Li Huowang stood still, staring wide-eyed at everything in front of him. He had always held an indifferent attitude toward wealth. However, he still couldn't help but feel incredibly shocked upon seeing a golden palace—a palace made out of gold.
Despite the lavishness, the golden palace still looked solemn and sacred.
The falling snowflakes disappeared slowly as they landed on the palace.
They're all inside... Li Huowang stared at the bloodstains on the distant golden bricks. Li Huowang walked in that direction with his illusion.
Li Huowang stepped on the golden bricks and stared intently at the golden palace as he walked by himself in the palace of gold. The sight was extremely surreal, making Li Huowang feel as if he were dreaming. He couldn't help but wonder how much gold they had to use to build such a huge golden palace in the Liang Kingdom.
Li Huowang soon found himself standing at the entrance of the golden palace. There was a couplet written on the left side of the entrance that said, "The imperial decree has been established in the nine regions, yet it remains difficult. How can it not be respected?"
Li Huowang turned to the right and saw a couplet that said, "May the heavens' heart bless one with virtue. May one always be under the heaven's protection. May one seek peace."
Li Huowang looked up at the huge plaque above and saw shimmering golden characters that said, "Golden Throne Room."
The Golden Throne Room? Li Huowang frowned and stepped forward. He couldn't care less about the palace's name. His top priority was to find the Strayed One Bei Feng.
The Golden Throne Room's interior was spacious, and it was desolate except for the giant columns adorned with six-clawed golden dragons. It was so quiet that even Li Huowang's low footsteps echoed quite loudly in the space.
How did those Sitting Oblivion Dao members come here so fast? Also, why did they even decide to come to the Liang Kingdom's palace? Li Huowang wondered as he hurried toward the six doors at the back of the hall.
Soon, he arrived at his destination, but the six doors had vanished inexplicably!
Huh? Am I getting lost? I'm getting lost in the imperial palace? Li Huowang's heart skipped a beat.
"Dad..." Li Sui said suddenly. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
"What's wrong? This isn't the time to speak about random things."
"Dad, there are words written on your arm."
Li Huowang raised his arms and saw words carved with a knife on his left arm's underside that said, "This is a bizarre place where you'll end up losing your memories over time. Carve your thoughts with a knife!"
There was no way Li Huowang would mistake his own handwriting for someone else's handwriting. However, he couldn't remember when he had carved such words on his own arm.
Hold on! This isn't my first rodeo! Li Huowang was about to take the knife to carve the words "Muddled One," but he was stunned upon realizing that it had already been carved on his arm.
There were more words written next to the word "Muddled One," and they said, "He's nearby! Hurry up and find him! I've been here for half an hour now!"
Li Huowang felt a shiver down his spine. It had only been a few minutes since he entered the Golden Throne Room, so why were the words saying that he had been here for thirty minutes rather than just a few minutes?
Just then, Li Huowang felt a sharp pain coming from his thigh. He looked down and saw a wound that was so deep that he could see his bone through the wound.
I'm injured? When did I get injured? Li Huowang gnashed his teeth and tore open his flesh. Then, he found a chunk of his thigh bone missing. It seemed that he had used that part to divine.
Obviously, Li Huowang had used divination to find the Muddled One, but Li Huowang had no idea when he had done that. Li Huowang observed the bone closely and memorized the twisted shapes on the chunk that had been carved out.
He carved those shapes on his hand and began his search throughout the Golden Throne Room.
Li Huowang saw more and more writing on his arms.
"The southeast corner has nothing."
"Nothing behind the dragon pillar on the east; no need to search it again."
After a few laps, Li Huowang stopped in the middle of the Golden Throne Room.
The center of the Golden Throne Rome had remained without any writings about it. Li Huowang looked at the familiar patterns on the golden bricks and tightened his grip on his sword hilt before thrusting the purple-tassel word into the ground.
Gold was precious, but it was relatively softer than other metals. It was as soft as mud against the purple-tassel sword. Li Huowang pried open the golden brick and peeked inside to see that the compact soil had been pushed over to one side. Then, he saw a building with red tiles through the crack.
The buried building was small; it was about the same height as a person, and it seemed to be made out of clay. Li Huowang decisively raised the bronze coin sword in his hand and shook it before chanting a quick incantation.
The roof of the small temple was lifted, and a familiar face appeared in front of Li Huowang. It was the Muddled One that Ji Xiang and the rest of them had captured after much difficulty!
The Muddled One's limbs were bent and stitched together with gold threads. No, it wasn't just his eyes. His mouth and his orifices had been stitched with golden threads, and he became a Muddled One stick.
The Muddled One was covered with intertwining golden words except for his head and chest. Overall, the Muddled One looked as if he were wearing a golden robe riddled with swastikas. The swastikas seemed to have seeped out of the Muddled One, as everything around the Muddled One had been riddled with swastikas.
Li Huowang gestured with his bronze coin sword again. The bronze coin sword wrapped around the Muddled One, and Li Huowang pulled hard.
The corpse flew away from the small temple, and the entire Golden Throne Room seemed to dim slightly as the Muddled One was removed from the swastikas.
Li Huowang looked down at himself and sighed in relief upon realizing that there weren't any new words on himself. Clearly, the crisis had passed. Unfortunately, Li Huowang had already wasted a lot of time, so he couldn't afford to waste any more time.
He stared deeply at the Muddled One before walking toward the distant exit.
Li Huowang no longer encountered any issues, and he successfully walked out of the golden palace. He was about to sigh in relief when he clapped his eyes on the golden palaces in the distance. Wait a minute, why are there multiple golden palaces? And could there be a Muddled One in every golden palace?
"There are Muddled Ones in those palaces, but not all of them have one," Hong Zhong said, breaking his long silence. "These golden palaces have been arranged to form a constellation array. I can't tell which specific constellation, though. Hehe, it seems that the Muddled One you worked so hard to find ended up becoming a part of an array."
Li Huowang's expression became ugly at Hong Zhong's words. A dangerous Muddled One ended up becoming a part of a mere array. What exactly were they planning to do?
Li Huowang ignored everything else and picked up the pace. Things were getting troublesome now. The imperial palace was teeming with danger, and Bei Feng would most likely lose his life. Li Huowang couldn't let anything happen to Bei Feng!
Li Huowang used his experience to avoid the nearby golden palaces. He walked only along the empty areas. In the face of a dead end, he'd dig a hole in the golden wall. It was unknown whether Li Huowang's method was working or if the people ahead of him had cleared a path for him, but Li Huowang didn't encounter anything bizarre for a while.
Li Huowang continued moving north while following the bloodstains on the ground. He soon walked past a high wall, and his keen ears immediately heard chanting and sounds of metal clashing against metal from behind the golden walls in the distance.
That's it! Li Huowang exclaimed inwardly. He couldn't contain his excitement as he hurried toward the noises. Li Huowang made holes in the golden walls ahead of him, and Li Huowang soon carved open a hole in the final golden wall and walked through it.
The first thing that caught his attention was a black and white vertical pupil in the extremely low clouds in the sky. The black and white vertical pupil had been surrounded by a bronze hexagram, and there were sixty-four trigrams orbiting it.
Chapter 431 - Mahjong Tiles
Li Huowang stared at the black and white vertical pupil in the sky.
As the trigrams shifted, the colossal black-and-white vertical pupil looked left and right. It descended slowly amidst the dark clouds. The eye contained no emotions, and it emitted an oppressive aura reminiscent of chaos.
Chaos wasn't supposed to be tangible nor visible, but Li Huowang was certain that the eye was one of the eyes of "Chaos."
A strange chanting echoed from the eye.
Li Huowang grimaced in pain upon hearing it, and he immediately covered his ears. The chanting was familiar, and he managed to hear it even though he was a hundred Li away from Shangjing at the time. It turned out that the chanting was coming from the colossal black-and-white vertical pupil!
At the time, Li Huowang heard light chanting, but now that he was standing right in front of the eye, the chanting had grown louder by several orders of magnitude.
Li Huowang looked around and saw quite a few corpses with their hands covering their ears as they died.
What is that eye? Is that a Siming? No, if it were a Siming, I would've seen it at Baiyu Capital! What is that?! Did the Liang Kingdom's emperor summon it? Is that the true nature of the arrays? What is he thinking of doing with that?!
No, this is none of my business! I need to find the Strayed One Bei Feng first!
Li Huowang covered his ears and looked up ahead.
