Chapter 695: New

Chapter 695: The New

Following the fissure that Li Huowang had squeezed open, everyone burst forth from within. When they felt the sudden vastness surrounding them, each face lit up with genuine joy. They had escaped!

It seemed the earth dragon hadn't remained underground but had emerged onto the surface. It was dark here, empty and desolate, as if the calamity had yet to pass.

Above them hovered Yu'er’s divine presence. Li Huowang didn’t dare raise his eyes. He could not tell where he was now, but one thing was certain—this place was definitely not Yunze.

“Aaaah!” A scream pierced the air. Li Huowang turned his head and saw some people being dragged into the void by the sinister creature that had spilled out from the crack.

"Quickly! Quickly! Our worms are still multiplying inside us, and the earth dragon is still affecting us!"

Hearing this, Li Huowang grabbed Bai Lingmiao and led the others away from the fissure on the belly of the earth dragon.

They walked fast, quickly leaving the sinister creatures behind. Their expressions improved considerably.

As they continued walking, Li Huowang suddenly stopped, staring blankly at a figure shrouded in darkness far ahead.

The figure wore a soiled blue-green Daoist robe, with hair tied back and a crown upon his head. White hair framed his temples, and in his protruding jaw, a few yellow teeth were exposed against the air.

"Hehehe... child, you did well! You did well!!"

"Get lost!" Without knowing what exactly the Dan Yangzi was, Li Huowang roared and drew his spine sword, hurling it toward the figure.

The blade flew through the air, striking the Dan Yangzi. The creature dissolved silently, leaving nothing behind.

"Li... Senior Brother, Li Senior Brother? What's wrong?" Bai Lingmiao looked at him with worry.

"What? You didn't see that Dan Yangzi just now?!"

"Senior Brother Li, there was no Dan Yangzi at all! What's going on with you? Didn't you say your illness was cured?" Bai Lingmiao gripped Li Huowang's hand anxiously.

"Bai Lingmiao can't see it? Only I can see it. Could it be that I'm..."

Thinking of this, Li Huowang suddenly turned to the monk beside him. "Monk! Did you see it? That old Taoist with the bald head!"

Before the monk could answer, voices from the crowd interrupted him.

"Li Huowang! What madness are you in?" Zheng Boqiao, frantic, approached, eyeing the three heads. "Come on, let's go! This earth dragon is extremely malevolent! We haven't removed the worms from our bodies yet!"

"Dad, the worms in my stomach are growing more and more..." Li Sui's voice carried a note of grievance.

Li Huowang glanced once more at the spot where the Dan Yangzi had vanished before continuing forward, ignoring whatever strange thing was happening in his mind.

Compared to his current crisis, the hallucinations of the Dan Yangzi, which had occurred several times already, weren’t worth wasting time over now.

Everyone ran swiftly, trying to distance themselves from the earth dragon to reduce its influence on their bodies.

After running for half a stick of incense, Li Huowang spotted an unexpected figure nearby.

"Hehehe~ Hongzhong, long time no see? After being trapped in my illusion for so long, shouldn't you wake up now?" The figure wearing a dragon robe and a dice-shaped head spoke to Li Huowang.

"What the hell is happening to me?!" Having experienced this once before, Li Huowang simply ignored the dice-headed apparition and kept walking.

But this time, more than just him saw it.

"Dad? Mom?" Tears flowed from beneath Bai Lingmiao's red veil. She stood still, staring blankly into the darkness ahead. Bai Lingmiao seemed to hear or see something, her face becoming deeply haggard.

When Li Huowang followed her gaze, he found only pitch-blackness.

"Miaomiao! What did you see?" As soon as Li Huowang spoke, others looked around the darkness with varying expressions.

"It wasn't me who killed him! Get lost! Go find someone else!"

"Master, your disciple is ungrateful!"

"Mirage? Who? Xuan Pin, where are you?! Come out!"

At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly understood. There was nothing wrong with him—he was perfectly fine! The problem lay with this cursed place!

"Stop panicking! All of this is just an illusion! It's all fake!" Li Huowang shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, many began acting, attempting to break the illusion. But no matter what techniques they used, none worked.

Some tried attacking the illusions, but to no avail.

"Let's go first! Let's get out of the earth dragon's body range!" Even if these illusions multiplied endlessly, they couldn’t kill anyone. But the ever-growing worms inside their bellies would.

Others immediately followed suit, and thanks to Li Huowang's previous rescue efforts, he had become their de facto leader.

Ignoring the illusions, they pressed forward. But just after walking half a cup of tea’s time, they all stopped simultaneously—the same stomach wall appeared before them again, and they were still inside.

"How is this possible!" Li Huowang pulled out one of his left eyes along with two pieces of phosphorescent stone and flung them into the sky.

Only when he looked upward did he realize—they had never actually escaped. This was merely another stomach of the earth dragon!

"Hahahaha~ Stupid fool~" The dice-shaped figure reappeared, pointing at Li Huowang and laughing mockingly.

"This... is the power of this stomach?! What kind of creature is this earth dragon?!" Looking at the distant illusions, Li Huowang desperately thought of how to escape.

"Dad... it hurts. The worms are multiplying... I can barely hold on..." Greenish worms began crawling out continuously from within Li Huowang's body, draining his flesh and blood.

When the sinister creatures poured down upon them like a flood, despair overwhelmed everyone. They knew they were truly doomed.

"I... I won't accept it! I won't accept it!!" An old man holding a soul-summoning banner collapsed in despair. The moment his body hit the ground, it shattered instantly, greenish maggots flying everywhere.

Li Huowang attempted to rally others to tear through the stomach wall, but under the assault of maggots, sinister beings, and illusions, it was impossible.

The maggots inside everyone's bodies grew more and more, the illusions became more vivid, and the sinister figures increased.

Li Huowang refused to give up. He exerted every ounce of strength he had, unwilling to die here with Miaomiao and Li Sui. There must be a way!

The situation worsened day by day, more people died, and the collapse was imminent.

Yet Bai Lingmiao stood motionless, listening to the illusions of her family speak cruel words.

"You worthless piece of trash! He's your father's killer! Why don't you avenge him?! Are you even human?"

"Nannan, I really misjudged you. How could you be such a person? Is your heart black?"

"Sister, are you a whore?"

Bai Lingmiao wept, then stood up, looking at Li Huowang, who was struggling desperately. At this point, Li Huowang seemed near death, half his body completely transformed into worms.

"Senior Brother Li, use Cangqian Dengjie to escape," Bai Lingmiao pointed to the red bamboo scroll in Lü Xiuzhai's hands.

"I wish I could! But I can't!" Li Huowang roared. Of course he knew Cangqian Dengjie could break the situation, but the question was—where could he find the ultimate inner torment?

Bai Lingmiao pursed her lips, shook her head gently, then smiled warmly. "It's okay, Senior Brother Li. I'll help you."

With that, Bai Lingmiao turned around, threw a piece of human skin to a follower of the White Lotus, and without hesitation, jumped into the sea of sinister beings.

(End of Chapter)