"Hahaha! This is it!"
Dan Yangzi, who was standing amidst a scene of carnage, now grinned wildly. At this point, he had finally come to an understanding.
He had finally understood what that Senior in the heavens had said to him about killing the Three Corpses. He had always assumed that he had to turn Li Huowang into the Three Corpses, and then kill him. But his understanding had been incorrect.
Those seeking Immortality had to first eliminate the Three Corpses, be calm and without any desires, and possess a serene spirit.
As it turned out, there was no Li Huowang in this entire processโLi Huowang was just a part of his past, an inner demon, and a part of his Three Corpses.
It was because he was filled with mortal energy that he had prevented himself from becoming an Immortal. Now, he had completely become himself, meaning that one of the three corpses had been killed.
Back when he had taken the medicine was the moment that another corpse had been killed. That was precisely why he had become a half-Immortal.
Overjoyed, he laughed while using his blade to slaughter the remaining people; whenever he was happy, he wanted nothing more than to kill people.
While he did not know where the final corpse of his three corpses was, Dan Yangzi had a premonition that at this point was already capable of passing through the Southern Heavenly Gate.
The others in the cave were no match for Dan Yangzi. Soon,he was the only one still alive within the cave.
Dan Yangzi stopped and once again looked down at his youthful body before laughing out triumphantly, "Haha! I'm finally going to become a true Immortal!"
On the other hand, Monk watched him with an astonished expression on his face before gradually vanishing.
However, not long after, Dan Yangzi suppressed his joy; it was not yet time for him to be happy.
Without the support of the Five Elements Intercalation, this battered body without its five internal organs was about to collapse.
He could not afford to die now; first, he had to merge with his true body.
"Hmph! A mere inner demon wanted to ruin my path to Immortality? Now, I am an Immortal!" muttered Dan Yangzi.
Then, he took out the bronze bell in his possession and shook it quickly. Soon, the surroundings morphed into chaos and a few Wandering Gods appeared before him.
Dan Yangzi hummed his orders to them, and then they quickly flew away.
When they returned, they brought along a cinnabar brush, some yellow paper, a piece of wood, a lump of soil, a torch, a jug of water, and a golden ingot.
Dan Yangzi staggered over to the lifeless bodies on the ground and picked one of them for each of the elementsโwater, fire, earth, wood, and gold. Then, he lifted his sword and beheaded them.
After that, he opened the mouths of one of the dismembered heads before stuffing the golden ingot within. Then, he used some of the yellow paper to seal the mouth. Next, he held the cinnabar brush in his hand and quickly drew something on the yellow paper.
As soon as he finished the last stroke, the head suddenly emitted a creaking sound and began to shrink. Soon, its skin, hair, and facial features all fell away, until the head shrank down to less than half its original size.
At that point, Dan Yangzi picked up the head and stuffed it into his own chest.
Following the same procedure, the other four heads were also stuffed into Li Huowang's empty chest, replacing the positions of the five organs.
When the last head occupied the position of the heart, Dan Yangzi nodded with satisfaction. While this sinister method that he had stolen from the Lion Dance Palace would not last long, it would suffice for now.
Satisfied, he took out the sacred text and gazed at it with mixed emotions. Even if he did not understand a single character on it, it was what had led him down the path of Immortality.
I wonder if I'll still be able to meet that Immortal after passing through the Southern Heavenly Gate. If I do meet them, then I must sincerely express my gratitude.
After all, it was only because of his help that he would be able to enter the Southern Heavenly Gates and live as long as the heavens and earth.
"Fucking useless!"
This unexpected sound of someone cursing caused Dan Yangzi's expression to freeze. He quickly turned toward the source of the voice, yet there was nobody there; everything continued to remain motionless.
"Who's there?! Show yourself now, and I'll leave your corpse intact if I'm feeling good!" Dan Yangzi's enraged voice echoed through the large cave, but there was no response.
With a furious expression, Dan Yangzi snorted, picked up the sacred text and walked out of the cave.
The situation within the cave was very strange. The God of Happiness was not a friendly entity either, and it was best for him to leave this area first, and then find a quiet place to wait for his own body to return to him.
As long as he became a true Immortal at the end, everyone in this mortal world would be nothing more than an ant to him!
When Dan Yangzi came back to the battlefield, he found that the surroundings outside were extremely quiet.
He was the only person in the entire cave who was aliveโthe rest of them were all dead. Ao Jing Sect's entire stronghold within these mountains had been completely wiped out.
"Baldy! Do you really think you can become an Immortal? How can a despicable wretch like you do it?"
Swish!
Hearing the voice, Dan Yangzi threw out his sword which stabbed firmly into the solid cave wall while trembling with a low hum.
Ring ring ring!
At this point, Dan Yangzi could no longer sit still, and decided to once again ring the bronze bell. Immediately, Wandering Gods appeared all around Dan Yangzi.
At his command, they all began to frantically search around for the person who had spoken previously.
But even after searching for fifteen minutes, the Wandering Gods, entities that could fly up high and through the ground, had still not found anyone. Even their search underground and within the walls didn't yield any results.
"What's going on? Could it be an ambush set by the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao?" Dan Yangzi was rather unsettled as he mumbled to himself while looking at his unfamiliar surroundings.
After two times, Dan Yangzi dared not let down his guard anymore. He pointed with the bell in his hand, and the Wandering Gods quickly flew out of the cave to find his true body.
Then, he raised his sword and waited on the spot.
After about thirty minutes, Dan Yangzi heard some commotion from outside. His heart leaped with joy as he quickly turned over to look.
However, he found that it was not his true body that had walked into the cave, but a strangely dressed woman. He had traveled extensively for many years and had seen all kinds of things, but he had never seen a woman dressed like this. Her clothes looked like they were made of silk, and she carried a peculiar rectangular box under her arm. Her hair was tied up in a bun.
She seemed to be around forty odd years of age, and had a round face, large eyes, short hair, and seemed a little tired.
Where is this person from? Was the person who cursed me just now her? Why did she come here at such a critical juncture? Is she one of my old enemies?
Just as Dan Yangzi was racking his brain, he saw the woman smile apologetically at him. "Son, we're late because the hospital had to handle some paperwork. Your external injuries have almost completely healed, so your dad and I have found a new hospital for you." ๐๐๐๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ป๐๐๐๐น.๐๐จ๐
Right after she started speaking, Dan Yangzi noticed the bright cave around him collapsing rapidly and changing. Soon, the bright cave around him had turned completely white.
At the same time, he noticed that while he should have been standing inside the cave, objects were quickly piling up on his own body.
When Dan Yangzi came back to his senses, he saw that his left arm had regrown.
He tried to move, but found himself strapped to a metallic bed. His limbs were being tied down by leather straps. He couldn't move an inch.
Seeing this, he tried muttering some chants to use his supernatural powers, but none of them worked.
Given the situation, he was no different from a fish on a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered. ๐ง๐โฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ.๐ธโด๐
Dan Yangzi felt humiliated.
Ever since he started murdering people at the age of ten, he had never found himself in such a situation.
"Who's there?! Who is trying to use illusory tricks on me?!" Dan Yangzi howled at the woman in front of him. He was unfamiliar with the place.
"I don't care who you are, just you wait! Once my main body arrives, all of you will die!" Dan Yangzi growled.
His outburst visibly shook the woman in front of him, causing her to run out while shouting, "Doctor! Doctor, come quick! Something's wrong with my son!"
While she was gone, Dan Yangzi tried to escape his restraints, but it was no use. After a while, he calmed down and surveyed his surroundings.
"The Sitting Oblivion Dao! Maybe it's them! There might have been more than six of them and now they are attacking me from the dark!"
After some time, Dan Yangzi saw the woman walking in with two men in white.
Three people? They have restrained me and yet haven't done anything to me. What is their goal?
While he was thinking, one of the doctors asked 'Li Huowang'.
