Mutated Tao

Li Huowang stared at the black and white vertical pupil in the sky.

As the trigrams shifted, the colossal black-and-white vertical pupil looked left and right. It descended slowly amidst the dark clouds. The eye contained no emotions, and it emitted an oppressive aura reminiscent of chaos.

Chaos wasn't supposed to be tangible nor visible, but Li Huowang was certain that the eye was one of the eyes of "Chaos."

A strange chanting echoed from the eye.

Li Huowang grimaced in pain upon hearing it, and he immediately covered his ears. The chanting was familiar, and he managed to hear it even though he was a hundred Li away from Shangjing at the time. It turned out that the chanting was coming from the colossal black-and-white vertical pupil!

At the time, Li Huowang heard light chanting, but now that he was standing right in front of the eye, the chanting had grown louder by several orders of magnitude.

Li Huowang looked around and saw quite a few corpses with their hands covering their ears as they died.

What is that eye? Is that a Siming? No, if it were a Siming, I would’ve seen it at Baiyu Capital! What is that?! Did the Liang Kingdom’s emperor summon it? Is that the true nature of the arrays? What is he thinking of doing with that?!

No, this is none of my business! I need to find the Strayed One Bei Feng first!

A massive golden tree stood in the distance. The golden tree was skinny, but its towering size made it seem as though it was capable of holding up the heavens itself.

There was a group of people fighting around the golden tree. Li Huowang only managed to stare at them briefly, as he had to stop due to the throbbing headache.

The chanting was so oppressive that he couldn’t focus on anything.

This can't keep going! I won’t be able to get close to them at this rate.

Li Huowang took out a small pike and thrust it into his left ear. Then, he gave it a quick twist, destroying his left eardrum. Afterward, he tore off a chunk of his robes and stuffed the fabric into his right ear.

it was a gruesome method, but it worked. The chanting was no longer as loud as earlier. It was still loud, but Li Huowang could finally function properly, and he could focus better than earlier.

Li Huowang gnashed his teeth and walked up to the golden tree. The figures in the distance became clearer as he approached, and he realized that rather than leaves, the trees were covered in tiny golden dragons.

The dragons weren’t living beings, but they appeared to be in distress. Their scales were torn outwards while twisted spikes grew outwards from within them. The twisted spikes sticking out of the dragons were riddled with reverse swastikas.[1]

The golden dragons intertwined chaotically, and each dragon head donned a mask that had the same design as the colossal faces on the palace walls.

The masks allowed the dragons to have human faces, which was a bizarre sight. An observatory was near the top of the tree, and the branches seemed to be diverging from the tree from that point onward.

Li Huowang could see a few people in the observatory. Li Huowang ignored the eunuchs holding the horsetail whisks and focused on the man wearing yellow robes.

Li Huowang instantly deduced him to be the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom.

The emperor was staring quietly at the enemies down below

The emperor’s face was obscured by the tassels[2] of his crown, so Li Huowang couldn't see the former's face. The tassels were made from golden beads, and they completely blocked the emperor's face from any prying eyes outside.

Where is Bei Feng? Li Huowang's eyes landed on the base of the golden tree.

The people below were trying their best to climb up to the observatory using the golden dragon as footholds.

Just then, a group of eunuchs clad in black jumped down and used their weapons to fight the encroaching enemies. The eunuch's feet were tied with a rope, which anchored them to the tree.

The faces of the people trying to climb the tree would distort from time to time, all thanks to the strange chanting, and the distortion revealed the mahjong tiles on their faces.

At the sight, Li Huowang confirmed they were Sitting Oblivion Dao members.

For some reason, the two sides seemed wary of going all out. They seemed to be waiting for something.

Li Huowang sat on the ground and concentrated on finding Bei Feng. He could still remember how the Strayed One Bei Feng was capable of changing bodies. With that in mind, Li Huowang dared not to act rashly. He bid his time and endured the chanting to search for the Strayed One Bei Feng among the crowd of Sitting Oblivion Dao members.

Li Huowang swept his gaze across the crowd and soon found the four Bei Fengs.

Wait, four Bei Fengs? Li Huowang thought that he had made a mistake during his counting, so he counted once more and saw that there were indeed four Bei Fengs, whose faces were distorted due to the strange chanting.

Fine, it doesn't matter even if there are four of them. But… how am I supposed to find the correct one? Li Huowang was bewildered. The two parties were holding back, so Li Huowang knew he'd simply die if he were to go there right now.

What should I do? Should I ask Zhuge Yuan for help?

Zhuge Yuan's face popped up in Li Huowang's mind, and he instantly hesitated. He couldn't push his friend into the flames for his own interest. Moreover, this place was just too dangerous.

I should keep waiting… Li Huowang decided.

Meanwhile, the emperor's voice echoed from the observatory.

“You fools are not satisfied yet? Do you really think that I would have no idea that you're here? I’ve seen through your movements. Even if the two Shai Zi were here along with the rest of my enemies, my plan would remain unstoppable!”

The emperor's voice boomed like thunder, and everyone reacted in their own way to it. Some cowered and quivered, while the weaker ones among the crowd retreated immediately. However, the Sitting Oblivion Dao members weren't afraid. They even laughed and taunted the emperor.

Some of them even copied the emperor's voice but in a jeering tone.

“Hmph!” A cold snort echoed, and a shockwave erupted from the golden tree.

The Emperor of the Liang Kingdom moved aside and said, “Thank you, Imperial Preceptor.”

The Imperial Preceptor was an old man, and he was holding a sword carved with the Twenty-Eight Mansions.[3] The golden walls on the west started trembling as he stood in the observatory.

Li Huowang heard a low rumbling and turned around to see that the golden walls on the west had crumbled. Soon, Zhuge Yuan appeared in front of everyone else.

Zhuge Yuan's expression was grim as he held his brush, and he was running swiftly as if he were chasing someone from the Qi Kingdom.

Just then, people appeared out of thin air in front of Zhuge Yuan.

Shockingly, the people had mahjong tiles as faces; they were Sitting Oblivion Dao members!

To make matters worse, more and more people materialized in front of Zhuge Yuan.

Li Huowang’s heart sank at the sight. Wait! This is impossible! There are too many of them! These mahjong tiles are more numerous than the mahjong tiles I've known for so long!

Some of the mahjong tiles were weird; mahjong patterns depicting the plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, spring, summer, autumn, and winter were already weird, but there were even tiles resembling the God of Prosperity as well as cats and mice.

Those tiles didn't exist among the mahjong tiles that Li Huowang had known for so long!

“Hehehe. Why do you think they don’t exist? They don't exist in the Liang Kingdom, but they do exist in the Qi Kingdom,” Hong Zhong’s illusion said, chuckling.

1. In hinduism, reverse swastika (anti-clockwise), represents the night or the tantric aspects of Kali, while the normal swastika (clockwise) represents the sun, prosperity, and good luck. ☜

2. An emperor’s crown usually has tassels on the front and back to block their faces ☜

3. A part of the Chinese Constellation System ☜

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

So here's an image of an Emperor's Crown. Notice the tassels on the front and back used to hide the Emperor's face to a certain extent. I guess the crown in this world has more tassels to completely block the Emperor's face

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