled Yang Na in his embrace. He started his motorcycle and headed home. His face was dark and stern as he replayed the recent events in his mind, which was currently in a mess.
They soon arrived at their neighborhood. Li Huowang's unusual behavior caught the attention of the residents, but he quickly brought the sobbing Yang Na upstairs.
When they reached their home, Yang Na rushed into the bathroom while covering her face.
Li Huowang saw that his mother was about to step out of the kitchen. He did not want her to see him like this, so he quickly went into his room.
"Son? Are you okay?" Sun Xiaoqin heard the crying from the bathroom and tapped the door with a spoon. "Did you have a fight? Be more magnanimous."
"Mom, it's nothing. Go do your own things," Li Huowang wedged his broken arm between the coat rack and the wall. He gritted his teeth as he tried to set his arm straight.
I need to go to the hospital. I can't handle this injury myself. Li Huowang dragged his broken arm along as he lay on the bed in pain.
Qian Fu was dead, just like that. But what angered him even more was Qing Wanglai's attitude.
He was lying. That attitude wasn't about suppressing emotions. He just didn't feel the slightest bit of sorrow for Qian Fu's death.
Chapter 794 - Why
Li Huowang sat on his bed for several hours. Eventually, he let out a long breath and finally calmed down.
Qian Fu was dead. He had known Qian Fu the longest, and his death made Li Huowang sorrowful. Still, the dead couldn't come back to life, so thinking about him was useless now.
At the moment, the issues concerning Qing Wanglai that came to light after Qian Fu's death were more important.
Li Huowang had always thought Qing Wanglai was just somewhat self-righteous and stubbornly believed his ideas were always right. Now, it was clear Li Huowang's impression of him had been wrong.
Something was very off with Qing Wanglai. The most troubling aspect was his emotions.
When faced with someone's death, even the death of someone he knew, he showed no concern. Qian Fu's death mattered to him even less than a helmet left on the ground.
Li Huowang had never seen such behavior in the psychiatric hospital, so he didn't know what kind of illness Qing Wanglai had.
Perhaps Qing Wanglai's projection was the most complete, as he was an existence that very closely resembled a Siming.
Someone like that, with no emotional fluctuations, would never act impulsively. If given the opportunity, Qing Wanglai would probably sell out Li Huowang without hesitation for his own benefit. He would abandon his useless companions without a second thought. Cooperating with such a person was undoubtedly a recipe for disaster.
Li Huowang remembered what Ban Nanxu had said. He had been skeptical before, but now mostly believed it.
A question arose: if he didn't cooperate with the Three Pure Ones, would he have to face the invading Simings of the Baiyu Capital on his own?
Li Huowang clearly couldn't handle it by himself. However, blindly following Qing Wanglai could lead to him being betrayed without even realizing it.
Li Huowang thought of the Ba siblings and the woman named Zhao Shuangdian. They weren't aligned with Qing Wanglai, yet they came to help.
"Seems like the Simings within Baiyu Capital have different factions," Li Huowang murmured to himself.
After some thought, he concluded it wasn't the right time to cut ties with Qing Wanglai. Instead, he should use this period to reach out to the other Simings, whom Qing Wanglai had said were unwilling or unable to collaborate.
He couldn't just take Qing Wanglai's words for granted. If he did, he might get sold out.
After careful consideration, Li Huowang realized his earlier reaction had been excessive. At least for now, he was still an ally with the Three Pure Ones.
He couldn't disregard Qing Wanglai just because he was cold-hearted. Fortunately, Qing Wanglai wasn't an emotional person. He didn't react at all when Yang Na slapped him, so he probably wouldn't mind losing face.
Li Huowang took out his phone and dialed Qing Wanglai's number. It rang a few times, then he answered.
—Hello? Li Huowang?
Qing Wanglai's voice was as casual as ever, with a hint of warmth even. However, Li Huowang now knew what lay behind it.
"Sorry, I acted impulsively earlier. Please apologize to Zhao Shuangdian for me. My girlfriend was really shaken by seeing someone die up close for the first time, so I had to take her away."
—Miss Zhao isn't that petty. Is your girlfriend okay? As her boyfriend, you need to comfort her.
"She's much better now. I'll make sure she stays home next time and doesn't come along."
He looked down at his injured hand and continued, "I'm not available today. I need to handle my injury, but can we meet tomorrow to discuss your findings?"