"Xiao Li, look carefully. Who is she?" asked the doctor wearing a pair of round frame glasses while pointing at Sun Xiaoqin.
Dan Yangzi calmed down. "Talk. Who sent you over? Since when did you start following me just so you can stop me from achieving Immortality?"
The doctor was not surprised by this response and just nodded calmly before writing something down on his tablet.
"Do you still remember your name?" asked the doctor.
At this point, Dan Yangzi decided to change his strategy a little and said seriously, "Zephyr Temple, Temple Master Dan Yangzi. You tied me up when you don't even know who I am? Which sect are you from? I've lived for almost half a century and traveled across the lands. I've met many people. It's even possible that your elders were my friends at some point in time. Let me go and help me achieve Immortality. If you do, then I will reward all of you handsomely."
Hearing his response, Sun Xiaoqin panicked. "Son, what are you talking about? You are not Dan Yangzi. You are Li Huowang!"
"Li Huowang?" Dan Yangzi's eyes were filled with doubt before he shook his head. "No! There's no Li Huowang! There's only Dan Yangzi! Li Huowang was nothing more than a part of my Three Corpses!"
Sun Xiaoqin wanted to say something but was stopped by the doctor. "Madam Sun, please calm down. Let us finish questioning him first."
Sun Xiaoqin gripped her bag and nodded before retreating to a corner of the room, her heart burdened with anxiety.
On the other hand, the two doctors talked to each other and discussed a strategy. Once done, they decided that one of them would question Li Huowang while the other would note down his responses.
The doctor asking the questions sat on a stool beside Li Huowang. "Dan Yangzi, let me ask you a question? What is one plus one?"
Dan Yangzi was confused by the purpose of the question. What was this man in white trying to do? But he was more than happy to entertain him. After all, as long as his main body returned, it would be his win.
And so, both of them began to probe the other, neither of them getting the answer they wanted.
As he watched this interaction, the doctor recording their exchange was confused. "That's strange. Why is he suddenly exhibiting a new symptom after his illness had been stable for so long? Madam Sun, did your son receive any stimulus from the outside world?"
"No! My son is still very good! He even talked to us during his birthday," replied Sun Xiaoqin truthfully.
The doctor thought about it and suggested, "We should transfer him. Your son's internal fistula has been resolved and he can now defecate normally. We can transfer him to a normal psychiatric hospital. The doctors there are much more skilled in treating cases like this. Don't worry, we will record all his symptoms in his medical history and will not delay his treatment in the slightest."
"But how can we transfer him when he's like this?" worried Sun Xiaoqin.
"Don't worry. It's not unheard of for an illness to rebound. Please give your son some time. I will give your son some Risperidone and Olanzapine. Nothing will happen to him while we are transferring him," explained the doctor.
Soon, Dan Yangzi saw two burly men approach his bed before wheeling him outside.
"Where are you taking me? Put me down! I will kill all of you when I become an Immortal!" shouted Dan Yangzi.
Hearing this, the nurses scoffed at him, causing Sun Xiaoqin to be upset.
"What are you laughing at?! My son is a patient! Do you think it's funny to laugh at a patient?" shouted Sun Xiaoqin.
Then, she placed her hand on Li Huowang's face and gently caressed it. "Don't be afraid, son. I am here. No one can bully you while I am here."
At that moment, Dan Yangzi was stunned. The soft feeling on his face and the earnest gaze of the woman in front of him unlocked a distant memory within him. Gradually, Sun Xiaoqin's face grew hazy before being superimposed on an unfamiliar face.
Dan Yangzi trembled. "Mother?"
Just as he uttered that word, his surroundings crumbled. The white walls all around him quickly disappeared and he was once again in the cave filled with the stench of blood.
"This... This... What is happening?" Dan Yangzi stared at his surroundings warily. He had seen many bizarre things in his life, but nothing as crazy as today!
After a moment, Dan Yangzi took his sword and carefully inspected everything around him.
"Where is my main body? Why is it not here yet?"
At this point, Dan Yangzi started panicking. Even though everything looked normal right now, the hallucination from just now was definitely not something a normal human could induce!
The one who had trapped him in that hallucination was definitely someone very strong!
"Master..."
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out from behind him, causing all the hair on his body to stand on end.
"Master..."
Dan Yangzi immediately turned around and saw a familiar face.
It was Zheng Kun, the disciple he had cared about the most. Currently, Zheng Kun was wearing a green Taoist robe as he stood there without any hatred in his eyes.
Zheng Kun looked extremely real; it was as if he was actually alive.
But Dan Yangzi remembered that he was the very person who had crushed Zheng Kun's head, and so it was impossible for him to still be alive!
After a moment, Dan Yangzi finally snapped out of it and roared in anger, "Who dares to try and trick me?! You are courting death!"
As he spoke, Dan Yangzi threw his sword high into the air. Then, he bit his fingers and drew a bloody rune onto the falling sword.
"The Seven Stars of the Heavens! Ruler of the skies! Pierce through all illusions and heed my words! Cut down all evil and chase them back up the mountains! Heed my orders and treat them as the supreme law!"
As he chanted, the sword turned black from the bits of talismans that stuck themselves to it from the Heavens and Earth.
Dan Yangzi held the blackened sword and stabbed it toward Zheng Kun.
On the other hand, Zheng Kun didn't try to hide from his Master's attack. Instead, he just stood there as he tried to say something.
But the moment Dan Yangzi's enchanted sword slashed across Zheng Kun's body, he smiled and disappeared.
After that, Dan Yangzi stood around in the cave warily. Everything had turned quiet.
Nothing happened even after he had waited for half an hour.
"Hmph! Looks like you know when to back off! I don't care who you are, but if you cross me, then I will kill you!" shouted Dan Yangzi.
However, while Dan Yangzi was speaking fierce words, he was merely bluffing.
Dan Yangzi did not lower his guard and continued to monitor his surroundings as he slowly walked outside.
Once out of the cave, he immediately ran down the mountain.
He kept running and running until he arrived at the ghost town located at the bottom of the mountain; Dan Yangzi did not want to run too far away. He was afraid that his main body might not be able to find him.
He just needed to wait at a quiet place.
After choosing a location, Dan Yangzi started to use the items brought to him by the Wandering Gods to set up a formation.
"Blazing sun, flashing thunder~ Kill those who are cursed or try to change this formation~ Protect the righteous and kill the evil~ All evils shall perish~ Nothing is unstoppable, for everything can drown in water and burn in fire~ Heed my words and treat them as the supreme orders!"
Just as he finished chanting, the yellow flags planted on the various graves shook at the same time. Then, an invisible line connected all of the yellow flags and formed a massive formation.
Dan Yangzi sat in the middle of the formation and waited. "Hmph! I have all night, so let's see you try and trick me again!"
Then, Dan Yangzi knocked over one of the gravestones before sitting on it and waiting.
He looked at the various mounds around him while worrying about his main body. "It might be annoying to deal with those three figures of the God of Happiness, but the main body should be strong enough to fight against them. Even if it can't fight them, it should still be able to escape. Why is it still not here?"
As Dan Yangzi sat there and waited, he felt anxious; after a while, he used his sword and started drawing something on the ground.
"Master, what is this formation?"
When Dan Yangzi heard someone trying to butter him up, he scoffed. "Just sit there and watch. It is not yet time to teach youโ"
However, he suddenly stopped speaking and slowly raised his head.
He was surprised to see Zheng Kun standing in front of him.
Zheng Kun was currently standing in the middle of the formation! Even though he had used so much time to set up this formation, it turned out to be useless!
"Impossible! Even if it can't block you from entering it, it should alert me about your presence!" shouted Dan Yangzi as he swung his sword, which once more phased through Zheng Kun's chest, leaving him completely unharmed.
As Dan Yangzi tried to figure out how to deal with his disciple, he suddenly heard the mound on his left move.
When he turned around, he saw his other disciple, Xuan Yin, standing there.
