Mutated Tao

Chapter 988: Bell

chapter 988: bell

as li huowang continued walking, darkness began to fall. the ground flattened, revealing a broken grave ahead. the graves were overgrown with grass, yet puzzlingly, three lit incense sticks stood in front of one.

the white smoke didn’t dissipate, instead enveloping the grave like an illusion.

he approached the grave and tried to read the inscription carved into the headstone, but he couldn’t recognize the characters of the words. he strangely felt he’d known this before, yet now he didn’t. as he looked at the inscription, the words shifted form, constantly rearranging themselves.

under his gaze, the words slowly merged and consolidated into two words. one formed into the character “橠” while the second formed “欎” instead.

the two words began to move and attack each other. each word ripped lines from the opposing character and incorporated them into their own.

unfortunately, it was clear that “橠” was losing. most of its lines were ripped away, and its form started thinning.

in a desperate gambit, “橠” severed part of itself and hurled it toward “欎.” while “欎” paused to seize the fragments, “橠” fled.

li huowang bent down, following “橠” as it scurried to the lower half of the gravestone. it traversed past mountains, rivers, ravines, and even strange white lights. ultimately, it reached the ground and slipped by li huowang.

he gave chase, noticing “欎” in pursuit as well. as the gap between the two characters narrowed, both of them began to resonate. their forms expanded, their lines transforming into something different.

li huowang moved backward and allowed space for the two characters to grow.

startled by their growth, li huowang stepped back to give them space, but the speed of their growth exceeded his expectations. in just an instant, the characters stretched beyond the sky, enveloping li huowang completely before vanishing.

li huowang looked up and saw the sky filled with chaos.

he extended his arms and wiped the sky, causing the sky to slowly grow brighter.

li huowang looked down. the grave had become larger than a mountain, but the two words had disappeared.

the more he walked, the more familiar the scenery became. he started to recognize the trees and the stones.

his surroundings became more real too. even the chime of the bell seemed painfully familiar.

“who am i? why am i here? am i heading back?”

the ringing of the bell became clearer and faster. the source of the ringing shifted from the front to the back.

li huowang turned around and saw nothing.

however, everything had changed. li huowang was no longer the one chasing after the sound of the bell. he was being chased.

there was nothing behind him, but li huowang felt an irrational fear. he started running aimlessly. soon, the sound of the bell was replaced by footsteps.

suddenly, li huowang felt something kicking him from the back, causing him to stumble and begin falling down.

in the nick of time, a wrinkled hand caught li huowang’s shirt and pulled him up. he looked up and finally saw the person that had been chasing after him.

“hahaha. i can’t believe i randomly found one in the forest. i’m so lucky!”

the man was none other than dan yangzi. he had been ringing the bell that summoned the wandering gods.

“ah!”

li huowang woke up in shock and looked at the empty warehouse. he stared at yang na and yi donglai but didn’t recognize them.