Chapter 505: Dice

“This... this is impossible!” Li Huowang exclaimed, backing away in shock as he stared at Zhuge Yuan. The previous spine sword had completely transformed. Distorted organs and chaotic flesh intertwined, growing out from the spine like a plant.

It hadn't fully developed into a human form, but rather abruptly stopped after only growing various dislocated, bloodied organs, without skin or any resemblance to a person.

Though the sight was horrific, Li Huowang was absolutely certain that this thing was alive! Zhuge Yuan was alive!

“How can you still be alive? You were clearly dead! I strangled you with my own hands! Your soul was absorbed into my delusion!”

The half-grown Zhuge Yuan, emerging from the spine sword, extended his completely skeletal left hand from the flesh. With his bony fingers, he combed his hair, which was matted with blood, from his temples. “Brother Li, what are you talking about? I am Xinpan. Even if a Xinpan dies, the three souls and seven ethereal souls, the ten emotions and eight sufferings, belong to the three previous bodies. How could you possibly take them?”

These words made Li Huowang stumble, his face turning deathly pale. He could barely stand.

“So... so they were nothing at all?”

As these words left Li Huowang's mouth, some past memories in his mind began to change.

In a haze, Li Huowang realized that, in his altered memory, when he had freed himself from the Celestial Families, Ershen had not sacrificed herself. Instead, he had devised a solution that benefited both of them.

That was to kill Ershen with his own hands, making her a delusion just like Zhuge Yuan! Once his cultivation reached mastery, he would then materialize both of them from illusion into reality.

Ershen had agreed, and she had died happily, smiling, at his hands!

“Boss Dice, I just realized, my delusions were all fake... truly, completely fake... Ershen couldn't have lived, she was just a figment of my imagination...”

Behind a messy food stall, Li Huowang sat on a stool, his face filled with despair, repeating numbly.

“Then what can you do by looking for me? Hongzhong, you’ve already killed her. Even I can't do anything; I’m not a god,” the corpulent Dice, frying dough sticks, said with a helpless voice.

“I don't ask you to revive her. I just ask you to help cover up this memory of what I did. Combine false cultivation with lies, you’re good at it, please... I really... I really can't face the delusion of Ershen, whom I killed with my own hands.”

“She's clearly fake! But why does she feel so real? I'm suffering every moment... suffering!”

“Sigh, alright, fine. We’re fellow disciples, so I’ll help you this once. You owe me a huge favor for this, remember to pay it back.”

When Li Huowang awoke from that different memory, he clenched his fists, his face contorted in a ferocious shout: “No! This is impossible! It’s all fake!”

“Senior Brother Li, what’s wrong with you? Pull yourself together,” Bai Lingmiao, her eyes tearful, anxiously reached out to support Li Huowang. Seeing Bai Lingmiao before him, Li Huowang clutched her slender arms as if she were a lifeline, shaking her forcefully.

“Miao Miao! You were there! Tell me! How did Ershen leave?! Was she strangled by me?!”

“Senior Brother Li, what are you talking about? Didn't Ershen disappear with the Celestial Families? What’s going on?”

Hearing this, Li Huowang smiled. Yes, this was fake! It didn't matter if he remembered incorrectly, but could Bai Lingmiao also remember incorrectly?

Just as Li Huowang thought this, he was stunned to see Bai Lingmiao's body rapidly becoming transparent before his eyes.

“Miao Miao!” Li Huowang cried out, trying to embrace her, but his arms passed through empty air as if she were an illusion. His body went right through hers.

“Senior Brother Li, how am I...” As Bai Lingmiao looked down at her transparent body in astonishment, the next moment, her body completely vanished.

“Miao Miao!!!”

“Hongzhong, you can't blame me for this. You were the one who didn't repay the favor first, so it's impossible for me to help you with the favor you asked for earlier.”

The corpulent Dice walked over, smiling, and patted Li Huowang’s shoulder with his greasy hand. “Where’s Miao Miao? Where did you take Bai Lingmiao?!” Li Huowang, his eyes bloodshot, stared at Dice as if he wanted to devour him.

“Ah, don't blame me for this. I said you didn't repay my favor. As for your woman, how would I know where you lost her and then created a real one for yourself from who knows where?” Dice waved his hands repeatedly.

“What did I say before? Cultivating without cultivating falseness will lead to qi deviation sooner or later. A living person is right in front of you; how do you determine if they are real or if you manifested them from illusion into reality? Hmm, hmm, hmm, think about it yourself.” “Hehehe~ But these are minor matters. Do me a favor: as long as you help me enthrone the little emperor, I’ll help you find that woman.”

“It’s all because of you! This is all because of you!” A completely hysterical Li Huowang reached behind him and pulled, slamming the flesh-wrapped Great Thousand Records onto the ground.

Then, Li Huowang gripped two barbed iron hooks, plunging them fiercely into his abdomen, one on each side! As various intestines were dragged out by the hooks and violently impaled upon the Great Thousand Records, the sky and earth suddenly changed color, and everyone’s five senses nearby began to converge.

“Oh dear, what are you doing? What are you doing? Are you going to perform ‘Ascending the Dung Beetle’ even on your own boss?” Dice retreated without any fear.

Just as Li Huowang felt a gaze, countless times clearer than previous times, fall upon him, he gradually stopped. As the Great Thousand Records on the ground completely transformed into human skin, Bahui’s gaze in the air slowly vanished.

Li Huowang, kneeling on one knee, stayed there. As he gasped for air, the intense pain in his body and mind gradually subsided.

This time, unlike previous instances, Ascending the Dung Beetle had no effect on Dice. His true body wasn't here; the stout man in front of him was merely a pawn in his hands.

Since Miao Miao was already in his possession, if he wanted to rescue her, he absolutely couldn't act impulsively now. The opponent held good cards, while he had none. Playing recklessly would only make the situation worse, especially when playing against Dice.

Li Huowang gritted his teeth, enduring the severe pain, and tremblingly pushed the large and small intestines, inverted, back into his abdomen. “Dice! Didn’t you tell me to return to Shangjing? Fine! I’ll assist Ji Lin in ascending the throne! And you will return Bai Lingmiao to me, whole and complete, not a single hair missing!”

“If you really get Ji Lin on the throne, then I’ll help you find the White-Haired Woman. But Hongzhong, let me make this clear: I truly didn’t kidnap her. We are members of the Zuowang Dao; if we committed something as foolish as kidnapping, it would be a disgrace to our Ancestor!”

Li Huowang sneered internally; he wouldn't believe a single word Dice said.

This whole thing was Dice’s scheme from beginning to end! The Supervisor of Heaven's Bureau he encountered on the way, carrying the spine sword—that was probably all his doing, meant to deceive him and make him believe he owed Dice a favor!

No! This scheme might have started even earlier! Perhaps it was his doing that Li Huowang coincidentally witnessed Ji Lin being deceived during the Shangyi Festival!