Chapter 291: The Source of Auditory Hallucinations

In the dim farmhouse courtyard, Li Huowang tremblingly clutched the knife tip protruding from his chest, staring in shock at the double-pupiled Li Huowang, who stood before him looking exactly like himself.

"You... I..." Li Huowang, pale from blood loss, stumbled backward.

The sudden turn of events threw his mind into disarray; one moment he thought of the "Red Dragon" mentioned by his opponent, the next he was contemplating his own impending death.

Just as Li Huowang was about to collapse, his fellow disciples rushed to his side, anxiously supporting him.

Long, black fingernails trembled towards the knife tip in Li Huowang's chest, but before they could touch it, they recoiled abruptly and tapped heavily on the pale drum skin.

"Thump-thump-thump! Ox-Head and Horse-Face hold the chains. Black and White Impermanence hoist the sails! Thump-thump-thump!! The naughty child is to be taken to the underworld, where life and death are close at hand. It's clear the naughty child has reached the Gates of Hell! Thump-thump-thump! Today, no one else is summoned; the helper soldiers must invite the King of Sorrow to the main hall..."

As the "Summoning Soldiers Chant" resonated, the large red bridal veil began to writhe, and chilling winds swirled around, as if trying to coalesce into something.

Bai Lingmiao wanted to save Li Huowang, but the double-pupiled Li Huowang wasn't merely observing. With a flick of his hand, three playing cards fanned out and shot towards Li Huowang.

"Clang, clang, clang!" The cards struck the stone slab with a sharp sound. Gao Zhijian, clad in heavy armor, used his tall body to shield the dying Li Huowang, his typically honest eyes now fixed resolutely on the enemy.

"Hmm? Boss Red Dragon, where did you manage to fool these people into following you? They seem incredibly loyal, but then again..."

The double-pupiled figure lightly snapped his fingers, and all the mud statues on the surrounding rooftops rattled as they rose to their feet. "Still, they're not as formidable as I am. Why don't you just step aside and let me be the Red Dragon?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the mud figures leaped, raining down on them like a sudden downpour.

It turned out these creatures were all under his command; he was both the source of good and evil. The so-called troubles in Ganyuan Village were merely a trap set by the Sit-Forget Dao.

"Ring, ring, ring!!" Piercing bells rang continuously. As Chun Xiaoman's stature rapidly grew, dozens of roaming masters swiftly lunged forward.

"Ah!" Gao Zhijian, wielding the mace he had seized from the bandit lair, swung it with all his might, a torrent of malevolence steadily spilling from his body.

Although they fought diligently to repel them, facing such a multitude of mud figures, they were clearly overwhelmed. They retreated as they fought, and their situation grew increasingly precarious.

As the drumbeats intensified and the "Summoning Soldiers Chant" grew more urgent, the two red bridal veils became largely soaked, whether from sweat or tears was unclear.

However, seeing the two knives slowly being pulled from Li Huowang's chest and his wound slowly healing, Bai Lingmiao clung to a glimmer of hope.

"It's alright! Senior Brother Li can still be saved! He won't die!"

Gradually, with the help of the immortals, the two knives that had pierced Li Huowang's chest were finally and steadily extracted, and the wounds were barely sealed.

"Clink, clink, clink!" Just as the blood-stained daggers clattered to the ground, Bai Lingmiao suddenly saw someone standing abruptly before her.

It was the double-pupiled Senior Brother Li, the very Sit-Forget Dao whom Senior Brother Li had mentioned could change appearances!

Gazing at the Great God and Second God, still covered by their red bridal veils, his lips curled into a cruel, lopsided grin. "Heh, you're quite capable, aren't you? Cured him?"

"Thunk, thunk, thunk" went the sounds as three exceptionally sharp daggers plunged straight into Li Huowang's bloodied chest.