A massive golden tree stood in the distance. The golden tree was skinny, but its towering size made it seem as though it was capable of holding up the heavens itself.
There was a group of people fighting around the golden tree. Li Huowang only managed to stare at them briefly, as he had to stop due to the throbbing headache.
The chanting was so oppressive that he couldn't focus on anything.
This can't keep going! I won't be able to get close to them at this rate.
Li Huowang took out a small pike and thrust it into his left ear. Then, he gave it a quick twist, destroying his left eardrum. Afterward, he tore off a chunk of his robes and stuffed the fabric into his right ear.
it was a gruesome method, but it worked. The chanting was no longer as loud as earlier. It was still loud, but Li Huowang could finally function properly, and he could focus better than earlier.
Li Huowang gnashed his teeth and walked up to the golden tree. The figures in the distance became clearer as he approached, and he realized that rather than leaves, the trees were covered in tiny golden dragons.
The dragons weren't living beings, but they appeared to be in distress. Their scales were torn outwards while twisted spikes grew outwards from within them. The twisted spikes sticking out of the dragons were riddled with reverse swastikas.[1]
The golden dragons intertwined chaotically, and each dragon head donned a mask that had the same design as the colossal faces on the palace walls.
The masks allowed the dragons to have human faces, which was a bizarre sight. An observatory was near the top of the tree, and the branches seemed to be diverging from the tree from that point onward.
Li Huowang could see a few people in the observatory. Li Huowang ignored the eunuchs holding the horsetail whisks and focused on the man wearing yellow robes.
Li Huowang instantly deduced him to be the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom.
The emperor was staring quietly at the enemies down below
The emperor's face was obscured by the tassels[2] of his crown, so Li Huowang couldn't see the former's face. The tassels were made from golden beads, and they completely blocked the emperor's face from any prying eyes outside.
Where is Bei Feng? Li Huowang's eyes landed on the base of the golden tree.
The people below were trying their best to climb up to the observatory using the golden dragon as footholds.
Just then, a group of eunuchs clad in black jumped down and used their weapons to fight the encroaching enemies. The eunuch's feet were tied with a rope, which anchored them to the tree.
The faces of the people trying to climb the tree would distort from time to time, all thanks to the strange chanting, and the distortion revealed the mahjong tiles on their faces.
At the sight, Li Huowang confirmed they were Sitting Oblivion Dao members.
For some reason, the two sides seemed wary of going all out. They seemed to be waiting for something.
Li Huowang sat on the ground and concentrated on finding Bei Feng. He could still remember how the Strayed One Bei Feng was capable of changing bodies. With that in mind, Li Huowang dared not to act rashly. He bid his time and endured the chanting to search for the Strayed One Bei Feng among the crowd of Sitting Oblivion Dao members.
Li Huowang swept his gaze across the crowd and soon found the four Bei Fengs.
Wait, four Bei Fengs? Li Huowang thought that he had made a mistake during his counting, so he counted once more and saw that there were indeed four Bei Fengs, whose faces were distorted due to the strange chanting.
Fine, it doesn't matter even if there are four of them. But... how am I supposed to find the correct one? Li Huowang was bewildered. The two parties were holding back, so Li Huowang knew he'd simply die if he were to go there right now.
What should I do? Should I ask Zhuge Yuan for help?
Zhuge Yuan's face popped up in Li Huowang's mind, and he instantly hesitated. He couldn't push his friend into the flames for his own interest. Moreover, this place was just too dangerous.
I should keep waiting... Li Huowang decided.
Meanwhile, the emperor's voice echoed from the observatory.
"You fools are not satisfied yet? Do you really think that I would have no idea that you're here? I've seen through your movements. Even if the two Shai Zi were here along with the rest of my enemies, my plan would remain unstoppable!"
The emperor's voice boomed like thunder, and everyone reacted in their own way to it. Some cowered and quivered, while the weaker ones among the crowd retreated immediately. However, the Sitting Oblivion Dao members weren't afraid. They even laughed and taunted the emperor.
Some of them even copied the emperor's voice but in a jeering tone.
"Hmph!" A cold snort echoed, and a shockwave erupted from the golden tree.
The Emperor of the Liang Kingdom moved aside and said, "Thank you, Imperial Preceptor."
The Imperial Preceptor was an old man, and he was holding a sword carved with the Twenty-Eight Mansions.[3] The golden walls on the west started trembling as he stood in the observatory.
Li Huowang heard a low rumbling and turned around to see that the golden walls on the west had crumbled. Soon, Zhuge Yuan appeared in front of everyone else.
Zhuge Yuan's expression was grim as he held his brush, and he was running swiftly as if he were chasing someone from the Qi Kingdom.
Just then, people appeared out of thin air in front of Zhuge Yuan.
Shockingly, the people had mahjong tiles as faces; they were Sitting Oblivion Dao members!
To make matters worse, more and more people materialized in front of Zhuge Yuan.
Li Huowang's heart sank at the sight. Wait! This is impossible! There are too many of them! These mahjong tiles are more numerous than the mahjong tiles I've known for so long!
Some of the mahjong tiles were weird; mahjong patterns depicting the plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, spring, summer, autumn, and winter were already weird, but there were even tiles resembling the God of Prosperity as well as cats and mice.
Those tiles didn't exist among the mahjong tiles that Li Huowang had known for so long!
"Hehehe. Why do you think they don't exist? They don't exist in the Liang Kingdom, but they do exist in the Qi Kingdom," Hong Zhong's illusion said, chuckling.
1. In hinduism, reverse swastika (anti-clockwise), represents the night or the tantric aspects of Kali, while the normal swastika (clockwise) represents the sun, prosperity, and good luck. ☜
2. An emperor's crown usually has tassels on the front and back to block their faces ☜
3. A part of the Chinese Constellation System ☜
Chapter 432 - Both Sides
"Hehehe. Why do you think they don't exist? They don't exist in the Liang Kingdom, but they do exist in the Qi Kingdom."
As soon as Hong Zhong's words fell, an old woman tumbled out in front of Zhuge Yuan.
Li Huowang's pupils constricted upon seeing her as she was familiar to him. The old woman was the Bei Feng whom Zhuge Yuan had sent over to the Great Qi.
The old woman stared blankly into space. Moments later, her eyes sharpened, shining brightly at the sight before her. Then, her wrinkles disappeared as her face distorted.
At first, her head transformed into a Bei Feng mahjong tile, but the distortion continued until her rectangular transformed into a square made out of flesh—a die made out of flesh!
The Bei Feng had become a legendary Shai Zi[1]!
Shai Zi looked around with his singular red eye. His gaze soon landed on the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom standing in the observatory at the crown of the golden tree.
Shai Zi sounded condescending as he said, "Do you really think that you've seen through all our movements? How about this? Have you ever thought that I'd use a Twisted One to bring the entire Sitting Oblivion Dao of the Great Qi over here?
"I'm sure you're capable of fighting an entire mahjong set, but what about two?"
Li Huowang's pupils constricted in horror. The other Sitting Oblivion Dao members and the Bei Feng at the time had simply been putting up an act!
Li Huowang was no longer so sure whether Zhuge Yuan had defeated them or if they had decided to lose on purpose.
It turned out that they had only one goal—to make Zhuge Yuan transform them into the people of the Qi Kingdom! Once they became people of the Great Qi, it wouldn't be difficult for them to contact the Sitting Oblivion Dao of the Great Qi.
The Great Qi was real; it wasn't fake at all.
Li Huowang was in awe of the Sitting Oblivion Dao's plan.
Meanwhile, the black-and-white vertical pupil trembled and split into three as the trigrams around it spun even faster. The emperor and his group dared not to waste any time upon seeing two mahjong sets down below.
The chanting became stronger and louder. Moreover, it was no longer just chanting; it contained howls and bellows, which reverberated loudly throughout the battlefield.
Li Huowang's head throbbed, and it was so painful that he felt like his face was going to melt away. Soon, the chanting reached a crescendo becoming an inscrutable chanting forbidden for mortals to hear!
Everyone's Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings were on the verge of collapse!
Bai Lingmiao's Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings had been slightly influenced by the killing intent of the purple-tassel sword, and her behavior had changed completely.
Li Huowang couldn't imagine what would happen to someone like Bai Lingmiao under the strange, inscrutable chanting.
