The Unruly Immortals

"I heard from Brother Zhuge that you've undergone the Cangqiong Ascension ritual three times? May I ask if this is true?"

Hearing this, Li Huowang coldly gazed at the young man before him. "What if it's true, what if it's not? What business is it of yours?"

"So it's true?!" Xia Risheng immediately knelt on one knee, his expression extremely agitated. "I pay my respects to the Elder!"

The instant he knelt, Li Huowang stood up and moved aside, "I'm not any Elder, you've got the wrong person!"

"You are! You definitely are! The person who used the Great Thousand Record to perform the Cangqiong Ascension three times, without a doubt, you are the Elder of the Ao Jing Sect!"

"At your level, you can now carry out the ritual without the Great Thousand Record, directly making sacrifices with your own flesh! This is the ultimate symbol!"

The young man spoke with frenzied excitement, sending chills down Li Huowang's spine. Li Huowang had not known much about the Ao Jing Sect in the past, and he had never anticipated such a development.

"You are mistaken, Zhuge Yuan lied to you, I haven't performed the Cangqiong Ascension!"

With that said, regardless of whether that man believed him or not, Li Huowang forced himself to remain calm and walked away.

"What's going on? Isn't the Cangqiong Ascension ritual about exchanging pain for power with Bahu? From what this man says, is this ritual an emblem of identity within the Ao Jing Sect?"

Li Huowang knew all too well about the so-called Elders, even though those Elders were all imposters from the Oblivion Path.

No matter if there were higher ranks above the Elders, the title of Elder in the Ao Jing Sect was definitely not a minor one.

"Moreover, can I really now make sacrifices to Bahu directly, without needing the Great Thousand Record? What does that mean? Does it mean that I'm getting closer to Bahu?"

Li Huowang did not feel this was anything to rejoice about. The Cangqiong Ascension seemed to have additional hidden dangers not mentioned in the Great Thousand Record.

After some thought, Li Huowang decided to give it a try. He glanced at the others in the distance and walked into a nearby grove, then began to take off his red Taoist robe.

"Li Sui." Li Huowang placed his Copper Coin Sword horizontally, and Li Sui's tentacles wrapped around the hilt, extending behind to slice open Li Huowang's recently healed skin.

More tentacles reached out and wrapped around the Great Thousand Record, which was almost embedded in his flesh, forcibly pulling it out.

Ignoring the pain, Li Huowang pressed the left corner of his index fingernail firmly and flicked, a "swoosh" was heard, and three meters away, a tree trunk as thick as a bowl bore a deep blood mark.

"I really don't need the Great Thousand Record anymore?" Li Huowang didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Is that a good thing? It should be a good thing, right?" Li Huowang stood there, staring blankly at the distant tree as it slowly fell to the ground with a creaking sound.

Old problems remained unresolved, and new ones emerged, leaving Li Huowang feeling overwhelmingly troubled.

Yet to say he would do something to give up this advantage, Li Huowang found himself somewhat reluctant.

At least now he had no weak spot; the incident when Peng Longteng ambushed him, stealing the Great Thousand Record and rendering him unable to wield the Flesh and Blood Divine Ability, would never happen again.

"I'll just take it one step at a time. First, I'll deal with Xinsu's trouble, everything else can wait, sigh... why is life so exhausting?"

After a short rest, Li Huowang continued on the journey with the group.

The one leading the way was that Old Master Qin; they seemed to have chosen a secluded path on purpose, for fear of being targeted again.

Li Huowang didn't mind; his task was to keep an eye on Zhuge Yuan's territory for the Oblivion Path rabbit, he had no fear of being delayed.

However, the young man named Xia Risheng seemed not to have believed Li Huowang's denial and his attitude toward him had changed drastically.

"Elder! Please take a seat here!" Xia Risheng stepped ahead into the dilapidated roadside inn, wiped the stool and the table with his sleeve, and respectfully gestured for Li Huowang to sit down.

No sooner had Li Huowang sat down than Xia Risheng immediately poured tea for him and then went on to intercept the server, personally ordering dishes for him.

The strange behavior of the other party made Li Huowang feel quite awkward, as he neither needed nor wanted someone to wait on him like a servant by his side.

"What exactly do you want to do?" Li Huowang asked with an impatient tone.

"Do? Nothing at all! To serve Elder is a blessing for someone of my lowly position!"

Xia Risheng was extremely humble, and then he thought to himself, "If only he could reveal the secret to successfully executing Cangqiong Ascension, that would be even better!"

"Alright, so I'm the Elder now, am I? Fine, now the Elder commands you to stay far away! Don't show your face to me until we reach the Capital City!"

"Er... As you command!"

Seeing Xia Risheng finally walk away brought some relief to Li Huowang's heart.

Glancing at the Miaojiang woman sitting with her companions, Li Huowang thought to himself, "Strange, it's been so long, why hasn't there been any sign of the Oblivion Path? This is not at all what I had anticipated."

According to Li Huowang's earlier conjecture, with Zhuge Yuan showing himself so openly in the street, the followers of the Oblivion Path should have swarmed him like flies to dung.

Yet, since the episode on Apricot Island where he was impersonated, the Oblivion Path had been silent, the only encounter being with a mere pawn whose identity was completely exposed.

"Could it be that these fellows think petty scuffles won't harm Zhuge Yuan and have instead planned something big?" Li Huowang couldn't help but assume the worst.

As for fear, Li Huowang now stood alone and truly harbored none, his only concern being whether Bei Feng might be involved as well.

"With Fatty being killed, Hong Zhong and Bai Ban will certainly come, so to kill Zhuge Yuan in one fell swoop, wouldn't Sixi and the others be expected to come too?"

While Li Huowang was mulling over this matter, Zhuge Yuan, who had left for a short while, came and sat down in front of him.

"Brother Zhuge, where had you been just now?"

"Oh, I bought the carriage from the inn, then went about making adjustments to the cabin, to ensure Old Qin can lie in comfort during the ride."

"You have to do these things yourself? Brother Zhuge, how did you come to know Old Qin?" Li Huowang picked up the teapot and poured a cup for the man in front of him.

"When I was in Youdu, I saw Old Qin playing chess under a tree with someone. His style was bold and unconstrained, and he won every game fair and square, which made me unable to resist making his acquaintance."

"That's how you met?"

"What else does Brother Li think? I never consider a person's status or position when making friends, I only seek a congenial connection."

"Brother Zhuge is truly sincere; I admire that."

"Shouldn't making friends be just like that? I feel that nowadays too many people overthink and complicate things, which is why they are unable to make close friends. Speaking of the current state of the world…"

Just at this moment, the server carrying a tray of dishes came over, and rescued Li Huowang from the ensuing monologue. Relieved from the tedious talk.

"Here are your dishes – stir-fried mutton, earthy trio, sautéed shepherd's purse, and a Eight-Treasure duck. Here's your food, please enjoy your meal."