"Master, long time no see. I've missed you somewhat," said Xuan Yin.
Just as Dan Yangzi took a step back in fear, two more men walked up to him and made a seal with their hands. Both of them had swords strapped to their back.
"Disciples Chang Ming and Chang Ren greet Master. Congratulations on becoming an Immortal!" said the two men.
But this was merely the start. More and more people started appearing from the surrounding mounds and started talking to Dan Yangzi.
Some of these people were not from the Zephyr Temple. Instead, they were people that he knew in the past.
"Dan Yangzi you thief! To think you would refine pills using live humans! I should've slapped you to death!"
"Baldy! To think that you would betray your own sworn brother!"
"Why did you sell our daughter? She was your wife! You fucking ingrate!"
"Why did you kill our father? Why?! My father even fed you the white noodles that we ourselves couldn't afford to eat! How could you kill him?!"
As more and more people appeared within the formation, the voices became more and more chaotic. At this point, Dan Yangzi started panicking.
"What is this?" Fear welled up from the depths of his eyes as he lowered his head and took a deep breath. He recognized all of these people!
Finally, the fear in his heart exploded when he saw a big fat man appearing.
"ENOUGH!" shouted Dan Yangzi as he stomped and started waving his sword around.
Soon, the lines that formed the formation became white smoke that ascended to the Heavens.
At the same time, thunder clouds covered the skies and Dan Yangzi stabbed the sword into the ground.
Crack!
A huge amount of purple lightning illuminated his surroundings.
The purple lightning shot toward the formation before radiating toward the surroundings, turning everything it passed through, including the gravestones and the houses, black.
However, when Dan Yangzi raised his head, he was surprised to see that none of the people around him were harmed.
"What is this? Who are you guys? The Sitting Oblivion Dao?! You guys dare to go against an Immortal?!" Dan Yangzi howled at them.
Dan Yangzi was shaking with anger, when someone suddenly started laughing at him.
It was none other than the big fat man.
"Aiyo~ Isn't this Yang Danzi[1]? You are already so old? Haha! I still remember how you used to kiss my ass and grovel on the ground just so you could learn from me!" said the big fat man.
The fat man's words made everyone else laugh.
All of them started laughing at Dan Yangzi.
"Mere mortals like you dare to mock me?! I am an Immortal! You need to respect me!" shouted Dan Yangzi.
At the same time, he started using all his techniques to try and kill the people surrounding him.
But it was no use. None of his methods worked.
After a while, Dan Yangzi sat on the ground, tired from using all the methods that he could think of.
After a while, he took a long piece of wood before stabbing it into his right and then his left ear; he intended to pierce his eardrums to stop the voices.
However, the sound of laughter just became even louder.
"AAAA!" screamed Dan Yangzi as he picked up a piece of stone and started whacking his head with it.
Just then, someone pushed through the crowd to come closer.
He was the only one who didn't laugh. ๐ง๐โฏโฏ๐คโฏ๐ฃ๐โด๐๐๐.๐๐ฐ๐
Dan Yangzi recognized him. It was none other than Li Huowang.
Li Huowang approached the sorry-looking Dan Yangzi and chuckled. "Master, how does it feel occupying my body?"
1. also known as goat testicles, after his name is moved around ?
"Master, how does it feel to inhabit my body?"
Hearing this, Dan Yangzi glared at Li Huowang. "You! It's you! You cheated me before, so this must be your doing!"
As he roared, Dan Yangzi tried to stand up and cut Li Huowang down with his sword.
But all he managed to do was pass right through Li Huowang.
Dan Yangzi was shocked and stared at Li Huowang as the latter smiled and explained calmly, "Oh, please forgive me, Master. I forgot to tell you that I am an illusion, and so you can't kill me."
Then, Li Huowang pointed toward the rest of the illusions. "Not only can you not kill me, but you can't kill any of them either. They are all illusions that will follow you to the edge of the world." ๐๐ซ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ.๐๐๐
At that moment, Dan Yangzi saw as the illusions closed in on him, causing his heart to start pounding in fear.
Their faces slowly melted and became a wall that surrounded him from all sides. He realized that he would never be able to run, and that he would never be able to hide.
He realized that he would have to suffer for an eternity.
"This... What is this?!" Dan Yangzi shouted as he slashed at his surroundings in a frenzy.
He had always resorted to using violence to settle things. He would steal, rob, lie, and even kill to get what he wanted. But now, all of these methods were useless.
Everything he had learned throughout his life was now completely useless.
"Master, that is the body of a Strayed One. Enjoy it as much as you want," Li Huowang laughed, his laughter joining the rest as all of them laughed at Dan Yangzi scornfully.
When Dan Yangzi saw Li Huowang acting so haughty, he gritted his teeth with envy. He threw his sword in anger and shouted, "You think you've won? Stop dreaming! I will spare you for now. Just wait until my main body comes back!"
As soon as he said this, the laughter stopped. All of the illusions stared at him at the same time.
At that moment, Dan Yangzi raised his right hand and slapped himself. "I am not Dan Yangzi, I am Li Huowang!"
As soon as he did this, the illusions around him started disappearing one by one, causing doubt to blossom within Dan Yangzi's heart.
"Who am I?"
"Am I Dan Yangzi or Li Huowang? No, I am not Li Huowang, so I must be Dan Yangzi! Scram, get out of here! I am Dan Yangzi, not Li Huowang! No, you scram! I am Li Huowang, not Dan Yangzi!"
The youth continued struggling.
In the meantime, the illusions around him disappeared one by one, until there was only an old Monk left. However, in a bit, he too disappeared.
As the youth fell onto the ground while struggling like a maggot, a dark cloud appeared in the sky. This black cloud was none other than the monstrous Dan Yangzi.
The current Dan Yangzi looked injured, and was missing many of his organs. His body was dark and without color. He had used a majority of his strength just to escape.
Dan Yangzi slowly floated downward and approached the youth, his long tentacles easily lifting the youth into the air.
"Which one are you?" Dan Yangzi asked.
The youth struggled for a long time before calming down. Then, he opened his eyes and calmly said, "I am Dan Yangzi. The Three Corpses have been slain."
Hearing those words, the monstrous Dan Yangzi revealed a satisfied smile before hugging the youth with his hideous body and sucking on the youth's face. As he did this, something flowed out from the youth's seven orifices and into Dan Yangzi's body.
Soon, the youth's body stiffened, becoming lifeless.
At that moment, Dan Yangzi finally revealed a satisfied smileโthe last remaining essence had once again entered his body.
"I can finally become an Immortal!" Dan Yangzi laughed maniacally and flew into the dark cloud above.
He flew higher and higher, his heart pounding from excitement. Seventy-four years! That was how long he had lived for, and he had never been as excited as today!
He passed through the layer of clouds and continued flying upward into the starry skies.
As he went up, he flew past the stars and saw many monstrous beings.
Some of them were nothing more than a gray gloop, their bodies stabbed with numerous incense that burned forever as they expanded and contracted rhythmically.
There was also a blind golden Bodhisattva with a pink tentacle extending from its crotch. The tentacle rummaged around as if it was sucking on something. Dan Yangzi even caught a glimpse of the wishes of the devotees.
There was also a blob of shimmering light that was encircled by numerous black cranes. Everytime they touched each other, a hoarse cry could be heard.
But this was not all.
Dan Yangzi also saw the God of Happiness, the Immortal Households, and even his Senior who had taught him how to slay the Three Corpses.
All of them were Half-Immortals!
As he saw all of them, Dan Yangzi scoffed. They were beings destined to be stuck here until the end of time. They no longer had a way of ascending.
But he was differentโhe was now an Immortal.
He flew faster and faster as he passed through the sea of stars until he arrived at a colorless jade plate in the middle of nowhere.
The jade plate was being hung from something hidden within the darkness. As the formless darkness moved, the jade plate bobbed up and down.
