Mutated Tao

Chapter 581: Secret

Chapter 581: Secret

When the commanders of the army saw the White Lotus Sect disciples, their belief in their emperor's words strengthened. The rhythm of the war drums changed, and the soldiers in dragon-scale armor worked together to corner the cultists.

Meanwhile, the archers on the distant mountain began to tighten the strings of their octagonal crossbows.

At the next moment, a mighty fire ignited near the catapults.

The Ao Jing Sect had made their move.

The pressure on Bai Lingmiao had decreased sharply, but she still felt immense pressure as she stood before the lines of troops. The pressure was truly immense, as this issue concerned not just herself but Li Huowang's survival as well.

Bai Lingmiao glanced at Li Huowang, who seemed to be immersed in his own world.

A fierce expression appeared on Bai Lingmiao's face as she shouted, “Spiritual communication!”

The disciples around her took out a jagged knife and thrust it into their foreheads. The next moment, they started chanting as crimson blood flowed down their faces.

“Invoke the spirits, please manifest. I invite the spirits and wish to worship the generals of this altar. The revered masters of golden light. Suppress the five generals, take five steps, and turn once to reveal the wheel of characters, the great Bodhisattva Pu’an!”

The mediums' eyes shot wide open. They seemed to have been possessed by the spirits as they charged at the towering soldiers with no signs of fear on their faces. In terms of skills, these spirit mediums were no match for the seasoned military troops. The mediums quickly found themselves riddled with holes of varying sizes.

However, the mediums seemed unaffected. They stood before the towering soldiers, holding them back with their bodies.

Bai Lingmiao made a lotus seal with her hands, and she smacked her head forcefully with the lotus seal. The lotus on her forehead became a twin lotus.

Then she immediately started chatting. “The strong and weak fragrances shall combine and scatter. The east and the west diverge but remain intertwined!”

Bai Lingmiao trembled, and her expression was part angry and part sorrowful. She looked rather bizarre as her shadow began to grow larger.

However, the soldiers didn’t care about her bizarre appearance at all. The ground burst open, and a soldier radiating an intense, killing intent jumped out of the fissure. He was holding a weapon made out of a dragon's horn as he rushed toward Bai Lingmiao.

Just as Bai Lingmiao was about to get hit, she split apart, allowing her to dodge the attack. However, Bai Lingmiao’s upper body was the only part of her that had split apart; her lower body hadn't changed.

One of Bai Lingmiao's two faces showed compassion and mercy, while the other showed cruelty and ferocity.

Bom, bom, bom!

Four slender palms with black nails moved like whips, slapping the white drums around Bai Lingmiao’s waist. As the drum beats intensified, a red veil manifested, covering the two faces.

Behind the red veil, the Second Deity started singing.

“The treasured foal grows wings in the nine heavens, and the iron pagoda shines with the light of the eight treasures! I smile once, my partner smiles twice, and the old immortal laughs three times for reasons unknown!

"I call upon the old Immortal; you must come!”

A patch of fur grew out of the back of Bai Lingmiao’s hand. The wolf teeth protruding from behind the red veil gnawed at the palms of the towering soldier, tearing them apart in the blink of an eye.

While Bai Lingmiao and the spirit mediums were busy buying time, Li Huowang had already devoured the majority of Shangguan Yuting’s head. The eyeball in the middle of his forehead was bloodshot, and it had become larger than his head.

He had transformed into a terrifying monster, and the tentacles all over him made him look even more terrifying. Li Huowang's expression was frightening too, and he looked like he was having a hard time catching his breath.

Unfortunately, Li Huowang still needed more. Not enough! Still not enough!

Li Huowang’s mouth split abruptly, opening up all the way to his ears. His eyes widened to the maximum as he leaned forward, sucking Shangguan Yuting’s head into his mouth.

Shangguan Yuting abruptly stopped moving, and she dissipated into nothingness. Li Huowang looked up, revealing an eyeball that had become swollen to the point that it looked like it would explode at any time soon.

Li Huowang’s scalp had become almost transparent, allowing others to peek at his skull.

