The Unruly Immortals

The evil spirit, realizing it had been tricked, immediately took control of Li Huowang's lower half, struggling to run away,

but Li Huowang's lower half, having only legs and no eyes, couldn't discern direction. Mere moments after scuttling out from the hollow tree, it tripped over a tree root and took a nasty fall.

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the evil spirit decisively attempted to flee, but just as it was about to leave Li Huowang's lower half, a Copper Coin Sword, exuding a chilling light, descended from the skies, driving fiercely into its body, now halfway merged with plant ash.

With a sharp screech resonating alongside the black smoke, the evil spirit let out a painful wail, but by then, there was nothing it could do as its voice gradually weakened.

Only after the evil spirit had completely stopped moving did the invisible Li Huowang reveal himself.

To be more precise, his upper half appeared, while his lower half still lay on the ground.

When a swindler knows what someone desires, deceiving them undoubtedly becomes much simpler.

Knowing it was always seeking to possess his body, Li Huowang had bisected himself and thrown his lower half as bait to lure out the evil spirit.

Li Huowang lay on the ground, gasping for breath. He had endured scalding, chest ruptures, bisecting, and various other ordeals. The pain was so intense he was nearly on the verge of fainting; it was solely his willpower that sustained him until now.

"At least there's a reward for my efforts," Li Huowang murmured, turning his head towards the bottom of the Copper Coin Sword, from which plumes of black smoke were slowly rising—the corpse of the evil spirit.

When Li Huowang, with his charred fingertips, touched the wisps of black smoke emerging, he could distinctly feel the dark side within his heart expanding. Feelings of murderous intent, hatred, and irritability intensified.

What was even stranger was that when Li Huowang reached for the source of the black smoke, he discovered to his astonishment that he couldn't physically touch the evil spirit, as if the space beneath the smoke was empty.

Yet other objects were touchable, even a rotten piece of wood could be felt when prodded, but his flesh could not make contact with the evil spirit.

"What a dangerous and peculiar thing this evil spirit is... It's a mystery why the Astrological Bureau is offering such a large reward to capture it," he reflected.

After lying on the ground to catch his breath and regain some strength, Li Huowang used his hands to push himself towards his lower body.

It was at this moment that heavy footsteps caused Li Huowang's expression to darken with concern. "Someone's coming? Miaomiao? No, that's not the sound of Miaomiao's footsteps!"

As the highly alert Li Huowang looked towards the chaotic path in the woods to his left, following the footsteps, an oddly dressed fat woman, performing steady Gang Steps, emerged from within.

She was wearing a bodice made from Red Talisman Paper, a small crown adorned with a Red Embroidered Ball on her head, and her entire head had strips of ignited Purple Incense piercing through her flesh, resembling a porcupine.

Two small red Curse Patterns banners were inserted from the outside of her ears straight into her earlobes.

If not for the Wolf Fang Club wrapped in yellow paper on her shoulder, proving she was human, Li Huowang would have almost mistaken her for another evil spirit.

The woman made a gesture with her Wolf Fang Club and pointed fiercely at Li Huowang. "Heihei~! May it rise to the heavens or roam the earth, it guards the winds and clouds as the four corners, seize the demons, and discern the evils!!"

Li Huowang, with a furrowed brow, watched this strange person and took out his badge from inside his stomach to raise it towards her. "Astrological Bureau business! Back off!"

"Eh?!" Seeing Li Huowang's badge, the fat woman was obviously startled. Then she fished out an identical badge from within her bodice, revealing that she too was from the Astrological Bureau.

"You're from the Astrological Bureau too? You don't really seem like it. Throw your badge over here! Let me take a look!"

Facing the currently halved and charred Li Huowang, she didn't let her guard down one bit.

After Li Huowang tossed his badge over, he began to align his lower half with his upper body.

As he quietly waited for his lower body to regain sensation, the fat woman approached and placed the badge beside him.

"I didn't expect you to actually be from the Astrological Bureau, I thought you were an Evil Spirit just a moment ago," she said. "Which sect are you from?"

"Ao Jing Sect."

The plump woman sized up Li Huowang, then nodded in approval, "Hmm, I thought as much."

After speaking, she began to pull out the incense sticks stuck in her face one by one. "Young man, look at the mess you've made; nearly washed away the Dragon King Temple in a big flood, a family barely recognizing its own. Your Clone Technique is quite powerful; where did you learn it?"

Seeing that the other party had no hostility, Li Huowang didn't bother to engage in pointless chatter. Within the Astrological Bureau, it wasn't as if everyone was loving and united.

With the incense removed from her head, exposing her true appearance, she looked like a very ordinary farmer's wife if one were to judge merely by her looks.

Li Huowang didn't respond, so the plump woman asked again, "I'm here to find the Evil Spirit; what are you here for?"

"Hmm?" Hearing this, Li Huowang propped himself up and scrutinized her. "You took on that task as well? The same task can be assigned to two people?"

"What an odd question. Of course, several people can take on the same task. It's a matter of skill; whoever finishes it first gets the credit."

"Oh," Li Huowang struggled to turn around and pressed on his lower half, which was beginning to regain a slight sensation. "Then you're too late; I've already killed that Evil Spirit."

"What?! By yourself?" The plump woman's expression was one of great surprise.

Li Huowang could see that although she appeared shocked on the outside, based on her Ten Emotions and Eight Miseries, that wasn't actually what she was thinking. This person's words didn't match her feelings.

But this was normal. When out and about, encountering a stranger naturally requires heightened vigilance. Li Huowang was the same; he hadn't let go of his Purple Tassel Sword since her appearance.

"Sister, you just said it yourself that tasks within the bureau are a matter of skill, and the one who completes it first gets the credit. I appreciate your understanding."

Li Huowang strained to curl up his legs and then slowly placed them down again; he could move his feet now.

"That's what I've said, but..." The plump woman seemed particularly anxious.

Li Huowang wasn't about to pay her any mind. He struggled to get up from the ground, picked up the Evil Spirit with his Copper Coin Sword, and began to walk slowly toward the edge of the peach grove.

"Wait!!"

The instant he heard her, Li Huowang swiftly turned around, his Longsword pointing directly and hovering in front of her nose.

"What? You wish to steal it?" Li Huowang's tone instantly grew particularly unfriendly.

The plump woman sheepishly retreated several steps, finally speaking up after moving out of Li Huowang's attack range, "We're all from the Astrological Bureau; I couldn't possibly do such a thing."

To this, Li Huowang answered with a cold laugh. He understood all too well the tactics of his colleagues at the Astrological Bureau.

Had he shown the slightest hint of fear just then, this woman would likely have launched a sneak attack to rob him of the Evil Spirit and claim the reward for herself.

A few hundred Yangshou Pills were no small sum in this chaotic world, and as for tasks from the Astrological Bureau, they only demanded the Evil Spirit, not inquiring where it came from.

"If not, that's best. We each take our own path, and surely you wouldn't want to experience the methods of the Ao Jing Sect."

Having said this vaguely threatening remark, Li Huowang carried his spoils and began to make his way out slowly.