Chapter 1002: Kill

Chapter 1002: Slaughter

Li Huowang’s body disintegrated; his limbs, his viscera, and his head, all seemed to detach from one another, scattering into the water.

This was merely the consequence of a single glance from Fusheng Tian, who had done nothing else at all.

"Am I dying?" As this thought flickered through Li Huowang's mind, his consciousness began to dissolve instantly.

Yet, faced with the encroaching void of death, Li Huowang felt no fear, only a fierce and burning unwillingness.

"No! I cannot die! I absolutely must not die! If I die, who will resurrect Suisui? I absolutely cannot die!"

As Li Huowang roared these words with ironclad resolve, his supposedly dead body stirred with new life; soaked in the seawater, his ruptured flesh began to animate, sprouting various deformed organs.

At that very moment, a water-sleeve adorned with white feathers pierced through his remains like a chain, snatching away his death and pulling Li Huowang back from the brink.

His mind raced; he knew that while he could not die, he was currently useless in this state, and he had to find a way to regain his mobility.

Quickly recalling the abilities of his allies, a plan formed in his mind.

An eyeball, sprouting the limbs of a fractured infant, waved its three appendages and dragged Li Huowang’s severed half-mouth, swimming rapidly toward the five overlapping Buddhas.

He was currently locked in battle with Fusheng Tian’s Siling; anything the entity gazed upon would be betrayed by its own flesh and blood.

However, it was not infallible; for those Siling without physical bodies, the entity was powerless.

Taking advantage of a gap provided by the flame-engulfed Gu God, Li Huowang shouted to the Five Wisdoms with his half-mouth: "Five Wisdoms! Use your power to help me!"

As the words left his lips, the five mouths of the Five Wisdoms Tathagata opened in unison, and a resonant, overlapping sutra began to ripple through the black water, spreading in all directions.

"Gate Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha, relying on the Prajna Paramita..."

As the sutra reached Li Huowang’s ears, and the scent of temple incense filled his nose, his body began to sprout new flesh, knitting together the gaping fissures.

Before long, Li Huowang possessed a new form, though it resembled the Buddha of Zhengde Temple—grotesque and distorted.

Yet, Li Huowang had no time for such concerns; he immediately thrust his hand into his own skull, forcibly tearing out the memories concerning Fusheng Tian.

Seeing the transparent water return to a dull, iridescent black, and the distant horrors vanish from sight, Li Huowang let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Though the great crisis was averted, the ordeal was far from over.

Surveying the chaotic scene where others were locked in combat with various Siling, Li Huowang dragged his bloated, deformed body forward, gripping his military saber and charging into the fray with a roar.

Bullets whistled toward him; with a sudden flick of his blade, a crisp "clang" echoed as the projectiles were deflected.

He struck a shadow with a savage blow, the searing blood spraying across his face, fueling the murderous intent in his eyes.

As the slaughter continued, Li Huowang’s wounds multiplied, but instead of weakening, he grew more ferocious with every kill.

He plunged his blade into another’s skull and tore downward, spilling viscera through the jagged gap.

Just as he prepared to strike again, he stumbled; looking down, he saw Zhao Lei, missing an ear, lying at his feet.

He looked mortally wounded, his right hand, missing two fingers, waving weakly toward him.

With pale lips, Zhao Lei spent his final breath pulling Li Huowang close: "Li Huowang... I lied to you... you didn't steal my magnet... it's still with me... I was just afraid they would covet it..."

"Don't die! At least not here! Die back in White Jade Capital! Otherwise, your Heavenly Dao will go to someone else!" An anxious Li Huowang hauled him up by force.

He scanned the surroundings and, catching sight of Yang Na in the distance, shouted: "Wusheng Laomu! Come quickly! Take the death from him!"

"I also have my own... little secrets... but none of you... ever cared about me. You were all just using me..."

As Zhao Lei spoke, his eyes rolled back, his pupils dilating into nothingness.

"Heh... you think I lost? That’s not necessarily true. I just... refused to play by your rules."

The hollow-eyed Zhao Lei spoke his final words to the empty sky. His mouth fell open, he spat a mouthful of blood onto Li Huowang’s chest, and his body went limp forever.

Li Huowang cast the corpse aside and plunged back into the torrential rain of the battlefield.

But seeing the enemies showing no sign of thinning, he realized this could not continue! People had already died; if this persisted, the toll would only rise! They had to retreat to White Jade Capital immediately!

He turned and bellowed to Zhao Shuangdian: "Take the others and go! Fall back! I will hold the rear!"

No sooner had he spoken than a staff whistled through the air, slamming squarely into his head.

The force was immense; as a buzzing explosion rocked his brain, he heard the sickening crack of his own skull fracturing.

Dazed, Li Huowang saw his attacker raise the staff again, aiming a lethal blow at his forehead.

The momentum was terrifying; a direct hit would surely cave his skull in.

At the very instant the staff descended, Li Huowang snapped back to clarity, shifting his body a foot to the side and narrowly evading the strike.

While the attacker’s momentum was spent, Li Huowang reversed his grip on his military saber and thrust it deep into the opponent’s chest.

Just then, a sharp pain flared in his chest; looking down, he saw crimson blood seeping from his left flank—he had been shot.

Clutching his wound, Li Huowang turned to face the three dark gun barrels pointed at him from afar.

Rage and murder surged, overwhelming his remaining sanity as he roared at the muzzles.

The moment the gunfire erupted, Li Huowang reached behind him and pulled; with a metallic clatter, his copper coin sword elongated, the red thread binding the coins into a crimson blur as he swung it forward.

"Om, Zhen Guang Li Da, Ling Ling She!"

Amidst the clash of metal and the tearing of flesh, the incoming bullets, the guns, and the men holding them were all cleaved in two by the copper coin sword.