Danyangzi

1,282 words

Chapter 109: Danyangzi

The sudden change caught everyone off guard.

The tentacle that had emerged from Li Huowang’s mouth snapped taut, lashing out at the nun in front of him. It stiffened as it straightened, becoming unyieldingly hard, and in an instant, it pierced through the belly of one of the fat nuns. There was no blood at the wound—instead, a pale, white fat began to seep out.

But regardless of what was seeping out, the nun’s screams added a discordant note to the solemn chanting.

As the chanting weakened, the fly-bodied Bodhisattva stopped solidifying and began to loosen, sagging.

And this was only the beginning. Black tentacles, slick and sticky, still clinging to fragments of Danyangzi’s organs, kept forcing their way out of Li Huowang’s mouth, frenziedly attacking the other nuns.

The black tentacles lifted Li Huowang’s entire body off the ground, carrying him along like an octopus propelling itself on its limbs.

The whole area collapsed into chaos. One of the fat nuns moved to intervene, but the Bodhisattva formed of flies had already crumbled apart.

With the help of Danyangzi on the ground, the trapped Danyangzi broke free, and in an instant, their positions were reversed.

Jingxin and the others tried to deal with Danyangzi, but they couldn’t. Without their Clear Minds linked, there was no Danyangzi in their eyes anymore—only a daoist in a red robe, with a dozen writhing tentacles spilling from his mouth.

“We need to get this kid back into our Clear Mind link, or we’ll never affect Danyangzi!”

“It’s no good. Danyangzi is right inside his gut, messing things up every step. Junior sister, call upon the Bodhisattva to possess you. If we drag this out any longer, the nunnery is finished.”

Jingxin watched Li Huowang, suspended upside down in the distance, and let out a helpless sigh. They had come this far, only to fail at the very last step.

No matter what others saw, in Li Huowang’s eyes, there were no tentacles coming out of his mouth. He hadn’t moved at all. It was Danyangzi—the terrifying Danyangzi—frenziedly attacking those fat nuns.

He had heard what Jingxin said, too.

Danyangzi didn’t die? He’s been alive this whole time? Living in my stomach, alongside the Black Tai Sui?

Li Huowang felt a chill surge through his entire body.

Danyangzi—the man who killed without blinking, who used people as alchemy ingredients—had never died!

Li Huowang had always believed that Danyangzi was only eroding him mentally, like a spiritual corruption. He had never imagined that even his physical body hadn't been spared!

He stared at Danyangzi in the distance, his eyes filled with a venomous hatred.

No! I have to do something. I have to do something! I can’t just sit here and wait for it to happen! If I want to get rid of him, it has to be today!

Li Huowang reached his right hand toward the Thousand Greats Record at his waist, while his left hand opened the torture-kit pouch hanging from the hem of his robe.

He pulled out a sharp triangular awl from the kit. Gritting his teeth, he drove it straight into the palm of his own hand, pressing down with all his might.

The searing pain nearly made him pass out. With the pain doubled, this was something no ordinary person could bear.

Maybe, when using the Thousand Greats Record, having the pain amplified was a good thing—but this time, Li Huowang didn’t intend to use the Record.

Just as he was about to open the book, a silken, immortal-looking decree flew through the air. It coiled around the Thousand Greats Record at his waist and yanked it away, sending it flying.

“Child, you must help your master achieve immortality. Don’t make trouble for me by helping outsiders~!” Danyangzi’s left head—the bald old man’s head—suddenly spoke.

“Helping another achieve immortality is a great act of merit! When you set foot on the path of cultivation someday, you’ll understand!” said the middle head—the middle-aged man.

“You can’t even begin to imagine what I saw at the edge of the Immortal Realm! I have to get in. I must get in! I’m only one step away! Help me!” Danyangzi’s last head—the child’s—spoke.

“Go to hell! Even if I die, I won’t help you again!” Li Huowang gritted his teeth and pulled the triangular awl out of the wound with brutal effort.

Danyangzi’s three nested faces twisted into a cruel grin as they looked at Li Huowang. “Child, when it comes to severing the Three Corpses, whether you help or not doesn’t matter. Don’t forget who your master is.”

“What bullshit ‘severing the Three Corpses’? You think I’ll still believe your lies?! If you want my body, just say it! I might be able to fool you, but that doesn’t mean you can fool me!”

“Let me tell you something! You have been completely twisted into a monster by the flesh and blood of the evil spirits in that alchemical ingredient! The ‘ascension method’ was entirely made up by me!”

Hearing this truth, Danyangzi showed no anger. Instead, his six eyes all lit up with the same intense yearning.

“No. I am an immortal now. Maybe just a half-immortal, but I really did see the Southern Heavenly Gate. I saw other gods like me inside it. I saw those celestial maidens!”

Li Huowang let out a cold sneer. “Oh, really? The Immortal Realm? You’ve been talking to me for a while now. Why don’t you look behind you?”

All three heads turned at once.

They saw a massive three-headed, six-armed Guanyin formed of bloated, rotting fat standing right before them.

Bam!

The mountains of swollen, putrid flesh came crashing down, trapping Danyangzi in place.

Half-buried in the meat, Danyangzi turned his head, fixing his terrifying gaze on Li Huowang.

“Don’t worry. A small problem. As long as I don’t let these nuns link minds with you, they can’t see me. They’re just blind. What good is all their power?”

“And you… don’t blame your master for speaking harshly. If you’re obedient, you’re still my disciple. But if you’re not… you’re just a stray dog on the side of the road, and I can kick you to death whenever I feel like it. There’s nothing you can do about any of this.”

The words shot straight to Li Huowang’s brain like a rush of blood.