There were three large characters written on it. While Dan Yangzi was illiterate, he was certain that these characters spelled out the words, 'Southern Heavenly Gate'. This was because he recognized the final character that was shaped like a gate. Three characters that ended with the character for 'gate'? Due to this, he was certain that this was the Southern Heavenly Gate.
At this moment, there were various monstrosities surrounding the jade plate as they tried to make their way inside.
"Scram! Get away! Don't stop me from becoming an Immortal!" shouted Dan Yangzi as he blasted everything in front of him away and monopolized the area in front of the jade plate.
Through the jade plate, he saw the hazy-looking Immortals.
There were Immortals, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats inside the jade plate!
Compared to their previous unmoving selves, they were all happily eating something and were almost done with it.
However, the dense mist that covered the interior of the jade plate made it so Dan Yangzi couldn't see the situation inside clearly.
"What are they eating? Are those the Immortal Peaches and Pills?"
Fearing that he might not even get a bite, Dan Yangzi panicked, choosing to immediately charge toward the jade plate.
But just as he was about to pass through the jade plate, he felt an invisible wall blocking him from entering. It was as if the jade plate was denying him entrance.
"Let me in! I've become an Immortal! Let me into the Immortal Realm!" Dan Yangzi shouted into the darkness as he floated near the jade plate.
At that moment, up in the formless darkness, Dan Yangzi saw the two massive snakes that were holding up the jade plate. The snakes had no tails or heads, but somehow took a 'look' at Dan Yangzi before ignoring him.
"I've killed my Three Corpses and become an Immortal! Let me in! What right do you have to keep me outside?!" Dan Yangzi howled at the darkness above and at the jade plate.
But then, Dan Yangzi suddenly recognized the three words etched onto the jade plate.
"Ox Tail Gate."
"Ox Tail Gate?" Dan Yangzi was shocked at being able to recognize the characters on the jade plate. He felt his brain buzzing from shock. The three characters had revealed themselves to him just like that.
How could this be the Ox Tail Gate? Wasn't this the Southern Heavenly Gate? Is the Immortal Realm not behind it? Weren't those Immortals?
He looked down at the stars and then looked up into the darkness. He wasn't sure what to do now. It was as if everything had lost its meaning.
"You are still clueless? There's no such thing as the Immortal Realm! You've been fooled and your entire life has been nothing more than a joke!"
A familiar voice rang out, causing Dan Yangzi to turn around. However, there was nothing there.
Just as he thought that the illusions from earlier were about to appear once again, he found the source of the voice.
It was one of his three heads!
Currently, his left-most head had been replaced by Li Huowang's head!
"Impossible! I've already slain my Three Corpses! Who are you?" shouted Dan Yangzi as he raised the coin sword in his hand and placed it on Li Huowang's neck, threatening to cut him off.
However, Li Huowang was unfazed. "Hehe, why don't you take a guess?"
"You fucking ungrateful disciple!" raged Dan Yangzi as he tried to slash downward, but couldn't. He noticed that a mysterious force was stopping him.
Suddenly, Dan Yangzi raised his other arm and slapped his own face.
On the other hand, as he saw Dan Yangzi growing more and more infuriated, Li Huowang laughed even harder.
Back when Dan Yangzi had sucked out his essence from Li Huowang's body, the latter had barely managed to regain consciousness. At the time, the first decision he made was to never let Dan Yangzi live peacefully!
And so, he followed the other Dan Yangzi and allowed himself to get sucked into Dan Yangzi's main body. Now that he was in here, he had some degree of control over Dan Yangzi's body.
"You dare to hit me?" Dan Yangzi was angered and tried to cut off Li Huowang.
Unfortunately, since this was Dan Yangzi's main body, he was the one who had more control over it. Soon, Li Huowang lost control and the coin sword started to cut into his neck.
However, Li Huowang was not the slightest bit afraid. Instead, he started laughing like a maniac.
"Baldy! Did you know, I've tried so many methods to kill and get rid of you, but none of them worked. Then I had a thought... Why should I kill you? All I have to do is to torture you until death seemed like a paradise! And to think that the torture that I've endured all these years will become useful now," said Li Huowang.
Before Dan Yangzi could even figure out what was happening, numerous voices suddenly appeared all around him.
"Yang Danzi! You stupid brat, you deserve to die! Li Huowang, kill him! Take revenge for me!"
"You filthy ass-kisser, why don't you just die?!"
"Taoist, kill him quickly! Take the place of the Heavens and exact revenge for us!"
Gradually, illusions belonging to both Li Huowang and Dan Yangzi started appearing one by one.
At this moment, Li Huowang's bewilderment and sense of doubt had appeared within Dan Yangzi.
Soon, the illusions elongated in the darkness and became like seagrass, twisting and encircling both of them.
Following Li Huowang's will, his properties as a Strayed One had started manifesting themselves within Dan Yangzi.
As he saw Dan Yangzi start panicking, Li Huowang chuckled. "How is it, Master? Do you like it? This is how I will show my respect for you. Even though you've managed to kill me, you will continue to suffer as a Strayed One!"
"YOU CRAZY LUNATIC!" Dan Yangzi dared not attack him anymore as fear gripped his heart.
"I'm a lunatic? It's all thanks to your guidance!" said Li Huowang.
As the two of them continued arguing, something massive started to move within the jade plate.
Originally, the monstrous beings within the jade plate had all been eating something, but now, all of them were staring at Dan Yangzi and Li Huowang through the jade plate.
Without any warning, the jade plate disappeared into the darkness. At the same time, a wondrous phenomenon manifested itself at the location where the jade plate disappeared from.
With this, both Li Huowang and Dan Yangzi caught a glimpse of the inside. Instantly, a primal fear gripped both of their hearts; the evil beings within far exceeded anything they could comprehend.
At that moment, a gentle breeze floated out along with a sigh, slowly approaching Li Huowang and Dan Yangzi.
"'The Baiyu Capital resides in the heavens, with twelve pavilions and five cities. The Immortals caress our heads and we shall become Immortals'. Is this the legendary Baiyu Capital?!" shouted one of the illusions, a divine-looking Taoist. He was clearly very excited.
When Dan Yangzi heard those words, he immediately took action. He completely ignored Li Huowang and rushed straight toward the Baiyu Capital!
"I want to go to the Baiyu Capital! I want to become an Immortal! I've become an Immortal!" shouted Dan Yangzi as he rushed toward the 'Baiyu Capital'.
On the other hand, Li Huowang tried his best to pull him backward.
"Don't stop me from becoming an Immortal! You can't stop me!" Dan Yangzi struggled against Li Huowang's control, using all his energy to run inside.
As the two of them struggled over controlling the main body, they gradually closed in on the bizarre phenomenon. All the while, the 'Immortals' were patiently waiting for them.
The being closest to them within the Baiyu Capital was a Bodhisattva. Her movements were fluid and elegant, and her floating shawl gave everyone the impression that they were underwater.A pale halo of light could be seen resting at the back of her head.
Both Li Huowang and Dan Yangzi failed to see her appearance until they were very close to her; the light emitted by the halo wasn't just regular light. Instead, it was a halo made from numerous white eyes!
However, this was the most normal thing within the entire Baiyu Capital. Soon, they saw more and more monstrosities, each worse than the last. ๐๐ซ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐.๐๐ ๐ฆ
As he stared at the Bodhisattva in front of him, Dan Yangzi's heart was instantly gripped with fear. His instincts were telling him that this was a dangerous place, one that he must avoid entering at all costs!
No! This is not the Southern Heavenly Gate! This is the Ox Tail Gate! These are not Immortals!
At that moment, Dan Yangzi finally snapped out of his obsession with becoming an Immortal.
However, at that moment, just as Dan Yangzi was trying to pull back, Li Huowang's voice suddenly rang out. "Master! Are you ready? Then let me help you become an Immortal!"
At the same time, Li Huowang suddenly stopped pulling Dan Yangzi back and instead pushed him forward. Failing to react, Dan Yangzi was propelled straight toward the face of the Bodhisattva.
