Chapter 417: Baozi

"Li Shixiong, don't you have anything you want to ask me?"

The illusionary Zhuge Yuan spoke, while Li Huowang sat before a baozi shop eating breakfast—three vegetable baozi with soy milk and fried dough sticks.

"No." Li Huowang sipped his soy milk and replied, "Why would Brother Zhuge say that?"

Fortunately, the street was noisy; the shopkeeper was busy with business and didn't notice the man sitting by the riverbank muttering to thin air—but even if they had noticed, it wouldn't matter; these days, strange things were everywhere.

"As for Hong Zhong, I and others have known from the very beginning." Zhuge Yuan studied Li Huowang's expression, but the other's gaze remained unchanged—he let out a long sigh:

"Ah—! Li Shixiong, what am I supposed to do now?"

"They say a gentleman finds it hard to enter but easy to withdraw, while a villain finds it easy to enter but hard to leave—but only today have I realized that even being a villain isn't easy."

"You knew I would, in the original future, deceive you for the sake of Da Qi, and you knew I stole your 'Wang' character in the past."

Zhuge Yuan's words stuck in his throat; he stared at the Li Huowang before him, utterly at a loss.

"Brother Zhuge, let the past stay in the past, and don't speak of what hasn't yet happened in the future." Li Huowang said seriously: "I have always believed in you. I will help you save Da Qi—even if it costs me my life."

He naturally knew what Zhuge Yuan had hidden from him; the dice's plan could only be called an open strategy—to save Zhuge Yuan's world, Gao Zhijian must become emperor of both Da Qi and Da Liang.

Only then could the dragon vein endure.

This dragon vein required an emperor to control it—not some mysterious, abstract thing, but a real entity, a part of Tian Dao, a pillar of the world.

"Li Shixiong." Zhuge Yuan closed his folding fan, fell silent for a while, then said: "If you keep going like this, you'll eventually hurt yourself."

Li Huowang shook his head: "I believe you, Brother Zhuge, won't harm me."

This was Li Huowang's choice—he didn't care about so many things, not even truly about saving the world, but he had no choice; the only thing he truly cared about was the word 'truth.'

He rose, paid the baozi shop owner, packed about twenty baozi, wrapped thickly in oiled paper and tied with thin rope, then hefted them and walked toward the inn.

"Li Shixiong, I advise you not to resist Hong Zhong's identity."

Zhuge Yuan's tone was grave:

"You need his past. You need his memories."

"When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up—but Li Shixiong, you should know: right now, you are the tallest person in our world."

"If you wish to change all tragedies, and prevent regrets from happening again."

"Even without Hong Zhong's past, I can still change the future!" Li Huowang growled.

His voice carried resolve—just as Su Lin had said, Li Huowang wanted a perfect ending, like a player whose early record was a complete disaster, who, after a lucky break, grew strong and now sought every achievement.

"Besides, I have you, Brother Zhuge, to strategize for me—and Brother Su and Brother Meng."

"Li Shixiong, as I said before, the one you should trust most is yourself. Only when you grow strong can you face all difficulties in the future."

Zhuge Yuan tried to warn Li Huowang,

"Your future won't be limited to this world—and have you ever considered that I and others might be illusions—illusions born from you?"

As soon as he spoke, Li Huowang froze. He stopped walking; the illusions of Zhuge Yuan, Jin Shan Zhao, Peng Longteng, and others flickered dimly and brightly.

"Hahaha, Brother Zhuge, don't joke like that—how could you possibly be an illusion?"

Li Huowang denied it,

"I haven't read the later plot of that book, so I don't know—but there's one thing you can't explain: if you're an illusion, why do you have Zhuge Yuan's memories?"

After these words, the figures around him stabilized slightly, though they were no longer as solid as before.

"But you're right—everything ultimately depends on oneself." Li Huowang smiled: "Once I reclaim your body, I'll try using a resurrection artifact and my cultivation abilities to revive you."

Seeing this, Zhuge Yuan said no more; he knew everything must unfold naturally.

If our existence eases Li Huowang's burden, then what harm is there in remaining this illusion? After all, we are but dream-bodies, phantom forms.

He would lend his strength until the moment Li Huowang awoke.

From the beginning, he had known every action Hong Zhong's Li Huowang had taken—he did not stop him, nor warn him, precisely to let Li Huowang gradually accept that real past.

