The Unruly Immortals

A monstrous face stretched several feet long, with a two-to-three-foot blood-red tongue hanging from its mouth.

Beneath such a terrifying visage was the form of a hunchbacked figure towering over thirty feet tall—this was the twisted, gigantic form of White Impermanence!

The wooden head that had been swinging back and forth in the air was, in fact, merely a pendant on its chest!

With a "clack clack" sound accompanying its movements, White Impermanence squatted slightly, peering and sniffing in Li Huowang's direction, humming and hawing as if searching for something.

Li Huowang was invisible at the moment, but it was evident that this creature could sense something; discovery was just a matter of time.

"This thing is definitely not easy to deal with!" Li Huowang did not hesitate to use his trump card.

He raised his right hand toward White Impermanence, spreading his five fingers.

As Li Huowang's hand rose, his saber fell; with a "splurt," his left arm was severed and flew at great speed, embedding itself into the eye of White Impermanence.

As White Impermanence opened its mouth and let out a deafening shriek, Li Huowang did not hesitate to leap up, wielding his sword with one hand, and lunged into its mouth.

Sharp claws whistled through the air towards Li Huowang, but due to the injury to its eyes, the creature seemed to lack precision, leaving only a deep gash on Li Huowang's neck.

The next moment, accompanied by the continuous sound of flesh tearing, Li Huowang slid down along the throat.

Just as he was about to slide all the way to the bottom, a wooden mask from nowhere covered Li Huowang's face.

In an instant, Li Huowang felt the world go dark, and he was suddenly unable to breathe.

He shook his head vigorously, struggling to cast off the thing on his face, but no matter what he did, the mask stayed firmly in place.

Without hesitation, Li Huowang drew out a thin Willow Leaf Saber and inserted it along the edge of his jaw.

When he peeled back a large piece of his facial skin, the nearly suffocated Li Huowang violently gasped for air, but he couldn't draw anything in.

"What in the world is happening!!" In desperation, Li Huowang quickly scanned his surroundings.

When he saw neither Hong Zhong nor the monk, an alarm went off in his head, and he suddenly came back to his senses.

The next moment, the massive White Impermanence was nowhere to be found, and the mist-filled forest was now brightly lit.

But the one thing that remained the same was that he still couldn't catch his breath.

With his face turning purple from asphyxiation, he reached for his neck and felt a cord that had fully penetrated his flesh.

Gripping the hilt of his sword and powering his thumb, he slashed forcefully at the rope.

Accompanied by an incredibly spine-chilling scream, stinky blood spewed from the rope around Li Huowang's neck.

The rope violently retracted towards the forest, and Li Huowang fell from mid-air like a corpse.

"Taoist, Taoist, are you alright?" The monk hurried over, asking with concern.

Li Huowang covered his neck and shook his head, staggeringly standing up. "I'm fine."

After responding to the monk, Li Huowang immediately looked around.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in the tree leaves, casting patches of light in the forest; everything seemed perfectly normal, as if everything that had happened before was just an illusion.

"An illusion?" Li Huowang glanced at his unharmed left arm, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

But soon, he touched the wound inflicted by White Impermanence's claw, and his gaze firmed.

"This is definitely not an illusion. It's just unknown what kind of trick that thing I fought with used."

Luckily, he had managed to injure it, so it likely wouldn't return anytime soon.

"Oh no!" Something suddenly occurred to Li Huowang, and he rushed to the left.

When he emerged from the forest and saw the Bai Family members still huddled together with wooden cangues, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"At least, no matter what, everyone being safe is what matters."

As Li Huowang approached, it was clear that he had frightened the Bai Family Members.

A Taoist wearing a Copper Coin mask, with blood trailing down his neck, holding a sword as he approached, would scare anyone.

With a "crack," the thick Wooden Cangue was split open.

As Li Huowang freed them from their bindings one by one with his sword, the Bai Family Members finally realized that this person had come to rescue them, and several women immediately burst into tears.

In a clan, the old always have the most say, and Niuxin Village was no exception.

An elderly man with only one remaining lower tooth, trembling alongside others, was about to kneel in front of Li Huowang. "That... thank you, benefactor, for saving our entire village."

Li Huowang quickly used his hand to support him, "Grandfather, you're going to shorten my life. I was entrusted by Miss Bai, Bai Lingmiao, to come and save everyone."

These words instantly agitated several people in the crowd, and a beautiful woman who bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Bai Lingmiao was overjoyed and tearful, turning to the robust man beside her and saying, "Head of the household! Nannan is fine! She's still alive! Nannan is still alive!"

With a "buzz," Li Huowang was instantly surrounded by Bai Lingmiao's relatives, bombarding him with questions to which Li Huowang didn't know which to respond.

"Enough!" A loud voice chided, silencing everyone.

It was a robust man supporting the elderly man with a single tooth, his chin adorned with a goatee giving off an intimidating vibe even when not angry.

"Haven't you seen that the benefactor is injured? Besides, is this the place to talk?"

Having said that, he turned to Li Huowang with a fist and palm salute, "I am Bai Sai, the head of the Bai Family. Benefactor, why don't we leave this place first?"

Li Huowang touched the wound on his neck and nodded. "Alright, let's leave here first."

Although he had chased away that creature, there was no guarantee it wouldn't bring its kind to settle accounts with him.

All those freed from the Wooden Cangues crowded around Li Huowang, leaving the place.

On the way, it was clear that others very much wanted to talk to Li Huowang, but out of respect for the authoritative man, they dared not speak.

However, some couldn't help it, Bai Lingmiao's mother, with a handkerchief in both hands, offered it to Li Huowang.

"Benefactor, your neck is still bleeding, use this to cover it for now."

Seeing Li Huowang thanking her and taking the handkerchief, the woman couldn't help but ask, "My daughter, Bai Lingmiao... is she alright? Has she grown taller? Lost weight? Has she been bullied outside?" The concern in her voice was palpable.

Looking at her, Li Huowang was reminded of his own mother, always worrying.

"Auntie, she is doing well, hasn't suffered much, and often mentions you."

Upon hearing Li Huowang's reply, the beautiful woman couldn't help but burst into tears again.

Li Huowang collected his thoughts; he knew that without clarifying the cause and effect of this matter, it was not over yet.

He cast his gaze towards Bai Sai, who was assisting the elderly man, "Head of the Bai Family, could you tell me what exactly happened? Why were you taken captive? And who was it that I just fought with?"

Upon hearing Li Huowang's question, the surrounding murmur of voices quieted down considerably, and everyone turned to look.

After a long sigh, Bai Sai responded, "Benefactor, to be honest, I don't know why this happened. Ever since my son picked up that stone, we've had endless troubles."

"And now, muddled as it is, we were shackled and compelled to walk by those masked in wood. Fortunately, the benefactor saved us, otherwise, heaven knows where we'd have been taken."

Li Huowang's brow furrowed; although the other party had said a lot, it seemed like nothing was said at all.

"Heh, Li Huowang, be careful, that kid is deceiving you."

Li Huowang looked up at Hong Zhong, the one who had spoken.