Chapter 539: Secret

Chapter 539: Secret

Beneath the icy, pitch-black depths of the abyss, two cups of tea passed before Li Huowang’s face turned crimson and began to shift toward a purplish hue.

Yet the descent continued, as if this well had no end.

He glanced anxiously at his companion, Li Sui, who seemed utterly at ease compared to him—showing not the slightest sign of discomfort.

His entire body writhed with tentacles in the water, moving through it like a fish, effortlessly gliding.

“Brother Li, hold on, we’re almost there!” Zhuge Yuan looked around, searching the darkness for something.

Just as Li Huowang was about to lose consciousness from lack of breath, a temple swaying gently with the ripples appeared to his left.

“It’s right there!”

Li Sui wrapped his arms around Li Huowang, and his tentacles pushed backward simultaneously, propelling them swiftly toward the temple.

When Li Huowang crashed into the structure, the whole edifice trembled apart, revealing a black hole before him.

He discarded the stone he held and dove into the void. In the next moment, he emerged from a spring, gasping for air, breathing heavily. The cave was an inverted hollow space filled with air.

“Cough cough~!” Li Huowang coughed up the springwater, swam to the edge, and crawled out.

Not even taking a moment to rest, soaked through, he raised his luminescent stone and surveyed the cavern.

But all he saw now was a gray, dull rock wall.

“Brother Li, turn around.”

Li Huowang spun instantly and saw the ripples of the pond from which he had emerged, gradually forming his own reflection.

“That’s not my reflection!” A chill ran down Li Huowang’s neck, and he thought to himself.

Though dressed in a red Daoist robe and wearing a copper coin mask, the figure in the water had an odd coloration. If forced to describe it, it would be like a human-shaped Tang Sancai.

“Throw a stone in,” Li Huowang instructed.

As the ripples rippled again, a “crack” echoed. The figure in the water split from the brow line, cracks spreading across its body. A third eye emerged from the center of the brow.

“Is this the Upper Extreme Gullet?” Li Huowang marveled inwardly.

Before he could speak, the third eye spoke to him. “Enough secrets for one secret.”

“Enough secrets to exchange for another,” Li Huowang understood immediately.

The Upper Extreme Gullet needed nothing else—it only required more secrets. As long as there were enough, it could trade for any secret, even the whereabouts of the dice!

In Great Qi, there was no taboo. Li Huowang declared boldly, “I am Xin Su!”

Upon hearing this, the fissures on the Upper Extreme Gullet healed slightly—but still did not close completely.

“There’s hope!” Li Huowang’s spirits lifted. He continued, “I’m not from this world—I’ve traveled here!”

But once again, the cracks remained unchanged. The third eye stared at him with a strange expression.

“What? This doesn’t count as a secret?” Just as Li Huowang blurted out, Zhuge Yuan approached.

“Brother Li, don’t panic. Let me handle this.”

Li Huowang looked at him with a complex expression. “I already owed you so many favors. Now that you’re gone, I owe you even more. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“Brother Li, you’re being too formal. Do you think our brotherhood pact was fake?”

Hearing this, Li Huowang didn’t waste time. He decided to risk everything to make Zhuge Yuan truly real.

“No need, Brother Li. Just transform this fan into truth. I borrowed some blood from General Peng’s neck and have already written it,” Zhuge Yuan said, offering the fan to Li Huowang.

“Just a fan?” Li Huowang was surprised but complied immediately.

What surprised him most was that merely transforming a fan into reality nearly exhausted all of his strength.

As Zhuge Yuan’s folding fan turned real and fell to the ground, sweat beaded on Li Huowang’s forehead as he bent to pick it up.

Looking at the closed fan in his hand, a thought arose uncontrollably in his mind—what kind of secret required such effort?

Thinking of this, Li Huowang opened just one fold. He glimpsed a large character on the first line, then a “Si” character on the second line, when Zhuge Yuan quickly shouted, “Brother Li! Don’t look!”

Seeing Li Huowang’s gaze, Zhuge Yuan sighed with relief and said, “Brother Li, it’s not that I won’t let you see—it’s because matters concerning the Si Command are entangled with karma.”

“So even the secret of Si Command has such power?” Astonished, Li Huowang quickly closed the fan, unwilling to see more. He already had enough trouble—he didn’t want to add more.

As Li Huowang tossed the fan into the water, the cracks in the Upper Extreme Gullet rapidly sealed.

Once all the fissures had healed, everything returned to calm. His true reflection reappeared in the water, except now, the figure in the water bore an extra eye on its forehead.

“Brother Li, if you ever wish to know where the dice is, take that eye from the water and place it on your brow.”

“Is this the secret the Upper Extreme Gullet gave me?” Li Huowang couldn’t help but feel excitement. At last, he finally had a card to use against the dice!

Though it wasn’t enough yet, for the first time, hope flickered within him.

“Come, Li Sui, let’s get out of the water first!” Li Huowang eagerly dove back in.

Though he could return to Daliang directly using the Spine Sword, who knew what lay so deep beneath—what if it was all solid earth and he’d be buried alive?

A splash. The icy, bone-chilling waters once again engulfed Li Huowang. He took a deep breath and dove in with Li Sui.

All he could think of now was how to use this hard-won card to defeat the dice.

“First, I’ve found the dice’s location. Next, I must seek allies capable of defeating it—people who can stand against the dice.”

“Of course, the highest authority of the Celestial Observing Bureau—the Chief Astronomer. But will he believe me if I say I know the true form of the dice?”

“Oh yes, there’s also the National Master! Those who fought the four dice all had grudges with them.”

As Li Huowang pondered this, a white blur passed before his eyes.

“What the hell is that!” Instinctively gripping his sword hilt, he turned to look at the white thing—and realized it was the very fan he had thrown into the water. And now, it was fully open, facing him!