The Unruly Immortals

Facing the rebuttal from Oblivion Path, Xin Chi seemed to be making some kind of excuse.

But Li Huowang wasn't listening, Xin Chi's act of seeking personal revenge eventually backfired, and he could already imagine how Oblivion Path would use their own identities against them.

However, compared to seeing the other party at a disadvantage, what mattered most now was what he should do next.

After careful consideration, Li Huowang decided on his next course of action.

"This task is too dangerous, with both friends and foes against me, in such a situation it's better to stay out of it for now."

"I'll wait for them to start fighting, then come in as the savior. In this damned place, you can't trust anyone! The only one I can trust is myself, at least I won't cheat myself."

He took another look at the four people who had regrouped in the distance and were slowly walking away, and Li Huowang, in his invisible state, grabbed a tile, flipped off the beam, and slowly followed them.

He saw the other three no longer arguing with the impostor posing as himself, Xin Chi must have suffered in silence, forced to acknowledge the Oblivion Path as real.

But judging by Xin Chi's cautious behavior, he must be on guard against Oblivion Path at all times.

Temporarily setting aside their identity suspicions, the four of them seemed to be looking for something at the moment.

Li Huowang knew what they were looking for; they were searching for Record of Appearance. Since the collapse of the Buddha Hall, the Record of Appearance, who held the abacus, had disappeared, which was very suspicious.

"If what they're searching for is gone, where would Record of Appearance go now?" Seeing the four people heading towards a side hall, Li Huowang quickly hastened his pace to follow.

But just as Li Huowang was about to enter, a hand patted him on the shoulder.

Li Huowang suddenly broke out in a cold sweat; he was supposed to be invisible, yet someone could still see him!

He turned around with his sword in hand, only to see a man dressed as a scholar standing behind him.

"Whooosh~" The scholar's folding fan opened, and on it were four bold calligraphy characters scrawled out: Born with Talent.

"Your name is Er Jiu, isn't it? Quite strange, your Five Elements are still intact with fire and metal present, but why have the other three disappeared?"

Li Huowang eyed the mysterious man before him, his brows furrowed, and the vigilance in his heart peaked.

In this eerie place, there were too many possibilities regarding this person's identity, with the most likely being Oblivion Path playing tricks.

Or, possibly worse, this person could be the unfathomable Oblivion Path. He resolved that should this person make any suspicious move, he would go all out.

"Doesn't it hurt with knives stuck in your face? Why not pull them out? Also, that's Rusty Knife's blade, if you're indebted to him for his knife, he will take your luck."

With a wave of the scholar's fan, the rusty blades stuck in Li Huowang's face were pulled out, and then with another fan, the wounds on Li Huowang's face swiftly healed.

No sooner had the scholar moved than the Fire Sickle in Li Huowang's hand was pressed against his skin.

"Who are you, exactly?" Li Huowang asked deliberately and slowly.

Seeing the deep caution in Li Huowang's eyes, the scholar sighed and paused, appearing to ponder something.

After a few breaths, the scholar spoke again, "Forget it."

"This humble one has some matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first. Since you've joined the Astrological Bureau, make sure to stay alive. Sometimes, ignorance can also be a bliss."

Then, the scholar crouched down, pulled out a black spindle from his bosom, and placed it on the ground. "I'll leave you something, this item is more useful than the mask on your face."

After placing it, the scholar didn't do anything else, but nodded approvingly at Li Huowang, turned around, and walked towards the outside of the Buddha Bone Temple.

"Until we meet again, Er Jiu. I am Zhuge Yuan. If you come across troubles you can't solve, remember to find me on Apricot Island in the West Sea. Although my abilities are limited, I'll help as much as I can."

The scholar had left, and Li Huowang stood still in the original spot. Something felt odd about this scholar, and it wasn't until after he pondered for a long time that Li Huowang belatedly realized what it was: that was the extremely rare goodwill in this world.

This kind of direct expression of goodwill was his first encounter—he'd only experienced it on the side of hallucinations before.

Even Master Jingxin had never shown it, for she always buried her goodwill deep within her heart.

After a brief moment of doubt, Li Huowang shook his head vigorously and his gaze firmed up.

"No! That scholar must be up to something! I can't let myself be wound around his finger; I've suffered enough losses already and absolutely cannot fall into the same pit again."

Li Huowang glanced at the spindle wrapped with black thread on the ground and turned to walk towards the side hall.

The day's tasks, the events that had occurred, and the people he'd met all made Li Huowang feel extremely uncomfortable.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on the exact source of this discomfort—it was like looking at flowers through the fog, always obscured by a layer that made everything unclear.

As Li Huowang entered the side hall once again, he was immediately taken aback.

The four individuals from before had now turned into six, with an additional Xin Chi Monk and a Hong Da.

Watching them argue fervently about something, Li Huowang laughed, "This is somewhat interesting."

Li Huowang patted the dust off himself, straightened his Taoist robe, inserted his sword into its sheath, stepped over the threshold of the side hall, and joined them.

Upon seeing Li Huowang walk in, the Li Huowang inside widened his eyes and slapped his forehead, "Well then, here comes another one!"

"This person is the real Er Jiu,"

"This person is fake; he's from the Oblivion Path."

The two Xin Chi Monks equally used telepathy to give two entirely different answers.

Li Huowang eyed the two Xin Chi Monks, and for a moment, he couldn't distinguish which one was impersonating Oblivion Path and which one was the actual monk setting him up.

The hall erupted into chaos; when another Xin Chi appeared, the means to discern the true from the false stopped working, and no one could tell who was real and who was fake.

Several times they nearly came to blows, but due to others' persuasion, it thankfully did not escalate to fighting.

Li Huowang, at this moment, seemed to be the most indifferent one among them. He didn't need to identify the real from the fake; he was just there to watch the drama unfold.

Only when they fought out a winner would it be time for him to take action.

Looking at everything chaotic before him, Li Huowang's lips slightly curled up, and he began to understand some of Oblivion Path's thoughts.

When things didn't involve himself too closely, the scene was indeed very interesting.

"Enough!" An angry, duck-like voice made everyone halt their speech and turn their heads to look towards the entrance of the hall.

It was Record of Appearance, walking in with a shriveled head, now half its original size, in his hand.

His sparse eyebrows quivered with anger, and his expression was exceptionally ugly.

He approached the crowd and studied the two identical Li Huowangs, the two identical Hong Das, and the two identical Xin Chi Monks.

Focusing on them, Record of Appearance raised the head in his hand and slowly opened his mouth to say, "What are you all playing at! This is Prosperity's head! Prosperity has been dead for a while now!"

This statement suddenly made everyone present feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave. Prosperity, one of the Sanyuan, was just dead like that. How powerful must the person who killed him be?