Chapter 552: Great Qi

Chapter 552: The Great Qi

In the transformed land of Great Qi, Li Huo Wang followed Zhuge Yuan's guidance as he hurried through the rugged mountain paths, searching for the second Upper Extreme Gully Gate.

This place had once been a mountain, but now it had split in two, turning from a peak into a valley.

On both sides of the broken cliffs, soil spines of varying sizes protruded haphazardly, resembling rows of giants' tusks.

Li Huo Wang had thought he would find it soon, but due to the recent upheaval of heaven and earth, the feng shui of all Great Qi had completely shifted. Thus, Zhuge Yuan needed to re-evaluate the terrain and re-determine the water flow and mountain layout.

Yet one thing brought comfort to Li Huo Wang—without natural disasters, his journey had been relatively easy, with no danger along the way.

"Brother Li, let us rest for a while. The Upper Extreme Gully Gate requires timing, so we must wait an hour."

Upon hearing this, Li Huo Wang sat down under the shade of a tree with Li Sui. He took out some dry rations and devoured them greedily with water from his gourd.

"Dad, I don't like eating this. I want meat," said Li Sui.

"Picky eater? Eat what you have. What's the matter with being so delicate at a time like this?"

As soon as he spoke, Li Huo Wang frowned slightly and looked toward the woods on his left. There was movement there.

When his hand reached for his sword hilt, a little girl with a dusty face and tattered clothes crawled out from the forest.

She seemed only four or five years old, her face covered in dust, with snot and deep tear marks, her flower dress torn apart.

The little girl staggered over to Li Huo Wang, tugging at the tool bag on his lower garment, trying to pull him into the woods.

She lost her grip and stumbled, falling to the ground.

Lying on her stomach, she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, appearing to cry, yet no sound came out—she had long since cried herself hoarse.

Li Huo Wang walked over and helped her up, then followed her into the woods.

The sparse-leafed forest wasn’t large; soon, they arrived at the foot of the mountain under her guidance.

Seeing the little girl dash forward and pull desperately at the silver-wristed arm trapped beneath the mountain, Li Huo Wang immediately understood why she had pulled him here.

It wasn’t just one family—it was clear from the surroundings that this had once been a village.

When the mountain cracked in half, it crushed the entire village, leaving only this little girl alive.

The girl ran back to Li Huo Wang’s side, pointing at the lone arm buried under the mountain, shaking his red Daoist robe with both hands.

A heavy feeling rose in Li Huo Wang’s chest. He had always avoided thinking about such things, avoiding the reality of how much suffering the people of Great Qi endured during these calamities.

But now, seeing this scene unfold before him, he suddenly realized the extent of the human tragedy that had befallen this world of Great Qi.

This was merely a microcosm of the disaster. Far worse and more tragic scenes were undoubtedly common beyond.

Li Huo Wang bent down and picked up the little girl, asking Zhuge Yuan silently in his heart, "Brother Zhuge, can your method still work? Is there hope for Great Qi now...?"

Zhuge Yuan, carrying Li Huo Wang on his back, sighed deeply, saying nothing.

Li Huo Wang glanced down at the little girl in his arms, then set her gently on the ground. Whatever else happened, he would save this one.

Just as she rushed toward the missing arm again, Li Huo Wang gripped his spine bone sword and slashed forcefully, sealing her inside the wide crack.

"Brother Li, it's useless. She is a true citizen of Great Qi, and cannot go to Dai Liang," Zhuge Yuan said coldly, like a bucket of ice water poured over Li Huo Wang's head.

"Why? I can come here, why can't she go to Dai Liang?" Li Huo Wang was unwilling to leave such a living soul behind in this hellish world.

"I've told you before—the real Great Qi exists, while Dai Liang is false. So Dai Liang can come to Great Qi, but Great Qi cannot go to Dai Liang."

Li Huo Wang tightly gripped the spine bone sword and slashed forward, returning to Dai Liang, bringing the little girl back.

But when he returned with her, Li Huo Wang paused, unsure of what to do next.

Find her a good family? In Great Qi, even surviving people were uncertain—would anyone want such a burden?

Follow him? But once he found the Upper Extreme Gully Gate, he would return to Dai Liang.

"It's useless, Hongzhong Da, you can't save her. Just abandon her. There are countless girls like her in Great Qi. You can't save them all," Zuo Wang Dao said from the sidelines.

As soon as he finished speaking, the monk and Jinshan Zhao glared at him threateningly.

"What if... I turn her into a hallucination and keep her with me?" Li Huo Wang was startled by his own idea.

"No! That's too unstable. How could I have such thoughts? If she doesn’t become a hallucination, she’ll die for nothing!"

Finally, it was Zhuge Yuan who offered a solution. "Brother Li, follow my instructions and draw a talisman. Notify my friend to take her away. Perhaps she'll survive."

"You sure your friend is still alive in this situation?" Li Huo Wang asked.

"He is," Zhuge Yuan replied calmly.

"Fine, then I’ll do as you say." Li Huo Wang immediately complied. As the golden-tinted talisman adhered to the little girl’s body, she stopped crying and screaming, becoming motionless like a wooden doll.

Li Huo Wang raised his spine bone sword, cutting a gap in the mountain and placing her inside.

He placed the remaining food and water into the crevice, then looked at the girl trapped in the stone fissure. With a sigh, he turned and sped off, continuing his mission.

This time, the Upper Extreme Gully Gate was found within a cracked temple of the earth god. Originally, it should have been the earth god and goddess, but now they had fused into a grotesque, giant-eyed clay statue.

Though he had found his target, Li Huo Wang couldn’t feel any joy.

"Foot secret changes to secret." Hearing this familiar voice, Li Huo Wang turned to see Shangguan Yuting, who had been following him all along.

"Elder Er, truly impressive. Even in such hidden places, you found it. If I had come alone, I wouldn’t have found it."

Smiling brightly, Shangguan Yuting bowed to Li Huo Wang and gracefully walked toward the Upper Extreme Gully Gate, stepping into its shadow like descending stairs.

Just when Li Huo Wang thought everything was over, the clay statue suddenly cracked—a difference from last time.

From the black shadow where Shangguan Yuting had stepped, a strange, incomprehensible voice emerged:

…….