Chapter 405
Chapter 405
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 405
>Chapter Title: Great Elder
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“According to Lord Zhuge, you’ve undergone the Cangxuan Ascension three times? May I ask if that’s true?”
Li Huowang looked coldly at the young man before him. “So what if I have? So what if I haven’t? What’s it to you?”
“So it’s true?!” Xia Risheng immediately dropped to one knee, his expression extremely agitated. “Greetings, Great Elder!”
The moment he knelt, Li Huowang stood and moved aside. “I’m not some Great Elder. You’ve got the wrong person!”
“You are! You absolutely are! Anyone who can perform the Cangxuan Ascension three times using the Great Thousand Record is undoubtedly the Great Elder of Ao Jingism!”
“At your level, you no longer need the Great Thousand Record—you can directly feed the Master with your own flesh! That’s the ultimate symbol!”
The man spoke with feverish excitement, sending chills down Li Huowang’s spine. Li Huowang hadn’t known much about Ao Jingism before, and he never imagined there was such a thing.
“You’ve got it wrong. Zhuge Yuan was lying to you. I’ve never performed the Cangxuan Ascension!”
With that, ignoring whether the man believed him or not, Li Huowang forced himself to stay calm and walked away.
“What’s going on? Isn’t the Cangxuan Ascension a ritual where you exchange power with Ba Hui through double the pain? From what this guy’s saying, it’s some kind of status symbol within Ao Jingism?”
Li Huowang knew about the so-called Great Elders, even if they were all imposters from the Sitting Oblivion Dao.
Regardless of whether there were higher-ups above the Great Elders, the title was definitely not low in Ao Jingism.
“And now I can offer sacrifices to Ba Hui directly with my body, without the Great Thousand Record? What does that mean? That I’m getting closer to Ba Hui?”
Li Huowang didn’t think that was a good thing at all. There had to be some hidden danger to the Cangxuan Ascension that the Great Thousand Record didn’t mention.
After some thought, Li Huowang decided to test it first. He glanced at the others in the distance and stepped into the nearby woods, where he began removing his red Daoist robes.
“Li Sui.” Li Huowang slashed the copper coin sword horizontally, and Li Sui’s tentacles wrapped around the hilt, extending back to slice open the skin that had only just healed.
More tentacles reached out, coiling around the Great Thousand Record that was nearly embedded in his flesh, and yanked it out.
Ignoring the pain, Li Huowang hooked the left corner of his fingernail and flicked it hard. With a whoosh, a deep bloody gash appeared on a tree trunk three zhang away, as thick as a bowl.
“It really works without the Great Thousand Record?” Li Huowang was at a loss for words.
“Is this a good thing? It should be, right?” Li Huowang stood there in a daze, watching the distant tree creak and slowly topple over.
The old problems remained unsolved, and now new ones had cropped up. It left Li Huowang feeling utterly exasperated.
But if he had to do something to get rid of this “benefit,” he was a bit reluctant.
At least now he had no weaknesses. The incident where Peng Longteng had ambushed him, stolen the Great Thousand Record, and left him unable to use his fleshly powers would never happen again.
“I’ll take it one step at a time. First, deal with the Heart Elemental issue—put everything else on hold. Sigh, why is life so exhausting?”
After a brief rest, Li Huowang continued on the road with the group.
Old Qin was leading the way, and they’d deliberately chosen remote back roads, seemingly to avoid being targeted again.
Li Huowang didn’t care. His job was to guard Zhuge Yuan’s heart anchor and wait for the Sitting Oblivion Dao. He wasn’t afraid of delays.
But that young man named Xia Risheng clearly hadn’t bought Li Huowang’s denial—his attitude had flipped completely.
“Great Elder! Please sit here!” Xia Risheng stepped into the rundown roadside inn first, wiping the stool and table with his sleeve before respectfully inviting Li Huowang to sit.
As soon as Li Huowang sat, Xia Risheng poured him tea, then blocked the waiter and personally ordered his food.
The man’s odd behavior made Li Huowang extremely uncomfortable. He neither needed nor wanted someone waiting on him like a servant.
“What exactly are you trying to do?” Li Huowang asked impatiently.
“Nothing at all! Great Elder, serving you is this humble one’s honor!”
Xia Risheng was utterly obsequious. Then he added inwardly, “If he could just share the secret to successfully performing the Cangxuan Ascension, that’d be even better!”
“Fine, I’m the Great Elder, right? Good. Now the Great Elder orders you to get lost! Stay out of my sight until we reach the capital!”
“Uh, as you command!”
Seeing Xia Risheng finally leave brought Li Huowang some relief.
He glanced at the Miaojiang woman sitting with her companions and thought to himself, “Strange. It’s been so long, and the Sitting Oblivion Dao hasn’t made a single move. This doesn’t match my earlier guess.”
According to Li Huowang’s previous thinking, with Zhuge Yuan openly appearing on the street, those Sitting Oblivion Dao folks should swarm like flies to shit.
Yet ever since Xingdao had disguised herself as him, the Sitting Oblivion Dao had gone completely quiet. The only one they’d encountered was a total small fry whose identity was already exposed.
“Could these guys think that small skirmishes can’t hurt Zhuge Yuan, so they’re plotting something big instead?” Li Huowang couldn’t help imagining the worst.
If it came to fear, Li Huowang—alone with no ties—truly wasn’t afraid. His only worry was whether Beifeng might get involved.
“Facai’s dead, so Hongzhong and Baipan will definitely show up. To kill Zhuge Yuan in one go, Xiao Sixi and the others should come too, right?”
As Li Huowang pondered this, Zhuge Yuan—who had stepped away briefly—returned and sat down across from him.
“Brother Zhuge, where were you just now?”
“Oh, I bought the inn’s carriage, refitted the compartment a bit, so Old Qin can lie down more comfortably inside.”
“You personally handled something like that? Brother Zhuge, how did you meet Old Qin?” Li Huowang picked up the teapot and poured him a cup.
“When I was in Youdu, I saw Old Qin playing go under a tree. His style was bold and sweeping—every game won fair and square. I couldn’t help but go up and befriend him.”
“That’s how you met?”
“What else did Brother Li expect? I make friends without regard for status or position—only if it feels right and fated.”
“Brother Zhuge, you’re a man of true character. I admire that.”
“Isn’t that how one should make friends? I find that nowadays, too many people overthink and complicate things, which is why they can’t find true confidants. Speaking of which, the world these days...”
At that moment, the waiter arrived with a tray of dishes, bailing Li Huowang out and sparing him the ensuing chatter.
“The food’s here~ Stir-fried lamb, Earth Three Fresh, stir-fried cattail, and an eight-treasure duck. Enjoy your meal, sirs.”
(End of chapter)