Chapter 323: Sending Off

Chapter 323: Sending

Within the cave, the battle shifted with lightning speed.

At this moment, when most of the renxiao were momentarily dazzled by the phantom’s trick, Li Huowang would not miss such an opportunity.

He had also seen it clearly—this renxiao was indeed powerful, but there was one prerequisite: like ordinary Taoist priests, he had to perform rituals before engaging in combat.

If he could force this creature into close combat, he wouldn’t have time to perform his rites.

"Jump!" Seven or eight black tendrils suddenly bent and leapt off the ground, propelling Li Huowang toward the renxiao who was entangled in flesh and skin.

A sharp clang rang out as the peach wood sword cracked. The weapon given by the nun was exceptionally sharp; the renxiao's blade could not compare to the weapons in Li Huowang’s hands.

Seeing he couldn't win, the renxiao used Li Huowang’s momentum to retreat repeatedly.

How could Li Huowang let him escape? While others retreated, he pushed forward relentlessly, never giving him a chance to perform his rituals.

Watching his master about to be defeated, a white duster adorned with black talismans the size of fingernails was thrown over.

The renxiao’s long nails hooked the duster and rolled it up, wrapping the white threads around Li Huowang’s weapon.

Using softness to overcome hardness, although the white threads were constantly being cut, they still managed to wrap around the weapon for a moment.

Both sides were once again at a stalemate. Now, it all came down to whether Li Huowang could cut the renxiao’s duster first, or if the others arrived ahead of time.

Yet seeing the terrifying monster before him, a cruel smile appeared on Li Huowang’s face.

"Since you sent your disciples to attack me before, don’t blame me for not playing fair. Fight!"

As soon as the words left his lips, the tendrils beneath Li Huowang quickly reached into the tool bag at his waist and pulled out various instruments of torture, thrusting them into the renxiao’s abdomen. Soon, the opened wound was torn apart.

When the renxiao clutched his stomach and fell to the ground, Li Huowang yanked the Zuisui Sword from the scattered duster and raised it high, slicing down with fury. The renxiao’s head rolled to the ground.

Turning around, covered in blood, Li Huowang looked at the remaining renxiao. Though they outnumbered him by hundreds, they hesitated, afraid.

"Forward!" Roaring with killing intent, Li Huowang raised his Zuisui Sword and charged toward the renxiao who vastly outnumbered him.

Without a leader, the rest scattered. When they turned their backs to Li Huowang, what followed was nothing short of slaughter—only differing in how many were killed.

Two hours passed. The entire cavern was nearly cleared. A few escaped, but those that remained were no longer a threat.

The writhing tendrils moved like spiders, dragging Li Huowang toward the lower half of his body that had been left behind.

Li Huowang was exhausted, yet he forced himself to stay alert, gripping his waist as if putting on pants, reassembling his lower body.

The black tendrils writhed into the flesh, forming a bridge between the severed parts.

At first, Li Huowang felt no sensation from his lower half.

Gradually, however, his toes began to move, and the foot that had been pierced by the black triangular flag now felt pain.

The circular talisman on the ground had long since scattered. Li Huowang bent down and pulled out the black flag.

Standing again, Li Huowang surveyed the chaos around him. The place had become a muddy pool of blood, and finding even a patch of clean ground was difficult.

With the enemy eliminated, Li Huowang smiled happily. He realized he now laughed more than ever before—he hadn’t smiled for a long time.

After laughing for a while, he stopped. He lowered his hand and touched his belly.

"Thank you. I underestimated you earlier. You’re far more useful than I imagined."

Then, he heard fragmented voices echoing in his ears. Compared to before, after so much time spent teaching them, though the words were still broken, they could now express simple meanings.

Li Huowang thought he might invest more effort into the Black Tai Sui. For some reason, the one he had swallowed seemed smarter than the ones outside.

This change—was it because it absorbed something from inside his body?

"Could it be that Xin Su’s flesh and blood gave the Black Tai Sui consciousness?"

Li Huowang, whose body was barely intact, pondered idly. His pain was still intense, yet he had somehow grown accustomed to it.

"Be careful. The Black Tai Sui won’t be kind. It entered your body to eventually possess it."

Hong’s voice made Li Huowang’s smile vanish instantly.

"I don’t care! What do you want, you useless chatterbox?"

"What kind of person are you? Can’t tell good from bad?"

Frustrated, Hong flickered slightly and retreated underground.

Li Huowang snorted coldly and began pulling out the Fire Robe True Scripture to heal himself.

It was like learning to walk for the first time—stumbling in the dark, he walked toward the cave where the infant had been.

The old men inside were still there. In such an environment, they couldn’t go anywhere.

"Pick up the children. We’re leaving," Li Huowang commanded coldly.

The remaining elders obeyed without question. No one dared speak ill of him—after all, his Taoist robe was still dripping blood.

They had searched for the Water Son, even if deceived, their basic desire was simply to survive.

Li Huowang nodded. There were thirty-one living infants left. Originally more, but the chaos had affected several cribs.

Staggering forward, Li Huowang carried one child in one arm, leading a group of trembling elders toward the exit.

Just as they were about to leave, the headless body of the renxiao suddenly moved.

Li Huowang immediately threw the child from his arms and drew his copper coin sword with a clang, pointing it at the corpse.

Seeing the renxiao reach into his chest as if to pull something out, Li Huowang waved his hand and instantly severed his arm.

The arm fell from midair, and the bag in his hand spilled out.

A series of black-talismanned longevity pills scattered into the semi-solid bloodwater.

"Longevity pills?" Li Huowang was slightly surprised, poking one with his sword tip.

"What does it mean? Is it trying to buy its own life with these pills?"

At that moment, the renxiao moved again. He raised his other hand, gathered the bloodied pills, and pushed them toward Li Huowang.

After finishing everything, the renxiao’s body went limp and no longer moved.

Li Huowang counted carefully. There were seventy-nine pills here. If he ate them all, it would likely last until he became a renxiao himself.

—Extra Note—

Sorry, I’ve been working on side stories lately and have fallen behind on three pledges. Once the side story is done, I’ll make up for it as soon as possible.