Chapter 731: Reality

Chapter 731: The Real

Faced with his current predicament, Li Huowang naturally yearned for a resolution.

Fortunately, although this trouble appeared extremely daunting, it wasn't entirely without solution.

The dice had once said something that seemed to make perfect sense: if one does not cultivate the real in cultivation, one will fall into madness.

This sounded logical and reasonable enough. If he were to cultivate the false while practicing cultivation, he could maintain balance and prevent such a situation from occurring.

However, there was one issue with this approach—this was a saying from the dice. Could one truly trust the words of the Forgetful Dao?

The dice had once claimed he only used truth to deceive others, yet he also said that one should believe what the Forgetful Dao says. He had spoken both truths and falsehoods, leaving nothing unspoken.

After much careful deliberation over the pros and cons, Li Huowang finally decided to give it a try.

Compared to the benefits of being genuine, the drawbacks of being fake were not so hard to accept. After all, this time he wasn’t being deceived by the Forgetful Dao—he was becoming the Forgetful Dao himself, deceiving others instead.

Moreover, the false Heavenly Dao was now in Ji Zai's hands, which was far safer than having it under Doumu’s control.

Logically speaking, since he possessed both the true and false Heavenly Dao, as his heart-puppet, he should be able to use both abilities.

"The frontlines are still manageable. I need to leave here for some time."

As Li Huowang murmured to himself, Xuan Pin’s figure emerged from beside the wooden fish.

"This is a critical moment. Soldiers on the frontlines die constantly. Without your powerful assistance, they may face serious trouble and have no choice but to sacrifice their lives."

"Stop using such pressure tactics on me. If you truly value their lives, then stop hoarding your own resources—it would mean more than anything else."

Though his goal was to fight the sect and save this mad world, he knew that sharpening one's tools doesn't delay the work. If he didn’t resolve this problem, everything else would go awry.

Thinking this, Li Huowang didn’t hesitate. He patted Li Sui’s head lightly, stood up, and walked toward the palace exit.

"How difficult is this? What do you plan to do?" Xuan Pin seemed to already know about Li Huowang’s troubles.

"Do you have a way?"

"I might have a method for others, but you are both heart-soul and heart-puppet. I cannot help you."

"I knew you wouldn’t have a solution. If you did, why wait until now to speak? Then you wouldn’t be my ally anymore."

Li Huowang quickly descended the blood-stained steps and reached the foot of the mountain.

He glanced at the two fine horses crushed dead by a giant Buddha head in the stable, untied one, and mounted it.

"Senior Brother Li?" Hearing this, Li Huowang didn’t even turn around; he hurriedly called out, "No, no, don’t come near me! Wait until I deal with this mess first!"

At this moment, he couldn’t tell whether the white Lingmiao before him was real or merely what he believed to be real. So he simply chose not to distinguish.

Hearing footsteps stop, Li Huowang exhaled in relief. “How is the Tai Shan Stone? Is he still refusing to talk?”

Previously, Bai Lingmiao had returned the Tai Shan Stone. Li Huowang had hoped to extract clues from him, but despite trying everything, he couldn’t get a word out of him.

This man’s body was as hard as stone, and his mouth harder still. Thus, he had sent him to the military camp, hoping the Celestial Observing Bureau might have other methods.

"No. We’ve tried every trick. He still won’t say anything. Could it be he really doesn’t know anything?"

"Impossible. He definitely knows something. Did those celestial officials from the Astronomical Bureau come to see him?"

"No. The sect sent people to inform them, but they said the officials are currently fighting the sect and can’t spare the time."

"Nonsense. Not even their shadows appear in the Swirling Light Mirror. Xuan Pin, what are you secretly up to? You can’t even spare time to interrogate someone?"

"I've sent people back, but they can’t fly—they’ll take time getting here."

"Make haste. Since he’s a high-ranking member of the sect and came from Great Qi, he must know some key information."

After finishing, Li Huowang immediately mounted his horse to leave.

"Senior Brother Li, I won’t follow you, but at least tell me where you’re going," Bai Lingmiao asked from behind.

Li Huowang thought for a moment and replied, "To Qingqiu."

"To Qingqiu? Why?"

"I know how to cultivate the real, but if I want to cultivate the false, I must seek the Forgetful Dao. But all the Forgetful Dao practitioners have been killed by the dice. Now I must go to Fudou beneath Qingqiu to find them."

Before Bai Lingmiao could respond, Xuan Pin spoke, his voice rare with astonishment. "Brilliant! Cultivating both real and false—this idea is brilliant."

"Hmm?" Li Huowang looked at the apparition before him.

"This method the dice told you is not a lie. It will definitely work," Xuan Pin said firmly.

"Really? How are you so certain?" Li Huowang, suspicious, thought inwardly, *Could he have ulterior motives?*

"Don’t worry. There’s no other possibility. Just like yin and yang oppose and generate each other, truth and falsehood are intertwined. As long as you cultivate the false, you will surely calm your madness."

Seeing him so convinced, Li Huowang stopped questioning further. After sizing up Xuan Pin for a moment, he kicked his heels into the horse’s belly and galloped toward Qingqiu.

Behind him, Li Sui quickly drew two talismans and pasted them onto the horse’s back.

Standing still, Bai Lingmiao pondered what she’d just heard. A trace of surprise and curiosity appeared on her face as she asked, "Master Xuan Pin, is it really as you said?"

Xuan Pin’s voice came from the black hole of his red robe. "Whether I’m sincere or not matters little. What matters is that he believes."

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao smiled slightly, understanding Xuan Pin’s intentions instantly.

Indeed, even if this method was a trap set by the dice, as long as Senior Brother Li believed it worked, it would work.

Realizing that Xuan Pin was genuinely helping Senior Brother Li, Bai Lingmiao bowed deeply. "Thank you, Master Xuan Pin. Though Senior Brother Li has a hot temper, his heart is good. He will feel your kindness."

"I don’t need his kindness—I just don’t want to die."

Xuan Pin turned to look at Bai Lingmiao standing beside him, examining her red veil carefully.

"This cursed body must be difficult to use, right? I know the abbot of Zhengde Temple. If you wish, he can help you rebuild your physical form."

"Really?!" Bai Lingmiao couldn’t suppress her excitement. Although she didn’t particularly care about her appearance and Senior Brother Li didn’t mind, it would still be nice to return to normal.

"Of course. Since we share life and death now, such a small favor is natural. Besides, helping each other is only right among us."