Chapter 1009: Counterattack

Inside the chaotic, timeless Jade Capital, all the Simgmings formed a circle, simultaneously adhering to and separated from each other.

In the center of the circle were Jizai, who governed confusion, and the dying Sanqing, who governed the secret Heavenly Dao.

Jizai looked at the chaotic mass of Sanqing's secret chain before him. He couldn't distinguish or grasp which strand was the secret Heavenly Dao and which was the growth Heavenly Dao he had taken from Zuoqiuyong. After all, for Sanqing, who governed the secret Heavenly Dao, hiding this information would undoubtedly be effortless. This, however, didn't hinder Jizai's actions. No matter which one it was, consuming it all would surely be the right course.

Li Huowang, chewing on the Heavenly Dao, turned around, looking at the other Simgmings with a hint of confusion. He mumbled indistinctly: "How come? You all don't want the Heavenly Dao from Sanqing?"

Hearing Li Huowang's words, none of the other Simgmings in the Jade Capital said anything. They merely stood there, watching him. Li Huowang couldn't be bothered with the others; it was better if they didn't want the Heavenly Dao, as the others weren't reliable anyway. If they took the Heavenly Dao and then turned against him for other reasons, refusing to help, that would be a huge problem. He truly didn't feel at ease leaving the other Heavenly Daos with them. Relying on others was not as good as relying on himself; holding all of Sanqing's Heavenly Daos in his own hands would surely be the right course.

Just then, Li Huowang saw Wusheng Laomu walk over and squat across from him. She extended her white-feathered sleeve and gently wrapped it around his six deformed hands. At this moment, Li Huowang felt a warmth spreading through his heart. The feeling of always having someone by his side, never abandoning him, was simply wonderful. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that no matter how many hardships he endured, he could always get through them.

Immediately after, Jizai and Wusheng Laomu exchanged a smile, and then together they began to absorb Sanqing's Heavenly Dao.

What Li Huowang hadn't expected was that even after being wounded so severely by him, Sanqing was still alive. Blood flowed everywhere. The dying Qingwanglai, despite coughing blood, laughed aloud. He stared blankly at the sky, feeling his body being pulled. But soon, a woman's face, a cigarette dangling from her lips and half-covered in thorn tattoos, blocked his vision.

"It must hurt a lot, doesn't it? Do you want me to free you?"

A smoke ring was exhaled, drifting downwards to cover Qingwanglai's face. Yet, even so, Qingwanglai's face still bore his signature kind smile.

"Li...do you really...do you really think...I had no...backup plan...? Do you think...I'd just...give up so easily...?"

Upon hearing these words, Li Huowang, who was chewing, instantly paused. After a few seconds, he forcefully swallowed what was in his mouth. "What? Even like this, what more can you do? Are you going to poison me?"

"Why...not...? I can...already follow your...thoughts...I've...already anticipated...what you'll...do..."

As soon as Li Huowang finished speaking, his face suddenly contorted, and he immediately vomited everything out. "You dared to poison me?!"

"Hahahaha!" The dying Qingwanglai used all his remaining strength to laugh loudly.

Amidst Qingwanglai's laughter, Li Huowang felt a faint ache beginning in his abdomen. This pain was so familiar, just like the suffering he experienced after consuming the three immortal pills refined by Danyangzi from various evil spirits at Qingfeng Temple. Li Huowang immediately put his fingers into his throat and pressed forcefully. He gagged. Although almost everything in his stomach had been expelled, Li Huowang still felt the pain in his abdomen intensify.

"Li Huowang...since you don't...want to die, I'll have to...send...you...to your death...My plan...must be complete..."

Seeing the situation worsen, the others quickly rushed over, preparing to give Li Huowang a gastric lavage under Wuqi's guidance. But after a series of procedures, Li Huowang's condition not only failed to improve but worsened. His face turned ashen white, and large beads of sweat relentlessly seeped out, covering his forehead. And it wasn't just him; even Yang Na, who was nearby, also showed symptoms.

Looking extremely pale and covered in wounds, Li Huowang pushed the others away. Gritting his teeth, he violently lifted Qingwanglai from the ground and glared at him fiercely. "What exactly did you do?!"

However, at this moment, Qingwanglai could no longer answer him. Although his face still bore his signature smile, his empty eyes clearly indicated he was already dead. At such close proximity, Li Huowang noticed a white object clipped to Qingwanglai's collar. He pulled it out and found it was a note covered in writing. It had several rows of neat italicized writing. Judging by the handwriting, it was clearly written by Qingwanglai in advance, before he took action.

"Li Huowang, if you are reading this note, it proves you didn't help me. Your thinking is still too rudimentary, still calculating the gains and losses of mere projections."

"Since gentle persuasion failed, I had to resort to force. You consumed me, so you probably only have one or two days left to live."

"Of course, I'm not being merciful by giving you an extra day or two. It's just that if I had released a lethal poison, I probably would have died on the spot and wouldn't have been able to poison you."

"Do you know? The truth is, I didn't act against you not because I couldn't defeat you. I simply held onto a glimmer of hope for you. Alas, I was wrong. I am the only one in the world capable of sober thought."

"Don't worry about dying alone. Look beneath my corpse; only by collapsing all the projections here can we save our true selves."

Li Huowang looked down at where Qingwanglai had been lying and saw some glass fragments in the viscous blood. Upon closer inspection, they were fragments of three test tubes. It was clear that while the others were in a commotion, Qingwanglai had quietly slipped these three test tubes from his sleeve and smashed them on the blood-red ground! The liquids in the three test tubes had already mixed upon breaking. A colorless and odorless substance had already spread throughout the room. Although Li Huowang didn't know what it was, it definitely wasn't the anesthetic from before! The man had talked a lot of nonsense earlier, but it was all just a diversion! Even if he hadn't consumed his Heavenly Dao, he would still have been poisoned along with the others. This man's ultimate goal was to kill all the Simgmings in the Jade Capital!

When Li Huowang looked at Qingwanglai's corpse again, he found that the smile on the other's face had grown even wider. Looking at that disgusting face, the anger in Li Huowang's heart burned hotter and hotter. He snatched the gun from Yang Na's hand and, gritting his teeth, pulled the trigger, aiming at Qingwanglai's face.

With a "bang," Qingwanglai's head immediately shattered, and amidst the red and white fragments, another note was revealed.