Mutated Tao Chapter 440

[ … words ]

Li Huowang felt a heart-wrenching pain in his heart as the light in Zhuge Yuan’s eyes faded away. His mind was in turmoil, and he felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak in the face of his dying friend.

“Brother Li, you only have a few maggots left alive inside of you. Are you really okay?” Zhuge Yuan asked, staring at the hole in Li Huowang’s chest. Even though he was breathing his final few breaths, he still asked such a question with concern in his tone.

Li Huowang revealed an ugly smile, making him look even worse than crying. Li Huowang shook his head vigorously and said, “Brother Zhuge, d-do… do you have any final wishes? Tell me, and I’ll fulfill them no matter what!”

Zhuge Yuan exhaled slowly, and he stammered, “N-No, I’ve lived a life true to my desires… I don’t have… any regrets…”

Snowfall had inexplicably vanished during the battle, but the fighting had ceased, so snow began falling once more. The snowflakes landed slowly on Zhuge Yuan’s dilated pupils.

Li Huowang watched in grief as Zhuge Yuan slowly became cold and lifeless in his eyes. However, an idea struck him from out of nowhere, and he roared excitedly, “I can save you, Brother Zhuge! I’ve just come up with a way to save you!”

Li Huowang raised his arm covered in bulging veins, and he grabbed Zhuge Yuan’s neck. He immediately tightened his grip, but Zhuge Yuan didn’t respond and merely stared at him with his glazed, dead eyes.

Li Huowang squeezed with all his might, and his voice trembled as he whispered, “Brother Zhuge, I’ve killed some people in the past… no, perhaps they’re people who died around me, but… they became illusions around me!

“Perhaps you can become one of them! You just have to become an illusion, and I can definitely make you real once I’ve achieved mastery over my powers as a Strayed One!”

Li Huowang squeezed frantically before tearing Zhuge Yuan’s head off from his shoulders. He hugged Zhuge Yuan’s head and knelt on the ground. Moments later, he looked around in confusion.

Jin Shanzhao, the old monk, Hong Zhong, and Peng Longteng.

He saw only four illusions; Zhuge Yuan was missing.

Zhuge Yuan’s failure to become an illusion meant that he was truly dead.

Li Huowang’s trembling lips turned pale as he hugged Zhuge Yuan’s head. He leaned forward and balled his left hand into a fist before smashing it on the ground. The solid earth cracked open, and it was stained crimson by Li Huowang’s wounds from the stump of his two missing left fingers.

He slammed the ground over and over again to no avail. Zhuge Yuan was dead, and there was no way he would come back to life. Tears fell down Li Huowang’s eyes and pelted Zhuge Yuan’s hair.

Why? How come everyone kind to him had ended up meeting such horrible fates?

Perhaps there was something wrong with the world itself? Was it really true that those who were good would die young, while those evil would live long lives?

Li Huowang felt wronged, and he felt indignant.

This is wrong! This world is wrong! The world should not be like this! Li Huowang roared to himself as he slammed his bloody hand on the ground. Eventually, his hand came to a halt, but it wasn’t because he had chosen to stop; it was simply because he could no longer lift his hand.

The Five Elements Intercalation would soon be over, and he would die soon if he didn’t do anything about his current predicament.

Hesitation fleeted across Li Huowang’s eyes, and he felt like dying wasn’t so bad. He truly couldn’t care less whether he would live or die today.

Li Huowang lowered his head slowly and smacked his forehead on the ground.

A grotesque noise echoed as his skull fractured upon contact. A sharp pain inundated Li Huowang, sobering him up. Zhuge Yuan had risked everything to save your life! Do you even have the right to die?! How can you live up to what he has done for you if you die?

Zhuge Yuan’s sacrifice would become a joke if you were to die! You are not allowed to die! You have to live on! Li Huowang smacked his head on the ground several times, and he only stopped when the flesh on his forehead had been reduced to minced meat, revealing his white skull.

Lu Huowang gnashed his teeth and staggered to his feet.

Li Sui took control of Li Huowang’s original body and walked up to him.

Li Huowang stared at the darkening skies and shook his head vigorously. He raised the sword in his hand and slashed his own forearm. “Stop pretending! How dare you try to set up a trap for me at this point! Li Sui, retract your tentacles!”

The eyes of the “drunk” Bei Feng snapped wide open.

“Your body is about to break down. We have to swap. I absolutely cannot die right now. I must live on!” Li Huowang urged.

Bei Feng stared at Li Huowang and endured the pain to show some disdain.

“Why should I swap?” Bei Feng asked.

“Five years ago, you owe me a favor at Women’s Mountain! Are you thinking of going back on your word?” Li Huowang asked.

Bei Feng examined Li Huowang from top to bottom. Then, he put both hands together and said, “Boss Hong Zhong, congratulations on your return! You’ve played a really big role in this incident; I even thought that you wouldn’t be able to come back.”

Li Huowang blinked, and he found himself in his original body.

Meanwhile, Bei Feng examined herself and saw the cavity in her chest.

“Ah, my body is completely unusable now…” Bei Feng grumbled. She looked around and found a Great Liang guard in the distance, hopping around with a severed leg.

Bei Feng blinked, and she found herself hopping around with a severed leg.

Meanwhile, the stupefied guard had yet to realize that he had swapped bodies with Bei Feng when he stiffened and fell to the ground, dying from his injuries.

Bei Feng hopped over to Li Huowang with her remaining le.

“Boss Hong Zhong, what are you doing kneeling there? Let’s go and help our bosses, the Shai Zis. Look! They’re about to smash each other’s heads!”

However, Bei Feng received no response.

Li Huowang was crying while staring at the empty space to his left.

Bei Feng reached out in confusion, but she couldn’t feel anything.

“Brother Zhuge, how are you?” Li Huowang asked in a trembling voice. Li Huowang’s heart raced, and he couldn’t contain his excitement as he stared at Zhuge Yuan.

As usual, Zhuge Yuan was dressed in white, and his expression was still the epitome of composure. He was holding a folding fan and was fanning himself gently.

The other illusions cast curious gazes at the newcomer.

Zhuge Yuan closed his fan and pointed at the other illusions. “Brother Li, can you introduce me to these people?”

Li Huowang was so excited that he had no idea what to say. His hands trembled incessantly, and it took him a long time to speak as he stammered, “G-goodness! I did it! I succeeded! You really became an illusion!”

It seemed that the reason Zhuge Yuan didn’t appear immediately was that Li Huowang wasn’t in his original body.