The battle was about to begin, and Li Huowang started to get anxious. He gnashed his teeth, forcefully enduring the new pain as he focused on finding the Strayed One Bei Feng. Unfortunately, Li Huowang had to sift through eight Bei Fengs to find the Strayed One Bei Feng, which meant his task had gotten even harder.
Loud thuds echoed as the Sitting Oblivion Dao members sat in a circle around the golden tree. Moments later, they started chanting.
The four Shai Zis sat on the four cardinal directions.
Their faces had the following numbers—four, two, five, and one.
"Sit in Oblivion and forget the worldly desires to obtain the ultimate Dao! Real beings must cultivate their inner-self through Sitting in Oblivion; follow the flow and nurture oneself; follow the flow and cultivate naturally. Abandon the forms and attain truth."
The Sitting Oblivion's voices dispersed the guttural chanting that echoed loudly overhead. The two voices intertwined, and the space around them quivered ever so slightly. Both people and the golden tree started distorting a well.
The golden bricks of the crumbled walls floated and arranged themselves into a golden statue with a side profile of a smiling Yang Na. The sight made Li Huowang gnash his teeth. Shit! It's going to be dangerous, but... I must find that Strayed One Bei Feng and capture him alive!
Li Huowang soon came up with a good idea and took out his dagger. He opened his robes and cut open his torso to retrieve his collarbone. Then, he used a talisman paper and started drawing on the talisman.
Casting divination on stronger cultivators was extremely dangerous. In addition to being useless, the target could reverse the divination and track down the caster as well.
However, Li Huowang needed that effect right now.
Li Huowang pressed the yellow talisman on his bloody collarbone, and someone reacted in the distance even before the bone had cracked open. One of the female Bei Fengs raised her head and stared in Li Huowang's direction.
Found her! Li Huowang became invisible and started walking on the floating golden bricks. He looked as if he were walking on water as he closed in slowly on the Strayed One Bei Feng.
The others did not notice Li Huowang closing in on them because both parties were already fighting each other. The Surveillance Bureau and the Sitting Oblivion Dao couldn't spare any effort to care about Li Huowang.
Li Huowang saw the wizened Imperial Preceptor swinging his sword. The Imperial Preceptor's robes billowed even in the absence of wind. Just then, several stars manifested amidst the low-hanging dark clouds.
A man clad in red robes walked out from the crowd, and three people stuck closely to him.
Li Huowang assumed that the three were the Deputy Chiefs of the Surveillance Bureau while the red-robed man had to be the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau.
Six wrinkled arms extended from the man's red robes. The wrinkled arms had long fingernails, and they seemed capable of moving by themselves. The topmost pair was making finger gestures for a chant, the middle pair was drawing runes, and the bottom pair was making seals.
The markedly distinct voices echoed from beneath the red robes, and they chanted an incantation harmoniously. The three voices were the voice of an old man, a grown man, and a young man.
"A day represents a world, with each world unfolding a white lotus. The lotus represents not the Buddha, nor is it a worldly treasure. One rides the phoenix and plucks its petals, but the hands become smoke. Unaware of one's body, one may find themselves atop the lotus leaf."
The Sitting Oblivion chanting became weaker once the Chief started chanting. The gold bricks stopped moving, and the strange chanting became dominant once again. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
The black-and-white vertical pupil in the sky descended slightly. Under the gaze of the massive eye, some of the Sitting Oblivion Dao members seated at the edges exploded into a flurry of lotus leaves before their fleshly bodies returned to Chaos.
Just as Li Huowang thought that another round of fighting would start, a deafening noise echoed. Li Huowang turned and saw the collapse of the golden tree.
The Sitting Oblivion Dao chuckled and laughed at the sight. Then, they swarmed the tree in droves and ran toward the observatory.
Thunderous booms echoed from the observatory, and the dark clouds up above filled slowly with lightning bolts. The battlefield instantly became chaotic as lightning rained down on the Sitting Oblivion Dao members.
This is my chance! Li Huowang didn't hesitate and ran toward the Strayed One Bei Feng.
The two factions fought each other with their lives at stake as the skies changed rapidly above them. One moment it was evening, and the next it was noon.
Li Huowang felt that he would eventually lose control of himself at this rate, and it was all thanks to the strange chanting. Truthfully speaking, however, Li Huowang had no idea who had the advantage in this fight.
Regardless, his determination remained firm, and his eyes never left the Strayed One Bei Feng.
The Strayed One Bei Feng was staring intently at the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom while the emperor himself was under the protection of the Surveillance Bureau's three deputy chiefs.
The next moment, the Strayed One Bei Feng collapsed on her knees and covered her distorted face in agony. A dark golden fluid was flowing out of her eyes. Just as a lightning bolt was about to hit her, a hand missing two fingers pulled her away.
"Are you fine?! Wait, you're injured!" Li Huowang shouted as he pulled Bei Feng away from the battlefield.
1. Shai Zi means Dice. They have a head resembling a Dice ☜
Chapter 433 - Bei Feng
Li Huowang's heart pounded madly against his chest at the softness that filled his arms. The Strayed One Bei Feng was finally in his arms, and she was the key to getting rid of his hallucination. Li Huowang had been dreaming of this day since he discovered the Strayed One Bei Feng's existence.
Li Huowang's mind was filled with many wild thoughts, but he remained calm on the outside.
The Shai Zis didn't have any time to pay attention to what Li Huowang was doing, as they were too busy fighting the Imperial Preceptor and the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau.
When they were at the edge of the battlefield, the Strayed One Bei Feng finally realized that something was wrong.
"Wait, who are you?! Why are there nine Hong Zhongs?"
Li Huowang was about to explain when Bei Feng looked up and stared into his eyes.
"Please hear me out," Li Huowang said and was shocked to realize that his voice had become feminine. He looked up and saw himself holding his own arm. He had exchanged bodies with Bei Feng!
Upon seeing that Li Huowang had been trapped in her previous body, Bei Feng chuckled and playfully remarked, "Aiyaya~ So you're Hong Zhong? What's wrong? Did you get bored of playing as Hong Zhong and wanted to become Bei Feng for a few days? Sure, let me make your wish come true."
Li Huowang's body had just gotten stolen away from him, but he wasn't anxious at all as he said, "Do you really think that I didn't know about that ability of yours? My body doesn't belong to me alone. Suisui! Do it! She has taken my body away!"
Bei Feng was shocked. She was about to do something when a heart-wrenching pain shot up from her chest. Her sense of pain seemed to have been multiplied, as the pain coming from her chest was too much even for her to bear.
However, the changes weren't over just yet. Moments later, Li Sui's tentacles burst out of the orifices of Li Huowang's body including his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Li Huowang had told Li Sui about his plan to seal Bei Feng's senses as soon as possible the moment she swapped bodies with Li Huowang. Li Huowang had learned of Bei Feng's ability from the documents in the Surveillance Bureau, so it wasn't strange that she had prepared a countermeasure against it.
Crackle!
Thunder crackled, and a stray lightning bolt almost struck Li Huowang. In response, he carried Bei Feng with him and ran away from the battlefield.
No one noticed their escape amidst the chaos, and Li Huowang was soon out of the battlefield. The battle became more intense, but Li Huowang didn't have the luxury to care about the ongoing battle. After all, he had already obtained what he wanted.
Li Huowang turned a corner and stopped to catch his breath. He looked at Bei Feng, who had stolen his body, and said, "All right. Suisui, remove your tentacles from her ears and mouth. I have to talk to her."
The tentacles sticking out of Bei Feng's mouth retracted.
Li Huowang stared at Bei Feng and calmed himself down before saying, "I don't care about the Sitting Oblivion Dao's plans. I will let you go as long as you give me what I want."
Bei Feng was not worried but impressed instead. "That's amazing. I didn't expect that you'd take advantage of the chaotic battle between us and the Surveillance Bureau. You truly deserve the name, Hong Zhong."
Li Huowang took a small flat needle from his bag of torture tools. Then, he grabbed Bei Feng's hand and thrust the needle in between Bei Feng's fingernail and finger.
Li Huowang flicked his wrist, and a grotesque noise echoed as the thin fingernail was torn away from the finger. Bei Feng bit her lips to withstand the pain, but her forehead was covered in beaded cold sweat.
"I've executed the Cang-Qiong Ascension three times, so my sense of pain has been heightened to the limits. Even a small scratch would hurt as much as losing an arm. I'm sure your time is as precious as mine, and I'm sure you don't want to experience an even stronger pain than that, do you?"