Qing Wanglai's expression hadn't been fake, so he must have obtained very valuable information. Since Qian Fu was dead, they could only hope his death wasn't in vain.
—Sure, tomorrow at noon, same place. I'll bring Zhao Shuangdian and the others to meet you.
"Zhao Shuangdian..." Li Huowang frowned and recalled the woman with the single ponytail. If Qing Wanglai was the Three Pure Ones, what Siming was Zhao Shuangdian?
Her talk about the blind men and the elephant theory indicated she was indeed one of the Simings, but which Heavenly Dao did she govern?
Forget it, no point in guessing now. I'll learn more when we meet tomorrow.
After some thought, Li Huowang replied, "Alright. I'll hang up now."
—Hold on. Remember to bring the bulletproof vest tomorrow. After today's incident, some of the inserts might be damaged and need to be replaced.
There was a knock on the door.
Li Huowang tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder as he walked to the door, "Maybe Sister Wu should come tomorrow. It might cause trouble if I go to the hospital with my injuries."
He opened the door and saw six tall orderlies before him.
Li Huowang had just made out the red crosses on their chests when the men rushed in. They surrounded him and put him into a straitjacket.
"What are you guys trying to do?" Li Huowang tried to resist, but his injuries had weakened him greatly. "Why are you restraining me? Who sent you?
"I'm cured! The hospital even issued a certificate. Or are you all their people?"
The worst-case scenario crossed Li Huowang's mind, and his expression turned extremely wary.
While he was wondering who these men were, a familiar face appeared. It was Yi Donglai, his doctor whom he had not met for a while. He was still wearing a white coat and frameless glasses.
"I sent them," Yi Donglai said.
Li Huowang was confused. "Why? Doctor Yi, I'm cured. My illness was cured!"
"Is that so? Your girlfriend says otherwise. She said you haven't been taking your medication recently."
Li Huowang saw Yang Na emerge from behind the door with her head down. He stared at her dumbfoundedly as the orderlies lifted him onto a stretcher and took him out.
As they passed each other, Li Huowang asked a single question in a trembling voice filled with anger and sorrow.
"Why?"
Yang Na suddenly cried. "Because you'll die! This isn't a game. People really can die! This time, it was Qian Fu. Next time, it could be you!
"I used to go along with you, but not anymore! Even if we can't be together, I'd rather you be in a psychiatric hospital! I don't want you to be used as a tool! I don't want you to die!"
Chapter 795 - Deal
Yang Na followed behind Li Huowang as he was carried away. She sobbed as she explained, "Huowang, don't be afraid. I recorded all the conversations you had with Qing Wanglai and the others using a voice recorder.
"I've actually been collecting evidence all along. I gave all this evidence to Doctor Yi, and he knows that a group of people has been threatening you!
"Once you're admitted, Dr. Yi will call the police, and I'll tell them everything. Huowang, you're safe now. You're under their protection and won't be in danger again!
"Huowang, don't be afraid. You just need to take your medication!"
As the orderlies carried Li Huowang down the stairs, he continued to look up at Yang Na in disbelief, repeatedly asking why.
After Li Huowang uttered his final "Why," Yang Na covered her face with her hands and squatted down, crying in despair.
The familiar areas of the White Tower Prison flashed before his eyes. The iron gate, barbed wire, the TV in the lounge, the fellow patients, and the isolation room.
Li Huowang sat in the isolation room, tightly bound. He ate when food was brought to him and took his medicine when it was given to him. Doctors treated his injuries, and he cooperated fully.
It was as if time didn't exist. Li Huowang had no idea how long had passed.
When the restraints were taken off and his injuries had mostly healed, he was handcuffed and shackled. Then, the orderlies led him out of the isolation room.
He recognized the path they were taking—he knew he was being taken to Yi Donglai's office.
He took his seat and, unsurprisingly, saw Yi Donglai.
The orderlies left at Yi Donglai's signal, and then he sat down before Li Huowang with a tablet. "Don't you have anything to say? This isn't like you, Li Huowang."
Li Huowang glanced around and observed Yi Donglai's office. "What do you want me to say? Would you believe me if I said I wasn't sick?"
It was a small, simple place. There was a desk with a computer and a therapy chair. Other than that, the only notable feature was the bookshelf on the left.
The tall bookshelf held various books related to Yi Donglai's profession and some decorative items. One of them was an eighteen-sided die the size of a Rubik's cube.
