Chapter 710: Time

Chapter 710: The Hour

The pain was sharp, but Lü Xiucai understood that the white donkey beside his master’s side had already perished. It was said that the Mother Without Birth needed to be reborn upon six white donkeys.

Once he was branded with the mark of the white donkey, he would become the steed of the Mother Without Birth—no longer a mere mortal at the mercy of others.

This was his chance, and he must seize it, even if it meant paying a terrible price. He did not wish to give up this opportunity to grow stronger.

Soon after, a white donkey began to form on Lü Xiucai's back. As it took shape, he felt something strange had been added to his body.

It was an odd sensation, one he had only experienced during spirit possession rituals. Where once those rituals lasted only briefly, now he could sustain this feeling indefinitely.

“You are now closer to the Mother Without Birth than ordinary believers,” Lian Zhibei advised him. “This is a matter of honor for your family. Treasure this moment, and do not break your vows.”

Feeling the transformation within himself, Lü Xiucai nodded eagerly. He longed to test his strength against the beasts of the sect immediately.

At that moment, the courtyard outside suddenly buzzed with activity. When Lü Xiucai emerged, bare-chested, he instinctively squinted in the bright light.

It seemed the sky had already dawned. Other White Lotus followers were hastily packing their belongings onto carriages.

Normally, it would still be dark at this hour, but due to the loss of one hour, the sun rose much earlier than before.

“Let’s go! Brothers and sisters, hurry up! Let us spread the compassion of the Mother Without Birth over every citizen of Hou Shu! No lunch today—we’ll survive on dry rations!”

Hearing these words, Lü Xiucai realized what was happening. After such a long rest, they were finally setting off.

He didn’t hesitate anymore, rushing toward his quarters. So long as he could slay the beasts of the sect, he would always be first.

Yet unexpectedly, the White Lotus followers and Brother Li did not follow the same path as the imperial soldiers—they parted ways and left separately.

Lü Xiucai was puzzled, but seeing his master’s grim expression, he wisely said nothing.

Just when he thought the journey ahead would be long, he noticed his master’s face darkened in the carriage. “There’s blood. South!”

The carriages set off, following Li Huowang’s direction toward the south.

They traveled for two hours without seeing anything.

But no one voiced objections, for all of them sensed the increasingly thick scent of blood in the air.

The stench was so overwhelming, like a fog of decay, spreading around them.

Clearly, such a smell couldn’t come from just a few dead bodies.

Eventually, after crossing a hill, they saw the source of the blood. A wall of heads—a towering structure made of death and rot!

The massive wall was built from countless human skulls, filled with the stench of blood and decay. The sight brought despair and suffocation to everyone present.

Silence crept through the group, pressing down on each person until they could barely breathe.

Judging by the scale, at least hundreds of thousands had died here.

Suddenly, Li Huowang moved. With a single step, he walked forward alone.

As he drew closer, more details became visible.

He realized these were men, mostly wearing helmets—soldiers of Hou Shu!

The closer he came, the stronger the scent grew, and Li Huowang’s expression darkened further.

The sect’s actions were clear enough. They believed Emperor Hou Shu would try to persuade the soldiers to surrender, so instead, they slaughtered them all and made a pile of skulls—a kenguan (a monument of skulls).

Li Huowang approached the base of the wall, looking up at the pale, iron-gray faces.

Their expressions weren’t twisted with fear or rage—these weren’t victims of violent slaughter.

Was it to eliminate threats? Or a show of power? Or both? Li Huowang didn’t know.

But he knew one thing: Hou Shu was finished.

With its soldiers dead and its people misled, there was nothing left.

In the future battles against the sect, this place would be useless.

Looking at the corpses, Li Huowang suddenly thought of a year—so many people dead at once, the Death Official beneath Qingqiu must be overwhelmed.

Then, the world shifted violently. A tremor shook the earth, and the wall of heads began crumbling. Skulls rained down like a storm upon Li Huowang.

Li Huowang had assumed the heads might hide something, but soon realized the tremor came from deep underground—the dragon below had awakened again.

“Xuan Pin! I know you’re watching me! What is going on?!” he shouted into the mass of skulls.

As expected, Xuan Pin’s body rose from the ground. “The hour of the Dog has passed. The sect destroyed another dragon vein.”

Li Huowang cursed. “Didn’t we reclaim all the dragon veins? Where did they get another one to destroy?”

“The dragon veins were sixteen in total, guarded by sixteen regions. It seems the sect stole another one from elsewhere.”

As soon as he spoke, several rotting skulls turned to speak in unison. “Depart westward, rest in peace.”

“Clang!” Li Huowang drew his sword instantly, ready to strike the revived skulls.

“Hold! This is a senior elder of the Zhong Yin Temple. He is one of our own,” Xuan Pin stepped in front of him.

“He just said the destroyed dragon vein belonged to Anxi. To the right of Nanping lies Siqi; to the left of Nanping is Anxi. There’s a dragon vein there too. It seems the sect found this area too difficult to conquer, so they’re trying their luck elsewhere.”

At that moment, the trembling intensified. The sky changed, and the sun moved visibly across the heavens.

“The hour of the Rooster has also vanished,” Xuan Pin said simply.

“I’m sorry, but I have matters to attend to. I’ll return first. Elder Grand, if possible, please join me.”

With that, Xuan Pin vanished.

Li Huowang no longer cared where the destroyed dragon vein came from. Regardless, the fact remained—its destruction was real.

“No time to waste! Go! To Siqi!”

Li Huowang and Li Sui simultaneously pulled out yellow paper, quickly drawing talismans and pasting them on the horses’ backs.

The strong horses reared up and neighed loudly, galloping forward despite the violent shaking, trampling the skulls beneath their hooves.

Not long after they departed, a figure emerged from among the skulls.

“Is that Li Huowang?”

“Yes, that’s him.”

(End of Chapter)