Chapter 503: Dice

Chapter 503: The Dice

“This… this is impossible!!” Li Huowang stepped back in shock, staring at the figure before him—Zhu Ge Yuan.

The spine sword that had once been his was now utterly transformed. Twisted flesh and malformed organs intertwined from the spine like the growth of some grotesque plant. It had not fully formed into a human shape; instead, it had grown only a jumbled mass of misaligned, blood-soaked organs, abruptly halting mid-growth without skin or semblance of humanity.

Though its appearance was terrifying beyond words, Li Huowang was absolutely certain that it was still alive! Zhu Ge Yuan was still alive!

“How can you still be alive? You were dead! I strangled you with my own hands! Your soul has already been trapped within my illusion!”

From the midst of the flesh emerged half of Zhu Ge Yuan’s body. His left hand, now nothing but bone, wriggled out from the gore, and with a bony finger, he brushed away strands of hair matted with blood clinging to his temple.

“Brother Li, what are you talking about? I am Xin Pan. Even if I were dead, my three souls and seven spirits, my ten emotions and eight sufferings, belong to the old body. How could you possibly take them?”

These words made Li Huowang stagger backward, his face turning ashen. He nearly collapsed from the shock.

“So… so they were all nothing at all?”

As soon as these words left his lips, fragments of memory began shifting in his mind.

In a daze, Li Huowang realized that when he had escaped the immortal sect, the two deities hadn’t sacrificed themselves. Instead, he had come up with a perfect solution.

He had killed them himself, making them just like Zhu Ge Yuan—part of his illusions! Once he achieved mastery in cultivation, he would bring them back into reality through the power of illusion.

The two deities agreed—and she had smiled as he killed her!

“Dice Lord, now I realize… all my illusions were false. The truth is, they were nothing more than illusions. The two deities never lived—they were just figments of my imagination.”

Behind the chaotic stall selling snacks, Li Huowang sat on a stool, eyes hollow with deathly resolve, repeating the words numbly.

“What do you expect me to do? Hongzhong, you’ve already killed her. Even if I wanted to help, I’m no god.”

The fat man frying dough sticks, Dice, spoke with resignation.

“I don’t ask you to bring her back to life. I just want you to erase the memories of what I did. You’re good at weaving lies and illusions together—you know that. Please. I can’t bear to face the illusion of the two deities I killed with my own hands.”

“She’s fake! But why does she feel so real?! Every moment, I’m tormented!”

“Alright, fine. We’re fellow disciples. I’ll help you this one time. You owe me a big favor now. Don’t forget to repay it.”

When Li Huowang awoke from that altered memory, his fists clenched tightly, his face twisted in fury as he shouted:

“No! This is impossible! All of it is a lie!”

“Senior Brother Li, what’s wrong with you? Pull yourself together,” Bai Lingmiao said, tears brimming in her eyes, reaching out to support him.

Seeing Bai Lingmiao before him, Li Huowang grasped her slender arms, shaking them violently.

“Lingmiao! You were there too! Tell me! What happened to the two deities? Did I really kill her?!”

“Senior Brother Li, what are you talking about? Didn’t the two deities disappear with the immortals? What’s going on here?”

Hearing this, Li Huowang laughed. Yes, this was a lie! It didn’t matter that he had remembered incorrectly—could Bai Lingmiao also be mistaken?

Just then, he was stunned to see Bai Lingmiao’s body becoming transparent at an alarming rate.

“LINGMIAO!!!” Li Huowang screamed, throwing his arms out, only to embrace empty air, his body passing right through hers.

“Senior Brother Li, what—” Bai Lingmiao looked down in bewilderment at her translucent form, and in the next instant, she vanished completely.

“LINGMIAO!!!”

“Hongzhong, don’t blame me. You didn’t repay the favor first. So naturally, I won’t help you with your request,” Dice said with a smile, walking over and patting Li Huowang’s shoulder with his greasy hand.

“Where’s Lingmiao?! Where did you put Bai Lingmiao?!”

Li Huowang’s eyes were red with rage, staring at Dice like a beast.

“Hey, don’t blame me for this. I said you didn’t repay me. As for that woman, I have no idea where you lost her or how you managed to conjure a real one from somewhere else,” Dice waved his hands in protest.

“What did I say earlier? Cultivation without mastering the illusory leads to madness. If a living person stands before you, how do you tell if they’re real or just brought back by illusion? Hmm? Hmm? Think about it.”

“Hehehe… but that’s all small stuff. Help me with something. If you help me place that little emperor on the throne, I’ll get that woman back for you.”

“It’s all because of you! It’s all because of you!!” Li Huowang tore at his back, flinging the blood-soaked *Great Record* onto the ground.

Then, gripping two barbed iron hooks in both hands, he drove them deep into his abdomen!

As intestines were dragged out and stabbed into the *Great Record*, the sky darkened, and everyone around felt their senses sharpening.

“Oh no, what are you doing? Are you trying to climb the ladder of death even against your own master?” Dice took a step back, unafraid.

But as the piercing gaze of Ba Hui fell upon him—clearer than ever before—Li Huowang stopped.

As the *Great Record* on the ground fully transformed into a human skin, and Ba Hui’s gaze faded, Li Huowang knelt on one knee, gasping for breath as the pain slowly subsided.

This time was different from before. The ladder of death had no effect on Dice—he wasn’t even present. The fat man before him was merely a pawn in his game.

Since Lingmiao was now in his hands, Li Huowang couldn’t act rashly. With Dice holding all the cards, recklessly playing would only make things worse—especially when playing against Dice.

Li Huowang gritted his teeth, trembling as he pushed the intestines back into his body.

“Dice! You told me to return to Shangjing, right? Fine! I’ll support Ji Lin to ascend the throne! And you bring Bai Lingmiao back whole, hair intact!”

“If you truly let Ji Lin become emperor, I’ll find the girl with white hair for you. But Hongzhong, let me be clear—I didn’t kidnap her. We are the School of Forgetfulness. Doing something as foolish as kidnapping would disgrace our founder!”

Li Huowang sneered inwardly. He didn’t believe a word of it.

This entire thing was Dice’s trap! That strange encounter with the Spine Sword-wielding Guardian of Heaven—probably orchestrated by him—to trick Li Huowang into believing he owed him a favor!

No! This might have started even earlier. Perhaps during the Shangsi Festival, when he accidentally witnessed Ji Lin being deceived—it was all his doing!

That was Dice’s way—Dice of the School of Forgetfulness!

(End of Chapter)