Yi Donglai noticed Li Huowang looking at the die and explained, "This is an eighteen-sided die inlaid with gold and silver. It is a relic from the Western Han dynasty. They used it for drinking games or Liubo chess."
"Haha, a Western Han relic in your office? Are you crazy?"
"Of course, the original isn't here. I saw it at Guanfu Museum in Shanghai and bought a replica from the gift shop."
Yi Donglai picked up the die, quickly flipped it over a few sides, and showed Li Huowang the small characters at the bottom.
"See? Made in Yiwu. It's fake."
Li Huowang turned away, uninterested.
Yi Donglai placed the die on the table. "Why are you so calm now? Don't you want to know how Qing Wanglai is doing? Or what happened to your enemies?"
Li Huowang clenched his fists. "There's no point in me asking. I'm sure you will tell me anyway."
"Let's start with Qing Wanglai, the graduate student you and Yang Na mentioned. He doesn't work or study at that university. I couldn't find anyone named Qing Wanglai there."
Li Huowang's pupils shrank slightly. "That's impossible!"
"It is possible. See for yourself."
Yi Donglai handed over the tablet.
Li Huowang scrolled through quickly but did not find anything. Beside him, Yi Donglai joked, "So? Unless your friend is a computer expert who hacked the university's network to change his information?"
Yi Donglai paused briefly before continuing, "And as for those enemies who spied on you and later tried to harm you, if it was such a big deal, it would've likely been filed as a case—maybe even with a special task force. Unfortunately, no case was filed."
"Why?" Li Huowang pressed his thumb into the screen in frustration.
"Because there's no evidence. All the places Yang Na mentioned happened in places without surveillance. The places have all been checked, and no evidence was found.
"We live in a society governed by law. Even if you confess to murder, you are innocent without a body found.
"Normally, without any physical evidence, eyewitness testimony would suffice. But in your case, I'm afraid the police won't listen to you. As for Yang Na, the police won't believe her either."
"Why not?" Li Huowang asked, recalling Zhao Shuangdian's theory of rules.
At this moment, he found the world increasingly absurd.
"Because she has depression, which can cause delusions. Your case is more akin to schizophrenia, without any basis in reality. But with depression, delusions formed from a distorted view of reality are common."
"She's been cured for a long time! Where would the delusion be from?!"
Yi Donglai's expression turned serious. "No. Her condition has relapsed, and it's worse than before. She needs rest, not stimulation. More importantly, you shouldn't have blamed her. You're the cause of her current self-destructive behavior."
Li Huowang's fists tightened, his nails piercing into his flesh. "Where is she? I want to see her!"
"Forget it. She has other doctors caring for her. You two shouldn't meet now. Focus on yourself first. This time, you might have to stay here for a year or two."
"Yi Donglai! You tested me! I'm not sick!"
Li Huowang couldn't stay for a year or two. God Yu'er and the other Simings had already infiltrated deeply. He would only become a target if he stayed here.
Yi Donglai replied sternly, "You're not sick only while you're on medication! Why did you stop taking your meds?! And how did you get injured?"
"I was beaten by those people!"
Clearly exhausted, Yi Donglai sighed. "Alright, it's time to eat. After your meal, we'll run some tests."
Li Huowang turned and left with a heavy expression on his face.
Once he was outside the office, he quickly rushed into a nearby restroom instead of going to the cafeteria.
Li Huowang looked around, ensuring that no one was nearby. He then retrieved the eighteen-sided die and placed it meticulously in front of him.
He stared at the single large yellow dot and then said with a tone of negotiation, "Shai Zi, let's make a deal."[1]
Chapter 796 - Help
Li Huowang frowned as he stared at his own reflection in the water. "Talk! Why aren't you talking?"
Li Huowang was pacing around his room in anxiety. "The Natural Disaster this time is different! In the past, only 'Rot' or the sun had disappeared. But this time, 'Death' disappeared! Do you know what this means? It's not some minor issue!
"A Natural Disaster occurs when there's a change in the Heavenly Daos. Since 'Death' vanished, that means there's something wrong with the Heavenly Dao of Death!"
Li Huowang stopped pacing, and a horrifying thought came to his mind. He stared at the reflection in the water basin. "Say something! Did the Simings of the Dharma Sect take away the Heavenly Dao of Death? Why aren't you talking?! How can you still be confused when they are attacking us?"
His reflection finally replied, "I think I did fight back."
Li Huowang harshly scolded Ji Zai when he heard the reply. "You finally came out! I thought you were dead!"
