Mutated Tao

“I cannot die… I… I cannot die… Feng Erniu!”

Tuoba Danqing grappled weakly on the ground, his emaciated arms clawing desperately at the earth. Death was not an option—not now, not when he was so close.

Feng Erniu had been the one to trap him within the Muddled One's Karmic Obstacle. For all this time, Tuoba Danqing’s mind had been consumed by thoughts of revenge.

Now, he was finally out, but he was going to die soon.

Tuoba Danqing refused to succumb to his fate. However, he didn’t have much time left. All he could do was say his last words. “Bai… Madam Bai! Tell my son that he must never join the Surveillance Bureau!”

Bai Lingmiao watched Tuoba Danqing with deep concern. "Don’t worry. You won't die while I'm here."

She made a Lotus Seal with a single hand before lightly tapping Tuoba Danqing’s forehead. A black lotus appeared briefly on his skin.

Tuoba Danqing felt his body stop decaying. While he hadn’t revived, he also hadn't succumbed to death. It seemed as though he was suspended in a state between life and death.

“You are neither dead nor alive. I can only maintain you like this for twenty years or so. You should seek the masters from the Righteous Monastery before coming to find me again.”

Tuoba Danqing looked at himself, shocked by Bai Lingmiao’s powers.

He never thought Er Jiu’s wife would be so powerful. The only people he knew with similar abilities were the Lamas from Qing Qiu.

He recalled she had once been barely qualified as a Shaman. What could have possibly transformed her so drastically in these past few years?

“What’s wrong with him?” Yuen Er said, leading the other Strayed Ones.

Bai Lingmiao's heart raced as she heard footsteps approaching from behind. She quickly lifted Tuoba Danqing with her four arms. “It's nothing. He's just dealing with internal injuries, and we were tending to him. Let's move on.”

They grouped all of the Strayed Ones into a single carriage. They departed from the White Lotus Sect and headed towards the Surveillance Bureau.

When they arrived, they were all shocked by the twisted room where Li Huowang was cultivating. As Li Huowang continued cultivating, his surroundings twisted and changed even further.

“You’re here?” Xuan Pin floated out from the ground.

Tuoba Danqing fell onto the ground limply and kneeled when he saw the big red robes. “I greet the Chief!”

He was very nervous. He didn’t have the qualifications to approach Xuan Pin in the past.

Xuan Pin remained silent after glancing at Tuoba Danqing. Instead, she pushed open the door to Li Huowang’s cultivation room. “Come, follow me in.”

The room wasn’t any better. Various scenes and objects swam around Li Huowang. He also flickering in and out of existence.

“Wait for a moment. I’ll go wake Father up. It’s actually a bit difficult right now, even for me.”

Xuan Pin phased past the floating motorbike and approached Li Huowang.

“Father…?” Tuoba Danqing froze in place. He felt that his world was crumbling.

He recalled that Er Jiu was supposed to be his underling. How did he make the Chief call him his father?

After working for the Surveillance Bureau for so long, Tuoba Danqing had seen many bizarre things. However, this was the first time he had encountered something like this.

If the Chief of the Surveillance Bureau addressed Er Jiu like that, what should he call him then?

While Tuoba Danqing was wrestling with his thoughts, the people from the Surveillance Bureau brought in eight more people with yellow talismans placed on their foreheads.

Bai Lingmiao knew those were the eight Strayed Ones the Surveillance Bureau had hunted down.

The palace, the Surveillance Bureau, and the regular people had been hunting for Strayed Ones. Even so, they had only managed to find eight. Unless more of them were born, there were no remaining Strayed Ones.

Li Huowang frowned when he opened his eyes and saw the group of Strayed Ones in front of him.

“There’s so many of them this time!” With that amount of Strayed Ones, Li Huowang could strive for the next two chakra points.

“Yes. Mother helped us a lot.”

Li Huowang looked at Bai Lingmiao. Both of them nodded at the same time.

Li Huowang then saw someone familiar. He was Tuoba Danqing, emaciated beyond recognition. If it weren’t for the prayer beads on his arms, Li Huowang never would’ve recognized him.

Without waiting for Li Huowang to say anything, Tuoba Danqing stumbled over. “Brother Er Jiu! Where is Feng Erniu? Where is he?!”

“Who’s Feng Erniu?” Li Huowang had never heard that name before.

“It’s the Ji Xiang who has ordered us to go hunt the Muddled One! That damned bastard that used the abacus!”

“Oh! I remember him. He’s dead. His wife is dead too,” Li Huowang said plainly.

He ignored the frozen Tuoba Danqing and approached the Strayed Ones. “Time is short. Let’s start now.”

The other Strayed Ones became agitated upon seeing Li Huowang approach, but they relaxed when they realized that other Strayed Ones were still alive even after losing their primordial breath and inner sight.

The woman had not lied to them. They could live properly from now on.

“Feng Erniu is not dead,” Xuan Pin whispered to Li Huowang as she stuffed the primordial breath and inner sight into Li Huowang.

Li Huowang gritted his teeth, controlling the external primordial breath and inner sight. “Feng Erniu is still alive? I thought his death had been documented.”

“It was to fool you. You were fighting against us last time, remember?”

“Hmph! What a bunch of sly old foxes. Don’t tell Tuoba Danqing, or they will fight to the death. Both of them are very vindictive.”

Xuan Pin nodded as she controlled the Unspeakables. This time, they reached for the Strayed One with the unruly beard.

Once they touched him, Xuan Pin realized that something was off. Confused, she asked, “Why don’t you have any primordial breath?”

The man chuckled and tore off his face, revealing the Lan Hua mahjong tile. “That’s because I’m from the Sitting Oblivion Dao! Haha!”

Staring at the strange mahjong face, the Second Deity growled. “I knew it! There was no way all eleven Strayed Ones would randomly want to become the Kings of the Underworld!”

The Strayed Ones instantly surrounded the poor bastard. “You bastard!”

They ripped him apart, tearing him in bits and pieces. However, Lan Hua didn’t stop his laughter, even in his last moments.