Li Huowang placed his finger on the belly button of his original body. Then, he thrust his finger into the belly button before pulling out something tubular and smooth.
"Haha..." Bei Feng was trembling from the pain, but she was smiling as she muttered, "These methods are reminiscent of the Ao Jing Sect. Are you from the Ao Jing Sect? Why have you come for us instead of looking for your god?"
Li Huowang gulped a mouthful of his saliva with great difficulty. His voice was even trembling as he said, "You're a Strayed One, right? I need to know how you got rid of your hallucination."
"Hm?" Bei Feng's voice was filled with confusion. "You went through all the trouble to ask me that? You could have just told me outright! I thought it was something serious, but you just wanted the cultivation method to cultivate the 'Truth'?
"There was no need for you to go this far, as I would have told you if you had just asked me outright."
"What?" Li Huowang frowned in confusion.
"Sigh." Bei Feng sighed, and her voice was filled with sadness. "I'm a Strayed One, so I know a Strayed One's pain. The pain of being unable to differentiate between the two worlds. I'm more than happy to help a Strayed One escape that pain.
"It's just a shame that Strayed Ones are hard to come by."
Li Huowang's face twitched, and he refused to believe Bei Feng.
"You better tell me the cultivation method without lying. Otherwise, you're going to suffer!"
"Fine, fine. I'll tell you. Stop pulling me. This is your body, you know that, right? You'll have to get this back later. Anyway, you need to know some things first before you can start cultivating. First of all, you have to know why we have a hallucination."
"I already know that. It's because of the primordial breath."
"Oh? You know quite a bit about it. Then, I will continue my explanation. To get rid of your hallucination, you need to control your primordial breath first.
"However, you can't do it on your own. You need the help of the primordial breath's owner, Doulao."
"Wait!" Li Huowang exclaimed and glared at Bei Feng. "Why did you mention the Siming of the Sitting Oblivion Dao? Don't you dare attempt to fool me! Doulao Taiyin is the Siming that controls 'Lies'!"
Bei Feng sighed and explained, "What is the truth? What is a lie? Can you differentiate it? Everyone says that the Sitting Oblivion Dao cultivates 'Lies,' but it seems that they've forgotten to tell you that we cultivate the 'Truth' as well.
"Doulao is different from the other Simings. It's like a conjoined lotus in a pond. Doulao Taiyin controls 'Lies' while Doulao Taiyang controls 'Truth.'
"The Heavenly Dao of Yin and Yang are markedly different from the other Daos. The other Daos either exist or they don't exist at all.
"However, the Dao of 'Truth' and the Dao of 'Lies' exist as one. The other side of 'Truth' is 'Lies.' The opposite is true as well. Without 'Truth' there are no 'Lies,' and without 'Lies,' there is no 'Truth.' Do you understand?"
Chapter 434 - Key
Li Huowang stared blankly at Bei Feng, who was still inside his body. All of a sudden, Li Huowang felt a bit lost. The Sitting Oblivion Dao's Siming actually governs both 'Lies' and 'Truth'? Do I have to seek help from the Siming of the Sitting Oblivion Dao if I want to get rid of my hallucination?
Li Huowang hesitated, but his experience in dealing with the Sitting Oblivion Dao members swiftly pulled him back to reality. "No, I don't trust you! You're lying! You just want to convert me into a Sitting Oblivion Dao member by making me make contact with Doulao Taiyin!"
Li Huowang trusted his gut feelings and mind more than Bei Feng's words.
"Why can't you believe me?" Bei Feng sighed and said, "There are fifty Heavenly Daos, and the Simings have already taken forty-three of them. The Simings with two Heavenly Daos aren't limited to our Doulao Taiyin and Doulao Taiyang.
"Have you not heard of that? It seems that your master has failed his duty."
Bei Feng was the captive, but she had the initiative.
Li Huowang frowned and stared at Bei Feng, contemplating who was the captive one between the two of them.
Could it be that she allowed herself to get captured just to tell me such lies? 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Li Huowang really hated the feeling of not having the initiative. He had to seize the initiative, and he soon came up with an idea of how he could do that. He picked up a saw covered in dried blood and walked over to Bei Feng.
Li Huowang stared coldly at his own body as he dismantled it slowly into smaller pieces amidst Bei Feng's incessant heart-wrenching screams.
Bei Feng fainted numerous times throughout the ordeal, but Li Huowang would always bring her back.
Li Huowang cycled through his torture tools a few times before putting down the saw and the hook covered in his own blood and flesh. Li Huowang started his questioning once again.
"Tell me how to get rid of the hallucination!" Li Huowang exclaimed, enunciating each word as clearly as possible.
Bei Feng was utterly exhausted from the torture, and she looked helpless as she muttered, "What do you want me to say? I told you the truth!"
Li Huowang didn't respond and rummaged through his bag of torture tools once again.
Bei Feng's expression changed, and she hurriedly cried out, "Wait, wait, wait! Since you can't believe my words, and you don't want to cultivate the 'Truth' as well, let's think about another idea. Why don't you just go ahead and leave with my body?
"The hallucination will not torture you, as that is my body. It's still a young body as well, so it's definitely better than this old body of yours, which is riddled with holes and wounds!"
Li Huowang looked down at his body and roared, "This is a female body! And I don't want anyone else's body as well! I want to live in my own body!"
"What's the difference between a man and a woman? The only difference between the two is sex! Stop being so stubborn. Your sex should be the least of your issues, considering how you're still under the influence of your hallucination."
Li Huowang smiled at Bei Feng's chiding. He glared coldly at her and said, "You're lying, aren't you? The Heavenly Dao and Yin Yang are fake, right? You don't have the cultivation method to cultivate the 'Truth'!
"Otherwise, you could've used your primordial breath against me! You could've easily fought back while I was torturing you. You used another method to suppress the hallucination instead of cultivating the 'Truth'!"
Bei Feng was speechless. "What are you saying? Who told you that I'd become invincible upon cultivating the 'Truth'? Do you really think there's free lunch in this world? The one who told you that had lied to you!"
Li Huowang no longer wanted to waste time. It was extremely difficult to extract information from Bei Feng. To make matters worse, the information was riddled with lies as well, so Li Huowang's efforts were useless here.
However, the Bei Feng in front of Li Huowang was indeed a Strayed One who had managed to suppress her hallucination. Li Huowang believed that she had another method.
Li Huowang had a treasure chest, and all he needed was the key to open it.
Li Huowang took out the gourd of wine that he always carried with him and opened it. Then, he shoved the alcohol into Bei Feng's throat.
"What are—" Bei Feng slumped to the ground mid-sentence.
Li Huowang knew himself the best. His sense of pain had been heightened to extreme heights, while his alcohol tolerance had plummeted to the abyss. The gourd contained wine with a high alcohol content, and it was strong enough to render Bei Feng unconscious for a long time.
Before Bei Feng could hit the ground, she trembled and stood up shakily. It was a weird sight, and it was like she had become a puppet being controlled by invisible threads.
Two eyeballs popped out of Bei Feng's belly button just then.
Bei Feng was asleep, so Li Sui took over the body. Li Sui's tentacles were all over Li Huowang, so he had no issues moving Li Huowang's body. More accurately, it was a part of the process for Li Sui to take over Li Huowang's body.
"Suisui, follow me!" Li Huowang exclaimed. He prepared the Profound Records and his other weapons before moving slowly to somewhere.
"Dad, where are we going?"
"We need to find Zhuge Yuan! He has a treasure capable of forcing Bei Feng to tell nothing but the truth. We also need to save Zhuge Yuan. I really don't feel comfortable leaving him on this chaotic battlefield!"
Li Huowang crossed over the golden wall and returned to his original hiding spot. He looked around and was stunned to see a mighty conflagration in the distance. The golden tree had been set ablaze, and there was a river of gold on the floor.
The entire floor was filled with molten gold, and there was a large hole in the middle of the battlefield. Li Huowang looked closely and realized that the hole was originally a flat ground paved with golden tiles!
Heavily armored men were sprawled out in the hole. It seems that the imperial guard has rushed here to protect the emperor.
The black-and-white vertical pupil in the sky had descended even farther; the rolling clouds were like the brain of the colossal eye, which hovered just a few meters away from the ground!
Li Huowang stared at the distant figures and took a deep breath. Moments later, he rushed forward and soon saw Zhuge Yuan fighting effortlessly with his brush on the battlefield.
