Chapter 750: Chasing

The Zuwangdao are actually madmen who have gone astray while cultivating the false path. However, since no one has ever seen someone successfully cultivate both the true and false paths, they — including the Zuwangdao themselves — believe their current state is the correct one.

"How pathetic, how pathetic."

Li Huowang murmured to himself, thinking that perhaps the Dice already knew this, but he was too deeply entangled to turn back now.

Li Huowang lowered his head, cut open the person's belly in front of him, and retrieved the softened stone.

A tentacle emerged from the navel, dragging the object and stuffing it back inside.

The softened stone, which these cult followers were scrambling for, was actually just a piece of Li Huowang's liver that he had cut off.

He had looked for other substitutes, but Li Huowang still found this one to be the most suitable.

"Father, what have you been doing lately? I don't quite understand," Li Sui asked, as two slits opened on her neck, revealing her dual-pupil eyes.

"I'm deceiving them."

"So this is deception," Li Sui suddenly realized, learning something new from her father.

Now that his objective was accomplished, it was time for Li Huowang to leave this place.

He was currently deep within the territory occupied by the Si Qi cult, and such a commotion naturally drew a quick response from them.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Li Huowang immediately revealed himself. He wiped his face, and it instantly transformed into the likeness of the deceased Hu Biao.

He severed his right hand, threw it to the ground, and immediately lay down, feigning intense pain.

"Quick! He, he ran that way!" Li Huowang shakily raised a bloodied finger, pointing the way for the pursuing cult followers.

Watching the enraged cult followers chase in the direction he indicated, Li Huowang immediately stood up, picked up his hand from the ground, and secretly followed right behind them.

By the time these people realized they had been tricked and began to rush back, Li Huowang was already withdrawing in the direction they had abandoned their pursuit.

Once Li Huowang, now with a different face, arrived in a secluded county town, the threat of being tracked was averted.

Li Huowang sat down in the lobby of an inn. After being busy for so long, he was hungry. "Innkeeper, please bring me some food."

"Right away! However, honored guest, in these chaotic times, some provisions are hard to come by. I can only prepare whatever I have available in the kitchen for you."

"That's fine, as long as it fills my stomach."

Soon, half a fragrant braised lamb's head was brought to Li Huowang, accompanied by two soft, roasted flatbreads.

"Honored guest, this is bean paste, and this is vinegar. You can slice the lamb's head meat, dip it in the sauce and vinegar, and stuff it into the flatbread to eat. It's truly delicious."

Li Huowang stared at the lamb's head for a moment. When he saw that it wasn't opening its mouth to speak to him like the last time, he picked up the small knife nearby and began to eat.

As his cultivation of the false path continued, Li Huowang noticed that the side effects of his true path cultivation had indeed significantly subsided.

At least he no longer had to worry that the people around him were merely products of his own cultivation.

The more he understood the false, the more he inevitably came to understand the true.

Compared to Fei Gang and the cultivation methods and divine abilities of the Zuwangdao, Li Huowang's most significant transformation was a shift in his mindset—the sensation of genuinely deceiving people with false things.

And at this moment, he needed precisely this shift to counteract the side effects of his true path cultivation.

Whether it was the inability to distinguish between reality and illusion, it was ultimately a psychological change.

Cultivating the true and cultivating the false were now like pulling a rope from both sides of his body, one left and one right, creating a perfect balance.

As he gradually came to understand the false, he gained a certain degree of control over both genuine reality and the realities he himself had created.

Cultivating the false truly could cure the madness brought on by true path cultivation. Regardless of whether this was the Dice's bait—a tempting lure it had thrown out—Li Huowang had to take it.

Although the issues with true path cultivation were resolved, he still had to be wary of the Dice's schemes, even if there were no immediate signs.

"Dice, what exactly do you want? You're dead, and the Zuwangdao are all extinct. What more can you possibly do?"

A thoughtful Li Huowang raised the small dagger skewered with lamb meat and slowly brought it to his mouth.

However, just as he was lost in thought, Li Huowang's heart suddenly stirred, and a slit opened behind his left ear.

As Li Sui's eyes quickly darted a glance at the diner on the left, Li Huowang immediately sensed something was amiss. That couple had just glanced at him.

Glancing at a stranger was normally unremarkable, but the speed with which those two retracted their gaze indicated a problem, as ordinary folk wouldn't react so quickly.

"Honored guest, are you satisfied with the lamb's head?" the cook from the back kitchen asked Li Huowang, bowing with a fawning smile.

As four eyes rapidly scanned the surroundings, gathering various details, Li Huowang immediately gripped the Purple Tassel Sword. With a forceful strike, the fawning cook's head instantly flew into the air.

Amidst the rising spray of blood, the cook's head did not fall. Instead, it shook off its hair and skin, transforming into a 'blood-droplet' that lunged towards Li Huowang's head, attempting to engulf it.

As a black tentacle emerged from Li Huowang's neck, directly drawing out the Copper Coin Sword, and with coins flying, it dispersed the black 'blood-droplet'. The previously peaceful inn instantly became fraught with deadly intent.

Whether it was the diners, the accountant, or the serving staff, they all pulled out various weapons and lunged at Li Huowang.

Li Huowang could naturally handle these individuals, but his expression was exceptionally grim, because he was unsure who had sent these people. Could it be the Dice?

Just as Li Huowang was about to deal with these individuals, the main support beams of the three-story inn suddenly cracked open, and the two upper floors, weighing thousands of pounds, crashed directly down on Li Huowang.

A tremor resounded as the rubble and stones that had buried Li Huowang scattered everywhere. Covered in black tentacles, he rose once more from the collapsed building.

As the dust gradually cleared, Li Huowang observed a massive change in his surroundings: everyone in the town had dropped their disguises.

They wore black cloth on their shoulders, erected white banners, and carried a colossal idol. They surrounded the collapsed inn in multiple layers, effectively trapping him.

However, when Li Huowang saw the cult's markings on them, he felt a strange sense of relief.

He had been ambushed by the cult. Even though he had deliberately concealed his whereabouts, they had still discovered him. Li Huowang realized he had likely encountered a formidable opponent this time.

Just then, a path suddenly opened on the left side of the crowd, and four strange, umbrella-carrying figures slowly emerged from within.

Their faces obscured by black umbrellas, they were exceptionally tall, at least one *zhang*. Their long robes extended to the ground, and their arms, which reached their knees, were completely enveloped by long sleeves, revealing no skin or flesh.