Mutated Tao

The differences between Hou Shu, Qing Qiu, and Si Qi were vast. Si Qi had many rivers and lakes, while Qing Qiu had lots of livestock.

Hou Shu, on the other hand, was very impoverished. The land was dry, and various crags and stones were present. There was some vegetation, but not a lot. Most of the plants here were resistant to drought.

Li Huowang was used to seeing this. After killing the thing in the sky, they finally left the seaside.

Li Huowang and the others had changed their appearance to mimic refugees instead. Hou Shu and the Dharma Sect were still at war, so it was not wise to alert the others who they were.

But even so, there were various incidents since soldiers ran amok.

Ding ding! Dang! Two swords clashed in the air as Li Huowang opened his mouth. A large tentacle shot out and tore off the bandit’s face.

Lu Xiucai held his serrated blade and charged at the enemy. He didn’t even hesitate when he used a bamboo slip to peel off his fingernails before shooting them forward.

Several arrows landed on his dudou inscribed with runes, but there were only sounds of clinking metal as the arrows deflected off his body.

Lu Xiucai wasn’t afraid as he faced the bandits. His eyes were filled with hatred.

Li Huowang had seen how much Lu Xiucai had changed. It was clear that the latter wanted to take revenge for his family.

Every time they encountered the Dharma Sect, Lu Xiucai was the first one to charge at them.

Several bandits dipped their arrows into the blood of a black dog. They aimed the arrows at Lu Xiucai, but Li Huowang swung his spine sword. A rift flew forward at extreme speed.

The rift not only split the bandits apart but also glued them together with the strange liquid that poured out from it.

Even though he couldn’t use the spine sword to travel to the Qi Kingdom right now, it was still more than enough to kill others.

The bandits used to be in the military. Hou Shu and the Dharma Sect were at war while several smaller factions were fighting for the crumbs.

But all of them were no match for Li Huowang. The battle soon ended, and after clearing up the corpses, Li Huowang’s group started their journey again.

This was not the first time something like this had happened, so no one panicked. It was clear Hou Shu had fallen so far that bandits now roamed just outside the cities.

Li Huowang had sent some of the White Lotus Sect followers and their carriages away to recruit more followers into the White Lotus Sect.

“With our speed, we will reach the city in six hours!” LI Huowang’s words made everyone else move faster.

The closer they got to the city, the more animal feces and footprints could be seen. However, there were also more corpses the closer they got.

The corpses were thrown onto the side of the road like garbage.

Bai Lingmiao was hesitant, but she knew she couldn’t bury all of the dead. This was the reality of war. During times of strife, the most worthless thing was life, whether it belonged to Hou Shu’s civilians or the Dharma Sect’s followers.

Dong Dong Dong~ Her black fingernails rapped on the drum as she sang a sad song.

“Hold some incense in your hands~ May the smoke rise up to the Nine Heavens~ Hang up paper on the front gate~ And hang white banners on the second door~ May the wind clear the smoke and guide the spirit back to their home~”

As she drummed, the wind blew past and made everyone feel uneasy.

“Amitabha… Amitabha… Amitabha…”

Li Huowang sighed when he heard the old monk repeating it again and again. There were times when Li Huowang hoped that ghosts existed.

If there were ghosts, then kind people could take revenge for the victims after they were killed by evil people. If there were ghosts, they could complain to the King of Hell to seek justice. If there were ghosts, they could be reincarnated again.

Everyone was afraid of ghosts, but they were actually the world's true beauty. It was a beautiful lie.

Bai Lingmiao’s singing never stopped because the corpses never stopped appearing.

As she sang, they soon reached a massive stone city. The entire city was built on a mountain, making it easy to defend against attacks.

Li Huowang looked up and saw that they were reaching their destination, Guacang City. It was the capital of Hou Shu, and also the location of Hou Shu’s Surveillance Bureau.

Staring at the marking on the city walls and the wooden barricades, it was clear that the city had been assaulted before this.

Even though the city hadn’t been breached, the situation was still dire if the Dharma Sect had managed to reach the front of it.

Li Huowang and the others entered the city safely after he flashed his identification.

Dressed in his signature red Daoist robes, Li Huowang chose not to hide. The Surveillance Bureau of Hou Shu immediately knew who was coming.

What surprised Li Huowang was that Hou Shu’s officials completely ignored Li Huowang while they welcomed Bai Lingmiao and her White Lotus Sect.

Before long, someone escorted them to the Surveillance Bureau.

The Surveillance Bureau of Hou Shu was also underground, but it was built directly into the mountain.

“Where’s Xuan Pin?” Li Huowang asked Shangguan Yuting. He had learned how dangerous the situation was.

“Wait here. Let me find him,” she said, then phased into the walls.

Li Huowang sat on the stone stool and waited patiently. He was thinking about what to do if the worst-case scenario happened.

“You’ve arrived? A bit later than I'd imagined.” Xuan Pin appeared and sat on the other side. His red robes parted, and a gaze from the darkness within focused on Li Huowang.

Li Huowang ignored Xuan Pin’s remarks and said, “If you want me to be faster, you should call me when you first come here instead.”

“You were busy that time. I was worried you wouldn’t come even if I called you.” Xuan Pin moved to the side and revealed someone else.

The person was wearing a bronze mask with two snarling faces.

The faces were complete with whiskers, fangs, and angry eyes. They were positioned in a vertical line and appeared to be attempting to take each other’s position.

At the top of the mask was a hat made from a skull ring.

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