"I don't think it's time for me to die yet. Is something the matter?" Ji Zai's response remained nonchalant.
Li Huowang didn't want to waste time arguing with Ji Zai. He wanted answers. "What's going on? What happened to Kui Lei? He was supposed to be the one who controlled the Heavenly Dao of Death."
"He's dead."
Li Huowang's pupils shrunk from shock. "He's dead? Really? How did he die? Did the allies of god Yu'er kill him?"
Ji Zai's eyes were blank. "I think so."
"Then who's holding the Heavenly Dao of Death right now? Why is the world like this?"
"Hmm..." Ji Zai tried recalling. "I don't know. I didn't see them."
Li Huowang was so angry that his veins started bulging on his head. His fists trembled from anger. "Fine, then I want to ask you what you know. Which Siming gave me the seven secrets? Should I trust them?"
"Probably. At the very least, they should still be on our side. They wouldn't betray me."
Li Huowang's anger calmed down a little after obtaining some helpful information. "Then how's your situation over there? Was Xuan Pin's help useful?"
"I am not acquainted with Xuan Pin right now. I think I will have met him a few times when you talk with me again."
"Huh?" Li Huowang was confused. What does Ji Zai mean?
"Do you still have anything else to ask? I'm quite busy here."
Li Huowang had finally managed to talk to Ji Zai. He didn't want to waste his opportunity here. "One more question! Do you need me to go to the Baiyu Capital to help you?"
"That depends. Are you helping me, or am I helping you instead?"
Li Huowang lost his patience. "What the fuck do you want? Don't play games with me!"
"Help. I will help you."
Ji Zai became silent after saying that last sentence.
Li Huowang was so angry that he cut the bronze washing basin in half along with his reflection in the water.
"Fuck! Even calling you useless is a compliment!"
Li Huowang walked out angrily. Ji Zai is still useless. I need to figure this out by myself.
As he stepped outside, he immediately sensed that something was amiss within the barracks. A palpable sense of unease hung in the air as everyone periodically glanced towards the east.
The eastern side of the barracks had been isolated, with buzzing flies filling the air above the restricted area and smoke rising continuously.
Li Huowang frowned in disgust before walking towards the east. He stepped on a basket and was whisked upwards with a winch. While he was at the top, he saw a horrific scene displayed in front of him.
He had seen a lot of unmarked graves, but he had never seen one so revolting.
Numerous people in varying states of decay were concentrated in this place. They had all been stripped naked and stuffed into wooden enclosures. Almost all of them had suffered a lethal wound, with either their heads missing or half of their bodies gone.
However, no matter how severe their injuries were, their bodies were still moving.
Death was missing, but Rot and Pain were still in this world.
Eternal rest was withheld from everyone who should've died on the battlefield. They had to endure the pain of rot forever. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
They saw their bodies breaking down with their own eyes. Their flesh slowly rotted as pus and maggots filled their body. Li Huowang and the others could only think of one way to release them from the pain. It was fire. They burned them in a large fire that was never extinguished.
The undying people, now no different from pieces of flesh that moved, were thrown into a fiery pit with the aid of large pitchforks.
Despite the fire engulfing their bodies, scorching their flesh and tongues, and causing their blood and brains to boil, they continued to struggle in pain as their cries echoed in the air.
The woeful cries mingled with the crackling of burning flesh, and yet they did not die. Death, the final chapter of their lives, eluded them.
It was only when their bodies had transformed entirely into ash that they became silent.
"They are not dead."
Li Huowang turned around. An old mummified Lama with a crown approached him. The Lama was spinning the prayer wheels in his hands as the strange humming filled the air.
The Lama stared at the black smoke rising from the pit and the ashes at the bottom. "They are not dead. Their bodies have been reduced to particles, with each particle enduring the eternal agony of having their flesh torn. Now, they are experiencing pain hundreds and thousands of times worse than when they were alive.
"They do not scream, but not because they don't want to. They don't have mouths anymore.
"They do not move, but not because they don't want to. They don't have limbs anymore.
"Unless Mahakala returns, they will be subjected to this everlasting agony for eternity."
When Li Huowang heard what the Lama from the Antrabhara Temple said, his scalp went numb and his limbs became cold.
Even Li Huowang, who was used to unbearable pain, trembled at the thought of experiencing everlasting agony.
"Death is a cycle, and also the fate of humans. Most people are afraid of death and go to great lengths to avoid it, unaware that death is the ultimate blessing bestowed upon us by Mahakala. Unfortunately, they did not realize how valuable it was until it disappeared..."
