Chapter 873

"You damned deceivers!" Li Huowang roared. From his position, the white rice instantly blackened and decayed, as if a millennium had passed in a single moment.

This clearly showed that even if Great Qi sought cooperation, Tianchen Kingdom had no intention of honoring its promises. Their counter-espionage tactic was so brazen they didn't even bother with bait.

Li Huowang's sudden appearance startled everyone, but Tianchen Kingdom appeared to have anticipated it. The blackened, rotting rice suddenly surged like a turbulent sea.

His body, submerged in the black rice, suddenly felt a sharp pain. When he lifted his right foot, he saw that everything below his thigh had been reduced to bare white bone.

"Zhuge Yuan, since you've arrived, don't leave today," a woman said to Li Huowang with a smile, floating on the black rice.

"Zhuge Yuan?" The furious Li Huowang instantly composed himself, looking around in bewildered search.

When he saw no trace of the white-clad figure around him, and felt a surge of "non-qi" in his heart, two things immediately became clear to him.

First, the woman was addressing him, not the deceased scholar; she believed his name was Zhuge Yuan.

Second, the sudden appearance of the "non-qi" and the reason the woman called him by that name were both unintended consequences of his actions.

This all stemmed from him casually claiming to be Zhuge Yuan when delivering grain, leading many Great Qi people to believe that was his true name.

Subsequently, every time they mistakenly identified him as Zhuge Yuan, a quantity of "non-qi" would be credited to him.

As Li Huowang pondered this, the woman holding the zither gently flicked her red fingernail. The blood-wood tree on the table instantly dissolved into the black rice, which began to gurgle with blood-red bubbles.

Immediately, the rotting black rice on the ground became tinged with dark red. "Clang~clang clang clang" — a flurry of string music erupted, and the reddened black rice began to dance as if alive, responding to the sound. It rose around Li Huowang, forming a towering tsunami that threatened to engulf him.

Staring at the woman plucking strings in the distance, Li Huowang, his hand tightening on the spine sword's hilt, smirked. "Zhuge Yuan? Is that what you want? Very well! I'll give you Zhuge Yuan!"

The next moment, as the surrounding tsunami loomed over him, he swiftly drew the spine sword from his back and flung it fiercely towards the woman.

Recognizing the sword as a crucial artifact for reaching Daliang, several of Tianchen Kingdom's hidden operatives could no longer hold back.

A dark blur, and two figures sprang from the black rice, lunging for the spine sword.

But just as they seized the hard blade, flesh and organs rapidly grew on the white bone at a visible pace.

In mere moments, the spine sword transformed into a scholar clad in flowing white robes.

"Hmm?" Zhuge Yuan produced a wolf-hair brush and swiftly tapped it twice. The two individuals who had seized him were instantly erased, and the tip of his brush deepened in color.

In mid-air, he spun around, using his brush to sweep and guide. Vast swathes of the rotting black rice, as if pulled by an unseen hand, changed course and surged back towards the woman plucking strings.

Where the black rice receded, Li Huowang's severely corroded and riddled body was revealed.

He knelt on one knee, hands clamped tightly over his swollen head, as if terrified his skull might burst if he released them.

"Brother Li, are you alright?"

Li Huowang abruptly pointed forward, gritting his teeth as he commanded, "Kill them!"

Zhuge Yuan snapped open his folding fan, stepped onto the black rice, and with brush in hand, soared towards the woman.

The moment Zhuge Yuan engaged, the woman immediately found herself overwhelmed. Even with various helpers constantly emerging from the rotting black rice, none were a match for him.

Li Huowang staggered to his feet, a cold laugh escaping him as he observed the distant scene.

If Zhuge Yuan truly unleashed his power, these individuals would undoubtedly be no match for him, even if this Zhuge Yuan was merely a conjuration he had created.

His only regret was that Tianchen Kingdom's 'Heart Core' didn't seem to have accompanied them this time, denying him the chance to kill two birds with one stone.

Nevertheless, seizing this opportunity to slightly weaken Tianchen Kingdom's forces was still beneficial; something was always better than nothing.

Li Huowang thought, then glanced at the uneasy turncoats nearby. "Furthermore, this is an excellent chance to discipline some of the treacherous individuals within Great Qi. All in all, I haven't lost anything."

Any attempt to betray him and side with Tianchen for greater gain was utterly futile.

As long as Great Qi lacked power, Tianchen Kingdom wouldn't even bother with genuine deception; they clearly held no regard for the now-weakened Great Qi.

Moreover, after this incident, Tianchen Kingdom's future attempts at counter-espionage in Great Qi would be met with disbelief, no matter how favorable the terms offered.

"What are you standing there for?! Go help!"

Li Huowang's words instantly jolted the others awake. They nodded repeatedly, grabbed their weapons and magical artifacts, and rushed to assist Zhuge Yuan, despite having just contemplated betraying Li Huowang.

They were already no match for Zhuge Yuan, and with the addition of these twelve, they stood even less of a chance. The battle became entirely one-sided.

Before long, the surging black rice steadily dwindled. Zhuge Yuan had transformed it into black ink, splashing it across the valley rock walls, where it became a series of evocative landscape paintings.

Just as Li Huowang believed the ordeal was over, woodlands unlike the surrounding environment began to appear, gradually assimilating the area.

It appeared that this entire extensive area on Tianchen Kingdom's side was forested.

Several figures abruptly burst from the woods, charging towards Zhuge Yuan and his companions.

"Tianchen Kingdom is reinforcing their forces? Even better! I'll see how many more of them will die!"

Li Huowang had anticipated the arrival of skilled fighters, but to his surprise, Tianchen Kingdom's reinforcements were still no match for Zhuge Yuan, proving even slightly weaker than the woman they had just faced.

Their appearance, other than adding more figures to the landscape paintings, brought no discernible change to the situation.

Yet, Tianchen Kingdom seemed oblivious, sending wave after wave of people forward.

Li Huowang considered directing Zhuge Yuan to pass through those areas to investigate what was happening in Tianchen Kingdom. However, the enemy appeared highly vigilant; each time he approached, the shifting environment would rapidly vanish.

As the landscape paintings began to resemble "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," Li Huowang's brow furrowed. "Something's wrong. These people aren't here to turn the tide; they're clearly trying to buy time."

The moment the thought of an ambush crossed his mind, Li Huowang stomped his foot, ready to withdraw from the area.

But a haunting, theatrical singing voice ("yi yi ah ah") halted his advance.