The Unruly Immortals

Jiang Yingzi had vanished, just like that, without any warning, right before Li Huowang's eyes.

Li Huowang, frozen in place, recalled her last words to him, "All the elders of the Ao Jing Sect are from the Oblivion Path? Master Danyang is still alive? He isn't an illusion?"

As those were the words of an illusion, Li Huowang should have ignored them, but as he carefully pondered the possibility, he suddenly found everything starting to make sense.

The Oblivion Path had not suddenly appeared beside him; they had been there all along, ever since the Ao Jing Sect existed.

"This is impossible! You can't discover this!" A shout filled with intense anger made Li Huowang lower his head to gaze at the figure on the ground, Erbing.

Even under harsh torture, Erbing had maintained a smirk, but now her complexion became extremely unsightly, revealing an air of desperation and fury.

In that moment, Li Huowang suddenly understood what the sister meant, what facing off against the Oblivion Path entailed.

These madmen, in pursuit of their own pleasure, feared neither pain nor death. Some concepts in their hearts were twisted, different from ordinary people. In their minds, something was far more important than life itself, and that was the thrill.

Knowing what they cared about, Li Huowang also figured out how to retaliate against them.

"Do you want to know how I saw through your tricks?" Li Huowang said while raising the longsword in his hand and stabbing straight toward her chest.

"Cough~cough~" Blood slowly flowed from Erbing's mouth, her remaining bit of facial skin twitching slightly. "In the end is..."

Li Huowang leaned his scar-riddled body down, whispered into her bloodied ear, "Heh... guess."

During the conversation, Li Huowang's hand holding the sword hilt slowly twisted to the right. Erbing's body tensed like a dead fish, her expression filled with unwillingness.

With a "putz" sound, Li Huowang withdrew the sword and fiercely chopped down at Erbing's head. It split into two halves.

Still not satisfied, Li Huowang, with extreme hatred in his eyes, raised the sword again and chopped down hard. Blood and flesh scattered in the air, and in no time, Erbing's corpse was thoroughly minced into a pulp.

Others could only watch from afar, observing the increasingly frenzied Li Huowang, too fearful to make any sound.

Bai Lingmiao, with her lips pressed tight, was just about to rush over, but was stopped by Chun Xiaoman, "Don't go over now! What if he..."

"I'm not afraid!" Bai Lingmiao pushed her away forcefully and threw herself toward Li Huowang.

"Elder Brother Li! Elder Brother Li! Come to your senses!!" Bai Lingmiao, with tears streaming down her face, clutched Li Huowang's arms tightly, preventing him from chopping down again.

Looking at that face, Li Huowang gradually regained clarity, the bloodied sword slowly retracted, inserted back into the sword sheath.

Li Huowang lethargically raised his neck, turning his gaze to the dreadful Master Danyang at his side.

At that moment, he was floating in the air, with three faces—one joyful, one angry, one sad—looking down at himself. Under Li Huowang's watchful eyes, Master Danyang gave a sinister smile before slowly sinking into the soil.

"Elder Brother Li, don't be like this, this person is already dead, we are all safe now, it's all over."

Li Huowang took a deep breath and nodded. The returned Master Danyang was self-explanatory to him.

"Yes, it's all over."

Li Huowang agreed with a nod. He first looked at the mutilated flesh on the ground, then turned around to address the others, "Who brought a Fire Sickle? Burn this thing to ash."

Even with a sliver of possibility, Li Huowang didn't dare to take the risk; he had to utterly crush and burn Er Bing to ashes.

The others followed suit, using the broken-down carriage as fuel. Along with Er Bing, other bodies were also set ablaze on the Gobi desert in the morning, with a huge pile of bonfires sending up billows of black smoke as they burned fiercely.

Li Huowang didn't leave; he had to watch Er Bing turn to ash with his own eyes. In this abnormal world, anything could happen, and he refused to take chances.

Clutching their luggage, Top Scholar Lv hesitated for a long time before finally turning to the resolute, blood-colored figure and said, "Ahem, that little Taoist Master... my daughter-in-law was frightened last night. She's pregnant and weak at the moment, so we don't want to continue on our way for now. We're thinking of heading to town to see a doctor, you see, this..."

Last night, it wasn't only his daughter-in-law who was startled; the entire Lv's Troupe was shaken. Before, Top Scholar Lv was secretly pleased that he could take advantage of the young Taoist Master without spending a penny.

But everything that happened last night proved that his cleverness was a grave mistake. If Lv's Troupe continued on their own, the worst they'd face was a robbery, a slight imposition on his daughter-in-law. But if they really continued following the little Taoist Master, they feared they might lose their lives!

This little Taoist Master had hidden his true nature too well, almost deceiving him entirely. It turned out he was mad.

Li Huowang slightly turned his head, and Top Scholar Lv instantly paled with fright, taking several steps back as he began to concoct an explanation.

"Alright, Band Leader Lv, have a safe journey. Gouwa, give two camels to Band Leader Lv for carrying people."

"No, no, no~! Don't bother." Top Scholar Lv waved his arms like a rattle-drum, relieved as he received Li Huowang's response. Leading the others, he started to flee back the way they had come.

Li Huowang paid no attention to them and continued to watch the bonfire in front of him. The flames, which had been burning since the morning, finally extinguished in the afternoon.

After he personally examined the area and found nothing but ashes, Li Huowang finally let go of his worries.

"Are you alright?" Li Huowang turned to look at the wound on Bai Lingmiao's shoulder.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury." Seeing Li Huowang returning to normal, Bai Lingmiao forced a smile and shook her head.

She stretched out her hands, cautiously moving towards Li Huowang's severed arm, her eyes filled with immense sorrow.

"It's fine; it's just a lost arm. It will grow back soon," Li Huowang soothed her as he gently stroked her silky hair.

"Really?" Bai Lingmiao's eyes suddenly lit up again.

"Of course it's true." Having consoled her, Li Huowang turned around to look at the others.

Every one of them was in a sorry state, and Li Huowang could no longer look after their wounds because someone had died.

It was the man with good eyesight who had only one arm left. He was dead, and lying next to him was a fat Taoist Boy.

One short and one thin, the two bodies were laid out side by side on the ground, while the tattered old Monk joined his hands in prayer, standing there with a face full of grief, continuously chanting 'Amitabha.'

Another had died. Seeing their ashen faces, Li Huowang was almost numb to it; he even started to wonder if leading them was indeed the right decision. Perhaps they would have made it home by now if they had gone by themselves.

"Burn them too. Do we have a jar? If not, wrap them in cloth."

When everything was prepared, Li Huowang led the others on their way again.

"Brother Li, aren't you going the wrong way? That's the road back to Siqi," someone said.

Li Huowang nodded, "Yes, we need to hurry, or we won't make it in time."