"Stop! You will also die with me!"
As they got closer and closer to the Bodhisattva, Dan Yangzi's voice was filled with fear for the first time in forever.
However, Li Huowang just grew excited! "Who the heck cares?! The life of a disciple is nothing compared to helping his Master achieve Immortality!"
Between the force of Li Huowang's push and the slight tug of the gentle breeze, all of Dan Yangzi's struggles were rendered useless as they slowly approached the open Ox Tail Gate.
As they got closer, the pale white light coming from behind the Bodhisattva enveloped both of them.
At that moment, all of Dan Yangzi's feathers started transforming into a white shawl similar to the one on the Bodhisattva's body. Dan Yangzi's body, regardless of whether it was the wriggling flesh or his organs, died the moment they were enveloped by the white shawl.
As Dan Yangzi felt his body slowly dying, his survival instincts kicked in. He refused to die just like this. "Huowang! You don't have to do this! Your physical body can still be used! We just need to go back down and then you can go! After that, I will leave you alone and we won't meet each other ever again!"
While Li Huowang ignored Dan Yangzi's word, one of the bandit-like illusions spoke out, "Young man, don't listen to him! He has never spoken the truth! He's still thinking about how to get rid of you!"
Just as Dan Yangzi glared at the illusion, a portion of the white shawl enveloped one of his heads causing it to die.
When Dan Yangzi's other head witnessed this, he was extremely shocked. Immediately, he threw aside his dignity and started pleading with Li Huowang, "Huowang! You've won! Please, let's just run away! Otherwise, both of us will die and who knows what kind of fate awaits us after that! We might even suffer from a fate worse than death! Please! I am even willing to kowtow to you and call you Master! Just let me go!"
At that moment, the white shawl covered Li Huowang's eyes, but he was still smiling happily. "That won't do, Master. You promised me that we will become Immortals together."
Just as he finished saying that, Dan Yangzi's body was completely covered by the white shawl and brought into the Ox Tail Gate.
The moment they passed through the gate, Dan Yangzi's body was separated from Li Huowang's head.
Staring at Li Huowang's translucent head, Dan Yangzi barely managed to say something before his body popped like a bubble.
At that moment, Dan Yangzi, who had tormented Li Huowang for so long, disappeared just like that. His death was swift and quiet.
In the spot where Dan Yangzi had died, numerous different colored types of energy spread out before floating into the depths of the gate.
Li Huowang recognized what that was and yet he couldn't find words to accurately describe it. If he tried, the only thing he would be able to come up with was that it was the energy representing desire, greed, persistence, hate, and killing intent.
While Li Huowang did not die like Dan Yangzi, his current condition wasn't much better.
At that moment, the massive Bodhisattva used one of her rotting skeletal hands to reach out for Li Huowang.
Just as the massive shadow enveloped Li Huowang, a voice rang out from the depths. The voice was quite similar to that of a Suona[1].
As soon as he heard the voice, Li Huowang felt his five senses morphing and melding together. He had instantly obtained five different ways to 'see' the world.
At that moment, he saw that the Bodhisattva was composed of a mountain of corpses, and that she had an umbilical cord dangling from her abdomen.
In fact, pretty much everything within the Ox Tail Gate had an umbilical cord dangling from its abdomen.
However, it was not only his sense of sight that had changed. At present, he could sense so many different things that a mortal should never be able to sense. A mass of foreign senses were worming their way into him.
Amidst all this, Li Huowang started moving deeper and deeper into the Baiyu Capital.
The deeper he got, the more he sensed.
"No... No, No, NO NO NO!"
As he went deeper, Li Huowang learned more and more about Baiyu Capital, but at the same time, his mind almost crumbled from the overwhelming amount of knowledge.
Li Huowang shouted in despair. The deeper he flew, the more he learned.
Then, he stopped and slowly flew back the same way he came from.
At this point, Li Huowang had learned everything about the world, and he finally knew what had been worming into his very senses.
It was a bundle of pain and sufferingโit was Ba-Hui!
โโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
Back within the kingdom of Si Qi, on a beautiful mountain, a group of people were standing around a newly constructed grave while wearing funeral clothes. At this moment, they were scattering a bunch of bronze coins and paper ingots while grieving.
"Senior Li! Boo-hoooo~ Why did you die? What's going to happen to us now that you are dead?" Puppy bawled, his eyes red with tears. However, halfway through he quieted down and stared at Bai Lingmiao.
Compared to his somewhat extreme display, Bai Lingmiao was eerily calm. She did not cry, and instead just silently burned the pieces of offering paper one at a time.
Seeing her current state, Puppy sighed and started sniffing. Then, he laid his body onto the grave and started bawling his eyes out. "Senior Li! How did you die without any illness or accidents? Now that we are without you, we will end up being bullied by everyone else!"
Just as he was doing his best to grieve, the dirt on the grave moved.
"Hm?" Puppy thought he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes, only to see a hand explode out from within the grave.
"AAAAAAAAAH! HIS BODY IS MOVING!" Puppy cried out and fell onto the ground.
On the other hand, Bai Lingmiao reacted immediately. The walls surrounding her heart crumbled away as she started crying while clawing at the dirt, trying to remove as much of it as she could.
After a moment, the others reacted as well, and moved to help her.
However, before they even finished digging away the dirt, Li Huowang suddenly appeared from within the grave, wearing his graveclothes.
He held his head with a twisted expression, his face twitching as he mumbled something, causing most of them to be scared away.
"Senior Li!"
Bai Lingmiao ran over to him tearfully, but was caught by him.
As he looked at Bai Lingmiao, his eyes were bloodshot. "Alive! You are alive! This world is alive!"
At that moment, Chun Xiaoman sighed in relief and sheathed his sword. "That's good; looks like he's alive. His body did not just reanimate by itself."
On the other hand, as she faced Li Huowang who was behaving strangely, Bai Lingmiao did not feel afraid. Instead, she was concerned. "Senior Li, what's wrong?"
"Listen to me! I know what's wrong with this world!" Li Huowang's shout dampened all the noises around him. "This world is alive! That means that anything that could happen to a human could happen to the entire world as well! I'm not the crazy one! This world is crazy! IT'S TRULY LUNATIC!"
As he spoke, Li Huowang pushed Bai Lingmiao away before pointing one of his fingers toward the Heavens and the other toward his chest as he tried his best to reassure himself as much as he could. "THE ENTIRE WORLD IS CRAZY, IT'S EVEN CRAZIER THAN ME!"
After repeating those words tens of times, his body finally gave way and he crashed onto the ground.
1. a musical instrument ?
Dak dak dak~
The sound of horse hooves rang out non-stop as the horses trodded along rhythmically.
The wheels of the horse carriage trailed the hoof prints before their marks were replaced by Gao Zhijian's massive footprints.
A group of people could be seen following a carriage along a small path.
All of them were deep in thought, with some of them taking glances at their leader, Li Huowang.
They had been sure that Li Huowang was dead. Even if his body hadn't attracted any flies, after checking many times, they had been certain that he was dead.
However, now he was back just like that. It was too bizarre.
But that was not all. Not only did he rise out of his grave just like that, he was shouting about the world being the crazy one before passing out.
Everything had happened so fast that they still hadn't managed to react to it all.
Were it not for the fact that Li Huowang still looked the same as ever, they would've thought that something was possessing his body.
But they were glad that he returned to normal after he woke up.
Whenever they asked him about what happened, the only answer he gave them was 'Everything is over.'
Since he just said that it was over, everyone stopped asking. They were just glad that he was still alive.
"Let's rest here and have dinner," said Li Huowang.
Immediately, the carriage came to a stop and everyone started doing their job. Some went and fetched water, some others collected firewood, while a few of them went and collected wild vegetables to eat. After having traveled together for so long, they worked together quite well.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang didn't do anything. He just sat there and used the remaining sunlight offered by dusk as he studied the Fiery Scripture.
