Mutated Tao

Po Daer flew in the air rapidly with his organs trailing beneath him before planting himself on a man’s neck. Then, he somehow controlled the man’s right arm to tear off their own screaming head and take its place. The man’s body was now Po Daer’s.

With his new body, Po Daer shouted at Li Huowang, “Daoist Li, don’t be rash. I’m just here to talk. There’s no need to make the situation so tense for everyone here. We can discuss things peacefully.”

Li Huowang stopped and frowned at the old man. Po Daer had decided not to use aggression since it wasn’t working on Li Huowang.

Li Huowang did not object to the discussion. He needed to know what was happening, and he could kill the old man anytime.

For some reason, Li Huowang was stuck in the middle of a plot again, and yet he was still clueless about the situation.

“Alright, talk. Explain to me clearly. I’ve always been a fair man. I don’t know how or when I’ve offended your world to the point that you would kill me without a single warning.”

The Qi Kingdom’s palace had received information about their skirmish while Li Huowang was talking. The Surveillance Bureau of the Qi Kingdom had already surrounded the entire street.

Po Daer was not afraid even though he was surrounded by the Surveillance Bureau. He looked at Li Huowang without a single hint of fear.

“Does Daoist Li really do not know, or are you pretending not to know?”

“I do know, but how does saving the Qi Kingdom affect you guys? Can’t you just live peacefully?”

Li Huowang tried to bait Po Daer into revealing more information.

“Of course we can’t. In each world, there is one flower and one tree to sustain everyone’s life. The flower of my world is dying. Daoist Li, you are the embodiment of a living Bodhisattva who couldn’t bear to see the people of the Qi Kingdom dying from starvation. Will you really allow the millions of people from the Tianchen Kingdom to suffer that fate?”

“Stop trying to guilt trip me! Your cheap tricks will not sway me! How am I involved if your world is dying? You should find the one who’s trying to destroy your world! Why are you trying to kill me instead?”

Po Daer bowed to Li Huowang gracefully. “Daoist Li, I do apologize. The people from before were crude men, and I apologize on their behalf. I disagreed with their methods, and you are correct—we should be finding the person trying to destroy our world, not you. However, if we were to pluck the flower from another tree, we would have to cross into the Qi Kingdom. It would be problematic for us if you were to revive the Qi Kingdom while we are crossing.”

Li Huowang understood what the old man meant. There was going to be an all-out war.

Po Daer stroked his white beard and chuckled. “Daoist Li, since you understand our plight, why don’t we make a deal?”

Li Huowang smiled coldly, doubtful of Po Daer’s words. “What? Do you only want to negotiate with me now that you know I’m hard to kill? What were you doing before this?”

“Daoist Li, we do not have a grudge that requires us to fight to the death. Why don’t we solve this amicably?

“What about this? If you let us cross to the other world by passing through the Qi Kingdom, the Tianchen Kingdom will open up its granaries and give the Qi Kingdom three years' worth of harvest. I imagine this will help a lot with your famine issue.”

Everyone from the Qi Kingdom was excited to hear Po Daer’s proposal. The Qi Kingdom lacked food, so everyone knew how important that offer was.

“And why do you need to go to another world? Did you think that I wouldn’t notice the catch to your proposal?”

No one knew what the Tianchen Kingdom was trying to do by passing through the Qi Kingdom. The more attractive the proposals were, the more worried Li Huowang was. He still remembered how they had tried to kill him.

Po Daer chuckled when Li Huowang questioned him. “To think that Daoist Li is such an astute man. You are right. We do need your help.”

Po Daer pointed at the spine sword on Li Huowang’s back. “We need Daoist Li’s Horizon Rending Sword. I hope you will cooperate.”

“Stop giving another name to my sword.”

Li Huowang reached for his sword and recalled how they desperately tried to take it away.

“Wait, why do you need my spine sword? Is the problem from your world related to the Liang Kingdom?”

“Yes, that is correct.” Po Daer nodded. “The scholar from the Astronomy Academy has discovered that the Infernal Matron has taken back her throne. We need to kill that evil demoness of the White Lotus, or the Tianchen Kingdom will fall into ruins!”

“White Lotus… Demoness….? Infernal Matron?” Li Huowang fell silent and slowly approached Po Daer. “You said that we don’t have any grudges, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Now we do!” Li Huowang shifted his body and instantly appeared in front of Po Daer. He stabbed the spine sword directly into Po Daer’s forehead.

Just as Po Daer’s head was almost sliced in half, his previously empty shell of a body stood up and ran.

His head is not important. His body is!

Chan Du was already prepared by the time Po Daer tried to run. Chan Du sat down and plucked the nine scars on his forehead before flicking them to Po Daer.

In the middle of the sky, the black circular scars grew into grotesque balls of flesh.

The balls of flesh had almost hit Po Daer when a hole suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The balls of flesh plunged themselves straight into the hole.

Po Daer was on the verge of escaping into the hole when Li Huowang glared in his direction. In that instant, Po Daer's body froze in midair and began collapsing on itself. But then, just as Li Huowang was about to grind Po Daer into meat paste using his cultivation, a clear jade-like hand emerged from the hole.

The hand gently pinched Po Daer’s body before removing something intangible from it. The hand threw the intangible energy to the side and Li Huowang’s vision followed it uncontrollably.

One of Chan Du's scars had turned into a meat paste since Li Huowang had looked at it, while Po Daer had vanished into the hole without leaving a trace.

Li Huowang stood motionless—he never thought something like that could happen. The hand had picked up and tossed his cultivation of the “Truth.”

The power to traverse between worlds clearly belonged to a Twisted One. However, not anyone could touch his “Truth” cultivation. Even if he used his own cultivation on himself, he wouldn’t be able to turn it tangible and grab it. And yet, the jade-like hand could grab it and throw it away!

Li Huowang clearly understood how strong his powers were. He thought that he was almost undefeatable in this world, but it appeared he was wrong.

Whose hand is it? How did they do it? Only a Siming could do it!