Mutated Tao

Li Huowang removed the jade lotus upon seeing Bai Lingmiao returning to normal.

He then shook her vigorously, shouting, “Miaomiao! Miaomiao!”

Li Huowang only relaxed when Bai Lingmiao opened her eyes.

“Senior Li …” Bai Lingmiao’s pink irises revealed sadness and indignance.

“As long as you're fine… as long as you're fine…” Li Huowang hugged her tightly and patted her back. Li Huowang looked up, quietly thanking Zhuge Yuan.

If Zhuge Yuan hadn't told him what to do with the jade lotus, he could have lost Bai Lingmiao.

“Junior Li, no need to thank me. I decided to help because I can help. Anyway, I didn't expect that the Twelve Merits Jade Lotus have been here all this while. I’ve been looking for it for a very long time.”

Li Huowang took a deep breath and slipped his arms behind Bai Lingmiao before carrying her out of the dark room. The Second Deity followed closely behind them.

Li Huowang lowered his head and took in the fragrance of her hair before whispering, “I know that you're upset, but right now, we need to deal with the urgent matters first. Let’s talk after we've overcome the Natural Disaster, all right?”

Listening to Li Huowang’s beating heart, Li Huowang burrowed her head deeper into the former's chest and nodded. Compared to her previous self, she had become much more quiet and meek.

The tunnels made by the White Lotus Sect weren't that long, so Li Huowang soon made it out, walking into the ancestral hall.

Once he was outside, Li Huowang immediately heard the sound of fighting coming from the entrance of the Bai Family Estate. Li Huowang picked up his pace and ran toward the noises to reinforce them.

Li Huowang had taken just a few steps when his expression froze, and he came to a screeching halt. He had picked up something with his keen senses; something was watching him.

Li Huowang shivered. He had no idea why, but his body was no longer under his control. His shivering became even more intense as time ticked by; soon, he trembled visibly.

“That's…” Li Huowang looked up while trembling, and his gaze pierced the dark skies.

The dark skies parted, revealing unknown horrors. Li Huowang saw the profound energy of the universe rolling around, the intertwining Heavenly Daos, and the shining capital filled with crimson mansions with the royal palace hidden at the top.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Li Huowang's face and landed on Bai Lingmiao’s hand. Li Huowang looked up from his chest and saw Li Huowang staring at the skies without moving.

Bai Lingmiao looked up as well but saw nothing.

“Senior Li, what’s wrong?” Bai Lingmiao asked, sounding uneasy.

She tugged lightly at his red robes, and that was when Li Huowang’s mouth parted until it reached his ears. His lower jaw was dislocated with a crack, and an urgent scream escaped from the depths of his throat.

He sounded like a crane crowing loudly.

When his scream rang out, it pervaded and overwhelmed everything. Every noise nearby became Li Huowang's cry. Black tentacles surged from Li Huowang's shadow amidst his strange scream.

Bai Lingmiao felt something tugging on her shoes, and she cried out, “Senior Li!”

Bai Lingmiao cried loudly, and Li Huowang tried desperately to close his eyes to stop the entities up above in the Heavens from affecting him. However, he couldn’t do it. He felt like he had lost all control over his eyes.

Just then, Li Huowang hoisted Bai Lingmiao over his shoulder before gouging his own eyes with his fingers, but it was useless! His bloody eyeballs were still staring at the entities hidden behind in the dark skies!

Li Huowang clenched both hands tightly and destroyed his eyeballs.

And that was when he finally stopped screaming—everything had returned to normal.

Li Huowang slumped to the ground with Bai Lingmiao in his arms.

The Second Deity and Bai Lingmiao hurriedly helped Li Huowang up.

Li Huowang looked haggard and was drenched in his own blood. His lower jaw was completely dislocated, so his mouth was agape. He panted deeply as both saliva and blood flowed out of his mouth.

Li Huowang looked incredibly weak as if his soul had been taken away from him.

Bai Lingmiao was about to beat the drums, but Li Huowang raised a hand to stop her. He forcefully set his jaw in position before saying, “Don’t call upon the Immortal families! The evil entities in the world have gone crazy! The Immortal families might not listen to you anymore, and they might not leave you alone the moment you summon them here!”

Bai Lingmiao's tear-stricken face appeared before Li Huowang, and she reached out a trembling hand to touch Li Huowang's bloody eye socket.

“Senior Li, what’s wrong with you? Why did you gouge out your eyeballs?” Bai Lingmiao asked, sobbing.

A tremor ran across Li Huowang at Bai Lingmiao's remark, and he opened his mouth wide once again.

Li Huowang covered his eye sockets with both hands and mumbled, “No, I'm not going to think about it. I'm not going to think about the suffering of the masses and the suffering of all living beings. Suffering cannot be born nor die; they are neither dirty nor clean, and they will remain eternal.”

The scenes that Li Huowang had witnessed were threatening to reappear in his memories. He tried his best to calm down by chanting a mantra. He lowered his hands but found that the scabs had glued them to his face.

Li Huowang tugged at his arms, and blood sprayed out of his eye sockets. Li Huowang listened to his surroundings and endured the pain to ask, “Where are we?”

“Master, you're in the yard of the Bai Family Estate. Please get ready to endure the pain; I will scatter some medicine into your eye sockets.”

Hearing Lu Xiucai's voice, Li Huowang tried to stand up and walk outside with his sword in hand.

“Master, you don’t have to go anymore, as you are heavily injured. Miss Bai, Simpleton, and Xiaoman have killed most of the evil entities. If they need reinforcements, I can simply go there to help him.”

Lu Xiucai's words had yet to finish echoing in the air when the others arrived to check on Li Huowang. They told him the same thing, allowing Li Huowang to know that they really weren’t in danger.

Thus, Li Huowang sat down and took out the Fiery Scripture to heal himself.

The sizzling wax moved across his face and stopped the bleeding in his eye sockets.

Lu Zhuangyuan wrapped some bandages across his eyes, and Li Huowang sat quietly, listening to the situation outside with his keen ears while trying to come out with contingency plans.

Just then, his arm and face felt warm.

Before he could ask any questions, cheers erupted all around him.

“What’s happening?!” Li Huowang held his sword tightly and stood up.

“Young Daoist, the sun is back! Hahaha! Looks like someone managed to scare the Heavenly Dog away with the gongs!”

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