Chapter 738: Si Ming

Hong Zhong looked at Li Huowang and continued, "So I think it's true that combining the real and the false can cure your qi deviation. This is very likely the bait the Dice used to lure you in."

"The scary part is that the Dice, when he was alive, might have already known you'd face this situation eventually. He could have planted a trap, waiting for you to combine the real and the false, which would then trigger the trap."

Listening to what the other person had just said, Li Huowang couldn't help but start thinking seriously.

"This guy is already dead, so why would he set a trap? Is he trying to trick me into resurrecting him?" Li Huowang asked.

Now that the true and false Heavenly Dao were in Ji Zai's hands, there was no way he could ask his future self for divine powers. Even if Ji Zai was useless, he definitely wouldn't do something that would benefit an enemy.

He only controlled the Heavenly Dao of Confusion, not the Heavenly Dao of Folly.

Without divine powers, even if the Dice were resurrected, he would just be a shrewd old trickster.

Li Huowang had seen with his own eyes how miserable the White Lotus Sect, who worshipped the Unborn Old Mother, became after the Unborn Old Mother lost all her Heavenly Daos.

"Don't assume their motives are all bad. It's not necessarily for selfish reasons. The Zuo Wang Dao doesn't need many reasons to set traps; sometimes they just do it to mess with you."

Hong Zhong cupped his chin, his expression almost identical to Li Huowang's, both with furrowed brows.

The two stood there thinking for a long time, still unable to figure out what the Dice was up to.

After thinking for a while, Li Huowang said, "Regardless of what the Dice wants, I definitely have to cultivate the false. Otherwise, I won't have to wait for the Dice's trap to explode; I'll probably explode first."

"And since we now know there might be a trap, the situation isn't too bad. We'll figure out a way to take the sugar-coated pill and throw the cannonball back."

Hong Zhong showed a hint of irritation on his face. "If the Dice's sugar coating is so delicious, why did you cultivate true qi before? Didn't Zhuge Yuan say not to practice such things before he died?"

"Don't you dare mention him! If I don't cultivate true qi, where will I get the power to deal with the growing Dharma Sect? Rely on the Grand Scroll? Do you think Bahui is any more reliable?"

Just then, Li Huowang felt the chanting in his ears growing fainter. He knew his time was running out.

"I can't stay in this cursed place much longer. Let's get out first!"

After a moment's thought, Hong Zhong finally nodded in agreement. "Once we're out, find a way to cultivate me into a true being, like the Monk, so I can stay by your side."

"I'll keep an eye out for you. If the trap Boss Dice buried starts to surface, I can warn you in advance."

Li Huowang looked at Hong Zhong in front of him, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

*Is this guy trying to pull something by asking me to do this? What if the Dice isn't the problem at all, but he is?*

"What are you thinking about? Didn't you say we're running out of time? Hurry up!" At this moment, Hong Zhong seemed a bit anxious.

"Let's go," Li Huowang said, then ran in the direction of the chanting, with Hong Zhong quickly following.

"How has everyone been since I left?" Hong Zhong suddenly asked.

"They're fine. Life has been much better for everyone since Gao Zhijian became emperor. However, the Lu family troupe is gone."

"I know. I saw Scholar Lu."

The two walked quickly, and as time passed, the sound in Li Huowang's ears grew fainter and fainter.

As the chanting vanished, Li Huowang clearly felt his body grow heavier. Walking was no longer effortless; instead, it became extremely difficult.

"Hurry!" Hong Zhong extended his hand toward him.

"Now you're in a hurry? Why did you have time to mess around with me just now?" Li Huowang grabbed his arm.

The two, one in front and one behind, began to pick up their pace.

Just as Li Huowang thought nothing unexpected would happen, the black mist on his left began to churn.

Li Huowang had witnessed this kind of movement once before. "The Kui Ta is coming!"

Li Huowang was about to close his eyes, but this time, a corner of the Kui Ta's body abruptly emerged from the black mist.

It looked like an amorphous mass, its edges covered with pale, pitch-black abyssal holes.

It was shrouded in a pale, bizarre halo. Li Huowang found it difficult to describe what the Kui Ta looked like or felt like. It appeared to be something awe-inspiring, transcending terror and abnormality.

Just then, the buzzing sound of a spinning wheel in his ear brought Li Huowang back to his senses.

In that brief moment, Li Huowang found that his body had almost completely melted. Some parts of his inner being were escaping his flesh and floating towards the distant Kui Ta.

Li Huowang immediately closed his eyes, prostrated himself on the ground, and pulled Hong Zhong along as he hastened towards the Zhongyin Temple.

Evidently, he couldn't move as fast as the Kui Ta. Li Huowang once again felt that trembling sensation, that familiar feeling pressing down from above.

Li Huowang immediately stopped moving, pressing himself firmly to the ground with Hong Zhong, struggling to wait for the Kui Ta to pass.

A cup of tea's time passed, then half an incense stick's time, then a full incense stick's time. Yet, the overwhelming pressure, like Mount Tai bearing down, still hadn't dissipated.

"What... what's going on?" Li Huowang laboriously opened his left eye just a slit and peered at the ground.

The next moment, Li Huowang's body stiffened. The surroundings became incredibly dim; this was a shadow, the shadow of the Kui Ta.

He didn't know if it was a part of the Kui Ta or the Kui Ta itself, but it was now lying motionless directly above Li Huowang's head.

"It... it found me." Li Huowang instantly felt his body plunge into an ice cellar. He was incredibly cold all over.

This Divine Official of Death, even if it did nothing, was incredibly dangerous to Li Huowang at this moment.

Time passed little by little. Li Huowang felt his body continuously melting, and something within him was instinctively being drawn up by the Kui Ta.

"I can't go on like this! Even if I have to take a gamble, I can't go on like this!" Li Huowang gritted his teeth, making up his mind.

He began to move, pulling Hong Zhong and laboriously crawling towards the Zhongyin Temple. "You can't see me! You can't see me!"

"Hong Zhong! Don't just stand there! Use your Zuo Wang Dao techniques! Never mind if they work or not, just use them!" Li Huowang said with difficulty.

But after he spoke for a long time, he found there was no response. Instead, Hong Zhong directly pulled his hand away.

Li Huowang looked down and saw that the other party was moving along the ground in the opposite direction. "Hong Zhong! What are you doing!"

Hearing the sound, Hong Zhong turned around and showed his mahjong-tile face to Li Huowang.

Even under the presence of this Divine Official, his mahjong-tile face was still full of mockery. "Oh, look who it is. Isn't this Li Huowang? What a rare guest."

"Damn it! An hour has passed!"