Chapter 758: Matuo

Chapter 758: Mato

The success of Zhuge Yuan’s cultivation gave Li Huowang a glimmer of inspiration. If Zhuge Yuan could do it, then others might try as well.

Among his experiences, there were few who possessed less strength than Zhuge Yuan, yet not so much weaker as to be insignificant.

Though he wasn’t sure if this would work, in such a situation, one had no choice but to treat a dead horse like a living one. Even a delay was better than nothing—there was surely backup coming.

Li Huowang took a deep breath, his eyes trembling shut, and struggled to recall, to relive that moment when Dan Yangzi had taken over his body.

That memory had always been something he tried to bury, yet now, Li Huowang dug it up again with desperate effort.

As his head swayed with double vision, his charred skin began to regenerate—but not into his original flesh. Instead, it grew into wrinkled, aged skin. Then, like feathers embedded in pitch, sharp tendrils pierced through, emerging from within. At that instant, his head split apart into three distinct faces—old, middle-aged, and young—each bearing the visage of Dan Yangzi. A white thread of celestial silk swiftly spread from left to right.

The three mouths, interlocked, opened in unison. “Hahaha! This old immortal hasn’t died! My lifespan shall match the heavens! What did I say? There was never anyone named Li Huowang! Li Huowang is merely one of my Three Corpses!”

With that cry, Dan Yangzi’s body, its organs spilled outward, floated away without regard for anything around him, soaring toward the heavens beyond.

But even as Dan Yangzi appeared, he immediately caught the attention of the entity. His half-immortal aura was too distinctive.

It carried its military sect’s power and charged at Dan Yangzi, a howl echoing as it struck. The invisible maw slammed into it.

“What the hell is this?! Daring to disturb my ascension to immortality!!” Dan Yangzi yanked out a blood-soaked coin-sword from his exposed organs—a blade lined with eyeballs.

He thrust the sword before him, but the weight of it was immense. Though he was sent flying, he suffered no injury.

Mid-air, Dan Yangzi clenched his right fingers hard, biting them until black blood dripped. He raised the bleeding hand and quickly drew talismans upon the sword.

“Tai Shang Tai Xing, Unceasing Change. Drive Away Evil, Bind Demons. Calm the Mind, Secure the Spirit. Preserve the Three Souls, Protect the Soul. As the Law Commands!”

With the talisman complete, the eyes on the flesh-coin sword burst open, forming a crimson mist around the blade. Dan Yangzi dragged the sword forward, charging at the entity.

His presence was unshakable, yet still, he was no match. No matter what techniques or powers he unleashed, they had no effect on the other.

Dan Yangzi exhausted every trick in his arsenal, but he was clearly outmatched. A hidden tail whipped across his body, scattering his malformed form. Weak Li Huowang fell from Dan Yangzi's abdomen, lifeless.

“Indeed… still no use?” With a dull thud, Li Huowang crashed into the battlefield between the two, barely alive.

This creature seemed intent on killing Li Huowang to eliminate all traces. But just then, the soldiers of the Military Sect, hundreds of thousands of them, closed their eyes and assumed the stance of the horse. Each held high three long incense sticks.

Their unusual behavior drew the creature’s attention, and it abandoned Li Huowang, turning its fury toward the Military Sect.

Just as Mato prepared to charge at the soldiers, they all opened their eyes and plunged the three incense sticks into the ground upside down.

“War is an instrument! The boundary between life and death, the path of survival and destruction! The General and Minister are above! The General and Minister are in the heart! The General and Minister are below! Destroy God! Destroy Immortal! Destroy Buddha! Destroy Dao!”

A surge of killing intent rushed into each soldier’s body. Their eyes blazed with malice, veins bulged, and blood flowed from seven orifices.

The two forces clashed heavily, locked in a fierce battle.

“Roar~~” A violent tremor shook the air. That feeling returned, spreading through Li Huowang, overwhelming him with it. It was the wildness of beasts and an insatiable ambition.

Whatever this thing was, it seemed to govern both of these heavenly paths.

Ambition? Li Huowang suddenly realized what it meant, trembling as he staggered to his feet. Looking again at the enemy, he saw the soldiers clearly affected by the aura—evidently lacking in strength.

As Li Huowang stepped closer, the sensation grew stronger. He had once felt this same energy from someone else—it was familiar, warm.

Ambition could also be called greed!

“Answer me! Answer me! Are you controlling the Heavenly Path of Greed?!” Li Huowang roared at the creature.

Yet the being ignored him, continuing to fight with the soldiers.

No answer came, but Li Huowang already knew the truth. In the past, greed and decay had gone hand-in-hand. But now, greed and beastliness were fused together—a Heavenly Path of Fate had been usurped.

Recently, the only natural disaster linked to decay was the annihilation of the An Ci Nunnery.

“So… you killed Master Jingxin? So… you killed them!?”

Li Huowang’s eyes were red with rage, staring intently at the unseen enemy. His anger burned brighter and brighter, threatening to consume him entirely.

Slowly, Li Huowang drew his spine sword and planted it back into the earth. Amidst his roar, the spine began to grow white, bone-like ribs.

His head swelled continuously, veins spreading across his scalp.

Just as Zhuge Yuan’s body was halfway restored, Li Huowang, blood streaming from seven holes, collapsed in agony.

Although he could cultivate, the pressure of performing two successive transformations after the previous heart-worm ordeal was too much for him.

As Zhuge Yuan’s body reverted to the spine sword, Li Sui quickly entered Li Huowang’s body. “Father! I’m here to help! I’m here to help! Zhuge Yuan exists!”

With their minds connected, Li Sui’s years of consuming heart-soul flesh finally paid off. Zhuge Yuan’s body rapidly took shape.

Even with Li Sui’s aid, however, Zhuge Yuan’s form was still incomplete.

“Just a little more… just a little more!!” Li Huowang screamed in pain, lying on the ground. “Form yourself!”

With a loud bang, his entire head exploded, leaving only the neck standing alone.

At the same time, Zhuge Yuan finally solidified into physical form once more.

Zhuge Yuan looked with a complex expression at the distant entity entangled with the soldiers, his face grim as he asked himself aloud, “The ritual has ended. Why does Mato still have a manifestation here?”