Li Huowang understood Chan Du's intentions.
Chan Du wanted him to recognize the value of the Great Qi. Indeed, the Great Qi was very useful, and if Li Huowang had control over it, his supply of False Qi would be endless. However, it was not what he wanted.
Li Huowang gradually relaxed his furrowed brows. "Stop trying to win me over. Once again, I'm not helping them because they're useful to me—I just couldn't stand to see people starve."
With that, Li Huowang walked through the crowd and headed toward the You Capital amidst their shouting.
"Of course, I know that Zhuge Yuan is compassionate. However, it's our honor to assist Zhuge Yuan."
"Feeling excited now?" Li Huowang turned back and glared at him, but Chan Du was still calm. Li Huowang ignored him and continued forward.
"I know what you're trying to do. Stop trying to win me over with these tactics. I'll repeat myself—the matters of the Great Qi should be resolved by the people of the Great Qi! I won't involve myself with the Dragon Veins!"
"Benefactor Li, there's no need for you to handle the Dragon Veins. Still, it would be a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, as the enemies from the Diamond Realm actually came."
Li Huowang stopped again and looked at Chan Du, whose face had completely healed by now. "What do you mean by that?"
"Since we're already mortal enemies, when we invade the Diamond Realm and seize a few Dragon Veins, I'm sure the Buddha will not blame us either."
"Huh?" Li Huowang was surprised. He had previously turned Chan Du away when he tried to discuss the matter of the Dragon Veins.
He hadn't even imagined Chan Du would have such ideas.
The Great Qi's Deputy Chief, Liang Yuxuan from the Minglun Hall, hurriedly added, "Daoist Li, that's great! This way, the Great Qi and the Great Liang can be completely bound together! It's not something that can be easily bought off with just food!"
"Do you think that seizing the Dragon Veins is as simple as just talking about it?" Li Huowang replied. He quickly came up with a solution in his mind. It was feasible—Gao Zhijian had once been the Great Qi's Dragon Vein, yet he could still serve as a Dragon Vein in the Great Liang.
"Benefactor Li, since the Great Qi rightfully belongs to you, any Dragon Veins seized by the Great Qi will belong to you. Once the Dragon Veins are in your possession, you will have the freedom to extract as much Dragon Qi from them as you desire.
Li Huowang stopped in his tracks, looking at Chan Du with a hint of amusement. He reached out and snatched the Buddhist beads that Chan Du was spinning in his hands.
"Abbot Chan Du, you usually seem inconspicuous, but you've been gathering a lot of information behind the scenes."
Chan Du joined his hands in prayer, closing his eyes slightly as he said, "Amitabha, I am but a humble monk. I don't know what Benefactor is referring to."
"Indeed, you don't know, and of course you wouldn't." Li Huowang slapped the Buddhist beads onto Chan Du's chest. He then drew his spine sword, slicing open a rift and slipping into it.
Chan Du placed the Buddhist beads back in his palm and slowly spun them again. "Amitabha. Heaven has the virtue of benevolence."
***
It was late at night. Zhao Wu held a lantern and leaned on a cane, wobbling down the path in Cowheart Village with a letter in hand.
A peddler who had come to stay had just delivered the letter, which had been sent from Qing Qiu. The only person who could've written a letter from Qing Qiu to Cowheart Village was naturally that kid, Sun Baolu.
Zhao Wu wanted to find a well-lit area to read the letter and check on Sun Baolu's situation.
Their relationship was closer than that of real brothers since they had escaped from the Zephyr Temple together. It was normal for them to care about each other. Zhao Wu was now able to read and had no difficulty reading letters.
As he was about to reach home, Zhao Wu suddenly felt a strong urge to urinate. He looked around and immediately headed to the outhouse with his lantern.
After he relieved himself, he exited the outhouse. The light from his lantern illuminated the nearby woodshed. He spotted a flash of green between the wooden planks, making his heart skip a beat.
"What's this? Why is there something green in the woodshed?" He raised the lantern again and knocked, but the green color disappeared.