He could recognize the characters written in Yingzi's notesโafter Dan Yangzi had died, Li Huowang's literacy had returned. He could now read perfectly. ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ท๐๐ฟ๐๐ก.๐๐ธ๐
Since he was literate once more, he was certain that this time around, Dan Yangzi was well and truly dead.
The characters used in the Fiery Scripture had been translated by Yingzi and Li Huowang gradually learned how to use them by comparing them with her notes.
But it was not that simple.
One crucial element that he needed to use the Fiery Scripture was a heart of compassion.
Li Huowang had never expected that he would need to focus on one particular feeling to be able to use it.
As he chanted in a voice filled with uncertainty, the white wax on the book gradually melted, trying its best to form a shape.
However, Li Huowang's practice was soon cut short.
"Senior Li, hehe~ Senior Li? Are you busy?" Puppy approached Li Huowang with a smile while carrying some firewood. He looked around and after making sure that Bai Lingmiao had yet to return, he whispered, "Senior Li, to show my sincerity, I burned two female paper dolls on your grave when senior Bai was not around."
"Hmm?" Li Huowang raised his eyebrow.
Puppy checked his surroundings once more and whispered. "Senior Li, did you receive the two women on the other side?"
Li Huowang was speechless. "But... I didn't die?"
"I know that you are alive right now, but weren't you dead before? If you really managed to receive two women on the other side, then I have thought of burning some female paper dolls for myself when I die."
"But since I never died, I didn't receive them," said Li Huowang with a straight face.
"But you were not breathing! We even made sure to bury you only after three days just to confirm you were indeed dead. Did you not follow Ox-head and Horse-face and report yourself in Hell? Wait, what did the place look like?" Puppy questions came in like a tide.
Being annoyed, and wanting to end the conversation quickly, Li Huowang just said, "Yes, yes, yes. I did receive them."
"Hooray! That is good news!" Puppy was overjoyed. He slapped his hands and danced around before thinking about his 'future'.
"What did you receive?"
Hearing the voice of a woman behind him, Puppy was frightened. He turned around and saw that Bai Lingmiao and Chun Xiaoman had come back from picking wild vegetables. Flustered, he quickly changed the topic. "Nothing, I was just talking with Senior Li."
Tonight's dinner consisted of gnocchi. It was a meal that was simple to make and eat.
Mix flour with cold water, knead it, and then squeeze out the irregularly-sized orb-shaped pieces of dough into boiling water.
Once the clumps of gnocchi floated to the surface, Bai Lingmiao mixed in a large scoop of lard into the pot, followed by the wild vegetables.
Soon, the wild vegetable soup and the gnocchi started boiling.
Taking in the fragrant aroma, everyone swallowed their saliva. Their journey was long and now, they needed to replenish their stamina.
"Haha, to think that there would come a time when I, Cao Cao, would be eating white flour every day," exclaimed Puppy happily as he took his bowl.
The first bowl out from the steaming pot was naturally Li Huowang's.
As Bai Lingmiao gave him the first bowl of gnocchi and saw him accept it with his own two hands, she smiled happily; Senior Li hadn't lied to her. His arm really had grown back!
"Why are you staring at me? Are you not going to eat?" asked Li Huowang.
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao nodded and took her bowl. Then, she sat quietly beside Li Huowang and started eating.
They didn't have that many people, but with both Gao Zhijian and Bai Lingmiao eating a large amount of food, the large pot of gnocchi was finished in no time.
As they washed their utensils, the night descended upon them. Since there was nothing to do at night, they just lit up a bonfire and went to bed.
Gao Zhijian was the one on watch tonight.
At the same time, with Bun's keen sense of smell, Li Huowang had nothing to be worried about. And so, he washed up beside the river and soon fell asleep inside the horse carriage.
Just as he had closed his eyes, he felt something soft entering his blanket. Li Huowang just kept his eyes closed and hugged her as he went to sleep.
However, after some time, Li Huowang felt her hugging him tighter and tighter, to the point that she almost buried her entire body into his. At the same time, she started sobbing, her tears making his shirt wet.
"Why are you crying?" Li Huowang gently caressed Bai Lingmiao's hair.
"My mother used to teach me that a good wife must be hardworking, good at maintaining the household, be kind, good at communication, and never bother with her man's business. But I'm very scared... scared that you will just be gone just like that day, and that this time around, you may never wake up..."
Within the silent horse carriage, Li Huowang the sincere emotions contained within her sobs.
Her sobbing did not stop as she continued, "Senior Li, why do you always try to endure everything on your own? Why can't you tell me? Am I nothing to you in your heart?"
"That's because I don't want to hurt you. Since everything is already over, then let me tell you everything," said Li Huowang as he kissed the top of her head and sighed. Then, he started telling her about the things that had happened, one thing at a time.
He told her everything, from the Zephyr Temple up to the Ox Tail Gate.
And then... he stopped.
"And then... what happened? Did Dan Yangzi die? How did you come back?" Sensing that this was an important event, Bai Lingmiao started pressing for details.
But Li Huowang was visibly struggling, veins bulging on his face as he grabbed the sides of his head. "Those... those... things! I... I can't describe them! I can't describe them!!!"
"Senior Li, what's wrong?" Bai Lingmiao was frightened by his suddenly bizarre behavior. She tried holding him down but was surprised to find that his skin was burning hot.
"Senior Li, stop! Don't think about it anymore! I won't ask you again!" Bai Lingmiao started sobbing as she hugged him despite the heat.
Hearing her voice, Li Huowang closed his eyes, trying his best to think about other things.
But it was futile. The broken pieces of memory within him soon joined together.
A suffocating image popped up in his mind, one that he was supposed to forget.
The image was both still yet moving at the same time. He tried his best to describe it.
"Behind the jade plate was a place called the Baiyu Capital. I've seen things, things that I cannot describe! They are massive and cold!"
Li Huowang's voice was hoarse and deep, but he stammered a lot. His body trembled uncontrollably as he continued, "Mortals must never set foot there! If they do, they get taken away and decomposed into bits and pieces of abstract items! Humans were all made by them! If everything that constitutes us is taken away, then we would disappear as well, just like Dan Yangzi! But then something within the depths of the Baiyu Capital pulled me in! It sucked me into the depths where I saw the entire world! And then, I felt it! I felt what it was thinking!"
At that moment, another pair of hands pushed down on Li Huowang's forehead. The hands pushed down stronger and stronger, the pain from the pressure alleviating Li Huowang's headache a little.
Li Huowang didn't know who it was but continued talking, "I could understand it and what it was thinking! Only I could do it and no one else! It had gone mad!"
Li Huowang felt the image within his mind slowly escape his grasp. The beings within the image stared back at Li Huowang.
"I saw the past... In the past, it was not like this! It was perfect... But now... it's crying! IT IS CRYING!"
"Who is 'it'?" A cold female voice came from behind Li Huowang.
The veins on Li Huowang's forehead bulged to the point of rupturing but he somehow held it in as he used all his remaining strength and shouted, "Da Nuo! It is Da Nuo!"
The moment he said it, the atmosphere within the horse carriage became bizarre and cold winds seeped into him despite the fact that he was covered by a warm blanket.
At the same time, a blurry voice mumbled within everyone's ears, causing the horses to start panicking and Bun to bark out loud.
Li Huowang knew that this voice did not belong to Da Nuo; it had gone mad and would never pay attention to him. The one causing the animals to start panicking was something else entirely.
"Scram!" Li Huowang shouted, and everything around him became quiet once more.
Li Huowang sat on the floor and panted.
Bai Lingmiao's sobbing voice rang out from beside him, "Senior Li, I'm sorry. Please stop thinking about it. I'm already very grateful that you can be beside me. I won't ask you again!"
After she said those words, two hands propped him up within the dark carriage while another hand carefully used a towel to wipe his forehead. A bowl of water was given to him and he carefully drank it.