Because he knew we could never stay with him forever—like a dream, whether beautiful or ugly, every dream must face the day of waking.

When that time comes, we will vanish, and Li Huowang will have only himself to rely on.

Whether Li Huowang accepts this truth or not, Hong Zhong's Li Huowang and Li Huowang are fundamentally the same person—even if his reputation is terrible, he is Hong Zhong of the Three Great Primordials of the Dao of Forgetting.

More terrifying than evil spirits is the human heart—if Li Shixiong can accept his past, then we can peacefully dissolve into non-gang and become part of his strength.

"Li Shixiong."

"Brother Zhuge, what is it? Say what you want to say."

"Nothing. I was just thinking about how to thank you after I'm revived."

"That's being too formal with me! Don't mention it again!!!"

In these few words, Zhuge Yuan's illusion solidified slightly more.

"Brother Su, Brother Meng, breakfast is ready."

Li Huowang knocked on the door for a long time with Bai Lingmiao; finding no response, he pushed open the wooden door with carved patterns. He had guessed the two had drunk more after returning to their room.

"Li Shixiong, am I not dreaming?"

Before his eyes stretched an endless grassland, under a blue sky hung a sun; countless broken swords and shattered blades stuck into the earth, telling stories unknown to all.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~~

Li Huowang seemed to hear the sound of waves crashing against shore; he squinted toward the distance, where on the wind-swaying sea of green, a dazzling line appeared far off and rushed toward them.

"Tide?!"

No—this was no ordinary tide.

Li Huowang's entire gaze was drawn in—it was not real water, but a great river of Dao, an unstructured accumulation of countless laws made manifest.

Did he wander into the wrong place? Did he cross over again? As Li Huowang stood lost and confused—

Stars race, rivers surge; years swiftly fade.

In an instant, dusk replaced the blue sky beneath his feet; golden twilight gradually spilled across the land above his head.

"Li Shixiong!" Bai Lingmiao called out.

Li Huowang had already reacted, carrying Bai Lingmiao through the sky, his face filled with shock as he watched the mountain peak fall upward, inverted.

A black-and-yellow palace appeared between heaven and earth; the airflow hanging from its eaves resembled true dragons, radiating an aura of supreme nobility. Its vermilion gates were tightly shut, concealing ancient secrets, adorned with three hundred and sixty-five golden nails, and a vertical plaque inscribed with mysterious characters.

"Yu Yu! Jade Void Palace?!!"

But further anomalies followed in quick succession, leaving him no time to react—a brilliant, radiant light shot down from beyond the heavens, piercing the gate with unstoppable force. It was—

The Azure Jade Void Sword?!

The inverted world returned to normal, and the gate suddenly burst open—inside, leaden clouds gathered, blanketing the interior, as if endless thunder brewed within.

Boom—

The leaden clouds split open, and a chaotic-colored thunderbolt erupted, wrapped in countless illusory karmic threads, converging upon a black longblade, exceeding all conceivable limits as it collided with the Azure Jade Void Sword.

"Watch out!" Zhu Ge Yuan warned.

A sense of mortal threat exploded in Li Huowang's heart—he panicked, clutching Bai Lingmiao, desperate to turn and flee.

But the ash of annihilation had already begun to spread—or rather, the moment the two clashed, sun and moon fell together, heaven cracked and earth shattered; nothing could escape this place.

Pop—

The sound of bursting bubbles rose as the world turned white, then spiraled away like a vortex.

"It's already morning?"

Meng Qi swept his sleeve, using the Sleeve's Inner Cosmos to absorb the preceding anomaly. In his hand, he held a black longblade, upon which the thunder flickered twice before vanishing.

"Hmm. Let's eat first."

Su Lin held the Azure Jade Void Sword in one hand and a cluster of a phantom yet real world in the other—faintly visible within were miniature blue skies and grasslands. He gently squeezed it, and the world shattered like a bubble, dissolving into nothing.

Li Huowang stared at the two of them, and the inn room restored to its old, worn appearance. "You—"

"Exchange."

"Sparring."

Su Lin and Meng Qi answered simultaneously.

"Someone who didn't know would think you two were trying to destroy the world!"

Li Huowang fell silent, a sudden thought flashing through his mind:

"What if the Three Pure Ones and God started fighting in my world? Online, urgent."

