Mutated Tao

After thoroughly inspecting all the temples, Li Huowang returned to the mountain path.

He patted Bun’s head and continued walking without a word.

The buildings in the Ao Jing Sect’s Cross Temple were densely built. Soon, Li Huowang found another building. This temple was intact, or at the very least, the head of the statue of the Sacrificial God here was not destroyed.

However, the head of the Sacrificial God was burnt black, subjected to the wrath of the very same fire.

What was intriguing was that the face of the Sacrificial God was not one of pain, but one of envy and yearning. Its eyes were burnt black, but they still stared longingly at the top of the Temple.

Li Huowang followed the gaze of the statue and saw an abstract image, one composed of various colors and shapes. He deduced that the Sacrificial God yearned for the thing depicted in the image at the top of the temple, but he had no idea what that thing was.

“Uuuu~ Woof! Woof woof woof!”

When he heard Bun barking, Li Huowang tensed up. He swiftly turned around to look toward the direction Bun was snarling.

It was a door at the side of the temple. The light could not penetrate in here through the doorway, making it look pitch black inside. Within the darkness was an oversized gray robe.

Li Huowang had learned from the nuns that the people from Ao Jing Sect often wore large robes to cover up the wounds on their body.

At this moment, Li Huowang only saw the bottom part of the robe; the top part was still hidden in darkness.

Sensing that something was amiss, Li Huowang immediately threw the Flesh Book that the Abbess had given to him into the darkness. “I am Xuan Yang from the Zephyr Temple! I come here seeking help from your honorable sect!”

Li Huowang introduced himself to the robe in the darkness, but there was no response.

Just as Li Huowang thought the thing was not a living person, the robe slowly moved out from the darkness.

Just one look at the figure’s face was enough for Li Huowang to be certain that it was someone from the Ao Jing Sect; the man’s scarred face was devoid of any skin.

Just as the nuns at the Benevolent Nunnery had told him, the people from Ao Jing Sect wore large robes and tall hats. The hat was huge, covering the eyes and nose of the man. Li Huowang only saw a glimpse of the man’s jaw, which was a mess of blood and flesh.

Li Huowang gulped as he stared at the man alertly.

Looks like they can still be talked with. At the very least, they did not attack me the moment they saw that I’m a Strayed One.

Li Huowang glanced at the bulge in the robes where the man’s hands would be and then gently stated his intention once again.

The man did not reply to Li Huowang, but it was clear that he understood Li Huowang’s purpose in coming here. He quietly walked out of the Cross Temple.

Li Huowang took a deep breath and nervously followed after him, both of them slowly entering deeper into the mountain range.

Staring at the large robed man in front of him, Li Huowang felt that something was missing.

Didn’t they say that the Ao Jing Sect uses the Profound Records? Why is he not carrying one? Or has he hidden it in his robe?

Li Huowang ruminated on it as they went deeper into the mountains. Soon, he saw other members of the Ao Jing Sect.

All of them wore the same type of robe. Whenever they saw Li Huowang, they would all fix their gaze on him even though their eyes were hidden by the tall hats.

On the other hand, their strange surroundings caused Bun to be afraid; it lowered its head and tail while staying close to Li Huowang as they continued to walk.

Under their intense gazes, Li Huowang finally arrived at a gourd-shaped cave.

Upon seeing the cave, Li Huowang recalled unpleasant memories. He hated caves.

However, this cave was not as dark as the Zephyr Temple. It was well illuminated. The crackling sound of burning torches illuminated the cave brightly.

The heat from the torches raised the temperature of the cave, causing Li Huowang to feel unreasonably irritated.

Remembering how the Sacrificial God was shrouded in flames, Li Huowang postulated that fire might be an important element in the Ao Jing Sect.

After entering the cave, they walked for another half an hour before they finally saw the Master of the cave.

A man, whose entire body was burnt black, was lying down on the cold floor. Rather than saying that he was a man, it was more like a burnt corpse. But the gaze coming from the body was all it took for Li Huowang to know that it was no corpse.

At the same time, looking at this burnt man also answered Li Huowang’s previous question. Another blood-red Profound Records was splayed open on his chest. It had been placed on his chest for so long that the bamboo slip had sprouted roots and ingrained itself into the man’s flesh.

The bamboo roots had pierced through his body and burst forth from his back in various directions, their tips bloody.

At that moment, Li Huowang saw the man who had guided him here respectfully pass the Flesh Book to the burnt man. From the looks of it, the man was someone with a high position within the sect.

However, the burnt man did not read the Flesh Book written by Abbess Jingxin. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on Li Huowang.

He stared for a very long time before speaking, “You’ve been noticed by Ba-Hui?”

Being able to converse was a good start. Li Huowang nodded. “Yes.”

“Every Strayed One has excellent potential because they have a much easier time approaching the Abyss of Worldly Suffering. It’s a shame that almost all of them turn crazy in the end,” the burnt man said with pity.

He then stared at the Profound Records hanging on Li Huowang’s waist. “I am Shou San, pleased to make your acquaintance. May I know how you attain Cang-Qiang Ascension? You should know that even we have a hard time doing so. Not everyone is able to pull it off.”

Even though he was being complimented, Li Huowang was not happy at all.

Cang-Qiang Ascension? Is that the name of the ritual that requires the highest amount of both physical and mental pain to pull off?

After thinking for a moment, Li Huowang decided to tell Shou San about his use of the Profound Records while hiding some of the details.

“Hoho, using it against the Eighteenth Lunar was an overkill, but at the very least, you obtained something out of it,” exclaimed Shou San.

However, Li Huowang was not here to discuss these things. Having confirmed that a proper conversation was possible, he told Shou San about the reason for his visit.

“I accept,” said Shou San.

Li Huowang experienced a brief moment of joy until the conditions were laid out before him.

“But there is a condition. I need you to perform the Cang-Qiang Ascension in front of us,” said Shou San.

“Why do you need an outsider to teach you guys?” Li Huowang was confused.

“I have never seen a Strayed One performing a Cang-Qiang Ascension. Also, I want to see if it is possible to rob a part of Ba-Hui’s power,” explained Shou San.

“Rob… Ba-Hui’s power?” Li Huowang thought he had misheard.

“You’ve seen Ba-Hui before, so you should know just how strong it is. Have you ever thought about taking its strength for yourself as soon as you lay your eyes on it?” asked Shou San.

Hearing this, Li Huowang finally realized what the abstract image at the top of the Cross Temple represented. It was Ba-Hui! It was only because they were unable to fully describe what Ba-Hui looked like that they used that image as a placeholder.

At the same time, he realized that while they used pain to obtain power from Ba-Hui, they did not worship it. Instead, they worshiped the Sacrificial God.

And the Sacrificial God they worshiped also yearned to rob Ba-Hui of its strength.

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

Hey guys so I managed to get it working again in a convoluted way. To celebrate, here's skinny Abbess Jingxin! Credits to 格子的乱七八糟 on douyin

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