The Unruly Immortals

"That person wasn't Xuan Pin at all! They were someone Zuo Qiuyong got to impersonate according to her description! She did this to get me to reveal my secrets; she never intended to help me, she just wanted to extract past information from me."

"Why is this happening... why is this happening..." Li Sui staggered to her feet, controlling the body, and panicked when she saw the two corpses on the ground.

"Why is this happening! Why did I kill my own brother and sister? My god, what have I done?!" Just as Li Sui spoke, she was suddenly startled by her own reaction.

She hugged her head tightly and shook it violently, "No... I am not him, I am Li Sui! I am Li Sui!!"

It struggled to pull the tentacles out of this person's body, but it couldn't accomplish the task no matter what, as Li Sui looked at the corpses on the ground, she couldn't help but feel sorrow rising in her heart.

Back when she was inside the sack, to save her life, the devouring instinct of Black Taisui had already integrated this person's body as part of her own, just like what happened with Mantou. This person wasn't dead but became part of herself.

Li Sui immediately wiped her tears with force and looked around before heading towards the cave entrance.

The no longer naive Li Sui understood that she didn't have time to be sad now; she needed to escape quickly, a slight delay could mean she wouldn't survive.

These three worked for Zuo Qiuyong; if she found out that the three hadn't shown up, she would definitely suspect her.

She must flee to a safe place before that person realizes what's happened.

She is the overseer of the Astrological Bureau of Da Qi; the entire Bureau falls under her jurisdiction, and her days are about to get even tougher.

"Da Qi can no longer be a place to stay, and heading towards Anxi won't work; the journey is too long, perhaps taking a ship out to sea might be the only option."

Thinking of this, Li Sui set out immediately towards the exit.

But as she reached the dilapidated temple, Li Sui suddenly froze in place, wondering why her thoughts were so clear, so unlike her past self.

Li Sui soon realized that this part wasn't hers, it was from the man she absorbed. He was now part of her.

Just like when she absorbed Mantou, not only did she feel closer to her father, she also had a greater fondness for bones.

Li Sui trembled as she placed the clay figure of Li Huowang in front of her and stared at it with attachment.

"Dad, Black Taisui's assimilation ability is strong; everything it assimilates becomes mine, even intelligence can be shared half-and-half, but I know I can't keep using it. I'm afraid if I consume more, I might not remain your daughter."

"Dad, don't worry, I've become smarter now, one hundred eighty years later, I can be more useful in helping you." As she finished speaking, Li Sui raced out of the temple into the dark for escape.

Li Sui awoke from a brief daydream, slowly opening her eyes and coldly staring at the three people before her; these individuals varied in age, and their looks towards her were filled with dread and unease.

They wore different clothes, each missing different body parts, suggesting some parts were isolated to be used only when needed.

"You are Xinsu, and the things happening around you are due to your identity. But fortunately, there's now a way for you to shed this identity."

Li Sui's words didn't ease their expressions, but Li Huowang understood their thoughts. "I know, as Xinsu who've lived this long, you surely won't easily trust anyone. That's fine, whether you believe it or not, just follow me, you have no other options now."

Li Sui led the three towards the Astrological Bureau and after navigating its complex underground passages, brought them to Li Huowang's cultivation room.

With Li Huowang's legs crossed, focused on cultivation of truth, the entire room transformed drastically, strange occurrences unfurling around him.

The floor tiles occasionally sunk to form a pool of water, which soon floated to form a wailing girl, and within a few breaths, the girl's body petrified into a stone sculpture.

Li Sui walked over and patted his shoulder, rousing Li Huowang from his cultivation.

"What's the matter?" Li Huowang opened his eyes and looked at his daughter.

"Xinsu has arrived." Li Sui stepped aside, allowing Li Huowang's gaze to fall on the three people in the distance.

"Just three? This number isn't enough for me to reach Seven Wheels." Li Huowang frowned, with the pressure of Zuo Qiuyong possibly arriving, he was quite anxious.

"Xinsu isn't easy to find; two of them are from the Inner Treasury while another was found from a confiscated Evil Cultivation home. I have already sent people to search."

"When you gambled Touzi before, didn't you give me so much Innate Qi? Where did those come from?"

"Dad, I prepared that over a century, now there's no such time to prepare. Besides, it wasn't for dealing with Touzi, it was to help Ji Zai return."

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang knew Li Sui was right; Touzi wasn't crucial at that time, Ji Zai was key, without Ji Zai, the Dharma Sect would never pass.

Li Huowang sighed, stood and approached the other three people, asking, "What about other places? Is their Astronomical Bureau searching for Xinsu?"

"I've instructed them to send any found Xinsu straight to the Capital City, but no returns yet."

Li Huowang approached the three, examining them, "I am also Xinsu; what you have experienced, I have too. Removing your Innate Qi and Divine Light helps everyone."

Looking at their lost limbs, Li Huowang continued, "No more words; once you become ordinary citizens, if there's nowhere to go, try a place called Niuxin Village, where you could spend the rest of your days without harm."

After finishing, Li Huowang glanced at Li Sui, "Time is short, let's begin,"

With Li Sui's gentle nod, a troop impossibly connected via tentacles like a giant meat spider awkwardly made its way over.

Upon witnessing this, the three Xinsu became somewhat uneasy, but before they could react, Li Sui's controlled troop effortlessly reached into their bodies, extracting Innate Qi and the Divine Light from their eyes that could activate it.

Once these were removed, the three visibly weakened almost instantly as if their essence was drawn out.

As the troop inserted these items into Li Huowang's body, sudden uncontrollable transformations unfolded around him, with thoughts from his mind mysteriously materializing.

Li Huowang found his surroundings collapsing, with emerging mansion scenes.

Not daring to be careless, Li Huowang immediately crossed his legs, utilizing the Divine Light inside to capture the Innate Qi, striving towards the position of Seven Wheels.