The Unruly Immortals

As time ticked by, watching the flames that gradually weakened, Li Huowang took off the worn-out shoes from his feet, dried the surface, and tossed them into the fire.

With the addition of the leather shoes, the flames flared up once again, the temperature soared instantly, forcing Li Huowang to lean back slightly.

However, even though he moved back a bit, strangely, Li Huowang did not feel the temperature decrease; instead, he felt it getting hotter and hotter.

The previously nearly frozen man was now sweating profusely from the heat.

"Strange, why is it so hot?" Li Huowang began to strip off his wet clothes, and as he undressed, wisps of black smoke started to rise from his body.

"Huff~!" With a breath from Li Huowang, tiny dark red sparks were expelled from his mouth.

"It's too hot! It's just too hot!" Li Huowang stood up, ready to take off his clothes.

But in that instant, Li Huowang saw the small bonfire in front of him suddenly swell and engulf him.

"Ahhh!!!" In extreme agony, Li Huowang knelt down, his body's intense pain almost scattering his will.

"What on Earth..." Struggling, Li Huowang suddenly looked up and instantly saw a mountain peak formed from the flames.

Fire, fire everywhere, not an inch spared, the entire Reed Marshes before his eyes were completely ablaze.

Through the swaying layers of flames, Li Huowang saw those people running and screaming within the fire, who, while running, ceased to move, falling to the ground to become fresh fuel for the flames.

On Huan Jue's side, Li Huowang merely ignited some plastic, but here, he had sacrificed all the skin on his body and conducted a ritual from the Great Thousand Record!

"No, no no no!" Li Huowang, panicked, stood up in the flames and rushed towards them.

Yet, as Li Huowang approached, it was as if the raging fire on him could compound, causing anyone he drew near to turn into a charred corpse at the fastest speed.

Li Huowang could only watch helplessly as a woman fell before him, her twisted fingers desperately pointing towards Niuxin Mountain. "Nannan..."

"How could this be! I was so restrained! Why did it end up like this!!" A hysterical Li Huowang clenched his charred fists and hammered the ground hard.

Li Huowang did not know when the towering inferno had stopped; by the time he came to his senses, the surroundings had turned into a burnt wasteland, and he crouched there immobile, like a statue emitting white smoke.

His body was in severe pain, but such pain was nothing compared to the agony in his heart.

He had just lost his family, and this heart-wrenching feeling was something he was now to personally deliver to Bai Lingmiao, who had been so kind to him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the one with the wooden mask tiptoed over, looking at the desolation all around with a sense of wonder and shock.

Seeing Li Huowang's face scarred with a dark red Copper Coin mask, the one with the wooden mask stepped forward cautiously, inquiring, "Hey, young man! Are you still alive?"

As Li Huowang slightly lifted his head, bits of black powder fell from his neck.

Seeing this scene, the man with the wooden mask heaved a sigh of relief, hastily walked over, and supported him as they walked towards the dark burnt land.

"Hey, it's just a minor job for the Astrological Bureau, what are you risking your life for?"

"You look like you just came in, right? Let me tell you, anything that at first glance seems like a losing deal, you better hold back!"

"Besides, they're just a bunch of ordinary White Lotus Sect members, do you really need to put up such a big show? Is everyone in the Ao Jing Sect this hot-tempered?"

Li Huowang had no reaction to what the man said and walked forward silently.

"My name is Liu Zongyuan, from the Moon Gate. What's your name?"

"What's the matter? You've become mute? Are you practicing silence like those monks?"

Just as they stepped out of the scorched earth, Li Huowang remembered something and reached for the wound in his abdomen.

The spear that had stabbed into him had now been burned into a piece of black charcoal, plugging his belly like a cork.

Li Huowang touched the edge of the charcoal with his fingers and gave it a gentle pull; a walnut-sized hole appeared in his charred abdomen.

He extended a charred finger and started to probe inside.

