The Unruly Immortals

When Bai Lingmiao returned to normal, Li Huowang immediately moved the Jade Lotus away and supported her, shaking her urgently.

"Miaomiao! Miaomiao!" A tremendously nervous Li Huowang watched as Bai Lingmiao slowly opened her eyes, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother Li..." In her pink eyes, Bai Lingmiao was filled with grievance and sadness.

"It's okay, it's okay." Feeling extremely fortunate, Li Huowang hugged her and gently patted her back.

His gaze gradually shifted upward, looking at Zhuge Yuan in midair, and silently said thank you.

If it weren't for his extensive knowledge, which allowed him to recognize the use of the Jade Lotus, Miaomiao might have really been in trouble.

"Brother Li, you're too kind; it was a mere trifle. I truly did not expect you to have the Twelfth Grade Meritorious Jade Lotus. I once searched for it for such a long time," he said.

Li Huowang took a deep breath, slid his left hand under Bai Lingmiao's knee, his right arm around her waist, and directly carried her in his arms walking out of the secret chamber, with the Second God, who had his red bridal veil covered again, silently following behind.

Bowing his head to plant a kiss amid Bai Lingmiao's fragrant white hair, Li Huowang whispered encouragement, "I know you're very upset, but there's an order to things. Let's get through this deadly catastrophe first, then we can have a good talk, okay?"

Listening to the constant beating of Li Huowang's heart, Bai Lingmiao, who buried her head in his chest, nodded slightly. She was much quieter than before.

The tunnel that the White Lotus Sect had dug underground was not long, and Li Huowang quickly passed through the White Lotus Grand Hall and walked out of the Bai Family Ancestral Hall via the stairs.

The sound of fighting coming from the direction of the Bai Family Courtyard made Li Huowang frown slightly; it seemed the trouble over there wasn't over yet. He quickened his pace to go for assistance.

But after only a few steps, Li Huowang's expression tightened, and his body froze in place, his keen senses alerting him that something was watching him.

Gradually, Li Huowang's body began to tremble involuntarily. He didn't know why he was shaking, but his body seemed to have a mind of its own, trembling more and more violently.

"What is that..." Li Huowang's head, trembling uncontrollably, slowly looked up at the pitch-black sky above.

The darkness, like a curtain, peeled away layer by layer, revealing the roiling Mili Brahman beneath, exquisitely overlapping with the Heavenly Dao, casting the orbit of the Yellow and Purple Paths over Jiang Mansion.

A drop of cold sweat slid down from Li Huowang's cheek and fell onto Bai Lingmiao's hand.

Bai Lingmiao, buried in Li Huowang's embrace, raised her head to look at the now completely stiff Li Huowang. She looked up following his gaze but saw nothing.

"Brother Li, what's wrong?" Bai Lingmiao's voice began to carry a hint of alarm.

Just as she was lightly tugging at Li Huowang's red Taoist robe, his mouth began to open wider and wider.

With a "crack," as his jaw dislocated completely, a sharp, frantic crane-like cry emanated from deep within his throat.

Once this sound appeared, it spread contagiously, almost assimilating all surrounding noises into the same sound.

Under the propagation of this strange crane cry, some roots began to extend from the shadow of Li Huowang.

When Bai Lingmiao felt something tugging at her shoes in the darkness, her eyes filled with tears in desperation. "Brother Li!"

The frantic, overlapping crane cries did not stop, but Li Huowang still heard Bai Lingmiao's cry for help. He tried hard to close his eyes, to block out the influence of that thing in the sky on him, but his eyes seemed completely out of his control, utterly useless.

Suddenly, he lifted Bai Lingmiao's hands sharply, extended his own index and middle fingers, and fiercely jabbed them into his own eyes. With a forceful twist, he gouged out both of his eyeballs.

Yet unbelievably this was to no avail. The bloodshot eyeballs remained fixedly staring at that thing in the dark sky!

When Li Huowang firmly grasped and completely crushed those things, his screams replaced the strange sounds of the crane's cries, and everything gradually returned to normal.

Li Huowang, whose body was drained of strength, fell suddenly, collapsing onto the ground together with Bai Lingmiao in his arms.

Second God and Bai Lingmiao, one on each side, hurriedly helped Li Huowang to his feet.

At this moment, Li Huowang's jaw was completely dislocated, his mouth wide open, gasping for air in great heaves, saliva mixed with blood and sweat kept flowing down.

He looked extremely weak, as if his soul had been sucked out.

Seeing Bai Lingmiao about to beat the drum, Li Huowang pressed down on her hand holding the Drum and Whip; he clasped his own jaw with both hands and with a forceful lift, popped it back into place.

"Don't call for the Immortal Sects. In this situation, the Evil Spirits are all going mad! Those Immortal Sects might not heed your command, and they may not leave once they come."

Bai Lingmiao, heartbroken, reached out to touch the two bloody holes on Li Huowang's face, tears in her eyes as she asked, "Brother Li, what is wrong with you? Why did you suddenly gouge out your own eyes?"

This question made Li Huowang shudder violently, his mouth involuntarily gaping open again.

Li Huowang immediately held his trembling hands over the bloody holes on his face and kept muttering to himself, "Don't want... don't want... don't want... All living beings have afflictions, and all afflictions are suffering. Afflictions are neither produced nor destroyed, neither tainted nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing...."

All that he had just seen flickered in and out of his mind.

After repeatedly reciting the Calming Incantation over a hundred times, when Li Huowang was ready to lower his hands, he found they were firmly stuck to his face by dried blood and he couldn't pull them away.

With a grim resolve, Li Huowang violently tugged his hands, and the eye sockets that had just stopped bleeding now spurted out blood and tears once again.

Li Huowang listened intently to the surroundings, enduring the pain he said, "Where am I now?"

"Master, you're in the Bai Family Courtyard. Just hold on, I will sprinkle some golden sore medicine in your eyes."

Hearing Scholar Lv's words, Li Huowang struggled to his feet, carrying his sword and prepared to head outside.

"Master, Master, you don't need to go with your injuries. Mistress, the fool, and little Man, have almost vanquished those haunting spirits. Besides, if they fail, I'm here, too."

No sooner had Scholar Lv finished speaking than others hurried over to persuade him. Seeing there was indeed no danger, Li Huowang finally sat down again and took out the Fire Coat Canon to start healing his wounds.

Accompanied by the sizzling sound of flesh being singed by flames, a layer of charred scab stopped the flowing blood.

After Top Scholar Lv wrapped Li Huowang's eyes with a roll of gauze, he sat quietly, his ears slightly twitching, listening for any noise outside, contemplating plans for potentially worse situations yet to come.

Just then, Li Huowang suddenly felt warmth on his arm and cheek, hearing cheers erupting all around him.

"What now?!" Li Huowang gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and abruptly stood up.

"Little Taoist Master! The sun's back! Hahaha! Seems like someone else was banging gongs elsewhere and scared away the celestial dog that was eating the sun!!"