Chapter 438: Cultivating Falsehood

The Great Nuo, the Great Calamity; by the command of the Supreme Dragon, all sects and schools, those who wield divine powers, carry dragon qi to ascend to Bai Yu Jing, to rebel against evil demons and demonic devils.

Zhengde Temple, Zhongyin Temple, the Luo Sect, the Mohist School, the Zoroastrian faith, the Military School, and sects Li Huowang did not recognize, all entwined with dragon qi, flew toward the Jade Gate.

Mortals meddling in Confused Siming's disputes—this time, it's likely nine deaths and one life—but no one resisted; instead, everyone pulled out their sect's most precious, long-hidden treasures.

Those mighty figures, had they lived when the Great Nuo was still sane, would long ago have ascended in the mortal world, becoming immortals or Buddhas.

"May the Zoroastrian faith endure for ten thousand generations; suffering shall endure forever. We hold the Great Thousand Records—should we ever encounter something more painful than death, they'll come in handy." The Grand Elder of the Zoroastrian faith, intending to distribute the Great Thousand Records, tossed them out like flyers.

Li Huowang glanced at them, shook his head, then looked toward the sky.

Amid the star-speckled black heavens, Li Huowang saw familiar things—deformed, terrifying monsters, yet indescribable and inexplicable.

Pink-tentacled, eyeless fleshy Bodhisattvas, gray-red slimy misshapen worms, the God of Joy, and those Immortal families.

He had seen them all before, when Dan Yangzi ascended—but gradually, as he drew closer to the formless, colorless jade plaque gate, the surroundings began to shift toward "normalcy."

Pure white immortal cranes soared freely beyond the heavens, nine-colored deer stepped forth in rainbow light, white tigers slept among the clouds, their snores like thunder, and far beyond, dragon-like yet non-dragon creatures flickered in and out of view.

To be honest, this was slightly abnormal.

Li Huowang realized these divine beasts lacked spiritual awareness—they seemed to act purely on instinct, except for the two colossal snakes above, whose heads and tails stretched beyond sight.

They guarded the Mao Gate; now, their bodies were covered in sacred feathers, emitting a faint glow within the chaotic darkness.

"Isn't this one of Dr. Su's patients?"

"Let him in. No one else may enter."

"He's on good terms with Dr. Su. When that patient stabbed us, Dr. Su saved our lives and got us this job."

"Oh, then let him bring one family member. No one else."

Voices of communication came from somewhere—Li Huowang was certain these voices originated from this world, not the modern world.

But there was no time to ponder—he felt a pulling force dragging him and the white-haired Bai Lingmiao toward the jade-plaque-like Mao Gate.

The jade plaque vanished into darkness; then, the vision of celestial palaces and temples flashed by.

"Master Li!"

Li Huowang heard someone calling him from behind—but at this moment, he could control only his neck. He turned his head and saw those people, as they fell, tore out their dragon qi and hurled it toward him.

At that moment, Li Huowang finally saw: on the far side of the clouds, two serpent heads, each as large as the sun, stared this way—golden slit pupils flickering between clarity and confusion.

"Don't fool around with your girlfriend in the hospital—there are cameras everywhere."

"By the way, why didn't Dr. Su and Dr. Meng come for rounds today?"

"No one knows. The director seems furious—today, only intern doctors are on duty in psychiatry."

"What good does his anger do? Those two are experts who came to help!"

The two serpent heads opened their mouths and flicked out their tongues—Li Huowang confirmed the voices came from them.

"Damn! Aren't those the two security guards by the hospital entrance?!"

He had thought the two guards of Bai Yu Jing had been killed by Qing Wanglai—but they'd been taken by Su Tianfu and assigned as hospital security guards.

"You two idiot snakes, those are allies!!!"

Li Huowang felt like vomiting from frustration, but the two snakes couldn't see this world at all—their perspective was locked entirely within the modern hospital.

Wait—I was with Su Tianfu and the others, weren't I?

As Li Huowang realized this, a glow, resembling some other kind of aura, streamed out from within his body.

"Brother Li, it's time," said Zhu Ge Yuan beside him. "Cultivating truth without cultivating falsehood brings problems. Your problem has already surfaced."

