Chapter 65: I Told You to Beat!

Chapter 65: I Told You to Beat That Drum!

Seeing Li Huowang under attack, a Wandering Lord from afar swiftly flew back, hurling itself fiercely at the Ershen.

Yet this time, the entity that had always been incorporeal in the past met a tough nut to crack; the Wandering Lord slammed hard into the Ershen, but instead of burrowing inside, it was violently repelled.

"Aargh!!" A rough, guttural roar erupted as a thick wooden club swung through the air, grazing Li Huowang's face before smashing brutally into the Ershen's skull.

With a sickening tear of flesh, the Ershen was sent flying, but a massive chunk of meat was also ripped from Li Huowang's shoulder in the process.

The searing agony nearly made Li Huowang black out, but he had no time to dwell on it; he pulled out two vials and shoved them into Gouwa, who was trying to help him up.

"One is poison, the other is a knockout drug. Smear them both on your blades and help me pin this thing down."

He couldn't afford to fight a two-front battle; he had to delegate one side.

Watching the Ershen, with half its skull blown off, still struggling to rise, Gouwa clutched his own head, his legs visibly trembling. "Senior Brother Li, are you sure this stuff will work on that monster?"

Just then, Xiaoman snatched the two vials without a word, gritted his teeth, steeled his heart, and charged forward with his blade. "Whether it works or not, we'll use it first!!"

Li Huowang knew this was pushing them too hard, but he couldn't worry about that now; if he didn't eliminate Li Zhi, the immortals would only keep multiplying.

In the distance, three Wandering Lords circled Li Zhi endlessly, but every time they tried to close in, some invisible force thwarted them.

Seeing Li Huowang striding toward him, Li Zhi tugged at his own belly and continued his fervent chanting.

"When the Old Immortal descends, don't forget the three treasures, three treasures oh treasures three, the immortal-locking chain, the immortal-binding rope, and the soul-snaring bottle strapped behind the saddle. Throw the three treasures upon the disciple, if the grip is loose then kick them hard, if the bind is slack then stomp them down~~"

Finishing his chant, Li Zhi raised the short whip used for drumming and lashed it fiercely toward Li Huowang.

Though nothing visible materialized, the Wandering Lords clearly sensed something.

One cluster of Wandering Lords swiftly flew back, shielding Li Huowang.

A moment later, with a sharp crack, the Wandering Lord formed of myriad threads exploded into scattered fragments.

Li Zhi slashed forcefully in their direction once more; had it struck, it would have surely met the same fate as the Wandering Lord.

In the nick of time, Li Huowang swiftly reached behind his back and thrust the heavenly book in front of himself as a shield.

With a resounding clang, Li Huowang felt his hand go numb. "Blocked it! This heavenly book is truly tough!"

And so, holding the book as a shield in one hand and shaking his bell in the other, he gritted his teeth and advanced rapidly toward Li Zhi.

With a violent shake of his head, the number of Wandering Lords around him instantly doubled.

"Rend and sever!" At Li Huowang's command, the doubled host of Wandering Lords swarmed Li Zhi from every direction.

Li Zhi was struggling to hold his ground, but Li Huowang was faring no better.

Overwhelmed by the sheer multitude of Wandering Lords, a violent wave of nausea washed over him, his body instinctively urging him to vomit.

Now it was a contest of who would break first.

Amidst the chaos, Li Huowang suddenly realized that in this state, he could see the immortals obstructing the Wandering Lords.

These transparent entities, resembling wisps of white smoke, took on a myriad of bizarre forms.

Human, beast, or half-human half-beast, they shifted and morphed constantly as time ticked by.

Every element composing their bodies trembled in rhythm with Li Zhi's drumbeats.

They were like an open book; the instant he laid eyes on their forms, Li Huowang understood them completely.

There were countless immortals, omnipresent, like a legion of beings forever ethereal and forever invisible.

If they wished to interact with reality, they had to manifest through a specific melody; the drumbeat was the condition for their emergence.

"The drumbeat!" Snapping back to his senses, Li Huowang gritted his teeth and charged onward, shaking the Daoist bell in his hand with ever-increasing fervor.

As he drew closer, the chiming of the bell gradually drowned out the drum, and the Wandering Lords began to break through the defenses.

Seeing the situation turn dire, Li Zhi's expression hardened; he opened his mouth wide, the corners of his lips tearing instantly. A crimson tongue slithered out like a snake's forked flicker.

His voice shifted, transforming into a mournful, tragic wail. "Mist~ and clouds~ ah~~"

As the words left his lips, a fierce gale erupted all around, and the drumbeats once again overpowered the bell's chime.

A faint, feminine whisper murmured in Li Huowang's ear, and everything before his eyes began to twist and warp rapidly.

Gradually, the wind, the drums, the bells, and all surrounding sounds were replaced by other noises.

Voices conversing, the clicking of a Rubik's cube, the clack of leather shoes, the chime of a mobile phone notification.

When he came to his senses, he found himself in a blue-and-white striped patient gown, being supported by someone as he strolled through the courtyard of the psychiatric hospital.

"This is all fake! It's all an illusion!"

Li Huowang jerked his head up and scanned his surroundings, instantly spotting Old Liu in the distance, being helped toward the gate by his daughter, at the exact same distance he had just been from Li Zhi.

"Huowang, what's wrong?"

Li Huowang suddenly let out a hideous, cold sneer; if this bastard thought he could fool him with illusions, he had miscalculated badly. He might be lacking in other areas, but illusions were utterly useless against him.

Shaking off the hand supporting him, he planted his right foot firmly on the garden steps and lunged toward Old Liu in the distance.

The distant conversation gradually drifted into Li Huowang's ears. "Doctor, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, my father wouldn't have recovered this quickly."

"Hehe, not at all, it's simply our duty as doctors. Master Liu, remember to take your medicine on time once you're back home."

"Will do, will do."

"Li Zhi!" Li Huowang's roar made everyone instinctively turn around, including Old Liu, who had specially changed into a fresh outfit for his discharge.

"Thwack!" Li Huowang's fist landed solidly on Old Liu's jaw, sending a set of dentures spinning through the air, slick with blood.

The next second, the illusion rapidly faded, and Li Huowang saw Li Zhi right in front of him, his head thrown back from the blow, blood streaming from his nose.

The surrounding immortals still attempted to intervene, but they were all held at bay by the six Wandering Lords.

"I told you to beat that drum!"

With a sharp shing, the long sword was drawn and thrust forward with all his might.

The exceedingly sharp tip severed Li Zhi's fingers, pierced through his flayed flesh, and drove deep into the very center of his abdomen.

This single strike silenced both the drum and the bell; the immortals and Wandering Lords gradually dissipated, and a profound quiet reclaimed the surroundings.

Li Zhi stared in shock at his endlessly bleeding abdomen, slowly staggered back two steps, and collapsed to the ground.

Panting heavily, Li Huowang glanced twice at the dying Li Zhi, then turned to look behind him, finding that the Ershen, still entangled with the others in the distance, had now fallen apart.

"Hehe, Daoist Li, my apologies..."

(End of Chapter)