Chapter 607: Xu

Despite not knowing how it happened, he was undeniably real again at that moment. Fearing his opponent would use that strange ability to make him illusory again, Li Huowang immediately launched a counterattack.

"Dad, my copper coin sword is missing."

Li Huowang, at that moment, was entirely focused on the kneeling masked man and the five Xinsu, completely oblivious to Li Sui's words.

"Die!" Li Huowang wielded his spine sword with force, striking towards the five Xinsu.

The five Xinsu, engrossed in their ritual, had no idea that Li Huowang would suddenly become real from his illusory state at that very moment. With a *whoosh*, the heads of the five Xinsu, along with their shoulders, were severed.

"Feel your heads! They're gone!"

As soon as they heard Li Huowang's chilling words and simultaneously touched their heads, their bodies instantly went limp, collapsing to the ground, never to rise again.

Having finally dealt with the troublesome five, Li Huowang unhesitatingly redirected his blade towards Doumu Xinpan, who was seated in the wooden chair.

The instant they made contact, the entire floor suddenly split open like a gaping maw, its sharp wooden splinters and spikes snapping shut to swallow them whole. Intersecting wooden spikes, resembling a chaotic array of daggers, jutted from the floor. The roofless cabin fell silent once more, utterly devoid of any living presence.

Minutes ticked by as the dark clouds in the sky gradually expanded. From the deepest part of these clouds, an eye emerged—the eye of the Ghost of Divine Mountain, which Doumu had previously possessed. At that very moment, a blood-red worm, its sharp-toothed mouth agape, gnawed through the wooden floor and burrowed out, furiously devouring all the surrounding timber. This seemed to be merely the beginning; more and more flesh-worms emerged from beneath the wood, voraciously consuming every piece of timber in sight. Soon, the entire floor was riddled with holes, exposing Li Huowang beneath to the open sky.

Li Huowang's chest was wide open at this point, completely filled with writhing flesh. To combat Doumu Xinpan, he had unhesitatingly sacrificed his five vital organs to Bahui, performing the ritual of "Intercalary Five Elements." This life-for-power ability was immensely potent. With a grunt, Li Huowang lifted the spine sword and plunged it deeply into Doumu Xinpan's prominently swollen belly. As he twisted it with force, the darkness in the sky swirled even more rapidly.

Even though it was futile, Yin-Yang Doumu raised her hands and desperately tried to hold down the plunging spine sword. "Still alive?" As the tentacles beneath him pushed hard against the ground, Li Huowang leaped high, landing directly on the sword's hilt. The sharp spine sword pressed down with crushing force, finally pinning Doumu Xinpan firmly to the wooden planks. The task he had promised Ji Zai was at last complete.

In that very instant, the world suddenly underwent a drastic change. Li Huowang's body passed directly through the spine sword, his physical form and the sword seemingly dislocated from each other. The spine sword was inside him, yet he felt no pain. He could even clearly see the sword by simply looking down. Having experienced this before, Li Huowang recognized the sensation. He understood he had turned illusory again. However, this time, Li Huowang realized that not only he but also the entire ship, the entire sea, and possibly even the entire world seemed to have lost their physical form in that instant. Everything real had vanished, leaving only the illusory behind.

This state, however, did not last long. Suddenly, the "reality" of the entire world returned, and the illusory vanished in its stead. A bewildered Qiuchi Bao, the Monk, and Jinshan Zhao all looked down, feeling the solidity of their own bodies.

"I'm alive? I'm truly alive?! I can go perform a thousand good deeds again?" The Monk bounced around in ecstasy.

"What is happening?" Li Huowang pondered inwardly. Then, a look of sudden realization crossed his face, and he immediately looked up at the sky. "So that's it," he murmured. "Is this the origin of the Heavenly Disaster?" Since he had dealt with Doumu's Xinpan, Ji Zai was likely now possessing Yin-Yang Doumu's True and False Heavenly Dao. This Heavenly Disaster must be the result of the Fates' struggle and its influence.

With a *thud*, Peng Longteng, feeling her body become real again, unhesitatingly left Li Huowang and rushed towards the ship's rail. But just as she prepared to climb, her hand passed directly through the broken wood she grasped, and she once again became Li Huowang's illusion.

"Ah, why did it change back?" The Monk looked disappointed as his body vanished.

"Is this truly over?" Li Huowang closed his eyes, sensing his surroundings. Since the Heavenly Disaster had concluded so swiftly, his Fated Opponent, Ji Zai, had likely completely mastered Doumu's True and False Heavenly Dao. Logically, his future self mastering two Heavenly Daos should be a momentous event, yet Li Huowang felt nothing.

A strange *whooshing* sound emerged from directly above him. Li Huowang looked up. The strong wind tousled his bangs as an armed helicopter, gleaming with red light, appeared in the sky. Seeing the Chinese characters on the helicopter's underside, Li Huowang offered a helpless smile.

"It seems Old Man Liu really did call the police." With such a massive commotion, resolving this situation wouldn't be easy, especially with a boat full of corpses. He looked down at the dying Xu Shou, an indifferent expression on his face. "It doesn't matter. At least Yang Na and my parents are safe now."

Staring at the culprit, Li Huowang grew increasingly annoyed. He bent down, reached out, and took the sunglasses from Xu Shou's face, putting them on his own. "Although you've caused so much trouble and even made me lose an arm, I don't blame you. Just be more careful in your next life!"

Xu Shou, with a hand adorned by a ring, pressed down on the profusely bleeding wound left by the copper coin sword. His lips trembled open, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as if he wanted to speak. "Hm? What did you say?" Li Huowang leaned his head slightly closer.

But at that very moment, Li Huowang's pupils constricted. He realized he had seen Xu Shou's face without the sunglasses somewhere before! Distant memories rapidly resurfaced in his mind. Soon, a dirty, squalid nunnery appeared in his thoughts: An Ci An!

"Xu'er? Are you Xu'er? Are you Master Jingxin's son, Xu'er?!" Li Huowang questioned Xu Shou anxiously. Carefully examining every detail, Li Huowang became certain: the man before him looked exactly like the Xinsu son Master Jingxin had raised within her own flesh, whose limbs had completely atrophied! This revelation instantly made Li Huowang's skin crawl. The chaotic and complex information made his head throb. Everything had been fine moments ago, but suddenly, his thoughts were in utter disarray.