The Unruly Immortals

Xinsu's ability to cultivate truth depended entirely on the Innate Qi within the body, something that Li Huowang knew well.

However, what he didn't know was that the people of Tianchen Country could not only easily touch the Heavenly Dao but could also pull out their own Innate Qi!

The yellow, slow-flowing substance in the claw at Li Huowang's chest was his internal Innate Qi, and this was his first time seeing it outside his body.

Li Huowang had suffered numerous injuries in the past, but never had any been this severe.

Without the Innate Qi, he wouldn't be able to cultivate truth, and he would just become an ordinary mortal.

"Rip" echoed again, as the claw was about to pull the Innate Qi from Li Huowang's body.

At this critical moment, over a dozen tendrils quickly emerged from Li Huowang's back, tightly wrapping around the hand to prevent his Innate Qi from being taken away.

Li Sui created this precious opportunity, and Li Huowang naturally wouldn't let it slip by, immediately yanking the Spinal Bone Sword from his back.

However, with the enemy behind him, both he and the enemy were twisting, making it impossible to strike effectively.

In desperation, Li Huowang gritted his teeth, gripping his head with both hands and forcefully twisted to the left.

With a crunching of bones, his neck turned, and Li Huowang's face instantly swapped places with the back of his head.

As his head swivelled, Li Huowang finally saw who the owner of the claw was.

It was a hunched back, an old man with one large eye and one small, and a single horn on his head that swept away the white hair, revealing a blurry single eye underneath.

His right hand was plunged into Li Huowang's chest, while his left hand held a root staff adorned with various gourds.

"Die!" Li Huowang roared, the bones in his hands cracking as he reversed his grip on the Spinal Bone Sword and slashed at his opponent.

Before the sword could reach, the opponent's body began to twist and deform; this wasn't Zhuge Yuan's spine, it was Xinsu's own spine.

Seeing that his hand couldn't be pulled out and with Li Huowang's attack drawing near, the one-eyed old man decisively waved his staff.

In an instant, his right hand snapped free, and like a lizard's tail, he quickly retreated from Li Huowang's side, avoiding the fate of death.

When Li Huowang gritted his teeth and reset his head back, he saw that in the grand opera house, it wasn't just the monk staff old man.

There were also the masked woman who played string instruments, the big-eared one who previously recruited him, and even a few unfamiliar faces in strange attire, all eight stood encircling him.

Clearly, these were people from Tianchen sent to deal with him upon knowing his presence.

Li Huowang looked down at the severed hand embedded in his chest with a solemn expression, not expecting the people from Tianchen to arrive so quickly, nor that they'd find out his details this swiftly and adjust their sneak attack accordingly.

His current foes were unlike those before; they were an entire world! If he gave them the slightest opening, his situation would become dire.

It was indeed close just now; had Li Sui not been with him, his Innate Qi might have been extracted, causing tremendous trouble.

"Li Immortal Master, we meet again." The big-eared one greeted Li Huowang with a bow.

"What? More nonsense to spout?" During the conversation, Li Huowang noticed the bandit he had caught earlier slipped away amidst the chaos.

Having failed to ambush, it would stand to reason that Li Huowang should find a chance to retreat, but he couldn't reconcile with leaving Tianchen without achieving his goals.

The Dragon Veins couldn't be figured out, the intelligence gathered was worthless, leaving now would make this trip pointless. Returning later to Tianchen Country would require considerable effort,

The big-eared one seemed uninterested in engaging immediately, continuing to inquire of Li Huowang.

"Li Immortal Master, I heard you are a good person? Then why aid the wicked? The White Lotus Sect is an evil cult."

Hearing this, Li Huowang nearly laughed in anger, "Calling the White Lotus Sect an evil cult now? Back when you colluded to steal Wu Sheng Old Mother's Heavenly Dao, why didn't you call her evil then?"

The big-eared one appeared shocked, "Why say such things, Li Immortal Master? You've been deceived by villains! I'm not sure who said that, but it's false; back then, things were not like that."

"The Evil Mother enslaved us like cattle, turning all Tianchen Country into a living hell." Speaking thus, the big-eared one cupped his hands southward, continuing, "Our ancestors had no choice but to resist to the death."

"Li Immortal Master, could it be that you wish to aid the Evil Mother and once again turn Tianchen Country into hell on earth?"

Standing there, Li Huowang glanced around. "Heh... it's always touché; it's your word against theirs, right? Why do I find that from your perspective, you're always the good guys?"

"Want me to help you? Fine, I'll assist you, as long as you don't provoke the White Lotus Sect, I guarantee they won't come to Tianchen. I, Li Huowang, stand by my word!"

Hearing this, the big-eared one's expression turned grim and he remained silent, clearly not willing to trust Li Huowang's guarantee lightly.

"Let me tell you, stop trying this charade; it's useless. Your spies in Da Qi have gathered substantial information, yet they still didn't find out why I help the White Lotus Sect!! Li Sui, attack!"

As soon as the words fell, Li Huowang's body dispersed like fine sand.

But quickly, the big-eared one and the others sensed something amiss; the one-eyed elder lifted the gourd staff, sweeping it forward, and the brightly lit opera house around them was unveiled like lifting a curtain.

With his body ablaze, Li Huowang had already rushed directly towards them with his charred, cracked form!

The elder quickly raised the staff to strike Li Huowang, popping the corks from the gourds, unleashing a powerful suction force.

However, as Li Huowang's body passed effortlessly through the Gourd, the one-eyed elder realized this was an illusion.

By the time he reacted, it seemed too late, as the truly burning Li Huowang had already reached his back.

The Spinal Bone Sword in his hand, with the opponent entirely unprepared, plunged directly into the elder's pronounced hump.

Followed by a sound of bursting pus, a rancid, yellow mucus-like liquid gushed from the wound.

This pus was incinerated by the flames on Li Huowang, turning into rolling white smoke.

The sensation from the sword hilt made Li Huowang realize something was buried inside that rotting pus.

Gripping the hilt, he yanked downward, cleaving the hump open, revealing a divine statue buried within the viscous pus.