The Unruly Immortals

After all the funeral details were prepared, Dogwa, who was very satisfied with the price, came out of the coffin shop. "Everything is in order now; this is definitely many times better than last time."

Squinting his eyes, he glanced at the blazing sun overhead and realized it was already noon, so he hurriedly made his way to the inn.

"That's right, the shopkeeper just said that they need the deceased's measurements for the shroud, I have to hurry back and measure."

When Dogwa arrived near his room, he looked through the window and to his shock, saw that Gao Zhijian, who was seriously injured, was not lying in bed. "Could it be..."

He quickly dashed to Li Huowang's room in three strides, and upon seeing the other three gathered around Li Huowang's bed, he took a deep breath, wiped some ginger in the corner of his eyes from his pocket, and entered in an utmost state of grief.

"Oh, Brother Li! Brother Li, ah!! Woo woo woo..."

The moment Dogwa, pretending to grieve, forcefully pushed Gao Zhijian aside and lunged toward the bedside, he was startled to see Li Huowang on the bed opening his eyes. "So... he's not dead..."

The next moment, he felt a tightness in his heart, trouble now, if Brother Li isn't dead, won't I lose the money I paid for the coffin?

"Dogwa, are you injured too?"

Li Huowang's words snapped Dogwa back to reality; he quickly adopted an indifferent expression on his face.

"Ah, this little scratch is nothing. You have no idea; when those clay figures surrounded me, I blinked not even once like Cao Cao!"

"Don't listen to his nonsense; had I not taken care of him, he would have been torn to pieces by now."

Dogwa looked with dissatisfaction at Chun Xiaoman, who had exposed his shortcomings, but he didn't dare say anything. After all, he couldn't beat her, and now she was taller than him by a head.

Li Huowang on the bed turned his head to look at the greatly changed Chun Xiaoman beside him. She had fully grown from a young girl and even with her body covered in black hair, it couldn't conceal her uniquely feminine charm.

But this was not good news; it meant that during the battle with those clay figures and evil spirits, she had expended many years of her lifespan to summon wandering spirits.

"There's no need to summon so many wandering spirits; think it over beforehand next time. Four wandering spirits cost a year of life," the weakened Li Huowang advised her.

"It doesn't matter; I'm young." Chun Xiaoman showed no signs of depression over the loss of her yangshou. On the contrary, she seemed to prefer her tall figure now.

"Cough cough~" Li Huowang coughed up some blood and after recovering for a bit, spoke again: "Miaomiao, pour out all the Yangshou Elixir from my gourd and give it to her to eat."

Yangshou Pills could extend one's lifespan and could allow Xiaoman to return to her youth.

"I really don't need it!" Chun Xiaoman pressed on Bai Lingmiao's shoulder with her one arm, her voice carrying a hint of concern, "Instead of worrying about me, Brother Li, you might as well worry about yourself. What in the world has happened to you?"

At these words, Li Huowang was taken aback, looked at the roof beam above, and a wry smile appeared on his haggard face. "What indeed has happened to me?"

Li Huowang recalled what the double-pupiled practitioner of the Oblivion Path had told him; naturally, he wouldn't believe such nonsense as being the reincarnation of Hong Zhong.

But if this was a conspiracy, then why would that person and the previous six use the same method to deceive him? Something was amiss.

"Could it be... no... there's no could be! Everything that comes out of the Oblivion Path's mouth is false! They must have used some method to collude the deceased Oblivion Path with the living one! The dead conspiring with the living to deceive me!"

"Brother Li, don't worry about any other troubled matters for now; your injuries are still severe. You should rest."

Bai Lingmiao picked up a husk pillow and carefully placed it under Li Huowang's neck to make him more comfortable.

The moment Li Huowang shook his head, he immediately felt a splitting headache. Enduring the pain, he insisted, "I'm not sleepy. Tell me about what happened after I passed out."

Since the Oblivion Path practitioner died and those clay Evil Spirits left, there really wasn't much to report about the aftermath of Li Huowang's unconsciousness, other than others tending to the loose ends.

"Ah! What's the use of all that nonsense? You don't even know what Brother Li cares about."

The excited dog-boy squatting at the head of the bed with a bamboo basket reported to Li Huowang, "Brother Li, look! All of that charlatan's belongings are here, I even took the clothes off his back! Now, all this belongs to us!"

As the dog-boy lifted the curtain, Li Huowang saw the Bagua Mirror in the basket, as well as those mahjong tiles smeared with blood.

Seeing these items, Li Huowang's heart relaxed. He did not covet these items, but the sight reminded him that these were part of the Astrological Bureau's test he had faced.

The Oblivion Path practitioner was dead, and he was alive, having endured the test; he could finally join the Astrological Bureau.

As long as he joined the Astrological Bureau, he would have backing; whether it was Cultivation Methods or something else, he would no longer have to rely on blind guessing like Shanyangzi.

Moreover, as long as he didn't expose his identity as Xinsu, others would not dare to attack him rashly.

"Ha, what good is that to you if you can't use it?" The contemptuous voice coming from behind the dog-boy made Li Huowang's eyes snap open.

The excessively weak Li Huowang, upon hearing this voice, found strength surging from somewhere within, and he abruptly sat up, pushing the dog-boy in front of him aside, his eyes trembling as he stared at the distant hallucinations.

The headless Peng Longteng holding a halberd, Jin Shanzhao with no lower half and a gaping silent mouth, a helpless-looking old Monk, and lastly, the faceless, eyeless Oblivion Path practitioner!

A face without skin topped with two pitch-black holes, with lipless, ghastly white teeth, exaggeratedly flashing a ferocious smile.

Seeing the petrified Li Huowang, Chun Xiaoman exchanged a glance with Gao Zhijian, and they both swiftly reached for Li Huowang's hands.

However, in the next moment, a burst of immense strength sent their arms flying.

"Why did you come in too! Why! How dare you become my illusion!" With Li Huowang's hysterical screams, his sutured wounds began to bleed profusely.

Just as he was about to say something else, he suddenly stumbled and fell, his hands clutching his throat.

"Cough, cough— Vomit!" Stretched out on the ground, Li Huowang retched, and with it, slender black tentacles squirmed out from his throat.

Seeing this, everyone else panicked. "Quick! Pull those things out!"

But as the others reached out to help, Li Huowang shakily swatted their arms away.

Kneeling on the ground, he shakily cradled the tentacles as if they were treasures, gingerly stuffing them back into his mouth.

Under the shocked gaze of everyone around, accompanied by retching sounds, Black Taisui was forcefully swallowed back into his stomach.