Chapter 797 - Clue
Li Huowang interrupted the Lama and said, "Stop chanting!"
He continued, "Chanting your mantras is useless. Can you chant for Death to return? You're a Lama from the Antrabhara Temple! You need to figure out a way to end this! I thought your Mahakala controlled Death. Do you not trust him? Can't you figure out a way to bring back your Mahakala?"
With his face filled with wrinkles, the Lama bitterly shook his head before sitting down with his legs crossed. He stared at the black smoke from the fire and began chanting again while turning the prayer wheels in his hands.
"Fuck!" Li Huowang cursed under his breath as he left the crematorium. He walked towards the largest tent in the middle.
He walked into the tent and noticed that the messenger pigeons were all on a big table, each carrying different information. The generals and tacticians were reading the messages.
Li Huowang ignored them and approached an old eunuch.
The eunuch was very old and one of the most senior eunuchs in the palace. He had served Ji Man, the previous emperor of the Liang Kingdom, Ji Lin, who turned out to be a woman, and finally, Gao Zhijian.
"What did His Majesty say? Are we not attacking Nan Ping yet? How much longer must we wait?" Li Huowang asked. They had set up camp here after the ambush and had not moved since then.
The old eunuch bowed gracefully to Li Huowang. "Daoist Li, we are now experiencing a Natural Disaster. This is not a good omen. It's not a good time to wage war."
"Don't you think it's possible for the Dharma Sect to be the one responsible for causing this Natural Disaster? Do you want them to obtain the Heavenly Dao of Death before we start moving again?"
"Daoist Li, please be at ease. The Surveillance Bureau will handle the Natural Disaster. We are certain that the Natural Disaster will end soon. Also, how can we fight if there is no death anymore?"
The eunuch's words were not comforting. While it was true that the Surveillance Bureau had handled the Natural Disasters in the past, this time was different. Xuan Pin and his group were dead. Furthermore, Li Huowang wasn't sure they could have done anything even if they were alive.
The Natural Disasters in the past lasted a few divisions or two days at most, but the current Natural Disaster had been in effect for the past ten days. It was clear that the Natural Disaster this time was much more serious.
Li Huowang looked at the old eunuch one last time before leaving silently. He went straight towards the underground prison.
Despite the ongoing Natural Disaster and the numerous unforeseen circumstances, Li Huowang had to admit they had technically won this time.
They managed to capture many prisoners this time thanks to the disappearance of Death. Li Huowang wanted to interrogate them to obtain some information.
Li Huowang had just reached the prison when he saw an Ao Jing Sect member using a winch as if they were pulling a bucket of water out from a well.
But rather than a well, the winch was instead hooked on a wheel, and the wheel was pulling out the intestines of the woman with fish scale tattoos. She was a boat person, and her intestines were being pulled out from her belly button.
The Ao Jing Sect, the crazy bastards who mutilated themselves, were the ones that benefited the most from this Natural Disaster.
They could now ignore death and mutilate either themselves or others without worry. Under such conditions, their strength had increased tremendously.
Zu Yi let go of the wooden handle and welcomed Li Huowang. "Elder Li."
"How is it? Are there any updates?"
Zu Yi shook his head. "No, but we should be getting some information soon enough. She cannot tolerate the pain much longer."
Li Huowang saw the woman was still glaring at him. He approached her without hesitation.
"Talk. Tell me everything you know, including what you did to cause the Natural Disaster. I will give you some respite if you tell me. If you don't, your suffering will never stop."
Despite her fear, the woman spat a mouthful of blood onto Li Huowang from her toothless mouth.
"Hehe... You guys have lost! You guys will lose! This is just the start! The start!"
Li Huowang stood there motionlessly as the Ao Jing Sect people carried her and threw her into a pot of boiling oil.
It wasn't over. They poured down bags of coarse salt to fry her.
After several cycles, the woman gave up and shouted as she lay on the side of the pot, "I will talk! It's because of the Dragon King! The Dragon King is so strong that they took away Death!"
As she cried, her eyes glazed over in bewilderment temporarily before she continued shouting, "The Dragon King is the true dragon! The Dragon Veins are fake! They have no right to be compared to the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas! The Dragon Veins were nothing but tributes for the Dragon King!"
Dragon King of the Four Seas? What Heavenly Dao do they hold? Wait a minute...
