Chapter 696: Stomach

"Don't overthink it! You won't die!" Li Huowang sharply countered his daughter's pessimistic thoughts. "Come! Think with me! I don't have bugs inside me! I don't have bugs inside me!!"

As Li Huowang activated his Primordial Qi, the bugs inside his body gradually transformed back into his flesh and blood.

Although the immediate problem was solved, the external troubles remained. Li Huowang wasn't afraid of individual evil spirits, but an endless swarm of them posed a significant challenge.

Accompanied by wailing and howling, evil spirits from all directions lunged at Li Huowang. "Swish!" His copper coin sword, which could slay evil and break curses, swept out in a long arc, instantly cleaving the surrounding spirits into black mist.

Before the black mist could disperse, various evil spirits surged forward again.

"Miaomiao!" Li Huowang raised his fluorite high, searching for his people within the earthen dragon.

"Senior Brother Li, I'm here!" Li Huowang immediately ran toward the sound and soon found the White Lotus followers, who were sitting cross-legged in a lotus position.

They were naked, revealing white donkey tattoos on their backs. In unison, they chanted a spell: "There was something nebulous and complete, born before heaven and earth. Silent and boundless, it stands alone and unchanging, operating without cease, it can be the mother of all under heaven..."

To Li Huowang's surprise, neither the White Lotus followers nor Bai Lingmiao, who was sitting in the center of the followers, had any bugs on them. Furthermore, the surrounding evil spirits dared not approach them in the slightest.

Bai Lingmiao, who now had two upper bodies, also sat cross-legged. Both of her mouths chanted along with the other White Lotus followers, and the twin lotus mark on her forehead faintly glowed. Li Huowang slammed a tentacle onto the ground and leaped before Bai Lingmiao. "What? Does the White Lotus Sect have a way to break this situation?"

Bai Lingmiao, whose two heads were covered by red veils, gently shook her head. "No, this place is very strange."

Hearing this, Li Huowang understood that if they couldn't escape this eerie place in time, the situation would only worsen step by step.

"How do we escape?" He pondered this question, observing the chaotic surroundings.

When he saw the others fighting individually, Li Huowang immediately had an idea: this cursed place wasn't entirely devoid of hope.

"Everyone! Gather this way!" Li Huowang's shout echoed in the stomach. "We cannot fight individually now; only by working together can we escape! No bugs will grow inside you near the White Lotus followers!"

In this situation, those who had survived were all skilled individuals. When they saw that people near the White Lotus followers remained unchanged, they immediately understood.

Under Li Huowang's call, all who were still alive moved toward him.

Furthermore, Li Huowang didn't forget the two dragon veins. He took advantage of the chaos to rescue the other dragon vein. Even if the dragon vein was bait, things had come to this, and he had to "eat the bait."

As they approached, the chanting of the White Lotus followers became noticeably strained, and some bugs began to emerge on their bodies. It seemed that the addition of these people made it difficult for them to maintain their concentration.

The situation was critical. Li Huowang immediately said to Bai Lingmiao, "Can your people move? Tell them to move aside!"

Bai Lingmiao nodded with difficulty. "...Alright."

When he saw all the White Lotus followers moving southward, Li Huowang extended a dozen tentacles. He lifted the cross-legged Bai Lingmiao above his head and quickly followed. The White Lotus followers walked slowly, as they had to move while chanting, but fortunately, they reached the edge without major incident.

The situation was dire. Li Huowang gave a concise explanation to the others. "As you've all seen, we've been ambushed. If you want to survive, we need to get out of here! To get out, we must dig a hole through this earthen dragon!"

After speaking, Li Huowang raised his Zishui Sword and drew a large circle directly on the adjacent stomach wall. "Don't think it's impossible. I just dug here; this wall isn't that hard. Those who've survived until now are all skilled, so let's all work together! We'll definitely escape!"

Driven by the desire to survive, no one contradicted Li Huowang. They all pulled out various magical artifacts and unleashed different spiritual powers, attacking the circle Li Huowang had drawn.

Zheng Boqiao, the Supervisor of the Siping Heavenly Bureau, also held nothing back. With a wide-open mouth, he spat out various elixirs and distributed them. Under their combined attack, the circle Li Huowang had just drawn quickly vanished, leaving an ever-expanding giant pit in its place.

"It's working!!" Seeing this, Li Huowang finally saw hope of escape. "Go! Let's go in!" At Li Huowang's command, everyone moved closer to the giant pit, causing it to deepen even further.

"Senior Brother Li! Hurry! Everyone's about to collapse!" The White Lotus followers were all pale, their bodies swaying precariously.

Seeing Bai Lingmiao's red veil completely soaked with sweat, Li Huowang intertwined his fingers and stared at the pit before him.

Under his gaze, the pit, like clay, was rapidly forced open, its expansion speed increasing further.

Noticing Li Huowang's strange ability, Zheng Boqiao ran a fingernail over a bulge, then inserted two fingers and pulled.

"Here!" He handed a still-wriggling, blood-red tumor to Li Huowang. "Quickly eat this immortal elixir I've treasured for years! It can temporarily grant you the strength of an immortal!"

Li Huowang opened his mouth, and two tentacles extended from it, coiling around the tumor and dragging it back into his throat. The moment he swallowed it, Li Huowang immediately felt his stomach churn violently.

Before he could cover his stomach with his hands, a surge of energy from his abdomen rushed directly into his mind. The next moment, flesh splattered, and his entire head split down the middle, revealing a fist-sized head.

The small head rapidly grew, reaching normal size, while the two split halves of his original head quickly grew back. Finally, Li Huowang had three heads resting together on his shoulders.

With two squelching sounds, two pairs of bloody, mangled arms extended from Li Huowang's back. Zheng Boqiao's elixir had actually transformed Li Huowang into a true "three heads and six arms" being. Bearing three heads, the sensation was peculiar; he seemed to feel that the Primordial Qi within him had tripled.

As Li Huowang raised his right hand, the stomach wall, which had been like rock, no longer merely pushed aside but rapidly split open.

"Go!" As Li Huowang's three heads spoke simultaneously, they quickened their pace and pushed their way inside.

Led by Li Huowang, everyone moved significantly faster. However, the earthen dragon's stomach wall seemed endless and incredibly thick.

"Faster! Even faster!!" Anxious Li Huowang pushed forward desperately. As the pressure intensified, all three of his heads began to throb with pain.

Just then, Li Huowang heard movement behind him. When the head on his left twisted to look, he discovered a wall blocking their previous path, pressing in on them. It was a wall of evil spirits! A wall built from evil spirits!!

"Pah!" A White Lotus follower spat blood and collapsed. The stable environment around them began to crumble, and Li Huowang started to feel something stirring within his stomach again.

Now that the arrow was drawn, there was no turning back. He could only lead the others and charge forward with all his might!

As the first fell, soon a second and a third followed. With more White Lotus followers collapsing, the bugs reappeared within everyone's bodies, and the wall of evil spirits behind them pressed closer and closer.

"Faster! Faster!" Just as the wall of evil spirits was about to engulf them all, Li Huowang's mind went blank, and the oppressive feeling from ahead vanished! They were out!