Chapter 438: Funeral Rites

Chapter 438: Foundation

Li Huowang watched the light fade from Zhuge Yuan’s eyes, and his heart felt as though it were being torn apart by a blade.

His mind was in chaos now. He seemed to want to say something, but faced with his dying friend, he could not find the words.

“Brother Li,” Zhuge Yuan said, his voice weak, “the worms inside you are nearly dead—do you really have no worries?”

Looking at Li Huowang’s hollow chest, Zhuge Yuan asked with his last breath.

A grimace twisted across Li Huowang’s face—a smile more sorrowful than tears. He shook his head violently. “Zhuge Brother, do you have any final words for me? As long as you tell me, I will do it!”

As Zhuge Yuan exhaled slowly, his voice grew intermittent. “No... I... I... this body... lived honestly, never... had any regrets...”

The snow that had vanished before began to fall again, gently settling on Zhuge Yuan’s dilated pupils.

Just as Li Huowang stood there, overwhelmed by grief, watching Zhuge Yuan lose all signs of life, an idea suddenly struck him. He rushed forward with excitement. “Zhuge Brother, I’ve just thought of a way! You can still be saved! You can still be saved!”

He spoke while raising his trembling hands, which were veined with veins, and clamped them tightly around Zhuge Yuan’s neck, tightening further and further.

With Zhuge Yuan’s soulless gaze fixed upon him, Li Huowang, exerting every ounce of strength, whispered into his ear in a quivering voice:

“Zhuge Brother, I’ve killed people before! Or rather, those who died beside me! They seemed to become illusions that lingered by my side! Perhaps you can too!”

“If you can turn into an illusion, once I reach the pinnacle of cultivation, I’ll make you solid from nothingness!”

Li Huowang continued, his hands tightening so fiercely that he eventually overexerted himself, twisting Zhuge Yuan’s head clean off.

On his knees, holding Zhuge Yuan’s severed head, Li Huowang looked around blankly. Jinshan, the monk, Hongzhong, Peng Longteng—four illusions appeared exactly as expected, yet Zhuge Yuan did not reappear.

Zhuge Yuan hadn’t transformed into an illusion, meaning he was truly gone.

His pale lips trembled slightly as Li Huowang embraced the head, his upper body gradually arching forward. His left hand, missing two fingers, clenched tightly, slamming hard against the ground.

The compact earth cracked under the impact, blood from his wounds splattering outward.

Yet no matter how much he raged, it was useless. Zhuge Yuan was gone. Gone forever. Tears fell continuously onto the hair of the head in his arms.

Why? Why must everyone kind to him meet such a fate?

Was it the world itself that was wrong? Was it truly true that good people don’t live long, while villains live for millennia?

Suddenly, anger surged within Li Huowang—rage at this chaotic world. It was wrong! This world was flawed! Life should not be like this!

For half a stick of incense time, Li Huowang pounded the ground with his bloodied hands until he could no longer lift them.

The five elements’ time was almost up. If he didn’t resolve this soon, he would die along with Zhuge Yuan.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Li Huowang’s eyes. If that were the case, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. After all, what did he have left to lose?

But then, he suddenly lowered his head and slammed it into the ground. The pain of blood pouring from his skull quickly chased away the suicidal thoughts.

“Zhuge Yuan gave everything to save your life! What right do you have to die?! Do you even deserve him?!”

“If you kill yourself now, Zhuge Yuan becomes a joke! No! You must live! Live like a man!”

Li Huowang banged his head repeatedly, until his forehead bled through to the white bone beneath.

Clutching his teeth, he staggered upright. Li Sui controlled Li Huowang’s original body, walking toward him.

Li Huowang stared at the dimming vision before him, shaking his head hard. Then, he raised his sword and slashed his own forearm. A cut appeared on his arm.

“Stop pretending! Even now, you still want to play tricks, Li Sui! Pull back all your tendrils!”

Upon hearing these words, Li Huowang saw the seemingly drunk Beifeng open his eyes calmly.

“Your body is about to collapse. Switch us back now! I absolutely cannot die—I must live!”

Beifeng, regaining sight, endured the pain and looked at Li Huowang with a faint smirk of disdain. “Why should I?”

“Because five years ago, you owed me a favor on the Mountain of Women! What? Now you want to deny it?”

Hearing this, Beifeng scrutinized Li Huowang from head to toe, then clasped his fists in salute.

“Boss Hongzhong, congratulations on returning. You really played it big this time. I almost thought you wouldn’t come back.”

As his eyes opened slightly, their bodies swapped instantly.

Back in his own body, feeling like a shell of a person, Beifeng grumbled, “Oh my, you’ve ruined my body beyond repair. It’s completely unusable now.”

Then he turned to look at a Jinshi Guard lying on the ground, one leg broken.

With another blink of his eyes, they switched bodies again. Before the guard could adjust to Beifeng’s damaged form, his expression froze, and he collapsed, lifeless.

Beifeng, now in the guard’s body, hopped on one leg toward Li Huowang.

“Boss Hongzhong, why stand here? Let’s go help the Dice Boss and the others. Tsk tsk, take a look over there—they’re nearly beating out the dog brains!”

But after speaking for a while, he received no response. He saw Li Huowang staring with tears streaming down his face at the empty space to his left.

Beifeng reached out hesitantly, but touched nothing.

At that moment, he heard the voice of Boss Hongzhong, trembling with emotion.

“Zhuge Brother, how are you?”

Li Huowang’s heart pounded wildly. He stared in disbelief at the Zhuge Yuan standing before him.

Zhuge Yuan, calm as ever, wore his white robes, held a fan inscribed with “Heaven’s Gift,” and gently fanned himself in front of his chest.

Around him, the other illusions gazed curiously at the newcomer.

Zhuge Yuan’s fan pointed to the others. “Brother Li, may I be introduced to these gentlemen?”

Li Huowang was stunned, speechless, hands trembling. After a long pause, he finally managed to shout, “My God! I succeeded! You really became an illusion!”

It seemed Zhuge Yuan hadn’t appeared earlier because he hadn’t been present in his inner self.

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