Mutated Tao

Li Huowang frowned as he stared at his own reflection in the water. “Talk! Why aren’t you talking?”

Li Huowang was pacing around his room in anxiety. “The Natural Disaster this time is different! In the past, only ‘Rot’ or the sun had disappeared. But this time, ‘Death’ disappeared! Do you know what this means? It’s not some minor issue!

“A Natural Disaster occurs when there’s a change in the Heavenly Daos. Since ‘Death’ vanished, that means there’s something wrong with the Heavenly Dao of Death!”

Li Huowang stopped pacing, and a horrifying thought came to his mind. He stared at the reflection in the water basin. “Say something! Did the Simings of the Dharma Sect take away the Heavenly Dao of Death? Why aren’t you talking?! How can you still be confused when they are attacking us?”

His reflection finally replied, “I think I did fight back.”

Li Huowang harshly scolded Ji Zai when he heard the reply. “You finally came out! I thought you were dead!”

“I don’t think it’s time for me to die yet. Is something the matter?” Ji Zai’s response remained nonchalant.

Li Huowang didn’t want to waste time arguing with Ji Zai. He wanted answers. “What’s going on? What happened to Kui Lei? He was supposed to be the one who controlled the Heavenly Dao of Death.”

“He’s dead.”

Li Huowang’s pupils shrunk from shock. “He’s dead? Really? How did he die? Did the allies of god Yu’er kill him?”

Ji Zai’s eyes were blank. “I think so.”

“Then who’s holding the Heavenly Dao of Death right now? Why is the world like this?”

“Hmm…” Ji Zai tried recalling. “I don’t know. I didn’t see them.”

Li Huowang was so angry that his veins started bulging on his head. His fists trembled from anger. “Fine, then I want to ask you what you know. Which Siming gave me the seven secrets? Should I trust them?”

“Probably. At the very least, they should still be on our side. They wouldn’t betray me.”

Li Huowang’s anger calmed down a little after obtaining some helpful information. “Then how’s your situation over there? Was Xuan Pin’s help useful?”

“I am not acquainted with Xuan Pin right now. I think I will have met him a few times when you talk with me again.”

“Huh?” Li Huowang was confused. What does Ji Zai mean?

“Do you still have anything else to ask? I’m quite busy here.”

Li Huowang had finally managed to talk to Ji Zai. He didn’t want to waste his opportunity here. “One more question! Do you need me to go to the Baiyu Capital to help you?”

“That depends. Are you helping me, or am I helping you instead?”

Li Huowang lost his patience. “What the fuck do you want? Don’t play games with me!”

“Help. I will help you.”

Ji Zai became silent after saying that last sentence.

Li Huowang was so angry that he cut the bronze washing basin in half along with his reflection in the water.

“Fuck! Even calling you useless is a compliment!”

Li Huowang walked out angrily. Ji Zai is still useless. I need to figure this out by myself.

As he stepped outside, he immediately sensed that something was amiss within the barracks. A palpable sense of unease hung in the air as everyone periodically glanced towards the east.

The eastern side of the barracks had been isolated, with buzzing flies filling the air above the restricted area and smoke rising continuously.

Li Huowang frowned in disgust before walking towards the east. He stepped on a basket and was whisked upwards with a winch. While he was at the top, he saw a horrific scene displayed in front of him.

He had seen a lot of unmarked graves, but he had never seen one so revolting.

Numerous people in varying states of decay were concentrated in this place. They had all been stripped naked and stuffed into wooden enclosures. Almost all of them had suffered a lethal wound, with either their heads missing or half of their bodies gone.

However, no matter how severe their injuries were, their bodies were still moving.

Death was missing, but Rot and Pain were still in this world.

Eternal rest was withheld from everyone who should’ve died on the battlefield. They had to endure the pain of rot forever.

They saw their bodies breaking down with their own eyes. Their flesh slowly rotted as pus and maggots filled their body. Li Huowang and the others could only think of one way to release them from the pain. It was fire. They burned them in a large fire that was never extinguished.

The undying people, now no different from pieces of flesh that moved, were thrown into a fiery pit with the aid of large pitchforks.

Despite the fire engulfing their bodies, scorching their flesh and tongues, and causing their blood and brains to boil, they continued to struggle in pain as their cries echoed in the air.

The woeful cries mingled with the crackling of burning flesh, and yet they did not die. Death, the final chapter of their lives, eluded them.

It was only when their bodies had transformed entirely into ash that they became silent.

“They are not dead.”

Li Huowang turned around. An old mummified Lama with a crown approached him. The Lama was spinning the prayer wheels in his hands as the strange humming filled the air.

The Lama stared at the black smoke rising from the pit and the ashes at the bottom. “They are not dead. Their bodies have been reduced to particles, with each particle enduring the eternal agony of having their flesh torn. Now, they are experiencing pain hundreds and thousands of times worse than when they were alive.

“They do not scream, but not because they don’t want to. They don’t have mouths anymore.

“They do not move, but not because they don’t want to. They don’t have limbs anymore.

“Unless Mahakala returns, they will be subjected to this everlasting agony for eternity."

When Li Huowang heard what the Lama from the Antrabhara Temple said, his scalp went numb and his limbs became cold.

Even Li Huowang, who was used to unbearable pain, trembled at the thought of experiencing everlasting agony.

“Death is a cycle, and also the fate of humans. Most people are afraid of death and go to great lengths to avoid it, unaware that death is the ultimate blessing bestowed upon us by Mahakala. Unfortunately, they did not realize how valuable it was until it disappeared…”