"It's time to accept the other you. Only with your past can you be whole. The Red Core's non-gang energy can help balance your primordial qi."

Li Huowang, wary of his surroundings, gripped Bai Lingmiao's hand and replied: "Don't joke, Brother Zhu Ge—I spend most of my time cultivating immortality. This cultivation of truth is just..."

Vast, overwhelming primordial qi appeared within his body—unprecedented.

"Ji Zai!"

"Ji Zai!"

"Ji Zai!"

Calls echoed at his ears—someone was shouting Ji Zai's name. The voices overlapped, tangled with countless thoughts and emotions. Zhu Ge Yuan still spoke beside him; Bai Lingmiao hugged him, asking questions.

"They're calling Ji Zai? Confused Siming and Bai Yu Jing have no sense of time—so even though Ji Zai hasn't appeared yet, once I reach Bai Yu Jing, I can still hear the voices."

In Bai Yu Jing, there are no hours. The past is the future. Here, past, present, and future are not clearly divided.

"Because I am Ji Zai?"

"Because I am Ji Zai!"

But when did this primordial qi occur?

No, that doesn't matter. What matters is what's happening on the other side.

"Senior Brother Li!" Bai Lingmiao gripped Li Huowang's arm; her face merged with Yang Na's: "Are you having another episode again? Dr. Su and the others are acting so strange. Can we go home early?"

"Don't be afraid—I'm here," Li Huowang hugged the girl tightly, soothing her. "Believe me—I'm perfectly normal."

"Then why, when I kept calling you, didn't you answer?" Yang Na wept, gently pushing against him in his arms. "What Dr. Su and the others are doing is illegal! I thought you were taking me home!"

"Huowang, we ordinary people shouldn't get involved in these things."

Li Huowang didn't know how to answer. He only felt strange—perhaps he truly was having an episode.

Because he remembered clearly: he had been searching for Qing Wanglai with Su Tianfu and the others—where were they?

"Brother Li, be careful now!"

Zhu Ge Yuan's words turned into a warning. Li Huowang immediately reacted—he gazed toward the distant horizon and saw past things transforming into the present Dao.

And these Daos were not the original Daos of this world—they were foreign Daos.

"Huowang, they're coming!" Yang Na shouted, pointing to the black-clad figures emerging from the hospital's greenery.

More and more Confused Siming surged toward Li Huowang from every angle and time—his nose caught the stench of decay and the sweetness of perfume, yet all other senses were suppressed to a tiny range.

Li Huowang's dragon whiskers stirred—he was about to act, when brilliant, pure holy light descended from the heavens.

Countless polyhedral crystals emerged around him, from which stepped giant, eye-inlaid wheels and winged eyeballs, even handsome, robe-clad angelic humanoids.

"We've been waiting for you lot, hook-and-hook!"

A pile of patients in hospital gowns burst wildly out of the standalone psychiatric ward: "Tonight! Let's hunt till we're exhausted!!!"

"Someone over there, close the door! Don't let them escape!" Doctors and nurses chased after them from behind.

They attacked those Confused Siming and devoured the Dao from their bodies.

There were too many, and they were too strong—even now, as Ji Zai, he could not join the fray; an extremely intense shock pressed down, scattering Li Huowang and Bai Lingmiao.

When he came to his senses, Li Huowang could no longer see Bai Lingmiao.

"Miaomiao!" he cried out anxiously.

"Li Brother, you need the True and False Dao," Zhu Ge Yuan reminded him.

"Where am I supposed to get the True and False Dao right now?!" Li Huowang grew impatient; as soon as he finished speaking, mirrors appeared beside him.

Inside them, Yu Yingzhao showed vast stretches of Li Huowang—scenes from his past.

Li Huowang naturally knew what these mirror images were, but what good did it do? Things that never happened couldn't possibly appear.

"Hey, Ji Zai? If you hear me, tap once; if not, tap twice." The red-die-faced Li Huowang tilted his head toward the sky and asked:

"I'm simulating a universe; here's a weird monocle-eyed thing trying to enter our world, but I don't know if that Bright Confused Siming will let him go."

