Mutated Tao

“That person is not Xuan Pin! It was a fake planted by Zuoqiu Yong! She deceived me instead of helping me! She was just using me for information!

“Why? Why would she do this… Why?”

Li Sui struggled to get up with her new body.

As she laid her eyes upon the corpses on the ground, a wave of panic surged through her. “Why? Why did I kill my own siblings? What have I done?!”

Li Sui froze, stunned by her own words. She held her head and shook it rapidly. “No… I’m not him. I’m Li Sui! I’m Li Sui!”

She tried to break free from the person’s body but found herself trapped. Gazing at the corpses scattered around her, a wave of grief washed over her.

She had instinctively merged with the eldest brother to save her own life, just like she had done with Bun before. The eldest brother did not die—he became a part of her.

Wiping away her tears, Li Sui scanned the cave for an exit. She was no longer the naive girl she once was. She needed to escape—one wrong move could cost her everything.

The three siblings were working for Zuoqiu Yong. If she found out the three siblings were missing, Zuoqiu Yong would immediately suspect Li Sui was still alive.

As the Chief of the Qi Kingdom’s Surveillance Bureau, Zuoqiu Yong controlled the entire Bureau. It would be difficult for Li Sui to live.

“I can’t stay in the Qi Kingdom, and the An Xi Kingdom to the west isn’t an option either. My only hope is to take a boat and set out to sea.”

Li Sui didn’t hesitate and ran for the exit.

However, just as she appeared in the dilapidated temple, she froze. When had she become so clear-headed? Something had fundamentally changed within her.

Li Sui realized what had happened. She had absorbed the eldest brother, making him a part of herself, just as she had assimilated Bun before. Back then, she had grown more affectionate for her father and developed a peculiar love for bones.

Li Sui trembled as she took out Li Huowang’s clay figurine and stared at it.

“Father, the Black Taisui’s assimilation is too strong. The people I assimilated became part of me. I can even gain half of their intelligence, but I cannot continue doing this. I fear that I will stop being your daughter if I assimilate more people.

“Father, don’t worry. I’m smarter now. I can definitely help you in the future—in one hundred eighty years.”

Li Sui then ran out from the temple and escaped into the darkness.

Li Sui slowly opened her eyes as she shook herself from her daydream. She looked at the three people in front of her. Although they were of different ages, they all looked at her with the same fearful gaze.

The Strayed Ones, who had been imprisoned and raised by certain sects, wore a variety of clothes and had different disabilities. The sects had shaved some of their body parts when they needed them.

“You’re all here because you’re Strayed Ones. But today, we’ll use our methods to set you free.”

Li Sui’s words did little to cheer them up. She understood their skepticism. “I know that Strayed Ones who’ve lived as long as yourselves can’t trust others easily. However, I don’t need your trust. Just follow me. It’s not like you have a choice.”

Li Sui brought the three of them into the Surveillance Bureau. After walking in the confusing underground path for a while, Li Sui brought the three of them to Li Huowang’s cultivating room.

Li Huowang had been cultivating, which distorted the room beyond recognition. Various bizarre things were unfolding in the room.

Bricks would occasionally sink and dissolve into springs of water, which would then float and metamorphose into a weeping woman. Moments later, the woman turned into a statue.

Li Sui walked over and patted Li Huowang to shake him out of his cultivation.

Li Huowang opened his eyes and looked at his daughter. “What’s wrong?”

“The Strayed Ones are here.”

Li Sui moved to the side, and Li Huowang finally saw the three people in front of him.

“There’s just three of them? I don’t think I can reach the seventh stage with them.”

Li Huowang frowned, feeling anxious. Zuoqiu Yong could arrive at any moment, and he was worried.

“It’s not that easy to find Strayed Ones. Two of them were in our vaults, but we had to raid an evil sect to find the third one. Most of my men are also constantly searching for more.”

“Didn’t you give me a lot of primordial breath last time during my fight with Shai Zi? Where did you get it?”

“Father, I spent over one hundred years preparing those. I didn’t have so much time to prepare them this time. Also, those weren’t meant to be used against Shai Zi—they were supposed to help Ji Zai return to his status as a Strayed One.”

Li Huowang knew that Li Sui was right. Shai Zi wasn’t the key, but instead Ji Zai. Without Ji Zai, everyone would’ve been killed by the Dharma Sect.

Li Huowang sighed and approached the three Strayed Ones. “What about the other places? Are the other Surveillance Bureaus looking for the Strayed Ones too?”

“I’ve ordered them to do so. They will send any Strayed Ones that are found to Shangjing, but there have been no replies.”

Li Huowang faced the three Strayed Ones. “I’m one of you. I’ve lived through exactly what you’re experiencing now. Letting me strip away your primordial breath and inner sight would be best for all of us.”

Li Huowang then looked at their broken limbs. “I won’t say much. When you become regular people once more, head to a place called Cowheart Village. You can live out the rest of your lives there peacefully.”

Li Huowang then gestured at Li Sui. “Let’s start immediately. We don’t have much time.”

Li Sui nodded. Several Unspeakables entered the room. Their heads were skewered together by Li Sui’s tentacles, making them look like a massive flesh spider as they walked in.

The three Strayed Ones were filled with panic. However, before they could react, Li Sui took control of the Unspeakables, retrieving the primordial breath from the Strayed Ones and stripping the inner sight from their eyes.

After the two things had been extracted from their bodies, the three Strayed Ones became skinnier, as if something had stolen their vitality.

The Unspeakables shoved the primordial breath and inner sight into Li Huowang, and everything around him started to change uncontrollably.

His thoughts were manifesting around him without his control.

Li Huowang felt everything around him crumbling and turning into a manor.

He carefully sat down and began controlling the inner sight he had just obtained, using it to push the primordial breath toward his seventh chakra point.