Chapter 497
Chapter 497
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 497
>Chapter Title: Sword
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In the sparse woods, the sounds of slaughter rang out nonstop. On one side were the Fa Cult followers with black cloth draped over their shoulders, while the other side consisted of six people from the Celestial Surveillance Division.
From their identities, Li Huowang judged that this must be the Celestial Surveillance Division purging the Fa Cult that worshiped the Child God—and the Surveillance Division was clearly holding the advantage.
No matter how fearless they were of death, they couldn’t make up for the absolute gap in strength.
As for why Li Huowang could tell the other side was the Celestial Surveillance Division, it was simply because Hong Da, the debt-knife man who had brought him into the Division back then, was among them.
Seeing the river of blood in the distance, Li Huowang let out a slight breath of relief. At a time like this, as long as it had nothing to do with the Sitting Oblivion Dao, it was fine.
“Let’s go. These ragtag Fa Cult followers should be no match for the Surveillance Division—they won’t need me to step in.”
Ever since he learned that the Celestial Surveillance Division was working hard to stop the heavenly disaster from descending, Li Huowang’s attitude toward them had improved quite a bit.
But just as Li Huowang took half a step forward, he suddenly spotted a Daoist in the midst of performing a ritual whose weapon looked off—it was a brush.
Upon closer inspection, Li Huowang was shocked to discover that it was actually Zhuge Yuan’s judge’s brush.
“Brother Zhuge, take a look—isn’t that your old weapon over there?”
Bai Lingmiao suddenly heard Li Huowang muttering to himself as he asked the question.
“So that’s how it is. After you died back then, everything on you was kept by the Surveillance Division. By the way, Brother Zhuge, what’s the story behind that judge’s brush of yours?”
“Is that so? It’s that powerful? Ah, right—if only I’d taken it back then. But you’d just died, so how could I have thought of that?”
Though Bai Lingmiao knew Li Huowang was probably talking to one of those invisible hallucinations, she couldn’t help but find it extremely strange.
Just as she was about to open her mouth and ask what exactly her Senior Brother Li was saying, she suddenly saw his face twist into an exceptionally savage expression as he glared viciously at someone in the distance.
Bai Lingmiao’s “gaze” followed along, and soon she spotted a woman with purple lips. Her left hand gripped a bizarre bone sword in reverse.
The bone sword shifted upward section by section, and when she saw the shape of the hilt, Bai Lingmiao let out a sharp gasp of fright. It was actually a human head—this bone sword was made from someone’s spine!
Moreover, the head looked like it had been specially refined, shriveled down to the size of a fist like a dried-up orange, with all its orifices sealed by black sludge and a purple talisman pasted on its forehead.
Though the head had shrunk so much, Bai Lingmiao could still tell that this person had been quite handsome in life.
“Grit-grit-grit.” Hearing the sound, Bai Lingmiao turned to see her Senior Brother Li grinding his teeth fiercely.
“They... they actually refined Zhuge Yuan’s body into a ritual weapon!!” Faced with such desecration of his friend’s corpse, Li Huowang’s eyes burned with uncontainable fury.
“What’s there to be mad about? Isn’t this perfectly normal? You’re a Heart Elemental yourself, so damn precious—a whole Heart Pan tossed out there on the ground. You think the Surveillance Division would just let it go?”
The Sitting Oblivion Dao hallucination sat on Peng Longteng’s shoulder, gleefully stirring up trouble as he teased.
In contrast to Li Huowang’s rage, Zhuge Yuan’s face appeared utterly magnanimous. “I, the humble scholar, do not cling to material things and dwell freely in the heart. That’s merely a stinking husk of skin. Brother Li, let’s go.”
“No!” Li Huowang refused without hesitation. If he hadn’t run into it, he could pretend he hadn’t seen it—but since he had, how could he just do nothing?
Back then, Zhuge Yuan had given up his life for him. Could he really just let his friend’s corpse be used however others pleased?
Though he’d already decided to take back that sword, Li Huowang didn’t act rashly. Instead, he stayed put and quietly observed the woman’s techniques and strength.
From the way Hong Da spoke to her, Li Huowang judged that this woman was likely the new Recorder.
As for her sect or school, he couldn’t tell yet from her plain purple dress.
Especially that spine sword of Zhuge Yuan’s in her hand—Li Huowang was extremely wary of it. After all, it was a ritual weapon refined from a Heart Pan.
“Brother Zhuge, do you know what ritual weapon can be made from a Heart Pan’s spine? Is there any way to counter it?”
“Of course not. I’m a Heart Pan myself—why would I pay attention to how to refine one of us? Brother Li, let’s go. No need to stir up extra trouble for my sake.”
Even as Zhuge Yuan tried to dissuade him, Li Huowang’s mind was set. His eyes locked dead onto the woman with the purple lips.
At that moment, the woman abruptly raised her bone-spine sword and lightly slashed toward the distant Fa Cult followers. Instantly, everything below the shoulders of an entire row of them—waists and above—vanished.
Amid their screams, their bisected bodies tumbled to the ground, entrails spilling from the cuts along with sprays of blood.
“Daoist, maybe we should just forget it. She’s so powerful—you might not be able to take her.”
The monk spoke to Li Huowang with concern on his face.
Yet Li Huowang thought differently—his gaze grew even more resolute.
“Senior Brother Li, it’s so strange. After that person slashed with the bone sword, I could actually see a rift appear where she cut. Inside that rift, there were fields... and mountains.”
“A rift with fields and mountains inside?”
“Brother Li, I know what it is. The other side of that rift is Da Qi.”
Hearing Zhuge Yuan’s words, Li Huowang’s heart tightened as he instantly understood. So this woman’s sword had opened a fissure leading to Da Qi.
When the fissure closed, it was like scissors snipping the Fa Cult followers into three segments—two in Da Liang, one in Da Qi. Rather than calling it a sword, it was more like a key to Da Qi’s parallel history.
Seeing the Fa Cult followers falling back step by step, on the verge of collapse, Li Huowang—who now understood the bone-spine sword’s ability—decided he couldn’t wait any longer!
With the Fa Cult followers still around, they could draw the attention of the other Surveillance Division members. If the Fa Cult was wiped out, he’d have to face the whole Surveillance Division alone.
“You two, head back and wait for me! Meet at the valley from two days ago!” Li Huowang whispered to Miao Miao and Li Sui. Then he stripped off his red Daoist robes and tossed them to them, slicing his colorful phantom body into the ground. Invisible, he slowly approached the woman.
When he got close enough, Li Huowang removed the copper coin mask from his face. His features writhed, transforming into a stranger’s face.
With a flip of his hand, a strip of black cloth appeared in his palm, which he draped over his arm. At that moment, Li Huowang looked just like a Fa Cult follower.
Watching them butcher the Fa Cult’s men, women, and children nonstop, Li Huowang waited silently for the perfect moment.
When he saw a black jade dagger emerge from the woman’s shadow and reach toward her back, Li Huowang kicked off the ground hard with both feet and pounced toward her like a fierce tiger.
Just as Li Huowang was about to reach the woman, cold gleams suddenly flashed from all directions. Tattered robes hung with all sorts of new and old blades whirled toward him.
(End of chapter)