Mutated Tao

Chapter 734: Mahakala

A soft wind blew past the shriveled grass plains.

The skies were dark and the clouds were like lead, hanging low in the sky. Li Huowang was feeling down too.

After rushing for several days, he finally reached Qing Qiu. However, it was no longer the same one he knew.

The emerald green grass plains were gone, replaced by yellowish dried grass that was barely clinging to life. It was even worse than he had expected.

He was worried for Sun Baolu, but he had no time to address Qing Qiu’s situation because his own issues had yet to be resolved.

Li Huowang urged his horse with the talisman towards the city.

He recalled someone telling him the city's name once, but he had forgotten about it. The only thing he remembered was the solidified poop of the livestock there.

Qing Qiu’s tribal leader had gone to battle, but someone was still managing its disgusting city.

Li Huowang had just entered the city when several guards with tall red hats blocked him.

Li Huowang revealed his identity plate and pointed at the temple. “To the Antrabhara Temple. I have business with the masters there.”

The guards checked his identity plate while the other Qing Qiu residents groveled on the ground.

Soon after, two rows of Lamas wearing black overalls approached Li Huowang as they clapped their hands together.

The Lamas were also people from Qing Qiu. Their skin was tanned and their bodies were skinny. All of them were old, with faces covered in wrinkles or age spots.

Li Huowang had seen them once. It seems that the Antrabhara Temple knows that I’m coming.

They said nothing. They simply bowed to Li Huowang and walked towards the temple.

Li Huowang jumped down from his horse and followed them on foot. The guards dared not stop him.

A black tentacle slid out from his red robes and took back the identity plate from the guards.

Li Huowang followed the Lamas from behind and walked past the groveling people. He walked up the stairs and entered the temple.

The Antrabhara Temple was grand and solemn on the outside but empty on the inside. There weren’t many Buddha statues here. Instead, the space was decorated by art drawn on leather and several pagodas that resembled pikes.

The leather art was strange, as there was a lot of it. Each depicted a different scene connected to the Immortal Heaven.

But Li Huowang had not forgotten what he was here for. He asked the Lama before him, “I’m here to seek help from the masters of this place. There is something that only you can do.”

The Lamas said nothing, as if they had expected it. They continued to guide Li Huowang into the temple. He walked past a lively hall where discussions were taking place until he reached the innermost room of the temple.

The Lamas talked, and a reply came from inside the room, but Li Huowang didn’t understand them since they were talking in the language of Qing Qiu.

Suddenly, the voice inside the room said, “Daoist… Li… I’ve heard… of you.”

The door slowly opened and revealed a completely dark room. The faint voice came from inside.

Li Huowang had just entered when he saw several dried corpses with feathered crowns hanging on the rafters. They were hanging by their necks.

Even though their faces were like skeletons grafted with a piece of skin, their elaborate overalls and the various intricate bone ornaments revealed that they were in the upper ranks of the Antrabhara Temple.

The room wasn’t as smelly as Li Huowang had expected. It was filled with various scents instead.

Li Huowang looked up and paid no attention to whether the Lamas were dead or alive. Instead, he proceeded to explain the purpose of his visit.

“I will keep it short since you’ve heard of me. I have a problem that requires a certain guiding drug ingredient located in the Feng Capital. One of my disciples said you are familiar with that area, so I was hoping you would guide me there.”

The Feng Capital was the land governed by the Siming of Death, Kui Lei. Li Huowang had no intention of risking his life. He almost died after facing the Lion Dance Palace last time.

Since the Antrabhara Temple worshiped death and was also fighting against the Dharma Sect, Li Huowang figured that there was no reason for them not to help him.

Right after he explained, he saw a dried corpse to his left sway slightly.

Li Huowang asked, “What do you mean you can’t?”

“It’s not that we can’t. Daoist Li, do you not know that the Feng Capital is not a living person’s Kali?” Li Huowang didn’t understand what the Lama was talking about.

“Of course I know. If I needed to find someone who was alive, I wouldn’t have looked for you.”

“It’s easy to enter the Feng Capital, but it's difficult to leave.”

“No, my friend entered it once. You can just use those spinning wheels to fetch me out later.”

Li Huowang remembered how Yang Xiaohai entered and exited the place safely. He refused to believe that he would fail, even though Yang Xiaohai had escaped with the help of Hong Zhong.

“Daoist Li, the times have changed. We are saying this for your own sake. Go back.”

Li Huowang frowned. “Did something happen there?”

Another Lama replied, “The Mahakala[1] has moved. It should’ve been dead and motionless under Qing Qiu.”

“What?” Li Huowang had a bad feeling. The Mahakala they spoke of probably refers to Kui Lei, the Siming of Death.

“We have conducted regular sacrifices to appease the Mahakala and allow it to rest in peace, but I fear time is up since the Mahakala has moved. It’s no longer in the original location.”

“And what does that have to do with the Feng Capital?”

Li Huowang refused to leave empty-handed after coming here from so far away.

“Daoist Li, you do not understand. Every time Mahakala moves, an entire village must die. With every step it takes, an entire town must die. Every time it moves, an entire city must die.”

1. Another name for Kui Lei. ☜