Chapter 431: Mahjong Suits

Li Huowang looked up, utterly shocked, at the giant eye in the sky. As the trigrams in the sky continuously shifted and floated, the enormous vertical pupil occasionally looked left, then right, descending with the gathering dark clouds. The eye conveyed no emotion; the only sensation emanating from it was a suffocating chaos. Chaos shouldn't be visible to the eye, but at this moment, Li Huowang was absolutely certain that what he was seeing was one of chaos's eyes.

A strange chanting emanated from the eyeball, causing Li Huowang to painfully cover his ears. He remembered this chanting! He had heard it once hundreds of miles outside the capital, and now, it was clear this was the source! Compared to the faint sound he heard before, the volume here was undoubtedly much, much louder. The people around Li Huowang, who were covering their ears and dying suddenly, proved this point.

"What is that eye? Is it a Si Ming? No! If it were a Si Ming, why haven't I seen it in Bai Yujing?! What in the world is it?!""Did the Emperor of Daliang bring it here? Is this the purpose of the entire formation? What does this guy intend to do with it?!""No, no, none of this concerns me. I'm here to find Xin Su, Beifeng!"

Li Huowang clutched his aching head and looked down at the ground before him, where a colossal, towering golden tree stood. The main trunk of the golden tree was not thick; it appeared tall and slender, resembling a pillar reaching to the heavens. From Li Huowang's perspective, tiny figures were battling around the massive tree. After watching briefly, Li Huowang stopped, his head throbbing. The sound was simply too loud, making it impossible for any emotion in his heart to remain stable for even a moment.

"I can't go on! At this rate, I can't even get close!" Li Huowang quickly pulled a sharp awl from his hem, violently plunged it into his left ear, and twisted it, enduring intense pain. Then, he tore off some scraps of cloth from his clothing and used them to plug his right ear. Though somewhat gruesome, Li Huowang's desperate method worked; the sound in his ears significantly diminished. It was still loud, but at least Li Huowang's emotions could stabilize, not easily scattered by the sound.

Li Huowang clenched his teeth tightly and moved with trembling steps towards the enormous tree trunk. As Li Huowang drew closer, everything in the distance gradually became clearer. The massive tree trunk wasn't adorned with leaves; instead, it was covered with six-clawed golden dragons. These golden dragons were not living creatures, yet they appeared to be in extreme agony. Their scales were turned outward, and various twisted horns and spikes emerged from within them. Numerous "reverse" characters were starkly embedded in their bodies. The golden dragons writhed, their crowns impaled by sharp branches. The faces of these giant dragons were covered by the large faces previously seen on the palace walls, as if each dragon wore a human face, presenting an extremely bizarre sight.

Below the crowns of these giant dragons, atop the tree, was a platform. Li Huowang saw a group of people there. He disregarded the eunuchs holding whisks and other similarly dressed individuals, his attention drawn to the man wearing a dragon robe among them. The Emperor of Daliang, clad in a large yellow dragon robe, silently gazed at the enemies below the tree. Li Huowang could not see his face because it was completely obscured by a ceremonial headdress, from which golden beads dangled, completely covering the Emperor of Daliang's head.

"Where is Beifeng? Where is Beifeng?" Li Huowang, still invisible, carefully scrutinized the base of the enormous golden tree. Those people seemed to be trying to climb up the golden dragons towards the platform at the top. A group of eunuchs in black robes, holding lines, repeatedly descended and repelled those attempting to ascend. The faces of those climbing the tree occasionally twisted in the chanting sound, revealing their true Mahjong tile patterns, which made Li Huowang realize they were followers of Zuo Wang Dao. Surprisingly, the engagement between the two sides didn't appear very intense; instead, both seemed to be waiting for something.

Li Huowang lay prostrate on the ground, watching intently. He still remembered Xin Su Beifeng's ability to swap bodies with others. Now that it was a critical moment, Li Huowang didn't panic. Instead, he endured the uncomfortable chanting and patiently searched among the Zuo Wang Dao followers. Slowly and meticulously examining the dozens of people, Li Huowang finally identified four Beifengs.

"Wait! Four Beifengs!" Li Huowang almost thought he'd seen wrong, but after careful observation, he indeed found four "North Wind" tile patterns among the faces transforming under the strange chanting. "Fine, four it is. But how can I find the one true Xin Su among them?" Li Huowang thought, finding the situation difficult from afar. Moreover, at this moment, the confrontation between the two sides wasn't intense enough for him to fish in troubled waters.

"What should I do? They're all here. Should I just… ask Zhuge Yuan for help?" Remembering Zhuge Yuan's face, Li Huowang hesitated. Pulling him into this situation would be like dragging him into a pit of fire. "No, I'll wait for now."

Just as Li Huowang was thinking this, the Emperor of Daliang, standing on the platform atop the tree, began to speak. "You are unwilling to give up. Do you truly think I, the Emperor, cannot see that you would cause trouble? Every step you took was precise, but even with both dice rolled today, and those ill-intentioned barbarians, you still cannot hinder My plan!" The majestic, booming voice resonated among everyone present. Fear, to varying degrees, arose in every heart. Some, lacking sufficient composure, immediately turned and left.

Upon hearing this, the Zuo Wang Dao followers showed no sign of fear. Instead, they loudly mocked them, occasionally imitating their opponents' tone and rhetoric in a sarcastic manner.

"Hmph!" A cold snort rippled outwards like a wave of air. The Emperor of Daliang slightly turned to the side and said, "National Preceptor, I trouble you."

Just as a trembling old man, holding a long sword inscribed with the Twenty-Eight Mansions, stood on the platform, new commotion suddenly arose from the distance. Li Huowang also looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a massive golden wall collapse with a crash, and Zhuge Yuan, dressed as a scholar, appeared before everyone. Holding a judge's brush, his expression was solemn, and he charged forward swiftly, as if chasing someone from Great Qi. And people kept emerging around him, as if spilling out like beans from a sack. Unsurprisingly, all these people had Mahjong tile patterns on their heads; they were all Zuo Wang Dao followers.

As their numbers grew, Li Huowang's heart sank. "This is too many; this exceeds the total number of Zuo Wang Dao followers!" Furthermore, some of the tile patterns were extremely bizarre. While the flower tiles like plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, and the four seasons were understandable, there were even patterns of the God of Wealth, cats, and mice!

"Hehehe, why are there no Daliang Mahjong tiles? Oh, but there are Great Qi Mahjong tiles," the hallucinatory Red Dragon beside him said smugly.