With the four hands working in tandem to calm him down, Li Huowang's breathing soon became normal. The buzzing in his mind and the sharp noise disappeared as well.
Li Huowang looked at the girl in front of him weakly. "That's... What happened..."
That night, Li Huowang didn't know when he fell asleep. By the time he woke up once again, it was already bright outside. He looked down and found that his clothes had been changed as well.
Staring at the top of the horse carriage and the space beside his blanket, Li Huowang sighed and massaged his temples.
At this point, everything that he had tried to remember yesterday had been forgotten once again. Some of his memories had also become very hazy.
Still, Li Huowang learned something from it.
Those who worshipped the Flesh Buddha in the Righteous Monastery, the dirty, slothful, and greedy nuns of the Benevolent Nunnery, the liars and swindlers of the Sitting Oblivion Dao, and even the Shamans who summoned the Immortal families using someone's lifespan.
All their powers were supernatural and bizarre. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฃ๐ธ๐ซ๐ฎ๐.๐๐๐ถ
Especially evil beings such as the Eighteenth Lunar, the Wandering Gods, the Mountain Grandma, and the God of Happiness.
He had originally thought that he had transmigrated into a bizarre and crazy world.
But from the looks of it, this was not the case.
There was something wrong with this world, something extremely wrong.
It was as if the whole world was sick just like him. However, this was not how it was supposed to be. Instead, it was supposed to be a more... normal world.
"What's wrong with this world?" Li Huowang mumbled. "And that being... It's called Da Nuo? Is it related to the Nuo Opera? According to Lu Zhuangyuan, the Nuo Opera was an ancient show, possibly the ancestor of all the other shows. Looks like the Nuo Opera performers worship Da Nuo but..."
Li Huowang recalled the performers who got duped by the members of the Sitting Oblivion Dao. They were neither strong nor influentialโthey were even weaker than the bandits.
"Ai~," Li Huowang sighed, too lazy to be bothered by such details.
Regardless of what happened to Da Nuo, it didn't matter to him.
He was just a normal man, so he should be thinking about his next step.
How should he live here? That was his next question.
Not only had he traveled to the depths of Baiyu Capital, but he hadn't disappeared like Dan Yangzi. In fact, he was still alive!
Is this the power of a Strayed One? Or was it because Ba-Hui saved me?
Li Huowang made some random guesses, but it was not easy to come up with a satisfying answer. It was great to be alive, but he was afraid that there might be consequences.
After a moment, Li Huowang sat up and put on his clothes.
He stared out from the horse carriage and gazed at the river, only to see Bai Lingmiao's hair swaying gently with the wind.
At this moment, she was concentrating on washing clothes. The morning sunlight lit up a part of her face and made her look like an ethereal beauty.
Staring at the girl who was willing to go through Heaven and Hell together with him, he felt touched. "Since she is willing to stay by my side, then no matter how I came back to life, I will have to continue living. Thankfully everything has ended now."
As they traveled, Bai Lingmiao followed Li Huowang closely, occasionally taking out her handkerchief to wipe off his sweat.
The hottest days of the year were upon them, and the weather had become extremely harsh and hot. Even though they were traveling when the sun was still low in the morning, sweat continued to pour out from their bodies.
After wiping off Li Huowang's sweat, Bai Lingmiao proposed, "Senior Li, it's too hot to travel in the afternoon and evening. We should probably rest now and travel earlier tomorrow."
Li Huowang nodded and took out the map from within the horse carriage before examining it carefully.
They were still within the borders of the kingdom of Si Qi. Thankfully, they had not thrown away this map.
"How about we skip lunch for today? There's a village not too far from here. If we don't stop and increase our pace, then we can reach there and stay for the night."
Everyone perked up when they heard they might be able to sleep on a bed tonight.
After traveling for two whole hours, they finally saw some fields in the distance. By now, their throats were completely parched. Behind the fields were houses with black roof tiles. They had finally arrived at the village.
"Look, there's even flowers beside the fields. Such a pretty red flower," said Bai Lingmiao.
Just as she was about to pick some of them, Li Huowang stopped her. "Wait, those flowers don't look right."
Li Huowang carefully inspected the red flowers. The flowers had curled petals that splay outwards.
"These are spider lilies," said Li Huowang.
Even though he no longer remembered who told him about them, he recalled that these flowers were ominous in nature.
Hearing his words, everyone was speechless. It was clear no one knew what Li Huowang was talking about.
"Haha, you are even worse than me at recognizing flowers."
At that moment, a cheerful laughter came from the distance.
Everyone turned and saw a bare-footed young boy was walking around with a bamboo basket on his back. He looked roughly seven or eight years old.
"These aren't spider lilies. These are crab flowers. My mother told me that we can't feed these flowers to the pigs or they would end up getting diarrhea," said the young boy. Then, he took out a sickle from his bamboo basket and cut away some of the crab flowers.
It was clear that the boy had seen the flowers many times. He was most likely someone staying at the village.
Li Huowang pondered his options and approached the boy. "Boy, what are you doing?"
"I'm harvesting some grass for our pigs. We have two pigs at our home, and I have to collect food for them everyday! How many pigs does your home have?" asked the boy.
When he heard that Li Huowang didn't own any pigs, he laughed, "Haha! Your house is so poor! To think that you are even poorer than our family!"
"Yeah, my house is very poor. Are you staying in the village? Can you show us the way?" asked Li Huowang.
"Of course!" The young boy didn't suspect them and brought them into the village.
"Are you guys still at war?" asked Li Huowang.
"War? There's no war here. My third uncle was drafted but he recently came back."
"Oh, that's good. It's good that there's no war." Li Huowang easily obtained the information he needed from the innocent young child.
This village was called Qianjia Village. There were barely over a hundred people living here. To survive, the villagers often tended to the fields during summer and went into the forest to forage during winter. There were plenty of such mountain villages in the kingdom of Si Qi, and so it was not a weird sight.
Villages like these often shunned outsiders, but under the 'strength' of money, Li Huowang and the rest managed to get a place to sleep within the child's house.
Li Huowang placed his two heavy swords onto the table in the guest house, his body instantly feeling much lighter.
Just as he moved to remove Profound Records hanging from his waist, all he felt was empty space.
The Profound Records had been lost during the previous battle.
"Sigh."
Li Huowang was somewhat sad about losing the Profound Records. Even though the price to use it was steep, it didn't require him to cultivate or practice to be able to use supernatural powers. As long as he was willing to pay the necessary price, he would be able to obtain an equivalent amount of power.
Without it, he could only rely on the sword that the Abbess had gifted him.
"Oh, and this too." Li Huowang took out the Fiery Scripture that was covered in white wax and slowly started studying his notes.
Now that he had lost the Profound Records, he needed to learn more methods to preserve his life. At the very least, the Fiery Scripture would allow him to heal his wounds.
Bai Lingmiao had just brought in a bowl of roasted sweet potatoes, but she tiptoed out of the room when she saw Li Huowang was studying seriously.
She thought about it for a moment and chuckled before walking to Xiaoman's room. "Xiaoman, do you want to eat some roasted sweet potatoes?"
However, Bai Lingmiao had just entered Xiaoman's room when she saw that the latter was vomiting profusely.
Seeing this, Bai Lingmiao was shocked. She placed down the bowl and quickly started patting Chun Xiaoman on the back.
After a while, Chun Xiaoman finally stopped vomiting and sat on the edge of her bed as she tried to catch her breath.
"Did you eat something spoiled? That can't be right. Everyone ate from the same pot, so why are you the only one vomiting?" asked Bai Lingmiao.
Xiaoman shook her head. "It's fine. I probably kicked off the blanket last night and just got sick."
"But you don't kick off your blankets when you sleep..."
Chun Xiaoman averted her gaze and made a request, "Could you just help me boil some ginger soup? It would help me a lot."
"Then... Alright."
