The Unruly Immortals

"God Yu'er? Which deity is this?"

Li Huowang tried to wrap his mind around this baffling name several times, but even the well-informed memories of Hong Zhong had no trace of a deity called God Yu'er.

While Li Huowang was pondering, the distant villagers began to show new changes.

The people in the circle gradually quieted down, extinguishing all their candles and oil lamps. In complete darkness, they prostrated themselves on the ground, silently kneeling and worshipping towards something unseen in front of them.

"What are they worshipping?" Li Huowang switched his body color to match the earth, blending in as he cautiously approached their direction.

Li Huowang had guessed that they might be worshipping a giant banyan tree, but he later realized that was not the case. The direction they faced above their heads was nothing but darkness.

"Wait a minute, darkness?!" Li Huowang's gaze shifted to the black cloth hanging on the shoulders of all those people, the cloth seemed to have taken on a new meaning.

"God Yu'er~" All the previously kneeling people shouted in unison, threw their hands in the air, and lay back on the ground, their faces looking excitedly up at the pitch-black sky.

"Boom, boom, boom~" The ground began to tremble.

Li Huowang, growing nervous, swallowed hard and pressed Li Sui's head lower beside him.

The trembling of the ground grew more intense, but when Li Huowang saw the faces of those people in the distance displaying panic, he instantly understood: this commotion was likely not the doing of the God Yu'er they mentioned.

"Kill!!!" A thunderous roar suddenly exploded, and from the darkness to the left, a flash of white light blinded Li Huowang momentarily as if a knife had slashed his eyes.

As he stepped back half a pace and rubbed his eyes, before slowly reopening them, he saw rows of black-armored cavalry atop steaming warhorses, slicing through the villagers like a razor.

When the last trace of a horse's tail swept by, there was no living person to be seen, just a steaming mix of minced flesh and shattered bones.

Only then did Li Huowang realize that the trembling of the ground was caused by this group of iron-clad cavalry.

Though there seemed to be only about thirty riders, their charge gave Li Huowang the impression of an army of thousands.

"Swoosh" The distant cavalry turned as one, directing their enormous mounted weapons straight towards Li Huowang.

Li Huowang glanced at Li Sui beside him, his heart skipped a beat, "It's over. We've been spotted!"

The rumbling of the ground echoed again, closing in fast towards Li Huowang. Just as he was about to flee, he felt an eerie premonition of being targeted, as if he could not escape no matter where he went.

Just as they were about to charge into Li Huowang, he pulled out from his bosom the waist-badge of the Astrological Bureau and held it high.

With a "boom," Li Huowang's hair and clothes were blown sideways by the strong wind as the riders quickly split into two, like two raging rivers, roaring past each side of him.

When Li Huowang turned around, he saw a cavalryman had already stopped in front of him.

The man was tall and held a massive Guan Blade in his hand, standing there like a small mountain with an overwhelming presence.

Even looking up from below, Li Huowang still could not see the man's face, just the hot breath steaming from inside the heavy helmet.

While Li Huowang was trying to think of what to say, "snap," the man set his Guan Blade on the horse's back. He then pulled out a yellow silk cloth, stretched it tight on both ends, and began to read aloud loudly.

"Heaven decrees, and the king shall obey! Recently, within the boundaries of Da Liang, the Dharma Sect has somehow resurged. Such devils and their delusional speech bewitch the masses, summon disasters, and cause calamities! They should rightly be eradicated! Let this edict be known throughout the land, for all to hear!"

After reading aloud the Imperial Edict with a resonant voice, the Cavalry did not wait for Li Huowang to react and turned to leave immediately.

A cup of tea's time later, only Li Huowang and Li Sui were left standing there, desolate and alone.

Li Huowang slowly turned his head, looking towards the vast expanse of mangled flesh. "The Dharma Sect? Summoning disasters? So these people were worshipping a disaster? That means the god Yu'er they speak of is--"

Li Huowang stopped suddenly at that point, his face turning somewhat pale, as he seemed to feel his voice morphing into a crane's call again.

"Dad, are you alright?" asked Li Sui worriedly, tugging at Li Huowang's red Taoist Robe.

Li Huowang clutched his head and gave it a hard shake. He was beginning to understand why Da Liang had to mobilize the Military against these minnows; it was not about their strength but whom they worshipped.

"How can this be... The disaster has just happened; how can there already be sects worshipping it? That was too quick."

"And these people of the Dharma Sect, what exactly are they trying to achieve by worshipping the god Yu'er? No, that's not right. I need to think about this the other way around. What exactly does this so-called god Yu'er want to do?"

As Li Huowang pondered this question, he slowly looked up towards Zhuge Yuan. "Brother Zhuge, why do I feel uneasy? Do you know anything?"

Zhuge Yuan, with his brows tightly furrowed and clutching his Folding Fan, looked towards the mangled flesh in the distance, and said, "Brother Li, I do not know. I am but a mere mortal, after all. I can only hope that this disaster is not merely a beginning."

As soon as he spoke those words, a weight seemed to press down on Li Huowang's heart.

"Then Brother Zhuge, about that god Yu'er—" As soon as he spoke the name, Li Huowang felt a sharp pain deep in his left ear and instinctively winced and covered his ear.

"Brother Li, no more questions, or there will be trouble. These matters of the higher heavens, even if you were to know, what could you change? You can't change anything."

"And once you know, you become part of them, entangled in their karma and retribution."

"Can't speak of this, can't speak of that, then is there anything that can be said?" At this moment, Li Huowang felt a trace of irritation in his heart.

"Yes, there is. The great Dao has fifty paths, yet Heaven veers on forty-nine, leaving one for man to escape. The only thing I can say now is that, although the Fate Commander has perished, those in charge of the Heavenly Dao are, for the moment, unharmed."

"Should there be a mishap with those who oversee the Heavenly Dao, no matter which of the Heavenly Dao is missing, you will certainly know of it sooner than I."

All sorts of chaotic scenes flashed through Li Huowang's mind, darkening his expression further. "This crazy world, it's really no place for humans!"

"Elder Brother Li, what's wrong?" Bai Lingmiao, her clothes draped over her, stumbled towards them.

Li Huowang glanced at the mangled flesh in the distance, hurried forward, and helped her walk back.

"It's nothing, just needed to relieve myself."

The sense of an impending storm made Li Huowang feel very uneasy, not knowing whether the Astrological Bureau could withstand it.

There was not much he could do now; the only thing was to Cultivate the Truth and attain Great Accomplishment as soon as possible so that when crises and hardships came, he could protect himself and those he cared for.

With this in mind, Li Huowang held Bai Lingmiao a little tighter in his arms.