Chapter 757: Breaking Point

Even though Xuannü had previously mentioned that some of their forces had been lured away by a feigned attack, the ritualists remaining here were still formidable opponents and clearly not part of the Dharma Sect.

Li Huowang glanced at the massive red dot on the spectroscope, then at the rising incense smoke around him, and resolutely tightened his grip on the hilt of his spine-bone sword.

"Xuannü said that even if I ordered you to your deaths, you would obey without question. Now is the time!"

"I don't know what they are sacrificing to, but we must stop them! I will charge with you all; from then on, life or death is up to fate! Charge!"

At Li Huowang's command, they charged without hesitation alongside him towards the red lights in the heavy rain. Immediately, the sounds of battle filled the air.

With a squelch, Li Huowang's Purple Spike Sword plunged into his opponent's abdomen, while the opponent's sharp claws simultaneously pierced Li Huowang's own. As both twisted at the same time, it was certainly not Li Huowang who would be overcome.

Li Huowang opened his mouth wide, and dense tentacles emerged from his throat, directly covering the opponent's face.

Seizing the opponent's moment of panic, Li Huowang twisted the hilt and forcefully lifted his sword, slicing the opponent completely in half.

He kicked a nearby incense ball, smashing it to pieces, but there was no hint of joy on Li Huowang's face. He had only dealt with one of them, and there were countless more chicken-legged people like him.

In the pouring rain, the white smoke from the incense burners enveloped almost the entire battlefield, shrouding the altar in a haze. Yet, no matter which way it drifted, the smoke slowly flowed into the massive deity statue's conical hat.

The ritual continued; they could not be allowed to go on like this. No matter the cost, this trouble had to be resolved!

Li Huowang immediately dragged over a corpse, pulled open its blood-splattered abdomen, and after spitting his daughter into it, towering flames enveloped him with a roar.

And Bahui, seemingly from beyond the heavens, also seemed to sense it. Li Huowang's body began to crack open, and the emerging flames continuously burrowed into his wounds.

"Ahhh! Bahui, you son of a bitch!" With a contorted expression, Li Huowang dropped to one knee and cursed in pain.

For some reason, his body felt even more painful than before.

Li Huowang discovered the reason when he saw the flames on his body extinguish in the heavy rain, only to reignite.

He opened his mouth and licked the water falling from the sky, finding it to be salty.

Li Huowang immediately thought of something dreadful, and his heart sank. Xuannü was right; it wasn't just Yu'er God. He had to hurry!

When Li Huowang stood up again, flames roared around his body, and he was like a drought demon, incinerating everything around him.

Seeing Li Huowang's transformation, some chicken-legged people, adorned with curtains of internal organs, clearly sensed something was wrong. They began to surround him, coordinating their movements.

Accompanied by various animalistic roars, their bodies transformed into beasts, adorned with pulsating red strips of cloth, as they assaulted Li Huowang.

Li Huowang pulled out a dagger, directly cut open his abdomen, and tore off his charred flesh.

The torn-off flesh flew from his body, directly enveloping a chicken-legged person, sizzling continuously. No matter how much the chicken-legged person struggled, it would not release its grip.

Li Huowang picked up some small stones, put them in his mouth, and chewed forcefully. With a powerful spit, a mouthful of teeth, wrapped in flames and blood, shot out.

The burning teeth exploded in mid-air, instantly fanning out and covering a large area.

However, as Li Huowang cut a path through the crowd, two birds appeared in the pouring rain.

One bird had a human head, the other a horse face. They flapped their wings, circling continuously around the massive conical hat on the deity statue's head. As they circled, they chanted in an unpleasant voice: "Chu Yang Jie Shen, Chu Yang Jie Shen, Chu Yang Jie Shen!"

As their unpleasant voices echoed, the red strips of cloth hanging from the deity statue's conical hat began to tremble slightly.

Although subtle, Li Huowang sensed it. His heart grew anxious, and his attacks became heavier with each blow.

However, these chicken-legged people wouldn't simply stand there and let Li Huowang kill them. Once they realized they couldn't win, they began to retreat and avoid him.

Even though Li Huowang and the others used every tactic they had, the white smoke in the air only thinned slightly, never disappearing. The sacrificial ritual continued without interruption!

"Too slow! Still too slow!!" Li Huowang grabbed the flesh on his chest and pulled forcefully, causing his entire ribcage to burst open like a blossoming flower. Worms, acquired in exchange for his internal organs, scattered like falling petals, enveloped in flames, and sprayed towards the others.

When Li Huowang heard the scalp-prickling sound of the deity statue moving overhead, he knew that if he didn't find a way to stop it soon, it would truly be over!

Li Huowang quickly sifted through everything he knew, but he realized that, apart from the Cangqiang Ascension, he had no way to turn the tide.

Just then, Zhao Jiabao, with a severed arm, braved the heat to reach Li Huowang's side. He pulled a piece of paper from his bosom and exclaimed, "Realist Li! Here! The Astrological Bureau's secret message for you!"

"A damn secret message? Who does he think he is?" Although he said this, Li Huowang quickly took it, opened it, and read it before it was consumed by flames.

"What?! That guy never had any teleportation abilities before? He just used my cultivation powers?!" Li Huowang's pupils immediately constricted. He hadn't expected such a revelation.

However, there was no time for surprise now. He immediately continued reading.

"Li Huowang, since you still know, I'm afraid I can't take you away now. This is called burning the bridges behind you; only when there's no retreat can you unleash your full power."

"But don't panic, there's still a way out. Since you could cultivate your way back from Qingqiu, it means your cultivation has now reached great accomplishment. If you encounter danger, the solution lies within this. Think carefully: what can you cultivate that can resolve the current situation?"

"Something I can cultivate that can resolve the current situation?" Various scenes from his past experiences replayed in his mind.

Li Huowang's pupils suddenly constricted as he immediately thought of something. He pressed his temples, cultivating with a pained expression. A white figure flickered in and out of existence in the air.

Yet, even as Li Huowang's head pulsed with visible veins and swelled like the God of Longevity, the figure simply wouldn't fully materialize.

As he watched all the red cloth strips above him begin to pulsate, Li Huowang suddenly had an idea. He drew the spine-bone sword from his back and thrust it forcefully into the ground.

He stared intently at the hilt of the spine-bone sword.

As he continued to cultivate, his nose bled, his blood vessels burst, and his entire head gradually cracked open.

In contrast, white bone rapidly grew from the edges of the spine-bone sword. First bone, then flesh, and finally a scholar's robes appeared.

With a "snap," a white folding fan instantly opened, revealing four grand, calligraphic characters before Li Huowang.

"Heaven-born Talent."