Chapter 697
Chapter 697
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 697
>Chapter Title: Stomach
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“Stop overthinking it! You won’t die!” Li Huowang sharply refuted his daughter’s pessimistic thoughts. “Come on! Think along with me! There are no bugs inside me! There are no bugs inside me!!”
As Li Huowang channeled his Innate One Qi, the bugs inside him gradually transformed back into his own flesh and blood.
Though this brief trouble had been resolved, the problems outside remained unsolved. Li Huowang wasn’t afraid of the current evils, but endless hordes of them were a real issue.
Amid ghostly wails and wolfish howls, evils from all around lunged toward Li Huowang. “Whoosh!” The copper coin sword that slew evils and shattered taboos whipped out in a long arc, instantly slicing the surrounding evils into wisps of black mist.
Before the black mist could even dissipate, evils of all shapes and sizes surged forward once more.
“Miaomiao!” Li Huowang held the fluorite high, searching for his allies among the earth dragon’s innards.
“Senior Brother Li, I’m over here!” Li Huowang rushed toward the voice and soon spotted them among the White Lotus followers seated in lotus position.
They were stark naked, exposing the white donkey tattoos on their backs. In unison, they chanted the incantation. “There is something formless, existing before Heaven and Earth. Silent and vast, it stands alone and does not change, travels round and does not weary. It can be the mother of the world.”
To Li Huowang’s surprise, neither these White Lotus followers nor Bai Lingmiao seated at their center had a single bug on them. Moreover, the evils around them didn’t dare approach even an inch.
At this moment, Bai Lingmiao—with her two upper bodies—sat cross-legged as well. Her two mouths chanted in sync with the other White Lotus followers, while the twin lotus between her brows faintly glowed.
Li Huowang’s tentacles slammed against the ground, propelling him to leap in front of Bai Lingmiao. “What’s the plan? Does the White Lotus Cult have a way out of this?”
The two heads beneath the red veil shook gently. “No, this place is too strange.”
Hearing this, Li Huowang realized that if they couldn’t escape this hellhole soon, things would only get worse step by step.
“How do we escape?” He pondered the question, scanning the chaos around him.
When he spotted the others fighting on their own, an idea struck Li Huowang. This wretched place wasn’t entirely without hope.
“Everyone! Get over here!” Li Huowang’s shout echoed through the stomach. “We can’t fight separately now—only by working together can we get out! No bugs grow inside anyone near the White Lotus followers!”
In a situation like this, only the skilled had survived. When they saw that those near the White Lotus followers showed no changes, they understood immediately.
At Li Huowang’s call, everyone still alive began converging on him.
And Li Huowang didn’t forget the two dragon veins. Amid the chaos, he rescued the other one. Even if it was bait, at this point, he’d swallow the bait first.
As they drew closer, the White Lotus followers’ chanting grew labored. Bugs began emerging on their bodies.
It seemed the newcomers made it harder for them to hold on.
With the situation dire, Li Huowang immediately said to Bai Lingmiao, “Can your people move? Have them shift to the side!”
Bai Lingmiao nodded with difficulty. “Okay.”
Once he saw all the White Lotus followers heading south, Li Huowang extended over a dozen tentacles, hoisted the seated Bai Lingmiao overhead, and swiftly followed.
They had to move while chanting, so the White Lotus followers advanced slowly. Fortunately, they reached the edge without incident.
With time of the essence, Li Huowang cut to the chase with the others. “You’ve all seen it—we’re in an ambush. To survive, we have to get out! To get out, we need to dig a hole through this earth dragon!”
With that, Li Huowang raised the Purple Tassel Sword and carved a large circle into the stomach wall beside him. “Don’t think it’s impossible. I just dug here—it’s not that tough. Everyone still alive is an expert. Let’s work together and we’ll escape alive!”
Driven by the will to survive, no one opposed Li Huowang. They all drew their ritual tools and unleashed various divine abilities, attacking the circle he’d outlined.
At this moment, Supervisor Zheng Boqiao of the Siqi Bureau of Astronomy held nothing back. His mouth gaped wide as he spat out various pills, distributing them to the group.
Under their assault, the circle Li Huowang had drawn vanished quickly, leaving a massive pit that kept expanding.
“There’s a chance!!” Seeing this, Li Huowang finally glimpsed hope for escape.
“Let’s go! Deeper in!” At Li Huowang’s command, everyone pressed toward the pit, making it grow ever deeper.
“Senior Brother Li! Hurry! We can’t hold much longer!” The White Lotus followers were ashen-faced, their bodies swaying unsteadily.
Seeing Bai Lingmiao’s red veil soaked through with sweat, Li Huowang clenched his fingers and glared at the pit ahead.
Under his gaze, the pit deformed like pliable clay, squeezing open faster than before.
Witnessing Li Huowang’s bizarre ability, Zheng Boqiao no longer held back. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing an arm bulging like it was riddled with tumors.
Zheng Boqiao slashed his nail across a bulge, then thrust two fingers inside and dug.
“Here!” He held out a wriggling blood-red tumor to Li Huowang. “Quick, swallow this immortal pill I’ve treasured for years! It’ll let you briefly rival an immortal!”
Li Huowang opened his mouth. Two tentacles extended from it, coiled around the tumor, and dragged it down his throat.
The instant he swallowed it, Li Huowang felt his stomach churn violently.
Before he could clutch it, the force surged straight to his mind. In the next moment, flesh sprayed as his head split down the middle, revealing a fist-sized miniature head.
The small head grew in the air, soon reaching normal size. The split halves of his original head regrew rapidly. Finally, three heads now sat atop Li Huowang’s shoulders.
With two wet squelches, two pairs of bloody arms burst from his back. Zheng Boqiao’s pill had truly transformed Li Huowang into a three-headed, six-armed being.
With three heads, the sensation was bizarre. It felt like his Innate One Qi had divided into three parts.
As Li Huowang raised his right hand, the stone-like stomach wall no longer merely squeezed apart—it shattered rapidly.
“Go!” As all three heads spoke in unison, they quickened their pace, forcing their way deeper.
Under Li Huowang’s lead, their progress sped up markedly. Yet the earth dragon’s stomach wall seemed endless, incredibly thick.
“Faster! Faster!!” Anxious and desperate, Li Huowang pushed ahead. As the pressure mounted, all three of his heads began to throb with pain.
Just then, Li Huowang heard movement behind them. His left head twisted around to see a wall blocking their path, pressing toward them. It was evils! A wall built from evils!!
“Pfft~!” A White Lotus follower spat blood and collapsed. The stable surroundings began crumbling. Li Huowang felt something stirring in his gut once more.
No turning back now—he charged ahead with the others, giving it everything he had!
One down led to two, then three. As more White Lotus followers fell, bugs reemerged in everyone’s bodies, and the evil wall closed in from behind.
“Faster! Faster!!” Just as the evil wall seemed about to swallow them all, Li Huowang’s mind went blank. The pressure ahead vanished—they were out!
(End of chapter)