Li Huowang pulled her out from the boiling pot of oil. "What did you say just now? Dragon Veins? You guys have Dragon Veins in your possession?"
Li Huowang placed her back into the pot when he saw that she was hesitating.
She talked once more when she was dipped back into the pot of oil.
"Yes! We do! We have An Xi's Dragon Vein and the Luo Sha Kingdom's Dragon Vein. They were all placed on the altar as a tribute for the Dragon King to absorb the Dragon Qi!"
Li Huowang's original plan, which Gao Zhijian had denied, came into his mind again.
If Gao Zhijian doesn't help me, I can get the help of the other Dragon Veins!
Li Huowang threw her back into the pot of oil as he paced around. He wasn't sure if it would be possible.
It would be difficult for me to go and take the Dragon Veins from the altar, especially since I don't know what kind of entities the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas are. But I don't have time to figure it out. The situation is dire now. Ji Zai also confirmed that the ribbon-like Siming was most likely on our side.
It doesn't matter if the Siming who controlled the Heavenly Dao of Death disappeared or if the Heavenly Dao of Death itself disappeared. Whatever the case, it means that the Baiyu Capital is in danger. I need to find a way to help them.
Victory down here is irrelevant if the war is lost up there. I need to ensure that the Heavenly Dao of Death doesn't fall into the wrong person's hands.
Li Huowang rolled up his sleeves and picked up the boat people again from the pot of oil.
He needed to confirm the location in which the Dragon Veins were being offered as tributes, or even about the Dragon Veins themselves. He had to know that they were the truth.
After obtaining the same information from another person, Li Huowang set his goal on taking back the two Dragon Veins.
By taking back the two Dragon Veins, he could also weaken the strength of the Dragon King. There was no reason for him not to do so.
But do I have to go alone? Li Huowang thought that it would be too risky. He needed help.
As he pondered over whom to bring, his gaze fell upon the members of the Ao Jing Sect. The Natural Disaster had coincidentally powered them up.
Chapter 798 - Lion Dance Palace
"Elder, what do you think about my proposal?" Li Huowang looked at the woman in black robes.
Li Huowang did not recognize any of the higher-ranking members of the Ao Jing Sect, but he was certain that the woman in front of him was one of them.
Her exposed skin was covered in myriads of weird bruises and scars. She did not have a single piece of complete skin on her body.
Her stomach was also engorged, but it didn't look like a pregnancy. It looked like a tumor.
She opened her mouth and revealed the empty cavity inside. Her tongue had been removed, and even the skin in her mouth had been peeled off. Her mouth was filled with white pus and blisters, including her throat.
After demonstrating her inability to speak due to her disfigured mouth, she picked up a brush and wrote on a red bamboo slip. Li Huowang, I am Shen Benyou. I have long heard of your infamy.
This is a good method. We could both wound the Dharma Sect and take care of the Natural Disaster. Why aren't the royal family or the Surveillance Bureau using this method? Why are you the only one implementing this plan? Are they stupid?
Li Huowang leaned forward. "The situation is critical. Do you really think we should spend our time discussing that? Just tell me if you want to help or not. I thought those who had ascended were treated as a higher-ranked individual in the Ao Jing Sect. Is my position that low?"
Shen Benyou dipped her brush into an inkwell before writing again. We will naturally help since we are allies now, but why should we? It's a dangerous mission. Since you've ascended before, you should also know that the members of the Ao Jing Sect want this Natural Disaster to last as long as possible.
"Is that so? Do you just want to suffer from the pain? This time, Death disappeared. Can you be certain that Pain won't disappear next time? Also, I thought your objectives were the same as those of the Sacrificial God—stealing the Heavenly Dao of Pain from Ba-Hui. Are you really sure that the current phenomena won't lead to another Siming taking the Heavenly Dao of Pain from Ba-Hui?
"If Ba-Hui's Heavenly Dao gets taken by someone else, wouldn't that mean that all of your actions—your self-mutilation, killings, and the pain you inflict on yourselves—would become a joke?"
Shen Benyou and the other Ao Jing Sect members remained silent.
Li Huowang approached Shen Benyou closer and stared into her eyes. "Don't think that this situation doesn't affect you. The Natural Disaster concerns everyone. You know that too, don't you? If you didn't, then why would you be here?"
Li Huowang calmed down a bit before he took a few steps back. "Also, now that we have lost Death, you guys won't die. You lose nothing by helping me."
Saying more was meaningless. Li Huowang sat still and waited for their answer. If they don't want to help me, I'll have to find another way.