"Could it... could it be haunted...?"
Zhao Wu thought it over and felt something was off. "No, how could there be ghosts on Senior Li's territory?"
Mustering his courage, he used a stick to pry open the wooden door and cautiously held the lantern up in the woodshed.
The next moment, Zhao Wu froze in place. A pitch-black ghost dressed in a bright red and green ceremonial outfit was floating in the air.
"Ghost!" Zhao Wu's terrified scream echoed over Cowheart Village.
Zhao Wu was paralyzed with fear. When he finally managed to turn around and desperately tried to escape, Puppy appeared before him.
"Is there really a ghost?"
Zhao Wu quickly grabbed Puppy's clothes and clung tightly to his back. "In the woodshed! Hurry up! There's a ghost in ceremonial clothing!"
Puppy, who had just been fearful, immediately relaxed and walked toward the woodshed. "Oh, is that it? You startled me."
"Don't go! There's a ghost!"
"Don't pull me. That's not a ghost. It's just the ceremonial outfit I hung up."
Puppy took out the bright red and green ceremonial outfit from the woodshed, which had gold coins painted on it.
He showed it to Zhao Wu. "See, this is the ceremonial outfit. I bought a coffin since Senior Li almost died once when we were traveling, and the shopkeeper threw this in. This thing was left over since he didn't die later on. It cost quite a bit at 120 coins, so I kept it in case it could be used later."
Zhao Wu erupted in anger. "You! Why did you leave it here? You should've kept it at home!"
"Oh, keeping it at home would be unlucky, so I put it in the woodshed. It's no big deal. The kids who cook every day are used to it."
"Burn it right now!" Zhao Wu looked disgusted. He tried to grab the ceremonial outfit, but Puppy pulled it away.
"No, no. How can you throw it away? I paid for it myself! If Senior Li doesn't need it, whoever dies in the village later can use it first," Puppy said, running outside with the ceremonial outfit.
Puppy ran ahead, and Zhao Wu chased after him.
Zhao Wu moved slowly with a cane, which meant was unlikely to catch up with the able-bodied Puppy. Unexpectedly, Zhao Wu caught up quickly and grabbed the ceremonial outfit.
However, he quickly noticed that something was wrong with Puppy. He was trembling, and his pants were wet. He had wet himself from fear.
"What's wrong with you?" Zhao Wu raised the lantern and followed Puppy's gaze. The moment he did, he felt a chill all over. If he hadn't just visited the outhouse, he might have wet himself too.
In the dimly lit village path, a dirty, tattered sack filled with something was hopping toward them.
There were many things inside, and it was bulging.
The sack was soaked with blood and filled with dismembered corpses.
Chapter 876 - Search
Dak dak dak dak dak~
Zhao Wu was afraid, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. His face had turned green from fright.
Zhao Wu's fear was reasonable. It was one thing to mistake the burial clothes for ghosts, but there was no way he would see a walking bloody sack and treat it as a regular object. It was a real ghost!
"There's... there's... there's..." Zhao Wu was about to shout, but Puppy swiftly silenced him by placing his hands over Zhao Wu's mouth.
"Quiet! It has no eyes, so it can't see us," Puppy whispered urgently.
Zhao Wu stared at the bag with unmoving eyes as he heard Puppy's whisper. Puppy was right. The sack somehow ignored them, continuing to hop and leap.
"Quickly! We must run and call everyone!"
Both of them quickly ran back.
At that moment, a muffled voice emerged from the sack, making them tumble as they ran while shivering uncontrollably.
They got away quickly and promptly returned with reinforcements. Almost everyone in Cowheart Village followed behind them, holding brightly lit lanterns.
"Quick! Follow the trail of blood! That thing is just in front of us!"
Puppy was holding onto his needle wrapped in a white tassel. He felt much more confident with it.
The villagers followed him, a murderous aura radiating from the village militia as they gripped their weapons. Yang Xiaohai trailed behind them, holding his scepter.