Li Huowang sighed in relief. Fortunately, Zhuge Yuan was extremely strong, or he would have died on the battlefield long ago. Zhuge Yuan's position also played an important role in his survival, as Zhuge Yuan was on the edge of the battlefield rather than in the middle of it.
Zhuge Yuan's position was great news to Li Huowang.
He wouldn't attract anyone's attention even if he were to drag Zhuge Yuan away.
Li Huowang dodged rocks, lightning, fire, poker cards, and mahjong tiles before finally getting close to Zhuge Yuan. Everything became calm the moment he got close enough to Zhuge Yuan—Li Huowang had arrived at the Great Qi.
Zhuge Yuan brandished his brush at the newcomer. "Bei Feng?!"
Chapter 435 - History
"Senior Zhuge, it's me! Li Huowang!" Li Huowang pointed at his original body which was under Li Sui's control and recounted everything that happened.
Zhuge Yuan soon understood what was going on.
Li Huowang then urged, "Senior Zhuge, let's go ahead and leave! We cannot stay here for too long! The fight between the Surveillance Bureau of the Liang Kingdom and the two Sitting Oblivion Daos is too intense! You'll die here if you stay!"
Zhuge Yuan shook his head and pointed at the palace in front of him. "No. We're already halfway through the coup. We cannot stop now."
Li Huowang's experience differed greatly compared to Zhuge Yuan. From Zhuge Yuan's point of view, he and the others had just entered the palace. They were about to force the undead emperor of the Qi Kingdom to step down.
Zhuge Yuan looked around him and saw soldiers clad in heavy armor as well as the officials of the palace. They were all staring at Zhuge Yuan; clearly, they thought of Zhuge Yuan as their leader.
Li Huowang was extremely distressed, but Zhuge Yuan remained calm. He even sounded confident as he said, "Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. I'm here, after all."
Li Huowang looked around and saw a different scenery. The Liang Kingdom palace was coated in gold, but the Qi Kingdom was covered in snow. The difference was so huge that it was unmistakable.
Even the strange chanting from the Liang Kingdom had disappeared, and it seemed unable to pierce the boundary of the white snow and gold. To think that a Twisted One can stop even the influence of a Siming.
"How much longer do I have to wait?" Li Huowang was impatient.
"Fifteen more minutes. The study room is just ahead of us, and it's where the empress recites sutras. The young undead emperor should be inside, too. We just need to force him to step down, and everything will be settled by then."
Li Huowang looked down at his body under Li Sui's control and gnashed his teeth.
"Fine! I will help you! We need to settle this as soon as possible!"
Zhuge Yuan rushed forward, and the scenery peeled away.
Some of the people from the Liang Kingdom were whisked away into the Qi Kingdom. Fortunately, the Sitting Oblivion Dao and the Surveillance Bureau were so busy fighting each other that neither of them wanted to fight Zhuge Yuan.
Zhuge Yuan frowned. The people running past him were turning into courtesans and eunuchs running for their lives. His frown deepened at the sight, and he seemed to have recalled something.
The door burst open, and low chanting echoed from the study room accompanied by knocks on a wooden fish. "The Four Arhats Protects Us, Praise The Sacred Self, Love and Protect the Cultivator."
A group of monks and abbots in yellow had filled the entirety of the study room.
They sat in a circle of six rings.
An old abbot with his back facing toward them sat in the middle of the circle. The abbot was using a razor to shave off the hair of a child. Li Huowang saw that the child's face was ashen gray—the child was deceased.
Li Huowang recognized the child instantly. He was the same child that a Sitting Oblivion Dao member had impersonated at the time—the young undead emperor of the Qi Kingdom!
"You're shaving him? Are you monks from the Righteous Monastery mad? You're allowing a zombie to become a Buddhist?!" someone unknown roared, but the monks ignored them completely.
The razor moved, and the final strand of hair on the child's scalp was finally shaved off. "Amitabha. The three thousand worries of the mortal realm are finally undone.
"From now on, your name is Jie Tan. You're a disciple of the Righteous Monastery. If someone were to wish harm against you, they would be wishing harm against all of us, too."
The old abbot turned around slowly.
Li Huowang was stunned to see the old abbot's identity. "Old monk?!"
There was no way he wouldn't recognize the old abbot, as he was the very same old monk standing next to him as an illusion.
The old monk was actually the abbot of the Righteous Monastery in the Great Qi rather than just a mere nobody.
Li Huowang finally realized what was wrong.
Zhuge Yuan hadn't transported him back in time to the Great Qi that existed thousands of years ago. Instead, Zhuge Yuan was living in an alternate dimension with its own separate timeline!
Zhuge Yuan wasn't a time machine—he was a gateway to alternate dimensions and timelines!
Li Huowang stared at Zhuge Yuan, and he finally realized why Zhuge Yuan was called the "Storyteller." He also realized why the Surveillance Bureau meted out severe punishment to those who had altered calendars and history books.
It was all for Zhuge Yuan, who was in the Great Qi of another dimension!
Li Huowang looked as if he had been struck by a hammer from out of nowhere upon realizing what was going on. The Twisted Ones' identities were clear to him now—they were doors to alternate dimensions and timelines!
In other words, the Sitting Oblivion Dao from the Great Qi was from a separate timeline. In this particular timeline, the old monk was the abbot of the Righteous Monastery.
While Li Huowang was sorting out his thoughts, Zhuge Yuan said something just then.
The monks of the Righteous Monastery stood up at the same time. The next moment, they clapped their hands and several eyes of varying sizes on the scars on their heads blinked at the same time.
The monks' mouths fluttered open as they chanted an inscrutable incantation. The chanting became louder and louder as the massive lips of the Buddha motif on the wall parted into a smile.
"Dear Sirs! You are monks dedicated to cultivating and shaking off all temptations. I don't think it's wise to cling on to the mortal realm like this!" Zhuge Yuan exclaimed and unfurled his scroll.
Some of the monks in the room vanished into thin air. Zhuge Yuan had just spirited away some of them using the Muddled One's painting.
"Tai!" Some of the monks clapped, and their eyes bulged out of anger. They grew larger, while several arms extended from their backs, making them look like peacocks unfurling their tail feathers.
The two groups were about to start fighting, but a violent tremor abruptly shook the room. The strange chanting capable of dispersing the Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings echoed just then.
Zhuge Yuan and everyone around him collapsed to the ground.
Some even started fading as their fleshly bodies returned to "Chaos."
"What's going on?!" Li Huowang turned around and saw the colossal vertical pupil that was supposed to exist only in the Liang Kingdom.
"Senior Zhuge!" Li Huowang covered his ears and shouted, "We can't stay here any longer! I don't know what that is, but it's affecting even the Great Qi!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
However, Zhuge Yuan didn't believe the sight at all and coldly snorted. "Hmph! How dare you try to fool me! So what if you're big? You're still fake!"
Zhuge Yuan took out his almanac and brandished his brush.
Before he could finish writing, however, the colossal pupil glared at Zhuge Yuan.
Zhuge Yuan was struck by excruciating pain, which forced him on his knees.
A transparent barrier flickered to life around Zhuge Yuan, protecting him as the clouds housing the colossal vertical pupil rolled closer to him.
Li Huowang struggled to move. He had to do something, or Zhuge Yuan would die!
In the end, Li Huowang decided to go all out. He took out a dagger and thrust it into his neck before slicing it all the way downward his mid-section. Then, he unfurled the Profound Records and laid it on the ground. "Wooden Liver! Earth Spleen! Metal Lungs! Water Kidneys! Fire Heart! Five Elements Intercalation!"
Li Huowang sacrificed his organs[1] and his five senses merged, allowing him to perceive Ba-Hui's presence.
The red bamboo slips of the Profound Records transformed into maggots that burrowed into him. They nibbled on his flesh and multiplied rapidly. Soon, the maggots filled up every single cavity in Li Huowang's fleshly body, and they soon leaked out of his orifices.
However, Li Huowang felt great. He was no longer in pain, and his mind was as calm as a placid lake. The colossal vertical pupil was still glaring at him from above, but it could no longer affect him, much less the strange chanting.
Unfortunately, Li Huowang couldn't cast the Five Elements Intercalation so easily. He could only use it whenever he was on the brink of death. Thankfully, he was in Bei Feng's fleshly body rather than in his own fleshly body.