Shen Benyou wrote her response on the bamboo slip. You, Li Huowang, owe me a favor.
She didn't wait for his reply. You owe me a favor. The Ao Jing Sect will not only help you, but we will also help you find another ally to ensure our success.
Upon seeing those words on the bamboo slip, Li Huowang replied, "Let's make this clear. Do I owe you, and only you, a favor, or do I owe the Ao Jing Sect a favor?"
Me.
"Then it's decided!" Li Huowang stood up and agreed to it. He didn't want to waste any time.
"Call your allies here. We can depart immediately."
Li Huowang was about to walk out when he stopped. He forgot to ask them who their allies were. "Who are you planning to ask for help? Best not to find someone from the Surveillance Bureau. I fear that there may be imperial spies mixed in with them."
The Lion Dance Palace. Do not worry. I guarantee that there are no spies in there.
"Why them?" He recalled the few times he had encountered the Lion Dance Palace. He didn't really know a lot about them.
Li Huowang knew they lived underground in Qing Qiu and about the white tassels capable of shifting a person's organs. Other than that, he knew nothing else about them.
The Lion Dance Palace can dance with everyone and anything. They can help us.
Li Huowang couldn't care less about what the Lion Dance Palace was. He just wanted to take back the two Dragon Veins as soon as possible and end the Natural Disaster.
Shen Benyou did not walk by herself. Instead, she was carried away on a palanquin. Under her guidance, Li Huowang and the others got closer to where the Lion Dance Palace was located.
They walked towards a remote part of the forest. In the middle of the forest and mountains, there was a massive cave as large as a house. It constantly emitted a gust of cold wind. Li Huowang stood in front of the large cave.
"What are the Lion Dances? Why do they always stay under the ground?" Li Huowang asked out of curiosity.
Apparently, the thing they worshiped had a dispute with the sun. They always cover up to prevent the sun from shining on them.
Shen Benyou pointed at the sun before they entered the cave.
The stairs in the cave were clearly man-made. They were new and very flat.
The stairs were also massive. It would take a regular person tens of years to complete such a feat.
Navigating the cave was easy for Li Huowang. He simply had to follow the only white light in the cave, just like he did in Qing Qiu last time.
He soon found the Lion Dance Palace. Rows of large faces lined up on the sides while a massive wall of human faces sat near the end.
The white light scattered here and there were the white tassels stuck between the large human faces.
The white tassels pulsated lightly, as if they were breathing.
The large faces, each the size of a dinner table, stared at Li Huowang together. The oppressive feeling made it hard for him to breathe.
When Li Huowang saw them, he recalled some bad memories and frowned. He hated them, even if they were to help him.
"What is it?" Various voices echoed from the other side of the wall of faces, blending together in a symphony of male, female, old, and young tones.
Shen Benyou did not speak. Instead, she threw a bamboo slip towards the wall of faces.
The white tassels extended like tentacles and swiftly disintegrated the bamboo slips before guiding them into the wall of faces.
"Do you have a good relationship with the palace master?" Li Huowang whispered.
They are not a palace, nor do they have a palace master. They can converge as one or divide as many units. Everything you see here is a single living being, and it's called the Lion Dance Palace.
Chapter 799 - Allies
Li Huowang's eyes widened in shock as he read Shen Benyou's explanation. He gazed at the wall of faces in front of him and the white tassels in between them.
He never thought the Lion Dance Palace was an entire entity and not the name of a sect!
"Wait, does that mean the Lion Dance Palace is cultivating the Dao of Fusion?" Li Huowang stared at the numerous legs underneath the white cloth of the Lion Dances before realizing what it meant for them to cultivate the Dao of Fusion.
According to Shen Benyou's description, the Lion Dance Palace was most likely a fusion of both their bodies and minds. They had a hive mind, and the entire hive mind was the Lion Dance Palace.
The techniques of a regular sect either amplify or destroy other sects' techniques, but the Lion Dance Palace is different. They can complement anything with no risk of backlash. They can merge other people into their bodies and vice versa, regardless of their sect. The righteous become even more righteous, and the evil become even more evil.
Li Huowang now understood why Zhang Tan had two lion dances on the side while he performed the Nuo Opera.
Suddenly, a man's flattened face on the left stared at Li Huowang with lantern-like eyes. The red and white light was unnerving.