It could be said that they had mobilized the entire strength of the village.
If they could not fight against the ghost with this, they would have to send someone out to call for reinforcements in Shangjing.
Their torch and lanterns suddenly lit up an isolated sack in the middle of the path. Everyone was shocked by its sudden appearance and retreated slightly.
Suddenly, their torches and lanterns illuminated an isolated sack in the middle of the path. Its unexpected appearance shocked everyone, making them take a small step back.
The bloody sack suddenly jumped. What they witnessed was too bizarre, leaving everyone in shock.
Puppy, who was hiding in the middle of the crowd, shouted at the sack, "Youyouyouyouyou! You dare come and harm us? Do you think that you are unkillable? Do you know whose territory this is?"
The sack stopped after it heard Puppy's voice. Puppy saw this and slid further back.
The sack slowly turned, and an exhausted voice came from inside.
"Is it... Brother Er Jiu? It's me. Liu Zongyuan from Moongate."
The people of the village exchanged curious glances. They weren't familiar with the names Liu Zongyuan or Er Jiu, as nobody in the village bore such names.
"Er Jiu is Master's other name. That thing knows who my Master is."
Lu Xiucai walked forward on his crutches.
Both of his legs were replaced with wooden sticks. He could walk, albeit slowly.
Puppy was relieved when he heard that. He walked out from the crowd and looked at the sack. "To think that Senior Li knows this thing."
Seeing that it was an acquaintance of Li Huowang, Yang Xiaohai asked carefully, "Are you dead or alive? Can you not open the sack? Should we open it for you?"
The bloody sack jumped backward. "Don't touch me!"
"I barely survived by using the gluing technique of the Moongate. If you open the sack right now, I will die for good!"
Liu Zongyuan continued to talk with his weary voice, "Everyone, I'm here to seek your Senior Li for help. I hope that he will help me."
"Senior Li? We don't know where he is. He's been moving our food previously, but for some reason, he recently stopped. He's like an Immortal, flying here and there every day. We currently have no idea where he is."
Lu Xiucai stepped forward and looked at the bloody sack. He asked tentatively, "What can my Master help you with? We can help you by passing the message to him when we see him."
Liu Zongyuan's voice raised an octave. "What else can I do with my body like this? I'm looking for your Master to ask him to take revenge for me!
"We worked together in the past. I even helped him with finding a lot of information before. He cannot ignore what happened to me!"
Lu Xiucai asked, "Who... who turned you into this?"
Liu Zongyuan replied as firmly as he could, saying, "Who else? The White Lotus Sect! It's that damned evil sect! They are the same as the Dharma Sect!"
"Impossible! That cannot be true!"
Lu Xiucai denied it vehemently. He was still a member of the White Lotus Sect. "I've worked with them before. Everyone in the White Lotus Sect is equal. Things have changed, and we aren't who we used to be."
He continued, "We no longer kill innocent people. We even burned away the books detailing the techniques that involved human sacrifices. My Mistress was the one who did so."
"Lies! A dog cannot stop eating turds! Would I go and look for them if they didn't cause trouble? We would've overlooked them if they had just killed one or two people, but they are destroying village after village! They even lied to others, saying that there were plagues! Hmph! Do they think that they can fool the people from Moongate?"
"I don't believe you! Where are they? Lead me there!"
The bloody sack shook a bit. "I can't. They are very strong. Even Ji Xiang was killed. Only brother Er Jiu can do this."
Liu Zongyuan paused a bit before saying, "It's a good thing that he's also friends with the Emperor. You must inform the Emperor that the White Lotus Sect must not be left alive!"
Lu Xiucai was angry as he walked forward with his crutches until he was just in front of the sack. "Bring me there! I'm a white donkey! As long as they are the real White Lotus Sect, they will not harm me!"
Liu Zongyuan fell silent, deep in thought after learning that Lu Xiucai was part of the White Lotus Sect.
"I will give you a location, and you can go there on your own. Two hundred Li away, towards the southeast of Cowheart Village. You will find them at a temple."
