The Unruly Immortals

"Mom, I might revert to my previous crazed state, but don't worry, it's nothing serious, trust me, it will definitely get better from here on out."

"I'll manage to come to my senses every few days or so, and if I'm delayed, don't fret, I might just be tangled up in some trivial matters over there."

"No, Mom, I'm really not having an episode, please don't get agitated, listen to me explain......"

In the sky, Zhuge Yuan looked puzzled at Li Huowang in front of him, who was softly and gently explaining to a crooked tree.

"What do you think? Isn't it an eye-opener? Not everyone gets the chance to see Xinsu lose his sanity." Said the Oblivion Path's Huan Jue in an experienced tone, explaining to Zhuge Yuan.

"Did Brother Li often act like this before?" Zhuge Yuan asked, perplexed.

"Hmm, according to the Monk, before he ate Li Sui, it happened every few weeks."

Zhuge Yuan looked at Li Sui curled up under the tree, then back at Li Huowang, who was talking to himself, and couldn't help but sigh, "Brother Li truly has it tough, Xinsu is so much harder than Heart Pan."

"Yes, the Taoist has a hard time indeed. Watching him all this way, even I feel distressed. If I could do anything, I'd really want to help him," the Monk added.

"This venerable master, I, Zhuge Yuan, pay my respects."

Although this man looked identical to the abbot of Zhengde Temple in Da Qi, Zhuge Yuan knew right away he wasn't the same person–the abbot wasn't dead yet.

"Respects? Oh, I have them too, I have them too. Right, that faceless, eyeless one, be careful, he's a trickster, he has fooled me quite a few times already."

Zhuge Yuan looked at Hong Zhong beside him and smiled slightly, saying, "I can see, this person is from the Oblivion Path, then master, who is that headless one?"

With the Monk's introduction, not only did Zhuge Yuan learn the other Huan Jue's names, but he even understood how they died and what had happened back then very clearly.

"Does that mean, this Senior Jin Shanzhao was killed by Peng Longteng?"

"The Taoist said so, but he gets annoyed talking to me, always so busy, so I don't know much about it."

"Then why does this Senior Jin Shanzhao show no animosity towards this General Peng?"

"How would I know? I'm not the worm in their guts."

"Alright, let me ask about something else. Are there others besides us five?"

"There are, rumor has it that before us, there was a leprous head and a woman too. They were all Huan Jue's around the Taoist, but later they were gone."

"So that means there were a total of seven people around Brother Li?" Zhuge Yuan tapped his folded fan against his palm, pondering something thoughtfully.

"What are you up to?" Hong Zhong looked at the person in front of him with furrowed brows. "Now that we've all become Huan Jue's around Li Huowang, what are you still stirring up?"

Zhuge Yuan merely clasped his hands towards him, yet smiled without saying a word.

"Brother Zhuge." Li Huowang's words made all his Huan Jue look over.

The man in front of them still looked the same, but for some reason, he seemed different in spirit compared to the past.

"Brother Zhuge, aside from Da Qi and Da Liang, have you ever seen someone else whose past was altered?" Li Huowang asked.

"Not once. Across the whole world, those who are fortunate to meet the Fate Commander are few and far between; moreover, most people either go mad or die, let alone have the Fate Commander personally intervene."

Zhuge Yuan's words gradually furrowed Li Huowang's brow. Doesn't that mean, if I want to eradicate Hong Zhong's past, there's no reference at all?

Having the past modified by Doumu was at first glance a very difficult matter, but upon closer consideration, it didn't entirely seem to be the case.

Huowang gained an additional identity as the Oblivion Path's Hong Zhong, in addition to his past identity, and he had learned quite a few powerful and useful Oblivion Path's Technique Divine Abilities without any teacher.

This included the bestowal of identities, Divine Skills, and even Cultivation Techniques, all of which seemed to be good things, and as for any drawbacks, none had surfaced for the time being.

It seemed the only thing worth questioning was Doumu's purpose in doing all this.

"Why did it do this?" Li Huowang collected all available information on Doumu from the memories of Hong Zhong, but unfortunately, he found no clues.

The relationship between them was not that of believers and deities, but rather that of fraudsters and their victims.

All in the Oblivion Path knew that every falsehood in the world belonged to Doumu, who controlled all deceptions.

Everyone carried a strand of Doumu's falsehood in them, just as everyone lied; such was an inevitability, and the way for those on the Oblivion Path to obtain abilities was by swindling these falsehoods from each person.

Of course, falsehoods were only part of it, swindling the falsehoods often naturally led to swindling other things from people as well.

However, within the Oblivion Path there was a suspicion that they were conning others simply because Doumu wanted them to—tricking them into tricking others, to fulfill its own purposes.

As for what those purposes were, the Oblivion Path, being the victims of the deceit, naturally would not know.

"Perhaps Touzi knows something..." Li Huowang murmured to himself.

"Brother Li, given your current situation, I think it would be wise to stay away from those on the Oblivion Path, especially Touzi. If Touzi sets his sights on you, the situation could become very difficult to resolve."

"You know as well as I do that those on the Oblivion Path are not adept at direct confrontations; they always prefer to operate from the shadows, and that's not even mentioning Touzi."

"Rest assured, I haven't lost my mind just yet. Why would I provoke Touzi? Right now, the most urgent thing is to find a quiet place to peacefully cultivate this hard-earned Cultivation Technique."

"Only with the great accomplishment of our Cultivation Technique can I, Li Huowang, find a foothold in these two worlds."

Whether it was increasing my strength, making Zhuge Yuan's illusion real, or turning the real world into truth, this Cultivation Technique was of utmost importance. My past as Hong Zhong paled in comparison.

Zhuge Yuan nodded in agreement. "Then, Brother Li, what are your plans next?"

"I..." Li Huowang hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "I need to return to Ox Heart Village. It's quiet and secluded, an ideal place for cultivation. Moreover, with the current tumultuous situation, I'm somewhat worried about Miaomiao and the others."

And this was also part of the original promise I made to Miaomiao, that once I was completely free from Xinsu's delusions, I would return to them. In such circumstances, this could also be considered fulfilling that promise.

Thinking of those faces he hadn't seen in a long while, a sense of longing suddenly welled up in Li Huowang's heart—in this world, they were his only ties.

No sooner said than done, Li Huowang immediately mounted his horse, ready to set off in the direction of Ox Heart Village.

But just as he was about to raise his whip, he suddenly felt like something was missing. "Wait a minute, where are Li Sui and Mantou?"

"Li Sui! Mantou!" Li Huowang shouted into the surrounding forest.

Soon, sticky black tentacles emerged from the bushes, growing in number until they formed a mass.

By now, Mantou's limbs and mouth were bound by the tentacles, held midair by Li Sui.

"What are you doing?"

"Playing with the dog."