Chapter 759: Change

Chapter 759: Change

Zhuge Yuan’s question was destined to go unanswered by anyone else present; aside from him, no one knew what this thing was called "Mother Buddha."

At this moment, Li Huowang would not be able to answer it either—he had lost his head entirely.

Yet just as the entire skull exploded outward, Li Huowang finally saw the true form of this invisible entity.

Compared with the previous statue, it indeed wore a straw hat, confirming that the earlier divine image was merely a part of it.

However, that statue represented only one aspect of Mother Buddha; another portion could not be displayed through stone imagery.

The straw hat was not its head—it was its heart! Red threads extended from within that heart, spreading like blood vessels throughout its body.

Above the statue existed an even more peculiar element—an unseen head.

Its head was a constantly shifting collection of beasts, perpetually reborn and shedding, with the fallen parts flowing down along red ribbons toward the straw hat, forming an ominous and terrifying appearance.

If Li Huowang still had a head, he might not have been able to bear witnessing such a sight—but now he did not, and thus observed certain details, subtle things barely perceptible.

"Zhuge... Zhuge Brother!!"

Upon hearing the voice, Zhuge Yuan, who had pulled out his ancient almanac from his chest, turned his head toward the ground where Li Huowang lay alone in a pool of blood, his half-open mouth grotesquely exposed.

"This thing! This thing's left leg is injured! It was wounded recently! That's its weakness! There, we can break through!"

Hearing these words, Zhuge Yuan moved. With a gentle step on the ground, he leapt toward Mother Buddha, holding a brush dipped in cinnabar, aiming at its left leg.

Li Huowang’s words were heard not only by Zhuge Yuan but also by Peng Longteng and the remaining warriors of the military sects—they all acted in unison.

"Brother Li! Hold on! Give me the time of a cup of tea!"

After speaking, Zhuge Yuan jumped behind Peng Longteng and began rapidly sketching on her back. “General Peng, dare you gamble?”

Seeing the creature before her, Peng Longteng’s mouth widened until she burst into wild laughter. “What do you mean dare? Kill gods, kill immortals, kill Buddhas, kill Daoists! Kill, kill, kill!”

When the last syllable of “kill” escaped her lips, Zhuge Yuan completed his drawing—a grim figure with a face full of slaughter, surrounded by heads around its waist, green-faced and fanged, devouring hearts and livers.

As Zhuge Yuan swiftly brushed across the demon’s face, eyes filled with joy from carnage appeared.

Then suddenly, the painting came alive. It opened its mouth and laughed loudly, crawling from Peng Longteng’s back to stand before her. The demon’s head landed squarely upon the face adorned with “Loyal to the Nation,” the two images overlapping, making the horror even more intense.

Zhuge Yuan didn’t stop. He continued sketching furiously on Peng Longteng’s back, each stroke quickly vanishing into her body.

With every line drawn, Peng Longteng’s form began to change—her robust figure becoming slender and frail, herself and horse alike growing thinner until she became nothing more than a painting.

Mother Buddha attempted to protect its injured leg, but the warriors coordinated perfectly, sending two cavalrymen rushing forward to cover Zhuge Yuan with their lives.

"Open!" As Zhuge Yuan slashed across Mother Buddha’s wound, Peng Longteng—who had already transformed into a painting—rode her horse straight into the fissure.

Mother Buddha clearly felt pain, its attacks becoming less frequent.

Once some red liquid seeped out, it guided the other warriors. A mounted warrior charged in, piercing deep into the beast like a spear.

Just as Mother Buddha seemed about to retaliate, Zhuge Yuan scattered his ancient almanac into the air. “Do not let the fate of the stars manifest!”

Some pages burned while others remained unscathed. Li Huowang couldn’t cultivate them.

But they served their purpose. Zhuge Yuan watched the flickering form of Mother Buddha and smiled contentedly, transforming once again into his bone sword. He had reached the limit of what he could do.

As the warriors tore at it relentlessly, Mother Buddha’s wound grew larger, eventually causing its left leg to collapse completely onto the ground.

Li Huowang struggled to rise, gripping his steel spear, panting heavily as he gazed toward the distant truck crashed into the wall, smoking and burning.

Others stood dumbfounded, watching Li Huowang. Wu Qi slowly extended his right hand, giving a thumbs-up. “Damn impressive!”

“I told you so! Better safe than sorry! Your medicine doesn't work!”

Li Huowang said, covering his head, only to find nothing there. In the next second, his body lurched, falling flat to the ground.

Soon after, a palm-sized piece of human skin emerged from his abdominal wound, expanding instantly in the wind until it matched Li Huowang’s size.

But now he looked like a leaf—lightweight and fragile, easily blown over.

After swallowing the shadow of the headless corpse, Li Huowang’s body swelled rapidly.

Once everything returned, Li Huowang exhaled deeply, then smiled. Looking at the motionless Mother Buddha far away, he laughed wholeheartedly.

No matter what schemes the Cult had planned for this creature, they were now useless—it was dead. They had won.

Mother Buddha’s body disintegrated quickly, leaving nothing behind except for Peng Longteng’s painting.

Li Huowang felt exhausted, even after changing bodies. Not physical fatigue, but mental exhaustion.

He longed for a good sleep—preferably one that never ended.

"Dad, are you alright?" Li Sui carefully helped him up.

"No, I’m fine," Li Huowang replied absentmindedly, his pupils unfocused.

"Dad, look, someone’s coming over there—the reinforcements have arrived!"

"Reinforcements? What kind of reinforcements? Even if they came, it'd be too late to save us!" Li Huowang somehow found strength, struggling toward the direction of hoofbeats.

His head spun, everything appearing distorted. Though he recognized horses, he stared at the horse’s head for a long while before realizing.

Clutching his teeth tightly, Li Huowang drew his Purple Spike Sword and slashed his own leg. Instantly, relief washed over him. “Xuan Pin! Bring yourself out here!”

He shouted furiously at the approaching reinforcements. “Xuan Pin! Come out now!”

For the old man who had always used him, Li Huowang had completely lost trust.

“A familiar voice,” came a voice.

Li Huowang raised his head and saw Gao Zhijian, expression grave, holding something on a wooden tray.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Xuan Pin? Get him out here!”

Gao Zhijian, sorrowful, placed the tray before Li Huowang. “Brother Li, Master Xuan Pin has passed away.”

Looking at the red Daoist robe in the tray, Li Huowang stared blankly for a long time before understanding.

“Brother Li, Xuan Pin truly departed. When you faced trouble, he faced his too…”

Taking a deep breath, dragging his injured leg, Li Huowang paced back and forth, fury burning hotter and hotter.

“You… you bastards…” Suddenly turning, Li Huowang slammed his hand on Gao Zhijian’s shoulder, knocking the remains of Xuan Pin to the ground.

"Why do you all behave like this?!"

(End of Chapter)