Chapter 943: Zuoqiuyong

Chapter 943: Zuoqiu Yong

Events never unfold according to one's own design, and as Li Huowang scratched at his scalp, he pondered what could possibly be done.

"Father, have you not yet reached the seventh cycle?"

"No, one cycle remains, but there is no time left to cultivate."

After a moment of contemplation, Li Huowang lowered his hand and spoke to Li Sui before him: "Tell the dragon veins to prepare their dragon qi; tell them this is not a request, but an order."

"Furthermore, I know the Si Tian Jian must possess some trump cards. Do not hold back now; unleash whatever you have!"

Facing Zuoqiu Yong, Li Huowang considered every strategy he could conceive.

"Understood, I know."

Li Huowang then stood up, his gaze turning exceptionally resolute. "Six cycles it is. Let us go; let us meet this Zuoqiu Yong and see what he is made of!"

As Huowang lifted his right foot, the world around him shifted in an instant, transporting him from Daliang back to Daqi.

Now, as long as Li Huowang believed he could walk from Daliang to Daqi, he possessed the power to make it so.

"Bodhisattva!

Zhuge Bodhisattva!

You have finally come!

"Oh, merciful Zhuge Bodhisattva, you have finally returned."

"Wonderful! Zhuge Bodhisattva has not abandoned Daqi!"

As the crowd of Daqi citizens prostrated themselves before Li Huowang, a surge of intense non-gang energy flooded his heart.

Li Huowang’s gaze swept over their faces, finally resting on the Daqi State Preceptor, Chandu, who had been in charge during his absence.

The monk remained as he always was, offering a Buddhist salute with neither joy nor sorrow. "Amitabha."

"Speak. What is the current situation in Daqi?"

With a wave of Li Huowang’s hand, the surrounding scenery curled like a painting, revealing a new vista beneath.

It was a temple nestled among green trees, with apricot-yellow walls, grey-tiled eaves, and towering, verdant ancient trees—the Zhengde Temple of Daqi.

Arriving in the small courtyard of Zhengde, the three sat upon stone stools.

Chandu sighed deeply, thought carefully, and said, "Benefactor Li, Daqi is no longer stable; there are too many spies from the Tianchen Kingdom."

"Even with all the efforts of myself and your daughter, it is to no avail. If the Tianchen army strikes again, with internal and external forces combined, I fear Daqi cannot hold them back."

"I never expected Daqi to hold them off. You said Tianchen is making moves? What exactly are they doing?"

No sooner had Li Huowang finished his question than Li Sui took up the thread. "They have found the Heart-Pawn that connects Daliang and Daqi."

"What?! They found it?"

"Yes, they found it. Now they can travel directly from Tianchen to Daliang."

Though nothing appeared to have happened yet, Li Huowang understood why Sui had awakened him.

The situation had reached a critical juncture; heaven only knew what Tianchen would send into Daliang. If they waited to act, it would be too late.

"This won't do. We cannot continue to follow their lead."

After a moment of rapid thought, Li Huowang said, "Have your people ready. In matters like this, we must strike first."

Although Li Huowang judged that at six cycles he was not yet a match for Zuoqiu Yong, he was not alone; regardless, with so many people, they would collide and see what happened.

...

"Understood," Li Sui nodded. "There is no need to worry. I have explained the stakes of Tianchen to all the sects, and their leaders are all reasonable and righteous; they have all expressed their willingness to fight for Daliang."

Upon hearing this, Chandu asked with a trace of worry, "But, Benefactor Li, while that is well said, how are we to reach Tianchen?"

Hearing this, Li Huowang clenched his fists, his tone bordering on the fanatical: "I say we can go, so we shall!"

"Send out all the strongest experts. Other problems are trivial; Zuoqiu Yong is the true calamity!"

The group quickly devised a strategy, concluding that under the current circumstances, a surprise decapitation strike offered the greatest chance of victory.

The enemy would certainly not expect that Li Huowang, having achieved great success in cultivation, could transport anyone he wished to the Tianchen Kingdom.

Though the opponent was a flesh-and-blood Siming, they too could borrow the power of a Siming.

He was no longer facing a single entity, but the concerted effort of two overlapping histories.

Li Huowang thought this, and intended to do it, returning directly to Tianchen to make final preparations.

Everyone Li Huowang had met, and some he had not, gathered together from various factions.

"Dice, where is Zuoqiu Yong now?" Li Huowang asked a nun.

"How should I know?"

"Spare me the nonsense! If you are to help, help to the end! Tianchen must have your spies!"

The nun-dressed Dice chuckled, "He thinks the same way you do. He is almost at the main hall of the White Lotus Sect in Daliang; he intends to destroy the Heart-Pawn of the Unborn Mother first."

"What did you say!"

Li Huowang had no time to be angry with Dice. With blinding speed, he folded the space between his current location and the White Lotus hall, stepped across, and arrived instantly.

Tiles exploded as Bai Lingmiao, possessing two upper bodies, burst through the roof, the White Lotus mark on her brow glowing like the midday sun, countering the unnatural growth upon her.

As Li Huowang rushed forward to stand before Bai Lingmiao, he stood face-to-face with Zuoqiu Yong once more.

Yet Zuoqiu Yong did not even glance at him, focusing entirely on Li Sui. "Oh, who might this be? Is this not Li Sui? So, it turns out you are the one behind the Si Tian Jian?"

"Auntie, it has been a long time." Li Sui’s tone was remarkably calm.

"Li Sui, why do you like wearing red? It is so tacky."

"Because my father likes to wear red. I take after him." Li Sui stepped forward, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Li Huowang.

Zuoqiu Yong pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her brow. "So, you are determined to stop me this time? Last time, when I seized the dragon veins of Daqi for Tianchen, you tried to stop me, and I had a moment of weakness and spared you."

"But this time, if you truly intend to block me, I shall have to kill you," Zuoqiu Yong said with a smile.

Li Huowang, his heart burning with rage, clenched his fists and took a step forward. "You damned eunuch, are you pretending I don't exist?"

"Indeed." No sooner had the words left Zuoqiu Yong's lips than her body flickered, and she charged toward Bai Lingmiao; her target remained the Heart-Pawn of the Unborn Mother.

Bai Lingmiao did not move, her hands forming seals as she chanted rapidly.

"Wall!" At Li Huowang’s roar, rows of walls erupted from the earth, blocking Zuoqiu Yong’s path.

Just as she was about to collide with the wall, Zuoqiu Yong stopped. With an expression of disgust, she reached out to pluck something from her body and tossed it to the ground.

"Oh, who has stuck the Dao of Death onto me? How hateful."

The Fox-Tailed Brush