Chapter 432: Key

Chapter 432: The Key

At this moment, Li Huowang found himself inside Bei Feng’s body, his expression grave as he stared at the figure trapped within his own form.

The words he had just spoken had stirred something chaotic in his mind. Was it true that the Fate Keeper of the Forgetful Dao not only governed falsehood but also truth?

To escape the illusion of Xin Su, he would have to seek help from the Fate Keeper of the Forgetful Dao—the Doumu Taiyin Taixue?

Yet after a brief moment of confusion, his extensive experience dealing with the Forgetful Dao quickly pulled him back to reality. “No! I don’t believe it! You’re deceiving me! You want me to meet Doumu because you plan to lure me into joining the Forgetful Dao!”

Compared to Bei Feng's earlier nonsense, Li Huowang now felt his own argument was more convincing and logical.

Bei Feng sighed again upon hearing these words. “What’s there to believe or disbelieve? Heaven’s laws are fifty; the Fate Keepers claim forty-three. There are more than just our Doumu Taiyin who possess both yin and yang heavenly principles. Don’t tell me you didn’t know that? Your master truly failed in his duties.”

Though Bei Feng was the one imprisoned, he held the upper hand in the conversation.

Li Huowang frowned deeply at her, as if now, he was the one truly trapped.

“Is this guy pretending to be captured by me so he can feed me false information?”

He disliked this feeling. He needed to regain control. Fortunately, he had a way. A saw stained with dried blood was clutched tightly in his hand as he extended it toward Bei Feng.

With a piercing scream that tore through the air, Li Huowang watched his own body begin to shatter before him. Bei Feng had fainted several times from the pain, yet each time, Li Huowang would rouse her again.

After several rounds, Li Huowang tossed the hook, now stained with pieces of flesh, onto the ground. Then, he asked Bei Feng, each word deliberate: “Now, tell me how to truly escape the illusion!”

Bei Feng, exhausted and weak, spoke in broken sentences, her face twisted in agony. “You want me to say what?! I’m telling the truth!”

Seeing Li Huowang reach for the remaining instruments once more, she quickly changed her tone.

“Wait! If you think it’s all lies and don’t want to cultivate, then let me give you an idea. Why not take my body instead? It has no illusions and is young and strong—far better than your battered frame!”

Hearing this, Li Huowang looked down at his current body, but the more he gazed, the hotter his anger burned. “This damn thing is a woman’s body! I won’t use someone else’s! I only want mine!”

“Come on, what’s the difference between men and women? Aren’t we all people? Why be so rigid? Compared to those tormenting illusions, does it really matter if you're male or female?”

As she mocked him, Li Huowang’s irritation grew. He stopped smiling and stared coldly at Bei Feng. “You’re still lying, aren’t you? All that talk about yin-yang heavenly principles is a lie!”

“You’ve never cultivated any real martial arts! If you had, you could easily wield the innate energy of Xin Su, use falsehood to cultivate truth. When I tortured you earlier, you should’ve already fought back. You’re suppressing the illusion using some other method—not through cultivation!”

Upon hearing this, Bei Feng gave a helpless look. “What exactly are you talking about? Who told you that practicing martial arts makes you powerful? Are you expecting free pies from the heavens? That guy’s a fraud! Don’t trust him!”

Having heard that, Li Huowang decided to stop arguing. Whatever he learned from this man might be false anyway. Continuing to question him would be a waste of breath.

But since this person was Xin Su and could escape the illusion, he must have a solution. He was like a treasure chest, and now that the chest was found, all that was missing was the key to open it.

Li Huowang reached for a wine gourd from his waist and forced it down Bei Feng’s throat, pinching her neck.

“You...” Before she could finish, her head slumped, and her body went limp.

He knew himself well. He understood Li Huowang’s weakness. His senses weren’t just heightened—they were intensified in every way.

And this wine was strong enough to knock him out for a long time, keeping him unconscious and still.

But just as Bei Feng slumped to the ground, her body slowly rose again. Her limbs were twisted oddly, like puppets controlled by invisible strings.

A pair of eyes with double pupils emerged from her navel. Bei Feng was drunk. Now, it was Li Sui who controlled Li Huowang’s body.

For Li Sui, who had already spread her tendrils across Li Huowang’s entire body, taking over was effortless—or perhaps, it was meant to be this way according to the process.

“Sui Sui, follow me!” Li Huowang pulled out the Great Record and other weapons, attaching them to his body, then carefully moved forward along the path.

“Dad, where are we going?”

“We’re going to find Zhuge Yuan! His artifact can suppress Bei Feng and force him to speak the truth. Also, we’ll rescue Zhuge Yuan from the mud pit—he shouldn’t be left alone in this chaos. I don’t feel safe leaving him here.”

When Li Huowang cautiously passed through the golden wall and returned to his previous position, he was stunned by what lay ahead—a swirling flame far off.

The tree had caught fire. The entire golden tree, made entirely of gold, was ablaze. Golden water flowed like tentacles, spreading in all directions.

The once smooth floor of golden bricks had now transformed into jagged rocks. The landscape had completely changed, and the whole area had sunk into a large crater-like depression.

Several heavily armored figures lay scattered inside, suggesting that the soldiers of the Great Li had arrived to protect the emperor during his absence.

Above, the eye in the sky had descended lower. Rolling black clouds, like the brain of a monster, wrapped around the massive eyeball, almost pressing down to the earth!

Looking at the blurred figures in the distance, Li Huowang took a deep breath and rushed toward them.

When he saw Zhuge Yuan calmly wielding his official brush amidst the battlefield chaos, he finally exhaled in relief.

Good. Zhuge Yuan was powerful. Even in such a chaotic battle, he could protect himself.

Moreover, he wasn’t positioned at the center, so pulling him out wouldn’t draw much attention.

Dodging waves of earthfire and thunder, dodging flying tiles and mahjong stones, when Li Huowang reached him, the surrounding chaos instantly cleared. He had entered the state of Qi.

Zhuge Yuan looked at Li Huowang’s face with surprise, raising his official brush as if to point at him. “Bei Feng?!”

(End of Chapter)