Chapter 476: Rebellion

Chapter 476: The Counterattack

With the flint scraping against steel, sparks danced and alighted upon Li Huowang's skin.

Boom—accompanied by excruciating pain that nearly sent him into unconsciousness—Li Huowang’s entire body ignited in an instant.

The searing heat distorted the very air around him, his body blackening rapidly from the flames.

Yet when he saw the nine-colored deer before him spouting black smoke, Li Huowang, whose mouth lacked lips, gave a chilling smile and charged forward.

When the burning figure of Li Huowang crashed into the heap of flesh and blood, it exploded into flames, enveloped in roaring fire.

Watching the flesh twist and char under the blaze, Li Huowang felt a brief relief. He had made the right choice not to turn his skin into a life-saving talisman before coming here.

But gradually, as the writhing mass stopped moving altogether, something felt wrong.

He rushed into the inferno, raised his purple-sheathed sword, and slashed down heavily upon the charred remains, turning them inside out—but found nothing he sought.

"It escaped!" Li Huowang's face darkened with fury. This spirit-evil was far more cunning than he had imagined.

"I’ll see how far you run!!" Surveying his surroundings, Li Huowang crouched and pressed his palm onto the dry grass and wood beneath him. Soon, flames spread outward like living things, crawling up the peach trees surrounding him.

Like a contagious plague, each peach tree caught fire. Soon, this place became a sea of flames.

Standing amidst the fire, Li Huowang scanned all directions for anything unusual—but nothing happened. The spirit-evil did not emerge from the blaze. It was even harder to deal with than he'd thought.

"What now? If it escapes again, finding it will be no small trouble," Li Huowang pondered briefly before preparing to cast a hex on it.

But just as he drew a cut across his own hand with his sword, he noticed a flame on his wrist suddenly came alive and burrowed directly into his wound.

"Oh no! That spirit-evil has attached itself to the fire!" Only now did Li Huowang realize what had happened—but it seemed too late.

The flames on his body and those surrounding the peach trees instantly died out, and his body began to collapse like the nine-colored deer earlier, flesh, bone, skin, and hair separating piece by piece, dissolving into a puddle.

Every shred of torn flesh brought real agony to Li Huowang. The sensation of being melted and torn was torture enough to drive one to death.

Yet at this moment, even dying was beyond him—he could barely hold onto his own consciousness, as if the spirit-evil was taking control!

He could feel its malice—an absolute, pure evil that permeated every fiber of existence, filled with hatred and disgust for everything in the world, constantly trying to corrupt his mind.

This spirit-evil didn’t seem like a living creature—it was the embodiment of sin itself! Even the worst among men still harbored some good!

As half his face fell to the ground, Li Huowang gritted his teeth and clenched both fists tightly. “My body is healthy! There’s nothing evil inside me!”

In a fleeting moment of clarity, his melting form returned to normal—and even the skin sacrificed to Ba Hui reappeared.

But Li Huowang knew it was only an illusion. He couldn’t possibly fool anyone with such a trick!

Taking advantage of this brief respite, Li Huowang sprinted toward the edge of the peach grove.

When he saw the carriage again, his body collapsed like tofu, crumbling apart. Just before his head separated from his body, he shouted toward the direction of the carriage:

"Li Sui! Something’s inside me! Help me get it out!"

As soon as the words left his lips, Li Huowang’s body transformed into a writhing mass of blood and flesh, dragging itself deeper into the peach forest.

A rapid *tap-tap-tap* echoed through the air. The spirit-evil controlled Li Huowang’s eyes, turning them toward the sound—and there, a blood-soaked dog without skin, crawling on all fours, rushed toward him.

"Dad, I’m coming!!" In midair, Li Sui’s body shattered, his flesh and tentacles forming a mass that slammed hard into Li Huowang’s flesh.

Two masses of flesh entwined, twisting into a grotesque, tentacled blob that rolled violently through the blazing peach grove.

Li Huowang’s face and Li Sui’s face occasionally surfaced within the mass, only to vanish again. The flesh shifted between human forms and pools of gore, unstable and chaotic.

The spirit-evil seemed intent on possessing Li Sui’s body too—but it wasn’t easy. After all, Hei Tai Sui, the malevolent entity, was born for possession. And Li Huowang, who had fought hard to regain control, stood in its way.

Faced with a two-on-one situation, the spirit-evil eventually retreated. When Li Huowang’s body reformed into a large fat man, his belly burst open, and something emerged.

Li Huowang tried to find it, but couldn’t see where it was. All he could see were footprints in the ash and grass, vanishing quickly around a distant corner.

That spirit-evil would never be seen by someone burdened with ten emotions and eight sufferings.

"Dad, are you alright?" When Li Sui crawled out from within Li Huowang’s belly, his bloated body finally returned to normal.

Though his organs were a mess and some parts had been stitched incorrectly, at least his body was truly his own again.

Looking at the strange footprints left behind in the ash, Li Huowang clutched his abdominal wound, eyes filled with hatred. He had endured so many trials—and almost fallen victim here.

Then, enduring the pain of his skin, he followed the footprints deeper into the forest.

"Li Sui, wait outside. If I shout, come rushing in! Otherwise, stay near Miao Miao!"

This time, Li Huowang slowed his pace, moving cautiously through the burning forest.

He remained fully alert, listening intently to every sound. Since he couldn’t see, he would rely on his ears!

This thing was far more cunning than he’d imagined. He needed to strike decisively.

Suddenly, Li Huowang heard faint rustling sounds—coming from behind.

Rather than reacting immediately, he walked slowly forward. When he spotted a hollow tree trunk that allowed passage from both sides, he bent low and slipped inside, pretending to search.

Behind him, the ash and grass revealed two strange footprints. The creature moved swiftly, creeping closer to Li Huowang’s feet, ready to slip into the crack in the flesh.

But once inside, the spirit-evil realized something was off—the person’s body was only half there; the upper half, including the head, was gone.

"Heh... finally caught you. Didn’t expect me to use my lower half as bait, did you?"

(End of Chapter)