1. more like Bei Feng's lol ☜
Chapter 436 - Stone Tablet
Li Huowang had lost his sense of pain, so he could afford to stare at the colossal vertical pupil in front of him without any hesitation. He hoisted his fleshly body onto his shoulders and rushed to Zhuge Yuan's side. He carried Zhuge Yuan in the same manner and retreated backward. This place was too dangerous, and it was definitely not a place for ordinary people. He had to take Zhuge Yuan with him and leave!
Li Huowang was about to leave the battlefield when he came to an abrupt halt. He felt as if a mountain was boring down on his shoulders. Moreover, a mysterious intangible force had wrapped around him, pulling him back to the battlefield.
Writhing tentacles rushed out of his chest and wrapped around his legs. The tentacles moved desperately, dragging Li Huowang forward. As Li Huowang moved inch by inch, the maggots on him perished rapidly as if they were fighting something unseen.
When most of the maggots perished, the mysterious intangible force vanished abruptly, allowing him to break free. Having recovered his freedom, Li Huowang was about to take Zhuge Yuan away when flame abruptly engulfed him, singeing his hair.
Li Huowang retreated rapidly and saw the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom, the Imperial Preceptor, and the members of the Surveillance Bureau. It seemed that all of them had gone all out with a variety of artifacts in hand.
Li Huowang even saw one of the Deputy Chiefs holding a square stone tablet while performing a ritual. Li Huowang was familiar with the stone tablet, as it was the same stone tablet that Dan Yangzi had used in his attempt to ascend to immortality.
It seemed that the Deputy Chief had obtained one as well.
So it's supposed to be held upside-down? Li Huowang muttered to himself, seemingly bewildered. Then, he shook his head vigorously and thought, this isn't the time to think about this!
Li Huowang looked up and saw a burning golden tree. He turned to Zhuge Yuan on his shoulder in astonishment and asked, "What's going on? Where's your Great Qi?"
They were supposed to be in the Great Qi, as Zhuge Yuan was on his shoulder.
However, the Great Qi had disappeared inexplicably. This was bad news for Li Huowang, as he suddenly found himself in the middle of a battlefield.
Zhuge Yuan woke up and rolled down Li Huowang's shoulders. His expression was ugly as he looked at everything around him and roared, "Where are we?!"
"Where do you think we are?! We're in Great Qi! Anyway, we should escape first and figure out what's going on later!" Li Huowang exclaimed. He grabbed Zhuge Yuan's sleeves and ran away.
A peal of laughter echoed just then, attracting Li Huowang's attention. He turned to look at the Emperor of the Great Liang standing right in front of the colossal golden tree. As the emperor's laughter echoed, the crown on his head vibrated rapidly.
The emperor waved his hand and pointed at the colossal vertical pupil in the distance, shouting, "Sitting Oblivion Dao! The Sacred Mountain Ghost's Eye has risen! You're finished! This is the golden opportunity to capture all of you!"
The golden bricks on the ground softened before flying toward the colossal vertical pupil in a stream of golden light. The golden palace in the distance and the golden bricks converged to form a colossal golden mask.
The mask had the ears of a beast and a mouth as wide as its ears. Its lips were in three layers, and the corners of its mouth were curled up in a smile. Li Huowang was familiar with the mask, as it was the same mask at the Surveillance Bureau.
The mask outside the Surveillance Bureau had cylindrical eyes that protruded outward, while this one had an empty left eye socket. However, even though the empty eye socket was on the left, the colossal vertical pupil floated over to the right eye socket!
A violent tremor ran across Li Huowang at the terrifying sight. The so-called "Sacred Mountain Ghost" that the Emperor of the Great Liang had mentioned was unknown to Li Huowang.
However, one thing was for sure: something big was about to happen!
To make matters worse, the strange chanting that Li Huowang's Five Elements Intercalation had forcefully dispersed had returned with vengeance.
The remaining maggots on Li Huowang's chest wriggled incessantly, transforming into a pair of extra legs, which allowed Li Huowang to run even faster.
Under the oppressive air, the Shai Zis remained calm, staring at the golden mask overhead. Soon, the numbers that represented their faces turned into sixes.
"Very good! You must have put a lot of effort into finding this eye of the Siming, which has been dead for thousands of years. Since that's the case, then we'll accept it," said one of the Shai Zis. There wasn't a trace of worry in his voice, and he even sounded excited in the face of such danger.
"Hmph! Do you really think that I will believe your lies? Regardless of what you do, you will not disrupt the plan I've been working on for ten years!"
"Lies? Hehe, do you really think we're lying? Take a guess: why do you think the four of us have come here today? You've been preparing for a long time, but we've been preparing for way longer than you," said the four Shai Zis in unison.
They crossed their legs again, and their overlapping voices echoed even louder as they chanted, "True void's wonderful appearance, supreme mysterious mother. Where the golden light shines, the hidden brilliance of the sun and moon. When the treasured pestle rotates, the ghosts and gods lose color, showing their traces in the mortal world, guarding the saint's chariot..."
The voices weren't loud, but they spread far and wide. The stone tablet in the hands of a deputy chief cracked open the moment the Emperor of the Great Liang heard the chanting.
"Hahaha! How was it?" A voice filled thick with extreme ridicule from the cracks of the stone tablet. "Was it good practice? Actually, it's all fake! This is all for the sake of making fun of you, you fool!"
The voice had yet to finish echoing in the air when the stone tablet split apart, transforming into a chaotic hodgepodge of fragmented mahjong tiles.
"What?! How is this possible?!" The Deputy Chief exclaimed in disbelief while staring at the stone tablet in his hands. Before he could recover from the shock of being deceived, a dim purple light rushed out his brow and burrowed into Shai Zi's number.
This was just the beginning...
The Sitting Oblivion Dao's voice spread farther, reaching Cowheart Village.
The sleeping Gao Zhijian woke up and instantly went on high alert upon hearing strange voices in the room. He grabbed a sharp weapon and dashed into the side room. The stone tablet that Senior Li had given to him had cracked open.
Gao Zhijian could still remember that Senior Li had obtained the stone tablet from the Zephyr Temple, more specifically, from their master, Dan Yangzi.
"Haha! You really want to become immortal?! How dare you dream of becoming immortal when you can't recognize even a single character word on it! My condolences, but you've been fooled! You've been bamboozled!
"This cultivation method to immortality is fake! Pfft! Hahaha!"
Chapter 437 - Doulao
Hou Shu, Qing Qiu, Si Qi, and the Emperor of the Great Liang. Those who had been deceived by the stone tablet started giving off a faint purple light from their glabella.
They hadn't lost anything tangible, but it could be said that they had "lost" by getting deceived. The purple lights gathered, converging toward Shangjing's palace, attracting the attention of many different organizations at the same time.
The faint purple light pierced the black dots on the four Shai Zis. The square heads of the four Shai Zis became larger and more purplish. Their bodies began to fade away as if they had always been fake.
The chanting of the Shai Zis grew louder as they vanished until no noises could be heard except for the Shai Zis' chants.
"They want to withstand the Siming with their mortal bodies? That is impossible!" exclaimed the Emperor of the Great Liang. He looked up at the unfinished mask, and his expression became solemn. It was unlikely, but he dared not ignore the possibility.
He waved his hands adorned with reversed dragon scales, and the black clouds in the sky rolled in the direction of the Shai Zis.
The members of the Great Liang's camp jumped into the fray, and the battle that had cooled down erupted once again. Meanwhile, the Sitting Oblivion Dao members threw themselves recklessly against the enemies to stop the black clouds' encroachment.
The chanting of the Shai Zis ceased just then.
"When beings are in distress, invoke the name; the great beings will come to alleviate suffering. Great compassion, great vows, great saints, great benevolence, Holy Spirit, giant light, Heavenly Empress, Maricideva, and the Great Saint.
"Doulao—Celestial Sovereign!"
When the final word was uttered, the six dots on the Shai Zis' faces detached from their bodies. A purple light engulfed them, and they disappeared into the dense clouds overhead.
The Sitting Oblivion Dao members looked up and shouted, "Sovereign Doulao! Come here, quick! Da Nuo is about to awaken!"
Boom!
The thick clouds dissipated as if they were bubbles that had collided with something solid.
Li Huowang decided to leave. He stepped forward but almost keeled over as the solid ground had transformed into some kind of special liquid. No, it wasn't just the ground; even Li Huowang's fleshly body became soft and sagged.
If it weren't for the maggots inside of him, he would have melted into the ground.
