Chapter 688: The City of Kuocang

The land belonging to Hou Shu, bordering Si Qi and Qing Qiu, appeared significantly more barren. This was true whether compared to Si Qi, with its abundant water and numerous lakes, or Qing Qiu, where cattle and sheep roamed freely.

The region was characterized by an endless expanse of strange, jagged rocks and parched, cracked Gobi desert. While some greenery existed, it was sparse, primarily consisting of drought-resistant plants that blended seamlessly with the desolate landscape.

However, Li Huowang had long grown accustomed to such sights. It had been some time since they left the coast, after he had killed the celestial creature capable of conjuring clouds and rain.

Both Li Huowang and his companions had, by now, completely changed their attire, appearing indistinguishable from ordinary refugees. Given that Hou Shu was currently at war with the Dharma Sect, encountering anyone could prove dangerous.

Yet, even under these precautions, the ongoing chaos meant that troubles ceaselessly plagued their journey.

"Clang! Bang!" Two swords clashed violently in mid-air. Li Huowang opened his mouth wide, unleashing writhing black tentacles that rapidly engulfed the bandit’s face, tearing it clean off.

Beside him, Lu Xiucai raised his jagged sword and charged. Confronting the enemy, he unhesitatingly used bamboo slivers to pry off two of his fingernails, flinging them directly at his foe.

Long arrows struck his paper-lined belly wrap, inscribed with protective incantations, yet merely produced a metallic clang.

Despite confronting these well-equipped bandits, Lu Xiucai showed no fear; his eyes held only an unyielding hatred.

Throughout their journey, Lu Xiucai had proven to be the most impactful presence on Li Huowang, driven by an intense desire to avenge his family.

Whenever they encountered the Dharma Sect, he was invariably the first to charge into battle.

Observing several distant bandits dipping their arrowheads in black dog blood and re-aiming at Lu Xiucai, Li Huowang raised his Spine Sword and forcefully flung it in their direction. "Swish!" A rift tore through the air towards them.

The rift not only sliced them in half, but the peculiar liquid gushing forth from it fused them all into a single, grotesque mass.

While the Spine Sword could no longer function as a key to Da Qi, its destructive power in Li Huowang's hands, when wielded solely for killing enemies, had only grown.

This group comprised both soldiers and bandits—or, more accurately, deserters who had turned to banditry. The region's power dynamics weren't limited to just Hou Shu and the Dharma Sect; they also included the unfortunate souls caught in the crossfire.

Regardless of their identity, however, they were utterly outmatched against Li Huowang and his companions.

The battle soon quieted. After a brief clearance of the corpses from their path, everyone resumed their journey.

Their composure stemmed from the fact that such encounters were far from uncommon.

The mere presence of bandits on the capital's outskirts served as stark evidence of Hou Shu's crumbling social order.

Li Huowang’s convoy had fewer carriages now, and fewer White Lotus Cult followers accompanied Bai Lingmiao. They had all been dispatched to spread the White Lotus teachings throughout Hou Shu.

"At our current pace, we should arrive in roughly three hours!" Li Huowang's words spurred the weary travelers to muster their strength, gritting their teeth as they pressed onward.

As they drew closer, the ground showed an increasing number of animal droppings and footprints. However, alongside these signs of life, the number of dead bodies also grew.

Rotting skeletons lay scattered like refuse, casually discarded by the wayside.

A flicker of unbearable sorrow crossed Bai Lingmiao's face. She knew she couldn't possibly bury them all. This was a world of chaos, where life held the least value, whether it was the lives of the Hou Shu people or those who followed the Dharma Sect.

"Boom, boom, boom~" A hand with long, black fingernails gently tapped a hide drum. She began to sing in a mournful tone: "Holding a stick of incense~ Smoke ascends to the Nine Heavens~ Shredded paper hangs on the main gate, oh~~ White sails adorn the second gate~ Smoke, clouds, and clear winds are returning to heaven, ah~~~..."

As the drum continued its rhythmic thrum, cool breezes swept through, gently rustling the clothes of those present. The atmosphere gradually grew heavy and oppressive.

"Amitabha, Amitabha... Amitabha..."

Listening to the monk's chants for the deceased, Li Huowang sighed softly. There were times when he genuinely wished that ghosts truly existed.

If ghosts existed, the good could avenge themselves against evildoers; if ghosts existed, one could appeal to King Yama; if ghosts existed, then at least this world would possess order and the cycle of reincarnation.

Many people feared ghosts, yet ghosts, in reality, represented the most beautiful—

What a beautiful lie.

Bai Lingmiao's mournful chanting never ceased, simply because the discovery of skeletal remains and rotting corpses continued unabated.

Amidst Bai Lingmiao’s chanting, a colossal stone city emerged before them. Built into the mountainside, the entire city sloped from its highest points to its lowest, making it highly defensible and formidable to attack.

From Li Huowang’s vantage point, a vast and majestic mountain city unfolded before him. This was Kuocang City, the seat of the Hou Shu Sky Surveyor Department.

Observing the cheval de frise surrounding the city walls and various marks on the walls themselves, Li Huowang discerned that the city had clearly undergone a siege.

While the walls appeared unbreached, the enemy’s proximity to the capital itself attested to the extreme peril of the current situation.

Presenting his waist token from the Da Liang Sky Surveyor Department, Li Huowang and his companions gained smooth entry into the colossal mountain city.

Li Huowang had no intention of concealing his identity. The moment he donned his red Taoist robe again, the Hou Shu Sky Surveyor Department quickly became aware of his arrival.

To Li Huowang’s surprise, the Hou Shu officials initially paid him no mind. Instead, they sought out Bai Lingmiao and the numerous White Lotus Cult followers she had brought.

However, he did not wait long before an official from the Sky Surveyor Department arrived to guide him.

As with other regions, Hou Shu’s Sky Surveyor Department was situated underground. However, given Kuocang City’s peculiar construction, Li Huowang understood it was more accurately located *within* the mountain itself.

"Where is Xuanpin?" Li Huowang asked Shangguan Yuting, who had accompanied him throughout the journey. Witnessing the state of affairs along the way, he understood just how critical the current situation had become.

"Wait here for a moment; I'll go find her," Shangguan Yuting replied. Lifting her skirt, she then walked directly into the adjacent stone wall.

Li Huowang sat on a stone stool, quietly waiting and suppressing his rising anxiety. His mind incessantly replayed and calculated the worst possible outcomes.

"You've arrived? You're a bit slower than I anticipated," Xuanpin remarked, sitting on the opposite side of the stone table. He aimed the gaping, dark void beneath his red Taoist robe directly at Li Huowang.

Li Huowang didn't bother to question Xuanpin's arrival. "If you wanted to arrive quickly," he retorted, "you should have summoned me when you first came to Hou Shu."

"You were occupied with other matters then; even if I had summoned you, you wouldn't have come," Xuanpin replied, shifting his body to reveal a figure standing behind him.

It was a man wearing a brass mask, which was dark yellow overall. Though ostensibly a single mask, it appeared to be contorted by two grim human faces crammed onto its surface.

With bristling beards, protruding fangs, and furious eyes, the two grotesque faces, one above the other, seemed to be locked in a perpetual struggle for dominance.

And crowning these two faces, like a grotesque hat, was a circlet of egg-sized skulls.