The Unruly Immortals

"Kill!" Li Huowang swept the sword that hugged the ground with force, and the blade seemed to light up with a dark red Knife Gang.

The next moment, the black shadow that had split in two let out a scream and turned into black smoke.

With renewed vigor, Li Huowang clenched his teeth and accelerated forward, rapidly closing the distance between them.

Li Huowang had thought there was only one shadow monster left, easy for him to handle, but unexpectedly, the copper-faced man's armpits fluttered, and four more arms extended out again.

Each hand clutched a different shadow.

As the slender fingers plucked at the air, the moonlight unchanged, Li Huowang was instantly surrounded by these thin-as-wings shadow monsters.

"Senior Brother Li, we're coming to help you!"

"No one come over! Stay back! Miaomiao, stop beating the drum! I can handle these!"

Li Huowang quickly employed the Sweeping Thousands of Troops maneuver, slightly repelling them.

"Whirling" the red bamboo slips swiftly deployed.

As the incantation was cast, the intense pain almost made Li Huowang faint.

But the effort was effective, and before the two fingertips even touched the ground, they rapidly swelled and ripped apart.

Bones inside the fingers grew insanely, piercing and twisting through flesh, spinning like two long darts flying toward the copper-faced man.

The copper-faced man tried to dodge to the side, but did not expect the fingers to move in sync with him.

"Puchi" twice, as the fingers penetrated his neck, the shadowy figures around Li Huowang instantly stiffened and reattached themselves to the ground.

"You..." After uttering just that one word, the copper-faced man staggered and collapsed.

Li Huowang quickly walked over, looking at the strange six-armed figure that had died.

"That's it? This simple?" Li Huowang was very surprised, as it was nothing like the hardships he had faced before, almost felt like child's play.

Li Huowang stepped closer and gently pried off the copper coin mask with his sword.

He wanted to see what this person really looked like.

Upon lifting the mask, Li Huowang was shocked to find a wooden mouth underneath; this thing was a puppet all along!

"Watch out! The dwarf is still inside, he's preparing to ambush you!"

The voice from nowhere had barely ceased when the copper-faced man's abdomen was pierced, and a flash of cold light thrust towards Li Huowang's heart.

Thankfully, with the early warning, Li Huowang quickly used his sword to parry the ambush.

The next moment, after warding off the thrust, Li Huowang plunged his evil Qi-ridden longsword directly into the copper-faced man's abdomen with an upward force.

Accompanied by the shriek of a duck's voice, blood flowed from the copper-faced man's belly.

A bald-headed dwarf, with a large right eye and a small left eye, skin loose and sallow, tried to emerge, his expression twisted with pain.

But it was in vain, his struggle mere flailing, and after a few howls, his sizable head slowly drooped.

After having killed a man, Li Huowang felt his sword hum a tone, and he nearly failed to keep his grip on it.

Quickly pulling it out, he sheathed the bloodied blade, and at last, the longsword ceased its restlessness.

However, Li Huowang's attention was no longer on the sword at that moment. He swiftly turned his head to locate the source of the voice that had warned him.

Before him stood a monk in tattered clothes full of patches, smiling at him.

"It's you again? Who exactly are you!"

The monk lifted his toe-exposing sandals and took a step forward, walking past the dead dwarf, not forgetting to remove the copper coin mask from his face and stuff it into his pocket.

"Move quickly, talk while walking, haven't you seen that all those people are coming?"

Li Huowang turned his head for a glance at the growing black dots in all directions and quickly followed.

"Everyone, keep up, run, don't fall behind!"

Li Huowang caught up with the monk and asked again, "Who exactly are you? Why are you doing this?"

The monk smiled, looked at Li Huowang, "Don't be so aggressive, Li Huowang. Tell me, in the days we spent together, have I ever harmed you?"

Without waiting for Li Huowang to respond, the monk began to answer his own question.

"No, not only have I not harmed you, but I've also always helped you, helped you see through the conspiracy of Zhengde Temple, and warned you that those performing the Nuoxi plays were peculiar."

Glancing back at the pursuers, Li Huowang took a deep breath, calming the restlessness in his heart before asking again, "Thank you for the help these past few times, but I don't want to be kept in the dark."

The usually cheerful monk suddenly looked solemnly at Li Huowang, "Who I am is not important, what's most important is who you are. Are you really Li Huowang?"

"What?!" Li Huowang's pupils shrunk to pinpoints in an instant, for a moment he wanted to stop the other from saying any more.

"What I'm about to say might shock the world, but considering the many times I've saved you, you must believe me."

"I am not a monk, and you are not Li Huowang. These are identities belonging to others, temporarily assumed by us. In fact, your name is Peng Zhi, and mine is Peng Jiao. We're not real people; our true identities are the three corpses of others!"

"What on earth does all this mean!!" Li Huowang's mind was in as much disarray as a mess of paste, "I'm not Li Huowang? There is another Li Huowang?"

"Whoosh!" An arrow shot over, and the monk hastily pulled Li Huowang aside, helping him dodge it.

Feeling the urgency, the monk began to speed up his speech.

"I don't know if you are aware of the Taoism concept of 'three corpses'? Any immortal cultivator seeking to become an immortal must sever their own three corpses, and we are those severed three corpses!"

"Peng Jiao, the upper corpse, is Master Danyang. The middle corpse, Peng Zhi, is you, and the lower corpse, Peng Jiao, is me!"

"Master Danyang has already been severed, and next, it's us! That's why we must work together to have a chance at survival!"

"This... How is this possible..." Li Huowang was reluctant to believe. His world had turned upside down in just a few moments.

"Taoist! Look at me, look at me!"

When Li Huowang looked over, he saw the monk's intensely earnest gaze.

"The upper corpse worm is called Peng Jiao, residing within the head. It makes a person foolish and dull, lacking wisdom."

"The middle corpse worm is called Peng Zhi, dwelling in the chest. It causes worry and delusion, preventing tranquility."

"The lower corpse worm is called Peng Jiao, residing within the abdomen. It causes a love for extravagance, evil deeds, and lewdness."

"Every human has a nature they can't escape, but look, I have entirely rid myself of my nature. My nature calls for me to do evil, yet I insist on doing good!"

"My nature draws me to extravagance and lewdness, yet I insist on living as a monk in utter poverty! My fate is in my own hands, not destined by heaven!"

"I know Peng Zhi's nature is to be suspicious and delusional, but Taoist, this is all your nature, and you must rid yourself of it thoroughly, just like me! Only by doing so can we defeat the one trying to become immortal and achieve our freedom!"