Chapter 434: Stone Slab

Chapter 434: The Stone Tablet

At this moment, Li Huowang, devoid of any sensation of pain, gazed upon the immense vertical pupil before him with no hesitation whatsoever.

He immediately hoisted his own limp body onto his shoulder and then rushed to Zhuge Yuan’s side, lifting him up as well, and dashed backward.

It was far too perilous here—certainly not a place fit for ordinary mortals. He had to take Zhuge Yuan away!

But just as he turned to flee, his body felt as though crushed under the weight of a mountain, weighing a thousand jin, while an invisible force from behind relentlessly pulled him back.

From the vast opening in Li Huowang's chest, writhing tentacles surged out wildly, wrapping around his legs and straining to push him forward inch by inch.

The maggots crawling on his body died swiftly, as if fighting against something unseen.

When half of them had perished, suddenly, Li Huowang’s body relaxed, finally breaking free from that pull.

Regaining his freedom, Li Huowang intended to escape with Zhuge Yuan from this chaotic place when he had taken only a few steps when a sudden burst of fire leapt toward him, nearly singeing his hair.

After retreating several paces, he finally saw clearly the Great Li Emperor, along with his Grand Master and the Celestial Observers.

Clearly, they had unleashed all their power, pulling out every magical artifact at their disposal. Among them, one of the Astronomical Officials held a square stone tablet upright in both hands, performing some incantation.

Li Huowang remembered that stone tablet—it was the one used by Dan Yangzi in his attempt to become immortal. It seemed this man had also obtained one.

“So it’s supposed to be held upside down?” Li Huowang blinked in surprise, but quickly shook his head. Not now! This wasn’t the time to ponder such things!

First, he looked upward in bewilderment at the burning golden tree towering before him, then glanced down at Zhuge Yuan resting on his shoulder. “What’s going on? Where is the Great Qi that should surround you?”

There should have been a ring of Great Qi history constantly surrounding him, but for some unknown reason, it had vanished without a trace.

This was bad news for Li Huowang—he was once again thrown into the heart of battle.

Zhuge Yuan, regaining composure, rolled over and jumped off Li Huowang’s shoulder. His face darkened at what he saw. “Where are we?!”

“This is where we are! This is the Great Li Empire! No matter where we are, let’s just get out of here first!” Li Huowang grabbed his sleeve and dragged him aside, sprinting away.

A wild laugh made Li Huowang look toward the Great Li Emperor standing before the giant tree. As the laughter echoed, the imperial crown before him trembled violently.

The Great Li Emperor waved his hand sharply, pointing toward the distant giant eye. “The Way of Forgetfulness! The Divine Mountain and Ghost Eye have ascended! Your dog-like servants are finished! Perfect opportunity to capture you all!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the golden bricks beneath Li Huowang’s feet began to soften rapidly, flowing toward the great eye behind him.

Not only the bricks, but even the golden palace in the distance followed suit. The gold merged together, gathering swiftly before the terrifyingly radiant giant eye, gradually forming a colossal golden mask.

The mask had ears like beastly appendages, a mouth wide enough to reach the ears, three-layered lips, and a smiling curve at the corners. It bore a striking resemblance to the mask outside the Celestial Observers’ gate.

The only similarity was that the mask outside the gate had two cylindrical eyes protruding skyward in its eye sockets, whereas the mask now forming had an empty left eye socket and a massive vertical pupil embedded in the right.

Li Huowang shuddered involuntarily. He didn’t know what the Great Li Emperor meant by "Divine Mountain and Ghost Eye," but he knew one thing for certain—the big one was coming. The strange chanting sound caused by the disrupted Five Elements returned once more.

As he desperately urged himself to move faster, the writhing maggots inside his chest twisted frantically, entangling themselves into two new legs, giving him even greater speed.

The dice watched the golden mask slowly taking shape and the increasing pressure in the air. Their dots all transformed into sixes.

One of the dice spoke, his tone completely free of worry, even carrying a hint of joy.

“Excellent. You went through so much trouble retrieving the eye of the deceased Star Official after a thousand years. That must’ve cost quite a bit. Well, we’ll gladly take it.”

“Heh! Do you really think I’d believe your lies? No matter what you say, my ten-year plan will not be stopped by you!”

“Lies? Hmph. Maybe not. Guess why we sent four people today? You prepared long, but we prepared longer.”

All four dice spoke the same words in unison, then sat cross-legged again, their voices overlapping once more.

“Master of the Vacuum Marvelous Form, Sovereign of Supreme Primordial Heaven Mother, where golden light shines, sun and moon hide their radiance, when the divine staff spins, ghosts and gods lose their color, revealing divine traces in the mortal world, guarding the holy carriage in Yama…”

Though the voice was not loud, it carried far and farther still.

When it reached the Great Li Emperor, the stone tablet in the Astronomical Official’s hands cracked.

With the crack, a mocking laugh emerged from within the fissure.

“Hahaha! So easy to fool? All fake! Just playing with you! You fool!”

Just as the words faded, the stone tablet shattered into pieces, scattering into a pile of broken tiles and mahjong stones.

“What?! How is this possible?!” The shocked Astronomical Official stared at his shattered tablet when a deep purple light shot from his brow, quickly entering the dots on the dice.

This was only the beginning. As the voice of the Way of Forgetfulness spread further, reaching even the village of Niu Xin.

Gao Zhijian, asleep in his room, heard voices inside and instantly became alert. When he rushed to the side room with a weapon in hand, he found the stone tablet that Li Xian had given him as armor had already cracked open.

If he remembered correctly, this tablet had come from the Qingfeng Monastery, from his master, Dan Yangzi.

“Hahaha! Want to become immortal? You can’t even read a single character, yet you dare dream of immortality? Let me tell you—you’ve been deceived! This path to immortality is a fake!! Hahahaha!!”

———Author’s Note———

Sorry, there will be one more chapter delayed.