After hesitating for a moment, Bai Lingmiao went out of the room.
When Chun Xiaoman saw Bai Lingmiao leave, she finally sighed in relief. She lifted her blanket, revealing a blood-red bamboo slip.
Back in the cave, Chun Xiaoman had found a copy of the Profound Records and hid it.
She had seen Senior Li use it a few times before and knew what the associated risks were. But she had overestimated her own tolerance. When she recalled the cruel sacrifices written on the Profound Records, she almost ended up vomiting once again.
She finally knew just how much Li Huowang had sacrificed for all of them, and just how painful all of it had been .
After she vomited once more, she steeled herself to read through the Profound Records once more.
Compared to her suffering, she was more concerned about just how indebted she was to someone else.
She hated how Senior Li was the one who fought for them every time something happenedโshe hated how weak she felt.
After she had killed her own father, she had sworn to herself that she would no longer continue to be a weakling.
"If Senior Li could withstand it, then I can withstand it too!" Chun Xiaoman gritted her teeth and read through the Profound Records once again.
Meanwhile, Bai Lingmiao was cooking some ginger tea in the kitchen. As she stared at the flames, she suddenly felt worried.
She was vomiting so much and her behavior seemed odd. Is she pregnant? Then... who's the father? It's impossible for Senior Li to be the father, since I sleep with him every night. Could it be Puppy? Gao Zhijian? Sun Baolu? But when did Xiaoman get so close...
When she thought up to this point, Bai Lingmiao blushed. Still, she was worried about Chun Xiaoman. The journey ahead was still long and it would be quite hard for her if she really had gotten pregnant.
Just as Bai Lingmiao was worrying about Xiaoman, she suddenly felt a presence behind her. Smelling the same scent as her own, Bai Lingmiao frowned. "What's wrong?"
The Second Deity's voice rang out from behind. "Bring the drum. There's work in this village."
The multicolored ribbons adorning the drum trailed behind Bai Lingmiao as she gingerly walked past the old houses. At times, an old farmer guiding a cow or a woman holding a baby passed by as they stared at her.
They had never seen a girl like Bai Lingmiao before.
Bai Lingmiao was nervous. Even so, she kept walking toward the location pointed out by the Second Deity.
Soon, she arrived at a short house. The house had a smaller house attached to its side. She took a deep breath and walked into the courtyard.
Woof! Woof woof!
Hearing the sudden barking sounds, Bai Lingmiao was shocked. Thankfully the dog was securely leashed.
However, she felt quite embarrassed by how surprised she was.
At that moment, the door opened and a heavy voice rang out.
"Who are you looking for?" asked the farmer as he stared at her warily.
Bai Lingmiao didn't know what to say. After all, she was still quite new as a shaman. She thought about it and then carefully asked, "Is someone in your house possessed?"
Bam!
The door slammed shut.
"Eek!" Bai Lingmiao jumped in surprise as she stood there without knowing what to do. She turned around and used telepathy to communicate with the Second Deity, "See, they closed the door on us. Maybe they are fine."
However, Bai Lingmiao was disappointed by the Second Deity's answer.
"I know that the Immortal families are urging me to work, or they will punish me. But this family... Alright, fine. I will try again," said Bai Lingmiao.
She approached the door and knocked once again, "Please open the door! I am a Shaman that can exorcize evil spirits. If you are troubled by them, then I can help."
She kept knocking at the door for a while. Just as she was about to give up, the door slowly creaked open. A yellow eye stared at her from within the darkness.
"How did you know that we have someone who was possessed?" asked a voice.
On the other hand, Bai Lingmiao was relieved that the eye belonged to a human.
"Uuh ..." Bai Lingmiao couldn't think of a good excuse. "Old man, please don't worry about how I got to know. All you need to know is that I can help you. Evil beings cannot be allowed to remain on a person's body for too long or there might be trouble."
"How much money will you charge?"
"Fifty coins. No matter how strong the evil spirit is, it will be fifty coins." Bai Lingmiao told him the price for a Shaman's aid.
The moment she gave them the price, Bai Lingmiao heard a young man's voice from behind the door. "Father, let's just ask for her help instead. A shaman will be much cheaper than a medium!"
At that moment, the door closed once again. Bai Lingmiao didn't know what the father and son duo were discussing, but she decided to wait patiently.
Soon, the door opened once more.
A burly farmer appeared in front of Bai Lingmiao. He was short, but looked strong for his old age. He was carrying a pole while walking out of his home.
He reevaluated Bai Lingmiao and reconfirmed the price. "Fifty copper coins, that was the price you told. Don't you dare change it afterward."
Bai Lingmiao sighed and nodded before entering the house.
She was surprised by what she saw inside.
The entire room was decorated like a mourning hall, but the coffin was nowhere to be seen.
"Old man, why is the memorial tablet placed here instead of the ancestral hall?" asked Bai Lingmiao.
The old farmer sighed. "I would if I could. Come, let's go sit down and I will explain the situation."
They walked past the back of the house into a small courtyard where several chickens were being raised.
The father and son duo were nervous as they brought Bai Lingmiao into the courtyard. Once there, they gave her a bamboo stool to sit on while they squatted down on the floor and explained their circumstances.
"My wife passed away eight days ago at the age of seventy-one. She had led a good life, free of sins and vices. It was supposed to be a normal burial service, but on the seventh day, our nephew heard someone knocking the coffin," explained the old farmer.
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao was frightened and scanned her surroundings; however, everything looked normal.
"At that point, we were quite afraid, and so we decided to quickly bury her. But then, on the second night after the burial, she came back!" continued the old farmer.
Even though the old farmer tried his best to make the story sound as normal as possible, Bai Lingmiao was already sweating from fear. This was different from what had happened to Senior Li.
"My supposedly dead wife opened the door and asked for meat. That night, both me and my son were scared out of our minds. We were afraid that if we didn't give her any meat to eat, then she would just eat us. We had to take down the ham that we hung up on the rafters to save for the upcoming New Year. The piece of ham consisted of half a pig's leg that had been cured, but my wife ate it just like that! After she ate the entire ham, she walked away and said that she would come back again tomorrow," said the old farmer, his voice filled with worry. "It's not that we don't want to feed her, but at this point, she's no longer my wife. The manner in which she ate that piece of ham was akin to that of a beast! Her teeth had transformed into sharp fangs that could tear through even the tough ham meat! Now, we are terrified and we have no idea what to do. We already had to sell off two of our pigs for her burial service. If she comes back again, then she might just eat us if we don't have enough meat to feed her. If you can return her to the cycle of reincarnation, then you will truly be our Bodhisattva!"
After saying all this, the old farmer lowered his head as he wallowed in the pain of his wife's death and her transformation afterward.
Did the corpse get reanimated and the body possessed?
Bai Lingmiao carefully analyzed the situation to get a rough idea of how dangerous this task could be.
After discussing it with the Second Deity and being reassured that it wouldn't be too dangerous, Bai Lingmiao accepted the job. "Old man, the sun is setting soon. Since I am here now, let me stay for the night. What do you think?"
Since she was here, it would be best if she dealt with it tonight instead of waiting for another day. After traveling with Senior Li for so long, she was confident in dealing with a small issue like this.
"Really? You will help us?" asked the old farmer excitedly. He had originally thought that the girl was too young and inexperienced, and hadn't held much hope.
Bai Lingmiao nodded.
In response, the old farmer stood up and caught one of the chickens. "Alright! As thanks, please come eat dinner with us! There's no need to be shy!"
Soon, an entire chicken was placed in front of Bai Lingmiao; however, she didn't get to savor it in peace. She was nervously waiting for nighttime.
When the time came, both the father and the son went to sleep.
On the other hand, Bai Lingmiao waited patiently in the hall.
She could see that the farmer was indeed poor. They only had a single oil lamp that flickered occasionally, causing the shadows around them to dance. The atmosphere within the hall was quite ominous...