Since he planned to go with Bai Lingmiao and the others, Li Huowang had to suppress his hallucinations. Otherwise, he would forever be stuck alternating between reality and hallucination, unable to accomplish anything productive.
The Black Taisui reared by Dan Yangzi was the key to suppressing his hallucinations.
The group arrived at the cavern and stopped. They saw the Black Taisui climb out of the dark cauldron. This was the first time they had seen the true appearance of a Black Taisui.
It was a large, slimy, and sticky black mass. At first glance, it seemed like its entire body was covered in hair. However, upon closer inspection, they realized that what appeared to be hair were actually slender tentacles or filaments that had yet to mature.
Its body resembled a giant maggot, capable of expanding and shrinking freely.
At the same time, several openings along its swollen body released a nauseating stench whenever the creature quivered.
This sight made everyone feel weak in their knees; they were so shocked that they almost turned around and fled.
However, Li Huowang could astutely sense that something was amiss. This Black Taisui was significantly smaller, and black liquid was constantly leaking out from beneath it.
What's going on? Could its life be linked to Dan Yangzi's?
Li Huowang's heart sank.
With that thought in mind, he quickly dashed out. When he returned, he was holding parts of Dan Yangzi's remains.
Li Huowang rushed to the Black Taisui's side and knelt on one knee. He laboriously collected the squirming rotten flesh and pushed Dan Yangzi's remains into the gaps in the Black Taisui's body.
However, once he stuffed the remains in, even more black liquid seeped out from the Black Taisui, and its body shrank even further.
Li Huowang's face was filled with anxiety. It felt as though he was not holding a wriggling black creature, but his own sick child.
Unsettled, he grabbed the sides of the Black Taisui and gently shook it. "Hey, hey! Don't scare me like this. What am I going to do if you end up dying?"
However, the Black Taisui showed no response—there were no signs of movement from its body.
As it shrank further, Li Huowang decided to act decisively—he opened his mouth and began to bite down on its body.
Li Huowang's sudden actions left Bai Lingmiao and the others dumbfounded. They could only stand frozen, watching the bloodied Senior Li carry the quivering creature, tearing into it with big bites.
From their perspective, Li Huowang seemed more like a monster than the Black Taisui.
Puppy moved to Zhao Wu's side and whispered, "Should we go off on our own? If we stay with him, I'm afraid he'll eat me up while I sleep."
Fear crept into their eyes as they continued to watch him.
Meanwhile, the shrunken Black Taisui's flesh visibly tightened when Li Huowang started biting it. This made Li Huowang feel as though the item he was gnawing at was a tire.
But he couldn't care about such things anymore and continued devouring it in big mouthfuls. However, no matter how much he ate, he couldn't keep up with the rate at which it dissolved into black liquid. Not long after, only a layer of black skin remained in his lap.
"Senior Li, have you eaten your fill? Can we leave now?" Puppy asked warily.
Li Huowang tossed the sticky, smelly layer of skin onto the ground with regret. He wasn't sure how long the effects would last before his next hallucination. He could only hope to find another Black Taisui or some other way to suppress them.
"I'll change my clothes first," said Li Huowang.
The remaining items were practically worthless. There was no point in gathering the "cultivation technique manuals" since Dan Yangzi could not read.
Li Huowang removed his sticky Taoist robes and changed into a fresh green set, immediately feeling refreshed.
After he finished changing, he led the group toward the entrance while explaining the rationale behind his actions.
When Li Huowang explained that he had been trying to use the flesh of the Black Taisui to control his hallucinations, they finally put their minds at ease.
"Ah, I see. I had just assumed that Senior Li was hungry," Puppy cracked a joke to lighten the mood.
There was a new fork in the passage ahead, with one path leading to Dan Yangzi's residence.
Li Huowang stopped, feeling curious.
Should we go in and check the aftermath of the battle between our three seniors?
While he did not want to get involved in their feud, he didn't want to witness a new Dan Yangzi being born either.
"Let's go and take a look." Li Huowang led his group toward Dan Yangzi's room.
When they reached the outside of Dan Yangzi's residence, Li Huowang found that the door he had closed earlier hadn't been opened. This meant no one had left Dan Yangzi's room.
"Seniors, are you finished? We're leaving," Li Huowang called out.
After waiting for a while without a response, he pushed open the door. A pungent stench of blood greeted them, and a blood-drenched palm appeared before them.
Everyone looked upward, only to see an even more gruesome sight. Xuan Yuan was dead, killed in a horrific fashion. His body was almost cleaved in half by a sword.
Meanwhile, Chang Ren was also dead, stabbed in the back by someone else. Xuan Yuan was more of a scholar than a warrior, so this could only have been done by his brother, Chang Ming.
The one who survived until the end, Chang Ming, was not in good shape either. His body had been pierced by black lines and copper coins hanging around the sacred text, pinning him to the wall. He seemed to have triggered one of Dan Yangzi's traps.
Chang Ming was not yet dead. His eyes were filled with desire as they continued to stare resolutely at the so-called sacred text, which contained the method to attain immortality.
"Cough cough~"
Upon seeing Li Huowang walk in, Chang Ming, pinned to the wall, seemed to want to say something. However, the copper coins embedded in his neck had severed his trachea, making speech impossible.
Li Huowang walked up to him and smiled before bending down to pick up his sword.
This was a longsword, measuring 1.2 meters long. The blade reflected the cool light from the oil lamp, making it seem very sharp.
Li Huowang exerted some strength, swinging it for a few strokes, then said to Chang Ming, "It's a good sword. Senior, it seems you won't be able to use this for now, so Junior will make good use of it. While Junior is not a swordsman, it's better to have a weapon in my hands than to be unarmed, don't you agree?"
Chang Ming tried to communicate with his expression, but Li Huowang could not understand him.
Li Huowang then took the scabbard from Chang Ming's body, sheathed the sword, and hung it on his back.
Next came the most important part: the sacred text.
Li Huowang turned toward the sacred text without any protection.
At that moment, Chang Ming suddenly began struggling violently. However, the copper coins and black lines dug even deeper into his body, and soon the light in his eyes dimmed.
"Senior Li, Senior Chang Ming is dead," Puppy said, his eyes wide in shock.
Li Huowang looked at the so-called sacred text before them and sighed softly. So many people had died just because of this object of unknown origins.
Li Huowang leaned closer to examine it. He was even more focused than when he had been under Dan Yangzi's tyranny.
However, after looking through it repeatedly, he still felt that this was a scripture. From his guess, it appeared to be a text advising people to do good.
Li Huowang took a step back, reached behind him with one hand, and slowly unsheathed his sword.
Clang!
The sharp sword struck heavily against the stone slab engraved with scriptures.