Chapter 697: Heaven

Chapter 697: Heaven

No, that was not a crane’s call! When Li Huowang's five senses merged into one, when he perceived the deep void with his newly awakened organs, and when he sensed the extraordinary complexity hidden within the crane’s cry, he finally understood what it truly was.

It wasn’t sound—it was Yu’er’s divine hand! Or perhaps it was Yu’er’s branch! Yu’er was formless, colorless, without hope or direction. When he heard the crane’s call, Yu’er had touched him!

The crane’s cry came again, and Li Huowang felt as though it had taken his throat—his voice!

Now completely enveloped in pain, Li Huowang stretched out his bloodied, torn hand and clutched his own throat tightly, preventing any further sound from escaping!

In the endless night of space, they were falling deeper and deeper. It seemed as if Li Huowang had reached the heavens beyond the heavens. If this continued, he might never return to Baiyujing!

Yet at this moment, he had no desire to flee. Listening to the increasingly loud crane’s call, he snarled with rage and opened his mouth wide, thrusting his hand straight into his own throat.

With a pull and a tug, he tore everything from his throat and flung it toward the sky.

In the next instant, Li Huowang felt his mangled throat unfold in midair like a butterfly, continuing to emit that eerie crane’s call.

This throat seemed to have a head. All around, everything opened its mouth, and the screams gradually transformed into the haunting cry of the crane.

Just as the sound neared its peak, a compassionate female voice suddenly pierced through from nearby—a voice filled with sorrow, tears, and boundless compassion:

*"Cry for the child who left home, gone now with no trace."*

*"Cry for the child who returns not, no letter sent, no hope of life."*

*"Cry for the child who cannot be seen, when will you come back to your roots?"*

*"Cry for the child who cannot return, how can such sin be forgiven by the world?"*

*"Cry for the child whose time has come, unable to see mother even in death."*

At once, the crane’s cry diminished. The people around him, once echoing the voice of the fiend, returned to despairing shrieks.

Using his newly fused sensory organs, Li Huowang peered into the darkness. He saw the endless night slowly transform into a lotus.

He grabbed the curtain of the starry sky and pulled it shut, covering the blackout neighborhood outside. “Ah! Huowang, look! Power’s back on!”

In an instant, heaven and earth reversed. They fell downward, and the new starry sky reappeared above them. Li Huowang knew the disaster of the heavens had ended.

In midair, the wind howled. They drew closer to the ground. A tentacle emerged from Li Huowang’s throat, wrapping around his immobile neck and dragging him swiftly.

*Bang!* Li Huowang crashed heavily before an inn. Lying on the ground, he watched in horror as blood and body parts rained down from the sky, staining the inn red.

His trembling flesh scales now lay flat against his body, becoming ordinary wounds.

Li Huowang felt his body about to crumble. With his last ounce of strength, he crawled up and shouted at his reflection in the pool of blood: “Ji Zai! You damn bastard, come out! I don’t care what you’re doing!”

“What? What’s wrong?” The shadow finally moved. “Sorry, I was busy. I think I was going to save someone? Probably.”

Li Huowang clenched his fists and slammed them into his reflection, screaming with anguish: “I’m telling you! Miaomiao’s dead! Bai Ling Miao’s dead!”

“Why did I become your heart-tether? Why did I give my fate to someone whose origins are unknown? Because I wanted to protect Miaomiao and them!”

“But what about you?! Is this your reward? This your answer?! Why?! Why are all the other Fates so powerful, but you—this Fate who governs three and a half—can’t even protect a woman!!”

“When I was ambushed and trapped in the Earth Dragon’s belly, it was only because Cang Qiang had to use Ba Hui’s power to save me! What kind of Fate are you, anyway?!”

Ji Zai’s voice remained calm. “I’ve said it before—you can’t rely on me. Besides, I’m very busy. My situation isn’t great either. Even if you’re about to be killed, you’ll have to rely on yourself.”

“Only by relying on yourself can we both win.”

“Shut up with that nonsense!” Supported by the tentacles, Li Huowang staggered to his feet and pointed a finger at his opponent.

“Miaomiao’s dead! Find a way to bring her back! Otherwise, whoever wants to be this useless Fate’s heart-tether, let them take it!”

“Hmm…” The blood in the pool reflected a thoughtful Ji Pan. “Not much. She doesn’t seem to be dead yet.”

“Dead?” A glimmer of hope sparked in Li Huowang’s chest. He staggered around, looking at the corpses soaked in blood.

“I think… yes, stretch your arms forward.”

“Forward?” As Li Huowang raised his hands, a bloody, fleshless mass plummeted from the sky and struck his arms, snapping them with a sharp crack.

He looked down quickly. It was Miaomiao—more precisely, half of her. Her body was torn apart, her usual pristine self now grotesquely disfigured. Covered in blood, there was little left of her flesh.

And where she should have had two upper bodies, she now had only one, broken beyond recognition.

*Bang!* Another upper body fell from the sky.

This time, Li Sui acted fast, dozens of tentacles reaching up to catch it.

When Li Huowang used his teeth to lift the red veil off the half-body, he revealed a beastly face covered in fox fur, interspersed with hedgehog quills and snake scales. Its eyes, varying in size, opened weakly, staring at him with fading life.

Seeing Li Huowang’s shock, the beast’s mouth, full of sharp teeth, opened, and its tongue drooped limply. “I just wanted you to escape via Cang Qiang’s ascent. I never said I had to die! I haven’t lived enough yet!”

Tears streaming, Li Huowang controlled the tentacles, holding her tightly in his arms.

He quickly checked the other half of Miaomiao. Seeing that although horrifically injured, she still breathed, he exhaled deeply in relief.

“Miaomiao, hold on. You’ve got to hold on!”

With trembling hands, Li Huowang pulled out the wax-sealed *Fire Robe Precepts*, inserting the two halves of her body back into place.

As he chanted the spell, the Two Gods also exerted their strength, beating the white drum to summon the Great Immortal of the Bai Family.

(End of Chapter)