Chapter 697: New

Pushing through the rift Li Huowang had forced open, everyone rushed out. A wave of genuine joy washed over their faces as they felt the sudden, vast emptiness surrounding them. They had escaped!

It appeared the Earth Dragon wasn't underground but had surfaced. The area was profoundly dark and empty, as if the catastrophe hadn't fully subsided.

With a Yu'er deity overhead, Li Huowang didn't dare to look up. He couldn't discern their location, but he was certain it wasn't Yunze.

"Ahhh!" A scream pierced the air. Li Huowang turned to see some people being dragged back into the fissure by the emerging malevolent entities.

"Quickly, let's go!" someone shouted. "The worms in our bellies are still multiplying, and the Earth Dragon is still affecting us!"

Hearing this, Li Huowang pulled Bai Lingmiao along, leading the others swiftly away from the fissure on the Earth Dragon's belly.

They walked quickly, soon leaving the malevolent entities behind. Everyone's demeanor had noticeably improved.

As they walked, Li Huowang suddenly stopped, staring blankly at a faint, indistinct figure in the distant darkness.

The figure wore a filthy greenish-blue Taoist robe, hair in a bun with a crown, and white hair at the temples. A few scattered yellow teeth were visible in their prognathous mouth.

"Hehe... Child, you've done so well, so very well!"

"Get lost!" Li Huowang roared, not caring what this Dan Yangzi truly was. He drew his spine sword and flung it directly towards the figure.

The spine sword flew forward, striking the figure. Dan Yangzi silently dissipated, leaving nothing behind.

"Senior Brother Li," Bai Lingmiao asked, looking at him with a worried expression, "Senior Brother Li, what's wrong?"

"What? You didn't see Dan Yangzi just now?"

"Senior Brother Li, there was no Dan Yangzi," Bai Lingmiao asked anxiously, grabbing his hands. "What's wrong with you? Didn't you say your illness was cured?"

"Bai Lingmiao can't see it... only I can," Li Huowang muttered. "Could it be that I'm... again?"

Realizing this, Li Huowang suddenly turned to the monk beside him. "Monk! Did you see him? That old Taoist priest?"

Before the monk could reply, a voice from the crowd interrupted him.

"Li Huowang! What are you raving about?" The anxious Zheng Boqiao approached, looking at his three heads. "Aren't you going to move quickly? This Earth Dragon is extremely sinister! The parasitic worms in our bodies haven't been removed yet!"

"Dad, the worms in my stomach are multiplying," Li Sui's voice pleaded, tinged with a hint of grievance.

Glancing once more at the spot where Dan Yangzi had vanished, Li Huowang pushed aside concerns about his own mental state and led the others onward.

Compared to their immediate crisis, the Dan Yangzi hallucinations, which had appeared several times, seemed insignificant and not worth dwelling on.

Everyone rushed forward, striving to get away from the Earth Dragon and mitigate its effects on their bodies.

After running for what felt like half an incense stick's time, Li Huowang spotted another unexpected figure appear in the distance.

"Hehehe, Hongzhong, long time no see," said a figure in dragon robes with a dice for a head to Li Huowang. "Trapped in my illusion for so long, isn't it time for you to wake up?"

"What the hell is wrong with me?!" After the previous encounter, Li Huowang simply ignored the dice-headed figure that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and continued to move forward.

But this time, he wasn't the only one seeing things.

"Father... Mother..." Tears streamed from beneath Bai Lingmiao's red veil. She froze, staring blankly into the distant darkness. Bai Lingmiao seemed to be hearing and seeing something, her face becoming utterly haggard.

When Li Huowang looked in the same direction, he saw nothing but absolute darkness.

"Miaomiao! What did you see?" As soon as Li Huowang spoke, others began to look into the surrounding darkness, their expressions varied.

"I didn't kill him! Get out! Go find someone else!"

"Master, your disciple is unfilial!"

"Mirage, who are you? Xuanpin, where are you? Come out!"

At this, Li Huowang suddenly understood: he himself had no problem at all! It was this cursed place that was the problem!

"Don't panic, everyone!" Li Huowang shouted. "These are all illusions! They're all fake!"

As soon as he spoke, many began to attempt breaking through the illusions. But no matter what techniques they tried, nothing worked.

Some also tried to attack the illusions, but still accomplished nothing.

"Let's go first! Get out of the Earth Dragon's body!" he urged. More illusions wouldn't kill them, but the multiplying worms in their bellies certainly would.

The others immediately complied. Through his recent life-saving actions, Li Huowang had subtly become their leader.

Everyone ignored the hallucinations and continued forward. But after only a short while, they all stopped simultaneously. An identical stomach wall, just like before, appeared before Li Huowang and the others. They were still inside.

"How is this possible!" Li Huowang exclaimed. He dug out an eye from his left head, and along with two pieces of fluorite, threw them forcefully towards the ceiling.

When he looked at the top, Li Huowang finally understood: they hadn't gotten out at all from the beginning. This was simply another stomach of the Earth Dragon!

"Hahahahaha, fooled you, didn't I?" The dice-headed figure appeared again, pointing at Li Huowang and laughing mockingly.

"Is this... is this the ability of this stomach?!" Li Huowang exclaimed. "What on earth is this Earth Dragon?!" He looked at the distant illusions, his mind racing, unwilling to give up, as he desperately tried to figure out how to escape.

"Dad... it hurts, the worms..."

"...are multiplying... I can't hold on much longer." Various sickly green worms began to crawl out of Li Huowang's body, constantly devouring his flesh and blood.

As swarms of malevolent entities surged towards them, everyone plunged into utter despair. They knew this was likely the end.

"I... I am not resigned! I am not resigned!" An old man holding a soul-summoning banner cried out in despair, falling backward. The moment his body touched the ground, it instantly disintegrated, sending sickly green maggots splattering everywhere.

Li Huowang tried to rally the others to continue breaking through the stomach wall, but under the relentless assault of maggots, malevolent entities, and illusions, it was simply impossible.

The maggots within everyone's bodies continued to multiply, the illusions they saw intensified, and the malevolent entities before them grew in number.

Li Huowang refused to give in. He struggled with all his might, unwilling to die here with Miaomiao and Li Sui. There had to be a way!

The situation around them deteriorated rapidly, with more and more people dying. Collapse was imminent.

Meanwhile, Bai Lingmiao stood motionless, frozen in place, listening to the illusions of her family speaking incredibly vicious words.

"Worthless burden! He's your father's killer! Why aren't you getting revenge? Are you even human?!"

"Nannan, your mother truly misjudged you. How could you be such a person? Is your heart black?"

"Sister, isn't that you?"

Bai Lingmiao cried. She stood up, tears streaming down her face, and looked at Li Huowang, who was desperately struggling. At this moment, Li Huowang also seemed to be at his absolute limit, with more than half of his body having completely transformed into worms.

"Senior Brother Li," Bai Lingmiao said, "you can escape using the Cangqiang Ascension." She pointed at the red bamboo slip in Lu Xiucai's hand.

"I want to! But I can't!" Li Huowang roared. He knew, of course, that Cangqiang Ascension could break their predicament, but where was he supposed to find the ultimate inner anguish now?!

Bai Lingmiao pursed her lips, gently shook her head, and then offered a warm smile. "It's alright, Senior Brother Li," she said, "I'll help you."

With that, Bai Lingmiao turned, tossed a piece of human skin she held to a White Lotus devotee, and, spreading her arms, jumped without hesitation into the midst of the malevolent entities.