Chapter 699: Heaven Above

No, that wasn't a crane's cry! As Li Huowang's five senses merged into one, using his new sensory organs to perceive the crane's cry from deep space once more, and feeling the incredibly complex content it contained, he finally understood what it was.

It wasn't a sound at all; it was Yu'er God's hand! Or perhaps one of Yu'er God's branches! Yu'er God was formless, colorless, without hope or end, and when he heard the crane's cry, it meant Yu'er God had touched him!

The crane's cry struck again, and Li Huowang felt as if it had taken his throat! Taken his voice!

Completely consumed by pain, Li Huowang immediately stretched out his mangled hand and jammed it firmly into his own throat, desperate to prevent it from making any sound again!

In the deep, dark sky, they plummeted ever deeper. Li Huowang felt as if he had reached the "Heaven beyond Heaven," and feared that continued descent would lead him back to Baiyujing.

Yet, Li Huowang had no thought of escape. Listening to the increasingly piercing crane's cry, he roared with a fierce expression, then opened his mouth wide and plunged his hand directly into his own throat.

With a pull and a tug, Li Huowang ripped everything out of his throat and hurled it forcefully towards the sky.

The next moment, Li Huowang felt his mangled throat unfurl in mid-air like a butterfly, continuing to emit that eerie crane's cry.

The throat seemed to gain a head, and everything around them simultaneously opened its mouth, the screams within slowly transforming into the crane's cry.

Just as the crane's cry was about to reach its crescendo, a compassionate female voice interjected from nearby. The sound was filled with sorrow, mingled with heartbroken sobs and profound empathy:"Cry for the child who left home, gone astray, why is there no trace of them today?""Cry for the child who left home, where have they gone, no letters, no news, unwilling to be reborn.""Cry for the child who left home, unable to meet, when will you come back to your kin and roots?""Cry for the child who left home, difficult to return, how could they know the sins committed, denied by this mortal realm.""Cry for the child who left home, their end is near, then, to see their mother will be impossible."

The moment that voice emerged, Li Huowang immediately felt the crane's cry significantly diminish. The sounds from the people and evil spirits around them reverted to desperate screams.

Using his merged sensory organs, Li Huowang peered into the darkness once more. He saw the boundless night slowly transform into a lotus.

Li Huowang grabbed the starry curtain and pulled it shut, covering the neighborhood outside, which was pitch-black due to a power outage. "Oh, Huowang, look! The power's finally back on!"

In that instant, heaven and earth inverted. Li Huowang and the others plummeted downwards, seeing the new starry sky once again filling the heavens. Li Huowang finally understood that the catastrophe was over.

In mid-air, wild winds howled. As they drew closer to the ground, a tentacle snaked out from Li Huowang's throat, wrapped around his now still throat, and quickly pulled him along.

Bang! Li Huowang crashed heavily in front of an inn. Lying on the ground, he watched as blood and dismembered body parts rained down from the sky, staining the inn crimson.

Meanwhile, the trembling flesh-scales on Li Huowang's body settled back down, transforming into ordinary wounds.

Li Huowang felt his body was about to fall apart. He used his last ounce of strength to pull himself up, then yelled at his reflection in the pool of blood on the ground: "Jizai! Get your damn self out here! I don't care what you're doing!"

"What? What's wrong?" The shadow finally stirred again. "Apologies, I was busy earlier. I believe I was going to save someone? Possibly."

Li Huowang clenched his fists and slammed them into his reflection, howling heartbrokenly: "I'm telling you! Miaomiao is dead! Bai Lingmiao is dead!"

"Why did I agree to become your Heart Vessel? Why would I willingly entrust my destiny to someone of unknown origin like you, and become your Heart Vessel? Because I wanted to protect Miaomiao and the others!"

"But what about you?! Is this your repayment? Is this your answer?! Why! Why are other Si Ming so powerful, yet you, a Si Ming who controls three and a half paths, are utterly useless! You couldn't even protect one woman!"

"When I was ambushed and trapped inside the earth dragon's belly, I actually had to rely on Cang Qiang ascending and borrowing Bahui's power to save me! What good are you, really?!"

Jizai's voice remained calm. "I've told you before, you cannot rely on me. Besides, I am very busy, and my situation is not particularly favorable. Even if you are on the verge of being killed, you can only depend on yourself."

"Only by relying on yourself in this manner can we both achieve a win-win outcome."

"Cut the crap!" Supported by tentacles, Li Huowang staggered to his feet, extending a finger to point directly at the other party.

"Miaomiao is dead! Find a way to resurrect her for me! Otherwise, let whoever the hell wants to be the Heart Vessel of a useless piece of shit Si Ming like you!"

"Hmm..." Jizai, in the blood, pondered. "Not quite. She doesn't appear to be dead at this moment."

"Not dead?" A flicker of hope ignited in Li Huowang's heart as he staggered, looking around at the corpses submerged in blood.

"Let me think... Ah, yes, extend your hands forward."

"Extend forward?" Just as Li Huowang held his hands out, a bloody, mangled mass plummeted from the sky, striking his forearms and snapping both his hands with a sickening crack.

Li Huowang quickly looked down. It was Miaomiao – or rather, half of Miaomiao. Her body was gnawed to pieces, and she, who was usually so pristine, looked utterly miserable. Her entire body was caked in blood, with barely any unmarred flesh left.

And though she should have had two upper bodies, only one remained, and it was terribly mangled. Bang! Just then, another section of an upper body plummeted from the sky.

This time, Li Sui was quick, extending a dozen tentacles upwards to swiftly catch it.

When Li Huowang used his teeth to lift the red veil from this half of the upper body, it revealed a beastly face covered in fox fur, interspersed with hedgehog quills and snake scales. Beast eyes of varying sizes were open, gazing at him faintly, barely alive.

Seeing Li Huowang's shocked expression, the fanged beast-mouth opened, and a forked tongue weakly emerged. "I only wanted you to escape by ascending to Cang Qiang. I never said I had to die; this old woman hasn't lived enough yet!"

With tears streaming down his face, Li Huowang controlled the tentacles to embrace her tightly.

He quickly knelt to check the other half of Miaomiao. When he saw that this portion, though gruesome, was also still breathing, he let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Miaomiao, bear with it, you must endure!" Li Huowang tremblingly pulled out the wax-sealed *Fire Robe Admonition* and reinserted the half-body of Ershen into its original position.

As Li Huowang began to chant, Ershen also used all its strength to beat the white drum, calling upon the Great Immortal of the Bai family.