Chapter 890: Tianchen Kingdom

The people from Tianchen Nation menacingly surrounded him. However, seeing this, Li Huowang did not run. Instead, he immediately sat cross-legged on the treetop.

As another Li Huowang grew out of his back, both of them began chanting a spell in unison: "Where golden light shines, the sun and moon hide. When treasures spin, spirits lose their color. Appearing in the mortal realm, guarding the King of Hell."

Hearing the two Li Huowangs chant, everyone from Tianchen Nation in the distance showed expressions of extreme shock.

Previously, some of the Unspeakable Army had failed to commit suicide. Through their accounts, the people of Tianchen Nation knew very well that this evil cultivator in red robes could summon Doumu for assistance.

Although they were numerous and powerful, and he was alone, facing an avatar of Doumu, they were no match at all.

The next moment, everyone scattered, each employing their own methods, disappearing from Li Huowang's sight at top speed.

Just as they vanished, Li Huowang's chanting also ended. However, nothing happened immediately afterward.

"Hmph," Li Huowang scoffed and stood up. The Li Huowang on his back quickly shimmered, revealing a delicate-looking girl. It wasn't a Li Huowang created through cultivation, but Li Sui in disguise.

Li Huowang hadn't truly recited the "Wangtian Baohao" just now. The chant he had just recited deliberately omitted several crucial words. He didn't need to use his real power against them; a few tricks from the "Scripture of Deception" were enough to solve this problem.

Although Feigang was indeed continuously increasing due to the constant worship and prayers of the Daqi people, accumulating enough for one use was not easy. Such a resource couldn't be wasted on a minor skirmish like this.

With the crisis averted and Daqi temporarily safe, Li Huowang surveyed the dense forest and decided to leave this place first.

The people here must have known about his arrival in Tianchen. He needed to fully understand the situation here before they could find him.

Regarding Tianchen Nation, other than knowing they had a grudge with the Unborn Mother, Li Huowang knew nothing else.

What Li Huowang wanted to know most was: how strong they currently were, and what price they were willing to pay to kill the Unborn Mother again.

The forest was vast and dense. Fortunately, Li Huowang, with his keen eyesight, noticed some recent footprints in the forest.

Following the footprints, Li Huowang also found some traps for wild game. This suggested that the owner of the footprints was likely a hunter.

By continuing to follow the footprints, he should soon find signs of human habitation.

However, before Li Huowang could find the owner of the footprints, the sky gradually darkened.

Looking at the setting sun, Li Huowang, remembering something important, immediately spoke: "Sui Sui, help me calculate the time and see how many dragon veins there are here."

"Okay," Li Sui replied. A phantom hourglass instantly appeared beside Li Huowang, with fine sand slowly falling within it.

One hourglass represented one *shichen* (two hours). The number of times the hourglass flipped would indicate how many dragon veins Tianchen Nation had.

Just as the sand in the hourglass reached halfway, Li Huowang finally found signs of human habitation in the forest.

Standing in the dark forest, Li Huowang gazed at a distant village with flickering lights.

To avoid an ambush by the Tianchen Nation's imperial court, Li Huowang observed from the forest for a long time, finally confirming it was just an ordinary village.

"Let's go. We'll learn about Tianchen Nation from these ordinary folk first," he said. Li Huowang then wiped his face, transforming into the appearance of Youngster Yang. He then walked towards the village under the cover of darkness.

Li Sui's tentacles, wrapped around some eyeballs, emerged from Li Huowang's back. They quickly swelled up and transformed into a large burlap package.

As he got closer to the village, Li Huowang immediately smelled a rich bamboo fragrance. Judging by the time, it was likely dinnertime.

Soon after Li Huowang entered the village, a woman walked towards him. When their eyes met, both were startled.

The woman was startled because a stranger had appeared in the village. Li Huowang, on the other hand, was startled by the woman's peculiar attire.

She certainly looked human, wearing a round-necked, broad-lapel short jacket on her upper body, a pleated skirt below, with an apron both front and back. Her clothes were deep blue and batik-dyed with fish and bird patterns.

This wasn't the most unusual part; what was most distinctive was her neck. The woman's neck was extraordinarily long, appearing as long as two ordinary people's necks combined, and it was adorned with layers of silver collars.

A woman whose body and head were so far apart, standing alone on the dark village road, this scene appeared incredibly unsettling to Li Huowang.

"Father, she's not an evil spirit."

"I can see that," Li Huowang cleared his throat. Adopting Youngster Yang's tone, he asked the woman, "Excuse me, elder sister, may I ask what place this is?"

Perhaps it was Youngster Yang's innocent face, or perhaps she didn't sense anything amiss, but the woman replied directly, "This is Gexiong Village. Child, where are you from? What are you doing coming all the way here?"

Her speech was very natural. Were it not for her unusually long neck, she would have seemed no different from an ordinary villager.

"Gexiong Village... it seems I've taken a wrong turn. May I ask which way is the nearest county seat?"

"That way. But you'd have to cross several mountains, it would take at least two days. If you leave now, how will you ever get there?"

Their conversation immediately attracted other villagers. Gradually, people gathered around Li Huowang, chattering amongst themselves.

As they observed Li Huowang, he also observed them. Everyone in this village had silver collars around their necks, and all their necks were very long.

Another distinctive point was that this village consisted almost entirely of women, with hardly any men. The only males present were small children.

"Elder sister, I'm a stranger here. May I ask something? Why do you wear these things on your neck?"

"They look good."

Hearing this reply, Li Huowang hesitated, wanting to say more but holding back. Had these women truly been tricked by the Sit-and-Forget Sect?

As Li Huowang was pondering whether to speak further, an old woman brought two bamboo tubes to him.

As he looked confused, one of the bamboo tubes was pried open. The fresh fragrance of bamboo and the aroma of cooked rice immediately wafted out. It turned out she was inviting him to eat bamboo tube rice.

"Thank you, Granny, thank you very much! I haven't eaten all day today," Li Huowang said. He immediately reached out and took the bamboo tubes, using a bamboo splinter to scoop out the rice and eat it heartily.

He wasn't afraid of someone trying to drug him. Such minor tricks wouldn't fool him now.

But after taking a bite, Li Huowang found nothing unusual about the bamboo tube rice; on the contrary, it was delicious.

The bamboo and rice complemented each other, the bamboo's fragrance fully infusing the rice. It tasted sweet and fragrant, leaving a pleasant aftertaste.