The Unruly Immortals

"What is their purpose? Could they possibly know about my identity as Xinsu?"

He thought uncertainly for a while, and after realizing there was nothing out of the ordinary around him, Li Huowang decided to head back to the fishing village and wait for dawn.

Glancing up at the round moon almost enveloped by dark clouds, Li Huowang quickened his pace and carved three marks onto a bamboo pole with his longsword before slowly making his way back to where he had come from.

To prevent getting lost, Li Huowang left sword marks on bamboo poles every once in a while.

As he walked, the sky began to brighten, yet the situation didn't improve much; the foggy morning enveloped everything around, not much better than the previous night.

Just as Li Huowang started to feel weary, two dim lights shot through the fog in the distance, invigorating his spirit. "Have I arrived?"

He briskly walked a few more steps and quickly approached, only to find out the lights were two white lanterns hanging at the entrance, each inscribed with the dark, large character for "mourning."

The circular wall was wide and yellowish-brown in color, towering as high as several stories.

Li Huowang glanced back at the thin mist and thought to himself, "What exactly is trying to deceive me?"

Although the current situation was quite eerie, Li Huowang wasn't particularly frightened, as he had seen much stranger things in the past.

Lifting his right foot, Li Huowang walked towards the entrance, and as he passed through the narrow alley, an immense circular building complex appeared before him. Rows of black-tiled houses were built together, forming a circle.

A gust of wind blew a piece of joss paper past Li Huowang, drawing his gaze toward the distant ancestral hall.

Inside the white-covered hall, a large and a small black coffin lay silently.

Li Huowang walked to the perimeter of the hall and peered inside; the hall had everything but people.

"No offense intended," he whispered and gave a slight bow towards the coffins.

The next moment, Li Huowang took several quick steps, rushed into the hall, grasped the lid of the coffin with one hand and pushed hard, then leaned into the coffin and shouted, "Rest in peace, deceased!"

Seeing the empty coffin, disappointment appeared on Li Huowang's face. He lifted his head out of the coffin and looked around at the hall again, lined with white cloths and paper offerings.

"I don't care who you are! I'm busy now and have no time to dally with you."

"If you try to take advantage of me again, don't blame me for setting this entire building complex and the bamboo forest outside ablaze!"

The center of the complex was very spacious, and Li Huowang's voice even echoed; however, just like before, there was still no movement or sound from anything else.

"Thump thump," Li Huowang patted his hand on the coffin board, then began turning and walking toward the exit of the complex.

Halfway there, a red figure flashed on the second floor of the building complex to his left.

Li Huowang immediately pivoted and charged toward it, and just as he was about to hit the wall, two talismans written in his own blood adhered themselves to his thighs.

Veins bulged instantly on his legs, and with a fierce glare, he leaped on the spot, positioning himself parallel to the red figure between the bamboo buildings.

Upon seeing the person's features, a surge of anger rushed to the back of Li Huowang's head. He put all his strength into a snarl at the person, "Oblivion Path!"

The red figure was none other than Li Huowang himself, an exact replica!

Upon seeing a face exactly like his own, Li Huowang instantly understood – Oblivion Path had already infiltrated Apricot Island.

All the strangeness he had experienced before, just who had engineered it.

Feeling his body about to fall, Li Huowang swiftly pulled out the Copper Coin Sword and flicked it. "Ansa Tongling Posheng!"

The red thread tied around the coins on the Copper Coin Sword rapidly stretched out, whipping over like a long lash and coiling around the pillar.

With a fierce tug from Li Huowang, his body shot like a cannonball towards the other Li Huowang, who stood still as if petrified, woodenly rooted to the spot.

The moment Li Huowang's Copper Coin Sword pierced the body of the other, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, for he felt no sensation of touch on the blade at all.

Immediately after, he saw the Oblivion Path before him draw its sword and thrust straight into the empty space above, where blood inexplicably appeared on the barren tip of the sword.

At the same time, Li Huowang felt a pain in his abdomen, realizing the figure before him was but an illusion, and that the other party had actually used his own misplacement ability!

Li Huowang had intended to use his misplacement ability to escape the other party, but to his surprise, his body wouldn't respond.

At that moment, Li Huowang suddenly understood that the Oblivion Path had somehow tricked him out of his misplacement ability.

He had fought against many Oblivion Paths in the past, but none had ever possessed such a formidable power.

The Oblivion Path before him was definitely not ordinary! He might even be one of Sixi or Sanyuan!

With this in mind, Li Huowang couldn't afford to hold back any longer. He dug into his right eye with his hand and, gripping the eyeball in the palm, squeezed forcefully.

With a "snap," a translucent fluid was squeezed out from between his fingernails.

Everything around him was instantly replaced by a strange light of indiscernible color, becoming extremely sluggish.

Taking advantage of this moment, Li Huowang quickly disengaged from the Longsword that had pierced his abdomen.

Knowing the other party had stolen his ability, Li Huowang wouldn't allow himself to be led by the nose and drew the Fire Sickle, ready for a major move.

But after several forceful swipes, Li Huowang's body did not catch on fire, and soon it dawned on him—his skin had been peeled off and forged into a magic artifact. There was no new skin remaining to sacrifice to Bahu.

Seeing the Oblivion Path about to return to normal, Li Huowang tensed up and shoved a dark iron pincer into his mouth.

Several molars were yanked out, scattered in all directions like flowers strewn by celestial maidens.

Li Huowang knew the limit of his misplacement ability was within ten feet. Hence, his teeth now fully encompassed everything within that range.

The teeth, mingled with blood and flesh, detonated upon impact, and countless small fragments of teeth fell like torrential rain towards the other side.

With no defense, the other party took a solid hit, and the tiny tooth fragments pierced through the body of the Oblivion Path, nearly turning him into a sieve.

Yet, despite such severe wounds, he managed to remain standing, showing no sign of falling.

At this sight, Li Huowang's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly came to a realization.

He then pressed on the wound in his abdomen and received some very bad news—this Oblivion Path had also stolen his powerful healing ability.

"This guy's ability is too troublesome. What do I do?" Li Huowang's heart sank continuously as he watched the other party glare at him with a ferocious expression.