Mutated Tao

“Summon~ The~ Gods~”

Li Zhi’s clear voice rang out from within the forest, and the peculiar Second Deity followed the rhythm of his singing and drumming as she began to tremble.

“The sun set on the Western mountain, and the skies went dark~ Every house closed its doors while the magpies and crows flew back to their trees~ The sparrows flew to the rafters, and the roads—AAH!” Li Zhi’s chanting was abruptly interrupted, causing the Second Deity to stop in its tracks. She raised her head in shock, only to see Li Huowang smiling.

“You may have been testing me, but that doesn’t mean I was not doing the same with you. I’ve already been deceived by the monks before and have learned my lesson. There’s no way I wouldn’t prepare some defenses for myself,” said Li Huowang.

Just as he finished speaking, footsteps could be heard. Puppy, Simpleton, and the others were approaching him while carrying weapons and holding a bloodied Li Zhi hostage. Xiaoman currently held onto his drum.

Li Huowang took the drum from Xiaoman and threw it onto the ground before using his sword to pierce it right in front of Li Zhi’s face.

Pu Chi!

The taut drum was destroyed easily.

“Looks like this is something extremely important to you. Regardless of which Immortal family you follow, you can’t summon them without this drum, right?” asked Li Huowang.

After probing Li Zhi these few days, Li Huowang had realized that no matter how strong the Immortal families were, a Shaman was still a mortal. Once you managed to subdue them, everything would be fine.

Seeing the blades around him, Li Zhi, who had been beaten by a club, displayed no fear or hatred on his face. He just laughed bitterly, “Unfortunately, that is not something for you to decide.”

Jiang!

A sharp sword blade was pressed against Li Zhi’s neck. “You still want to lie? Tell the Second Deity to stop resisting!”

Li Huowang was staring at the Second Deity with a distorted face. Li Zhi may have been subdued, but that human-beast hybrid was still a problem.

“Hehe. Why do you think she would listen to me?” asked Li Zhi as he let out an eerie chuckle.

Li Zhi had barely spoken when the Second Deity let out a bestial roar from her disfigured mouth before charging into the forest on all fours.

The Second Deity had escaped, leaving Li Zhi all alone.

“Li Huowang, I’m not lying to you. We Shamans are not the same as you. Sometimes, there are things that are beyond our control.” Li Zhi’s face was pale as he tried to explain.

“Do you think, perhaps, that I will let you go out of kindness after just listening to you?” Li Huowang’s sword inched closer.

“Hehe, that’s impossible.” Facing certain death, Li Zhi looked surprisingly calm.

Upon seeing his hostage be so calm, Li Huowang pondered for a moment before asking. “What exactly is a Strayed Immortal? Why are you calling me that?”

This was what he cared about the most. There must be a reason why others were trying to catch him; after all, he had been referred to as such twice now.

Li Zhi sighed. “It looks like you really don’t know. I was fooled by your bloody robes.”

“What is a Strayed Immortal?!” Li Huowang said forcefully, his sword drawing a thin line of blood from Li Zhi’s neck.

Seeing how agitated Li Huowang was, Li Zhi chuckled. “Let me give you a tip. You are quite smart, but you can’t win against the Immortals.”

Immediately after saying that, Li Zhi’s eyebrows started growing longer as porcupine quills started growing from his eyelids. At the same time, his nose extended forward and his entire face morphed to match the Second Deity.

Li Huowang swung his sword toward Li Zhi’s neck, but instead of seeing a spray of blood, he only saw a bunch of hard snake scales underneath Li Zhi’s skin.

“Kill him!!” shouted Li Huowang.

Hearing Li Huowang’s command, Simpleton swung his massive wooden club with such force that the wind was ripped apart as it smashed into Li Zhi’s head.

Blood and flesh sprayed everywhere as the half-transformed Li Zhi fell onto the ground, his head smashed into pieces.

Dong Dong Dong!

However, at that moment, the sound of rapid drum beats rang out from within the dark forest, attracting everyone’s attention.

This situation caused Li Huowang to be caught with his pants down as he looked at the broken drum on the ground.

A drum? How could he still play a drum?! I just destroyed it!

“Summon~ The~ Gods~”

Amidst the sound of the drum beats, Li Zhi started chanting, while a figure stumbled out from within the forest—it was the Second Deity, no, it was Li Zhi.

As the original Li Zhi transformed into the Second Deity, the Second Deity that had previously left the area transformed into Li Zhi—the two of them had easily swapped places.

Dong Dong Dong!

The sound of drum beats continued to ring out, causing everyone to look downward and see the source of the sound. All of them gasped in terror.

Li Zhi’s clothes were torn apart. At the same time, one of his hands had torn away a portion of his abdomen and stretched it out while his other hand was beating it with the whip.

Li Zhi had used his own skin and flesh to make a drum to play after his previous one was destroyed!

Dong Dong Dong!

“The sun set on the Western mountain, and the skies went dark~ Every house closed its doors while the magpies and crows flew back to their trees~ The sparrows flew to the rafters, and the roads to the houses were closed~ Ten houses with nine locked~ Only one remains unlocked~ Offer incense, beat the drums, summon the Immortals~” chanted Li Zhi, while beating the “drum”.

Immediately after the chant, despite her smashed head, the fallen Second Deity stood up on her feet.

The sound of flesh being sliced could be heard as Li Huowang and all the people by his side pierced their weapons into the Second Deity.

Li Huowang was certain that he had pierced her heart, but the Second Deity didn’t budge.

“First comes red and then comes yellow~ I Invite the the wind and the clouds bringing the Sad King~ Red is the general while yellow is the vanguard~ The wind and clouds standby while the Sad King runs the sect ai~”

As Li Zhi continued chanting, an incredible amount of strength started coursing through the Second Deity as she twisted her body, causing everyone to lose their grip on their weapons.

Shit! I need to stop Li Zhi from playing the drum! He’s the linchpin!

The bronze bell appeared in Li Huowang’s right hand.

Ding Ding Ding~! Dong Dong Dong~!

As he started to ring the bell, two different sounds reverberated in the forest, clashing with each other.

At the same time, the edges of everything around them converged, taking the form of a Wandering God.

A dizzy Li Huowang shook his head and commanded the Wandering God, causing the latter to split into four before charging straight toward Li Zhi.

Meanwhile, Li Zhi ignored his bloody body and torn skin, chanting even more fervently. His veins started bulging as he started chanting twice as fast.

“The feast had been prepared~ It will be delicious~ Everything is delicious~ Just tell me what you want~ I will prepare everything~ You want beef and mutton~ You want chicken, ducks, or geese~ Even if you want the flesh of the Strayed Ones~ I will get it all for you ai!~”

At that moment, Li Huowang felt a sudden stabbing pain from his neck—somehow the Second Deity had teleported behind him and was biting into his shoulder with her razor sharp teeth.

Chacha and Char's Thoughts

I'm sorry Li Zhi did what?!