Chapter 118: Pain

Chapter 118: Agony

Due to preconceived notions, Li Huowang had always assumed that the followers of the Ao Jing Cult worshipped Ba Hui as their deity.

But only now did he realize that this was not the case at all; he had guessed wrong, and terribly so.

After pondering for a few breaths, Li Huowang spoke again, utterly unable to comprehend the words Shou San had just uttered.

"What makes you think you can steal Ba Hui's power? Can you truly not feel just how strong it is? You are less than ants before it!"

Even though Li Huowang could no longer recall its appearance, he still understood exactly how powerful Ba Hui was; this was absolutely not something a few mortals could achieve.

Shou San looked at Li Huowang with resolute eyes, "Why not? If the Gu God can do it, naturally we can too."

Li Huowang's mind drifted to the statue at the Cross Temple, its body engulfed in flames. "Was that statue once a mortal too?"

Ignoring what Li Huowang was thinking, Shou San continued to speak to himself.

"The bald donkeys always say, the Buddha is one who has passed through, and man is the Buddha of the future. Regardless of other things, I quite agree with this point. It is the Ba Hui of the present, but that does not mean it will be the Ba Hui of the future!"

After digesting this unexpected news, Li Huowang took a deep breath and said, "Fine, the matters between your cult and Ba Hui are none of my concern. Let us return to the main point. Do you truly have a way to get rid of Danyangzi?"

Shou San nodded. "How about it? As long as you perform the Cang Qiang Ascension again, we will eliminate your half-immortal master."

Hearing this, Li Huowang recalled the moment he used the Record of the Myriad Realms to summon Ba Hui, and his face contorted slightly; it had been an excruciatingly painful experience.

The dual agony of body and mind was not easy to endure; whenever he thought of that ordeal, a desire for suicide would rise in Li Huowang's heart.

Calming his emotions, Li Huowang slowly said, "I want to, but it is easier said than done. I cannot do it right now."

Summoning Ba Hui was exceedingly difficult, especially requiring a resonance of extreme physical and mental agony; it was a very rare emotion, not something one could simply find.

"Hehe." Shou San laughed, saying very enthusiastically, "No matter. For the sake of Abbess Jingxin, we can help you with this matter."

Looking at the other's charred smile, Li Huowang felt a chill run through his body; behind this lightly spoken sentence lay many, many implications.

Gazing at the man before him, whom he had only met once, and having pondered for a long time, Li Huowang hesitantly asked, "Senior Shou San, let us set this matter aside for now. May I ask first, what method do you plan to use to deal with Danyangzi?"

"I also have your cult's Record of the Myriad Realms. As far as I know, let alone expelling a half-immortal, there is simply nothing in it that helps others."

To be honest, Li Huowang did not trust the Ao Jing Cult, especially after Jingxin had specifically warned him beforehand.

"Hehe, young man, you are being too naive. A thing like the Record of the Myriad Realms naturally needs to be used in conjunction with other things. To get as close to the Sea of Suffering as possible, one must try as many things as possible. We have naturally tried things like your current state."

"As the saying goes, a long illness makes a doctor. When it comes to treating people, no one else in the four seas and eight wastelands is necessarily better than us."

Li Huowang almost had a conditioned reflex to the word illness. "Illness? I am not ill, and this is not an illness either. Danyangzi is now partly in my stomach, and partly has truly become an immortal."

Shou San looked at Li Huowang with mockery in his eyes as he kept explaining.

"This is an illness. These Daoists want to become immortals so badly they have gone mad. They have all become lunatics."

These words coming from the mouth of someone attempting to steal Ba Hui's power held absolutely no persuasiveness.

Faced with this man's rhetoric, although Li Huowang still harbored doubts in his heart, he did not voice them.

He did not want to argue about anything; he had come to ask these people to get rid of Danyangzi, not to debate scriptures with them.

As long as the method worked, they could call Danyangzi a dog for all he cared.

"Have there been many cases like mine in the past? Do you treat others?" Li Huowang asked again vigilantly.

"Naturally. All branches of the Five Pecks of Rice Cult emphasize severing the three poisons: the upper poison, Peng Ju; the middle poison, Peng Zhi; and the lower poison, Peng Jiao."

"Thus, those who seek immortality must first eradicate the three poisons, be tranquil and desireless, with a calm spirit and clear nature, accumulating great virtues to achieve immortality."

Having finished his recitation with a shake of his head, he turned his gaze back to Li Huowang.

"Of course, I naturally do not believe this nonsense. Over all these years, I have seen quite a few half-immortals and liberated immortals, these evil things, but I have never seen a true Great Luo immortal."

The finger, charred and blood-red with flesh turned outward, was raised and pointed at Li Huowang's head.

"You ox-nosed Daoists want to become immortals so badly you have gone mad, cultivating yourselves until you are neither human nor ghost, caring only for superficial tricks, not knowing the slightest thing about the true nature of power."

Faced with these words, Li Huowang showed no reaction, and directly spoke to Shou San again.

He patted the torture devices on his lower garment with his hand.

"Senior, I can inflict extreme physical pain on myself, but how can you help me with mental pain?"

Hearing him say this, a flash of joy appeared in Shou San's eyes; since the young man said this, it was tantamount to agreeing.

With a slight jerk of his chin, a cultist in a gray robe walked into a cave tunnel.

Before long, he returned, bringing back a young woman who looked somewhat haggard.

This girl, like the other Ao Jing cultists, wore a loose robe and a tall hat, with the only difference being that the hat on her head did not cover her eyes.

"A woman? What does this have to do with extreme mental pain?"

However, it was obvious that the young woman was even more surprised than Li Huowang, staring fixedly at him.

With a big push, the braided girl was suddenly shoved in front of Li Huowang.

She quickly lowered her head, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes, her body trembling involuntarily.

Looking past the girl's frail shoulders at Shou San, Li Huowang asked, "Senior, what is the meaning of this?"

"Take this girl. You two must quickly become as sweet as honey and oil, and then let her carry your child."

"When she is heavily pregnant, and your son is almost fully formed, you rip open her belly, dig out your son, and then..."

"No!! Stop talking!" Li Huowang interrupted the other's words, his voice carrying a slight tremor.

Just from hearing him speak, Li Huowang could already feel his temples throbbing with a continuous ache.

Having conversed with the other so calmly for so long, he had almost forgotten what kind of creature he was dealing with.

He now understood how the other intended to bring his body and mind to the ultimate agony; these people of the Ao Jing Cult were no better than Danyangzi at all!

However, faced with Li Huowang's protest, Shou San clearly misunderstood.

"Right? Do you also feel this intensity is a bit light? But it does not matter. First, you have already been seen by Ba Hui, and coupled with some miraculous elixirs I have here, it can help you reach even greater heights!"

(End of Chapter)