Chapter 432 - Both Sides
“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."
As soon as Hong Zhong's words fell, an old woman tumbled out in front of Zhuge Yuan.
Li Huowang's pupils constricted upon seeing her as she was familiar to him. The old woman was the Bei Feng whom Zhuge Yuan had sent over to the Great Qi.
The old woman stared blankly into space. Moments later, her eyes sharpened, shining brightly at the sight before her. Then, her wrinkles disappeared as her face distorted.
At first, her head transformed into a Bei Feng mahjong tile, but the distortion continued until her rectangular transformed into a square made out of flesh—a die made out of flesh!
The Bei Feng had become a legendary Shai Zi[1]!
Shai Zi looked around with his singular red eye. His gaze soon landed on the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom standing in the observatory at the crown of the golden tree.
Shai Zi sounded condescending as he said, "Do you really think that you've seen through all our movements? How about this? Have you ever thought that I'd use a Twisted One to bring the entire Sitting Oblivion Dao of the Great Qi over here?
"I'm sure you're capable of fighting an entire mahjong set, but what about two?"
Li Huowang’s pupils constricted in horror. The other Sitting Oblivion Dao members and the Bei Feng at the time had simply been putting up an act!
Li Huowang was no longer so sure whether Zhuge Yuan had defeated them or if they had decided to lose on purpose.
It turned out that they had only one goal—to make Zhuge Yuan transform them into the people of the Qi Kingdom! Once they became people of the Great Qi, it wouldn't be difficult for them to contact the Sitting Oblivion Dao of the Great Qi.
The Great Qi was real; it wasn't fake at all.
Li Huowang was in awe of the Sitting Oblivion Dao's plan.
Meanwhile, the black-and-white vertical pupil trembled and split into three as the trigrams around it spun even faster. The emperor and his group dared not to waste any time upon seeing two mahjong sets down below.
The chanting became stronger and louder. Moreover, it was no longer just chanting; it contained howls and bellows, which reverberated loudly throughout the battlefield.
Li Huowang's head throbbed, and it was so painful that he felt like his face was going to melt away. Soon, the chanting reached a crescendo becoming an inscrutable chanting forbidden for mortals to hear!
Everyone’s Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings were on the verge of collapse!
Bai Lingmiao’s Ten Emotions and Eight Sufferings had been slightly influenced by the killing intent of the purple-tassel sword, and her behavior had changed completely.
Li Huowang couldn't imagine what would happen to someone like Bai Lingmiao under the strange, inscrutable chanting.
The battle was about to begin, and Li Huowang started to get anxious. He gnashed his teeth, forcefully enduring the new pain as he focused on finding the Strayed One Bei Feng. Unfortunately, Li Huowang had to sift through eight Bei Fengs to find the Strayed One Bei Feng, which meant his task had gotten even harder.
Loud thuds echoed as the Sitting Oblivion Dao members sat in a circle around the golden tree. Moments later, they started chanting.
The four Shai Zis sat on the four cardinal directions.
Their faces had the following numbers—four, two, five, and one.
“Sit in Oblivion and forget the worldly desires to obtain the ultimate Dao! Real beings must cultivate their inner-self through Sitting in Oblivion; follow the flow and nurture oneself; follow the flow and cultivate naturally. Abandon the forms and attain truth.”
The Sitting Oblivion’s voices dispersed the guttural chanting that echoed loudly overhead. The two voices intertwined, and the space around them quivered ever so slightly. Both people and the golden tree started distorting a well.
The golden bricks of the crumbled walls floated and arranged themselves into a golden statue with a side profile of a smiling Yang Na. The sight made Li Huowang gnash his teeth. Shit! It’s going to be dangerous, but... I must find that Strayed One Bei Feng and capture him alive!
Li Huowang soon came up with a good idea and took out his dagger. He opened his robes and cut open his torso to retrieve his collarbone. Then, he used a talisman paper and started drawing on the talisman.
Casting divination on stronger cultivators was extremely dangerous. In addition to being useless, the target could reverse the divination and track down the caster as well.
However, Li Huowang needed that effect right now.
Li Huowang pressed the yellow talisman on his bloody collarbone, and someone reacted in the distance even before the bone had cracked open. One of the female Bei Fengs raised her head and stared in Li Huowang’s direction.
Found her! Li Huowang became invisible and started walking on the floating golden bricks. He looked as if he were walking on water as he closed in slowly on the Strayed One Bei Feng.
The others did not notice Li Huowang closing in on them because both parties were already fighting each other. The Surveillance Bureau and the Sitting Oblivion Dao couldn't spare any effort to care about Li Huowang.
Li Huowang saw the wizened Imperial Preceptor swinging his sword. The Imperial Preceptor's robes billowed even in the absence of wind. Just then, several stars manifested amidst the low-hanging dark clouds.
A man clad in red robes walked out from the crowd, and three people stuck closely to him.
Li Huowang assumed that the three were the Deputy Chiefs of the Surveillance Bureau while the red-robed man had to be the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau.
Six wrinkled arms extended from the man's red robes. The wrinkled arms had long fingernails, and they seemed capable of moving by themselves. The topmost pair was making finger gestures for a chant, the middle pair was drawing runes, and the bottom pair was making seals.
The markedly distinct voices echoed from beneath the red robes, and they chanted an incantation harmoniously. The three voices were the voice of an old man, a grown man, and a young man.
“A day represents a world, with each world unfolding a white lotus. The lotus represents not the Buddha, nor is it a worldly treasure. One rides the phoenix and plucks its petals, but the hands become smoke. Unaware of one’s body, one may find themselves atop the lotus leaf.”
The Sitting Oblivion chanting became weaker once the Chief started chanting. The gold bricks stopped moving, and the strange chanting became dominant once again.
The black-and-white vertical pupil in the sky descended slightly. Under the gaze of the massive eye, some of the Sitting Oblivion Dao members seated at the edges exploded into a flurry of lotus leaves before their fleshly bodies returned to Chaos.
Just as Li Huowang thought that another round of fighting would start, a deafening noise echoed. Li Huowang turned and saw the collapse of the golden tree.
The Sitting Oblivion Dao chuckled and laughed at the sight. Then, they swarmed the tree in droves and ran toward the observatory.
Thunderous booms echoed from the observatory, and the dark clouds up above filled slowly with lightning bolts. The battlefield instantly became chaotic as lightning rained down on the Sitting Oblivion Dao members.
This is my chance! Li Huowang didn't hesitate and ran toward the Strayed One Bei Feng.
The two factions fought each other with their lives at stake as the skies changed rapidly above them. One moment it was evening, and the next it was noon.
Li Huowang felt that he would eventually lose control of himself at this rate, and it was all thanks to the strange chanting. Truthfully speaking, however, Li Huowang had no idea who had the advantage in this fight.
Regardless, his determination remained firm, and his eyes never left the Strayed One Bei Feng.
The Strayed One Bei Feng was staring intently at the Emperor of the Liang Kingdom while the emperor himself was under the protection of the Surveillance Bureau's three deputy chiefs.
The next moment, the Strayed One Bei Feng collapsed on her knees and covered her distorted face in agony. A dark golden fluid was flowing out of her eyes. Just as a lightning bolt was about to hit her, a hand missing two fingers pulled her away.
“Are you fine?! Wait, you're injured!” Li Huowang shouted as he pulled Bei Feng away from the battlefield.
1. Shai Zi means Dice. They have a head resembling a Dice ☜
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