Liu Zongyuan left promptly after saying that. He didn't even wait or ask where Li Huowang was as he hopped away. It was as if he was afraid that someone was chasing after him.
Everyone in the village started discussing it after Liu Zongyuan was gone.
"Isn't the White Lotus Sect the one Senior Bai and Senior Xiaoman had joined?"
"Are they really an evil sect? I don't think so. I talked to them once. They seemed like regular people."
"That might not be the case. Remember what we dug out from underneath the ancestral hall?"
The discussion annoyed Lu Xiucai, so he turned to Puppy and said, "Puppy, give me a carriage."
"Huh? You only have a single arm left. Why are you still working hard? You can leave these kinds of things to Senior Li."
Lu Xiucai recalled his dead brother and sister-in-law, as well as his crazy father and his nephew, who he had yet to find. The Dharma Sect had caused the demise of his family.
"No! I need to see it myself! The White Lotus Sect is definitely not a second Dharma Sect! That cannot be true!"
Chapter 877 - Temple
Lu Xiucai clenched his Profound Records with his single remaining arm. The trundling carriage could not stop him from feeling conflicted. He still couldn't believe the White Lotus Sect would become like the Dharma Sect.
After all, the White Lotus Sect had sacrificed its people to defeat the Dharma Sect.
How could the White Lotus Sect become their enemies in just a few months?
Lu Xiucai didn't think that the sack, Liu Zongyuan, would trick them. After all, he was looking for Li Huowang. Even if Liu Zongyuan dared to lie to the village, he would never dare to lie to Li Huowang.
"Ah, well. Xiucai, do you really want to go? You only have a single arm left. You will be completely crippled if you lose the other one," Puppy said, driving the carriage while trying to dissuade Lu Xiucai.
"I still need to check it out, even at the risk of losing my other arm. If there are impostors or even traitors, I need to report it to Mistress. If I report it, they will send someone to come and clear them up."
"You are already heavily crippled, and yet you still want to take care of things like these? Do you want to abandon your father and niece? Your father might be fine since we don't have a village idiot yet, so he could take that role. I'm sure he can survive if we feed him in turns, but what about your niece? She's only five years old. Her parents are dead and her grandfather is crazy. You are her only family left. Why don't we head back instead?"
"You're already crippled, and yet you still insist on taking care of things like these? Are you trying to abandon your father and niece? Your father may be okay—we don't have a village idiot yet, so he could take that spot. I'm sure he could survive if we feed him in turns."
He continued, "But what about your niece? She's just five years old, with both her parents dead and her grandfather insane. You're the only family she has left. Why don't we head back instead?"
Lu Xiucai shouted in anger, "Do you want me to die that badly? I'm just here to check out what's happening! I'm different now, and even if I only have a single arm left, I'm still stronger than you!"
Puppy remained silent and focused on driving the carriage. A long time passed before he said, "You really are his disciple. Even your temper is the same."
Lu Xiucai did not retort. He looked up at the stars. "I used to think that my Master was intentionally hiding things from me just because he didn't want to teach me, but now I see that he just didn't want me to follow in his footsteps. It's a thorny path. It's very tiring, and it's riddled with pain."
"Hehe, and you just realized it? I already knew about it a long time ago."
Puppy chuckled out of excitement. "I don't like pain, and even if I can't read, I'm still smarter than you for noticing it earlier."
"But the world always needed an idiot."
Puppy didn't quite understand. "We have no idea what Senior Li is doing right now. He's not at home all the time. To think that you are the one who has to step up when he's not here."
Puppy didn't quite understand. "We have no idea what Senior Li is up to these days. He's hardly ever home. It's hard to believe that you're the one who has to take charge when he's away."
"I don't know, but Master is probably busy with something grand. As his disciple, I can handle this minor problem. That way, he won't have to deal with trivial matters and won't get frustrated."
"Hmph! You are strong and capable. If I were you I would've just sent a letter to Shangjing."
