Chapter 174: The Door Opened

"The Gate of the Yak?" Danyangzi stared, stunned, at the three large characters emblazoned on the colossal jade tablet.

These unexpected words buzzed in his mind, instantly overwhelming him with a torrent of questions.

"How can it be the Gate of the Yak? Isn't this the South Heaven Gate? Isn't this beyond the Immortal Realm? Aren't those who have ascended to immortality behind this?"

He gazed down at the myriad stars beneath him, then up at the pitch-black sky beyond the heavens.

For a moment, he was unsure what to do next. It was as if, in that instant, everything had lost its meaning.

"Still don't understand? There's no damn Immortal Realm in this world! You've been deceived; your entire life has been a joke!"

A familiar voice suddenly emerged, causing Danyangzi to whip his head around. Yet, nothing appeared where the voice had come from.

Just as he thought his previous hallucination was returning, he located the source of the voice: it was one of his three heads.

His left head had, at some unknown point, been replaced by Li Huowang's.

"This is impossible! The Three Corpses have been severed! Who are you?!"

Startled, Danyangzi raised the Flesh and Coin Sword in his hand, pressing it against Li Huowang's neck.

Li Huowang, unfazed, chuckled and said, "Take a guess."

"You unfilial disciple, betraying your master and ancestors!" Enraged, Danyangzi tried to strike but found he couldn't cut. A force within him was obstructing him.

Suddenly, the hand not holding the sword rose and slapped Danyangzi across the face.

As Danyangzi fumed, almost smoking from his orifices, Li Huowang's smile grew even wider.

Earlier, upon seeing the three-headed Danyangzi attempting to absorb him, Li Huowang, who had barely regained consciousness, immediately made a decision: he would absolutely not let Danyangzi off easy!

As he and another Danyangzi were absorbed into the main body, a thought sprang into his mind.

"You dared to hit me!" Danyangzi, provoked into a frenzy, lunged at Li Huowang with all his might.

This was Danyangzi's body, after all. Gradually, Li Huowang was overwhelmed, and the Flesh and Coin Sword quickly cut into his neck.

Despite this, Li Huowang showed no fear on his face; he laughed heartily and unreservedly.

"Baldy! Do you know? For a while, I tried every possible way to kill you, to get rid of you, but nothing worked."

"But just now, I realized I was thinking about it all wrong. I don't need to kill you; I just need to make you wish you were dead."

"All the torment and pain I've endured over the years are finally proving useful."

Before Danyangzi could fully grasp what was happening, other voices began to emerge out of thin air around them.

"You worthless little brat, you'll die a terrible death! Young man! Kill him! Avenge me!"

"You ass-licking old bastard, why don't you just die?!"

"Taoist, kill him quickly! This person is very evil! You must act on behalf of heaven!"

At this moment, both Li Huowang's hallucinations and Danyangzi's hallucinations began to manifest.

Li Huowang's bewilderment now appeared on Danyangzi.

In the pitch-black sky beyond the heavens, their bodies had become strangely elongated, twisting like seaweed around them both.

Li Huowang's Heart Element, guided by his will, reappeared on Danyangzi, and this time, it was the true form.

Seeing Danyangzi's breathing become erratic, Li Huowang continued to mock the baldy in front of him.

"Master, how is it? Do you like it? These are the offerings your disciple gives you! Even if you kill me, who knows, perhaps all the suffering of this Heart Element will be yours to bear alone from now on!"

"You madman!" At these words, Danyangzi hesitated, unable to strike. Looking at everything around him, he felt an inexplicable fear.

"I'm mad? And isn't that because my master taught me so well?!"

As the two remained locked in a stalemate, the enormous jade tablet beside them began to stir.

Inside, terrifying monsters, seemingly devouring something and appearing as if veiled, drew closer, peering at the two figures through the jade tablet.

Then, without warning, the jade tablet vanished into the darkness, and in its place, a series of wondrous, kaleidoscopic scenes appeared.

What Li Huowang and Danyangzi witnessed there was a shocking, malevolent spectacle, built upon horror and abnormality.

Next, a faint breeze drifted from the wondrous scene. This breeze, accompanied by sighs, drew Li Huowang and Danyangzi closer.

"'Heavenly White Jade Capital, twelve towers and five cities, immortals stroke my crown, receiving eternal life with bound hair.' Is this the White Jade Capital? Is this it?!"

An old Taoist master, appearing in a hallucination with an ethereal demeanor, looked at everything there, overcome with excitement.

Danyangzi, whose eyes should have been filled with unwillingness, witnessed this scene and instantly burst forth with immense potential. He no longer bothered to contend with Li Huowang and rushed wildly towards it.

"I'm going to the White Jade Capital! I'm going to become an immortal! I'm going to become a deity!"

Danyangzi, of course, couldn't let his deluded self succeed. He used all his strength, pulling outwards.

"You can't stop me from becoming an immortal! You can't!" Danyangzi struggled, fighting with all his might to rush inward.

Amidst their ceaseless struggle, they drew closer and closer, until they could see the so-called immortals inside, waiting to stroke their crowns.

Within that wondrous spectacle, the closest figure was a Bodhisattva. Her movements were gentle and graceful, and her "robes," drifting aimlessly in the air, gave the illusion of being underwater.

A pale, strange halo enveloped the back of her head, preventing the two from clearly seeing her face. But as they drew close enough, they discerned that the halo was actually composed of white eyes of various sizes.

This was merely the most normal of them; looking around, the other bizarre figures only became more grotesque, never less.

Gazing at the formless Bodhisattva before him, an inexplicable fear rose in Danyangzi's heart, deepening rapidly until it instantly consumed him.

Every fiber of his being screamed that this was an extremely perilous place, one he absolutely could not enter.

"No, this isn't the South Heaven Gate! This is the Gate of the Yak! And these aren't immortals inside!" Danyangzi, whose mind had been clouded by the desire for immortality, suddenly came to his senses.

However, just as he prepared to retreat, Li Huowang, who was now one with him, suddenly spoke.

"Master! Are you ready? Your disciple is here to help you ascend to immortality!"

Li Huowang, who had just been pulling outwards, suddenly ceased his efforts. Seizing the moment before Danyangzi could react and release his own strength, he dragged Danyangzi along, lunging towards the Bodhisattva's face.