Chapter 538: Eating Until Full

"Whoosh, whoosh." Qiu Chibao lay on the ground, cheeks puffed out, carefully blowing air onto the kindling beneath the broken bowl. "Grrr, grrr." Hearing her stomach rumble, Qiu Chibao grabbed her waistband and tightened it further. Although her name, Chibao, meant "full from eating," Qiu Chibao rarely had the chance to feel full, whether she was with her parents or, even more so, after she married.

After the fire had burned for a while, seeing its flames weaken, Qiu Chibao immediately grew anxious.

Looking around, she quickly picked up some human bones from a nearby bonfire and placed them into the flames. Only when the fire beneath the broken bowl grew strong again did Qiu Chibao finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She carefully opened the tile covering the broken bowl, revealing three pebbles rolling in the boiling water inside. After gently scraping one of the stones with a rusty knife, a look of delight spread across Qiu Chibao's grimy face.

She replaced the tile and added more kindling, then carefully picked up the swaddled baby, made from tattered cotton and rags, from beside her. She gently rocked him. "My son, the stones are almost boiled soft today. Once they're soft, you drink this stone soup, and not only will your illness be completely cured, but you'll also become an immortal!" Qiu Chibao grew happier with every word, grinning as she looked at her gurgling son in the swaddle. Just as she was speaking, the sleepy crowd around them began to stir, the commotion spreading from far to near.

A sleeping old man nearby was roused. He stretched his arms and, with a kick of his foot, knocked over the broken bowl. "My stone soup!" As Qiu Chibao's mournful cry rang out, followers of the Fa sect, all wearing white headscarves, rose from all directions. "Kill! Kill the one in the red robe! That person killed our Shaman Elder!" The crowd grew noisy, and the atmosphere became heated. "Who! Who killed our Shaman? If there's no Shaman to communicate with Grandpa Shidu, what if the stone soup doesn't work?"

Qiu Chibao, who had been on the ground picking up the stones, instantly forgot her previous emotions. She placed the broken knife inside the swaddle and shakily stood up. She wanted to follow the others towards the source of the noise, but her small, thin stature made it impossible for her to squeeze through. "Make way! Move aside! I can't get through!" Qiu Chibao shouted loudly, but no one paid attention to her.

Suddenly, Qiu Chibao saw the people in front of her part, half to the left and half to the right, as if they had heard her shouts, clearing a path.

A Taoist priest, covered in black tentacles, wearing a red robe, and with a copper coin mask on his face, appeared before her.

Seeing the blade of the priest's weapon held upright before her, Qiu Chibao felt the protection of Grandpa Shidu. Without any fear, she clutched her crying son and charged towards the monster covered in black tentacles.

"I'll make you pay for killing our Shaman! I'll make you pay for ruining my stone soup!" Qiu Chibao shouted through gritted teeth, gripping her rusty small knife and plunging it fiercely into the red-robed priest's chest. However, the next moment, Qiu Chibao suddenly felt everything go black, and then she knew nothing more. "Father, Father!" Li Sui's voice jolted Li Huowang back to reality as he stared at the carnage before him. He couldn't be distracted now! He was surrounded by enemies!

Li Huowang, almost entirely covered in blood, took a deep breath, gripped the hilt of his sword, and pursued Peng Longteng, who was now utterly consumed by the slaughter in the distance. "Don't circle around. Push forward as much as you can."

However, Peng Longteng seemed not to hear Li Huowang's command and continued her rampage. "I'm telling you again! Forward! Be careful, or I'll dematerialize you again and never release you!"

Peng Longteng abruptly stopped and clenched her right hand. With a cracking sound of bone, a wide-mouthed human head in her palm was instantly crushed, red and white matter oozing between her fingers. Although she appeared very resistant, Peng Longteng obediently complied with Li Huowang's threat.

Only with a living body could she fully enjoy this exhilarating slaughter, and to have a body, she currently had to rely on Li Huowang. The tall Peng Longteng lifted two burly men, carving a bloody path through the Fa sect followers like a whirlwind of blood, sweeping away everything in her wake. With Peng Longteng leading the charge, Li Huowang's surroundings became much easier to navigate. Yet, at that moment, he couldn't feel any joy. The image of the woman holding her dead infant lingered persistently in his mind.

He looked around again at the Fa sect followers, observing their emaciated bodies and swollen bellies. All the red before his eyes gradually faded back to its proper colors.

Peng Longteng stepped down, squeezing out the contents of a person's stomach. It contained no food, only solidified clumps of earth – kaolin clay. Eating kaolin clay meant they wouldn't live long. Li Huowang also saw a thin leg, indicating they were still consuming meat made from human remains.

Li Huowang knew that once people joined the Fa sect, they would undoubtedly commit all sorts of evil: burning, killing, and plundering. The Yu'er God they worshipped in this world probably didn't promise them a good life either. But was all this truly a choice for these people?

"May Grandpa Shidu protect us!" An old man with white hair, holding a stick, shouted and charged fearlessly towards Li Huowang. The copper coin sword in Li Sui's hand flew forward, wrapping around the man's neck like a long whip. With a sudden yank, a head fell to the ground. Li Huowang stepped over the head and continued to press forward.

Looking at the faces around him, Li Huowang inexplicably recalled his master, Dan Yangzi, whom he had killed. These people were remarkably similar to Dan Yangzi back then: faithful and ignorant, being wantonly toyed with by others.

When he saw the fanaticism in the eyes of that severed head, Li Huowang understood. The suffering in the human world had stripped these people of everything, including their sanity. They could only pin their hopes on the so-called Yu'er God, even if this very god was the culprit behind their dire circumstances.

They were not wrong, but at this moment, Li Huowang could only carve a path forward with their flesh and blood. Perhaps it was for the best; living like walking corpses, death might even be a release.

Beside him, Jin Shanzhao, now only half a body, trembled as he watched everything unfold. His eyes were filled with grief and indignation, and tears streamed down uncontrollably. "Ugh!" After following Li Huowang for so long, he finally uttered his first sound.

Just as Li Huowang's eyes slightly opened to look at him, the ground suddenly sank, and his lower legs plunged directly into the earth. Immediately, three rising mounds of earth rapidly approached Li Huowang from beneath the feet of the surrounding crowd.

Li Huowang knew that among so many Fa sect followers, there must be some tricky individuals hidden, directing them. He just hadn't expected that even with his speed, these people would still cling to him!