Mutated Tao

Chapter 736: Soul

Chapter 736: Soul

Li Huowang saw his arm pass effortlessly through the Lama’s hand. He instantly understood and looked up, then felt his whole body plummet. He landed directly on the ceiling below.

Li Huowang looked up at the Lamas and his own body surrounded by them. The Feng Capital was clearly not a place the physical body could reach.

He could still hear the Lamas chanting, but the sound was faint and distant, as though muffled by a veil.

The sensation was peculiar—it was as if he was weightless and floating on air. Is this the soul leaving the body? So there really are souls in this world? Why aren’t there any ghosts, then?

Li Huowang recalled the Lama’s words and didn’t tarry. He clenched his fists and walked towards the door.

When he exited the inverted Antrabhara Temple, the outside world had transformed into a vast and desolate desert.

He was not surprised since Yang Xiaohai had warned him. After contemplating momentarily, he headed in the direction Yang Xiaohai had mentioned, where he had bumped into Hong Zhong.

Li Huowang only had three divisions and had to find the Sitting Oblivion Dao’s Hong Zhong quickly. If he didn’t find him here, he’d have to search in circles around the Antrabhara Temple.

Li Huowang walked through the bleak landscape and constantly looked around his surroundings.

Yang Xiaohai said there’s no more of that bizarre seawater from god Yu’er here. What does that mean? Does that mean the Siming responsible for death managed to fend off god Yu’er?

God Yu’er likely hadn’t taken over the Siming of Death. A change in the Heavenly Dao should’ve caused a Natural Disaster. This might be a good thing for them. Any setback for god Yu’er was good news.

Li Huowang was puzzled after walking for some time. He hadn’t found Hong Zhong or any of the souls of the dead, which Yang Xiaohai had claimed were everywhere.

There were no souls, no strange, giant ghosts, and no bottomless pits. None of the things described by Yang Xiaohai were here.

As he started to doubt if he was on the correct path, he suddenly sensed something emerging from the distant black fog.

“What is that…?” Li Huowang leaned forward and looked at the shadow forming in the mist.

As the shadow became larger, it eventually exceeded his field of vision. He realized what it was—it was Mahakala, the Siming of Death. I must not look!

Li Huowang lowered his head. He focused on the uneven ground and then moved aside.

The next moment, a terrifyingly low growl echoed, paralyzing him with fear. He couldn’t even lift his feet.

All he could do was close his eyes, cover his ears, and curl up into a ball. He chanted to himself, “You can’t see me… you can’t see me!”

Another low growl sounded, and the immense pressure made Li Huowang feel as if he was on the brink of death.

It felt like a mountain was crushing him.

After an unknown amount of time, the feeling finally dissipated. Li Huowang gasped for breath and got up, then saw that his body had partially melted like a candle.

This had happened just from passing by, without even touching him.

He stared at the distant black fog. So this is Mahakala? This is Kui Lei.

Ba-Hui governed pain, and Doulao governed truth and falsehood. Compared to them, meeting Kui Lei, who governed death, was an entirely different experience. It was like facing eternal silence itself.

He understood why this place was so empty after this recent experience.

Li Huowang was more concerned about whether Hong Zhong’s memory was still alive than about whether Shai Zi had lied to him.

If this happened a few more times, Li Huowang wouldn’t make it even with the Lamas’ protection, let alone Hong Zhong from the Sitting Oblivion Dao.

Could he really have been reincarnated? Does reincarnation exist in this world? Li Huowang began to consider the worst possibilities.

As he thought about this, he looked up and saw something dart into the black fog from the southeast corner of the ceiling.

“Wait!” Li Huowang sprinted towards the ceiling.

When his feet made contact with the uneven ceiling, he chased after the commotion.

It was the first moving thing he had seen in this desolate world of death. He needed to catch it and find out what was going on.

He ran as fast as he could and soon caught a glimpse of its back. It was a child glowing with white light.

“Wait! Don’t run!”

The figure only ran faster after he shouted. As he followed the child’s steps, his surroundings changed. Gigantic pillars began to appear, dividing the sky and earth. The child vanished behind one of these pillars.

Li Huowang sighed in frustration when a mocking voice came from above. “Why are you chasing it?”

He looked up to see another Li Huowang hanging upside down from the ceiling.

It was Hong Zhong from the Sitting Oblivion Dao. Li Huowang could tell with one look since his own face would never have such an expression.

“Great, you’re not dead!” Li Huowang exclaimed, relieved at his luck in finding him so quickly.

“What, you wanted me dead? That makes sense. To you, I’m just a memory created by Doulao.” The upside-down Li Huowang wiped his face, which turned into a Hong Zhong mahjong tile.

He continued, “Let me guess, you came all the way to the Feng Capital to find me because you’re in trouble? What kind of trouble brings the famous Li Huowang to seek help from a mere memory?”

“You know I’m just a memory, right?” The flesh-and-blood Hong Zhong jumped down and laughed maniacally. “Do you know what that means? It means I reset every hour and start over, which repeats endlessly! Do you understand how that feels? Do you?!”

As he shouted, Hong Zhong began to disintegrate and eventually turn into a pool of writhing blood.