Chapter 894: Tongue

Li Huowang was surprised to find a statue inside the hump, something he hadn't anticipated. According to the dice, the people of Tianchen had no faith, so how could a deity's image be present?

Li Huowang tried to identify the statue, but its face was completely obscured by thick, viscous pus, making it impossible to discern which deity it represented.

As Li Huowang followed through with his strike, intending to cleave the one-eyed elder and his hump in two, others suddenly appeared.

A "swish, swish, swish" sound echoed as a completely peeled human head skin appeared above him, poised to drop onto Li Huowang's head.

Li Huowang didn't know the purpose of this blood-droplet-like object, but the fact that the facial features on the human skin were still twitching told him it was likely nothing good.

As he twisted his head to evade it, a hand shot out from an unknown direction, reaching for Li Huowang's chest. It was clearly an attempt to repeat their previous tactic and seize his Innate Monocle once more.

This time, however, Li Sui was clearly prepared. Seven or eight tentacles shot out, tightly coiling around the assailant.

To Li Huowang's surprise, another hand reached in, snatching items from Li Sui's tentacles one by one.

Li Huowang didn't know what the opponent had taken from Li Sui's tentacles, but he felt a sudden rush of hot blood to his head.

"You bastard!" Li Huowang roared, ripping off his own face and slapping it directly onto the opponent's face.

At that moment, putrid black rice surged forth from the side, engulfing Li Huowang and his entangled foe like a tsunami. Yet, even within the deluge, Li Huowang managed to forcibly rip off his opponent's skin.

The two sides engaged in a fierce, inextricable struggle. It was clear they knew Li Huowang's vulnerabilities, like finding his Achilles' heel. They would seize any opening to launch a sneak attack or attempt to pull out his Spinal Sword.

Against them, Li Huowang found himself momentarily without effective means. Whether it was the reality manifested by his cultivation or the pain inflicted by Zoroastrianism, they could effortlessly nullify anything he brought to bear upon them.

To counter him, Tianchen had dispatched exceptionally formidable individuals this time, whose strength was barely inferior to that of the Unspeakable Army.

Li Huowang was deeply concerned, not only for himself but for Daliang. He was already struggling so much against them; if they truly found a way to cross over from Daqi, Daliang might well face utter ruin.

While other dice had misled him, on this particular point, there was no deception: Tianchen was indeed incredibly troublesome.

Li Huowang knew he couldn't afford to delay; a stalemate like this was clearly unsustainable.

This was their territory. If he didn't leave now, he might not be able to escape later when more forces from Tianchen arrived.

Just as he gripped his Spinal Sword, preparing to open a rift, he noticed Po Da'er, who had remained still, and suddenly stumbled.

Li Huowang looked down to see a hand emerging from the earth. When it yanked hard on his leg, his left leg instantly went numb.

Stumbling backward, Li Huowang had just forcefully swung his sword, driving back everyone in front of him, when he felt a slight itch on the left side of his neck.

When he turned his head, he saw Po Da'er's large face smiling at him. "Master Li, it's not too late to surrender."

With that, Po Da'er raised Li Huowang's hand and waved it at himself. Li Huowang's body had been taken over; Po Da'er could now extract the Innate Monocle from him whenever he wished.

"Surrender, it's no disgrace. To tell you the truth, I now possess not just your body, but everything within it is mine—from the tricks of the Sitting-and-Forgetting Path to the cultivation of Xinsu."

As Po Da'er laughed, Li Huowang also laughed. Li Huowang's laughter stemmed from the fact that his objective in Tianchen had been accomplished.

"Everything in my body is yours? What about all the torture and pain I've endured then?"

Seeing not a hint of panic in Li Huowang, Po Da'er instantly felt something was amiss. Just as he moved to seize control of Li Huowang's body, Li Sui snapped four ribs and violently plunged them into Li Huowang's chest.

The intense pain made Po Da'er shriek in unbearable agony. While he could normally endure pain, Li Huowang's bodily pain was amplified by Cangqiang's ascension, a sensation Po Da'er now equally experienced.

"Fire!" With a furious roar from Li Huowang, towering flames instantly engulfed his entire body.

Po Da'er now experienced Li Huowang's pain firsthand. While Li Huowang had long grown accustomed to it, Po Da'er found it unbearable.

Ignoring the Heavenly Dao and Innate Monocle within Li Huowang, Po Da'er desperately sought to escape.

He wanted to leave, but it was already too late. Black tentacles, like horsehair worms, writhed out from his facial orifices, intertwining and knotting, effectively trapping Po Da'er's head within Li Huowang's hellish body.

This was unlike before. Previously, Po Da'er had escaped danger by returning to Tianchen from Daqi. But now he was already in Tianchen, with nowhere left to flee.

Having captured an informant, Li Huowang had achieved his objective in Tianchen. As if in perfect sync, Li Sui immediately cast an illusion, causing the entire sky to seemingly press down.

Seizing this opportunity, Li Huowang raised his Spinal Sword and swung it with all his might. As a rift appeared, he flashed and plunged directly into it.

When he landed and regained his footing, silence enveloped him. The surroundings were filled with birdsong and the scent of flowers; he had returned to Daliang.

Looking at the charred head still struggling and trembling in flames on his neck, Li Huowang quickly ascertained his bearings and dashed towards Shangjing City.

Interrogation was best left to professionals like the Fangxian Dao. This individual likely held considerable knowledge, and they could surely extract much from him.

"I hope we can find a way to counter them, otherwise, if Tianchen clashes with Daqi and Daliang, we're certainly doomed!" Although the mission was complete, Li Huowang grew even more pessimistic about the future.

"Father, don't lose heart. This isn't merely a crisis; it's also an opportunity."

"An opportunity? What kind? I don't see anything."

"Since they can extract the Innate Monocle from your body, it stands to reason it can also be put in."

"What good is that? You could already do that before, couldn't you?"

"It's more than just the Innate Monocle. I saw just now that they can even manipulate the divine light within them that controls the Innate Monocle."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's heart stirred. "So that means..."

"It means you can add things to the divine consciousness, just as you can add what you desire."

"The more divine light you have in your body, the stronger your control over the Innate Monocle will be. If we have enough Xinsu cultivators, we can extract all the divine light and Innate Monocle from their bodies and place them into yours."

"Whatever they do to Xinpan, we will do to Xinsu."

"If we can truly achieve this, your cultivation will reach Grand Completion across all seven cycles. At that point, whatever you think, imagine, or dream will become reality."