Ever since the events of last night, Li Huowang's relationship with the illusions has changed.

In the past, nothing could threaten them except for Li Huowang's suicide.

But now, things are different. Through cultivation, Li Huowang can temporarily give them physical bodies.

Not only can they be hit, but if provoked, Li Huowang can make them experience excruciating pain.

Seeing the illusions of the Taoist sects calm down, Li Huowang looked at Li Sui, then reached out and tore off a piece of dead skin from his scar, throwing it out the window.

Li Sui immediately barked and jumped out the window after the dead skin, but when he returned excitedly with the dead skin, he found that Li Huowang was gone, leaving a note on the table.

"Stay home and be safe. It's dangerous outside, don't wander around. I'll bring you something delicious when I come back."

Li Huowang didn't go anywhere else; he went to a secluded place outside the city to cultivate.

Having seen and experienced a lot along the way, Li Huowang could tell that this kind of cultivation method, which could only be practiced with a pure heart, was incredibly powerful. It could harness a portion of the power of the heavens, making it extraordinary and on par with the power of fate.

He needed to master this ability as soon as possible, not only to resurrect Zhuge Yuan, but also to protect himself.

However, Li Huowang didn't stay outside the city for long. When night fell, he returned because he had an appointment that day with a man named Dong Zhongshou, a member of the Zongheng faction.

In the dark of the night in the capital city, Li Huowang, with a furrowed brow, sat in a purple sedan chair, peering out through the window crack.

It was already past curfew in the capital city, but apart from his sedan chair, there were many others on the empty streets. The patrolling guards seemed not to notice them, marching in orderly lines past the sedan chairs.

These sedan chairs were like boats, drifting with the current in the darkness.

There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the sedan chairs, keeping a considerable distance from each other. From a distance, only a white or red lantern could be seen bobbing up and down in the darkness, with a hint of eeriness.

He had been invited by Dong Zhongshou, but who had invited the others?

Li Huowang had thought he would arrive at the Zongheng faction's mansion soon, but as the sedan chair passed over a high stone arch bridge, he saw a half-sunken sedan chair floating on the dark river. Threads of red gradually spread from the deflated sedan.

"What does this mean? Someone died? Who killed them?"

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The thought had just crossed Li Huowang's mind when, in the next moment, he understood what had happened to the sedan on the river.

With a "pu chi" sound, three straight scimitars pierced through the flimsy sedan walls from different directions, directly into Li Huowang's body and out the other side.

Half an hour later, the sedan, riddled with holes, slowly came to a stop in front of a mansion with stone lions on either side of the gate. The lantern-bearing attendants bowed respectfully and said to the occupants of the sedan, "My lord, please alight."

As one foot stepped out of the sedan, it left a blood-red footprint on the ground, and the force was so great that it almost cracked the ground.

With a flash of cold light, the stone lion at the gate, along with a section of the wall, was cut down.

Amidst the smoke, Dong Zhongshou, who was admiring the moon with his concubines, saw the figure.

"Earl, come quickly! I've been waiting for you."

And around him, there were several people sitting at low tables, apparently his associates.

"What the hell do you mean!" When Li Huowang, with a fierce aura, charged towards Dong Zhongshou with his sword, two monks, one thin and one fat, blocked his path.

"Hehehe, Earl, calm down. Since you boasted in front of the emperor that you would handle the killings, you should at least demonstrate your skills, right?"

"Besides, those people are not from my faction. They are well-informed about the other princes' movements. They are their people."

Seeing Li Huowang standing there, Dong Zhongshou chuckled again and lightly pointed to the last low table.

"Come, Earl, this is your seat. Take a seat quickly, and I'll introduce you to the other colleagues."

"This is the son of the current prime minister! Situ Bowen, as the prime minister's most favored son, has already begun to assist in governing the affairs of the world, although he has not yet taken office in the court, he has many connections in the court."

He was a chubby man with his chest exposed, a flower tucked behind his ear, and he didn't even look up, just drinking from a leather cup.

"And this is the master calligrapher, Gongsun Yan, whose unique Gongsun style is unparalleled in the world, and anyone who sees it will show deference."

The old man with white facial hair trembled as he sipped from his cup and glanced disapprovingly at the swords behind Li Huowang.

"And this is my junior brother, also from the Zongheng faction. Not long ago, the two of us worked together to thwart the conspiracy between the Third Prince and Princess Guangning."

The middle-aged man without a beard heard his name and immediately bowed to Dong Zhongshou, but didn't even glance at Li Huowang.

As Dong Zhongshou continued to introduce one after another, Li Huowang silently assessed these people.

After the introductions were over, Dong Zhongshou cleared his throat and lightly spat to his left, where a beautiful young woman was already kneeling, catching the spit in her mouth.

By this point, Li Huowang had tuned out what Dong Zhongshou was saying, and what he couldn't understand was how Ji Lin had managed to support herself with this bunch of useless people for so long.

"From now on, you are one of us, Earl. Don't be offended, I'll drink to you!" However, everyone present saw that Li Huowang sat there like a statue, making no move to lift the cup of wine.

"I just want to ask a question. Where are the workers? Where are the killers?" This remark elicited low laughter from the courtyard.

"Earl," Dong Zhongshou said with a smile, "the workers naturally have their own place, how can they be with those who strategize and plan?"

"Of course, Earl, that's not you. You are a favorite of the emperor, deeply favored, and your future is limitless.""It's pathetic, to think that after consuming an Evil Parasite, this is all you amount to? It seems Ji Lin has utterly failed to grasp the situation. With this, becoming a Gu King is out of the question..."

"Hm? What is General Er saying? Could it be that you are still dissatisfied with what happened just now? Hahaha, as a man of honor, aren't you being a bit too petty? Haven't I already offered my apologies?"

"Fine! We are all subjects of His Majesty, so today I will offer another apology to General Er." Dong Zhongshou said, lifting his cup and tilting his head back to drink, then showing Li Huowang the empty bottom of his cup. "How about that?"

"You all seem to have no clue what the situation really is."

Li Huowang, with his teeth clenched, gave a neurotic smile, then with one hand pinched his temples and with the other, he extended his index finger and heavily tapped it on the table.

Peng Longteng, clad in armor, with her towering figure, suddenly appeared beside Dong Zhongshou. Before anyone could react, her armored hands reached straight into his mouth.

"Xianmu Qiyuan"

With her left hand gripping the upper jaw and her right hand the lower, she exerted force and with a fierce tear, Dong Zhongshou's frail body was ripped in two like a piece of thin paper.