Chapter 601: Wooden Boat

Chapter 601: Wooden Boat

Just after the New Year, the weather was still bitterly cold, and the sea water was even more freezing to the bone.

But this kind of chill meant nothing to Li Huowang, who had seen countless battles.

Beneath a bustling wooden dock where voices echoed, Li Huowang's body twisted in an unnatural way. He placed his colorful ethereal form underwater, then carefully extended his transparent physical self above the waves, gazing toward a distant target.

There stood a wooden boat—though one might call it a "ship" rather than a "boat," because this vessel was enormous, larger than any warship he had ever seen on Xing Island.

Its massive head resembled that of a fat-headed fish, resting upon the water’s surface, its entire hull a uniform wooden yellow that gave it the imposing presence of a mountain.

“Hustling and bustling, but I finally caught up with you! Hmph! You thought you could escape? You were going to flee from Dayliang at the first sign of trouble, didn’t you? Not so easy!”

“You owe me for ambushing me alongside Huangfu Tiangang! Li Sui, let’s go!”

Li Sui’s tentacles emerged from Li Huowang’s wound, flailing rapidly through the seawater as they propelled him swiftly toward the strange flat-bottomed giant ship.

Though Li Huowang had lost three limbs, his body was now supported by Li Sui’s peeled dog paws and black tentacles, which replaced them. His remaining hand, reduced to just one finger, was also supplanted by tentacles.

Li Huowang was certain: whatever was attached to him was his own, and thus he could use her limbs as freely and skillfully as his own.

He had hesitated whether to rush so urgently, but now he was glad he had left Huangfu Tiangang’s side without delay and came straight here. If he had waited until his limbs fully healed, this massive vessel would have long since vanished beyond sight.

Li Sui was excellent at swimming, moving effortlessly through the water like a fish in its element.

Soon, Li Huowang’s hand touched the wooden hull. But instead of acting immediately, he waited quietly for nightfall, when stealth would be easier.

Now that he had found the ship, Li Huowang no longer feared it would sail away.

Time passed slowly. As the sun began to set, the sky gradually darkened.

When the lights on the distant dock faded away, Li Huowang’s black tentacles, extending from his limbs, clung tightly to the hull with suction cups, pulling him upward quickly.

With only one finger resting on the ship’s rail, Li Huowang cautiously extended his invisible head from its hidden position.

The bow was huge, and the front deck looked at least as large as a playground. Yet despite such space, not a soul was to be seen. Only a massive cauldron at the bow held three towering incense sticks burning slowly.

Three columns of white smoke rose into the darkness.

Before the cauldron lay offerings: pig heads, ox heads, sheep heads, along with candles, yellow paper, and gold ingots.

“Father, what are they worshipping?”

“Don’t worry about that. Our goal is to find Doumu’s Heart Coil and kill him. Everything else can wait.”

Li Huowang dragged his broken body toward the wooden cabin door.

His five senses were heightened to their maximum, attuned to every movement around him. Should he be discovered, he would charge in force.

Yet when he carefully opened the door, surprisingly, nothing happened.

“What trickery is this? Could it be that the Heart Coil truly cannot see me?” Li Huowang pondered, pressing his back against the wall as he slowly entered the cabin.

The interior was far larger than he had imagined, and much more cramped. It was filled with cluttered items, and the walls were lined with densely carved wooden architectural scenes, like a three-dimensional version of *Along the River During the Qingming Festival* hanging on the walls.

Tiles, pine trees, sleeves, donkeys, horses, cow dung—all were carved with such realism.

Li Huowang, now fully alert, slowly reached behind him and gripped the hilt of the spine sword on his back.

But the moment his fingers touched the hilt, everything on the wall suddenly came alive. The tiny figures crowded to the windows, peering curiously at him with their fingers.

“These things can see me!” Li Huowang’s body flickered slightly, appearing a zhang away. There was no time to argue with these illusions—he rushed forward.

“Bang!” Peng Longteng, tall and powerful, crashed beside him, raising his armored fist to strike at the wooden carvings on the wall.

But after a few blows, Peng Longteng froze in place, his entire body turning into wood grain.

“What exactly are these things?!” Li Huowang gripped the spine sword tightly and slashed at the wall. A crack flew out, sending a large section of the wooden carving flying into the Great Qi Empire.

But as soon as the wooden wall was sliced open, a hollow eye socket full of eyes of various sizes suddenly appeared from within. Those eyes sent chills down Li Huowang’s spine.

As the path ahead narrowed further, Li Huowang thrust the Zuisui Sword into the ground and drew a circle with it before leaping down.

The next level was far darker than he had imagined, nearly pitch-black.

Li Huowang pulled out a piece of pale green glowing stone, and instantly, a grinning, collapsed face appeared before him.

His sword, already raised to strike, halted mid-air. Li Huowang stepped back slightly, finally seeing clearly the full figure of the three-meter-tall entity.

If he remembered correctly, this was one of the Eight Immortals—the Iron-Cane Li. More precisely, it was a root-carved statue of Iron-Cane Li.

It wasn’t carved to resemble a human, but rather shaped according to the natural twists and turns of the tree root.

All the knots and swellings were preserved, seamlessly integrated into the body of Iron-Cane Li.

This version of Iron-Cane Li had no legs; instead, his lower body was made of twisted, knotted roots, giving him an awkward, grotesque appearance.

After confirming that the statue was merely a static carving, Li Huowang slowly backed away. But just a few steps in, he sensed someone watching him from behind.

Li Huowang spun around quickly and saw another of the Eight Immortals—Lu Dongbin. He too was a root-carved statue, but this one was made from a worm-eaten tree root.

Lu Dongbin looked identical to Iron-Cane Li, except he was hollow inside, his cavity filled with holes of varying sizes left by insects.

Li Huowang stopped walking. From his pouch, he pulled out all the fluorescent stones he had brought from Qingfeng Monastery and threw them around.

In an instant, other bizarrely posed figures of the Eight Immortals appeared before him.

——

Next chapter update at 11:30 PM

(End of Chapter)