Mutated Tao

Li Huowang had some other ideas after he managed to conjure Zhuge Yuan. Since he could do it with Zhuge Yuan, he should be able to conjure others too.

But he was looking for someone only slightly weaker than Zhuge Yuan, and he didn’t know many people who fit that bill.

He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he would rather give it a try than give up.

Even if his attacks only bought some time, it would still give others hope that reinforcements would arrive later.

Li Huowang took a deep breath and recalled the moment when Dan Yangzi took over his body. It was a memory that he had tried to hide in the past, but now, he was digging it up.

Li Huowang’s charred skin grew back, but instead of his original skin, it was skin and flesh covered in wrinkles.

His skin turned into a tar-like substance as feathers protruded out. Li Huowang’s head also split into three, forming the three heads of Dan Yangzi. The youthful, middle-aged, and elderly faces of Dan Yangzi appeared as a white shawl swiftly grew on his shoulder.

All three mouths opened at the same time. “Hahaha! I’m alive! I knew I would have the same lifespan as the Heavens themselves! Li Huowang was fake! He’s just part of my Three Corpses!”

As he shouted, Dan Yangzi’s organs swiftly grew outside of his body. He ignored everything and floated upwards.

The invisible being that had been decimating the soldiers was immediately transfixed on Dan Yangzi the moment he appeared. The aura of a Half-Immortal was special.

It started moving as the soldiers hung onto its body for dear life. The being charged towards Dan Yangzi in an attempt to ram him.

“What is this stupid beast that’s trying to stop me from becoming an Immortal?” Dan Yangzi thrust his hands into his organs and pulled out a fleshy bronze coin sword.

Dan Yangzi blocked the being with his sword, but he was still knocked backward by the massive impact. Luckily, he remained unharmed from the attack.

Dan Yangzi steadied himself in the air and bit into the three fingers on his right hand. He started writing several runes on his bronze coin sword using his black blood.

“Supreme Heavenly Star of the Altar, respond to me with haste! Expel all evils and bind all demons for me to achieve peace of mind. The Three Souls endure for all eternity while the spirit remains unscattered. Respond to my command with haste and urgency!”

As he finished his rune, the eyeballs on the bronze coin sword exploded, forming a dense red mist. Dan Yangzi swung his sword, and the red mist flew towards the being.

Even though it was powerful, it was still ineffective against the invisible being. No matter what kind of technique Dan Yangzi used, they all landed ineffectively on the being.

Dan Yangzi had used all of his techniques, but he was still outmatched. An invisible tail slapped Dan Yangzi, dispersing his body. The weakened Li Huowang fell downwards.

“I guess it was useless?” Li Huowang fell onto the ground. His breath was ragged, and he was on the verge of death.

The being wanted to kill Li Huowang to stop any future threats against it. Suddenly, the hundreds and thousands of soldiers adopted a martial arts stance and raised three incense sticks in their hands.

The unusual movement of the soldiers caused the being to ignore Li Huowang, charging back toward the soldiers.

Just as the being was about to crash into the soldiers, they all opened their eyes in unison. They stabbed the incense sticks into the ground at the same time.

“We soldiers are machines! The realm of life and death, the path of survival and extinction! Jiang Xiangshou is above us! Jiang Xiangshou is in our heart! Jiang Xiangshou is under us! Annihilate the Gods! Annihilate the Immortals! Annihilate the Buddhas! Annihilate the Daos!”

An enormous amount of murderous aura surged into all of their bodies. All of their bodies were barely able to contain the murderous aura as they suppressed their bodies from exploding. Veins bulged and blood trickled out from their orifices.

The soldiers in formation and the being crashed into each other, but neither side gave away.

The sound of the horrific crash came again, and Li Huowang was affected by the feeling bubbling off from the being’s body. He felt the unending barbarity in the air and the ambition that could never be satisfied.

Regardless of what the being was, Li Huowang sensed that it was holding onto two different Heavenly Daos.

Wait, barbarity? Li Huowang realized something and stood up shakily. He looked towards the being and sensed the change in the air. The Heavenly Dao also visibly affected the soldiers as their strength waned.

The closer Li Huowang got, the more familiar the feeling got. He sensed a familiar feeling before, one that was very warm.

Ambition was an offspring of greed.

“Wait, answer me! Are you holding onto the Heavenly Dao of Greed?!” Li Huowang shouted angrily.

But the being ignored him, continuing to clash with the soldiers.

The being did not answer him, but Li Huowang was sure now. He remembered that greed used to be paired with rot, but something had changed. Now, greed was paired with barbarity instead. One of the Siming’s Heavenly Daos had been plundered.

The only Natural Disaster that happened recently that involved rot was the day when the Benevolent Nunnery was destroyed.

“You?! YOU KILLED ABBESS JING XIN? YOU KILLED THEM ALL?”

Li Huowang's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the being. His anger continued to grow until it threatened to swallow him whole.

Li Huowang embedded the spine sword onto the ground as he howled in anger. A ribcage slowly grew on the spine sword.

Li Huowang’s head expanded continuously as veins covered his scalp.

Zhuge Yuan’s body was only halfway materialized when he slumped onto the ground with blood flowing out from all of his orifices.

He could cultivate the 'Truth,' but using it to materialize Zhuge Yuan, the Twisted One of the Three Ancient Ones, strained his body too much.

Zhuge Yuan’s body was slowly crumbling away when Li Sui tunneled into Li Huowang’s body. “Dad, let me help you! I will help you! Zhuge Yuan is real!”

Their thoughts linked together. Li Sui, who had been eating Li Huowang’s flesh and blood, finally showed her usefulness. Zhuge Yuan’s body swiftly materialized.

But even with Li Sui’s help, Zhuge Yuan’s body was still incomplete.

“A little more! Just a little more!” Li Huowang fell onto the ground in pain. “MATERIALIZE!”

Pop! Li Huowang’s head exploded, leaving only the stump of his neck exposed in the air.

At the same time, Zhuge Yuan materialized.

Zhuge Yuan stared at the being fighting against the soldiers and frowned. “The ritual had been interrupted, so how did Ma Tuo get summoned here?”