Chapter 362: Method

Tuoba Danqing completely broke down. The others were in no better shape.

Liu Zongyuan knelt on the ground, frantically hammering the earth with his hands. Hong Da stood frozen in place, expressionless, his eyes staring blankly at his surroundings. An atmosphere of despair enveloped everyone. Around them, the undying beings mocked them with piercing, shrill voices.

In this situation, it seemed futile to do anything; even death had become an unattainable luxury.

This, however, did not apply to Li Huowang. Having faced countless desperate situations, he was rarely defeated by external circumstances.

When he noticed Bai Lingmiao's expression contorting in pain, Li Huowang pulled her into an embrace, his voice trembling as he said, "I'm here. As long as I am, no one can harm you!"

Er Shen leaned in from behind, resting gently against Li Huowang's back. This time, uncharacteristically, Li Huowang did not resist.

"In this situation, do you have a solution?"

Bai Lingmiao stared wide-eyed at the man in front of her. In such utter despair, how could he possibly say such a thing?

Li Huowang nodded slightly, then raised his head to gaze at the pitch-black dome above, a wry smile appearing on his face.

"Immortals can't enter this place, but I believe there's one being who definitely can."

"Who?"

"Bahui! Bahui from Baiyujing!"

Li Huowang had been to Baiyujing. No matter how Xinzhuo had managed it, it was utterly insignificant before beings one dared not even conceive of—even Xinzhuo, who merged life and death.

After thinking it over, Li Huowang declared with a resolute expression, "I will use Cangqiang Ascension, borrowing Bahui's power to break this deadlock."

If there was any other way to resolve the current impasse, this was it.

Bai Lingmiao's heart sank. She remembered this; Li Huowang had told her about it before. "But wouldn't that..."

"Yes, that's right," Li Huowang affirmed. He glanced at Tuoba Danqing, who was inflicting "three cuts and six holes" upon Jixiang, then, embracing Bai Lingmiao, walked towards a thick patch of woods nearby.

As for the others, they didn't care where Li Huowang went; at that moment, they likely cared about nothing at all.

"Cangqiang Ascension requires both physical and spiritual agony. Extreme physical pain is simple enough to obtain; I need to find extreme spiritual anguish."

As he spoke, Li Huowang remembered something, a flicker of struggle appearing in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao's heart trembled. Without hesitation, she said, "Tell me, what do you want me to do? I can bear it."

Li Huowang shook his head, his lips trembling slightly. "You don't need to do anything. I just need you to watch me, because... I need to enter a hallucination to find...."

As Li Huowang spoke, a fierce struggle was visible in his eyes, but when he looked at Bai Lingmiao in front of him, his gaze became resolute.

He wasn't an ordinary person; he was Xinsu. If Xinzhuo could utilize his abilities, then Xinsu could utilize them too.

Just like during his first Cangqiang Ascension, within that hallucination, as long as he dared, it would continuously transmit extreme spiritual agony to him.

In the deserted night forest, Li Huowang carefully scrutinized the young woman before him.

"Don't worry," he said. "Just like at Qingfeng Temple, I'll rescue you from this danger."

"No! Think of another way!" Bai Lingmiao immediately rejected Li Huowang's words.

But Li Huowang had no intention of listening to her. "Li Sui, come out. Stay quietly with your mother. Don't wander off; I'll be back soon."

Black tentacles emerged from Li Huowang's chest, eventually forming a writhing mass.

"Miao Miao. He's my son; don't be afraid," Li Huowang explained to Bai Lingmiao, who was seeing Li Sui for the first time.

Bai Lingmiao's eyes widened as she stared at the terrifying mass of tentacles in front of her. "Say that again," she stammered, "this is... whose son?"

Li Huowang chuckled softly. Feeling everything around him begin to tremble and shift, he offered no further explanation.

"Wait for me to come back," he instructed. "Stand a little further away, so you don't get hurt. Even if it can't kill you, it will still sting."

Everything around him began to melt. This time, for unknown reasons, the transformation was much slower than usual, but ultimately, Li Huowang found himself back inside the dark, grimy bridge underpass.

Staring at the familiar yet strange surroundings, Li Huowang paused for a moment before rushing to the nearby river and splashing water on his face.

Staring at his reflection in the water, Li Huowang seemed to be hypnotizing himself.

"Miao Miao is still waiting for me," he chanted. "I need to use this hallucination to find ultimate spiritual pain so I can save her!"

After repeating it three times, Li Huowang stood up straight. The next step was to figure out how to find ultimate spiritual pain.

Such a task seemed to require no thought; what needed to be done to achieve ultimate pain was immediately obvious.

Just then, Li Huowang heard footsteps outside. Not long after, Huanhuan appeared at the entrance, holding a basket of soup dumplings.

When she saw Li Huowang staring directly at her, a happy smile instantly bloomed on her face. "Uncle," she chirped, "you're lucid again?"

"Extreme pain, extreme pain...," he muttered to himself. "This is nothing. It's all fake, it's all an illusion."

Still muttering to himself, Li Huowang looked around, picked up a thin rope from the ground, and walked towards Huanhuan.

"No way," he thought, "I just arrived, and this child appears? Such a coincidence is impossible. Yes, this is clearly fake. I don't need to hesitate."

Li Huowang looked down at her, his right hand, clutching the rope, trembling more violently.

"Uncle?" Huanhuan fearfully took a half-step back. She sensed the uncle in front of her was different from how he used to be.

Suddenly, like a deflating balloon, Li Huowang slowly exhaled all the air from his lungs.

"No, this is wrong. This isn't right."

Li Huowang turned around, his teeth gnashing, and paced back and forth.

"No, I haven't known her for long," he mumbled. "Even if I kill her, the ultimate pain won't be enough. I need more, more!"

He knelt on the ground and wrote two names with his hand: Yang Na and Sun Xiaoqin.

Staring at those two names, fear filled Li Huowang's eyes. He trembled uncontrollably.

"This is all an illusion, it's a hallucination!" he cried. "I crossed over ages ago; none of this is real!"

Li Huowang's trembling hand was just about to lift when it recoiled as if from an electric shock.

Suddenly, he snatched a cobblestone from the ground and violently struck his own head with it.

Instantly, blood streamed from Li Huowang's head. But it wasn't enough. He gripped the stone and repeatedly slammed it against his head with crushing force.

Soon, Li Huowang's tears, sweat, and blood mingled, making his appearance utterly horrifying.

"This is fake! This is clearly fake!" he screamed. "This is obviously a hallucination! What the hell am I hesitating for?! Miao Miao is still waiting for me to save her!!"