Chapter 712: Time

Enduring the pain, Lu Xiucai understood that the white donkeys accompanying his master's wife were now dead. Rumor had it that the Unborn Mother needed to be reborn atop six white donkeys.

Once the white donkey was tattooed on him, he would become the Unborn Mother's mount, no longer an ordinary mortal to be manipulated by others.

This was his chance, and he needed to seize it, even if it meant paying a heavy price. He was unwilling to give up this opportunity to become stronger.

Before long, a white donkey gradually took shape on Lu Xiucai's back. As the tattoo became more complete, Lu Xiucai began to feel as though something new had been added to his body.

This sensation was extremely peculiar; Lu Xiucai had only experienced it in the past when entering a trance.

If trances could only be maintained briefly before, he could now sustain this state indefinitely.

"You are now a step closer to the Unborn Mother than ordinary believers," Lian Zhibei instructed Lu Xiucai. "This is a great honor for your ancestors. You must cherish it well and not break the precepts."

Feeling the changes in his body, Lu Xiucai nodded excitedly. He yearned to find some of the Fa Cult's beasts immediately to test his new abilities.

Just then, the outdoors suddenly grew lively. As Lu Xiucai, bare-chested, emerged, he instinctively squinted his eyes.

He realized that, without his knowing, dawn had broken completely. Other White Lotus believers were busily packing their belongings onto carriages.

Normally, it wouldn't be this bright yet, but due to the loss of an hour, dawn was breaking much faster than usual.

"Let's go, let's go! Brothers and sisters, hurry up! Let's spread the Unborn Mother's compassion to every person in Later Shu! We won't eat lunch; we'll make do with dry rations!"

Hearing this, Lu Xiucai immediately understood. After such a long rest, it was time to depart.

He no longer cared about anything else and hurried towards his dwelling. He would always be the first to fight the Fa Cult's beasts.

To Lu Xiucai's surprise, the White Lotus believers and Senior Brother Li did not follow the imperial soldiers. Instead, they parted ways and left on their own.

Lu Xiucai was puzzled, but seeing his master's grim expression, he wisely kept silent.

Just as he expected a long journey ahead, Lu Xiucai suddenly noticed his master's face was very grim as he sat in the carriage. "There's a scent of blood! South!"

The convoy began to move, heading south as Li Huowang directed.

They traveled for two hours but saw nothing.

However, no one else in the group raised an objection, for they too smelled the increasingly strong scent of blood in the air.

The nauseating stench of blood and decay was incredibly thick, permeating the surroundings like a morning mist.

Clearly, such a strong smell of blood could not emanate from just one or two dead bodies.

Finally, after crossing a mountain, they saw the source of the blood scent: a wall of heads, a massive rampart formed from death and decay!

The colossal wall was constructed entirely from human heads, strung together. The air was thick with the stench of blood and putrefaction, a sight that filled everyone with despair and dread.

A deathly silence spread through the group, the oppressive atmosphere making everyone present feel suffocated.

A rough estimate suggested that at least hundreds of thousands had died here.

Suddenly, Li Huowang moved. He lifted his foot and slowly walked forward by himself.

As he drew closer, Li Huowang discerned more details.

He noticed that they were all men, most wearing helmets—these were the soldiers of Later Shu!

As he got closer, the smell of blood intensified, and Li Huowang's expression grew increasingly grim.

The Fa Cult's actions were not hard to guess. They must have believed the Later Shu emperor would try to persuade the Later Shu soldiers to surrender, so these individuals simply killed all of them, creating a gruesome trophy mound.

Li Huowang walked to the base of the wall, tilting his head back to gaze at the ashen faces.

Their faces were not contorted in agony, suggesting they hadn't been killed by force.

Was it to eliminate future trouble? Or to make a display of power? Or both? Li Huowang didn't know.

But what he did know was that Later Shu was now utterly ruined.

With all its soldiers dead and its populace deluded, there was nothing left.

This place would be utterly useless in the coming struggle against the Fa Cult.

Looking at the dead, a thought suddenly struck Li Huowang: with so many deaths at once, the Death Overseer beneath Qingqiu was likely to be gorged.

Just then, the world dramatically shifted. A violent tremor shook the ground, and the entire wall of heads began to collapse, a dense mass of heads tumbling directly towards Li Huowang.

Li Huowang initially thought something might be hidden within the heads, but he soon felt the tremor originating from deep within the ground. The 'Earth Dragon' had turned over again.

"Xuanpin! I know you're watching me! What in the world is going on?!" Li Huowang demanded loudly, standing amidst the pile of heads.

As Li Huowang expected, Xuanpin's body rose from the ground. "The Hour of the Dog is gone. The Fa Cult has destroyed another dragon pulse."

Li Huowang cursed fiercely. "Haven't all the dragon pulses been recovered? Where did they get another one to destroy?"

"I told you there are sixteen dragon pulses in total, once guarded by people from sixteen different regions. It seems the Fa Cult has seized a dragon pulse from elsewhere."

No sooner had he spoken than several rotting heads nearby suddenly spoke in unison: "Depart from the West, rest in peace."

"Clang!" Li Huowang's sword instantly left its scabbard, ready to strike at these reanimated heads.

"Calm down," Xuanpin explained, stepping in front of Li Huowang. "These are elders from the Bardo Temple; they are our own people."

"What he just said means the destroyed dragon pulse belonged to the Arsacid Kingdom. To the right of Nanping is Siqi, and to its left is the Arsacid Kingdom, which also had a dragon pulse. It appears the Fa Cult found this area difficult to conquer, so they are now focusing their efforts there."

Just then, the ground tremors intensified, and the world underwent a dramatic change. The sun in the sky visibly began to move at an alarming speed.

"The Hour of the Rooster is also gone," Xuanpin stated succinctly.

"Excuse me, I have matters to attend to here, so I must return. Grand Elder, if it is convenient, please join me as well."

Having spoken, Xuanpin's body vanished.

At this point, Li Huowang no longer needed to guess where this destroyed dragon pulse had come from. Regardless of its origin, the fact that a dragon pulse had been obliterated remained unchanged.

"No time to waste! Go! To Siqi!"

Li Huowang and Li Sui simultaneously pulled out two pieces of turmeric paper, quickly drew talismans, and affixed them to the backs of the carriage horses.

The sturdy horses pulling the carriage reared up, neighed, and then, enduring the intense ground tremors, galloped away over the piles of heads.

Shortly after they left, a person emerged from the mound of heads.

"Is that Li Huowang?"

"Yes, that is Li Huowang."