Chapter 434: Key

Inside Beifeng's body, Li Huowang watched with a grave expression as Beifeng, trapped within that very vessel, confronted him. Beifeng's recent words had muddled Li Huowang's mind: the Sit-Forget Dao's Sze Ming, it seemed, not only controlled falsehoods but also truths. To escape the Xin Su illusions, he would have to seek help from the Sit-Forget Dao's Sze Ming, Dou Mu Tai Yin Tai Yang.

After a moment of brief confusion, Li Huowang's extensive experience dealing with the Sit-Forget Dao quickly brought him back to his senses. "No! I don't believe you! You're lying to me! You're trying to lure me into the Sit-Forget Dao by making me contact Dou Mu!" Compared to Beifeng's nonsensical previous remarks, Li Huowang felt his current argument was more convincing and logical.

Hearing this, Beifeng sighed softly again. "What's there to believe or not believe? Of the fifty Heavenly Daos, Sze Ming claim forty-three. And we, Dou Mu Tai Yin, aren't the only Sze Ming who possess two Heavenly Daos. Surely you know that? Your master truly neglected his duties."

Li Huowang frowned, looking at him, as if he, not Beifeng, was the one trapped in their current situation. *Is this guy faking being captured to feed me false information?* He disliked this feeling; he had to regain control. Fortunately, he had a method. Li Huowang gripped a saw, stained with some bloodstains, and extended it towards Beifeng.

Amidst the agonizing screams, Li Huowang watched the body he was currently inhabiting gradually break apart. Beifeng had fainted from the pain multiple times but was quickly roused by Li Huowang each time.

After several rounds of this, Li Huowang threw the barbed hook, still dangling with bits of flesh, onto the ground. He then turned to Beifeng and enunciated slowly, "Now, I want to know the true method to get rid of illusions!"

Beifeng, weakened and in agony from the torture, stammered disjointedly, "What do you want me to say?! I'm telling you the truth!"

When he saw Li Huowang reach for the remaining torture tools again, he quickly changed his tune. "Wait! If you think it's false and don't want to cultivate immortality, then I'll help you find a way. Why don't you take this body of mine? It's free of illusions and very young. Isn't it better than your riddled body?"

Hearing this, Li Huowang looked down at the body he was currently inhabiting. The more he looked, the more enraged he became. "This is a woman's body, damn it! I don't use other people's bodies! I only want my own!"

"Oh, what's the difference between a man and a woman? Aren't they both human? Why be so rigid in your thinking? Compared to those tormenting illusions, is being male or female really that important?"

As Beifeng continued to mock him, a restless Li Huowang stopped smiling and looked coldly at Beifeng. "Actually, you're still lying to me, aren't you? All that talk about Yin-Yang Heavenly Daos is fake. You haven't practiced any cultivation techniques at all! If you had mastered them, if you could easily use Xin Su's Innate Nothingness, if you could cultivate reality from falsehoods, you would have retaliated long ago when I tortured you just now! You suppress illusions using other methods, not cultivation techniques!"

Hearing this, Beifeng looked utterly speechless. "What on earth are you talking about? Who told you that practicing cultivation techniques makes you incredibly powerful? Is there such a thing as free pies falling from the sky? That person must be a liar! Don't trust him!"

Upon hearing Beifeng's words, Li Huowang decided not to engage him further. Anything he got from this guy's mouth now could be false; continuing to question him would only be a waste of breath. However, since this guy was a Xin Su and could shed illusions, he definitely held a powerful method within him. He was like a locked treasure chest. Now that the chest was found, all that was needed was the key to open it.

Li Huowang took a wine gourd from his waist, pinched Beifeng's neck, and forcibly poured the contents down his throat. "You..." Before Beifeng could utter another word, his head lolled to the side, and his body went limp.

Beifeng understood his own body's vulnerabilities. Its pain perception was not merely heightened; all other senses were amplified as well. The gourd contained strong liquor, enough to render him unconscious for a long time and keep him safely subdued.

But just as Beifeng slumped diagonally to the ground, his body slowly propped itself up again. However, its limbs moved oddly, like a puppet in a string-puppet show, as if suspended by invisible strings.

A double-pupiled eyeball emerged from Beifeng's navel. Beifeng was now unconscious, and Li Sui had taken control of his body. For Li Sui, who already had tentacles extended throughout Li Huowang's own body, taking over Beifeng's body was incredibly easy. In fact, by her own established procedure, she was always supposed to possess Li Huowang's body in this manner.

"Sui Sui, follow me!" Li Huowang retrieved the Grand Thousand Record and other weapons from his back, strapped them on, and cautiously began retracing his steps.

"Dad, where are we going?"

"We're going to find Zhuge Yuan! His magical artifact can subdue Beifeng and make him tell the truth. Also, while we're at it, we'll rescue Zhuge Yuan from this quagmire. I'm just not comfortable leaving him in this chaotic battle."

When Li Huowang cautiously passed through the golden wall and returned to their previous location, he was utterly shocked to see a mass of flames in the distance. The tree was on fire; the entire tree, made entirely of gold, had actually been set ablaze. Molten gold flowed like tentacles, spreading everywhere.

The entire flat, golden ground had now transformed into a landscape of jagged rocks. The terrain had completely changed, sinking overall to form a funnel-like depression. Heavily armored figures lay scattered within. It seemed that during his absence, the military strategists of Daliang had arrived to protect the emperor. Furthermore, the eye in the sky had now descended even lower. Rolling dark clouds, like the brain matter of a monster, enveloped the colossal eyeball from behind, almost pressing down onto the ground!

Seeing the blurry figures in the distance, Li Huowang took a deep breath and quickly rushed towards them. When he saw Zhuge Yuan calmly wielding his judge's brush amidst the chaotic battlefield, a slight sense of relief washed over him. Thankfully, Zhuge Yuan's strength was formidable; even in such an utterly chaotic battle, he could protect himself. Moreover, his position was not at the center of the chaos, so pulling him out wouldn't attract too much attention.

Dodging streams of earthfire and celestial lightning, along with various flying pai gow tiles and mahjong pieces, the chaos around Li Huowang instantly cleared when he approached Zhuge Yuan. He had entered the Great Qi.

Zhuge Yuan looked at Li Huowang's face with great surprise, his judge's brush already poised to point. "Beifeng!"