Mutated Tao

“Elder, what do you think about my proposal?” Li Huowang looked at the woman in black robes.

Li Huowang did not recognize any of the higher-ranking members of the Ao Jing Sect, but he was certain that the woman in front of him was one of them.

Her exposed skin was covered in myriads of weird bruises and scars. She did not have a single piece of complete skin on her body.

Her stomach was also engorged, but it didn’t look like a pregnancy. It looked like a tumor.

She opened her mouth and revealed the empty cavity inside. Her tongue had been removed, and even the skin in her mouth had been peeled off. Her mouth was filled with white pus and blisters, including her throat.

After demonstrating her inability to speak due to her disfigured mouth, she picked up a brush and wrote on a red bamboo slip. Li Huowang, I am Shen Benyou. I have long heard of your infamy.

This is a good method. We could both wound the Dharma Sect and take care of the Natural Disaster. Why aren’t the royal family or the Surveillance Bureau using this method? Why are you the only one implementing this plan? Are they stupid?

Li Huowang leaned forward. “The situation is critical. Do you really think we should spend our time discussing that? Just tell me if you want to help or not. I thought those who had ascended were treated as a higher-ranked individual in the Ao Jing Sect. Is my position that low?”

Shen Benyou dipped her brush into an inkwell before writing again. We will naturally help since we are allies now, but why should we? It’s a dangerous mission. Since you’ve ascended before, you should also know that the members of the Ao Jing Sect want this Natural Disaster to last as long as possible.

“Is that so? Do you just want to suffer from the pain? This time, Death disappeared. Can you be certain that Pain won’t disappear next time? Also, I thought your objectives were the same as those of the Sacrificial God—stealing the Heavenly Dao of Pain from Ba-Hui. Are you really sure that the current phenomena won’t lead to another Siming taking the Heavenly Dao of Pain from Ba-Hui?

“If Ba-Hui’s Heavenly Dao gets taken by someone else, wouldn’t that mean that all of your actions—your self-mutilation, killings, and the pain you inflict on yourselves—would become a joke?”

Shen Benyou and the other Ao Jing Sect members remained silent.

Li Huowang approached Shen Benyou closer and stared into her eyes. “Don’t think that this situation doesn’t affect you. The Natural Disaster concerns everyone. You know that too, don’t you? If you didn’t, then why would you be here?”

Li Huowang calmed down a bit before he took a few steps back. “Also, now that we have lost Death, you guys won’t die. You lose nothing by helping me.”

Saying more was meaningless. Li Huowang sat still and waited for their answer. If they don’t want to help me, I’ll have to find another way.

Shen Benyou wrote her response on the bamboo slip. You, Li Huowang, owe me a favor.

She didn’t wait for his reply. You owe me a favor. The Ao Jing Sect will not only help you, but we will also help you find another ally to ensure our success.

Upon seeing those words on the bamboo slip, Li Huowang replied, “Let’s make this clear. Do I owe you, and only you, a favor, or do I owe the Ao Jing Sect a favor?”

Me.

“Then it’s decided!” Li Huowang stood up and agreed to it. He didn’t want to waste any time.

“Call your allies here. We can depart immediately.”

Li Huowang was about to walk out when he stopped. He forgot to ask them who their allies were. “Who are you planning to ask for help? Best not to find someone from the Surveillance Bureau. I fear that there may be imperial spies mixed in with them.”

The Lion Dance Palace. Do not worry. I guarantee that there are no spies in there.

“Why them?” He recalled the few times he had encountered the Lion Dance Palace. He didn’t really know a lot about them.

Li Huowang knew they lived underground in Qing Qiu and about the white tassels capable of shifting a person’s organs. Other than that, he knew nothing else about them.

The Lion Dance Palace can dance with everyone and anything. They can help us.

Li Huowang couldn’t care less about what the Lion Dance Palace was. He just wanted to take back the two Dragon Veins as soon as possible and end the Natural Disaster.

Shen Benyou did not walk by herself. Instead, she was carried away on a palanquin. Under her guidance, Li Huowang and the others got closer to where the Lion Dance Palace was located.

They walked towards a remote part of the forest. In the middle of the forest and mountains, there was a massive cave as large as a house. It constantly emitted a gust of cold wind. Li Huowang stood in front of the large cave.

“What are the Lion Dances? Why do they always stay under the ground?” Li Huowang asked out of curiosity.

Apparently, the thing they worshiped had a dispute with the sun. They always cover up to prevent the sun from shining on them.

Shen Benyou pointed at the sun before they entered the cave.

The stairs in the cave were clearly man-made. They were new and very flat.

The stairs were also massive. It would take a regular person tens of years to complete such a feat.

Navigating the cave was easy for Li Huowang. He simply had to follow the only white light in the cave, just like he did in Qing Qiu last time.

He soon found the Lion Dance Palace. Rows of large faces lined up on the sides while a massive wall of human faces sat near the end.

The white light scattered here and there were the white tassels stuck between the large human faces.

The white tassels pulsated lightly, as if they were breathing.

The large faces, each the size of a dinner table, stared at Li Huowang together. The oppressive feeling made it hard for him to breathe.

When Li Huowang saw them, he recalled some bad memories and frowned. He hated them, even if they were to help him.

“What is it?” Various voices echoed from the other side of the wall of faces, blending together in a symphony of male, female, old, and young tones.

Shen Benyou did not speak. Instead, she threw a bamboo slip towards the wall of faces.

The white tassels extended like tentacles and swiftly disintegrated the bamboo slips before guiding them into the wall of faces.

“Do you have a good relationship with the palace master?” Li Huowang whispered.

They are not a palace, nor do they have a palace master. They can converge as one or divide as many units. Everything you see here is a single living being, and it's called the Lion Dance Palace.