"If you had done that, the culprit would've escaped by the time the letter arrived there," Lu Xiucai said before urging Puppy to stop. "Stop here!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
Puppy pulled on the reins and the carriage came to a gentle stop. "What's wrong? We are still two Li away."
"If they're actually evil they would've set up some guards along the way. You can go back now. I don't want to get you involved."
"Huh. Guess you do learn a thing or two after exploring the world."
Lu Xiucai ignored him. With his only remaining arm, he climbed onto a horse and released the straps connecting it to the carriage. He shook the reins and rode onward.
Puppy looked at Lu XIucai's back and shouted, "Come back quickly if you survive! If you die, I will get to use the burial clothes when we collect your corpse!"
Lu Xiucai couldn't balance himself well on horseback because he only had a single arm. He rode slowly as he approached the temple that Liu Zongyuan had told him about.
Lu Xiucai realized that the structure he saw was not a temple, but a mountain shaped like a temple.
He looked around the dark forest and saw no guards. There were no ambushes either.
Lu Xiucai tore off his clothes, revealing his dudou and the white donkey tattoo on his back.
He didn't care if there were guards or if they saw that Lu Xiucai was one of them. He just spurred the horse forward toward the temple-shaped mountain.
The mountain road was steep and the air was tinged with the undeniable stench of blood. Lu Xiucai recognized it almost instantly.
When he was halfway up the mountain, he saw a White Lotus Sect banner on the side of the road, and his heartbeat quickened. The writing was messy but undeniably stated that the White Lotus Sect was recruiting. Strikingly, the words were written in blood.
With the end of the Red Sun's calamity, the rise of the White Sun is imminent. The silt originates from primordial chaos, and the appearance of the White lotus heralds the beginning of a prosperous age!
Lu Xiucai then pursed his lips and spurred the horse to continue forward. After a while, the horse suddenly stopped moving. Lu Xiucai looked down in confusion to find that the ground was completely black.
He picked up the black stuff on the ground with his bronze coin sword and realized that it was human hair! The entire mountain path was covered in it!
There's so much hair! Just how many people died to leave behind so much hair? Lu Xiucai trembled, recalling the human pillars buried beneath Cowheart Village.
He almost reached the top of the mountain when the horse stopped moving. The horse refused to move further as if there was something dangerous in front. It neighed and tried to head back.
Lu Xiucai decided to travel on foot. He jumped down with his bronze coin sword in hand, and his wooden peg legs stabbed deeper into his thigh. Nevertheless, he was already used to the pain.
He suddenly noticed another sack on the back of the horse. He opened it and saw Puppy's blowpipe along with several darts that had white tassels. Yang Xiaohai's scepter was also inside the sack.
Lu Xiucai smiled but did not take anything. Instead, he tied the sack on the back of the horse before slapping its rump. The horse galloped down the mountain back to Cowheart Village while Lu Xiucai ascended the mountain.
At the top of the mountain was a cave. Lu Xiucai thought it looked like the Zephyr Temple, the place Puppy kept talking about.
There was wind blowing out from the cave, and it was reeking with the stench of blood. Lu Xiucai was in the right place.
Lu Xiucai entered the cave and noticed a single statue in the middle of the cave. The statue depicted a golden Buddha sitting on top of a lotus.
Lu Xiucai took a closer look and realized that it wasn't a Buddha—it was a coiled-up yellow centipede!
Furthermore, the hundreds of legs of the centipede were clasped together as if it were praying!
"A centipede?" Lu Xiucai exclaimed in surprise before chuckling. "I knew it! It wasn't the White Lotus Sect! How dare these evil entities masquerade as the White Lotus Sect!"
Just then, he heard numerous cracking sounds. The centipede in front of him was slowly lowering its legs.
More importantly, the sound came from everywhere around Lu Xiucai.
Chapter 878 - White Lotus
"An Zhen Guang Zi Ling Li Da She!" Lu Xiucai swung his bronze coin sword to the left. The red threads elongated as the bronze coin turned into a whip and hit something to the left of the darkness.
