Chapter 796: Lion Dance Palace

Chapter 796: The Lion Dance Palace

"Grand Elder, how do you find what I just said?" Li Huowang looked at the woman before him, clad in black robes.

Li Huowang did not know the other high-ranking members of the Aojing Sect, but he could tell from her appearance that this woman held considerable status within the sect.

It was because all the exposed skin on her body was covered with various bizarre and grotesque scars, leaving not a single patch of unblemished flesh.

Moreover, her belly protruded outwardly, yet its size suggested it wasn't pregnant—it looked more like an obese tumor.

The woman slowly opened her mouth toward Li Huowang, revealing a hollow, empty jaw. Not only had her tongue been torn out, but the entire layer of skin inside her mouth had also been stripped away, leaving it completely white. Everything within—her throat included—was ulcerated.

After explaining why she couldn't speak, she picked up a wolf-hair brush beside her and began writing on a red bamboo slip. "Li Huowang, this humble maiden has long admired your name."

Then, continuing to write, Shen Benyou added: "If this method is so effective, capable of severely damaging the Faith Sect while ending this heavenly disaster, then why haven’t the Royal Court or the Heavenly Observing Bureau used it? Why are you acting alone instead? Do they all lack sense?"

Li Huowang leaned slightly forward. "Is this really the time to discuss such things? Just tell me whether you’ll help or not. Isn’t it said that those who have ascended the steps hold higher status in the Aojing Sect? Am I supposed to be among them?"

With the tip of the brush lightly dipped into the black inkstone, it once again descended onto the red bamboo slip. "Since we're working together now, naturally we will help. But after all, it's a perilous place—why should we risk ourselves for it?"

"Since you've ascended, you should understand that right now, others wish for the disaster to end quickly, whereas the followers of the Aojing Sect would prefer it to last longer."

"Really? Are you content merely to enjoy suffering? If death disappears this time, how can you be so certain it won’t disappear again next time?"

"And isn’t your goal to take the pain of heaven from Buhui, just like the Gushen does? With these signs appearing now, how can you be sure Buhui won’t lose his heavenly authority to someone else?"

"If Buhui’s authority over pain were taken away, wouldn’t everything you’ve done—the killing of wives, the slaying of fathers, all your efforts—become nothing but mockery?"

After Li Huowang finished speaking, neither Shen Benyou nor the other faithful of the Aojing Sect spoke anymore; silence fell over everything around them.

Li Huowang moved closer still, locking eyes with Shen Benyou’s bloodshot ones. "Don’t think you can stay untouched by this calamity. This catastrophe concerns every single person! You know this well enough! Otherwise, why have you come here?"

Once he calmed down a bit, Li Huowang slowly leaned back. "Besides, since death no longer exists, none of you can die anyway. Helping me won’t cost you anything."

Having said all that, there was no point in further discussion. Li Huowang sat where he was waiting for their response. "If the Aojing Sect refuses to help, then I'll have to consider other options."

"You, Li Huowang, owe me a favor," Shen Benyou wrote slowly on the bamboo slip.

Before Li Huowang could ask, she continued writing. "You owe me a favor. The Aojing Sect will send people to assist you and seek additional help elsewhere to ensure success beyond doubt."

Seeing the words on the slip, Li Huowang spoke again. "First off, is it me personally you want the debt from, or the Aojing Sect as a whole?"

"Me."

"Fine! Then it's settled!" Li Huowang stood up immediately. At this moment, he didn’t want to delay any longer.

"Bring the helpers you mentioned. We’re leaving right now."

Just as Li Huowang turned to go, he stopped again, puzzled. "Who exactly are you planning to ask for help? Try not to involve the Heavenly Observing Bureau—they might have royal spies among them."

"The Lion Dance Palace. Don’t worry, there won’t be any spies there."

"Why them?" Recalling his brief encounters with the Lion Dance Palace, Li Huowang knew little about them.

Except for knowing they lived beneath Qingqiu and that their white plumes could cause bodily displacement, he understood nothing else about these strange beings.

"The disciples of the Lion Dance Palace can dance with everything. They can aid us."

Li Huowang didn’t care much about the odd Lion Dance Palace—what kind of organization it was mattered little to him. All he wanted was to recover those two dragon veins and end this heavenly disaster as soon as possible.

Shen Benyou didn’t walk on foot. With her bulging belly, she was carried in a sedan chair. Under her guidance, Li Huowang approached the gathering place of the Lion Dance Palace.

As they ventured deeper into the wilderness, a cave opening as large as a house appeared before Li Huowang, dark and cold, exuding chilling winds.

"Why do these creatures always prefer living underground?" Li Huowang couldn’t help but ask.

"It's said their beliefs clash violently with the celestial Danxi above. So they cover themselves year-round to avoid being touched by its light."

Frowning slightly, Li Huowang followed her gaze to the sun above and stepped forward toward the dark cave entrance.

The steps inside were clearly designed deliberately—smooth and newly made.

The cave was vast. To build something of such scale normally would require decades.

It wasn’t difficult to navigate. Li Huowang simply walked toward the sole white glow deep within, just like when he’d been beneath Qingqiu.

Soon, he saw the Lion Dance Palace—a row upon row of enormous dead faces lined up. Eventually, before Li Huowang, a massive wall of terrifying faces rose.

Those white lights flickering in the darkness were the white plumes between the giant faces.

The countless white plumes gathered together seemed to breathe rhythmically.

Each giant face, round table-sized, stared at Li Huowang with lantern-like eyes, exerting an almost tangible pressure that left everyone gasping for breath.

Looking at these things, bad memories flashed through Li Huowang’s mind. His brow furrowed involuntarily—he disliked them, whether past or present, and regardless of whether they came to help him, he didn’t like them.

"What is it?" A voice composed of men, women, old and young, suddenly echoed from within the wall of faces.

Shen Benyou in the sedan chair remained silent, tossing a bamboo slip toward the face wall.

The white plumes, like long tendrils, quickly dissected the slip and dragged it into the wall.

"Do you have a good relationship with their leader?" Li Huowang asked sideways.

"In fact, they don’t have a leader. They merge into one body and scatter into individuals. What you see is a single living entity named the Lion Dance Palace."

(End of Chapter)