Mutated Tao

Chapter 652: Death

The Lu family’s theater was made of wood, so it burned down easily.

The red flames burned everything inside the theater. The smell of charred wood continued to assault Li Huowang’s nose.

But the crazed Lu Zhuangyuan ignored everything around him as he stood on the stage and sang as loud as he could. He was performing one last time with his son and daughter-in-law.

Li Huowang burned the scene into his mind as his heart felt a pang of pain.

“Hahaha! Good! They died a good death!” Qiu Chibao laughed from Li Huowang’s left.

She was holding the decaying corpse of her child. As if triggered by something, she stared at the corpses in the fire as she danced around happily.

“Uuuuuu…”

Someone was crying on Li Huowang’s left. He turned and saw it was Jin Shanzhao[1] groveling on the ground and crying.

Just as the old monk started to chant, Li Huowang walked over and saved Lu Zhuangyuan.

He barely made it out of the building with Lu Zhuangyuan just before the entire theater collapsed. Li Huowang watched as Lu Juren’s and Luo Juanhua’s corpses were engulfed by the fire.

He wasn’t close with the Lu family, and even though he knew they were using him as an escort throughout their journey, he chose not to reveal their plan and played along with it.

Still, he felt his heart hurt when he saw what had happened.

“Troupe Leader Lu! Snap out of it! Your granddaughter is alive! Don’t give up!”

Li Huowang brought Lu Zhuangyuan and Xiu’er towards where the palace was. The entire Liang Kingdom was in chaos, and the only safe place was the palace.

The palace also came to life due to the invasion of the Dharma Sect.

The red palace walls were surrounded by six layers of soldiers, three on the outside and three on the inside. The security in the palace had increased substantially.

“Look after them!” Li Huowang pushed Lu Zhuangyuan and Xiu’er to the soldiers. “I will kill you if they are harmed when I come back!”

Peng Longteng appeared behind Li Huowang after he warned the soldiers. She grabbed one of Li Huowang’s tentacles and threw him high up into the air.

As the wind soared past his head, he looked at the Liang Kingdom from above and saw the entire city was in chaos.

The Dharma Sect surged in from the outside like ants.

There were various battlefields forming inside the city as the Dharma Sect poured into the city.

The Dharma Sect people were chanting incomprehensible words as they released all of their resentment towards the people of the Liang Kingdom.

Thankfully, the city guards and the Surveillance Bureau were already moving in full force. They fought at different corners of the city as explosions and flames engulfed the city.

Li Huowang knew about how dangerous the Dharma Sect was. If they were given free rein, the entire world would be destroyed.

In his heart, he had always thought of defeating the Dharma Sect as an act to defend himself and his family. He didn’t have a grudge against them—it was just something he had to do to protect himself and the people he cared about.

But now everything has changed. Hatred and anger filled his heart when he looked at the Dharma Sect.

The Dharma Sect would not only destroy the world, but it would also cause suffering to the innocent!

Whatever god Yu’er was, it was spreading suffering and pain to everyone!

Li Huowang hated it. He knew what it felt like to go through such suffering. He would rather bear the brunt of it all alone if it meant the others would be at peace.

“Ji Zai! Do something! The Dharma Sect is attacking the city! Are you fucking blind?! So many people are dead!”

Li Huowang was soaring in the air as he shouted towards the sun. Upon getting no response, he gritted his teeth with resentment.

He could only rely on himself now.

Peng Longteng appeared beside him and threw him towards the most chaotic battlefield in the city.

Li Huowang sank into the earth as if it was water, then he swam upwards. He wielded all sorts of weapons as he charged into the mass of the Dharma Sect.

Li Huowang unleashed all of his rage on them. He feared that he would go crazy if he did not do so.

An explosion of blood happened everywhere he went. The usual Dharma Sect fodders were not his match, nor were the witches hidden in the darkness.

Li Huowang was undefeatable as he killed everything in his path, leaving nothing but blood and gore in his wake.

He had a single thought in his mind: killing the members of the Dharma Sect.

The more surviving Dharma Sect members there were, the more tragedies like the Lu family would occur.

When Li Huowang’s body was completely coated in blood, the murderous aura on his baleful purple-tassel sword solidified and released a dragon’s roar. The sword came alive and started pulsing waves of hot energy into Li Huowang’s body. He suddenly felt invigorated.

Li Huowang swung the sword and a blood-red sword energy flew forward before bisecting both people and houses.

He realized that he had been suppressing the true potential of the purple-tassel sword. He killed too little in the past!

Li Huowang held onto the sword as he killed the Dharma Sect fodders. He slaughtered from morning to midnight until even his eyes were covered in a dense veil of blood.

He finally stopped when all of the Dharma Sect members around him were dead. By then, Li Sui was already dragging her tentacles on the ground out of exhaustion.

The city became quiet. The people from the Surveillance Bureau stood on the roof like vultures as they looked around.

Each of them was enveloped in bloodlust and a murderous aura as they searched for the next Dharma Sect member to kill.

Li Huowang looked at his own body. He saw his robes were drenched in blood and gore.

Staring at the corpses lying around him, Li Huowang knew his side had won, but he felt no joy. Only exhaustion awaited him.

“Father, I’m hungry. Can I eat some of your flesh?”

Li Huowang nodded and sat on a stool. “Sure, eat some.”

“Thank you, Father.”

“Ji Zai,” Li Huowang called towards his shadow, but there was no reply.

He then looked at the palace. Xuan Pin, Zheng Boqiao, and the Imperial Preceptor didn’t appear.

It seems that they are protecting the Emperor. Gao Zhijian should be safe.

Why are they doing this?

Li Huowang stared at the corpses of the Dharma Sect members.

Even though the battle was intense, the only casualties on Li Huowang’s side were the civilians. No one from the royal family, military, or the Surveillance Bureau was killed.

It was as if the Dharma Sect was committing suicide instead.

1. Jin Shanzhao was a character that briefly traveled with Li Huowang and his companions. He was introduced in chapter 189 and was killed by Peng Longteng in chapter 208, becoming one of Li Huowang's illusions ☜