Chapter 948: Encounter

"Master Zuoqiu!" Dice continued to persuade the hermaphrodite before him. "While I don't know what past grievances you have with Wusheng Laomu, a formidable enemy stands before us now. Can you still not distinguish what takes precedence?"

"Wusheng Laomu is currently fighting against the Sìmìngs from the Heavens of Fortune. If you cause trouble for her now, you'll only be holding them back."

"Just think about it: if they all lose, how could you possibly fight the entire Heavens of Fortune by yourself?"

"Furthermore, Wusheng Laomu has now allied with other Sìmìngs. If you act against her now, you'll clearly be antagonizing the other Sìmìngs. When they recover, how do you think they'll deal with you?"

Facing Zuoqiu Yong, Dice appealed to both his reason and emotion, clearly explaining all the implications and stakes.

Li Huowang even thought that if he were in Zuoqiu Yong's position, he would definitely first halt the pursuit of the White Lotus Society and investigate the situation thoroughly.

However, Li Huowang knew that what he thought didn't matter. What mattered was whether Zuoqiu Yong believed Dice's words.

Zuoqiu Yong stood there hesitantly, his hand, adorned with a dragon and phoenix ring, continuously fiddling with his pink silk handkerchief, as if weighing something.

Taking advantage of this moment, Li Huowang took two steps back and approached Li Sui. "Sui Sui, Dice said he went on your instruction? Is what he said true?"

He had always been skeptical of Dice's words, but while he didn't trust Dice, he trusted his own daughter.

Xuanpin remained silent. Words formed on the revolving light mirror floating beside Li Huowang: "Indeed. What he said is true, Father. On this matter, he is on our side. We must trust him."

"If even we ourselves can't trust him, then others will trust him even less."

Li Huowang paused slightly upon seeing the words, but then, remembering something, he immediately nodded.

Just then, some hazy images flashed before Li Huowang's eyes. He seemed to be holding something and chasing a streak of yellow.

"What was that?" Li Huowang was momentarily stunned. He then pressed hard on his head, "I can't think wildly... I absolutely cannot let my mind wander for even a moment!"

Yet, the more he tried not to think, the more chaotic Li Huowang's thoughts became. Tangible things began to uncontrollably manifest around him.

"Hngh!" With a single grab, a large iron ball appeared in Li Huowang's hand. He violently smashed it against his own head. The iron ball looked very heavy and hard; in just a few blows, it left Li Huowang with a bleeding head and a slightly caved-in skull.

By the time Bai Lingmiao came to stop him, Li Huowang had already ceased. He reached out, grabbed Bai Lingmiao's hand, and shook his head repeatedly, distributing the pain from one side evenly across his entire skull.

"It's nothing, nothing... I'm much better," Li Huowang mumbled to himself. In such a situation, he could only resort to old, crude methods; only the agony of Bahui could stabilize his thoughts again.

He then declined Bai Lingmiao's support and looked back at Zuoqiu Yong, who was not far away. This was the most critical moment; there could be no mistakes.

Finally, under Li Huowang's gaze, Zuoqiu Yong made a move. His beardless chin lifted slightly, and after a light cough, he looked at Dice. "Hmph."

"Little Dice, your eloquence is indeed impressive. You've even swayed me somewhat. But here's a problem: why should I believe you, a Zuo Wang Dao practitioner? And furthermore, there's another thing."

Saying this, Zuoqiu Yong paused, seemingly brewing something. His body slowly floated upwards under everyone's gaze, a wisp of white cloud rising from beneath his feet. "And the other thing is, just you few? Do you people even have the right to say this to me? What qualifications do you possess?"

"Over the years, from Daqi to Tianchen, I've climbed step by step. I did it so that everyone would only be fit to speak to me on their knees!"

With a loud *bang*, a tremendous, mountain-like pressure directly bore down on Li Huowang's back, forcing his entire body to sink into the ground.

Seeing everyone struggling to breathe under his pressure, a sinister smile emerged on Zuoqiu Yong's face. "If there's to be a balance of power, it will be between me and the other Sìmìngs. What are you people? You're not worthy of balancing power with me!"

After Zuoqiu Yong finished speaking, he raised his right hand. A spine bone extended from his sleeve. As he quickly brandished the bone, the world drastically changed. They found themselves once again inside Shangjing City of Daliang.

While Daliang had been calm moments before, it was now in utter chaos. The Shuobuida armies and the bandit soldiers of Tianchen were frantically searching the city.

Any White Lotus followers and anyone who dared to obstruct them were cut down. The sounds of fighting and screams were constant within Shangjing City. Daliang's soldiers and the Jiantian Division had all been mobilized. The entire Shangjing City had completely transformed into a battlefield.

Floating in the air, Zuoqiu Yong looked down at the struggling masses fleeing for their lives below. A hint of satisfaction appeared on his face. "You seem to have forgotten something. I didn't go to all this trouble just to kill the White Lotus Saintess alone. What I want is to completely destroy the entire White Lotus Society!"

No sooner had he spoken, a hole opened in the sky, and people from Tianchen fell like rain from above.

Through the opening, the Stilt-Fox Mask could be seen. His body had grown even taller. It seemed he had also absorbed the Heart-Pan of Daqi and Daliang Zhijian.

"This guy is feigning an attack on one front to strike elsewhere! He intended to deal with the entire White Lotus Society from the start!" Li Huowang roared, pulled out his spine sword, stomped his feet hard on the ground, and leapt towards Zuoqiu Yong.

At this moment, he was absolutely certain that he could kill this guy later, that he could *definitely* kill this guy!

He swung his sword, easily cleaving the opponent in half. However, Zuoqiu Yong's body split into two, smiling all the while. The two severed halves rapidly grew and healed. In no time, two perfectly intact Zuoqiu Yongs stood before Li Huowang.

"Little worm, kneel before me!" As Zuoqiu Yong pointed at Li Huowang, Li Huowang's body rapidly aged, and his five orifices and seven apertures quickly merged.

Just as Li Huowang tore off his eyelids with his fingernails, he saw Li Sui's vast body blocking him, shielding him from Zuoqiu Yong's immense pressure.

Xuanpin's red Daoist robe slipped off, revealing Li Sui's body, covered in tentacles.

Dense black tentacles continuously spread. Something emerged from deep within the tentacles.

They were human heads, their features completely overtaken by tentacles. And it wasn't just Shangguan Yuting's head; there were dog heads, bear heads, young boys' heads—heads of men, women, young, and old alike.

Amidst the chaotic dance of black tentacles, a Jingguan of heads, neatly piled like a pagoda of skulls, slowly rose. It stood between Li Huowang and Zuoqiu Yong.