“I-I-I can see it!!” Li Huowang roared hysterically.

His head swelled up, expanding by half its size before shrinking to the size of a walnut. Afterward, Li Huowang's head exploded with a bang as if it were a firework.

At the same time, Shangji Guankou's hidden secrets became available to Li Huowang. He saw what was hidden beneath this world, and everything that was once shrouded in fog became extremely clear to him.

He was a Hong Zhong, and his past had changed completely when Doulao had gifted him with the identity of a Hong Zhong.

One’s past wasn't just the past. Whenever a Siming changed someone’s past, that someone's past would inevitably change as well! The Simings cared so much about the past because they were fighting for each other's future!

Zheng Boqiao was right—only with a "cause" would there be an "effect."

The Simings didn't actually exist completely, and they'd disappear the moment every single trace of their existence was gone.

In the darkness, Li Huowang caught a glimpse of the secrets of the birth and the death of the Simings. He finally understood what the Simings were all about. At the same time, Li Huowang noticed that many heavenly entities had noticed his existence, but he couldn't care less about them at the moment.

His attention was on the fact that he had found many valuable pieces of information through the secrets of the Shangji Guankou, including the secrets written on Zhuge Yuan’s fan at the time.

Li Huowang knelt down and looked up.

“Is this part of your plan?” Li Huowang asked.

He was staring at the stolen Sacred Mountain Ghost’s Eye, and he saw his own reflection in the eye so colossal that it blotted out the skies.

If he were to become Doulao’s Twisted One, then the current Doulao would be his future self. That was the eye's plan…

Li Huowang just had to follow its plan, and the current crisis would be resolved.

Shai Zi has deceived my future self, and I'm going to avenge myself, Li Huowang thought. It seemed to be the most logical course of action.

When Li Huowang got close enough to the eye, his flesh cracked open by itself. The scars that had yet to vanish all split open like flower petals.

Pain… intense pain. The excruciating pain brought Li Huowang back, pulling him away from the Sacred Mountain Ghost’s Eye in the sky. Upon savoring the familiar feeling, Li Huowang smiled. I had no idea that I was so popular! I should have known of it earlier.

When Doulao was in the middle of setting up its scheme, Ba-Hui was setting up its trap as well. To be more precise, the two of them wanted to turn me into their Twisted One the moment I obtained the Profound Records from the water bandits!

Li Huowang felt like an eternity had passed. His brain matter, blood, and broken bones that were flying in all directions were falling slowly to the ground.

The sudden change stunned everyone, including the spirit mediums and the soldiers. They all slowly stopped what they were doing to stare in disbelief at Li Huowang, who had suddenly lost his head but was still somehow muttering to himself.

Moreover, Li Huowang's fleshly body seemed to be in the middle of being subjected to lingchi[1]. His flesh and skin were splitting open, revealing the wriggling black tentacles underneath.

Li Sui was inside Li Huowang, so she reacted faster than anyone. Moreover, she knew quite a few things for sure, and one of them was the fact that a person would die upon losing their head.

“Father, are you alright? Your head—"

“Shh!” Bai Lingmiao hushed as her two bodies rushed over to the tentacles that had sprouted out of Li Huowang’s broken mouth.

“Suisui, listen to me. Don’t say anything to your father!” Bai Lingmiao warned.

Right then, Li Huowang made a move. His mouth was the only part of his face that was somewhat intact as he rushed toward Shai Zi, who was busy fighting the Chief of the Great Liang's Surveillance Bureau.

Bai Lingmiao’s fangs closed forcefully as she chased after Li Huowang. The soldiers in dragon-scale armor attempted to block them, but Bai Lingmiao and the spirit mediums put their lives on the line to stop them.

When the Chief and Zhuge Yuan saw Li Huowang’s current appearance, they seemed to have understood something, so they didn't say anything.

However, Shai Zi was different. He roared, “Hong Zhong! Where did your head go?”

Li Huowang roared, “Don’t think you can fool me again, Sitting Oblivion Dao!”

“Your head really isn't there! If you don’t believe me, try and touch your head!”

1. a form of slow execution by a thousand cuts ?