The Stone Slab
1,163 words
Completely numb to pain now, Li Huowang stared at the enormous vertical pupil before him. Without a hint of hesitation, he hoisted his own limp, collapsed body onto one shoulder, then rushed over to Zhuge Yuan and hauled him up too, charging backward.
This place was far too dangerous—nowhere a mortal should be. He had to get Zhuge Yuan out!
But the moment he turned to flee, a weight like a mountain slammed down on him, pressing him into the ground. At the same time, an invisible suction seized him from behind, dragging him back.
From Li Huowang's gaping chest wound, writhing tentacles poured out in a frenzy, wrapping around his legs and helping him drag forward inch by inch.
One inch. Then another. The maggots on his body died in droves, as if they were fighting something unseen in the air.
By the time more than half of his maggots had perished, the pressure suddenly released. He was free of the pull.
Li Huowang staggered forward, intending to carry Zhuge Yuan out of this disaster zone. But before he could take more than a few steps, a massive wall of fire erupted in front of him, nearly singeing his hair off.
He scrambled back and finally saw them clearly: the Grand Liang Emperor, flanked by the State Preceptor and the Supervisory Heavenly Office officials.
They were pulling out all the stops—every ritual implement, every artifact. Li Huowang even spotted one of the Deputy Directors holding an upturned square stone slab, performing a rite.
He remembered that slab. It was the same kind of stone tablet Danyangzi had once used in his failed bid for immortality. So this man had one too.
So you're supposed to hold it upside down? Li Huowang blinked, then shook his head violently. Now was not the time for that!
He looked up in shock at the towering golden tree engulfed in flames, then down at Zhuge Yuan slumped over his shoulder. "What's going on? Where's your Great Qi?"
The sphere of Great Qi history should have been constantly present around a Heart-Pivot. But for some reason, it had inexplicably vanished.
That was bad news for Li Huowang. It threw him right back into the center of the battlefield.
Zhuge Yuan, having caught his breath, flipped himself off Li Huowang's shoulder in one swift motion. His face was ashen as he took in the scene. "Where is this?!"
"Where is this?! This is Grand Liang! It doesn't matter where! We get out first, then talk!" Li Huowang grabbed Zhuge Yuan's long sleeve and bolted to the side.
A wild laugh made Li Huowang turn to look at the Grand Liang Emperor in front of the blazing tree. As the Emperor laughed, the tassels on his crown whipped frantically.
He swept his arm, pointing sharply at the distant giant eye. "Zuowandao! The Spirit Mountain Ghost Eye has risen! Your dog's feet are finished! I'll take the opportunity to wipe you all out!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Li Huowang felt the golden bricks beneath him turn soft, liquefying and flowing rapidly toward the giant eye behind him.
It wasn't just the bricks. The golden palace in the distance was melting too. The streams of gold converged before the terrifying, radiant eye, rapidly coalescing into a golden mask the size of a mountain.
The mask had long, beast-like ears, a mouth that stretched ear to ear, three overlapping lips, and the corners turned upward in a faint smile—identical to the mask hanging above the gate of the Supervisory Heavenly Office.
But there was one difference. The mask on the gate had a pair of protruding cylindrical eyes. This forming mask had an empty left socket. And stuffed into the right socket was that enormous vertical pupil!
Li Huowang's entire body began to tremble uncontrollably. He didn't know what the "Spirit Mountain Ghost" the Grand Liang Emperor spoke of was. All he knew was that something big was coming! The strange chanting that had vanished when the Five Phases were intercalated came surging back with a vengeance.
His mind screamed at himself to go faster, faster. The worms in his chest writhed and twisted together, forming two new legs from his torso, granting him a burst of speed.
The Dice—all four of them—watched the golden mask take shape, felt the crushing weight in the air intensify. The dots on their faces all flipped to six.
One of them spoke. Faced with such a dire situation, his voice held not a shred of worry. On the contrary, there was even a hint of secret glee.
"Well done. You went to all that trouble to retrieve the eye of a Siming that died over a thousand years ago. Must have cost you quite a bit, hmm? In that case, we'll just help ourselves."
"Hmph! Do you think I would believe your endless lies? Say whatever you want! I have spent ten full years on this plan. There is nothing you can do to stop it!"
"Lies? Hah. Are you sure? Guess why we sent exactly four of us today? You've been preparing for a long time. We've been preparing even longer."
The four Dice spoke the exact same words in unison. Then they sat cross-legged again, their overlapping voices rising once more.
"True Void, Wondrous Marks, Dharma King and Teacher; Unsurpassed Mystic Origin, Heavenly Mother of Heaven's Gate. Where the golden light shines, sun and moon lose their luster. When the precious pestle turns, gods and demons pale. Manifest your spirit trace in the mortal world, guard the holy carriage upon Jambudvipa."
The sound was not loud, but it carried far—and farther still.
When that sound reached the Grand Liang Emperor's side, the stone slab in the Deputy Director's hand suddenly cracked.
And from the crack, a sneering, mocking laugh seeped out.
"Hahahaha! Did it feel good to practice? It's all fake! I was just messing with you! You big fool!"
With that, the stone slab split apart completely, collapsing into a heap of broken mahjong and domino tiles.
"What?! How is that possible?!" The deceived Deputy Director stared in shock at the rubble in his hands. A purple light shot from his brow, streaking toward the dots on the Dice.
That was only the beginning. The Zuowandao's voice spread farther, all the way to Ox-Heart Village.
In his sleep, Gao Zhijian heard voices in his room. He jolted awake, grabbed a weapon, and rushed to the side chamber—only to see that the stone slab armor Li Huowang had given him was split in two.
If he remembered correctly, this slab was one Li Huowang had taken from Qingfeng Temple, from Master Danyangzi.
"Hahaha! You wanted to become an immortal! You can't even read a single character, and you thought you could become an immortal?! Let me tell you! I tricked you! That immortality method is a fake!! Hahaha!!"
Apologies, there's one more chapter later tonight.