What is this? Li Huowang looked up and saw a yin-yang taiji fish in the distance. It was so far and radiant as if it had become a sun in the sky. No, there were two suns—No, there were four suns!
Li Huowang stared closely at the four suns and saw that his vision had split into four as well. Just as Li Huowang's thoughts were about to split into six, the triumphant laughter of the Shai Zis in the distance echoed in his ears.
"Hahaha, you got bamboozled! Da Nuo has yet to awaken, so how come you look so scared?" A deafening noise echoed just then. The Shai Zis' laughter continued as they stared unabashedly at the sky, showing zero respect for their Siming. "Look at what I've brought you. Weren't you missing an eye? I found one for you!"
Swish!
The huge yin-yang taiji fish expanded, and it became like a lid that blotted out the entire sky in an instant. Shangjing became extremely unstable; those in existence had vanished, while those that were not supposed to exist had materialized into existence.
Li Huowang was struggling as well. His Five Elements Intercalation was still active, but he still seemed as insignificant as a mere ant in the face of the entity before him.
Li Huowang looked up again and saw that he hadn't been staring at a yin-yang taiji fish.
He had been staring at two intertwined seas!
What's that under the black-and-white seafloor? Li Huowang saw something, and he grabbed his head in pain. Dark red blood flowed out of his seven orifices, and his head swelled up in the blink of an eye. Li Huowang had just seen a Siming for the first time, and he had finally realized just how powerful Simings were.
A glance was enough for Li Huowang to understand many things.
Li Huowang's existence itself seemed to be under corrosion, but an extremely sharp pain brought him back to reality.
A grotesque noise echoed as Li Huowang's fleshly body cracked open; scars appeared out of nowhere, bringing a seemingly endless agony to Li Huowang. However, the pain had also forced his consciousness to remain grounded.
When he came back to his senses, Li Huowang found himself on a scroll. The scroll was under Zhuge Yuan's control. Li Huowang looked up at Zhuge Yuan and saw that the latter's face was incredibly solemn as they moved on the undulating ground.
The scroll was like a wooden boat carrying them away from danger.
"Brother Li, sit tight; let's leave first before talking about anything," Zhuge Yuan said as he stared at the discolored skies, but he wasn't panicking at all.
Zhuge Yuan's composure allowed Li Huowang to relax a bit. He had come here to find the Strayed One Bei Feng, so he didn't expect that he'd get involved in such a big incident.
Was that the Siming Doulao of the Sitting Oblivion Dao? What were they trying to achieve?
Li Huowang stared at the colossal vertical pupil and saw that it had been covered with a golden mask and was flying toward the yin-yang taiji symbol in the sky. The colossal vertical pupil struggled, and it fell into the sea overhead.
The sea boiled instantly when the eye plunged into it, but a mere eye was no match for what lay beneath the sea.
"Brother Li, I hope I'm just overthinking, but if not..." Zhuge Yuan trailed off, staring at the sea overhead.
"What?"
"Nothing. Let's leave here before anything else."
Zhuge Yuan took out his brush and wrote the character "Swift" in the air.
The scroll beneath them moved even faster.
An unknown amount of time passed until they saw the gates of the imperial palace. Li Huowang's heart thumped wildly at the sight. He couldn't care less about what was happening; all he knew was that he would soon be free from the Strayed One's hallucination..
"Brother Zhuge, can I borrow your old almanac once we're out of here? I want to question—" Li Huowang stopped mid-sentence and trembled as he stared at the taiji sea overhead.
The same colossal vertical pupil behind the golden mask was floating in the white circle of the taiji sea, and it was staring at Li Huowang!
Chapter 438 - Sitting Oblivion Dao
Is it looking at me? Why is it looking at me? thought Li Huowang. He trembled as he looked up at the eyeball within the yin-yang Taiji diagram. There was no answer to his question. The only thing Li Huowang knew was that Doulao was staring at him.
Li Huowang decisively lunged toward the liquid-like ground. Li Huowang would rather sink into the ground rather than be devoured by Doulao like the Sacred Mountain Ghost's Eye!
In no time, Li Huowang sunk halfway into the soil. The next moment, he felt the world turn upside down. The surface of the mud became the ceiling, while the black-and-white sea in the distance became the ground.
Li Huowang was inverted in midair, and he couldn't stop himself from falling toward the yin-yang Doulao beneath him.
I refuse to accept this! I was just about to obtain the cultivation method against the hallucination! I was about to become an ordinary person! Li Huowang roared inwardly. He gnashed his teeth and shook his right hand.
The maggots inside of him burst out, entangling each other and transforming into a rope. The rope made out of maggots wrapped around a stone wall that was on the verge of collapse.
Li Huowang barely managed to stabilize himself, and he wasn't in the best situation as well. He was still falling toward the yin-yang Doulao, and the pulling force on him was getting stronger every second. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Soon, invisible threads appeared above Li Huowang's head. The black-and-white sea churned, and some of the threads attached to Li Huowang were severed. Some threads inside Li Huowang were pulled out, while the threads outside were spirited away.
A few threads became entangled with each other. At first, Li Huowang thought that he would get stuck here forever, but the scenery around him peeled away, and he suddenly found himself staring at a giant ox several times taller than himself.
It took Li Huowang a moment to realize it, but the fear in his heart was the same fear he had felt when he first saw a water buffalo at the young age of six. The scenery peeled away once more, and Li Huowang found himself in front of a counter at a pawnshop.
The counter was tall, and Li Huowang found it scary. The distinct fear reminded him of the time when he became an apprentice at a pawnshop somewhere in town.
The next moment, he saw a skinny man crying bitterly. He was the owner of the pawnshop and was Li Huowang's master. He had fallen into a trap set by a group of swindlers and had lost everything.
Li Huowang lost his source of livelihood and had to fend for himself.
In the end, he made contact with the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
The scenery peeled away slowly at first, and then it began to pick up speed as more and more sceneries flashed before Li Huowang's eyes. Some vague sceneries eventually became clear, and some of them were sceneries of special moments.
Some sceneries depicted his lies, while some depicted his own experience learning supernatural powers in the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
"Boss Hong Zhong, what are you doing? Seriously? How come you've decided to play in the big leagues? You're actually playing with the Strayed Ones? Are you not afraid of going too far?"
"Ah, the realm of the Three Officials is too high for me to reach or understand."
The memories that became clearer as time went on made Li Huowang feel an unprecedented fear. His pale lips trembled like an aspen tree.
"I'm not Hong Zhong; I'm Li Huowang; I'm not Hong Zhong; I am Li Huowang..." Li Huowang muttered to himself, but his repeated muttering wouldn't be able to convince anyone, much less himself.
If people were incapable of imagining scenes of such clarity, then what were these memories?!
Li Huowang's grip on the wall loosened as he was inundated by more and more memories. If everything about Li Huowang was fabricated by Hong Zhong to deceive himself, was it really necessary for him to struggle so desperately just to stay alive?
Zhuge Yuan noticed something amiss with Li Huowang. He frowned and reached for his waist, pulling out a slender soft sword. Zhuge Yuan stomped resolutely on the scroll with both feet before stomping on his right foot.
A figure in white clothes flew past Li Huowang at breakneck speeds. The figure charged at Doulao blotting out the sky. Once Li Huowang was no longer in Doulao's line of sight, the pulling force vanished, and Li Huowang crashed heavily into the wall.
The sceneries in his mind had vanished, but the memories had become unprecedentedly vivid as if they had truly happened.
"No, no, no...!" Li Huowang trembled. He reached for his face and noticed that his facial features, flesh, and even his bones were changing rapidly, transforming into Hong Zhong. Li Sui's tentacles weren't the reason for this change; his appearance was changing according to his subconscious thoughts.
The cogs in Li Huowang's mind turned frantically, and his appearance changed into Puppy, Lu Zhuangyuan, Gao Zhijian, Bai Lingmiao, Zhao Wu, and Chun Xiaoman. His face changed rapidly as Li Huowang was slowly forgetting his own appearance.
Boom!
A thunderous boom echoed, prompting Li Huowang to look up.
He saw Zhuge Yuan's soft sword shattering into pieces, and he saw a sword wave flying toward Doulao in the sky. The sword wave was as tiny as an ant in comparison to Doulao's enormous size.
Doulao's gaze swept toward Li Huowang once again.
Zhuge Yuan moved quickly and somersaulted to land in front of Li Huowang.
