Since he had already decided to leave, Li Huowang knew he had to suppress the hallucinations from happening again. Otherwise, constantly oscillating between reality and delusion would make it impossible to accomplish anything.
The key to suppressing these hallucinations lay in Dan Yangzi's pet—Black Tai Sui.
When the group approached the cavern where it was kept, they stopped in their tracks. For the first time, they saw Black Tai Sui emerge from its black cauldron, revealing its true form.
It was a massive, slimy, black mass glistening with mucus. What appeared to be hair at first glance turned out to be long, dark tendrils or perhaps immature, threadlike structures growing densely across its body.
The entire creature expanded and contracted freely, resembling a gigantic, grotesque maggot.
Bulging growths on its bloated body opened and closed like mouths, spewing out a stench so vile that it made everyone gag.
The sight paralyzed the group with fear. Their legs felt weak, and many seemed on the verge of fleeing.
But Li Huowang noticed something strange—Black Tai Sui had shrunk significantly and was oozing black liquid onto the ground.
"What's going on? Is its life somehow tied to Dan Yangzi's?" His heart sank at the thought.
Without a second thought, he bolted from the cavern. When he returned moments later, he held in his hands pieces of Dan Yangzi's remains.
Li Huowang knelt beside Black Tai Sui, scooping up the writhing, putrid creature into his arms as though it were a sick child. He began force-feeding it the scraps of Dan Yangzi's flesh, pushing the bits into the orifices on its body.
But the more he fed it, the more black liquid oozed out. The creature shrank further with each passing moment.
Li Huowang's face was a mask of desperation, as if he were cradling a dying loved one. Gripping its sides, he gently shook it. "Hey, hey, don't scare me like this! What am I supposed to do if you die?!"
But Black Tai Sui remained unresponsive, its body growing smaller and smaller. None of its orifices moved.
As it dwindled further, Li Huowang, in a fit of desperation, opened his mouth and bit into its slimy, rubbery flesh.
His companions, Bai Lingmiao and the others, were utterly stunned. They could only stand frozen in horror as their blood-soaked "senior brother" tore into the squirming creature with wild abandon.
At that moment, Li Huowang seemed more monstrous than the creature in his arms.
Dogwa sidled up to Zhao Wu and whispered, "Should we... split off from him? I'm afraid he might eat me in my sleep."
The group's expressions shifted. Fear began to creep into their gazes as they watched Li Huowang.
The compressed flesh of Black Tai Sui was tough and rubbery, like chewing on a tire. But Li Huowang was too desperate to care. He swallowed mouthful after mouthful, but no matter how much he ate, he couldn't outpace the creature's rapid self-dissolution.
Before long, all that remained in his arms was a thin, sticky black membrane.
"Uh, Senior Brother, are you... full now? If so, should we get going?" Dogwa asked cautiously, his tone laced with nervous laughter.
Li Huowang regretfully tossed the foul-smelling membrane aside. He had no idea how long the effects of the Black Tai Sui would last this time. He could only hope to find another one—or some other solution—before the hallucinations returned.
"I'll go change my clothes," he muttered.
The remaining possessions in the cavern weren't worth much. As for any secret manuals or techniques? There was no hope—Dan Yangzi couldn't even read.
Li Huowang removed his blood-soaked robe and changed into a fresh, clean blue Daoist robe. The sensation of cleanliness brought a moment of clarity.
As the group began their journey toward the exit, Li Huowang explained why he had acted the way he did. Understanding that he had consumed Black Tai Sui to suppress his hallucinations, the others finally began to relax.
"Oh, so that's it! I thought Senior Brother was just really hungry," Dogwa joked, lightening the mood.
As they walked, they encountered a new tunnel branching off from their path. Li Huowang stopped instinctively. This side tunnel led to Dan Yangzi's quarters. "Should we check on how those three senior brothers are doing?"
He had no interest in their infighting, but he didn't want another Dan Yangzi to rise in his place.
"Let's take a look," he said, leading the group of infirm and injured toward the quarters.
When they reached the door, Li Huowang noticed it hadn't been opened since he last closed it. No one had come out.
"Brothers? Are you done fighting? We're leaving now," he called out.
Receiving no response, Li Huowang cautiously pushed the door open. The stench of blood hit them like a wall, and a severed, bloody hand greeted them as it fell into view.
Their eyes moved upward, taking in the full, gruesome scene.
Xuan Yuan was dead, his body nearly cleaved in half.
Chang Ren was also dead, stabbed through the back by a sword. Since Xuan Yuan practiced talismans, not swordsmanship, the only one who could have struck the fatal blow was his brother, Chang Ming.
But even Chang Ming hadn't escaped unscathed. His body had been impaled by the black threads bearing copper coins, pinning him grotesquely to the wall. It seemed he had triggered one of Dan Yangzi's traps.
Chang Ming was still alive, his bloodshot eyes fixed obsessively on the so-called "Heavenly Scripture."
"Ah... ahhh..." Chang Ming croaked weakly as he spotted Li Huowang entering. But the threads around his throat had severed his windpipe, rendering him incapable of speech.
Li Huowang walked up to him and smiled. Bending down, he picked up Chang Ming's sword.
It was a 1.2-meter-long blade, gleaming menacingly under the lantern's light.
Testing its weight with a few swings, Li Huowang turned back to Chang Ming. "Good sword. Looks like you won't be needing it for a while, Senior Brother. I'll hold onto it."
"Even though I'm not a sword cultivator, having a weapon on hand is always better than being unarmed. Wouldn't you agree, Senior Brother?"
Chang Ming's desperate eyes seemed to plead for something, but Li Huowang couldn't—or wouldn't—understand.
He retrieved a scabbard from Chang Ren's corpse, sheathed the blade, and slung it over his back.
Finally, it was time for the main prize: the Heavenly Scripture.
Li Huowang approached the unprotected stone tablet inscribed with ancient text.
As he drew near, Chang Ming began to thrash violently. The black threads tightened, digging deeper into his flesh. Within moments, the light faded from his eyes.
"Senior Brother Chang Ming just died," Dogwa said, wide-eyed.
Li Huowang gazed at the so-called Heavenly Scripture and let out a long sigh. This one object had cost so many lives.
Leaning in closer, he scrutinized the text more carefully than ever before.
After several moments of study, he concluded once again that it was just an ancient scripture—perhaps even a moral fable.
Li Huowang stepped back, his hand moving to the sword on his back. With a deliberate motion, he unsheathed the blade.
"Clang!" The sword struck the stone tablet, cleaving into it with a sharp, resounding impact.