The Unruly Immortals

Tuoba Danqing completely collapsed, and the others weren't faring much better.

Liu Zongyuan knelt on the ground, frantically pounding the earth with his hands.

Meanwhile, Hong Da stood expressionless, staring blankly at his surroundings.

A feeling of despair enveloped everyone. All around, the voices of those who never seemed to die mockingly screeched at them all.

In such a situation, it seemed that anything they did was futile, and even death had become a luxury they couldn't afford.

But this did not include Li Huowang; having gone through various predicaments, he was rarely crushed by other things anymore.

When he noticed Bai Lingmiao's face contorting fiercely, Li Huowang wrapped his arms around her, his voice trembling as he said, "I'm here, as long as I'm here, no one can hurt you!"

Second God leaned in from behind, gently resting against Li Huowang's back, and this time, Li Huowang didn't reject her.

"Do you really have a way out of this?"

Bai Lingmiao's eyes widened as she stared at the man in front of her. How could he make such a claim in such a desperate situation?

Li Huowang nodded slightly and then looked up at the pitch-black dome overhead, his face revealing a bitter smile.

"This place is inaccessible to the Immortal Sects, but I think there's an entity that could certainly enter."

"Who?"

"Bahu! The Bahu from the White Jade Capital!"

Li Huowang had been to the White Jade Capital. Regardless of how Heart Turbidity did it, in the face of those existences too daunting to even think about, it was utterly insignificant, even the Heart Turbidity that was an amalgamation of life and death.

After some thought, Li Huowang said with a determined look, "I'm going to use Cangqiong Ascension to borrow the power of Bahu to break through this dead end."

If there was any way to get out of the current impasse, it would have to be this.

Bai Lingmiao felt a jolt in her heart; she remembered this ritual, as Li Huowang had once mentioned it to her. "Isn't that going to be difficult...."

"Yes, that's right." Li Huowang turned his head to glance at Tuoba Danqing, who was carving the Record of Appearance with three knives and six holes, then hugged Bai Lingmiao and walked toward the dense forest nearby.

As for the rest, they didn't care where Li Huowang went; perhaps they no longer cared about anything at that moment.

"Cangqiong Ascension requires both inner turmoil and physical pain, extreme physical agony is easy to procure, but I need to find the ultimate inner torment."

As he spoke, Li Huowang recalled something, a struggle flashing in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao trembled and immediately said without hesitation, "Tell me, what do you want me to do? I can take it."

Li Huowang shook his head, his lips quivering slightly, "You don't need to do anything, just watch me, because... I need to enter a delusion to find...."

As Li Huowang spoke, his eyes betrayed a fierce struggle, but when he looked at Bai Lingmiao before him, they steadied.

He was not an ordinary person; he was Xinsu. Just as Heart Turbidity could utilize his abilities, Xinsu could harness them as well.

Just like the first time he used Cangqiong Ascension, in that realm of delusions, as long as he was brave enough, that place would continuously supply him with the ultimate inner torment.

In the secluded woods under the night sky, Li Huowang carefully examined the young girl before him.

"Don't worry, I will rescue you from this peril just like I did at the Qingfeng Taoist Temple."

"No! Think of another way!" Bai Lingmiao immediately rejected Li Huowang's words.

However, Li Huowang had no intention of listening to her. "Li Sui, come out. Stay quietly with your mother, don't run around, I'll be back soon."

One by one, black tentacles burrowed out from Li Huowang's chest, eventually forming a writhing mass of tentacled monster.

"Miaomiao, he's my son, don't be afraid," Li Huowang explained to Bai Lingmiao, who was seeing Li Sui for the first time.

Bai Lingmiao's eyes widened in horror at the dreadful mass of tentacles before her. "Say that again, who's... who's your son?"

Li Huowang chuckled softly, feeling everything around him begin to shake and change; he stopped trying to explain.

"Wait for my return, and stand back a little, to avoid being hurt, even though it won't kill you, it will still hurt."

Everything around him began to melt away, and for some unknown reason, the changes were much slower this time, but eventually, Li Huowang found himself back in that dark, filthy underpass.

Staring at the familiar yet strange surroundings, Li Huowang paused for a moment before dashing to the riverside and washing his face with the water.

Staring at his reflection in the water, Li Huowang seemed to be hypnotizing himself.

"Miaomiao is waiting for me, I need to use the illusion to find the ultimate pain within my heart to save her!"

After repeating this three times, Li Huowang stood up straight; it was time to consider how to seek the ultimate inner pain.

It seemed like no thought was needed; to achieve the utmost pain was glaringly obvious.

Just then, Li Huowang heard footsteps outside, and not long after, Huanhuan appeared at the door with a basket of steamed buns.

When she saw Li Huowang staring straight at her, a happy smile appeared on her face. "Uncle, you're sober again?"

"The ultimate pain, the ultimate pain... this is nothing, this is all fake, these are all illusions."

Li Huowang, mumbling to himself, looked around and picked up a thin rope from the ground, moving towards Huanhuan.

"It can't be such a coincidence that the child appears as soon as I arrive. Right, this is fake; I shouldn't have any hesitation."

Li Huowang loomed over her, and his right hand, wrapped in the rope, shook even more violently.

"Uncle?" Huanhuan took a fearful half-step back; she felt that the uncle before her was not quite the same as before.

Suddenly, Li Huowang deflated like a pierced ball, exhaling all the air in his lungs.

"No, this isn't right, this is wrong."

Li Huowang turned around, his teeth grinding loudly as he paced back and forth.

"No, I haven't known her for long, even if I were to kill her, the ultimate pain wouldn't be enough. I need more, much more!"

He knelt on the ground, writing two names in the dirt, Yang Na and Sun Xiaoqin.

As he stared at those two names, fear appeared in Li Huowang's eyes, his body trembling with terror.

"These are all illusions, these are illusions! I have long since passed through, this isn't real!"

Li Huowang's trembling hand had just begun to lift when it recoiled as if shocked by electricity.

Suddenly, he seized a cobblestone from the ground and smacked it against his own head.

In an instant, blood gushed from Li Huowang's head, but it wasn't enough. Clutching the stone, he repeatedly smashed it down on his head, harder each time.

Soon, Li Huowang's tears, sweat, and blood mixed together, making his appearance frighteningly horrific.

"It's fake, it's clearly fake! This is clearly an illusion! What the hell am I hesitating for! Miaomiao is still waiting for me to save her!!"