Mutated Tao

Chapter 935: Truth

No one had thought the Sitting Oblivion Dao would infiltrate an entire group of Strayed Ones.

After Bai Lingmiao informed him about the origins of the Strayed Ones, Li Huowang organized his thoughts. “The Sitting Oblivion Dao hid ten Strayed Ones in the Muddled One's Karmic Obstacle. They were probably trying to accomplish something, but we reaped the fruits of their labor instead.”

Xuan Pin nodded but corrected him. “Father, this is Shai Zi’s way of helping us.”

“What? Him? Help us?”

“Ten Strayed Ones hiding in the Muddled One’s Karmic Obstacle. I doubt that the regular folks of the White Lotus Sect could discover such a hidden resource. No one would’ve learned about it if Shai Zi hadn’t disclosed it.”

Li Huowang wasn’t in a hurry to absorb all the primordial breath. He meditated on the strange events. “Is he the one who revealed the information to us? I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Father, you don’t need to be suspicious of him all the time. Things are different now—he wouldn’t be able to win against us even if he tried. He’s not that stupid.”

Li Huowang nodded. “Frankly, I would feel more at ease if he had some hidden agenda. I was worried that Shai Zi was genuinely trying to assist us.”

He continued, “It's quite troubling. Just how dire must our circumstances be for even our enemies to extend a helping hand?”

“While I’m cultivating, help me check on the Qi Kingdom. Send some men if you need to. Don’t let the Tianchen Kingdom attack it. Let me know the moment they attack the Qi Kingdom.”

"Alright," Li Sui said as she extended several tentacles from her robes, tightly grabbing onto the spine sword.

Li Huowang looked at the remaining Strayed Ones and took a deep breath. “Come, let’s continue. We need to reach the seventh stage before Zuoqiu Yong comes here.”

As Li Huowang absorbed the primordial breath and inner sight of the Strayed Ones, he started to deform uncontrollably. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his brain expanded to the point of imminent rupture.

Li Huowang waved his arm, urging them to leave despite his pain. “Leave! Run as far away as you can!”

Bai Lingmiao and the others quickly exited the pulsing room. Once outside, Yuen Er and the others turned to Bai Lingmiao with grateful expressions. “Thank you, Miss Bai! We were deceived a lot of times in the past, but now we've finally found someone trustworthy.”

Bai Lingmiao shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. The White Lotus Sect focuses on accruing good karma, so we merely did the right thing. Do you have any other plans?”

Yuen Er and the others exchanged glances, uncertain of what to do next.

“Why don’t you head to Cowheart Village? My people are there. It’s a good place to stay while you figure out what to do.”

“Thank you, Miss Bai! You are a real living Bodhisattva!”

At that moment, a powerful suction force emerged from the cultivating room, drawing everyone uncontrollably towards it.

Just as abruptly, the force vanished, replaced by a thunderous explosion that threw them into the air.

What was once an underground room had been transformed. Li Huowang's cultivation had violently displaced the earth, ripping away the ceiling and exposing a vast expanse of the sky.

Bai Lingmiao turned in the air and landed safely on the ground. “Save them! Take them and distance yourself from Senior Li!”

Fortunately, each person present had their own cultivation techniques. They all survived, even though they had been sent flying into the air.

Still, the aftermath was not without consequences. The blast impacted the room to the left—a repository of histories and ancient records. The books and scrolls lay scattered on the ground.

Bai Lingmiao stood at the crater's edge and looked down to see what had happened. They were shocked to find something weird down in the crater.

Something was slowly growing upwards from the crater like a distorted tree. It kept replicating and pasting itself repeatedly.

A distorted tree was slowly growing upwards from the crater, replicating itself repeatedly.

The tree had flesh, blood, grass, flowers, wood, and various other things that Bai Lingmiao could not identify.

The tree stopped growing an hour later, though its roots kept growing underground.

Bai Lingmiao stared at the large “tree” in front of her. It was both chaotic and majestic. She reached out and plucked an apple from a flat piece of a black mirror. ṟ𝘼ɴȫᛒĚş

She stared at the apple for a long time before the Second Deity chomped into it.

“This is something Senior Li conjured. Don’t eat it.”

The Second Deity swallowed with delight. “Don’t you understand? This isn’t a conjuration or an illusion. This is the real deal. From now on, everything that Li Huowang conjures will be real. It will never fade away, even if he stops channeling his power. This is the true power of his cultivation.”

Bai Lingmiao frowned as she looked at the chaotic crater. Maybe the others had forgotten, but she had not forgotten the side effects of “Truth” cultivation.

“Li Huowang, let’s talk.”

“I’m listening.”

Li Huowang hugged his chest and stared at Qing Wanglai and Zhao Shuangdian.

"I understand that you aren’t trying to break up with us at this moment, especially since you reached out to discuss this. Regardless of our current situation, we are all literally and figuratively tied down in the same boat."

Li Huowang turned to look at the seagulls flying past their boat.

He wasn’t worried—they should be the ones worrying. Once the timeline reset, he would be the only one to retain his memories.

By then, Li Huowang would be in control of the situation.

Of course, since they were in an alliance to fight against a common enemy, Li Huowang would still tell them about his ability to reset the timeline.

However, he planned to mix false information with real information. No one would be able to tell the difference.

“We understand what you’re thinking, but you must also know where we’re coming from.

“We worked hard to fulfill some of your demands, such as bringing you the medicine to suppress your hallucinations.

“We also understand that you’re worried about your girlfriend. We promise that this is the first and last time. We will not bring your girlfriend next time.

"We can even share some of our secret codes with you. This way, you’ll quickly prove your ability to reset the timeline the next time it happens, and we won't bring your girlfriend along then."

Li Huowang looked at them silently as they talked. At the same time, Yang Na opened the door and entered the room.

She sensed the tension in the room and realized that the negotiations were going poorly. She bowed apologetically to the two before tugging at Li Huowang’s sleeve, urging him to step outside with her.

However, Li Huowang remained still. Yang Na had to drag him out by force.

Li Huowang was confused. “Why are you helping them? Can’t you see that they are using us? I’m finally sorting out the relationships between us Simings. If you don’t want to be used by them, you need to use them instead!”

The wind on the sea blew through Yang Na's hair, causing it to flutter wildly. "I’m not helping them—I just want to help you. It’s better to have another Siming, after all.

“Huowang, I know you’re worried about me and don’t want me to risk my life, but you need to think ahead. What if all of you died because I wasn’t here? Would I really be able to defend the entire Baiyu Capital by myself?”