The left lantern of the lion dance slowly shifted upwards, revealing a circular dark hole in its place. Several dried monkey-like black arms extended from the hole and placed themselves in such a way that made them resemble the eyelashes of the lion dance.
Several eyes, both big and small, filled up the empty eye socket and stared at Li Huowang.
Li Huowang thought that something as horrific as them were most likely worshiping something even more horrific. He had no idea what the entity that the Lion Dance worshiped would look like.
"I've touched you once." Several voices overlapped with each other as they spoke.
Li Huowang recalled the night when he became something inhuman on Qing Qiu's plains.
"Yes. All thanks to you. Thank you for letting me go that night." Li Huowang waved his arm to brush it off.
"I've touched you once. Your body was stuck with cause and effect. That was why I let you go. It seems that it was fated to be."
The wall of faces started to shake. Three Lion Dances and a single Dragon Dance appeared out from the wall.
As they crawled out, they took something black and sticky with them. The black goo had tentacles.
When the goo got out, it quickly moved into the darkness, but Li Huowang's keen vision saw what it actually was. It was none other than the Black Taisuis.
Li Huowang now knew why the Black Taisui appeared in Qing Qiu. It was because they were related to the Lion Dance Palace!
Shen Benyou turned to Li Huowang. Daoist Li, since everyone is here, we can depart now.
"No wait, I need to go back first. Before I went to the crematorium, I left my daughter behind in the city."
Li Huowang swiftly returned to the city.
Li Sui was currently walking happily on the main streets. Even though she was happy that she could help her father, she still preferred to walk on the streets when there was a celebration. She loved seeing things that she hadn't seen before.
But as she walked, she slowly lowered the candied fruits in her hands. Many people were crying, and very few were smiling. Even those who weren't crying had a solemn look on their faces.
Are they sad? Is it because a lot of people died? The somber atmosphere also dampened Li Sui's mood.
I don't want them to be sad. I want to do something. Li Sui recalled something and approached a blacksmith.
When she returned outside, she was holding a bucket of molten metal. "Time to strike the tree flowers! Strike tree flowers! Everyone, come and look!"
After attracting a crowd, Li Sui used a wooden ladle to scoop out some molten metal before throwing it at the city wall.
The molten metal splashed everywhere. Even though it was daytime, the sparks from the molten metal still dazzled the crowds.
Li Sui started working harder after seeing that the crowd were reacting to her performance. She wasn't that good at doing so and a lot of molten metal fell onto her body, but she didn't mind it.
She soon finished her bucket, and everyone's expression slowly turned back to normal. They scattered after her performance, their worry and sadness returning after Li Sui's temporary distraction ended.
Li Sui seeing them leaving the place made Li Sui feel sad as well. "Did it not work?"
"Of course not. Striking tree flowers is not enough to make them happy."
Li Sui turned around and saw a handsome man in front of her. He had an identification plate on his waist, and she remembered that her father also had one.
"My father is not happy. Everyone is not happy." Li Sui squatted down near her pail.
The man squatted down and gently peeled off the cool metal on her back. "I have a method to make your father and everyone else happy, but it would take quite some time."
"What plan? Who are you?"
Li Sui turned to look at the man and saw that he was smiling lightly as he patted her head, "Remember your choice right now. You are simple, but your potential is huge. Do not hesitate when you have the chance to do something that only you can do. But I'm certain that you won't hesitate as well."
Li Sui grumbled because she didn't want anyone touching her head except for her father.
But she was shocked when she tried to use her tentacles to remove the man's hand. Her tentacles phased through the hand. The man didn't have a body!
"Suisui!" Someone shouted, and with that, the man in front of Li Sui disappeared like bubbles.
"Father, someone was here just now. Did you see! It's a guy!" Li Sui ran towards Li Huowang in a panic as she explained what happened just now.
"Someone was beside you just now?" Li Huowang frowned. He never saw anyone just now.
"Did you... become a Strayed One too?" Li Huowang answered her with hesitation.
Li Sui had eaten his flesh for a long time and had indeed obtained part of his cultivation to control the "Truth". She might be turning into what he once was.
But then he thought that might not be the case. His illusions were created from times when he experienced strong emotional trauma. Li Sui hadn't gone through such experiences, so how would she create illusions?
Li Huowang stared at Shen Benyou's palanquin before dragging Li Sui towards it. "Let's ignore the illusion for now. Once everything is over, I will help you figure out a way to deal with it. We have something more important to do. Let's go!"
"Father, where are we going?"
"To the sea."