Lu Xiucai heard the sound of something being torn apart and pulled his sword back. The tip of his blade revealed a strange, semi-transparent sphere with six eyes.
As Lu Xiucai looked at the strange eyeball, he realized it was still going to hit him despite being impaled on the bronze coin sword. He quickly turned and ripped the skin off his shoulder with his mouth. He no longer had teeth, but he had embedded nails where his teeth once were.
The Profound Records opened, and the piece of skin flew and wrapped around the eyeball with ease. The impact sent the eyeball crashing back into the darkness.
Sensing that he was surrounded by danger and strong enemies, Lu Xiucai dared not let his guard down. He sheathedhis bronze coin sword and took out his serrated sword instead. He chanted as he hit his forehead with the serrated sword.
"I call for the round heaven and square earth. Please summon the deities to descend upon the altar and support the shaman. Heaven urges, earth urges; the Tiger Lord flies and rides the clouds back. My master flies and rides the horse here. Arriving at the altar, we assist the shaman. The shaman's left eye transforms into the sun and the right eye into the moon, manifesting the clear illumination of the sun and moon. The disciple prays sincerely..."
Seeing that Lu Xiucai attacked them, something surged like water in the darkness. The few oil lamps in the cave began to flicker ominously.
Lu Xiucai finished his chant and bit on his serrated sword. His eyes opened wide, and a tiger's growl came from his throat.
A strong wind blew around the cave, causing the flickering lamp to turn still and the darkness to retreat a little.
Lu Xiucai's single hand curled into a claw as he stomped on the ground like a tiger. Despite his injuries, he propped himself up with his single arm and two peg legs.
He looked around before quickly shifting around to look towards his back. He saw a strange arm extending out from the darkness to attack him. The strange arm had three abnormally long fingers.
When Lu Xiucai was on the verge of using the tiger spirit he had summoned to stop them, the situation took a sudden turn. The ground beneath him abruptly split open, and a massive centipede charged upward. It sank its fangs into Lu Xiucai's only arm, preventing him from moving.
At the same time, another centipede charged out from the darkness and used its mandible to chomp down on Lu Xiucai's lower back. The centipede on the lotus was gone, leaving only a single hole at the base of the lotus.
The two centipedes pulled in different directions to dismember him!
However, with the tiger spirit in his body, Lu Xiucai's body was as tough as steel. The centipede could not pull him apart at all.
"GROOOAR!" A tiger's roar came again, and Lu Xiucai used his clawed hands to crush the head of the centipede beneath him.
As the dying centipede screeched in pain, the second centipede that had been clamping onto his back screeched out too.
Lu XIucai realized that the centipedes were linked together! They weren't regular centipedes that had grown and turned into monsters—they were evil entities that had learned secret techniques!
Lu Xiucai shook off the dead centipede and prepared to kill the second one. At that moment, another centipede erupted from the ground and bit into his arm. This time, the attack was clever—instead of coiling and biting Lu Xiucai's arm, the centipede bit his wrist.
It wasn't over yet. More centipedes broke out from the ground and bit into Lu Xiucai.
Lu Xiucai was completely covered in centipedes before the sound of intense tearing could be heard. He was completely torn apart by the centipedes.
Lu Xiucai found himself completely engulfed in centipedes. Then, a sound of intense tearing filled the air. The centipedes completely tore him apart, making his organs rain down the hall and splatter across the entire cave.
The centipedes were about to eat the bits of flesh and organs when one of Lu Xiucai's lungs splattered down. A mysterious doll crawled out from his lung.
The doll grew when it came into contact with the air and soon reached the size of an adult. It was the Strayed One's skin doll that Li Huowang had given him!
The flattened Lu Xiucai sucked in the shadows of his dismembered body on the ground. Lu Xiucai's body remained flat despite consuming the shadow, but there was no time to think about it. If he didn't figure out a way to escape right away, he would die again.
Lu Xiucai realized that he was no longer crippled and smiled. With a swift motion, he cut off his entire left arm.
