Mutated Tao

He had just swallowed the pill when Li Huowang felt a burning sensation from his dantian. The burning sensation intensified with each moment to the point that he almost puked.

“Xuan Yang, go back and rest. This pill is quite potent. It will take some time for you to absorb it completely.”

“Yes, Master.”

He staggered back to his room and hurled a bit. However, nothing but water came out; the pill had already been absorbed by him.

Soon, the sound of bones cracking filled the air as his joints dislocated and his body contorted.

The burning sensation coming from his dantian spread out toward his limbs. His entire body was burning, almost as if he was wearing a sweater in summer.

The heat from his body was making him nauseous. He laid down on his bed and saw the ceiling shifting in his vision. He remembered how everyone in the Preparation Room looked at him fearfully, as well as how he had now become an accomplice of Dan Yangzi. He had done what he despised toward the other weak disciples.

While Dan Yangzi was illiterate, he was no fool. In front of absolute power, nothing else mattered.

I’m going to kill him! I swear that I’m going to kill him!

In his delirious state, he grabbed the edge of the stone bed with his right hand. When he swore that he would kill Dan Yangzi, his right arm’s veins bulged.

Crack!

The stone bed cracked under his strong grip.

Li Huowang was surprised at the sound. He looked at his hand and then at the piece of rock that he broke. He quickly realized that this was the power of the pill!

It wasn’t just his strength. There were other changes to his body as well. He felt that his eyes could see even further than before. It was as if the pill had removed all the impurities within his body.

But when he remembered how he had obtained this strength, he felt sick.

“Senior Li, are you alright?” Bai Lingmiao carefully peeked in from the entrance.

Li Huowang stared at her with a conflicted look on his face, not knowing what he should tell her.

Bai Lingmiao stepped into the room. “Senior Li, please don’t be mad at yourself. All of us know that you could have done nothing more in those circumstances. If Master… If Master calls for me again, you don’t have to bother finding someone else… after all, everyone here will eventually die.”

Li Huowang didn’t want to hear this right now. He stared at her bleeding head and took out one of the pills he had refined before. “Eat this, it will stop your bleeding.”

Bai Lingmiao stared at the pils in Li Huowang’s hand and shook her head in fear. “No, I cannot eat pills. I must never eat pills!”

Li Huowang chuckled and threw the pill onto the ground. “Yeah, there’s a certain amount of poison in it. In the end, it’s not some miraculous medicine.”

Bai Lingmiao bit her lips and asked Li Huowang a question she had on her mind. “Senior Li, do you intend to fight back against Master?”

Li Huowang’s face paled and he immediately ran toward the door and closed it.

“It’s alright. Master can’t hear us now. Master utilizes the Wandering Gods to help him patrol the caves. Everytime there is a procession, the Wandering Gods must return to the procession.”

“What are the Wandering Gods?” Li Huowang asked. This was the first time he had heard of them.

“They are as their name implies. You can’t see or touch them. I’ve heard my grandpa say that only those proficient in Taoism can command them.”

“Oh?” Li Huowang immediately remembered this information. It was quite crucial for him.

“When is the procession?”

Bai Lingmiao was puzzled by his question. “On the first and fifteenth day of each month in the lunar calendar. Senior Li, didn’t you know this? Did your parents not take you to the procession?”

Li Huowang shook his head. In his memories, or at least in what he thought were his real memories, he lived in the city and didn’t attend any such event, since they were only seen in the countryside.

“Senior Li, let’s get back to business. Do you wish to fight against Master?”

His face froze a moment before he said. “Yes! I want to tear him apart!”

Bai Lingmiao nodded and sighed. “Then let me help you. I might be able to do something!”

Li Huowang stared at her. He saw conviction within her eyes. It seemed that Bai Lingmiao was not as weak as he had thought.

“Alright, you will be the first one to help me,” Li Huowang agreed. He really needed an ally.

Li Huowang thought about their circumstances and told her, “We still don’t have enough people. Go to the Preparation Room and see if any of them are unsatisfied with Master.”

Maybe some of the people in the cave might not want to fight against Dan Yangzi, but those in the Preparation Room were already doomed to begin with. Some of them wouldn’t want to go down without a fight.

Bai Lingmiao nodded and left.

Li Huowang sat down and took out the jade pendant. He thought about the disciples who failed to escape.

Xuan Yang… Was this how you gathered everyone too? I hope I don’t suffer the same fate as you.

After taking some time to gather his thoughts, he started to focus his attention on Zephyr Temple. He started to properly take care of the Preparation Room, regardless of whether he had to deal with humans or items.

Dan Yangzi naturally rewarded such a hardworking disciple. He taught him various basic pill recipes, treating Li Huowang the same as a direct disciple.

The basic pills were not very potent, allowing Li Huowang to only treat some minor injuries and flu.

Additionally, the pills contained a certain amount of poison. If he ate too many of them, it would cause some side effects instead. He wasn’t sure if this applied to all the pills in this world or only Dan Yangzi’s pills.

There was one more rule. He couldn’t consume two different types of pills at the same time as it could lead to unforeseen circumstances.

Rather than becoming something akin to a folk doctor, it was more apt to say that he was someone who could use poison.

But the pills were not really that important. What was more important was gaining Dan Yangzi’s trust and building a strong relationship with Dan Yangzi.

There were even times when Li Huowang was told to help Dan Yangzi refine pills.

Then, Dan Yangzi took in one of the young assistants as an official disciple, and so Li Huowang was no longer the most junior disciple. He had become a part of Zephyr Temple.

After spending some time with his Master, Li Huowang confirmed that Dan Yangzi was indeed illiterate. He even hated those who could read and write.

He would never allow his disciples to be better than him, which was also why he sought after disciples that were illiterate.

After confirming this, Li Huowang was suspicious of what Dan Yangzi told him previously.

Master had said that the method to becoming an Immortal was given to him by Taishang Laojun himself, recorded within a sacred text. He even said that if Taishang Laojun told him that he could become an Immortal, then he would become an Immortal. Since he and the other disciples are illiterate, how could they have known the contents of the sacred text? Who told them about it?

Chacha and Char’s Thoughts

Umm... I’m pretty sure everyone hates Dan Yangzi. No need to ask if they are unsatisfied