Chapter 168: Cooperation

With a whistling sound, Dan Yangzi's copper-coin sword, formed from flesh and blood, swung over. Li Huowang and Yi Wan, who was beside him, retreated in perfect sync.

Seeing this, the other three Mahjong people quickly stepped forward and blocked Dan Yangzi.

Seizing this rare moment of respite, Yi Wan looked at Li Huowang.

"What do you say? Just help us deal with Dan Yangzi! Afterward, we can go our separate ways peacefully."

However, Li Huowang dismissed his words, stomped his feet firmly on the ground, and intended to go rescue the three Zuo Wang Dao members in the distance.

Seeing this, Yi Wan spoke again, and this time, what he said successfully made Li Huowang stop.

"Still not enough? Then I'll add one last offer!"

"Li Huowang, aren't you a Xinsu? That constant feeling of confusion must be awful, right? If you help us this time, we can tell you how a Xinsu can overcome confusion! It will allow you to become a normal person!"

Seeing Li Huowang's astonished face, Yi Wan explained again, "That's right, a Xinsu can indeed overcome confusion, but the method is incredibly difficult! Ordinary people simply cannot find it!"

"Stop lying. Even Master Jingxin couldn't find it; how could you?" Li Huowang's tone was very firm, but he didn't leave.

Watching his distant companions struggle, Yi Wan's speech quickened.

"That old nun, Chen Hongxiu, knows nothing! I'll tell you the truth! Beifeng, one of the Four Joys of Zuo Wang Dao, is a Xinsu! He's lived for 190 years, and he's still perfectly fine! No confusion clings to him anymore!"

As Li Huowang pondered, the other three Zuo Wang Dao members in the distance could no longer hold on.

The copper-coin sword, made of flesh and blood, pierced one of the Mahjong people's chests, which began to swell.

The next moment, his body exploded, turning into a mass of mangled, deformed flesh and blood that splattered everywhere.

"Look! Three people are already dead! If you don't completely stop Dan Yangzi, both sides will perish, and he'll be the one to benefit in the end. Will that make you happy?"

"Let me be clear! Even if I'm openly scheming against you, so what? Do you hate him more, or do you hate us more? We've already lost three people, but not a single hair on your master Dan Yangzi has been harmed! Think carefully!"

These words seemed to convince Li Huowang. If he had to choose a winner between Dan Yangzi and Zuo Wang Dao, it was a very simple choice.

Li Huowang looked at Dan Yangzi, who was pursuing the two remaining Zuo Wang Dao members in the distance, and nodded. "Hurry! I'll hold him off first!"

Just as Dan Yangzi opened his gaping maw, about to bite off the entire square head of a Zuo Wang Dao member, Li Huowang finally arrived in the nick of time.

At that moment, he didn't even bother to dodge. He stomped his feet and burrowed straight into Dan Yangzi's gaping mouth.

The worms formed by the "Grand Thousand Records" stirred, eager like bloodthirsty leeches, drilling from Li Huowang's chest and revealing their circular fangs towards Dan Yangzi.

With a "clang," Dan Yangzi's mouth closed before Li Huowang could reach it.

Li Huowang, covered in worms, crashed heavily onto Dan Yangzi's terrifying face.

All the worms opened their mouths, ready to burrow into Dan Yangzi's flesh.

Unexpectedly, Dan Yangzi's fingers, formed from writhing tentacles, quickly made a hand seal.

The flesh and blood on Dan Yangzi's body twisted in reverse, lunging directly onto Li Huowang, intending to completely devour him.

Blood, skin, bones, organs, and worms converged in an extremely confined space, tearing and devouring each other.

Finding Li Huowang difficult to deal with, Dan Yangzi wanted to eliminate the Zuo Wang Dao members first, but Li Huowang wouldn't allow it.

The two sides gradually became intertwined, each within the other.

Although Dan Yangzi appeared stronger than Li Huowang, devouring him so easily was not a simple task.

What Li Huowang had gained from Bahui by sacrificing his Five Elements and Five Viscera would certainly not be so easily overcome.

The worms were unaffected by Dan Yangzi's abnormalities, firmly gripping Li Huowang's flesh and preventing it from being devoured.

To Yi Wan and the others, Dan Yangzi and Li Huowang in the distance seemed to have become a continuously writhing ball of flesh.

"Master, still alive and well, I see!" Li Huowang leered, greeting the orange-sized, seemingly skinned human head that was now right in front of him.

Despite his smile, Li Huowang's heart burned with a desire to eat Dan Yangzi's flesh and drink his blood.

Looking at Li Huowang, Dan Yangzi maintained a sarcastic smile on his face throughout.

"Rebellious disciple, do you truly believe you can fight me? I am a half-immortal; what are you, a mere mortal?"

"Then how is it that you, a half-immortal, are still entangled with me, a mere mortal? Master, your half-immortal status isn't very impressive!"

As they entangled each other, the three remaining Zuo Wang Dao members began to act. They quickly sat cross-legged around the master and disciple, closing their eyes and chanting.

"There is a path to cultivation! Practice makes perfect! Dismiss wisdom, abandon the body! Oblivion in sitting! Immovable in stillness! Subtle insights emerge! Those who tread the unique path! Comprehend meaning in no time! Those who follow this Dao! Can expect wonderful visions! Little effort, great reward! Essential! Wonderful! Hahahaha!!"

Along with the chanting, patterns resembling Pai Gow, Mahjong, and playing cards flowed out from beneath their clothes like water, quickly spreading across the ground.

These patterns swiftly combined into strange talismans. The strokes within them began to tremble, emitting high and low laughter.

The laughter grew louder, continuously spreading to the surrounding Aojing cultists who were watching, and also infecting Dan Yangzi and Li Huowang in the distance.

Everyone's voices began to echo within the cave, growing louder and louder. Li Huowang's ears gradually began to pick up something hidden within the laughter.

It was something dark and obscure, incomprehensible to ordinary human senses. Although he couldn't understand it, Li Huowang felt a sense of familiarity from it.

"This is the God of Joy! I remember now, this is the God of Joy from the Hu family ancestral hall! Zuo Wang Dao is summoning the God of Joy!!"

However, Dan Yangzi, who was nearby, perceived something more.

"No! Child, you're mistaken. They aren't summoning; they are deceiving!"

"They deceive not only Bahui but also their own God of Joy! None of their divine abilities are truly their own; they are all acquired through deception from other sources!"

Li Huowang felt that something had been drawn by the laughter. These entities were staring intently at him from within the surrounding walls. They were the Gods of Joy, and there were three pairs of eyes.

The laughter in his ears grew increasingly loud. Li Huowang knew that whatever they were doing, it had reached its most critical moment.

Just as the laughter was about to reach its peak, Li Huowang glanced at the three seated Zuo Wang Dao members, a slight smile touching his lips, and his body suddenly recoiled.

All the worms inside Dan Yangzi, which had been entangled with his deformed flesh, retreated with Li Huowang.