The Unruly Immortals

"Stop! If you go any further, you'll die too!"

Watching the Bodhisattva draw ever closer, Master Danyang's voice unusually carried deep-seated fear, yet at this moment, Li Huowang seemed to be magnanimously accepting.

"It doesn't matter! If it means that Master can achieve immortality, what's my life worth anyway!!"

Li Huowang's movements, along with the pull from the breeze, ensured that despite Master Danyang's desperate struggles, they continued to move slowly but resolutely towards the opened Mao's Gate.

As the circular white halo behind the Bodhisattva illuminated the two men,

the feathers on Master Danyang that were like coated in tar began to transform, changing into shrouds as white as those worn by the Bodhisattva.

Whether it was the writhing flesh on Master Danyang's body or the twisting exposed intestines, any organ that became enshrouded by white fabric fell into a silent death.

When Master Danyang felt his body gradually succumbing to death, he was filled with extreme unwillingness; he hadn't reached immortality yet, and he didn't want to die in such a disgraceful manner.

"Huowang! Why must you be so heartless! Your body is still useful, we just have to go down now, you go your way and I'll go mine. We'll never see each other again!"

However, before Li Huowang could speak, one of the bandit-like illusions reminded him,

"Young man! Don't believe his words; not a single truth comes from that old fox! His mind is full of venom!"

While Master Danyang glared malevolently at the illusion, a thin veil of white fabric covered his head; his head tilted, and he fell into ultimate silence.

The other, younger head on Master Danyang's body was completely petrified by this sight. In an instant, he abandoned all pride and pleaded with Li Huowang,

"Huowang! You've won, you're victorious alright? If this continues, we'll both die! And who knows what that ghastly thing is! It might even be a fate worse than death!"

"I'll bow to you, alright? Acknowledge you as my Master, okay? Please show mercy and spare me!"

Flecks of gauze covered Li Huowang's eyes, yet at this moment he smiled brighter than ever.

"That won't do, Master. You once said that we'd achieve immortality together."

No sooner had he spoken than they finally passed through the imperceptible barrier, and were behind the door.

The moment they entered, Li Huowang and Master Danyang's bodies suddenly separated.

Looking at the translucent figure in the distance, not even half a sentence was spoken.

Like a burst bubble, with a "pop," Master Danyang's terrifying body instantly dissipated.

The Master Danyang who had tormented Li Huowang for so long vanished like an ant, dying without a sound or a trace.

Subsequently, objects of various colors scattered from Master Danyang, drifting towards the depths of the gateway.

When Li Huowang saw those objects, he instantly understood what they were but was unable to accurately express them in normal language.

If he had to describe them, they were desire, greed, obsession, hatred, murderous intent.

Though Li Huowang did not die like Master Danyang, his situation wasn't much better.

The mountainous Bodhisattva emerged from within the white fabric, extending a decayed white-boned giant claw towards him.

But just as the giant shadow was about to engulf him, a shrill, suona-like sound echoed from a great distance.

With the sound's emergence, everything in Li Huowang's vision started to warp, and at that moment, he possessed five completely different visions simultaneously.

In one of these visions, the Formless Bodhisattva in front of him was made up of corpses accumulated from the dead.

And beneath her shimmered an umbilical cord,

Not just her, everything behind Mao's Gate was tethered with an umbilical cord.

It wasn't only his vision that warped; all of Li Huowang's senses began to morph, with perceptions that weren't his own crowding in as well.

Gradually, Li Huowang found himself beginning to move, swiftly drifting toward the world of the White Jade Capital.

The deeper he drifted, the more noises Li Huowang perceived.

"No... No, no! No!"

Li Huowang began to gradually understand this world, yet these things were also nearly bursting him completely.

In Li Huowang's desperate cries, he who was gradually understanding everything, kept plummeting into the depths of the White Jade Capital.

When everything around him began to rapidly invert, the fully comprehending Li Huowang saw the final scene, a tidal wave of agony and torture approaching him, it was Bahu!

————————————

Within the Siqi Kingdom, on a scenic hillside, a group of people wearing sackcloth and filial piety bands surrounded a new grave, scattering Copper Coins and burning paper Silver Sycee, while wailing mournfully.

"Brother Li! Wh-wh-why did you die just like that, what are we going to do without you?"

Gouwa's eyes were bloodshot as he knelt there, wailing loudly. Mid-cry, he quickly quieted down, stealthily glancing towards Bai Lingmiao by his side.

In contrast to his exaggeration, Bai Lingmiao seemed eerily calm, burning the papers one by one without shedding a tear.

Even when she ran out of paper, she continued to make the motions of sending them off.

Seeing this, Gouwa sighed, sniffled, and lay prone in front of the tombstone to start wailing loudly again.

"Brother Li, how could you just leave us without illness or calamity! Without you to back us up, won't we just be bullied to death by others?"

While he exerted himself in his mourning, he suddenly saw the grave mound begin to bulge.

"Huh?" Gouwa thought he was seeing things, but as he subconsciously rubbed his eyes, a hand suddenly burst forth from the mound right in front of him.

"Oh my god! A corpse has come back to life!!" Gouwa was so scared that he immediately fell over.

Bai Lingmiao, on the other hand, reacted instantly, her emotions suddenly collapsing as she threw herself onto the mound, frantically digging at the dirt.

Soon, other brothers and sisters also snapped to their senses, rushing over to help.

However, before they could dig him out, Li Huowang, dressed in a shroud, suddenly appeared atop the mound.

His face was twisted in a grimace, as he clutched his head tightly, his face twitching as he murmured to himself, looking very frightening.

"Brother Li!" When Bai Lingmiao, with tears streaming down her face, rushed up, she was instead seized by Li Huowang.

His bloodshot eyes stared intently at the young girl in front of him. "Alive! They're all alive! In this world, he is alive!!"

Seeing this, Xiaoman, who was ready to draw his sword at the side, relaxed, "It's okay, it's not a corpse coming back to life, it's Brother Li for sure."

Facing such a bizarre Li Huowang, Bai Lingmiao wasn't scared, but looked at him with intense concern. "Brother Li, what on earth happened to you?"

"Listen to me! I know exactly what's wrong!!" Li Huowang shrieked hysterically, drowning out everything around him.

"This world is alive! If it's alive, it means that whatever happens to people, it can also happen to it!"

"I know I'm insane! But this world is insane too!! It has gone mad!!"

After saying this, Li Huowang violently threw Bai Lingmiao to the ground.

Pointing one hand toward the gloomy sky above, and the other at his own chest, Li Huowang repeated over and over with extreme paranoia.

"It's gone mad, it's gone mad! It's way crazier than me!!"

After repeating this sentence over a dozen times, the overstretched Li Huowang's body suddenly relaxed and he collapsed toward the ground.