The Unruly Immortals

At this moment, completely devoid of the sensation of pain, Li Huowang looked at the giant vertical pupil before him without a hint of hesitation.

Instantly, he hoisted his own body, which was slumped on the ground beside him, onto his shoulders, then rushed over to Zhuge Yuan, picked him up, and bolted backwards.

This place was far too dangerous, not somewhere mere mortals should be, and he had to get Zhuge Yuan out of there!

But just as he turned to leave, his body felt as though it was crushed under a mountain, weighed down by a thousand pounds, and an invisible pulling force from behind kept dragging him back.

From the gaping wound in Li Huowang's chest, wriggling tentacles crazily surged out, wrapping around his legs and desperately helping him move forward.

Moving inch by inch, the maggots on Li Huowang's body were quickly dying, as if combating something invisible.

By the time a large portion of the maggots on his body had died, Li Huowang's body suddenly loosened, finally freeing him from the pulling force.

Regaining freedom, Li Huowang was about to leave this troublesome place with Zhuge Yuan, but before taking a few steps, a fierce fire suddenly burst in front of him, almost singeing his hair.

As he swiftly stepped back, he finally saw the Emperor of Da Liang in the distance, along with the State Preceptor and members of the Astrological Bureau beside him.

They had clearly given it their all, drawing out various magic artifacts, and Li Huowang even saw one of the delegates from the Astrological Bureau holding a square stone slab upside down in some ritual.

He remembered that stone slab, it was the very one Master Danyang foolishly used in attempts to achieve immortality, and it seemed this person had obtained one as well.

"So it's supposed to be held upside down?" Li Huowang was taken aback, but then quickly shook his head. Now was not the time to think about this!

Li Huowang first looked up in astonishment at the huge golden tree ablaze before him, then looked down at Zhuge Yuan on his shoulder. "What's going on? Where is your Da Qi?"

The history of Da Qi should always be present around Heart Pan, ready to appear at any moment, but for some reason, it had mysteriously disappeared right now.

For Li Huowang, this was bad news, thrusting him back into the thick of battle once again.

Regaining his strength, Zhuge Yuan quickly rolled off, dropping from Li Huowang's side. He looked extremely pale facing everything before him. "Where is this?!"

"Where else could this be? This is Da Liang! It doesn't matter where this is! Let's just escape first!!" Li Huowang said, pulling on his sleeve as they dashed to the side.

A manic laughter made Li Huowang glance at the Emperor of Da Liang in front of the giant tree, and as he laughed, his regalia vibrated violently.

The Emperor of Da Liang swung his hand fiercely, pointing at the giant eye in the distance, "Oblivion Path! The Divine Mountain Ghost Eye has risen! Your petty existence is over! It's a perfect opportunity to wipe you all out at once!"

No sooner had the words fallen, Li Huowang felt the gold bricks under his feet soften rapidly, flowing quickly towards the gigantic eye behind him,

It wasn't just the gold bricks, the distant Golden Hall followed suit, the gold converging, quickly gathering in front of the terrifying giant eye, gradually forming a mountainous, golden mask.

The mask had ears long like a beast's, and a mouth that was broad up to the roots of the ears, with triple-folded lips and corners that turned up into a slight smile, identical to the mask at the entrance of the Astrological Bureau.

The only similarity was that the mask at the entrance of the Astrological Bureau had a pair of outward-bulging cylindrical eyes, while this mask that was in the process of forming had an empty left eye socket, and the right eye socket was stuffed with that previously mentioned immense vertical pupil!

Li Huowang couldn't help but shiver uncontrollably, having no idea what the "Divine Mountain Ghost" mentioned by the people of Da Liang was—all he knew was that something significant was approaching! The strange incantation that had disappeared due to the Leap Place Five Elements sounded once again, rolling over the earth.

As he anxiously thought repeatedly in his heart for things to move faster still, the worms in his chest twisted continuously, entangling with each other, forming two new legs for Li Huowang, significantly speeding up his pace.

The Touzi watched the golden mask gradually take shape and the oppressive feeling in the air become increasingly strong; the dots on their faces all turned to sixes.

One of the Touzi spoke amidst such dire straits, not a hint of worry in his tone, and on the contrary, his voice even carried a hint of gleefulness.

"Great, you've gone to such lengths to retrieve one of the eyes of the Fate Commander, dead for a thousand years—it must've cost you not a little effort, eh? Since that's the case, we'll gladly accept it."

"Hmph! Did you think I would believe the reams of lies you spout? No matter what you say! The plan that has taken me a full decade, you cannot disrupt it!"

"Lies? Heh heh, perhaps not? Guess why we especially came four of us today? You've been preparing for a long time, but we've been preparing even longer than you."

After these four Touzi simultaneously spoke the same words, they sat down cross-legged once again, and the overlapping incantations filled the air anew.

"The Revered King of the Dharma, the Supreme Mother of Xuan Yuan in the Heavenly Realm, where golden light shines, the sun and moon glow faintly, the jewel scepter rotates, ghosts and gods lose their color, revealing sacred trails in the mortal world, guarding the Holy Imperial Majesty in Samsara..."

Though this sound was soft, it traveled very far and grew increasingly distant.

When this sound reached the Emperor of Da Liang, the slate in the hand of the young overseer of the Astrological Bureau suddenly cracked.

Accompanied by the sound of fracturing, a mocking laugh full of ridicule emerged from the cracks in the stone.

"Hahaha! Feels good, doesn't it? But it's all fake! Just toying with you! You big fool!"

As soon as the words fell, the slate rapidly split apart, scattering into a pile of disheveled playing cards and mahjong tiles.

"What?! How is this possible!!" The young overseer of the Astrological Bureau, who had been duped, stared at the slate in his hands with a look of shock, as a dark purple light emerged from his forehead and swiftly burrowed into the dots on the Touzi's faces.

This was just the beginning. As the voice of the Oblivion Path spread farther and even reached Niuxin Village.

Gao Zhijian, abruptly awakened by voices in his own house, became alert and, when he took a weapon and rushed to the side room, he saw the slate that his senior brother Li had given him as armor had cracked apart.

If he remembered correctly, this slate was something his Master, Master Danyang, had taken from Qingfeng Taoist Temple.

"Hahaha! Still dreaming of becoming an immortal! You, who can barely recognize a single character, you too wish to become an immortal! Let me tell you! You've been deceived by me! This Immortality Cultivation Technique is fake!! Hahaha!!"