The rain poured down, accompanied by thunderous roars.
Li Shiwuwu suddenly sprouted ten legs, unable to distinguish between them or maintain his balance.
He staggered like a clumsy wild duck, swaying left and right in the muddy mountains, letting the rainwater flood into his mouth as he struggled forward step by step.
This scene was both absurd and laughable.
Not far behind, the Faceless Man and Ji Mo continued to follow.
"Ha, I always thought he wasn't human. Now he's exposed," the Faceless Man laughed heartily at the strange figure, having long believed that a cautious and steady Sui Demon like himself wouldn't easily be thwarted by a mere mortal.
"He might not be human, but he's definitely not a Sui Demon," Ji Mo murmured, hands clasped behind his back.
"Whatever, let's just follow and see."
At Qingyang Temple.
"The believer is the root of the Dao, with deep roots the Dao can grow, with firm roots virtue can flourish..."
In the main hall, incense smoke curled, refreshing the mind.
A group of elderly Taoists sat cross-legged, holding scriptures and reading with full concentration.
Some young Taoist novices listened to their elders while dozing off on their prayer mats.
"Disciple, read the scriptures properly."
An old Taoist pulled his disciple's ear, scolding him for not living up to expectations.
At that moment, a series of urgent 'bang bang' sounds came from the mountain gate.
"Master, let go."
"With such heavy rain outside, is there still a visitor? I'll go check."
The young novice quickly got up and ran outside the hall.
"Bang bang bang!"
The knocking grew more urgent, as if trying to break the door down.
"Coming, coming, why so impatient!" the young novice muttered, clearly displeased.
As the temple door slowly opened, there stood a mud-covered, tattered humanoid creature with ten legs, holding a Chopping Knife, eyes blazing with anger.
"Uh..."
The young novice's eyes rolled back, fainting in fright.
Li Shiwuwu glanced at him and barged into the temple.
In an instant, chaos and disorder erupted in Qingyang Temple.
Cries of fear, pleas for mercy, and angry shouts filled the air.
"Come out."
"Get out here, or I'll chop you with this knife."
Li Shiwuwu searched every room meticulously, grabbing the Taoists by the neck and tossing them into the rain outside.
On the temple roof, Ji Mo watched coldly, unable to hold back a murmur.
Soon, over a hundred Taoists, young and old, were gathered together, drenched from head to toe.
At this moment, looking at the twisted, deformed figure ahead, the elderly Taoists couldn't help but kowtow, their foreheads breaking and bleeding, appearing pitiful and weak.
"Bravo, your acting is superb, truly convincing."
Li Shiwuwu clapped his hands, suddenly fixing his gaze on a Taoist in his sixties, Huoyanzi.
In a hoarse voice, he said, "Old man, do you remember me?"
In the rain, Huoyanzi wiped the water from his face, incredulous, "Li... Li, my young friend, is that you? How did you become like this?"
"Why? Why?"
Li Shiwuwu asked twice, his figure suddenly moving closer, kicking Huoyanzi into the puddle.
"Fine, I'll tell you clearly."
"Didn't you say the sheepskin scroll was your random doodle, and the Seed Immortal Temple was your fabrication?"
"But look, I turned into this ghostly form because I found the Seed Immortal Temple and planted myself there."
"Now, how do you explain that?"
Hearing this, Huoyanzi's face turned bitter, shaking his head uncontrollably.
"Impossible, it's impossible."
"The Seed Immortal Temple doesn't exist; it was just something I drew and wrote in my youth."
"My young friend, why put yourself through this!"
The rain poured down, and a fierce light shone in Li Shiwuwu's eyes.
Holding the knife with one arm, he pressed it against a middle-aged Taoist's neck, the blade sharp, drawing drops of red blood.
"Old man, are you still pretending?"
"Do you believe I won't chop off his head and slaughter everyone in this temple, burning it all to ashes!"
Li Shiwuwu's forehead veins bulged, his face twisted and demonic.
Yet Huoyanzi continued to shake his head.
"My young friend, your current appearance."
"It's just like your master decades ago, who also threatened us with a knife, demanding the method to become immortal."
"Scene after scene, it feels like yesterday."
Li Shiwuwu's expression grew more ferocious and violent, gripping the knife tighter.
"Old man, do you really think I won't kill?"
At this moment, Huoyanzi's expression turned solemn. He straightened his soaked robe, then struggled to stand up, supporting his frail body.
With lowered eyes, he said, "In my youth, I was ambitious, often boasting of destroying cities with a sword and shooting down the sun with a bow."
"But time flows like a river, fifty years passing like water, aging people. I was trapped by fear, never daring to step out of the temple, ringing the bell and chanting daily, living in a daze, afraid to snore loudly at night for fear of being laughed at by children..." This chapter is updated first at novelping . com.
Huoyanzi, looking old and withered, stood like a dry pine in the rain.
He adjusted the crown on his head, bowed three times towards the ancestral tablets in the main hall, and continued, "My young friend, the Seed Immortal Temple started with me, but I never thought it would become an obsession for you and your master, leading to today's disaster."
Li Shiwuwu's eyes bulged, pointing the knife horizontally, gritting his teeth, "Old man, what trick are you trying to pull?"
Huoyanzi shook his head, his face bitter.
"It started with me, so it should end with me."
"My young friend, the Seed Immortal Temple doesn't exist, let it go."
"Just don't trouble the people of Qingyang Temple after I'm gone."
"And if I had been brave enough to step out of the temple in my youth, perhaps my life wouldn't have been confined to this small place, and it would have been more exciting."
With that, Huoyanzi leaped forward, smashing his head against the stone lion's edge beside him.
Blood flowed bright red, life extinguished!
Seeing this, Li Shiwuwu nearly went mad, unable to stop it in time.
"How could you die? How dare you die?"
"Old man, why, tell me why?"
With a clang, the Chopping Knife fell to the ground.
Li Shiwuwu dragged his ten legs, stumbling away, his robe thin as a thread, eyes red, voice choked with emotion.
"Old man, I didn't want you to die."
"I just wanted the truth, the truth of what happened to me."
"I'm not afraid of the Seed Immortal Temple, nor of death."
"I just want to understand, truly, truly..."
On the temple roof.
The Faceless Man asked, "What happened?"
Ji Mo shook his head, "I don't quite understand, but it seems Li Shiwuwu drove that old man to death."
"Also, I can sense he seems to be in a lot of pain, but this kid doesn't look very old. What has he been through?"
As time ticked away, the clouds dispersed.
But it was already near dusk, the sunset glowing like blood.
Li Shiwuwu, still with ten legs, leaned against the threshold of Qingyang Temple, Huoyanzi's body placed beside him.
"Li... Li, my young friend, give me my junior brother's remains, so he can rest in peace."
The abbot of Qingyang Temple stood nearby, sighing.
"And don't blame yourself too much for Huoyanzi's death. We old folks don't have many years left anyway."
"Take care of yourself."