"I looked into his background and plan to invite him over to become Zuowang Dao. If he truly makes it over, he'll likely want to become a Confused Siming and claim the True and False Dao—after all, the True and False Dao best match his abilities."

"I calculated it—success rate is fairly high. Dou La will probably go along with it. Remember to black out the True and False Dao you get from him."

"You take half, I take half—one true, one false—perfect fifty-fifty, hey? You hate me, I hate you like a melon rind. Let's split up already."

"Great Bright Grand Confused Siming above, Brother Su, lend a hand?"

Li Huowang slapped himself across the face—he suddenly felt something heavy in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out a half-palm-sized magnet.

Isn't this Zhao Lei's thing?

Not knowing what to say, Li Huowang glanced at the still-battling Confused Siming and angels, then swallowed the half-magnet.

He slowly raised his head, sensing the changes in his body—his perception expanded by a circle, narrowing the gap between himself and them.

But it wasn't enough.

"Won't you ever cheat?"

Li Huowang felt he was still too honest. He asked Zhu Ge Yuan beside him:

"Zhu Ge Brother, is all of this within your calculations? Did you already know these things, and foresee that I would become a Confused Siming at this moment?"

"Yes," Zhu Ge Yuan admitted openly. "Li Brother, I've concealed this again—but I did it to help you."

"Hong Zhong is your past. No matter where you came from before, your past in this world is Hong Zhong."

"You're not truly resistant—you just don't want to be tied to Hong Zhong's deeds. But right now, to deal with Qing Wang, you need life experience."

Li Huowang shouted angrily: "You're doing this again on your own! Why can't you just tell me directly?!"

As Zhu Ge Yuan said, this wasn't hard for Li Huowang to accept—after all, this wasn't about being tricked by Zuowang Dao, but about becoming Zuowang Dao himself.

"Li Brother, this is necessary," Zhu Ge Yuan shook his head.

"I know more than you. When this is over, you'll see how vast and interconnected it all is."

"Besides, Li Brother, you need Fei Gang—you must become Zuowang Dao now. I won't hide it anymore: we're all illusions."

Hearing this, Zhu Ge Yuan, Peng Longteng, and the others before Li Huowang grew fainter—but he immediately negated it, stabilizing their forms.

Zhu Ge Yuan's expression remained calm, as if he had foreseen Li Huowang's reaction.

"Stop saying things without proof! Becoming Zuowang Dao?!" Li Huowang roared: "Hong Zhong! Come out!"

As Li Huowang shouted his name, he thrust both hands upward and tore off half his face—the past woven by Yin-Yang Dou La was no longer split but accepted by Li Huowang.

That memory resisted entering his body.

"Oh? Isn't this Li Huowang?" Half of Hong Zhong's mahjong face appeared; he waved to the side:

"Brother Zhu Ge, soothing this fool is annoying, right? I get it, I get it—you've been worn out playing nanny."

The other half of his face shouted: "Hong Zhong, what are you doing?"

"What are you talking about? What am I doing? Of course splitting up," Hong Zhong laughed.

"You don't want to be Hong Zhong? Fine."

"I'll take half the Dao, find a chance to leave and start my own sect—hey, no worries, Ji Zai Boss, I'll just be your little brother if I have to."

"Bullshit! You took the False Dao, I took the True Dao—what are you splitting? Without true, where's false?!" Li Huowang cursed.

"Stop wasting time!"

Even if Ji Zai were confused, he wouldn't give him the True Dao part—Li Huowang was Xin Su; he said his part was true, and it was true.

"Not bad, Li Huowang—you've got some brains, good job," Hong Zhong praised, then mocked:

"But I hate you. Fuck me, you look down on me, I look down on you too—you dumbass dragging down Zuowang Dao's average IQ."

"Insulting me is insulting yourself, idiot," Li Huowang urged: "Hurry up—I need to find Miaomiao!"

Zhu Ge Yuan also urged: "Both Li Brothers, this White Jade Capital isn't your chatting ground."

"Sigh, Zhu Ge Yuan, why bother? He's just a lunatic." Hong Zhong paused, gazed deeply at Zhu Ge Yuan and the illusions: "I'll grant you this."

"Thank you, Li Brother," Zhu Ge Yuan smiled and bowed.