He gripped the knife handle, raised it high, and plunged it deep into his own abdomen. Trembling, he dragged it to the left, then lifted his right hand—missing three fingernails—and shoved it into the gash, searching blindly.

“What are you doing?! Stop!” Danyangzi’s expression turned horrifying.

He tried to move to stop him, but found himself pinned by those nuns.

“You said I couldn’t do anything, didn’t you?” Li Huowang shouted at Danyangzi, his eyes bloodshot.

When his fingers brushed against something that was writhing and squirming, like a warm water-bag, Li Huowang yanked hard, tearing the connective tissue around it, and pulled it out of his wound with trembling hands.

“What about this?!” Fighting the tremors caused by the sheer agony, Li Huowang raised the knife again and stabbed it viciously into the stomach he held in his own hands. A torrent of black substance, thick as ink, splashed out from the wound.

At the sight of this, Danyangzi’s face turned absolutely foul.

“You reckless fool! You have no idea what you’re doing! You think you can beat me? Don’t dream! Your fate was sealed long ago!”

Li Huowang gritted his teeth and stabbed down again, even harder. This time he pierced the stomach clean through.

“Sealed?! I don’t believe in that shit!! Baldy! This isn’t over!!”

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Reading Guide Decoding

The Stomach-Stealing Gambit: Danyangzi’s True Form

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

Severing the Three Corpses (斩三尸): In Daoist cultivation lore, the "Three Corpses" (or Three Worms) are malevolent entities that live inside the human body, craving decay and tempting the cultivator toward death. A common xianxia trope involves "severing" them as a step toward immortality. Here, Danyangzi twists this concept into a parasitic cohabitation, using it to justify his continued existence inside Li Huowang. It’s a brilliant corruption of a respectable cultivation concept into a body-horror nightmare.

The Southern Heavenly Gate (南天门): In Chinese mythology, the Southern Heavenly Gate is the main entrance to the Heavenly Court, guarded by the Four Heavenly Kings. Mortals who see it are usually either immortals or about to die. Danyangzi’s claim to have seen it—and to have seen other “gods” inside—is the novel’s most direct hint that the Dao-Twisted World’s version of ascension is a horrific perversion of the traditional myth.

Self-Surgery as Resistance: Li Huowang’s act of pulling out his own stomach is not just shock value—it is a tactical, ritualistic self-harm that mirrors real-world folk practices of “washing the stomach” or “cleansing the body” in Daoist and Buddhist ascetic traditions. In the Dao-Twisted World, where the body is currency, destroying part of yourself is the ultimate act of defiance.

Fly-Bodhisattva

A corrupted, insectoid form of a Buddhist deity summoned by the nuns of Anci Nunnery.

Chapter Overview

“You said I couldn’t do anything, didn’t you?” This chapter is the final, bloody showdown of the Danyangzi arc—and the moment Li Huowang proves that the most dangerous weapon in the Dao-Twisted World isn't a talisman or a mantra, but a man who’s willing to disembowel himself to win an argument. The confrontation erupts when Danyangzi reveals he is still alive, physically living inside Li Huowang’s belly alongside the Black Tai Sui. What follows is a chaotic, visceral battle where nuns turn into fly-Bodhisattvas, tentacles drag Li Huowang around like a puppet, and Danyangzi spits "immortal truths" about having seen the Southern Heavenly Gate. But the real punch comes at the end: Li Huowang, locked in a battle of wills and trapped in a stalemate, reaches inside his own gut, yanks out his own stomach, and stabs it, screaming that this isn't over. It’s not a victory. It’s a declaration of war—against Danyangzi, against destiny, and against the very idea that anything in this world is pre-ordained.

Key Plot Points

Danyangzi’s Survival Confirmed: Li Huowang learns for the first time that Danyangzi didn't just corrupt him spiritually—he has been physically alive inside his body all along. The tentacles emerging from Li Huowang’s mouth are Danyangzi’s organs, twisted into weapons.
The Nuns’ Counterattack: Jingxin and her sisters attempt to suppress Danyangzi through their Clear Mind link, but fail because Danyangzi is inside Li Huowang, blocking the connection. They resort to summoning the fly-Bodhisattva and trapping Danyangzi in a pile of rotting flesh.
Danyangzi’s “Truth”: When Li Huowang taunts Danyangzi by revealing that the ascension method was fake and that the man has been twisted into a monster by evil spirit flesh, Danyangzi does not panic. Instead, he claims he has become a half-immortal and has seen the Southern Heavenly Gate and its celestial inhabitants.
Li Huowang’s Desperate Gambit: Disarmed of the Thousand Greats Record and cornered, Li Huowang chooses self-mutilation over submission. He stabs himself, pulls out his own stomach, and stabs it repeatedly, showing he would rather destroy a part of himself than let Danyangzi use it.
The Stalemate Breaks: Danyangzi is trapped by the nuns’ Bodhisattva-flesh, and Li Huowang is bleeding out. The chapter ends on a cliffhanger of mutual hatred and an unresolved fight.

Reading Guide

Get ready, folks—this is the chapter where Li Huowang stops being a passenger in his own body and starts acting like a man with nothing left to lose. The horror here isn't the tentacles or the fly-Bodhisattva (though those are nasty). The horror is Danyangzi’s casual, smug confidence. He calls Li Huowang a “stray dog” he can kick to death. And Li Huowang’s response? He pulls out his own stomach. It’s not a power-up; it’s a cry of defiance written in viscera.

If you've been waiting for Li Huowang to take control, this is the chapter. But don’t expect a clean win. This is the kind of victory that leaves you needing stitches—and a lot of questions. Is Danyangzi really a half-immortal? Is the Southern Heavenly Gate real? And what happens when Li Huowang runs out of body parts to sacrifice?

Buckle up. The price of rejecting destiny just went up.