The Unruly Immortals

"Brother Li, who is Wang Wei?" Hearing Li Huowang talking to himself, Bai Lingmiao couldn't help but ask.

Li Huowang shook his head indifferently. "Heh, Wang Wei is nobody, he doesn't even exist."

Supported by Bai Lingmiao, Li Huowang led the others back the way they came.

Compared to their inward journey, heading back seemed less torturous.

After all, no one had died, and they had even found Black Taisui, making everyone's step a bit lighter.

"Brother Li, we're not in a rush on our way back, are we? Can we rest up properly at Old Sun's place? I want to savor a few more servings of mutton. Going through this damned place would shave half a year off one's life at the very least."

The speaker was Gouwa, his face a patchwork of white and yellow as he looked at Li Huowang with a glum expression.

Seeing the fatigue on everyone's faces, Li Huowang nodded. "Alright, I owe you all thanks for your help on this trip. It's only right to take a longer rest."

After all, humans aren't made of iron; he needed to consider the endurance of his companions.

Upon hearing this, Gouwa clenched his fists in excitement. Just thinking of those delicious mutton dishes made his mouth water uncontrollably.

"Ah, the mutton from Qingqiu really lives up to its reputation. There's just no comparison with other places."

"Wait a second, Gouwa, what are you holding in your hand?" Li Huowang noticed some white fur fragments floating around as Gouwa's fists moved.

Gouwa lifted his fist to show Li Huowang and opened it. "Oh, this? This is the white fur from those lions, I've cut off a lot. If it could transform Sun Baolu like that, then it must be extraordinary."

"Perhaps in the right place, it could fetch a good price. It could help cover our expenses, right? We've had a lot of costs on the way."

The white fur, wrapped in coarse cloth, was presented before Li Huowang. It looked like a pile of cotton.

Li Huowang shook his head; Gouwa was always thinking about money. "The lion dance is over, who knows if that stuff is of any use, and you just took it?"

Upon hearing this, Gouwa's heart skipped a beat. He carefully stuck out his little finger and gently scratched at the white fur.

Then he watched dumbfounded as his fingernail twisted and turned onto the pad of his finger, while the ridged skin of the pad switched places with the fingernail.

"This... this... this..." Gouwa, looking at his backward-growing little finger, turned to Li Huowang helplessly. "Brother Li, it's reversed, reversed!"

"Don't panic, it functions the same whether it's forwards or backwards. Don't rush to sell this thing for money. Instead, consider how to use it to kill your enemies, like wrapping it around a needle or blowing it through a slender tube."

Li Huowang's reminder instantly lit up Gouwa's eyes. "Hey! That's right! Brother Li, you truly are literate, smarter than a country bumpkin like me."

At that moment, he felt a surge of excitement. He reckoned he now possessed a Divine Skill that could transform the human body.

Regardless of its authenticity, couldn't he show off in front of the ladies with this and have them clamoring to be his wife?

And from now on, he wouldn't have to just be an assistant anymore; he could be of real help to Brother Li as well.

With this thought, Gouwa didn't mind his twisted little finger and hurriedly stripped off his upper garment to carefully wrap up the white fur.

As Gouwa pondered his own little schemes, he noticed that everyone else had gradually come to a stop.

"Hold on, something's not right. How come we've walked for so long and still haven't reached that Copper Cauldron from before?"

Li Huowang's words fell like a bucket of cold water over everyone's hearts, extinguishing not only the joy within but also causing the faint-hearted to tremble.

All eyes stared blankly into the surrounding darkness, attempting to find some point of similarity to the path they had taken.

But to their despair, the darkness was entirely uniform.

"There's something off about this place! It can make us lose our way!" The ease they once felt had vanished, leaving only anxiety and tension etched on every face.

"Don't panic! Look at the footprints! Let's follow them back!" Li Huowang's words prompted everyone to immediately lower their luminous stones to the ground.

Seeing the clear footprints steadied their chaotic emotions slightly.

"Let's go! We retreat, tracing our steps back with these footprints."

Following Li Huowang's instructions, everyone started moving, unconcerned by areas where footprints were less visible.

Constant drops of blood from Li Huowang indicated the direction for their return.

A quarter of an hour, then two, an hour passed, though previously they hadn't walked for nearly as long.

Yet the lion's corpse still hadn't come into view, and the trail of blood continued to spread into the darkness.

With a hint of despair in his eyes, Sun Baolu looked at Li Huowang, "Brother Li, we can't get out. This cave is going to completely devour us."

Trapped in such a dire situation, even Li Huowang's complexion had turned quite unpleasant, but suddenly his expression turned to one of confusion.

"Shh!" Li Huowang crouched low, closing his eyes and furrowing his brow as he listened intently to something.

In this odd posture, he began to move slowly to the east. "Put away the stones, there's a voice..."

Everyone did as they were told, and when darkness enveloped them, each person's heart couldn't help but panic. They clung to each other to prevent separation.

"Where are you hearing voices? I can't hear anything," said Doggie just before Li Huowang covered his mouth.

They walked side by side for what felt like the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Li Huowang suddenly stopped, but the others still heard no sound.

Then, a shrill voice of an old man pierced into Li Huowang's ears. "Let me test you, to be born a human, what is it to be human?"

Following that, a childish girl's voice answered, "Humans are made of flesh, so flesh is human."

Li Huowang's brows gradually knitted together as he stood still, listening to the conversation of these two beings in the darkness.

"Not so! The fleshly body is merely a husk."

"But that's not what Master said. He said not to think too much; humans are made of flesh,"

"Don't believe our Master; the old man's teachings are all made up! It's all false."

"Can't you stop beating around the bush? If you won't say it, then don't. I'm irritated!" The girl's voice had taken on an impatient edge.

The old man's voice now carried a hint of triumph, "Humans are one, and one is human because each person has this 'one.' It allows the birth of 'two,' morphing into the dual aspects of life and death, from which 'two' births 'three,' further extending to the later three demons and seven emotions."

"Taoist cultivation is about refining that 'one,' so we cast aside seven emotions and sever the three demons, cut off life and death, and in the end, we can become that 'one'!"