"Ah, ah." This scene watched with a distressed expression, Liu Zongyuan's molars began to ache.

Just when Li Huowang's fingers were about to probe in, a withered and cracked tentacle trembled as it extended from the dark hole, wrapping around Li Huowang's knuckles, followed by a flash of an odd-eyed eyeball with double pupils in that cavity.

"Eh~! You really are a strange one. What's that thing in your belly? I haven't heard of anything like this from the Ao Jing Sect."

Li Huowang glanced at Liu Zongyuan and finally spoke, "Nascent Soul."

"Nascent Soul? I recall Nascent Souls usually hang around the neck, don't they? How come yours is still in your stomach? Aren't you afraid it'll turn into shit if you're not careful?"

Li Huowang ignored him and continued walking forward.

"Hey, brother, all is settled, everything's been taken care of, why are you still wearing such a long face?"

Hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Li Huowang's face. "Finished, yes, indeed, completely finished."

"What's the matter? Are you feeling sad for them? My lad, do you think the villages near the Niuxin Mountain disappeared on their own? The people they killed are far more than those you killed; what you did was simply carrying out Heaven's will."

Li Huowang removed his hand from Liu Zongyuan's shoulder and stood still. "You should go, we're not on the same path; let's part ways here and now."

"Part ways?" Liu Zongyuan stood still, staring at Li Huowang whose body was charred. "Looking like this, where can you even go? You're grilled so nicely, you might get snatched away by a tiger halfway through."

"That's my own business, you better leave." Li Huowang slowly and stiffly sat on the ground.

Liu Zongyuan scratched the back of his head and after thinking for a moment, walked towards the forest nearby.

But after taking a few steps, he thought it over, sighed, turned back, and stood once again in front of Li Huowang. "Forget it, if you save someone, save them all the way; if you send a Buddha, send him to the West; close your eyes."

"What?" Li Huowang, leaning his head back, looked up at the wooden mask smeared with blush on its face.

"Just close them if I tell you to close them, why would I need to do anything if I really wanted to harm you? There's no one to look after you here, you would die in a few days."

Li Huowang raised his charred hands, covering those eyelid-less eyes.

"Swish, swish, swish." Li Huowang could feel something moving on his body, soft and with some fur, it felt somewhat like a brush.

Two incense sticks later, Li Huowang heard his voice again. "Alright, you can put your hands down now."

When Li Huowang took his hands down, he saw the burned-off skin on his body had returned.

But upon closer examination, Li Huowang realized it was not his own skin, but a layer of pink paper.

That particular shade of color inexplicably reminded Li Huowang of the paper effigies burned in front of graves.

It wasn't just the skin, he was now also wearing a paper garment, the same kind as the paper effigies.

What was more miraculous was that it was not just for show; the excruciating pain Li Huowang felt throughout his body due to the lack of skin had disappeared.

"Don't touch water, remember to avoid rain; once it gets wet, it won't work anymore."

"Which sect are you from? Your Divine Skills are so peculiar." Li Huowang looked toward the wooden mask.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm from the Moon Gate. What I used just now was our Sticky Character Technique, aside from that there are Lay, Join, Pass, Moon, Separate, Chase, Open."

Seeing Li Huowang standing there stunned, Liu Zongyuan laughed. "Don't understand? Heh, that's the point, you're not supposed to understand. How could we just casually reveal our sect's techniques to strangers? You haven't told me your name yet."

"Er Jiu."

"Alright then, see you around, Er Jiu." Liu Zongyuan turned and, like a monkey, leaped into the forest and disappeared.

Li Huowang looked down and touched the paper skin on his body again; with just a little force, he poked a hole through the paper skin.

The piercing pain did not stir any ripples in Li Huowang's heart; he did not stand up but remained in place, turning his head to look in the direction of the Niuxin Mountain.

A profound despair appeared in Li Huowang's eyes. "I have exterminated the entire Bai Family, young and old; after I return, how should I explain this to her?"