His broken left arm turned a purplish-black color as his bones grew. Meanwhile, the dismembered left arm burrowed into the ground to find the centipede's main body.
The nine centipedes above ground trembled and fell limp while the ground turned white from the centipede's blood.
Lu Xiucai smiled—his arm had hurt the beast underground.
He placed his serrated sword into his mouth. He was ready to tear off all of his teeth again.
Suddenly, the centipede on the ground trembled violently and released a low rumble. Several pairs of eyes lit up in the cave—Lu Xiucai was surrounded.
They were all evil entities. This was their dwelling, their nest!
Whoosh! The light in the cave vanished completely as all of the eyes lunged at him.
"You think I'm afraid of you? I will exact justice for the people even if I have to die today! I shall avenge the people you've killed!"
Lu Xiucai placed the sword onto his chest to prepare for his fight to the death.
Just then, a strange scene occurred. A soft white light glowed and illuminated the entire cave. The evil entities revealed by the white light fell onto the ground and stopped moving.
To Lu Xiucai's surprise, the white light came from the white donkey on his back. He excitedly and sincerely kowtowed toward the lotus seat in front of him.
"The almighty Heavenly Mater! I knew you were kind and would not let chaos take over the world!"
Lu Xiucai stood up and held his sword. He swung it towards one of the cowering centipedes and said, "You beast! I will kill you and stop your deceit!"
Just as he was about to chop off the centipede's head, a sudden, searing pain came from his back.
The white donkey flashed brightly, and Lu Xiucai fell to the ground. He could not get up.
Chapter 879 - News
Inside the dark cave, Lu Xiucai lay limply on the ground. He could barely move his single remaining arm to prop his body up.
He felt the weight of an actual donkey on his back, pressing him down. The white light coming from his back was as heavy as steel.
"Im... impossible! Heavenly Mater, why are you stopping me? Those are evil entities that eat humans! They are evil!"
Lu Xiucai felt his world collapsing around him.
As Lu Xiucai struggled to get up, one of the twitching centipedes regained its strength and lifted its head. Nearly the size of a carriage, it pounced toward Lu Xiucai.
Even Lu Xiucai's new body would be reduced to meat paste if he was hit by it.
At the last possible moment, the huge centipede miraculously twisted and missed Lu Xiucai. It slammed into the ground just in front of Lu Xiucai.
Both of them glared at each other.
Lu Xiucai only noticed the details of the centipede when it was close to his face.
There was a white donkey tattoo on the centipede's forehead. It had the same rank as he did!
Both of them stopped and looked at each other incredulously.
Only then did Lu Xiucai and the centipede understand why the Heavenly Mater had helped both sides. The Heavenly Mater did not want her disciples to fight amongst themselves.
As the white light on his back dimmed, Lu Xiucai struggled to stand up. He looked around and stared at the eyes in the darkness as well as the mangled centipede's body.
He was in disbelief. "So all of you are in the White Lotus Sect? How can this be? You guys ate people! How dare you pray to the Heavenly Mater?"
In Lu Xiucai's memories, the black cloth and white headscarf used by the Dharma Sect had now been replaced by the tattoo of the White Lotus Sect.
The evil entities did not answer Lu Xiucai. Seeing that the Heavenly Mater they revered did not allow them to kill the person in front of them, they slowly disappeared into the darkness.
Once the last centipede disappeared, the entire cave was as desolate as Lu Xiucai's heart.
***
Gao Zhijian sat on his throne while listening to Li Huowang's report. "So that's what the people of the Qi Kingdom said? That they will ally themselves with us?"
"Yes. If you don't believe me, you can send some eunuchs to talk to them in the Qi Kingdom."
Li Huowang took out the spine sword in the hall, putting all the guards and eunuchs on high alert.
"No need. I trust that you won't lie to me."
Gao Zhijian's face, once filled with worry, brightened with joy upon hearing the news.
Since the Qi Kingdom wanted the Dragon Vein from the Tianchen Kingdom, there was no way they would ally with each other anymore. Gao Zhijian no longer needed to worry about the Qi Kingdom betraying them.
