Tao: The Uncanny Immortal

Now that Li Huowang had made up his mind to leave, he had to suppress the recurrence of hallucinations. Otherwise, constantly toggling between the illusory and the real would render him unable to do anything properly.

To suppress these hallucinations, the black Taishui (a mythical creature) reared by Danyangzi held the key.

When the group reached the cave, they halted. There, they witnessed the black Taishui having crawled out of the black cauldron. It was the first time they had ever laid eyes on its true form.

It was a colossal, slime - covered, black, and slippery mass. At first glance, the covering on its body resembled hair, but upon closer scrutiny, it turned out to be a dense growth of dark, elongated tentacles or underdeveloped filaments. The entire body expanded and contracted freely, much like a gigantic maggot.

There were also some orifices on its bloated body. With each wriggle, a revolting stench billowed out from within. This sight sent shivers down everyone's spines. Their legs turned to jelly, and they almost spun around and fled.

However, Li Huowang keenly detected something amiss. The black Taishui had shrunk considerably, and black liquid was continuously oozing out from beneath it.

"What's going on? Could its life be intertwined with Danyangzi's?" Li Huowang's heart sank.

With this thought in mind, he dashed out quickly. When he returned, he was clutching some remains of Danyangzi in his hand.

Li Huowang rushed to the side of the black Taishui, dropped to one knee, and with great effort, gathered the writhing mass of flesh into his arms. Then he stuffed the remains in his hand into some of the crevices on the black Taishui's body.

It would have been better if he hadn't stuffed the remains. Once he did, more black water seeped out from its body, and it shrank even further.

At this moment, Li Huowang's face was etched with anxiety. It was as if what he held in his arms was not a wriggling, grotesque black monster but his ailing child.

In his desperation, he grabbed both sides of the black Taishui and gently shook it. "Hey, don't scare me. What will I do if you die?!"

The black Taishui showed no sign of reaction. None of its organs stirred anymore.

Watching the black Taishui dwindle in size, Li Huowang was suddenly overcome with despair. He opened his mouth and sank his teeth hard into the black Taishui's body.

Li Huowang's actions truly stunned Bai Lingmiao and the others. They could only stand there, transfixed, as Senior Brother Li, covered in blood, hugged the wriggling monster and tore into it with large bites.

In their eyes, Li Huowang at this moment was more of a monster than the black Taishui itself.

Goudan sidled up to Zhao Wu and whispered, "How about... we go our separate ways? I'm really terrified that he'll gobble me up in my sleep if I stay with him."

Everyone's gazes towards Li Huowang began to betray a hint of fear.

The concentrated flesh of the black Taishui was evidently more compact. When Li Huowang chewed it, it felt like gnawing on a tire.

But at this point, he didn't care. He gulped it down in large mouthfuls. However, no matter how much he ate, he couldn't keep pace with the speed at which the black Taishui was self - dissolving. Soon, there was only a layer of black skin left in Li Huowang's arms.

"Um, Senior Brother Li, are you full? Can we set off if you are?" Gouwa asked tentatively.

Li Huowang tossed the stinky and fishy skin onto the ground with a sense of regret. He had no idea how long the effect would last. He just hoped to find another black Taishui or some other solution before the hallucinations resurfaced.

"I'll go change my clothes." The remaining items were basically worthless. As for martial arts manuals and the like, there was no point in even thinking about them. Danyangzi could barely read.

Li Huowang shed his sticky Taoist robe and donned a brand - new cyan one. Immediately, he felt a wave of extreme comfort wash over him.

After changing his clothes, Li Huowang led the others towards the door while explaining to them the reason behind his actions.

After understanding that Li Huowang intended to suppress the hallucinations with the meat of the black Taishui, the hearts that had been hanging in their chests finally settled down.

"Hey, so that's what it is. I thought Senior Brother Li was just famished," Gouwa quipped to lighten the atmosphere.

As they walked, a new fork appeared in the tunnel. Li Huowang stopped as if spellbound. The end of this tunnel led to Danyangzi's residence. "Should we go in and check on how the three senior brothers are faring?"

Although he didn't want to meddle in their internal strife, if possible, he didn't want another Danyangzi - like situation to arise.

"Let's go and take a look." Li Huowang led a group of the old and the weak in that direction.

When they reached the door, Li Huowang noticed that the door he had just closed remained shut, which meant no one had exited.

"Senior brothers, have you finished your fight? We're leaving," Li Huowang shouted towards the room.

After waiting for a while with no response, Li Huowang pushed the door open. A pungent stench of blood assailed their nostrils, and a blood - soaked palm was right in front of everyone.

Everyone's eyes traveled upwards, and an even bloodier spectacle unfolded before them. Xuanyuan was dead, and he had met a gruesome end. His body was nearly split in half by a sword.

Changren was also dead. He had been stabbed in the back with a sword. Xuanyuan practiced talismans, not swordsmanship. So the only one who could have done it was his brother, Changming.

Although Changming was the one who survived, his situation was still dire. His body was pierced through by the black thread with copper coins and sewn to the wall. It seemed that he had triggered Danyangzi's backup plan.

Changming wasn't dead. His eyes, filled with desire, still stared fixedly at the so - called Heavenly Book of Immortality.

"Cough... cough~" Seeing Li Huowang enter, Changming on the wall seemed to want to say something, but the copper coin that had penetrated his neck had completely severed his windpipe, rendering him speechless.

Li Huowang walked up to him, flashed a smile, and bent down to pick up his sword.

It was a long sword about 1.2 meters in length. Under the light of the lamp oil, the blade glinted with a cold light and looked extremely sharp.

After struggling to swing it a few times with one hand, Li Huowang said to Changming, "Good sword. It seems that senior brother won't be needing this sword for the time being, so I'll borrow it."

"Although I'm not a sword cultivator, it's better to have a weapon in hand than to venture out empty - handed. Am I right, senior brother?"

Changming tried to convey something with his eyes, but obviously, Li Huowang didn't comprehend.

Li Huowang took the sword sheath from the deceased Changren, inserted the long sword into it, and slung it on his back.

Then came the most crucial part, the Heavenly Book.

Li Huowang turned and made his way towards the unguarded Heavenly Book.

Just then, Changming suddenly thrashed about violently. As he struggled, the copper coins on the black thread sank deeper. After a few bouts of struggling, the light in his eyes faded rapidly.

"Senior Brother Li, Senior Brother Changming is dead," Gouwa exclaimed in surprise, his eyes wide open.

Li Huowang gazed at the so - called Heavenly Book in front of him and let out a gentle sigh. So many people had lost their lives because of this thing, and no one even knew its origin.

Li Huowang leaned in closer again and examined it carefully. This time, he was even more meticulous than when he was being coerced by Danyangzi.

But after looking at it several times, he still thought it was just a scripture. After some speculation, it seemed to be a scripture that encouraged people to do good.

Li Huowang took a step back, then slowly drew his sword with one hand from behind. With a "clang", the sword that could cut through iron with ease struck heavily on the stone slab engraved with the scriptures.

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### Chapter 25: The Forest Path

**Clang!** The long sword crashed down upon the heavenly book, unleashing an excruciatingly shrill scraping sound. The others in the room instinctively clapped their hands over their ears and took two hasty steps backward.

"Not even a scratch. Changming's sword is useless. Isn't he a sword