Chapter 22 Export

In the Alchemy Room of Qingfeng Taoist Temple, Li Huowang stood still, covered in his master's blood, clearly unable to comprehend what had happened. "Could these three elixirs really be so powerful? What was it that Master Danyang and I had made? Elixirs or explosives?"

He laid on the ground for a while before getting up, wiped his face with his hand, and then stooped to sift through the debris on the floor.

After picking through for quite some time without finding a single intact piece of flesh, and even after finding Master Danyang's copper bell twisted out of shape, Li Huowang finally exhaled in relief. Master Danyang was indeed thoroughly finished by his own hands.

"But now that he's dead, what do I do next?" Li Huowang stood where he was, unsure of which way to go.

Li Huowang had thought he would be happy after getting his revenge, but when the moment truly arrived, he found himself lost in uncertainty.

All his plans these days had revolved around killing Master Danyang. He never even considered the possibility of surviving afterwards.

Now that Master Danyang was dead and Bai Lingmiao safe, everything he had promised was fulfilled. What should he do next?

As he pondered this question, the door to the Alchemy Room was suddenly pushed open, and Changren and Changming entered, holding their longswords with one hand and looking around warily.

After glancing around and not finding Master Danyang, they turned their cautious gaze toward the bloodied and mangled Li Huowang, "Who goes there, demon? Speak! Where is our master?"

"Master? You're stepping on him right now, and besides, I'm Xuan Yang, brother disciples," Li Huowang replied.

These words made Changren and Changming instinctively look down and lift their feet, revealing some entrails in front of them, their pupils shrinking to pinpoints in an instant.

Li Huowang looked around, picked up half of Master Danyang's face from the ground, and said, "Look, he's really dead."

"I was the one who finished him off," Li Huowang muttered to himself.

"Logically speaking, he has killed countless in his lifetime and deserved to die long ago, but I didn't kill him for that. My reasons were personal."

Just as Li Huowang was about to explain to the two in front of him the reason behind his actions, Changming and Changren exchanged a look, then sheathed their swords without a word, and quickly turned to rush out the door.

"Hey, wait for me to finish before you go," Li Huowang called out helplessly.

After hollering for a long time without any response, Li Huowang covered his still-aching belly with a wry smile and walked toward the door.

"The toad's dead! He's dead! Come out everyone, you can all go home now!!" Li Huowang held the deflated copper bell in his hand and shook it vigorously, calling out loudly to the surroundings.

Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the piercing bell sound attracted not any idle masters, but rather the apprentices and medicinal guides.

As they saw the half face in Li Huowang's hand, they all rejoiced wildly, falling to the ground and bowing in all directions.

Li Huowang walked slowly through the tunnel of the cave, determined to spread the news to every ear in Qingfeng Taoist Temple.

More and more people joined his group, following and shouting along with him, "The toad's dead! He's dead! We can all go home now!"

At this moment, Li Huowang felt someone reach out to support him and, upon turning his head, saw Bai Lingmiao beside him, her eyes brimming with ecstatic tears.

Li Huowang smiled at her and waved Master Danyang's half face vigorously. "The toad's dead, you can all go home now, it's New Year's! You can all go home!"

"Yes! Brother Li! You can go home too! We can all go home!"

Li Huowang's expression stiffened briefly before he continued to shake the copper bell as hard as he could, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Master Danyang is dead! Everyone come out! You can all go home now!!"

However, not everyone within Qingfeng Taoist Temple was so elated. As Li Huowang approached the vicinity of Master Danyang's residence, he heard the clash of metal from a distance.

Leading the crowd over, they saw Xuan Yuan in a heated standoff with Changming and Changren near Master Danyang's filthy quarters, both sides brandishing their weapons, the atmosphere extremely tense.

Li Huowang gazed at the so-called Heavenly Book entwined with black copper coins and naturally understood what they were fighting over.

"Xuanyang Junior Brother! Come here! Let's kill Master Danyang's henchmen together! We can share the Immortality Scripture!" The once amiable Xuan Yuan said to Li Huowang with no trace of niceness on his face.

Changming, standing nearby, took a step forward with his right foot and drew a line, aiming his longsword directly at Li Huowang at the doorway. "If you don't want to die, get lost! Master taught you the way of Elixir Dao! In this situation, do you really think you can handle the two of us from the Sword Taoist Cultivation?"

Li Huowang let out a soft sigh, looking somewhat helplessly at the scene before him. "That's not any Immortality Scripture, you know, it's just ancient scriptures. Everything I said before was made up to deceive the scabby-headed man."

"Don't trust that scabby-headed man's nonsense. He's full of deceit. All that talk about Lord Lao personally giving it to him... Given his character, he might have just murdered and looted to obtain it. Fellow senior brothers, let's leave."

Changming and Changren pinched a black talisman between their left fingers and wiped it across their longswords, causing a gust of chilling wind to sweep through the room instantly.

"Xuanyang Junior Brother, since you don't want to join, then stop wasting words and leave," they said in unison, holding their longswords aloft.

"Xuanyang Junior Brother, since you don't want to join, then stop wasting words and leave," they said in unison, holding their longswords aloft.

Feeling Bai Lingmiao timidly tugging at his Taoist robe, Li Huowang gave a bow to both parties, then led everyone toward the cave entrance of Qingfeng Taoist Temple. "Then, senior brothers, continue on, we shall meet again in the future."

The moment Li Huowang closed the door behind him, noises started emanating from inside.

In the dark tunnel, a group of homebound people walked excitedly and nervously, their hands trembling as they carried oil lamps.

The tunnel was unfamiliar and rugged, occasionally requiring the use of ropes for climbing, which Li Huowang had no memory of ever traversing before.

Yet he was certain this was the exit to Qingfeng Taoist Temple, as he saw others' hands quivering more violently around him.

After walking for approximately the time it takes two sticks of incense to burn, a light began to appear at the far end of the cave tunnel. Upon seeing the light, everyone's pace turned chaotic. They shifted from walking to running.

As they started to run, the light in the distance grew larger, finally engulfing everyone's field of vision.

The moment they emerged from the cave entrance, nearly everyone squinted, having lived in the cave for so long, the outside was blinding.

As their eyes gradually adjusted to the light, the scenery outside Qingfeng Taoist Temple unfolded before them all.

The sky in the distance was just showing its dawn light. The distant mountains and forest were all so pure and refreshing, reminiscent of a subtle ink painting.

It was then that the first rays of sunlight on New Year's Day pierced through the mist, striking everyone's faces.

Li Huowang squinted at the sunrise and murmured, "Did I spend the entire night in the Alchemy Room with that scabby-head? The sun is already out. The weather is really nice today."

Suddenly, someone next to him moved. It was an apprentice, with tears streaming down his face, he hurriedly dashed towards a small path leading into the forest.

His running triggered a herd effect, with more and more people running toward that same path, eager to distance themselves far from that place of sorrow.

Before long, only seven or eight people from the materials room remained at the cave entrance, all looking expectantly at Li Huowang.

"Brother Li, let's go to," said Bai Lingmiao with tears on her face but with a joyful smile.

"Wait a moment," Li Huowang said, pulling out a few pieces of paper from his pocket. He placed them into Bai Lingmiao's arms. "These are the last words and addresses left by those who died. When you go out, find a courier agency along the way to deliver them."

Bai Lingmiao stood rooted to the spot for a moment, holding the pieces of paper, not knowing what to do.

Li Huowang smiled at the remaining people, turned around with the oil lamp in his hand, and walked alone back into the pitch-dark Qingfeng Taoist Temple.