Chapter 131: True or False?

Chapter 131: True or False?

"An illusion of the Heartless?" Li Huowang stared blankly at Jiang Yingzi and Danyangzi, who still lingered in the distance.

One was a deformed, three-headed monstrosity of flesh and blood wreathed in immortal floss; the other, a naked girl with one arm and one leg, her body covered in hideous scars.

They stood rooted to the spot, gazing at him with eyes full of hatred and amusement respectively.

The two appeared so real, so vividly real, that Li Huowang could not tell at all whether they were flesh and blood or mere phantoms.

He raised his right foot with a tremor, attempting to draw near, but soon realized it was utterly impossible.

With every step he took, the two figures in the distance shifted backward in perfect sync.

They were not moving on their own; rather, they were simply meant to remain at this exact distance from Li Huowang.

"Young friend? Young friend Xuanyang?"

It took several calls from the voice within the cave to finally bring Li Huowang back to his senses.

A voice drifted from one of the caverns; Li Huowang recognized it as Shen Benyou, the man with the square jaw, whose tone carried a hint of complex emotion: "Young friend, you look terribly pale."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Li Huowang replied instinctively.

But before he could say much more, he abruptly fell silent.

He immediately realized he had misspoken.

How could he possibly be fine? His current predicament was far more grave.

It was not just Danyangzi and Jiang Yingzi in the distance, but also the question of what on earth he had become.

Until he figured this out, no one could guarantee that another one wouldn't appear, or perhaps even several more.

"Young friend, are you alright? Is it not only natural for a Heartless to be unable to distinguish the real from the illusory?"

"Since you have survived to the age of coming of age, you should long be accustomed to it; why are you still so astonished?"

Li Huowang swallowed hard with difficulty, forcing himself to take a deep breath to steady his mind.

After pondering for a long while and barely digesting this information, he spoke up again: "Elder, I heard that the son of Abbess Jingxin visited your sect before. He was also a Heartless. Could you tell me if he exhibited these same symptoms back then?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Benyou's voice paused for a long time before it resumed.

"Ah, it is truly hard to say. Generally speaking, Heartless are raving mad. I only heard that he referred to himself as a ship."

Before Li Huowang could ask another question, a gruff voice echoed from another pitch-black cave in the wall.

"I know of this. That man would often jolt awake in the dead of night, screaming that the Three Pure Ones were watching him. Not long after, he went completely mad."

"The Three Pure Ones? What are the Three Pure Ones?" Li Huowang's question was quickly answered by Shou San beside him.

"Looked at but not seen, it is called the Subtle; listened to but not heard, it is called the Rare; grasped at but not held, it is called the Faint."

"The Subtle, the Rare, the Faint—one transforms into three, and three merge into one, which is the Three Pure Ones."

"Taoists of various southern sects all worship the Three Pure Ones. I have only heard of them, never seen them, and certainly never heard that the Three Pure Ones would watch over people."

Hearing these words, Li Huowang found himself somewhat bewildered; the other's symptoms seemed quite different from his own.

At this moment, Shen Benyou spoke again from within the cave.

"That man came here of his own accord, yet Abbess Jingxin of the Ance Nunnery always insists we drove him mad. Because of some conflicts between us, this has truly been an unmerited disaster."

"Young friend, you have seen for yourself these past few days. Have we ever broken any rules? Under the vast heavens, where the sky is round and the earth is square, breaking the rules is a grave taboo."

Li Huowang paid no heed to what the other said next; at this moment, his head was buzzing, his thoughts a chaotic tangle.

"Then... is there any cure for my condition?"

"Hehe, you jest, young friend. If only we truly had a cure."

"The Heartless is bound by a fate of self-denial; there is no cure, no one can cure it. If anyone ever claims to have a remedy, you must be wary, young friend, for they are nine times out of ten out to harm you."

"You must know this yourself, don't you? To many, a Heartless is a prized delicacy. Many seek out the Heartless to refine them into pills and elixirs, or use them in other cultivation methods to enhance their own power."

Hearing these words, Li Huowang realized how profoundly alien his own body had become to him.

The name Heartless encompassed far too much.

After standing there in deep thought for a long while, he first looked up at the two figures in the distance, then glanced at the silent followers of the Xuanjing Sect around him.

"At least Danyangzi won't assimilate me anymore; that should count as a good thing, right?" Li Huowang consoled himself with a bitter smile in his heart.

Immediately after, Li Huowang cupped his fists and bowed toward the karst cave before him. "Six Elders, thank you for clearing my doubts. Until our paths cross again."

With that, Li Huowang reached out to pat Mantou, who had followed him, and, accompanied by Danyangzi and Jiang Yingzi, began to retrace his steps.

In a daze, he returned to the Dead Town. Li Huowang stood still, locking eyes with the two figures, as both illusions began to speak simultaneously.

"My child, I have truly become an immortal. As long as you continue to help your master achieve ultimate enlightenment, all past grievances will be forgiven."

"Why don't you just die! Why are you still alive! You murderous fiend!!"

Yet no matter what they said, no matter how close they drew, they never made any physical contact with Li Huowang.

"Hehe... at least it's livelier now, no longer just me alone."

Li Huowang did not know whether his current situation was better or worse than before.

The only thing he knew was that, good or bad, he had to keep walking forward.

Li Huowang picked up the long sword stuck in the dirt once more, and began to dig graves again, reburying the other bones scattered across the town.

Dragging her mangled body, Jiang Yingzi came to Li Huowang's side, shrieking into his ear with boundless hatred: "You think burying them makes it all go away? You killed them!"

"If you truly want to atone! You should kill yourself and die!! Otherwise, everything you do is futile!!"

"Li Huowang, why don't you just die!! What are you pretending to be a good person for! Just go die!"

Silent, Li Huowang pressed his lips tightly together, continuing to dig pit after pit amidst Jiang Yingzi's piercing curses.

Within the caves of the Xuanjing Sect, Shen Benyou's voice echoed once more from within. "Shou San, Tou Qi, you may disperse. If this man returns, simply bar him at the mountain gate. Everything between us is concluded; we have no further ties."

"Yes, Elder Shen Benyou." Shou San, his body charred black, bowed respectfully before leading the other Xuanjing followers away from the Elders' secluded cultivation grounds.

Before long, the entire surroundings fell silent, leaving only the wall with its six caverns.

Suddenly, a sharp female voice shattered the silence.

"Hee hee... that Heartless actually believed it, he believed it completely~! Santiao, your trick really works!"

This voice was like flipping a switch; the entire wall, riddled with dense, pitch-black caves, seemed to come alive in an instant.

Sharp, sinister cackles, gruff, wild roars of laughter, teasing, playful chuckles—various joyous laughs poured out from the caves, filling the entire cavern.