The two across from him exchanged glances. Meng Qi spoke first: "External power is always unreliable. Only by relying on one's own ability can one stand firm across the myriad worlds."

"Heh…" Su Lin sheathed his sword, glancing at the black longblade in the other's hand, then changed the subject:

"I, Su, truly should not rely on external tools—it's utterly unworthy of a cultivator. I've learned my lesson."

Meng Qi asked: "Who exactly is this 'Su' you speak of?"

What exactly were these two exchanging or sparring over? It just felt… off.

Bai Lingmiao asked timidly: "Master Li, are these two gods?"

One's a god, one's an immortal—close enough.

Li Huowang shook his head, gently tugging Bai Lingmiao's hand to signal they'd talk later—he still had many things to share with her.

"I'm going to the Imperial Jian Tian Si to submit my mission. Would you two care to come along?"

How they'd enter Jian Tian Si wasn't Li Huowang's concern—these two could get into anywhere.

Su Lin pulled over a wooden stool and sat. He unwrapped the steamed bun wrapped in oil paper, pried it open, confirmed it wasn't pork, then began eating—given the current food shortage, you couldn't be sure what pigs were fed.

In emergencies, you can't pick and choose—but now that you can avoid it, better to avoid.

"You're going to submit that thing called Ling Nie?"

"Correct."

Li Huowang nodded. Ling Nie was the object he'd captured yesterday in the peach grove—invisible and intangible to ordinary people, yet tangible through other objects.

"Let's talk about this later. Can you show it to me first?" Su Lin asked, biting into his bun.

He was genuinely curious—it was said consuming it granted power and drastically alters one's temperament.

Without hesitation, Li Huowang pulled out a bundle wrapped in cloth. He unfurled it—inside was empty. "It's said that living beings burdened with the Ten Emotions and Eight Bitternesses cannot see its true form."

Ling Nie: Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs. This is the sin Heaven and Earth created—its very birth is a flaw.

"This little thing looks kinda appetizing?" Su Lin frowned, glancing at it with disdain. "Karmic force… half-materialized mass of sentient karma."

In Su Lin's eyes, it was the corpse of a twisted karmic entity.

This world was truly insane—karmic force had become a sentient creature.

Li Huowang: "…"

Forgot—he's even more significant.

Meng Qi could see it too—but what he saw was the blood-colored karmic threads Ling Nie had accumulated in life.

"You're giving this to the Emperor?"

"Mm. They asked for it. To avoid raising suspicion, I didn't refuse."

As Li Huowang spoke, he glanced at Bai Lingmiao, his expression troubled.

He was still selfish. Logically, at this point, a fat woman from the White Lotus Sect would approach Bai Lingmiao via Ling Nie—but his current cultivation was far stronger than before, and this Ling Nie had been swiftly dealt with and taken away.

"Miaomiao, I need to discuss something with you later."

He decided to let Bai Lingmiao choose for herself—Wu Sheng Laomu's Heart Disc was hers. He couldn't deprive her of her right to know.

"Yes, Master Li…" Bai Lingmiao replied, her peripheral vision catching Su Lin poking at the Ling Nie with his finger, occasional flashes of light flickering.

"Done." Su Lin picked up the object, giving himself a mental thumbs-up. "Go ahead and give it to the little emperor."

Meng Qi's eye twitched. In his vision, the mass of blood and karmic corruption had transformed into a pure, unobservable substance—all karmic stains and evil causes washed clean, leaving only—

All that is beautiful, harmonious.

Good karma

The spirit demon became a benevolent spirit—how did he do it?!

"Did you run into any trouble on the modern side?" Su Lin gazed at Li Huowang's face and said:

"If there's any trouble you can't solve over there, just message me in the group. Meng Qi and I will go investigate and gather some information."

"How's Qingwang doing over there?"

At that time, Su Lin would, as previously planned, influence Li Huowang's physical body through his true form, granting Li Huowang's modern-world body temporary strength.

"Qingwang invited me to go out next weekend," Li Huowang said, glancing at the message on his phone, then turned to Yang Na: "Nana, want to come along?"

"Go study!" Yang Na lightly tapped Li Huowang's head: "I came all the way over this early morning to tutor you."

She pulled a crumpled plastic bag from her pocket; inside were two still-warm buns:

"Pork and green onion filling."

(End of Chapter)