The Unruly Immortals

"Singing?" Li Huowang was startled. Ever since Lv's Troupe was gone, he hadn't heard any opera singing for a long time.

After quickly distinguishing it, Li Huowang immediately determined that the sound was coming from the huge landscape painting in front of him.

At this moment, the huge landscape painting in front of Li Huowang opened like a bead curtain, and a Taoist in a Taoist Robe crawled out from inside.

This person had a green tassel ball tied to his top with a red string, and draped in white feathers. His face was painted in the bright white makeup typical of opera singers, making him look like someone performing on a stage.

But the problem was that this guy's appearance was extremely bizarre. His sunken head was about the same size as his body, his face was long and narrow, and his eyes were unevenly sized, among other defects.

To call it human was actually more like a deformed and incomplete creature.

This strange appearance, coupled with the opera makeup, created an uncanny valley effect, making it look unspeakably eerie.

Li Huowang no longer cared what this thing looked like because his attention was entirely focused on this guy's hands—because they were a pair of Jadeite Jade Hands.

At this close distance, Li Huowang could see more clearly. The fingertips of this guy were almost transparent, gradually becoming green as they went up, eventually merging with the opera costume.

"It's it! The one that can touch the real things I cultivated with bare hands! What exactly is it? A noble descendant or the wretched army?"

Footsteps sounded, and Zhuge Yuan, holding a fan, stood in front of Li Huowang, looking solemnly at that thing.

Before Li Huowang could speak, the thing revealed a mouth with one fang on top and two on the bottom and began to sing. "Say~~~ what~~~ blossoms in the moonlight, the mountains and rivers lament how much sorrow~~!"

It didn't matter if it didn't sing, but seeing this eerie, bizarre thing start singing opera made all the oddity intensify, making his head that was already on the verge of splitting even more painful. "Fuck, what the hell is this!"

Zhuge Yuan was ready to attack with his brush, but before he could draw, he saw the opponent lie back, instantly transforming into an image in the landscape painting.

While Zhuge Yuan was engaged upfront, Li Huowang suddenly heard a new noise behind him—a low, mournful woman's cry.

He quickly turned around and saw a large-headed woman with her face covered in black hair, shaking two white water sleeves as she floated by, her sad song filling the air.

"Oh, Heaven and Earth, bullying the weak while fearing the strong, oh Earth, you can't tell right from wrong, oh Heaven, you mistake the wise for fools~~~"

For some reason, Li Huowang felt like he had seen this scene before, though he clearly had not encountered these things before.

Before he could figure it out, the woman, singing opera and taking rapid small steps, floated toward him!

With a roar from Li Huowang, Zhuge Yuan, who was fighting someone in the air, swiftly descended, drawing directly in front of the woman.

Forcing the enemy back slightly, he quickly turned around, dipped his brush in the colors of the sky, and swiftly drew an array on Li Huowang's Taoist Robe to guard against another attack.

"Quick battle and quick decision; I can't hold on much longer." Li Huowang clasped his head with both hands, gritting his teeth.

Cultivating Truth was already difficult, and more so with Zhuge Yuan.

Zhuge Yuan nodded, but when he turned back around, he saw that the earlier two had become five—a complete opera cast.

Regardless of anyone else, they surrounded Li Huowang, preventing the slightest escape.

Zhuge Yuan gave Li Huowang a glance and, with great seriousness, pulled out an old Almanac from his pocket, ready to go all out. "Brother Li, hold on. I'll first break an opening so we can escape and discuss later. I've never seen these things in Da Qi, so I don't know if they are real."

"I'm afraid this is a trap laid specifically for you." With that, Zhuge Yuan tore a page from the Almanac, tossed it into the air, and began writing.

But at that moment, a gust of wind blew, opening the Almanac slightly, revealing a large painted opera diva face behind it.

"Looking back, prosperity is but a dream, a stroke of life left to the surging tides~~" The woman flung her right hand, sending a water sleeve toward Zhuge Yuan.

Zhuge Yuan stepped forward and leaped into the air, dodging it, his hem and the water sleeve crossing paths.

What happened next caught everyone by surprise—the water sleeve stuck directly to Zhuge Yuan's hem.

As the sleeve pulled down, it easily tore off Zhuge Yuan's lower half.

With the rapid shaking of the water sleeve, Zhuge Yuan's lower half quickly shrank, eventually becoming a ball.

As the woman opened her mouth, she swallowed that ball.

Witnessing this, Li Huowang's face turned extremely grim, realizing his headache was easing. He immediately understood that the opera diva had eaten the truthfulness Zhuge Yuan had cultivated!

With the diva retreating, the rest of the cast quickly surrounded them, leaving the half-body Zhuge Yuan defenseless.

Barely managing to toss his spine back to Li Huowang, he was torn into two halves.

"Brother Li, be careful, this thing seems to alter destiny itself!" Zhuge Yuan said his final words before vanishing completely.

The opera cast enclosed Li Huowang once again.

Li Huowang looked at them, his face deeply troubled. Regardless of what they were, one thing was certain: this situation was dire.

"Ji Zai." Li Huowang called softly, "Ji Zai! Help me! If you don't, you'll die too!!"

But nothing unusual happened; everything remained calm.

"Hmm~~~ hahahahaha~~" At that moment, as the old male singer with a long beard laughed, sounds echoed from the valley sides.

The opera cast turned their heads and saw a large crowd rushing toward them.

This group included the newly established Astrological Bureau and the Military of Da Qi, followed by well-fed citizens of Da Qi.

From this side of the valley, the crowd seemed endless, as if the entire Youdu had moved.

"Benefactor, do not fear, we are here to assist you!!" Monk Chan Du, standing at the forefront, called out.

"Without even realizing it, Da Qi has gathered so many people?" Li Huowang showed a trace of relief. These five might be difficult, but with so many from Da Qi, they could simply overwhelm them.

Just as he thought that, the surroundings once again turned into a forest, and more opera cast members slowly emerged.

Ten, fifty, a hundred!!

Each of them had the same deformed appearance, wearing the same opera costumes.

At this moment, Li Huowang finally understood their identity—they were the wretched army!