CH 24

（No work during the International Workers’ Day holiday）

In order to leave, Li Huowang had to suppress the reappearance of the illusion once again. Otherwise, he would be constantly alternating between illusion and reality and not be able to do anything properly. 

To suppress the illusion, the key was the Black Ganoderma raised by Dan Yang Tzu.

When the group arrived at the cave, they stopped in their tracks as they saw the Black Ganoderma crawling out of the black cauldron for the first time, revealing its true form. 

It was a large, sticky, black mass covered with mucus. At first glance, its covering appeared to be fur, but upon closer inspection, it was found to be thick, dark, slender tentacles or immature filaments.

Its entire body resembled a huge worm, expanding and contracting at will. There were some openings on its bloated body, from which nauseating stenches were sprayed out as it wriggled.

This scene frightened everyone present, causing their limbs to weaken and almost turning their backs to run away.

However, Li Huowang keenly sensed that something was wrong. The Black Ganoderma had shrunk significantly compared to before, and it continued to ooze black liquid.

“What’s going on? Could its life be connected with Dan Yang Tzu?” Li Huowang felt increasingly disheartened.

With this in mind, he quickly ran out, and when he returned, he was holding some remains of Dan Yang Tzu in his hand.

Li Huowang rushed to the side of the Black Ganoderma, knelt down on one knee, and struggled to pick up the wriggling rotten flesh on the ground and stuffed the remains in his hand into some of the crevices on the Black Ganoderma’s body.

However, after Li Huowang did this, more black liquid flowed out from its body, causing its body to shrink even further.

At this moment, Li Huowang’s face was filled with anxiety, as if the wriggling and contorting black monster in his arms was his own sick child.

He grabbed both sides of the Black Ganoderma and gently shook it, pleading, “Hey, hey, don’t die! What am I going to do if you die?!”

The Black Ganoderma remained unresponsive, and none of its organs moved anymore.

As the Black Ganoderma continued to shrink, Li Huowang made a tough decision and bit down hard on its body.

Witnessing this scene, Bai Lingmiao and others were stunned. They stood rooted to the spot, watching as Senior Brother Li, covered in blood, fiercely tore at the black monster with his mouth.

To them, Li Huowang now looked more like a monster compared to the Black Ganoderma.

Doggie quietly approached Zhao Fifth and whispered, “Should we…part ways with him? I’m really afraid that if we stay with him, he’ll eat me while I’m sleeping.”

The gaze of everyone towards Li Huowang began to contain a hint of fear.

The condensed Black Ganoderma flesh was now more compact, and Li Huowang found it akin to chewing on a tire.

At this moment, Li Huowang was too preoccupied to think about the taste of the Black Ganoderma. He swallowed it in big gulps, but no matter how fast he ate, he couldn’t keep up with the rate at which the Black Ganoderma was dissolving. 

Soon, all that remained in his arms was a layer of black skin.

“Um…Senior Brother Li, are you full? Can we set off now?” Doggie asked softly.

Li Huowang regretfully threw the smelly and fishy skin on the ground. He didn’t know how long he could hold on, but he hoped to find another Black Ganoderma or figure out another solution before his illusion reappears.

“I’m going to change my clothes,” he said. 

The remaining things are basically worthless, and as for any manuals or books, forget it. Dan Yang Tzu doesn’t even know how to read.

Li Huowang took off his sticky Taoist robe and put on a new set of blue robes, instantly feeling comfortable all over.

With his new clothes on, Li Huowang explained to the others why he had done what he did earlier,and they walked towards the door.

When they understood that Li Huowang was trying to suppress his hallucinations with Black Ganoderma, their worried hearts finally settled down.

［I found out that I seemed to have made a mistake, I confused illusion and hallucination,I originally thought that illusion meant some illusions that others couldn’t see (such as dreams,or some other plane and world scene), and hallucination refers to auditory and visual hallucinations that occur after brain or mental problems (as seen Li Huowang in the novel), but it seems that I misunderstood them.If your native language is English, or if you have a good understanding of English, please correct me in a timely manner. Before that, I will continue to translate like before.］

“Ah, I see now. I thought Senior Brother Li was hungry,” joked Doggie on the side, trying to lighten the mood.

As they continued walking, a new fork appeared on the side of the tunnel. Li Huowang stopped and knew that the end of this path led to Dan Yang Tzu’s residence. “Should we go in and see how our three senior brothers are doing?” 

Although he didn’t want to get involved in their conflict, Li Huowang didn’t want another Dan Yang Tzu to appear in the world if he could help it.

“Let’s go and take a look,” he said as he led the group of disabled people towards the residence.

When they arrived at the door, Li Huowang noticed that the door he had closed earlier was still shut, indicating that no one had come out.

“Senior brothers, are you done fighting? We’re leaving now,” Li Huowang shouted into the house.

After waiting for a while and hearing no response, Li Huowang pushed open the door. The pungent smell of blood hit them, and a bloody hand was presented in front of everyone.

As they looked up, an even bloodier scene came into view. Xuan Yuan was dead, and he had died a gruesome death. His body was almost split in half by a sword.

Chang Ren was also dead. He had been stabbed from behind with a sword. Xuan Yuan was not a swordsman but a talisman user, and it was ChangRen’s brother, Chang Ming, who killed Chang Ren.

Chang Ming, the only survivor, was still in a precarious situation. After being pierced through by the black thread with copper coins, he was sewn onto the wall, apparently triggering Dan Yang Tzu’s last resort plan.

Chang Ming was still alive, staring intently at the so-called celestial with his eyes full of desire.

“Cough… cough…” When Li Huowang walked in, Chang Ming on the wall seemed to want to say something, but the copper coins deep in his throat had completely cut off his airway, leaving him unable to say anything.

Li Huowang walked up to him and smiled at Chang Ming, bending down to pick up his sword. It was a 1.2meters long sword that reflected a cold light under the oil lamp, looking extremely sharp.

After struggling to wave Chang Ming’s sword a few times with one hand, Li Huowang said to him, “This is a good sword, senior brother. It seems that you won’t need it for the time being, so I’ll use it first.

“Although I am not a swordsman, it is always better to have an iron weapon than bare hands when traveling outside. Don’t you agree, senior brother?”

Chang Ming tried to convey something through his gaze, but it was obvious that Li Huowang couldn’t understand him at all.

Li Huowang took the scabbard from the deceased Chang Ren and inserted the long sword into it, carrying it on his back.

And the most important thing now was the Celestial Book.

Li Huowang turned around and walked towards the unprotected celestial book.

At that moment, Chang Ming suddenly began to struggle violently. As he struggled, the copper coins on the black thread pierced even deeper. After a few more struggles, the light in his eyes quickly dimmed.

“Senior Brother Li, Senior Brother Chang Ming has died,” said Doggie in surprise with wide eyes.

Li Huowang looked at the so-called celestial book in front of him and let out a soft sigh. It was just an object that appeared out of nowhere, yet so many people had died because of it.

He leaned his head closer once again and observed it carefully, even more carefully  than when he was threatened by Dan Yang Tzu.

He looked at it several times, and still felt that it was just a scripture. Moreover, it seemed to be an exhortation for people to do good deeds.

Li Huowang took a step back and slowly drew his sword behind him with one hand. 

“Clang!” 

The sharp long sword heavily struck the stone tablet that was engraved with the scripture.