The Unruly Immortals

"Pleased to meet you, allow me to introduce myself, I am Li Huowang."

"Regarding your earlier intent to ambush me, I actually let go of my anger a while ago, after all, I am Xinsu, just like those tall Ginseng fruits with legs; I understand it's human nature for you to want to snatch me."

"This time I've sought you out for a different matter, to put it briefly, I am quite unfamiliar with this world and I wish to gain more knowledge through you."

"Of course, there's another reason, you know that I am Xinsu, I am also searching for a way to rid myself of Xinsu, if you know and tell me, I would really be very grateful to you."

Li Huowang sat in the chair and earnestly spoke to the Han Fu in front of him.

The two drooping, bloodied heads in front of him were not Li Huowang's conversational target; he spoke to the fist-sized little head at Han Fu's neck.

Bai Sui's abilities had not spared it; its face was now completely disfigured. Calling it a head was generous, as it was nothing but a lump of flesh with twisted features.

This thing was truly peculiar; its main body was entirely dead, yet it remained perfectly alive, and it was a mystery how the Luo Sect cultivated such a creature.

"What's your name? Also called Han Fu?"

Faced with Li Huowang's question, the small head let out a mocking laugh, but didn't utter a word.

"Clatter clatter," all sorts of shiny torture instruments were lined up in front of it.

Li Huowang picked out an iron hemispherical tool and, holding the small head carefully, extended the instrument.

"Ahh ahh ahh~!!" The shrill screams were piercingly sharp.

Pushing aside the tent next to him, Li Huowang tossed the small eyeball onto Black Taisui's body.

"Still unwilling to speak?"

The single eye on the small head showed a flicker of fear as it looked at the row upon row of bizarre torture devices, but this was quickly replaced by a resolute gaze.

"You Ao Jing madman! Even if I told you, would you really let me go?"

"I won't let you go, but there's a difference between dying quickly and being tortured slowly to death."

"Do you know? I'm actually not very good at torturing, but I've experienced a lot of pain, various kinds of different tortures. Do you want me to recreate all that I've endured upon your body?"

As Li Huowang wiped the blood off his hands with a towel and picked up a hook with barbs, the small head struggled desperately, but with its limbs completely broken, it was doomed to be futile.

"I don't know! I really don't know anything!! We really haven't been down the mountain for long!"

"Really? If you've just come down from the mountains, then are those nineteen Yangshou Pills a travel fund your master gave you?"

The hooked tool with barbs stretched into the flesh and slowly pulled out something, followed by Li Huowang picking up the coarse salt borrowed from Sun Baolu, spreading it evenly

The small head convulsed in pain, beginning to spit out bloody foam.

Li Huowang put away the tools, took out the "Fire Coat True Scripture" from his bosom, and started chanting the arcane and incomprehensible incantation with a merciful expression.

The solidified wax ignited into flame, transforming into a puddle of wriggling fire serpents, crawling onto Han Fu's body, accompanied by the crackling sound of sizzling, healing the wounds inflicted earlier.

"Ahh ahh ahh!!!"

The screams carried far away, making many Qingqiu children in the tent cry and causing the already restless adults to move even further away.

After several rounds, it finally loosened its lips. "I'll talk, I'll talk!!"

"Good, let's start with the simpler questions, I'll ask and you answer."

"These Yangshou Pills, can they be used as money to buy things?"

Li Huowang asked as he took out an elixir wrapped in a Yellow Talisman.

Seeing the other's numb nod, Li Huowang stuffed the pill into the gourd, "Are they very valuable? Is there a reference standard?"

"One Yangshou Pill can hire someone like Han Fu to help once."

Li Huowang nodded knowingly; this was much more direct and clear.

"How does one obtain Yangshou Pills?"

"By killing people, but ordinary people won't do, they must be those born in a yang year, yang month, and on a yang day. If you want to hear it, I can tell you how to make them."

"Never mind, next question, Han Fu mentioned before that you are from the Luo Sect? Where is your Taoist temple located?"

"In the Snake Bone Mountain of Liang State."

"How many people are in your Taoist temple?"

"Fifty-seven."

"How many heads?"

"Two hundred and twenty-four."

"What are you?"

"I am Han Fu's Nascent Soul."

Li Huowang kept asking this entity various minor questions, some of which he already knew the answers to, just to test if the other side was trying to fool him.

Once he confirmed that the other party was indeed not lying to him, Li Huowang began to ask the crucial questions.

"What is Xinsu? How is it formed? And how much Xinsu is there in the world?"

"I really don't know these things; the few things I know about Xinsu are what I accidentally heard from the Master."

Upon seeing Li Huowang's hand slowly reaching towards the instruments of torture, the entity began to cry out in fear.

Tears and snot immediately flowed down the small head's face. "I really don't know! Master told us that Xinsu is an extremely rare natural treasure! He said if we ever encountered it, we must never miss the opportunity!"

"Then how do you identify Xinsu?" Li Huowang had been thinking about this question for a long time, wondering why every person he met could recognize his identity at a glance.

"I don't know how others do it, but our Master said that everyone has three fires on their shoulders, some big, some small, which is normal. Only the fire of Xinsu comes and goes."

Li Huowang looked down at his own shoulders but did not see any so-called fire.

"It's about time to ask him the most crucial question," Li Huowang thought as he looked at the little creature, his eyebrows furrowed as he pondered his words before speaking again.

"Have you, or from what your master has said, ever heard of a Xinsu that can escape oblivion?"

"No, you are the first Xinsu we have ever seen."

Li Huowang scrutinized the deformed little head carefully. He could believe what was said up to ninety percent; Han Fu was young and inexperienced. Even if there were Xinsu capable of escaping oblivion, he might not know.

"Then, what do you know about the Oblivion Path?"

"I do know about that; they are a bunch of swindlers, particularly fond of deceiving people,"

"What are their names?"

"I heard their names are like those of mahjong tiles, such as Eight Wan, Three Bing, and so on. But I've heard these names are just code names, and if one Eight Wan dies, another will take his place."

"In the Oblivion Path, is there one called Bei Feng? What do you know about him? How strong is he?"

This one was rumored to be the Xinsu that could escape oblivion. If he wanted to free himself completely from oblivion, this person was extremely important.

"I don't know; I have never had dealings with the Oblivion Path."

Li Huowang continued to ask the little head about some other matters related to the Oblivion Path, but the information obtained from it was very limited.

Looking at the small head in front of him, Li Huowang braced his hands on his knees, accompanying the creaking of the chair as he stood up.

"Very well, I'm done asking. To verify the truth of what you have said, I need to check once more."

With that, Li Huowang reached for the instruments of torture once again.