The illusions around them smiled too—only the illusionary Zuowang Dao remained joyless.

Soon, Li Huowang felt a new memory enter his mind—a memory of his entire life, from childhood to becoming Zuowang Dao Hong Zhong.

Li Huowang was just exhaling in relief when Zhu Ge Yuan beside him spoke slowly:

"Li Brother, we really are illusions. Proof? The Monk is still alive—in Zhengde Temple. He's still the abbot in Da Qi's world. You just think he's alive."

He froze. Before, he could fool himself—they had no proof, nothing to show. Now, he could no longer refute it.

The hidden suspicion in his heart became truth—their illusions began to waver.

"Brother Li, forgive this humble scholar for deceiving you again, despite knowing what the future holds."

Zhuge Yuan bowed to Li Huowang, his voice carrying a hint of relief as he smiled: "Brother Li, our illusions are no good to you—harmful, not beneficial. Better to dispose of them early."

Li Huowang clutched his head in pain, forcibly manifesting Zhuge Yuan within Bai Yu Jing: "You're just reciting what's written in the book! This is reality, not a script! It's not!"

"Brother Li, we are sworn brothers. I don't want to deceive you—but I must do this." Zhuge Yuan looked at the Li Huowang before him, then suddenly narrowed his eyes toward a distant horizon, as if gazing at some presence.

"First, Hong Zhong must merge with you, for only then do you truly win against Hong Zhong and truly possess your past in this world."

"Second, we were meant to vanish long ago and return to your body. You needed Fei Gang, so we waited for you to become Hong Zhong and cultivate the false cultivation method. When you finally realize that all these illusions were merely you deceiving yourself, the Fei Gang generated will be enough to maintain your balance."

"Stop talking." Li Huowang punched his own head, but the pain could not stop the illusions from turning transparent.

"That's because you must complete our obsessions before we vanish. Brother Zhuge, the future Great Qi needs you. Monk, don't you want to join the Great Lei Yinsi anymore?"

He had already ignored Zhuge Yuan's earlier remark that the Monk's true body still lived.

"I wanted to kill you—you killed me. We're even." Peng Longteng stepped forward, laughed, and said: "Kid, you're a real man. This time has let me satisfy my hunger for a good fight against a strong one."

She finished speaking, then vanished completely, dissolving into a mass of Fei Gang that flowed into Li Huowang's body.

"Amitabha," the Monk smiled. "Master Li, you possess the same great benevolence as the Buddha. I humbly beg you to recommend my true body to the Great Lei Yinsi."

The old scholar Jin Shan Zhao smiled and nodded.

The Monk and Jin Shan Zhao also vanished completely.

"Brother Li, since learning of the future, my only obsession has been how to help you grow swiftly and change your destiny." Zhuge Yuan gently waved the fan in his hand and said:

"Hong Zhong is different—his memories, experience, and deceptions are all parts of yourself. Brother Li, your path ahead is long, even branching into many worlds. Outside, it's wondrous and perilous. And sooner or later, you will discover the truth: we are illusions."

"If so, then let us become your strength at the right moment. A true friend is rare in life—you treat me with sincerity, so I repay you with my heart."

Zhuge Yuan walked up to Li Huowang, patted his shoulder, then carefully adjusted his scholar's long robe.

"Brother Li, there are three ways to resolve the matter of Bai Yu Jing: First, send Mr. Su Lin back—but that may not awaken him swiftly, and he has not yet fully absorbed the fear of the Grand Siming's heavenly dao. Second, envelop Mr. Su with confusion, making him forget he acquired the other's heavenly dao. Third—let Mr. Su Lin become the Grand Siming of this world. Before my own Siming acts, transfer this world's heavenly dao to Mr. Su—but all the Simings must willingly assist."

He leaned forward, bent his arms, raised both hands before him, and bowed deeply to Li Huowang.

"Brother Li, take care. Should you ever need me, you may manifest me again to fight for you."

With that, Zhuge Yuan's body vanished completely, leaving only the illusion of Zuowang Dao.

At that moment, a vast flood of Fei Gang surged into his heart.

The Dao Deception Scroll has two chapters left—about as expected, within thirty chapters.

(End of Chapter)

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