Hearing the anguished cries from beneath the red bridal veil, the double-pupiled Li Huowang erupted into maniacal laughter. He convulsed, bending over, one hand covering his eyes and the other clutching his stomach.

Li Huowang, who had fainted from the pain, was jolted back awake by it. He took a deep breath, regaining control of his gradually chilling body.

"Fire... water... mouth..." The hallucinations returned, accompanied by the ringing and drumming, making it impossible for him to discern the sounds around him.

"Stop! Stop!! Be quiet!!" Li Huowang roared with his last ounce of strength. Surprisingly, the sounds actually ceased.

The hallucinations vanished, but the voice of the Sit-Forget Dao once again reached Li Huowang's ears. "Boss Red Dragon~ hehehe."

As the voice spoke, the Sit-Forget Dao's face appeared directly before Li Huowang, confronting him face-to-face. Li Huowang looked at him as if staring into a mirror.

The drums on the side sounded again, and the Great God and Second God rushed forward simultaneously, only to be directly struck and flung away by a roaring mud wall from behind.

"Come on, Boss Red Dragon, don't lie on the ground. It's so dirty down there."

The Sit-Forget Dao gripped the hilt of the dagger in Li Huowang's chest, leveraged it upward with force, and brutally pulled him to his feet.

Gazing at the dying Li Huowang before him, a hint of emotion flickered in the Sit-Forget Dao's eyes. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, had enough fun, Boss Red Dragon? How about... I help you change back?"

Li Huowang stared at the face inches away, but couldn't hear what was being said, as the hallucinations in his ears had resumed.

"What are you... where exactly are you from?" Li Huowang sluggishly asked the voice again.

Seeing Li Huowang remain silent, the Sit-Forget Dao sighed lightly. "Very well, in that case, Boss Red Dragon, farewell. From now on, I will impersonate you, deceive the other cards, and then I shall be the new Red Dragon! Hehehe."

He fiercely gripped the dagger's hilt with both hands, exerting force with his arms. Like a butcher slaughtering a pig, he slowly began to draw the blade towards Li Huowang's head.

He intended not only to disembowel Li Huowang but also to forcibly cleave his head into three pieces.

The more intensely Li Huowang struggled, the more grotesque the smile on the double-pupiled face became.

The pain intensified the hallucinations, and Li Huowang even felt the voice drawing very, very close. "No matter... no matter what you are... I'm about to die... help me... help me... help me!!"

With Li Huowang's final desperate cry, he immediately felt a powerful surge of nausea. The next moment, his neck instantly swelled to the thickness of his head.

Li Huowang moved his nearly bloodless hands, suddenly gripped the Sit-Forget Dao's arm in front of him, and abruptly opened his mouth wide at the surprised face.

In an instant, black tentacles, mixed with dark red blood and viscous liquid, erupted from Li Huowang's mouth, directly covering the Sit-Forget Dao's face.

Not only did the Sit-Forget Dao not anticipate this, but Li Huowang himself was also utterly surprised. The hallucinations in his ears were actually emanating from the Black Grand Sovereign within him!

The somewhat flustered Sit-Forget Dao abruptly reeled backward, but the Black Grand Sovereign's tentacles were firmly hooked onto the opponent's face, causing the threads Bai Lingmiao had stitched around the edges to continuously tear.

The Black Grand Sovereign's tentacles, writhing swiftly like snakes, drilled towards the Sit-Forget Dao's seven facial orifices. The double-pupiled Li Huowang released the dagger's hilt and, with a hint of panic, reached for his own face.

"Whoosh!" As the Sit-Forget Dao flicked his hand, four playing cards rapidly fanned out like an umbrella, slicing towards the tentacles.

The Black Grand Sovereign seemed to sense the sharpness of the cards' edges and abruptly retracted into Li Huowang's mouth.

Amidst tearing sounds and the Sit-Forget Dao's screams, the opponent's Li Huowang face, along with the double-pupiled eyeballs, was forcibly peeled off.