Mutated Tao

Zuoqiu Yong turned and looked at Bai Lingmiao playfully. “Now I see that the Heavenly Mater has the Heavenly Dao of Death, but unfortunately, it's useless to me. I am not a mortal after all.”

She snapped her fingers toward Bai Lingmiao. Trees and bushes burst out from the ground to envelop Bai Lingmiao.

Li Huowang snarled and swung his arm. The plants magically disappeared as if they had never been there.

Li Huowang’s action finally caught Zuoqiu Yong’s attention.

“Tsk tsk tsk, now who have we here? To think that you would grow so much in just a few days.”

Zuoqiu Yong spoke with arrogance, still dismissing Li Huowang as a threat.

Li Huowang couldn't tell if Zuoqiu Yong was serious or pretending, but it didn't matter.

Surveying their surroundings, Li Huowang realized they couldn't fight in the middle of Shangjing. Millions of people were there, and the collateral damage could be catastrophic.

“Change!” Li Huowang pushed his arms forward, and everything around him changed rapidly. Now, everyone was back in the Tianchen Kingdom.

The prosperous Shangjing had turned into the forests of the Tianchen Kingdom.

“Oh, ho~ Not bad, kid. It looks like you’ve learned quite a lot,” Zuoqiu Yong said.

Li Huowang did not waste his breath and glared at Zuoqiu Yong’s burgeoning form.

Under his gaze, Zuoqiu Yong quickly disintegrated. With his cultivation, he only needed a short amount of time to reduce someone into nothingness.

However, Zuoqiu Yong’s body continuously regenerated, mending itself faster than Li Huowang could break it down.

Zuoqiu Yong had the Heavenly Dao of Growth. Any wounds that could be healed by growing back her flesh weren’t a threat to her.

She smiled as her body regenerated. “Unfortunately, you’re still too weak. You were smart last time and managed to trick me, but tricks cannot last forever. Today, I’ll show you the true gulf between our powers.”

Zuoqiu Yong raised her arms into the air and appeared to struggle as she held onto an invisible weight.

“Wait!”

A voice interrupted their fight. They looked to the left and saw a familiar sight running out from the forest. It was Shai Zi.

He didn't wear any disguises. He had his distinctive dice-shaped head.

Standing between the two, Shai Zi gestured for Li Huowang to step back.

Then, Shai Zi turned to Zuoqiu Yong. “Stop, they tricked you. We’re on the same side here.”

His words confused both sides.

Li Huowang saw Zuoqiu Yong's confusion and realized that Shai Zi was up to something.

Who is he talking about? What does Shai Zi know? Wait, since he’s from the Sitting Oblivion Dao, he might be lying again!

While Li Huowang was thinking, Zuoqiu Yong replied to Shai Zi, “Who told you that?”

Shai Zi looked at Li Sui and chuckled. “It was the Chief of the Liang Kingdom’s Surveillance Bureau. She said you were moving too quickly—the Heavenly Mater had just been reinstated, and yet you were already on the move. It was too strange, so she sent me to check.

“And lo and behold, my spies discovered something interesting. You somehow caught wind of the news when the Heavenly Mater had yet to be reinstated. You were making preparations long before the Heavenly Mater had been reinstated.

“Who would be kind enough to warn you that your enemy is about to be resurrected? Have you considered what their goal might be?”

Zuoqiu Yong stood still with a blank face. No one knew if she was listening to Shai Zi or not.

“Hehehe…“ Shai Zi approached Li Huowang and placed his arms on Li Huowang’s shoulder. “Can’t figure it out? Think carefully. The Dharma Sect had invaded both the Liang Kingdom and the Tianchen Kingdom.”

Li Huowang’s pupils shrank from the realization. “Do you mean the people from Fu Shengtian?!”

Seeing that Li Huowang was smoothly working with him, Shai Zi clapped vigorously. “That’s right. It’s them!”

He turned and looked at Zuoqiu Yong. “No matter how dire our current situation, it pales in comparison to the threat from Fu Shengtian. Surely you can see that we’re still on the same side here?

“Fu Shengtian tried to attack us last time but failed. They are still trying to invade us. After learning about your old history with the Heavenly Mater, they sent some people to secretly sow discord among us.

“Zuoqiu Yong, don’t let them deceive you. They are playing dirty this time. They are disguising their men as ours and trying to make us fight each other.”

Zuoqiu Yong's expression remained unreadable, while Li Huowang's mind was overwhelmed with the influx of information.

Could it be true? Did Fu Shengtian plant the seeds of discord between us months ago? Was the previous fight between the Simings just the start, not the end?

Li Huowang tried to calm himself down, knowing better than to trust Shai Zi's words at face value. Wait, this could all be another of Shai Zi’s schemes. Maybe it’s just a ploy to prevent Zuoqiu Yong from making the right decisions.

Shai Zi was presenting everything as if it were the absolute truth, but when had Shai Zi’s words ever been that straightforward? They had always appeared to be truthful.

Li Huowang understood the Sitting Oblivion Dao. No matter how truthful their words might seem on the surface, one could never let down their guard.

Regardless, Li Huowang realized the wisest course was to play along, at least for now.

“Shai ZI, are you telling the truth?” Li Huowang asked.

Shai Zi nodded vehemently. Even his expression looked serious. “It’s true! You should know that I never lie. Fu Shengtian’s fight with us isn’t over yet. The Simings at the Baiyu Capital are still fighting hard. The fight began a long time ago!”