Chapter 173: South Heavenly Gate

“Master, is this disciple’s body to your liking?”

Looking at Li Huowang in front of him, Danyangzi’s eyes were filled with extreme hatred.

“It’s you! You treacherous disciple who betrayed your master and ancestors! You did all of this!”

Danyangzi roared, struggling to his feet, and charged at Li Huowang, sword in hand.

However, as the two passed through each other, they simply phased through one another’s bodies.

When Danyangzi turned back in astonishment, Li Huowang, standing there with a faint smile, said, “My apologies, Master. I forgot to tell you that this disciple is currently an illusion. You cannot kill me.”

Li Huowang then pointed to the others around them. “Oh, and not only can you not kill me, but you also can’t kill them. They are illusions too, and they will follow you, endlessly, forever.”

As a terrified Danyangzi slowly turned, looking at the illusions surrounding him, the figures gradually closed in.

Those smiling faces now seemed to form walls, trapping him completely, leaving him nowhere to escape, tormented at every moment.

“What… what exactly is this?!” Danyangzi wildly swung his sword in all directions.

In the past, no matter what problem he faced, Danyangzi always solved it by seizing, deceiving, or stealing.

This method had been very effective, resolving most issues. However, now, the tactics he had relied on his entire life were no longer working.

“Master, this is Xinsu. Since you desired this body, you might as well enjoy all of this.”

As Li Huowang finished speaking, he, too, began to laugh along with the other illusions around them, his laughter filled with disdain and contempt.

“Oh, and Master, remember to share this with the true self. After all, shared joy is greater joy, hahaha!”

Seeing Li Huowang’s look of triumphant satisfaction, Danyangzi, consumed by jealousy and hatred, ground his teeth.

He angrily flung his longsword away. “Do you think you’ve won? Dream on! This Daoist will not cut off these three corpses! Just wait and see how the enraged true self deals with you, brat!”

With a whoosh, the laughter of all the illusions present ceased instantly, and they all stared in unison.

Danyangzi raised his right hand and slapped himself across the face. “I am not Danyangzi! I am Li Huowang!”

The next moment, everyone around him gradually vanished, and a hint of confusion slowly appeared on Danyangzi’s face. “Who am I?”

“Am I Danyangzi? No, I’m Li Huowang?”

“No, I’m not Li Huowang, I’m Danyangzi?”

“Get out! Don’t try to make me suffer here! I am Danyangzi! I am not Li Huowang!”

“Get out! I am Li Huowang! I am not Danyangzi!”

Then the young man, who had only one arm, began to struggle.

The surrounding crowd would appear and disappear intermittently, with the monk occasionally darting out for a moment before vanishing again.

Just as the one-armed youth’s body writhed on the ground like a maggot, a black cloud drifted across the sky. On top of the cloud was Danyangzi, his entire body wrapped in celestial scarves and covered in deformed flesh.

However, at this moment, he looked somewhat disheveled. Not only was he missing several deformed organs, but his complexion was also rather dull, suggesting he had expended great effort to escape the God of Joy.

Danyangzi slowly descended, coming before the one-armed man. With a gentle wave of his tentacled hand, the youth floated into the air.

“Which one are you?” Danyangzi suddenly asked.

The one-armed youth struggled desperately for a long time, finally calming down.

He reopened his eyes and calmly stated to Danyangzi, “I am Danyangzi. The three corpses have been severed.”

Hearing this, the three-headed monster, whose body was enveloped in black clouds, showed a satisfied expression.

Its ugly, repulsive body drew close, and with a forceful suck, it pressed against the one-armed youth’s face.

Something drifted out from the one-armed youth’s seven orifices and floated onto Danyangzi’s body.

The one-armed youth’s body gradually stiffened, slowly dying.

At that moment, Danyangzi suddenly began to laugh. He finally felt the last missing piece inside him return.

“This Daoist can finally become an immortal!! Hahaha!!” Danyangzi cackled, spreading his arms as he plunged into a rolling black cloud in the sky.

The higher he flew through the clouds, the more excited Danyangzi became. In his seventy-four years of arduous life in the human world, he had never felt such exhilaration as he did today.

After passing through the clouds, Danyangzi continued relentlessly, flying towards the heavens beyond the scattered stars.

As he traversed the stars, Danyangzi saw various things: monstrous, terrifying, yet indescribable creatures.

There were gigantic, greyish-white, slimy bodies, pierced all over with perpetually burning incense sticks, their bizarre volumes freely expanding and contracting.

Nearly eyeless golden Bodhisattvas, from the front of their indistinct bodies, constantly extended trembling pink tentacles, seemingly drawing something in from their surroundings.

Approaching them, one could almost hear the wishes of pilgrims in their hearts.

There was also an amorphous mass of faintly glowing, intertwined black immortal cranes, each struggle emitting a hoarse, miserable shriek.

Beyond these, Danyangzi also saw the God of Joy, other immortals, and the elders who had previously taught him to sever the three corpses, all adorned with ethereal celestial ribbons.

However, Danyangzi looked at them with disdain, knowing these were all individuals who had failed to find the path to true immortality, destined to wander aimlessly here until the five signs of decay for celestials appeared.

He, however, was different from them. He would soon become a true immortal, living as long as heaven and earth.

Quickly accelerating, Danyangzi passed through the scattered stars and finally arrived beside a chaotic, colorless jade tablet suspended between heaven and earth.

The jade tablet appeared to be suspended by something in the extreme darkness far away. As their formless bodies wriggled and flowed forward, the tablet shifted up and down.

Three large characters were inscribed on the jade tablet. Danyangzi couldn't read, but he could guess that they undoubtedly spelled "South Heaven Gate."

He didn’t recognize the other characters, but Danyangzi did recognize the last character, "mén" (gate).

Because that character for "gate" looked exactly like a real gate.

With three characters, and the last one being "gate," it was obvious without guessing that this must be the South Heaven Gate.

Surrounding the jade tablet, many terrifying monsters lingered and wailed, seemingly desperate to enter.

“Scram! All of you, get away! Don’t delay this Daoist’s ascension to immortality!”

Disgusted, he blasted away other obstructions in his path, and Danyangzi, overjoyed, claimed the entire front of the jade tablet for himself.

Through the jade tablet, the eager Danyangzi once again saw some indistinct "immortals."

These ethereal immortals, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats.

Unlike their previous state of motionless meditation, they now seemed to be joyfully feasting on something, and they had nearly finished eating.

Inside the jade tablet, everything was hazy and indistinct, making it hard to see clearly.

“What are they eating? Immortal peaches? Elixirs of immortality?”

The thought of them eating while he had nothing instantly filled Danyangzi with anxiety, and he immediately charged towards the jade tablet.

But just as he was about to pass through, Danyangzi felt his body strike what seemed like hard glass, abruptly stopping him.

“Let me through! This Daoist has become an immortal! This Daoist is going to the Immortal Realm!”

Danyangzi hovered there, shouting something into the darkness.

In the chaotic darkness, Danyangzi saw the two headless, tailless giant serpents supporting the South Heaven Gate glance at him, then remained utterly still.

“The three corpses have been severed! This Daoist has clearly become an immortal! I am now a true immortal! Why won’t you let me in?!”

Danyangzi’s voice was filled with indignation as he roared at the jade tablet.

Just then, Danyangzi suddenly realized he could understand the three characters.

“Gate of Yak.”