Chapter 535: Dharma Sect

Chapter 535: The Daoist Sect

In the moment that Li Huowang stood stunned, he suddenly heard someone calling out to him, “Master! Master!”

The small-footed man from before waddled toward Li Huowang, scrutinizing his face with a flirty smile as he said, “Master, are you leaving already? Stay for a few more nights.”

“What exactly are you all up to?” Li Sui, who had been curious all along, suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, the small-footed man immediately lifted the lid off a nearby pot. Steam rose and dispersed, revealing a stone the size of a watermelon quietly resting in the bubbling broth.

“We’re cooking stone soup! This stuff is very nourishing! Drinking this stone soup not only satisfies hunger but also extends life! And if you keep cooking it until the stone completely dissolves, then drink it... you’ll be able to enjoy the immortal realm and never suffer again in this mortal world!”

“Hm?” Li Huowang frowned, staring at the man in disbelief. After a few heartbeats, he asked again, “What kind of stone soup is this? What nonsense about becoming immortal? You’ve probably been deceived by the Forgetful Dao!”

The small-footed man replaced the pot’s lid and asked with confusion, “Master? What is this Forgetful Dao? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Stop cooking it. Whoever told you that is definitely a fraud. Stones can’t be cooked soft, and drinking stone water won’t make you immortal.”

Li Huowang gave this warning, which was as much kindness as he could offer. He turned to leave through the kitchen area.

But as he walked, Li Huowang noticed a group of men with hostile expressions approaching from across the field of clay pots.

When he saw they were all wearing white headscarves like the small-footed man, his hand instinctively gripped his sword hilt.

Who calls who a fraud?! Say it again if you dare! This is a message directly sent down by the Stone Drought Ancestor himself!

“Stone Drought?” When Li Huowang repeated the word, he realized the entire area was filled with men and women wearing white headscarves—surrounded.

“Clang!” Li Huowang suddenly drew his Purple Ear Sword, and a surge of killing intent spread outward. “Get back!”

Seeing Li Huowang’s fury, the crowd scattered slightly in fear.

But they didn’t retreat far. More people in white headscarves came from the alleys, surrounding him like onlookers at a spectacle.

“Brother Li, hurry! I’ve lived in Great Qi for so long, and I’ve never heard of anything called Stone Drought. These people are strange!”

“Mm!” As Li Huowang opened his mouth, Li Sui, as if understanding his intention, instantly entered his body.

From within Li Huowang’s body, black tendrils emerged. With a sudden flick, they whipped out and sent the clay pots flying, splashing scalding water onto the crowd. Cries of agony echoed around.

“Go!”

Li Huowang kicked off with four of his tendrils, leaping high into the air. He soared over the heads of the mob, flying toward the distant fields.

Just as he neared, a white blur caught his peripheral vision.

In the next instant, two tendrils shot out from under his arms, snapping like whips with sharp cracks in midair.

The sound echoed, and the white figure was flung to the ground, face-first into the dirt.

When Li Huowang saw the large “Wu” character covered in white cloth on the man’s face, his expression darkened.

He had seen such figures in Great Liang—they were black there, white here.

There was no such thing as Stone Drought! This was just another name for the Yu’er God! Those men with white headscarves were none other than the Law Sect of Great Qi!

“Great Qi also has a Law Sect? The disaster has affected both sides.” Zhuge Yuan’s face grew grave, as if recalling something.

The man on the ground was just about to rise when Peng Long Teng, a towering figure, descended from the sky and crashed heavily onto him.

“Crash!” A tremor shook the earth, accompanied by the sound of breaking bones. Dust flew high into the air.

But it wasn’t over yet. Seeing the man dead, the white headscarves near the pots went berserk, tearing stones from the pots with their bare hands and rushing toward Li Huowang.

“We can’t linger here!” Two talismans stuck to Li Huowang’s legs, and his body, leaving behind a trail of shadow, dashed past the city gate.

But just outside the gate, Li Huowang froze. On the vast open ground beyond, countless emaciated, ragged refugees lay sprawled.

No matter how dirty or tattered their clothes, each had a white headscarf tied tightly around their head—these were all followers of the Law Sect!

“I should have known! The harder life gets, the more fertile the soil for these heretical sects! The Law Sect in Great Qi must be far more powerful than in Great Liang!”

“Sisters and brothers! Wake up! That red-robed Daoist killed our shaman!”

With a shout from the city wall, the refugees stirred. They staggered to their feet, turning to look at Li Huowang en masse.

Feeling the weight of their gazes, seeing the endless line of starving refugees, Li Huowang clenched his teeth.

He gripped his Purple Ear Sword in his right hand, then used his left to pull out the massive rib bone sword and slammed it hard into the ground.

At the same time, Li Sui’s tendrils opened Li Huowang’s tool kit. Except for the one holding the copper coin sword, every tendril held a sharpened instrument gleaming with cold light. “Aaaahhh!!” The skeletal refugees, with yellow gums showing beneath their teeth, charged forward like a tide of the dead.

“Li Sui! Attack!” Li Huowang kicked off the ground, charging into the crowd without hesitation.

With a mighty swing of the rib bone sword, the refugees in front fell like cut rice stalks, their bodies spraying blood as they collapsed.

Li Huowang leaped high above the crowd, crashing down with devastating force. Each landing sent a wave of blood and gore flying.

Though the Law Sect was numerous, not one could withstand even a single strike from Li Huowang.

The Purple Ear Sword truly lived up to its reputation as a weapon of war. The more he killed, the stronger he became.

He realized he had misused the sword before—it belonged in battlefields like this.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” With the Purple Ear Sword in hand, Li Huowang’s eyes were red with rage. Everything around him was crimson.

“Ding~!” The Purple Ear Sword slashed down like a blade through mud, cleanly severing a sickle.

But as Li Huowang instinctively aimed at the next obstacle, he suddenly stopped.

It was a woman wrapped in a white headscarf. She stood there, holding a corpse of a baby swarming with flies. Li Huowang could tell she had lost her mind.

She looked at Li Huowang, pulled out a rusted knife from the swaddling cloth, and stabbed it into his chest.

In the next moment, a huge shadow descended from the sky, smashing directly into the woman and crushing her and the baby into muck.

She grabbed them both, wielding living flesh as weapons, and hurled them in all directions, clearing a wide space around herself.

(End of Chapter)