Mutated Tao

Li Huowang accepted the scroll and saw that it depicted a highly detailed map of a complex of buildings.

The layout of each room and their names were labeled clearly. There were three words written in red underneath—Prince Ren Mansion.

“Prince Ren Mansion?” Li Huowang frowned and looked up at Ji Lin.

“Prince Ren is my second brother. Take it slowly. It’s rumored that there are many evil cultivators among his followers. Back then, his followers were the ones responsible for the deaths of my mother and my sister.”

Li Huowang instantly understood what he needed to do next. He said nothing else and bowed to Ji Lin before leaving with the scroll.

“Er Jiu, do your best! Help me ascend the throne, and I will not let you down!”

Shangjing was vast, but it wasn't that difficult to find Prince Ren Mansion.

It’s strange that the mansion is not built in the prince’s fiefdom but in the capital. Li Huowang thought to himself. He was kneeling on a roof as he silently gazed at the large plaque in the distance.

Li Huowang muttered to himself once again, “Yes, indeed. Perhaps the imperial family has always been planning to raise a Gu.”

As Li Huowang spoke, his colored phantom merged slowly into the tiles. His invisible body began to move stealthily towards Prince Ren Mansion.

The towering walls posed no obstacle to Li Huowang, as Li Sui’s tentacles effortlessly scaled the wall.

Li Huowang sensed several hidden sentries behind the wall. Instead of leaving quietly, he approached one of them.

After some time, Li Huowang stood on a roof beam and looked down at the eunuch who lay motionless by the window.

This person was one of Prince Ren Mansion’s hidden sentries. He had been fixedly staring outwards through a small hole in the window.

He’s just the test subject. Li Huowang mentally thought to Zhuge Yuan in his mind, as he grasped the hilt of his spine sword.

Swoosh! Li Huowang sliced his sword downward from the beam, and a silent wave of Great Qi history swept across.

This time, instead of cutting the man into three pieces as usual, the piece of history engulfed him completely.

Wait, it didn’t completely engulf him. Half of his hand has been left behind in Great Liang.

“Brother Li, slash out once more so we can see whether that man is still alive in Great Qi or not,” Zhuge Yuan said with a solemn face, which was a stark contrast to his usual calm demeanor.

It made sense, as this would determine whether Li Huowang could stand toe-to-toe against a Shai Zi.

“Li Sui, I’ll strike again later. Remember to stick your eyeballs in to see if the man is still alive in Great Qi. Make to pull them out in time so they won't get left behind.”

“Dad, I know, don’t worry.”

After his instructions to Li Sui, Li Huowang once again carefully gripped the spine sword’s hilt and swung it forcefully. As the invisible gap between Great Qi and Great Liang appeared, a black shadow emerged from Li Huowang’s body and flew into it with a lingering afterimage.

Just before the gap vanished, Li Sui pulled out her eyeballs entwined with tentacles.

“Dad, the man is still there. He’s alive. He’s clutching his severed hand and yelling something out the window.”

“Excellent!” Li Huowang clenched his fist in excitement.

This means that not only can this sword kill people, but it can also safely transport them to Great Qi! It’s not just others. If used properly, I might even be able to send myself to Great Qi! If that’s the case, Zhuge Yuan’s plan can be implemented!

Li Huowang was eager to try it out and go to Great Qi right away, but he forcibly suppressed this urge.

Since I'm already here, I should just deal with Prince Ren first. We cannot afford to delay things here. We need Ji Lin's help to deal with Shai Zi, so it doesn't matter even if we find him early. we can’t deal with him without Ji Lin’s help. Li Huowang thought as he put away the spine sword and made his way to his destination along the rafters.

Thanks to Ji Lin's map, Li Huowang wouldn’t get lost in this maze-like mansion. He headed straight for Prince Ren’s quarters.

However, he found nothing when he arrived. Of course, Prince Ren was nowhere to be seen.

It's already so late, but he's still awake? Where is he? Li Huowang reopened the map and studied it carefully. He put it away again and felt his way toward the east.

He searched several places successively but found nothing. In the end, he found Prince Ren by following the bustling noises within the estate.

The grand stage adorned with lanterns was filled with tropes taking turns to perform. Every single performance involved over a hundred performers, and every single performer could easily become a star outside.

They were far better than the Lu Family Troupe by many times.

These troupes were all for one person’s enjoyment. It was Li Huowang's first time seeing Prince Ren’s face. He was a middle-aged man with a pale complexion and pale lips. If it weren’t for the dragon robes he was wearing, Li Huowang wouldn’t have thought he was someone vying for the throne with Ji Lin. Prince Ren's eyes were squinted as he lay on a plump woman. His fingers were adorned with sharp nail guards decorated with gold and jade, and he was tapping his knee to the music.

Li Huowang was crouched on a tree branch, and he swept his gaze across everyone. He didn’t know what the so-called "evil cultivators" were like. However, none of them looked evil.

Should I just make a move now? No, this place is too open. There are so many people around as well, so I could get easily ambushed. I can’t afford to make the same mistake twice. Perhaps Prince Ren, like the eldest princess, is also pretending to be weak. This might be a part of his scheme.

Li Huowang squatted silently, waiting for an opportunity to move.

An hour passed just like that. When it was the second section of the night, Li Huowang assumed that Prince Ren wanted to watch the performance all night, but the performance eventually stopped.

Prince Ren sat inside a grand sedan that was being lifted by twelve people. A group of eunuchs surrounded the sedan as the precision headed toward Prince Ren's quarters.

Li Huowang followed the sedan but found nothing unusual.

Li Huowang didn’t believe that anyone daring to vie for the throne would be this careless, especially after the recent death of the Empress Dowager and the eldest princess.

The incongruity made Li Huowang become even warier.

The crowd outside gradually dispersed as Prince Ren called it a night.

Li Huowang sensed an opportunity and cautiously followed inside.

Li Huowang was surprised to hear singing inside Prince Ren's quarters.

Li Huowang followed the singing and found Prince Ren sprawled out on his bed. A woman stood before him and was singing a song. The woman's makeup made it clear to Li Huowang that she was an opera performer, but she wasn't wearing anything else aside from her makeup.

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