Mutated Tao

Chapter 716: Door Gods

The Dharma Sect had expected the possibility of someone targeting their leaders instead.

Li Huowang had just exited the house when three more figures pounced towards him.

Bam! They crashed into Peng Longteng’s sturdy armor.

Peng Longteng lowered her body. Li Huowang used his imagination and grew another head for her. Her halberd also reappeared in her hands.

At last, Peng Longteng felt free. Revealing a bloodthirsty smile, she charged towards the Dharma Sect’s witches and finally broke her silence. “Kill them all!”

As soon as she had her weapon back, she transformed into a merciless killing machine. None of the people from the Dharma Sect could approach her.

“Give me a horse!”

A warhorse appeared, and Peng Longteng quickly mounted it. She crashed into the door of the county magistrate's office with a deafening boom, crushing the hinges, part of the wall, and even the people standing behind it.

Peng Longteng continued her charge. As if trying to vent her frustration, she charged without dodging. She relied on her massive, sturdy frame to crush everything beneath her horse. The old buildings collapsed without any resistance.

As Peng Longteng was attracting the attention of the Dharma Sect, Li Huowang circled around from the courtyard. To avoid detection, Li Huowang kept his body hidden, swimming underground through the earth instead.

The guards attempted to stab him by plunging their swords into the ground, but were unsuccessful. Li Huowang had to admit that the more he used his primordial breath, the better he got at controlling it.

He easily disposed of the hidden guards and entered one of the houses.

Li Huowang found the people he needed. Several officials wearing black cloths on their shoulders and white cloths wrapped around their heads were huddled around a big sand table. They were constantly directing the troops on how to attack.

Are they the leaders?

Li Huowang didn’t attack directly. Instead, he pressed his fingers to his temples and focused.

The ground suddenly turned into liquid, causing everything in the house to sink and bury them alive.

The room became deadly silent.

Wait, that’s it? Li Huowang never thought it would be over so soon.

How could the leaders get killed so easily?

Li Huowang thought that there was a trap nearby. He heard the commotion outside caused by Peng Longteng, but nothing happened. He realized that he was no longer the Li Huowang he once was.

He submerged himself into the ground and was about to swim away when he felt someone stomping the ground above him and chuckling.

“You already killed them. Are you planning to leave without telling us?”

The ground split apart as Li Huowang thrust all three swords above, but he frowned when he realized none of his swords were covered in blood. He resurfaced and looked around, only to hear a voice say, "No need to look around. We are here."

Li Huowang looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it came from the door gods[1] in the wall. They were just like the ones he saw pasted on doors during the Chinese New Year.

They were tall and sturdy, with sideburns, bushy beards, and horns protruding from their heads. Clad in armor, each had a sword on their hip and gripped a cherry-wood sword in their hands.

The only thing different about the door gods here was the black cloth on their shoulders. Even the door gods in Si Qi belonged to god Yu’er.

“You can call me Shenshu.[2] I had been wanting to recruit you.” One of the door gods stared at Li Huowang.

“Recruit me? The Dharma Sect wants to recruit me?” Li Huowang thought he had misheard.

“That’s right. Even though you’ve foiled a lot of our plans, our Imperial Preceptor still thinks that you are someone who could understand the bigger picture.”

Li Huowang almost laughed. “You’ve killed so many people and committed so many crimes, yet you’re thinking of recruiting me?”

“Did any of your family members die during the war? If you join us, the Imperial Preceptor can revive them.”

Li Huowang stabbed the door without thinking twice. “You think I would believe you? Even the Simings can’t do that, so what makes you think you can do it?”

“The Simings of this realm cannot do so, but the Simings from the other realms can. We are humbly requesting you to surrender to us.”

Li Huowang frowned and removed his sword. “What did you say?”

He wasn’t trying to stab them anymore. He wanted to see if he could fish out more information from the door gods.

“The Simings control the Heavenly Daos. They are gods in a sense, but there are only fifty Heavenly Daos. They cannot do everything, and reviving the dead is one of those things.”

“So god Yu’er can do what the Simings can’t? Isn’t he also controlling a Heavenly Dao?” Li Huowang scoffed and tried to trick Shenshu into telling him more.

“God Yu’er can do so because he controls a special Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Daos of Da Nuo cannot achieve that, but Heavenly Daos beyond this realm can.”

“Beyond… Beyond this realm?” Li Huowang was confused. If Da Nuo was this world, what was the realm beyond this?

“Looks like you really don’t know anything. Even Xuan Pin didn’t tell you about it. It seems that he’s wary of you,” The door god remarked. “You think you know a lot because you’ve learned about the Baiyu Capital and the Simings, but there’s still much to learn. The Heavenly Daos of Da Nuo have clearly separated Life and Death. One cannot go beyond the other. But this is not the case in the other realms where they can return to life. In their world, life and the afterlife are not as clearly separated. Da Nuo is where you live and all you know, just like a frog beneath a well. You do not know how special the Heavenly Daos of the other realms are.”

Li Huowang stared at the door gods. Given how much they had explained, it appeared that they really wanted to recruit him.

“Think carefully. I am telling the truth. Do you not want to revive Zhuge Yuan and Bai Lingmiao’s family?”

Li Huowang was perturbed for the first time throughout their conversation. They know about them too?!

“Didn’t you say that you want to save the world? Once god Yu’er descends, everyone who died will be brought back to life. Isn’t this the salvation you seek?”

“Bullshit!” Li Huowang shouted. “Do you think I’m blind? The Qi Kingdom has been occupied by god Yu’er! Look at what happened over there!”

Li Huowang could still remember the strange liquid flowing out from the Qi Kingdom. The Qi Kingdom had long since submerged in the strange liquid that turned humans into monsters.

“Foolish. Have you been to the Qi Kingdom today? You’ve only listened to rumors. God Yu’er revived everyone in the Qi Kingdom and eliminated famine! Now, people can enjoy a peaceful era where everyone looks out for each other! Everyone is now equal to each other!”

1. Divine guardians of doors from Chinese folklore who ward off evil influences. ☜

2. A deity that suppresses and hunts down evil entities. One of the door gods, with the other being called Yulu. ☜