Chapter 996 - Come In

Within the territory of the Great Liang, a colossal pillar stretched between heaven and earth, its surface sprouting and writhing with twisting branches. These warped extensions reached into every available space, as though seeking to consume all in their path.

An immense, distorted figure floated amidst the clouds. It was none other than the powerful Li Huowang.

“Hah!” Li Huowang shouted, his four mouths opening in unison. He swung a giant jade axe and hacked the pillar.

Shrouded in murderous aura, Li Huowang rushed to the fracture point of the pillar before it could fall. He roared as he chopped repeatedly at the falling pillar.

The massive pillar that extended from the Baiyu Capital kept descending, but every section was promptly severed by Li Huowang, who was now imbued with the power of Jiang Xiangshou.

He had now reached the seventh stage of “Truth” cultivation. In addition, he had used the Lion Dance Palace to merge with Jiang Xiangshou. This giant pillar from Fu Shengtian was not a match for him.

Li Huowang relentlessly cleaved the pillar from the Great Liang upward into the heavens. Finally, he hurled it toward the stars.

A tear in the heavens at the Baiyu Capital made chaos and disorder spill out, spreading down toward the mortal realm.

Li Huowang roared, driving his jade axe into the opening and sealing off the pillar’s influence in the mortal world.

However, he knew that this wasn’t enough. The breach remained, and if left unchecked, it would only widen.

He stared intently at the axe lodged in the gap with bloodshot eyes. It quickly morphed and finally formed into a shape that blocked off more of the breach.

He was not done. As he focused, shards of the Ox Tail Gate that had previously fallen began to reassemble.

Each fragment flew up from the ground and returned to its place. One jade shard, about the size of a table, flashed past him. It bore a faint red seal on it.

Li Huowang caught a brief glimpse of the characters “Zhuan Xu” before the shard vanished and returned to its original position.

With Li Huowang’s cultivation, the shattered Ox Tail Gate reassembled itself, sealing its gaps and once again taking the form of an enormous jade pendant. It was suspended between the Baiyu Capital and the mortal realm.

However, the situation did not improve much despite the repairs. Li Huowang remembered precisely what was unfolding at the Baiyu Tower.

He saw the chaos surge again within the gate and cried loudly with his six mouths. He reached over his shoulder to rip out his spine before charging straight into the gate.

The Baiyu Capital, which was previously in chaos, had transformed into a turbulent sea of Heavenly Daos that blended and collided with one another.

The Siming closest to him was a faceless Bodhisattva. Her graceful, flowing motions, accompanied by her robes that seemed to flutter randomly in the air, gave the impression that she was drifting underwater.

A pale, strange circle halo enveloped the back of her head, which made it hard to distinguish her appearance. At a closer distance, he saw that it was composed of countless white eyes.

The light behind the Bodhisattva continued to radiate outward, illuminating everything around.

With his heightened perceptions, he could faintly sense that this Siming seemed to have another side. However, he couldn’t discern exactly what it was because he lacked the sensory organs to perceive it fully.

Li Huowang didn’t know who this figure was, but he was sure it was a Siming of Baiyu Capital. He had once encountered this entity during his desperate fight with Dan Yangzi.

“Get your ass here and help! Don’t just stand there!” Li Huowang shouted at the Siming as he charged toward the black, cracked sky.

Li Huowang stumbled and tripped over the high edge of the doorway, falling forward.

“Careful!” Yang Na caught up behind him and supported Li Huowang. They peered into the dilapidated temple together.

A torrential downpour raged outside. It leaked heavily inside the neglected rural temple, with water dripping everywhere.

The temple was littered with broken statues of Arhats and Buddhas, covered in dust and scattered without order. Every now and then, flashes of lightning would illuminate the scene, adding an eerie and sinister touch.

Yang Na noticed cigarette butts on the ground and deduced that someone had been there before. However, it was evident they hadn’t been there for any proper business.

The Arhat statues had been defaced and smeared with filth, and some of the broken ones had been randomly reassembled.

She helped the panting Li Huowang toward the altar. But as they passed a statue with a broken finger, he froze, staring at it before bursting into maniacal laughter.

“Hahaha! A finger? All my effort, all my suffering, all I went through—and it was just a finger?

“You think that’s enough to scare me? You think I’m afraid? Dream on!”

Li Huowang abruptly stood up. He stomped hard on the ground and lunged at the Arhat statue with a broken finger.

The clay statue was massive and heavy. Li Huowang crashed into it like an egg smashing against a rock. A dull thud resonated, and he immediately started bleeding from his head.

Ignoring his injuries, he raised his military knife and furiously hacked at the Arhat statue.

Yi Donglai stood outside the temple, completely drenched in the pouring rain. He stared dumbfoundedly at the scene unfolding before his eyes.

Yang Na, alarmed by his actions, shouted, “Step back! Let me handle this!”

She raised her pistol and fired two shots directly at the statue’s head.

The combined efforts of the two began to show results. The large clay statue started to shed its outer shell and paint. Its structure became unstable, and some broken parts even revealed the bamboo framework beneath.

Finally, with a thunderous crash, the Arhat statue collapsed, burying Li Huowang beneath the rubble.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Li Huowang could be heard violently coughing amidst the dust. Yi Donglai gritted his teeth and prepared to rush into the temple to help.

“Stop! Don’t move!” Li Huowang’s roar froze him in place.

Li Huowang’s eyes burned with a mix of terror and shock. He stared at Yi Donglai from inside the rubble, and his voice trembled as he shouted, “We can, but you can’t! Don’t come in! Whatever you do, don’t come in!”