Chapter 537: Law Teaching

Li Huowang was momentarily dazed when he suddenly heard someone calling him, "Daoist Master! Daoist Master!" The small-footed man from before swayed as he approached Li Huowang, examining his face with a fawning smile. "Daoist Master, are you leaving? Why don't you stay for a few more nights?" Li Sui, who was very curious, suddenly asked, "What exactly are you doing here?"

Hearing this, the small-footed man immediately lifted the lid of a nearby pot. As steam dispersed, a watermelon-sized stone lay quietly in the boiling pot. "We're boiling stone soup! This is very nourishing. Drinking this stone soup not only fills you up but also extends your life! And if you keep boiling it until the stone is completely soft, then drink it—ah! You can go to the Immortal Realm and enjoy yourself, never having to suffer in this mortal world again!"

"Hmm," Li Huowang frowned, looking at the man in surprise. After a few moments, he spoke again, "Boiling stone soup? Becoming an immortal? I think you might have been tricked by the Sitting-Forget Sect."

The small-footed man replaced the clay pot lid, asking with a touch of confusion, "Daoist Master, what is the Sitting-Forget Sect? I've never heard of it." "Stop boiling it. Whoever told you that, they're definitely a liar. Stones can't be boiled soft, and drinking stone water won't make you an immortal." Li Huowang offered this warning, feeling he had done his part. He immediately stepped past the cooking stoves, preparing to leave. But as he walked, Li Huowang saw a group of men with unfriendly expressions moving through the field of clay pots, surrounding him. When he saw that they, like the small-footed man, wore white headscarves, Li Huowang's hand instinctively gripped his sword hilt. "Who are you calling a liar?! Say that again if you dare! These are the words passed down by Grandfather Shidu from the heavens!"

"Shidu?" As Li Huowang repeated the name, he realized he was surrounded by men and women, all wearing white headscarves. With a *shing*, Li Huowang abruptly drew his Purple Tassel Sword again. An overwhelming surge of malevolent energy emanated outwards. "Get out of my way, all of you!" Seeing Li Huowang in such a state, the people immediately scattered slightly, fear etched on their faces.

However, they didn't scatter far, and more white-headscarved individuals emerged from the alleys, gathering around as if drawn by a spectacle. "Brother Li, leave quickly! I've been in Daqi for a long time, and I've never heard of any 'Shidu.' These people are not right!" "Hmm!" As Li Huowang opened his mouth, Li Sui, as if sharing his thoughts, instantly burrowed inside him.

Black tentacles burst from Li Huowang's body. With a violent flick, various clay pots from the stoves flew up, splashing their boiling water onto the crowd. Cries of pain and distress immediately erupted from those scalded. "Go!" Li Huowang's feet, along with four adjacent tentacles, pushed off the ground with a powerful thrust. His body soared high, flying over the heads of the people and towards the distant fields. Just as he was about to reach his destination, Li Huowang's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a white figure.

The next moment, two tentacles extending from his armpits whipped out violently, cracking twice in the air like whips. As the sounds echoed, the white figure was flung to the ground, landing face-first. When Li Huowang saw the large "Wu" character on the white cloth covering the person's face, his expression turned grim. He had seen people dressed like this in Daliang; only there, their coverings were black, while here in Daqi, they were white. "There's no such thing as Shidu! This is simply another name for Yu'er God! These people with white headscarves are actually Daqi's Dharma Sect!"

"Daqi also has a Dharma Sect? This natural disaster has affected both sides." Zhuge Yuan's expression became much more serious, as if recalling something. The person in the distance was just about to stand up when the towering Peng Longteng descended from the sky, crashing heavily onto them. With a resounding *thud* and the sound of cracking bones, the surrounding earth was sent flying upwards.

However, it wasn't over. Seeing that person killed, the white-headscarved individuals by the pots in the distance seemed to go mad. They clawed stones from the clay pots with their bare hands and charged towards Li Huowang with a desperate, guttural roar. "I can't get entangled with them!" Two talismans affixed themselves to Li Huowang's legs, and his body shot out of the city gate, leaving an afterimage.

But just outside the city gate, Li Huowang froze. The vast open space beyond the gate was densely packed with emaciated, ragged disaster victims. Yet, no matter how dirty or torn their clothes were, every single person wore a white headscarf – they were all adherents of the Dharma Sect. "I should have known. The harder life gets, the more fertile ground there is for these cults! The Dharma Sect's influence in Daqi is likely much greater than in Daliang!" "Brothers and sisters! Rise up! That red-robed Daoist killed our shaman!"

With a shout from the city wall, the disaster victims stirred. They rose unsteadily, all turning to stare at Li Huowang. Feeling the dense network of eyes on him and seeing the endless stream of victims before him, Li Huowang gritted his teeth. He tightened his grip on the Purple Tassel Sword in his right hand, then used his other hand to pull out the broad Spine Sword, slamming it heavily onto the ground.

Li Sui's tentacles also opened Li Huowang's torture tool bag. Except for the one gripping the copper coin sword, every other tentacle held a gleaming, sharpened torture instrument. "Arghhh!!!" The emaciated disaster victims, their gums showing through their yellowed teeth, surged towards Li Huowang like a tide of corpses. "Li Sui! Let's go!" Li Huowang pushed off with his feet, charging fearlessly into the throng.

With a mighty swing of the Spine Sword, the disaster victims in front of him immediately fell like rice stalks cut in a field, their halved bodies spraying blood. Li Huowang leaped high into the crowd and crashed down heavily, each landing point stirring up a bloody storm. Although the Dharma Sect followers were numerous, not a single one could withstand a single strike from Li Huowang.

The Purple Tassel Sword truly lived up to its reputation as a military weapon. Even after killing so many, Li Huowang didn't tire; instead, the more he killed, the stronger he became. He realized he had misused the Purple Tassel Sword in the past; this kind of battlefield was where it truly belonged. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" With the Purple Tassel Sword in hand, Li Huowang was utterly consumed by the slaughter, everything around him appeared red.

*Clang!* The Purple Tassel Sword swung down heavily, slicing through a sickle as if it were mud. But just as Li Huowang instinctively aimed at the next person blocking his path, he suddenly...