Chapter 577: Prelude

Chapter 577: The Prelude

Outside the eastern gate of the capital city of Liang, the battle between Long Pulse Dice and the Astronomical Bureau had officially begun.

Li Huowang gazed upward at the deluge of black-armored warriors raining down from above. His brows knitted in concentration, he slowly stepped back several paces until he stood at the edge of the city wall.

At the moment the heavily armored iron riders crashed into the wall, Li Huowang gave a slight push with his feet and leapt downward toward the base of the city wall.

Mid-air, gripping the hilt of his spine sword, Li Huowang spun around swiftly and slashed downward with all his might. A rift appeared instantly in Great Qi.

Immediately afterward, Peng Longteng's figure suddenly materialized beside him, grabbing Li Huowang by the arm.

As she hurled him downward, Li Huowang kicked out with both legs and four tentacles, their combined force sending him through the rift like a shadow.

After just a few breaths, when Li Huowang steadied himself on the ground, he found himself in Great Qi, having traveled from Great Liang.

A life-or-death battle raged across Great Liang, while in Great Qi, vast ruins lay empty, devoid of any living soul—a scene of desolation.

Yet something had changed compared to before: the pitch-black solar eclipse had vanished. Though the sun still bore dark patches, no further ominous signs appeared.

Great Qi was still in ruins, but it was far better than the previous state where malevolent forces permeated everything.

"Monk! Look! The emperor of Great Qi has connected with the dragon vein of Great Liang, and now Great Qi is saved! No more deaths for the people of Great Qi! May the Buddha protect us! May the Buddha protect us!" The old monk's face lit up with joy as he clasped his hands in prayer facing eastward.

"The Buddha cannot save us! You should thank Zhuge Yuan!" Li Huowang gripped his sword tightly, quickly traversing the uneven city gates toward the direction where he had seen the dragon flag earlier.

At this point, he had no time to concern himself with what was happening in Great Qi, because if he didn't stop the dice soon, Great Liang would be lost.

To approach the dice from Great Liang would require great effort, but jumping from Great Liang to Great Qi and approaching from there would make things much easier.

"It’s about time. This is it," Li Huowang said quietly after stopping at a spot. Shangguan Yuting's silhouette reappeared before him once again.

Shangguan Yuting emerged from his shadow, glanced around, and nodded slightly. "Good. The Astronomical Bureau is ready. In half an incense stick's time, we'll go."

Li Huowang silently nodded, waiting for time to pass. To him, half an incense stick's duration felt interminably long.

"Can the Astronomical Bureau's method really deal with the dice? If the dice truly becomes... No! I am Xin Su. I must not think such thoughts!"

"Time's up!" With Shangguan Yuting's voice, Li Huowang gripped his spine sword and swung it forcefully. A rift instantly opened, spewing forth limbs and body parts soaked in blood from within—the remnants of soldiers from Great Liang.

Though Great Qi was empty, Great Liang was packed with people.

Without hesitation, Li Huowang thrust his four tentacles and two legs against the ground, dashing straight into the blood-soaked rift.

The instant he appeared, absolute stillness transformed into chaos. War drums and cries of battle echoed in his ears, while the thick aura of malice surrounding him made his blood surge.

"Oh my, isn’t this one of my Right and Left Golden Guards Commanders? Why are you only arriving now? How did your spy mission go?"

Hearing that voice, Li Huowang turned to look beside him, toward the dragon flag beneath which stood Gao Zhijian’s face.

Despite the surrounding soldiers eyeing him warily and the generals and veteran commanders encircling the dice, Li Huowang showed no fear. He took a deep breath and spoke, "Almost done. The Astronomical Bureau plans to use me against you. But since I'm your inside man, they're bound to fail."

With that, under everyone's watchful eyes, Li Huowang slowly approached the dice.

Other soldiers tried to intercept, but were stopped by the dice himself. Facing Li Huowang’s advance, he seemed confident and fearless.

"Come come, you’ve been working hard on this journey. Let me offer you a cup," Gao Zhijian said, raising a cup of wine toward him.

"How could it be hard? Dice Leader, after all, we’re all from the Forgetful Dao, enjoying the art of deception." Li Huowang accepted the wine and drank it down in one gulp.

Upon hearing these words, the commanding officers among the soldiers shifted slightly in expression. That was exactly what Li Huowang intended.

"Haha... With enemies at our doorstep, such jests aren’t appropriate," Li Huowang smiled, then wiped his face with his hand. A red card appeared on his face, his voice becoming teasing yet manic. "Dice Leader, how could this be a joke? We all follow your orders."

In the next moment, as Shangguan Yuting stepped forward to stand before Gao Zhijian, his square face began to gradually transform into the dice.

As a dragon vein, Li Huowang's power couldn't alter him, but the Astronomical Bureau’s illusion technique could deceive all the soldiers present.

If the soldiers of Great Liang wouldn’t listen to him, then the rest would be manageable.

"Heh heh heh, well played. But if you think a few tricks can defeat me, you’re mistaken," Gao Zhijian extended his dragon claw and gently tore at his own face, causing the illusion of the dice to vanish.

"Am I not the Red Card? Dice Leader, who am I then?" Li Huowang asked.

"You are the Forgetful Dao! You are the dice!" As Gao Zhijian pointed at Li Huowang’s face, the Astronomical Bureau appeared behind him, forming the Zhubian Seal with both hands and pressing firmly on the back of Li Huowang’s head. "Now!"

As the seal touched his body, Li Huowang felt something different—Primordial Qi! One wave after another of Primordial Qi!

As a Xin Su, Li Huowang could sense the subtle differences in this Primordial Qi—it wasn’t from the Astronomical Bureau! He couldn’t use it! These were extracted from countless Xin Sus!

A pair of bony hands held a string of Buddhist beads, clapping them shut. A low, strange chant emerged from the red robe. “ꈯꉅꊧꋉꋦ！ꌂꌣ！！ꍚꍵꎍꎤꎿꏙꏵ........”

With the chanting, everything around began to blur. Whether armor or soil, colors started dispersing into the air, making the world appear hazy. The boundary between reality and illusion faded.

Li Huowang felt the Primordial Qi inside him floating like water, light and easily manipulable.

"Huh~ Huh~!" As Li Huowang exhaled and inhaled, everything around him swelled, contracted, twisted, and deformed.

"I am the dice! I am the dice!!" As veins bulged on his temples, his face slowly transformed into that of the dice.

The chanting continued. The Heavenly Observing Bureau looked at Gao Zhijian through the hollow void of his robe, and another voice joined in the chant: "If he is the dice, and there is only one dice in Great Liang, then you are not the dice—you are merely Gao Zhijian!"

Upon hearing those words, the dice’s expression turned confused. "I... I... I... am... am... Gao... Gao... Zhijian?!"

Seeing Gao Zhijian's increasingly uncertain demeanor, he took a step forward, but suddenly the ground collapsed beneath him. Several dice flew past his eyes.

Seeing these dice, Gao Zhijian’s expression immediately calmed. He chuckled softly. "Xuan Pin, you’re quite cunning. Trying to use the powers of a Xin Su to take over my entire existence. Too bad—I am a dragon vein. That trick won’t work."

"But you are impressive indeed. How about we team up? Split the heavenly way equally?"

———

Next chapter update at 00:02

(End of Chapter)