The Liang Kingdom could feel more at ease with the Qi Kingdom at the vanguard.
"That's good. With the Liang Kingdom and the Qi Kingdom working together, we can defeat the Tianchen Kingdom without fail."
Li Huowang replied, "it won't be simple. We cannot block off the Tianchen Kingdom with just the Qi Kingdom. Remember what I said about the strength of the Unspeakable army?"
Gao Zhijian's smile faded. Li Huowang had indeed described them to him. He would have dismissed the information as a mere rumor if Li Huowang hadn't been the one reporting it.
Li Huowang said, "I am certain there won't be just hundreds of them. They couldn't even defeat Doulao with just a hundred of them together. I doubt they could've stripped the Heavenly Dao of the Heavenly Mater with so few of them."
Li Huowang said, "I am certain that there will be more than just a few hundred of them. They couldn't even defeat Doulao with a hundred of them together. I doubt they could have stripped the Heavenly Dao of the Heavenly Mater with such a small number."
He continued, "Even with the army of Unspeakable aside, which was birthed by the Heavenly Mater, we still don't know who the grandchildren of the Heavenly Mater are."
Li Huowang had only won a minor skirmish, so he was treading carefully instead of celebrating.
Gao Zhijian frowned again. "You're right. The people of the Tianchen Kingdom are very strange. I can't believe that they could touch a Heavenly Dao. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
"Senior Li, don't worry. The Liang Kingdom will fully help its allies. Not only that, I will persuade the other Emperors to help us out too."
"No, sending resources is not enough. We need people. A lot of people in the Qi Kingdom died this time. Ask the Surveillance Bureau to prepare some men. If the Tianchen Kingdom attacks us, we can use them to stave them off."
"Hmm... The people from the QI Kingdom cannot come here, but can we cross over to the Qi Kingdom?"
"Of course. Even if that's the case, we can shroud our men with Dragon Qi before sending them. The Dragon Vein won't be affected no matter which history they go to. Gao Zhijian, I know that the Dragon Qi is precious, but now is not the time to save it. Against the Tianchen Kingdom, we need to burrow the power of the Simings."
While the other Simings wouldn't help them, at the very least, Ji Zai would.
"Hmm..." Gao Zhijian was worried. He could agree with the other conditions, but the Dragon Vein was, quite frankly, the lifeline of the Liang Kingdom.
The Dragon Qi had been accumulated by countless generations of Emperors. The only way to replenish it would be for him to die and become affixed to the Dragon Vein. Otherwise, the Dragon Qi would not replenish in the slightest. Using the Dragon Qi was essentially a permanent expenditure.
"Don't be stingy. Once we take over the Tianchen Kingdom, we can get as much Dragon Qi as we want. We can even recover some of the divisions the Liang Kingdom lost."
Even so, Gao Zhijian didn't want to mess with the Dragon Vein. He could only accept it for now.
"Alright, but I will have to discuss it with the others first."
"Hurry up and get it approved. The attack from the Tianchen Kingdom might've been foiled this time, but it won't stop them for long. I fear that they will go all out next time."
"Alright. I understand, Senior Li."
"Once you finish your discussion, tell Xuan Pin to contact me."
Li Huowang turned to leave.
"Senior Li, why don't we have a meal first?"
"That's alright. I'm not used to your meals."
Li Huowang walked out of the hall and took out his spine sword. He was getting ready to go back to the Qi Kingdom.
The Tianchen Kingdom could attack any time, so he needed to stay in the Qi Kingdom to guard it.
As he was about to move, a large procession entered the palace. Several consorts and eunuchs swiftly moved past Li Huowang.
"Are you Li Huowang?" A haughty and arrogant voice came from the middle of the procession.
Li Huowang turned and saw a charming lady with a crown slowly stepping down from a palanquin.
Two eunuchs trailed behind her, holding onto her long dress. They quietly followed their Mistress towards Li Huowang.