The False Remedy

Li Huowang naturally wanted very much to solve the situation he was in.

Fortunately, as troublesome as this problem appeared, there was still a way out.

The Dice had once said something: cultivating only the True without cultivating the False would lead to Qi Deviation.

It sounded quite reasonable and logical. If he was cultivating the True, then by cultivating the False, he could achieve balance between left and right, and prevent this kind of situation from happening.

But there was one problem with this solution: those words came from the Dice. Could he trust the words of a Zuowandao member?

The Dice had once said that he only ever used true words to deceive people, but he had also said, “You actually believe the words of a Zuowandao?” He had said both the true and the opposite, covering all his bases.

Over this period of time, Li Huowang had very seriously weighed the pros and cons for a long while. In the end, he decided to give it a try.

Compared to the benefits of the True, the downsides of the False weren’t so unacceptable. After all, this time he wouldn’t be the one being tricked by the Zuowandao—he would become the Zuowandao himself, and trick others.

Besides, the False Heavenly Law was currently in Ji Zai’s hands, which was infinitely safer than when it was in Doumu’s grasp.

In theory, since he controlled both the True Heavenly Law and the False Heavenly Law, as his Heart-Pan, he should also be able to use both abilities. That was only reasonable.

“The front line is manageable for now. I need to leave this place for a while.”

As Li Huowang muttered to himself, Xuanpin’s figure drifted out from the wooden fish beside him.

“This is a critical moment. People are dying on the front line every moment. Without a powerful ally like you, the soldiers there will have to pile up their lives to deal with any major trouble.”

“Don’t try to pressure me with that talk. If you truly valued their lives as lives, you would stop hoarding your secrets—that would accomplish far more.”

Although his goal was to deal with the Fa Sect and save this mad world, sharpening the axe didn’t delay the woodcutting. If he didn’t solve this problem first, he would never be able to do anything properly.

With that thought, Li Huowang didn’t want to delay any longer. He reached out and patted Li Sui on the head, then stood up and walked toward the temple gate.

“This is a thorny situation. What will you do?” Xuanpin seemed to have known about Li Huowang’s trouble for some time.

“Do you have a way?”

“Others, I might have a way. But you are both Heart-Element and Heart-Pan. I have no way.”

“I knew you didn’t have a way. If you did and were holding onto it until now without saying anything, then you wouldn’t be my ally.”

Li Huowang hurried down the bloodstained stone steps and quickly reached the foot of the mountain.

He glanced at the two horses crushed to death by the giant Buddha head in the stable, untied one of the remaining horses, and swung himself onto its back.

“Senior Brother Li?”

Hearing this voice, Li Huowang didn’t even have time to turn his head. He quickly spoke. “Don’t, don’t come near me! I’ll talk to you after I’ve solved this problem!”

He could no longer tell whether this Bai Lingmiao was real or merely someone he believed to be real. For now, it was better not to distinguish.

Hearing the footsteps stop, Li Huowang let out a breath. “How is Taishan Shi? Still refusing to talk?”

Bai Lingmiao had blocked Taishan Shi and brought him back earlier. Li Huowang had thought he might pry some clues out of the man’s mouth, but he had exhausted every trick he had and still couldn’t force him to speak.

That fellow’s body was as hard as stone, and his mouth was even harder than his body.

So Li Huowang had no choice but to send him to the army camp, hoping the Sitian Jian might have some other methods.

“No. We’ve tried everything, but he still hasn’t said anything. Could it be that he really doesn’t know?”

“Impossible. He must know something. By the way, have those Chief Astrologers come to see him?”

“No. We sent people to inform them, but they said the Chief Astrologers are currently locked in combat with the Fa Sect and can’t spare the time.”

“That’s a load of bullshit. There’s not even a shadow of them on the Xuan Guang Mirror. Xuanpin, what kind of trick are you people stirring up again that you can’t even spare the time to interrogate one man?”

“I’ve already sent people back, but they can’t fly. The journey takes some time.”

“Hurry it up. Since this man is a high-ranking member of the Fa Sect and came all the way from the Great Qi, he must know some crucial information.”

Having said that, Li Huowang turned his horse and prepared to leave.

“Senior Brother Li, I won’t follow you, but at least tell me where you’re going.”

Hearing Bai Lingmiao’s voice behind him, Li Huowang thought for a moment before speaking. “To Qingqiu.”

“Qingqiu? Why?”

“I know how to cultivate the True. If I want to cultivate the False, I have to find the Zuowandao. But the Dice killed off all the Zuowandao in the world. Now, if I want to find them, the only place left is Fengdu, beneath Qingqiu.”

Before Bai Lingmiao could say anything, however, Xuanpin spoke. His voice carried a rare note of admiration. “Remarkable. Cultivating the True plus cultivating the False. That’s a remarkable idea.”

“Hm?” Li Huowang looked at the apparition before him.

“This method—the Dice was certainly not deceiving you. It will definitely work.” Xuanpin said this to Li Huowang with absolute certainty.

“Oh? How can you be so sure?” Suspicious of Xuanpin’s firm tone, Li Huowang thought to himself, Is he saying this for some ulterior motive?

“Rest assured, there is no other possibility. It’s like yin and yang: mutually restraining yet mutually generating. The same is true of True and False. As long as you cultivate the False, you will surely quell your Qi Deviation.”

Since the other party had spoken so decisively, Li Huowang didn’t ask any more questions. He sized up Xuanpin for a moment, then lifted his heels and kicked the horse’s belly, spurring it into a gallop toward Qingqiu.

The Li Sui sitting behind him quickly drew two talismans and pasted them onto the horse’s back.

Standing in place, Bai Lingmiao pondered what had just been said. Her face carried a mixture of surprise and curiosity as she asked, “Master Xuanpin, is it really as you said?”

Xuanpin’s voice came from the black hole within his red Daoist robe. “Whether I truly believe it or not doesn’t matter. As long as he truly believes it, that’s enough.”

Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao’s expression shifted to one of sudden understanding. She immediately grasped Xuanpin’s plan.

That was indeed true. Even if this method was a deception from the Dice, it didn’t matter. As long as Senior Brother Li believed it would work, then it would work.

Having realized that Xuanpin was genuinely trying to help Senior Brother Li, Bai Lingmiao bowed to him. “Thank you, Master Xuanpin. Senior Brother Li’s temper may be sharp, but his heart is good. He will feel your kindness.”

“I don’t need his kindness. I simply do not wish to die.”

Having said this, Xuanpin turned to look at Bai Lingmiao, his gaze carefully appraising her red bridal veil.

“This body of evil qi must not be very comfortable to use, am I right? I know the abbot of Zhengde Temple. If you wish, he can help you rebuild your mortal flesh.”

“Can that really be done?!” Bai Lingmiao couldn’t help but become excited. Though she didn’t care much about her appearance and Senior Brother Li didn’t mind, it would certainly be good to have it restored to normal.

“Naturally. Since we share life and death now, helping with such a small matter is only right. Besides, it’s hardly anything major. People like us must help one another.”