Zhuge Yuan showed no fear even when facing the gargantuan Doulao. His left hand was behind his back, while his right hand gripped his brush tightly. An audible cracking noise echoed as he pointed at Duolao's one and only eye in the sky.
"Brother Li! Go ahead and leave! I'll block this one for you. Don't worry, the other Simings are watching, so it can't descend upon the mortal world! Everything will be fine once we're out of the capital!"
Li Huowang's appearance had become that of a stranger in Zhuge Yuan's eyes, but the latter had treated Li Huowang the same.
Li Huowang stared at Zhuge Yuan's upright figure with a complicated expression.
"Brother Zhuge, that's a Siming. Why are you doing this for me?"
"It is important to know the hearts of people! I just want to do it, that's all!"
Swoosh!
The pale old almanac flew up and expanded, blotting out the sky.
Zhuge Yuan floated and flew toward the old almanac. Then, using the earth as his inkstone and the sky as his canvas. He waved his brush and wrote, "In the year of Yi Hai, the earth element descends today! Beware the Siming's appearance in the world!"
The pale old almanac burst into flames with a deafening explosion. The pages—engulfed in flames—were like yellow talismans that drifted toward Doulao. The entire world became brighter just then, and the black-and-white Doulao dimmed.
Li Huowang was confused. He gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists. I can't go ahead and leave. How can I abandon my friends and escape by myself?
"Don't be a fool! That's the Doulao's true body! How can you possibly fight that? It's rare to encounter someone so foolish as to attempt to fight it, so hurry up and escape with your life," an illusion of a Sitting Oblivion Dao member advised.
"Nonsense! Who are you trying to fool here?! The Shai Zis can only use their false decrees to summon an incarnation of Doulao; they cannot summon Doulao's true body!"
Chapter 439 - Zhuge Yuan
Zhuge Yuan was fighting so desperately for him, so Li Huowang knew that he couldn't remain confused about his identity. Regardless of his identity, he owed Zhuge Yuan his life, and he couldn't just run away without repaying his debt.
Li Huowang gnashed his teeth and looked around. He saw that the Emperor of the Great Liang and the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau were busy fighting with the Shai Zis, so he made a beeline for them.
Before his shoe could touch the ground, a playing card would fly out of his hand to provide a foothold for him like a lotus leaf on water. Li Huowang approached them swiftly as if he were a dragonfly skimming over a lake.
The few Shai Zis obviously had no intentions of fighting to the death and were simply toying with them. They seemed to be waiting for Doulao to intervene and deal with them all at once.
"Is there a living Muddled One inside the array?!" Li Huowang roared upon entering the battlefield. He didn't expect an answer, but he noticed a subtle change in the expression of one of the Deputy Chiefs. Li Huowang used his years of experience in deceiving others and quickly analyzed the Deputy Chief's expression.
He had shown alertness in the face of Li Huowang's question rather than confusion or bewilderment. In other words, there was a high chance that there was a living Muddled One inside the array.
It made sense as well. Yin and Yang belonged to the same scale; if one wanted to balance the scales, then one had to use a living and deceased Muddled One at the same time.
Li Huowang decisively rushed away while under the Sitting Oblivion Dao members' close surveillance.
One of the Shai Zis was surprised to see Li Huowang. He turned to the Shai Zi next to him and asked, "Hey, why did you let that Hong Zhong go?"
"I have no idea. That's obviously a Hong Zhong of the Great Liang. In other words, it's one of your people. Why are you asking me?"
"Nonsense! Are you blind? That's obviously a Hong Zhong of your Great Qi!"
While they argued, Li Huowang soon found himself inside a side hall in the eastern region. There was supposed to be a golden hall here, but the gold had become the Sacred Mountain Ghost's mask, so Li Huowang couldn't see anything other than some debris and wooden pillars.
Li Huowang rushed into the center of the hall and saw a translucent white fox that had died in the middle of the array. Li Huowang instantly deduced that the fox was the eye of the array here. Li Huowang moved fast, flinging out Yao Ji mahjong tiles in all directions.
The eyes on these mahjong tiles blinked as if the tiles were living creatures. Every single piece of information that the Yao Ji tiles' eyes had clapped on was transmitted into Li Huowang's brain, so he soon discovered the location of the other array eyes in the other halls.
After a while, Li Huowang found himself standing on a floating piece of wood. He looked down and saw a rotting man in the soil. The man resembled the Muddled One from back then with golden threads sewing shut his seven orifices. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
The only difference was that there was a swastika on his chest.
Li Huowang glanced at Zhuge Yuan falling from the sky and took a deep breath. Then, he moved quickly and scooped out the living Muddled One from the soil. Li Huowang dared not hesitate and immediately opened his right hand, revealing four Bai[1] Ban.
Li Huowang slapped it on his back. "Kong!"[2]
The tiles entered the Muddled One's body, and it abruptly took to the sky.
However, the ordeal wasn't over yet.
While the living Muddled One was flying toward Doulao, Li Huowang quickly located the dead Muddled One that he had seen when he first entered the palace. It was the same Muddled One that he and Ji Xiang had discovered.
When the two pairs of tiles entered him, Li Huowang sent a bicycle kick at the back of the Muddled One.
The dead Muddled One took to the sky at breakneck speeds. It moved so fast that it left behind an afterimage as it made a beeline for the living Muddled One in mid-air.
Li Huowang's plan was to use the formidable power of the living Muddled One and the dead Muddled One against Doulao's avatar. Li Huowang had no other cards up his sleeve except for this and Zhuge Yuan himself.
"Brother Zhuge, move aside! The living Muddled One and the dead Muddled One are about to collide!" Li Huowang roared.
Zhuge Yuan's veins bulged as he struggled non-stop, and he heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Li Huowang's roar. Immediately afterward, he hurled his brush into the air with all his strength before falling toward the ground, utterly exhausted.
The nervous Li Huowang caught the falling Zhuge Yuan.
Just then, a jet-black light erupted as the living Muddled One and the dead Muddled One collided, becoming one. Fortunately, the jet-black light disappeared as fast as it disappeared.
Li Huowang looked up to see a huge hole in Doulao's body. No, it wasn't just Doulao; even the sky had a huge hole in it as if a massive circle had been carved out of the sky.
Doulao became unstable after losing a huge chunk of its body, Doulao became unstable, flickering intermittently.
Li Huowang could feel Doulao watching him, but Doulao couldn't even maintain its form, much less attack the former.
Doulao cast a deep gaze upon Li Huowang before disappearing.
The skies cleared up instantly as Doulao vanished.
"Brother Zhuge, we did it!" Li Huowang shouted in excitement, "We succeeded! We—"
Li Huowang stopped mid-sentence upon seeing Zhuge Yuan's condition. The latter had aged significantly, and his fleshly body had cracked open, seemingly on the brink of collapse.
And it wasn't just Zhuge Yuan's fleshly body...
The Sitting Oblivion Dao's innate abilities allowed Li Huowang to see Zhuge Yuan's Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings. Zhuge Yuan's Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings were in dire condition; they stuck together as they slowly took on a deathly gray color.
Li Huowang was helpless at the sight. The cogs in his mind turned desperately as he searched through Hong Zhong and his own memories to find a glimmer of hope amidst the sea of memories, but...
Li Huowang's mind was telling him that Zhuge Yuan was beyond saving.
Zhuge Yuan was like a bowl with a hole at the bottom, and everything in the bowl was leaking outside. Zhuge Yuan had utterly exhausted himself to resist Doulao's avatar for an extended period of time.
Li Huowang anxiously looked around for turmeric paper. He wanted to use talismans as a last resort, but Zhuge Yuan stopped him.
"Brother Li, don't bother. I'm not afraid of death, and you don't need to blame yourself. I didn't do this for you; I did this for the people of this world as well."
Tears streamed down Li Huowang's eyes as Zhuge Yuan grew weaker and weaker in the face of death.
Li Huowang gasped for breath as he spoke frantically, "Why did you bother being so noble in this crazy world? What's the point of being so noble? Who would dare to say anything even if you had run away? And did I ask you to save me? I'm from the Sitting Oblivion Dao! Why did you save me?!"
Zhuge Yuan revealed a magnanimous smile and said, "This isn't about being noble. I've simply read many books about sages—more books than others that I know what should be done and what should not be done. Although I dare not claim to be a gentleman, I cannot abandon a friend in need and flee by myself."
1. White Dragon in mahjong ☜
2. four-of-a-kind in mahjong ☜