Chapter 439: Zhuge Yuan

Seeing Zhuge Yuan fighting desperately for him, Li Huowang could no longer remain confused and conflicted about his own identity. No matter who he was, he owed Zhuge Yuan his life, and fleeing was simply not an option.

Gritting his teeth, Li Huowang scanned his surroundings. Spotting the Daliang Emperor and the Imperial Astronomers embroiled in battle with the dice, he pushed off the ground and leaped towards them.

Each time his shoe sole was about to touch the liquid surface, Li Huowang would swiftly flip his hand, sending a leaf tile flying forward. These tiles would settle like lotus leaves, providing him instant footholds. He advanced rapidly, skimming across the surface like a dragonfly.

The dice were clearly not engaged in a death match; they were merely toying with their opponents, seemingly waiting for Doumu to free herself and eliminate everyone present once and for all.

Reaching the periphery of the chaotic battle, Li Huowang shouted, "Is there a living 'Heart-Turbid' placed within the core of this formation?" He didn't expect a direct answer, but upon noticing a subtle shift in expression from one of the junior Imperial Astronomers, he instantly used his past experience in deception to deduce the implied caution behind it.

The junior astronomer's wary reaction, rather than confusion, confirmed it: there had to be a living Heart-Turbid within the formation's core. It made perfect sense; given the principle of yin and yang opposing each other, if a dead Heart-Turbid served as the core, a living one would naturally be present as well.

Without hesitation, Li Huowang darted off in a new direction. This move was naturally noticed by the Sit-Forget Sect. One of the dice looked at Li Huowang, who was now leaping away, with a hint of surprise. "Hey, what did you tell that Red Zhong to do?" he asked another die nearby. "How should I know? That's clearly a Daliang Red Zhong, one of *your* people. Why are you asking me?" "What rot! Are you blind? That's *your* Great Qi Red Zhong!"

Meanwhile, Li Huowang had reached a section on the eastern side. A golden palace should have stood there, but the gold had long since flowed away to form the God Mountain Ghost Mask, leaving only empty, floating frameworks. Li Huowang surged to the center of the structure, only to find a dead, translucent white fox at the formation's core. This was clearly the eye of the formation.

He launched himself into the air. With a powerful sweep of his hand, "One-Eyed Chicken" mahjong tiles scattered across the surface, skipping like stones and spinning outwards in all directions. The eyes depicted on these tiles blinked rapidly, as if alive. Everything these "One-Eyed Chickens" observed was instantly relayed to Li Huowang's mind, allowing him to quickly ascertain the cores of the other side sections.

Half an incense stick's time later, Li Huowang stood on a piece of floating debris, gazing down at an old man buried in the earth, resembling rotting wood. Like the previous Heart-Turbid, his seven orifices were sealed with golden threads. The only distinction was a swastika symbol affixed solely to his chest.

Glancing at Zhuge Yuan, who was steadily plummeting from above, Li Huowang took a deep breath. He twisted his body, directly scooping up the living Heart-Turbid. Without a moment's hesitation, once it was in his grasp, Li Huowang flicked his right hand, producing four "White Board" mahjong tiles. He slapped them forcefully onto the Heart-Turbid's back. "Kong!" The White Boards vanished into its body, and an immense force propelled the Heart-Turbid soaring towards the sky.

But he wasn't finished. As the living Heart-Turbid flew towards Doumu in the sky, Li Huowang swiftly found the dead Heart-Turbid he had first encountered in the imperial city—the very one he and Jixiang had discovered previously!

As two pairs of Pai Gow tiles plunged into its form, Li Huowang executed a "Golden Hook Inversion," delivering a powerful kick to the dead Heart-Turbid's back. Leaving a faint afterimage, the dead Heart-Turbid shot towards the living one in mid-air.

Witnessing the combined destructive power of the living and dead Heart-Turbids, Li Huowang immediately conceived of using them against Doumu. At that very moment, apart from Zhuge Yuan's abilities, this was the only tactic capable of harming Doumu's avatar.

"Brother Zhuge! Move! The living and dead Heart-Turbids are about to collide!" Li Huowang yelled skyward.

Zhuge Yuan, whose veins bulged across his body, saw this unfold and instantly exhaled in relief. Mustering all his remaining strength, he hurled the Judge's Brush high into the air before collapsing backward, falling limply towards the ground.

The moment a highly tense Li Huowang securely caught the falling Zhuge Yuan, an intensely dark flash of light erupted in the sky: the living and dead Heart-Turbids had collided.

When the light vanished, Li Huowang looked up. A massive, gaping void had appeared on Doumu's body. It wasn't just on Doumu; it seemed as if everything within a gigantic sphere encompassing the entire sky had been completely scooped out.

As her body dramatically diminished in size, Doumu's entire form gradually became unstable, flickering between clear and ethereal.

Li Huowang could sense its gaze upon him, but now, it was powerless to pull him up.

With one final, profound gaze, Doumu, who had dominated the sky, gradually vanished.

Witnessing this, Li Huowang smiled, then burst out excitedly, "Brother Zhuge! Brother Zhuge, we succeeded! We suc—" His triumphant cry abruptly ceased as he looked down at Zhuge Yuan. He had aged significantly, his entire body appearing to be cracking, on the verge of disintegration.

It wasn't merely his physical form; using his Sit-Forget Sect abilities, Li Huowang perceived Zhuge Yuan's Ten Passions and Eight Sufferings. Their state was dire: they had become tangled and were transforming into a lifeless gray.

Faced with this sight, Li Huowang felt a surge of helplessness. He desperately sifted through both Red Zhong's and his own memories, seeking any glimmer of a chance to save him.

Yet, despite Li Huowang's fervent refusal to accept it, his rational mind told him Zhuge Yuan was beyond rescue.

Zhuge Yuan's body was now like a bowl with a broken base, steadily leaking its contents.

To have resisted Doumu's avatar for so long, single-handedly, had completely depleted Zhuge Yuan of everything.

Just as Li Huowang frantically searched for auspicious yellow paper, intending to use talismans as a desperate last resort, Zhuge Yuan called out to him.

"Brother Li, don't waste your efforts," Zhuge Yuan said. "I am not afraid of death, and you needn't blame yourself. I didn't do this just for you, but also for all the people in this world."

Watching Zhuge Yuan's irreversible decline towards death, tears welled in Li Huowang's eyes. He gasped, his voice ragged with frustration. "This wretched place is already so ruined! What's the point of being so noble?! Who would blame you if you ran away?! Did I even ask you to save me? I'm from the Sit-Forget Sect! Why on earth would you save *me*?!"

Zhuge Yuan offered a faint smile. "This is not nobility. It is simply because I have read a few more ancient texts than others, and I know what should be done and what should not. While I dare not presume to call myself a gentleman, abandoning a friend in distress and fleeing alone—that is something I could never do."