Chapter 498
Chapter 498
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 498
>Chapter Title: Manifest
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Chapter 498: Manifest
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> As the sharp blade sliced through the air, a whistling sound immediately filled the space above Li Huowang's head.
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> Seeing that tattered robe covered in blades descending toward him from above like a blood-dripping zi, Li Huowang instantly severed two of his fingers and flung them out.
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> Seizing the moment when his severed fingers knocked the robe away, just as Li Huowang was about to close in on the purple-lipped woman, Hong Da's familiar face blocked his path. The tattered robe in the air landed steadily on Hong Da's body.
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> Though he couldn't see Li Huowang's figure, he seemed to have some method to detect someone's presence here. "Who goes there! Show yourself!"
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> Facing Hong Da, Li Huowang had no desire to tangle with him. He directly peeled off his own face and slapped it onto Hong Da's.
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> But unexpectedly, the Daoist in the distance lightly swiped his judge's brush, instantly splitting the face in two. Then, with a single hand forming a mudra, the invisible Li Huowang was immediately revealed.
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> Seeing that the woman had sliced the thing in the shadow into four segments and was now free, raising her bone marrow sword to strike at him, Li Huowang swiftly drew his dagger and slashed open his chest. He grabbed the lowest two ribs, snapped them off, and viciously jammed them back into his chest.
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> With Li Huowang at the center, everyone bent over simultaneously, groaning in agony with pained expressions. The woman's attack was instantly interrupted.
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> Amid the identical pain, the battle-hardened Li Huowang adapted far quicker than the others. While they were still clutching their chests, he had already passed through the obstructing Hong Da and arrived before the purple-lipped woman.
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> As a Sitheaven registrar tasked with preventing heavenly calamities, Li Huowang didn't want her life—he only wanted to retrieve Zhuge Yuan's remains from her grasp. He gripped his dagger tightly and slashed viciously at her slender fingers holding the sword.
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> "Clang!" Accompanied by a crisp ring, Li Huowang's dagger snapped in two.
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> Immediately after, a thumb-sized golden-body Buddha identical in appearance to her emerged from the woman's sleeve and wept sorrowfully at Li Huowang.
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> It was this Buddha who had just used its gleaming golden head to shatter Li Huowang's weapon.
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> "Is this for real? This woman's a Buddhist disciple?!" Li Huowang cursed inwardly but reached for the hilt of the purple-tasseled sword, preparing to draw it.
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> Yet when a rusty long saber appeared at his side, Li Huowang was forced to halt. He quickly swiped the sword tassel, turning the purple tassel black with several mahjong tiles hanging from it.
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> "No good. Hong Da's seen my sword before. If I really draw it, he'll recognize my identity!"
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> After swiftly switching positions to dodge Hong Da's attack, just as Li Huowang prepared for a quick decisive strike, he noticed that the woman's body was now completely covered in thumb-sized Buddhas.
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> These Buddhas wept or laughed, wriggling across her face like golden maggots, ultimately forming a crude set of male features.
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> Gazing at Li Huowang, the thumb-sized Buddhas spoke in unison. "Amitabha. Lay down the butcher's knife and you will become a Buddha at once~!"
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> At these words, a surge of impulse welled up in Li Huowang's heart, urging him to drop all his weapons.
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> But just as the dazed Li Huowang was about to unfasten the two long swords on his back, his hands twisted, yanking out the ribs embedded in his chest and slamming them back in reverse.
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> The excruciating pain instantly cleared Li Huowang's mind and reversed the tide.
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> "Aaahhh!!" Li Huowang yanked out the ribs again and brutally thrust them back into his chest, enduring the agony as he charged at the woman doubled over before him.
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> In that interval, Li Huowang pulled out and reinserted the ribs a full three times. Centered on him, no one else could move—only clutch their chests and collapse to the ground wailing.
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> Under the extreme torment, the savagely berserk Li Huowang raised his right foot and stomped viciously on the woman's sword-wielding wrist.
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> The golden Buddhas on her wrist were just raising their hands to resist when Li Huowang twisted the ribs. The Buddhas on her wrist instantly devolved into chaos.
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> And as Li Huowang's sole slammed down with immense force onto those Buddhas, they were crushed straight into her flesh.
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> With such damage to her wrist, the woman could no longer hold the bone marrow sword. Her five fingers loosened powerlessly.
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> Li Huowang hooked and lifted with his right foot. Grasping the still-warm hilt, a wave of relief washed over him—this was Zhuge Yuan's bone.
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> With the item in hand, Li Huowang prepared to withdraw without further hesitation.
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> However, at that moment, four palm-sized triangular yellow flags shot out from the woods, pinning precisely at the four corners of Li Huowang's shadow on the ground.
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> Immediately, Li Huowang's feet felt glued to the ground, unable to budge.
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> But when Li Huowang twisted his head around, he realized the Sitheaven members who had been pursuing the Fa Sect had returned.
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> And those Fa Sect followers had long since fled during the perfect opportunity of his sneak attack.
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> "What now?" Li Huowang's expression turned exceedingly grim as he eyed their faces. "Do I really have to go all out?"
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> If he truly unleashed his full power, Hong Da would surely recognize him. And if that happened, to preserve his identity's secrecy, he'd have to kill them all.
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> Truth be told, Li Huowang truly didn't want to do that. These Sitheaven members before him had done nothing wrong—they dutifully hunted down the evil cults.
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> It hadn't reached that do-or-die moment yet. He could try other methods first.
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> As Li Huowang's belly rhythmically expanded and contracted, an extraordinarily hoarse voice emanated from his abdomen. "Withdraw swiftly before this seat grows angry. What happened before was merely this seat toying with you casually."
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> Yet Li Huowang's bluff failed to intimidate the five Sitheaven members. Two of them, dressed as ascetic monks, flipped through the air above Li Huowang's head. A large net soaked in foul blood draped over his head, preventing another escape.
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> Next, the previous Daoist raised both hands holding the judge's brush, gritting his teeth as he arduously aimed it toward Li Huowang. His temples visibly grayed before the naked eye.
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> Just as the color on Li Huowang's body was about to be smeared by the brush tip, Li Huowang clenched his teeth, squeezed his eyes shut, and a towering headless figure suddenly blocked before him—General Peng Longteng of Siqu's convict army!
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> "Watch out!! This one's reinforcements have arrived as expected!"
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> Faced with this headless female general's sudden appearance, the Sitheaven members' expressions turned gravely serious, gripping their weapons as if facing a formidable foe.
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> Yet no one's reaction was as extreme as the Daoist holding the judge's brush.
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> His mouth gaped wide, staring in utter shock at the distant Peng Longteng.
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> "This is impossible! That's Zhuge Yuan's Kui Xing brush! How can this person still be standing!"
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> (End of chapter)