Chapter 325: Sending

Inside the cave, the battle situation was constantly changing. Most of the human-fiends were distracted by the illusion at this moment, an opportunity Li Huowang naturally wouldn't let pass.

He also understood that while this human-fiend was powerful, it shared a critical weakness with ordinary Daoists: it had to perform rituals before engaging in combat. If he could force it into close-quarters combat, it wouldn't have the time to perform its rituals.

"Jump!" Seven or eight black tentacles suddenly bent, launching Li Huowang from the ground towards the Daoist human-fiend, who was still entangled in flesh. With a crisp *clang*, the opponent's peach wood sword cracked. The weapon given by the masteress was exceptionally sharp; the human-fiend's weapon was no match for the military-grade weapon in Li Huowang's hand.

Realizing it was outmatched, the human-fiend immediately used Li Huowang's powerful force to continuously retreat. Li Huowang wouldn't let it escape. As the fiend retreated, he pressed forward relentlessly, giving it no time to perform rituals.

Seeing its master in danger, a white horsetail whisk, embedded with a fingernail-sized black talisman, was thrown towards them. The human-fiend's slender fingers hooked the whisk and coiled it, its white strands immediately entangling Li Huowang's weapon. It was a classic case of softness overcoming hardness. Although the whisk's white strands were continuously being severed, they surprisingly held Li Huowang's weapon for a time.

Both sides were at a stalemate once more. It became a race: would Li Huowang sever the whisk first, or would the approaching human-fiends from behind arrive in time?

However, as Li Huowang looked at the monstrous creature before him, a cruel smile spread across his face. "Since you had your disciples besiege me earlier, don't blame me for fighting dirty. Attack!"

As soon as he spoke, tentacles beneath Li Huowang rapidly pulled various torture tools from a bag at his hem. They plunged them directly into the human-fiend's abdomen, which was quickly churned into a bloody mess. As the Daoist human-fiend clutched its belly and collapsed, Li Huowang, with a single pull, extracted the Purple Tassel Sword from the unraveling whisk. He raised it high and struck furiously, instantly decapitating the Daoist human-fiend.

When a blood-soaked Li Huowang turned to face the remaining human-fiends, the numerically superior fiends faltered. They were terrified.

"Forward!" Li Huowang, radiating killing intent, roared as he raised the Purple Tassel Sword and charged at the human-fiends, who outnumbered him by a hundredfold. Without a leader, the remaining human-fiends scattered. As they turned their backs on Li Huowang, a slaughter ensued; the only difference was the sheer scale of the massacre.

Two hours later, the entire cavern was largely cleared. A few had managed to escape, but the remaining ones posed no significant threat.

The writhing tentacles crawled like spiders, dragging Li Huowang towards his lower body, which lay motionless on the ground. Li Huowang was exhausted, but he forced himself to stay alert. He grasped his waist and, as if putting on trousers, reattached his lower body. Black tentacles wriggled and burrowed into his flesh, creating a bridge that reconnected his severed body.

Initially, Li Huowang felt no sensation in his lower body. But gradually, his toes began to move, and he felt pain on the top of his foot where the black triangular cloth flag was embedded. The circular talismans on the ground had long since dissipated. Li Huowang bent down and pulled out the black flag.

Standing once more, Li Huowang surveyed the chaotic scene. The entire area had transformed into a muddy pool of blood; finding a clean spot on the ground was impossible. With his enemies eliminated, Li Huowang smiled contentedly. He realized he smiled much more now than in the past; it had been a long time since his former self had smiled at all.

After a moment of smiling, Li Huowang stopped. He lowered his head and touched his abdomen. "Thank you. It seems I underestimated you before. You're far more useful than I imagined."

Then, Li Huowang heard the familiar fragmented voices in his ear. Compared to before, and after his prolonged guidance, the words were still disjointed but could now convey simple meanings. Li Huowang felt he should dedicate more effort to the Black Grand Sage in the future, though he wasn't sure why. The Black Grand Sage he had ingested seemed far more intelligent than those outside. He wondered if this change was due to it absorbing something from within his own body. "Could the flesh and blood of the Heart Element awaken the Black Grand Sage's sentience?"

Li Huowang, with hardly a patch of unblemished skin left, let his thoughts drift. His body still ached intensely, but he realized, almost unconsciously, that he was growing accustomed to the pain.

"Be careful," Hong Zhong's voice warned. "The Black Grand Sage isn't so benevolent. It burrowed into your belly to eventually possess your body."

The smile on Li Huowang's face vanished. "I'm willing! Do you need to spout nonsense here?"

"What kind of person can't tell good advice from bad?" A slightly annoyed Hong Zhong flickered faintly and disappeared back underground. Li Huowang scoffed, then retrieved the *Fire Robe True Sutra* to heal his wounds.

Stumbling as if learning to walk for the first time, Li Huowang fumbled his way in the dark towards the cave where the infants were kept. The elderly people in the cave remained; after all, there was nowhere for them to flee in such an environment.

"Pick up all the children. We're leaving here," Li Huowang commanded them coldly. The remaining elderly complied without a word; Li Huowang's Daoist robe was still dripping blood. Their previous search for "water sons," even if they had been deceived, stemmed from a fundamental desire to avoid death.

Li Huowang counted. Thirty-one living infants remained. There should have been more, but the preceding chaotic battle had affected several cradles. Stumbling, Li Huowang, cradling a child with one arm, led a group of trembling elders towards the cave entrance.

Just as they were about to exit, the Daoist human-fiend's headless body suddenly stirred. Li Huowang instantly tossed the child he was holding, drew his Coin Sword with a *clang*, and pointed it at the headless corpse. Seeing it reach as if to retrieve something from its chest, Li Huowang swung his hand, instantly severing its arm. As the arm fell, the bag it held spilled open. Pills of Longevity, each wrapped in a black talisman, scattered onto the semi-coagulated blood pooling on the ground.

"Pills of Longevity?" Li Huowang, slightly surprised, poked at a pill with the tip of his sword. "What's the meaning of this? Is it trying to buy its life with these Pills of Longevity?"

Just then, the human-fiend moved. It raised its other arm, gathered the blood-stained Pills of Longevity from the ground, and pushed them towards Li Huowang. After this act, the human-fiend's body went limp and ceased to move entirely.

Li Huowang carefully counted seventy-nine Pills of Longevity. If he consumed them all, it would likely be enough to sustain him until he transformed into a human-fiend.