The Unruly Immortals

"A celestial dog devouring the sun?" As he listened to Zhuge Yuan's words, Li Huowang's brow furrowed tightly while staring at the pitch-black sky above.

"Could it be an eclipse?" Li Huowang guessed chaotically.

But Li Huowang quickly dismissed that possibility. Back when he was in the first grade of elementary school, he had the fortune to witness an eclipse.

Even if it were an eclipse, the sun in the sky wouldn't be completely black, but would merely have a halo left, and definitely would not turn this utterly dark.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang," the intense sound of gongs, accompanied by Top Scholar Lv's chant-like shouts, rang out above Niuxin Village. "The celestial dog is devouring the sun—quick, strike the gongs and drums to scare off the celestial dog!"

The sound had not been alarming at first, but once it began, the entire village was instantly thrown into a panic.

Li Huowang braced himself with one hand on the window, leaping straight to the ground floor, and followed the sound.

He hadn't gone far before he saw Top Scholar Lv leading his group, all while carrying lanterns and beating the instruments from their opera performances with great effort.

"Enough! Everyone stop!" Li Huowang snatched the gong from Top Scholar Lv's hands.

"Taoist Master, you might be skilled in other matters, but in this, you truly have no experience compared to me. It's a celestial dog devouring the sun! It was my granduncle who led the whole village to drive away the celestial dog with gongs!"

Hearing the other's emphatically sworn statement made Li Huowang frown. "This is useless! Tell the villagers to gather at the Bai Family Courtyard! Count everyone!"

"But if we don't strike the gongs, what if the celestial dog really devours the sun completely?"

"Hurry up! If you keep talking nonsense, believe it or not, I'll burn everything you're holding in one fire!"

Top Scholar Lv seemed to want to say something more, but seeing how serious Li Huowang looked, he immediately took his son and apprentice to gather the people.

Watching them walk away with their lanterns, Li Huowang finally had a moment to raise his head and ask Zhuge Yuan in detail.

"Brother Zhuge, is this really a natural disaster? Are you sure it's not something else?"

In this mad world, he wouldn't be surprised by any other crazy occurrences.

Zhuge Yuan glanced askance at the upper left corner, recalling. "It should be unmistakable. I've seen a record of this darkness without daylight in a brief note."

"Brother Zhuge, about this so-called celestial dog devouring the sun, did that brief note mention anything else?"

"No, it didn't. However, Brother Li, the focus isn't on the disaster itself but on the timing. Do you remember when the last disaster struck?"

"Last year, I think." Li Huowang looked up again at the sky as dark as ink, recalling the disaster he had experienced.

The last time, decay vanished, so nothing in the world spoiled or rotted anymore. The process wasn't particularly fast, but it wasn't slow either.

This was why Li Huowang was so calm now. Although it was called a natural disaster, besides the death of the abbess, nothing else had any impact on him.

"Indeed. But disasters usually happen every few decades. Why has another disaster come just two years later? Brother Li, ignorance breeds disaster, and abnormality signposts demons!"

Zhuge Yuan's words made Li Huowang's heart skip a beat. "Are you suggesting that right now, inside the White Jade Capital..."

Before Li Huowang could finish, Zhuge Yuan, with a solemn expression, interrupted him. "Brother Li, since you are Xinsu and have started on the path of Cultivation of Truth, you should try to avoid mentioning those things as much as possible from now on, to prevent..."

Li Huowang immediately understood the other party's meaning and held back the words he was about to say.

He stood thoughtfully in his original spot for a long time, until Lv Elevated Man came over with a lantern to report that not a single person from Niuxin Village was missing, only then did he stop pondering.

Li Huowang bowed toward the empty air. "Brother Zhuge, regardless of what's happening over there, I think we should focus on getting through this natural disaster safely first," he said.

"Those matters, I have absolutely no need to consider, because no matter what I do, it won't determine anything."

"Not so, not so, the rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of every man. Allow me to think it over, think it over thoroughly," Zhuge Yuan tapped his forehead with the folding fan in his hand and spoke no further.

Seeing Lv Elevated Man gasping in shock, staring at him in horror and trembling, Li Huowang didn't bother to explain anything and strode toward the Bai Family Courtyard.

By the time he returned to the Bai Family Courtyard, Li Huowang saw that many people were kneeling on the ground, praying in every direction amidst the darkness; in such an environment, fear made people desperately seek something to hold onto.

"Kids, is there enough food?" In this situation, Li Huowang didn't plan on going out anymore; he was ready to huddle with them in the Bai Family Courtyard and wait for the eclipse to pass.

"Brother Li, rest assured, we definitely have enough; the rice storage still has last year's grain, enough to feed us all for two or three years, and there's a well in the courtyard—we won't have to worry about eating or drinking."

Li Huowang nodded, took the Taoist Bell from Chun Xiaoman's waist, and shook it violently. The jarring sound of the bell instantly drew everyone's attention.

"Don't panic! This is just a natural disaster, it will pass in a few days, we just have to wait..."

Following Li Huowang's assurances, the rest of Niuxin Village, although still wearing frightened expressions, were significantly calmer than before.

Finally, when Li Huowang ordered the young lad Yang to butcher a head of cattle for meat, they were instantly drawn into discussing whether to kill the cattle and eat the beef, leaving no room to worry about anything else.

"Red Center is great! Red Center is mighty! Manipulating these people is like playing with a bunch of idiots!"

Li Huowang completely ignored the teasing from Huan Jue of the Oblivion Path and addressed Zhuge Yuan once more, "Brother Zhuge, how much effort do you think the Astrological Bureau will need to suppress this calamity?"

"Although the Astrological Bureau claims to be resisting natural disasters, I'm really doubtful whether they actually have any means to do so."

The appearance of natural disasters, if it signifies the scramble for power between the Fate Commanders and the Heavenly Dao.

Having witnessed Doumu's astonishing power, Li Huowang truly doubted whether such a mere Mortal World organization really qualified to be involved in it?

Or could it be that all those claims made by the so-called Astrological Bureau were just empty boasts?

"They have the means, but the Astrological Bureau and the Oblivion Path's previous fight was devastating. It's just uncertain whether they are too preoccupied to deal with it now," Zhuge Yuan replied.

Hearing this, Li Huowang's feelings were extremely complicated; he had always harbored a strong aversion toward the Astrological Bureau's callous regard for human life.

Yet unexpectedly, there came a day when he actually hoped they could resume normal operations as soon as possible.

After all, even if their actions were deplorable and they killed many, they were an indispensable entity for the common people of the world.

"Brother Zhuge, about what you said earlier, about how unusual it is for two natural disasters to follow each other so closely, the Astrological Bureau will definitely intervene to resolve it, right?" Li Huowang asked.

"Indeed, that is the case, but I have some doubts about the Astrological Bureau in Da Liang, especially since they have gotten involved with the Royal Family," Zhuge Yuan expressed.

"Even if Da Liang is a sham, according to our ancestral teachings, the Astrological Bureau must not engage with any secular forces or assist the Royal Family in taking cities or seizing forts; those are matters for the Military."