Li Huowang held the pestle in his hand and aimlessly pounded it into the mortar, grinding the flowing green stones mixed with mud into powder. Despite the damp and cold cave, he only wore a rough cloth shirt, seemingly indifferent to his surroundings.

He wasn't alone in the cave, there were other young men and women of similar age, all with tied hair and coarse hemp ropes. The only difference between them and Li Huowang was the prominent physical deformities they possessed – albinism, polio, and various other congenital and acquired illnesses.

All manner of bodily malformations could be found here, making the storage cave seem like a grotesque museum.

Their work was the same as Li Huowang's, pounding things, but the substances being pounded varied from gold and stone to medicinal materials. However, it was evident that some of the people were not focused on their tasks.

"Ah!" A terrified scream from a woman drew everyone's attention.

It was a chubby teenager with a cleft lip who wore a lecherous smile on his face, attempting to pull a girl with albinism into his embrace.

"Just let me have a go, I promise it'll just be once, hehehe~"

Ignoring the commotion, Li Huowang closed his eyes and continued his work. As the woman's crying grew increasingly pitiful, an irritated Li Huowang muttered to himself, then picked up a stone mortar with one hand.

"Thud." The stone collided with bone, emitting a muffled sound.

The cleft-lipped chubby boy fell to the ground, his head bleeding. He sat there dumbstruck, obviously dazed by the blow. After two seconds, his expression twisted in pain as he clutched his wound and wailed.

The white-haired girl, who had avoided her fate of violation, cowered behind Li Huowang, hugging her clothes in fear.

"I'm telling you! You're done for! Do you know who my master is? If he finds out, he'll kill you!" The cleft-lipped boy threatened indignantly.

"What kind of person is he? He's nothing! He's not even worth a fart!" Li Huowang's words left the room in shocked silence.

No one present had ever imagined that this man would dare to utter such words to his seniors and juniors.

Observing the expressions of his so-called martial siblings, Li Huowang took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.

"What's wrong with me? Why am I getting angry with these things? My temperament isn't supposed to be so confrontational. I can't let them affect my character. The me just now wasn't the real me. Stay calm, stay calm."

Just as Li Huowang was trying to calm himself, someone called him from the entrance.

"Junior Brother Li, Junior Sister Wang, the master is summoning you." The person calling was clearly of a higher status than Li Huowang, dressed in a worn-out blue daoist robe.

Although the robe appeared old and even the cuffs were faded, it was still much better than the tattered hemp cloth on Li Huowang's body.

The person stood there, one hand holding a horse tail whisk, looking at the younger generations in front of them with a hint of arrogance in their eyes.

Seeing the young Taoist appear, the fat man with a bloody head immediately showed a gloating expression. "Haha! You're done for!! Today is your turn to suffer."

However, Li Huowang completely ignored him and turned to follow a woman with a twisted mouth and drooling, who looked pale and unhealthy, towards the door.

After taking just a few steps, Li Huowang felt someone tugging at his sleeve, pulling him back from moving forward. He turned around to see that it was the albino girl he had saved before.

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Her teary eyes were shaking as she continuously shook her head, filled with fear.

But Li Huowang remained indifferent, forcefully shaking off her grip and striding forward.

Coming out of the storeroom, they entered an even larger cave, with many other caves on the cave walls serving different purposes, but judging by their rough appearance, the craftsmanship of the people who built this place was obviously not very good.

The whole cave was spacious, with tunnels of various sizes crisscrossing like an enlarged ant nest.

Decayed peach wood plaques were nailed to each small cave entrance, carved with the names of each cave using deep and precise strokes. There were names such as Ling Palace, Old Law Hall, Ancestral Celebration Hall, and Four Imperial Halls.

A naturally formed cave had been transformed into what looked like a Taoist hall.

As the two continued walking along the cave, the crooked-mouthed woman took out a dark object from her pocket and suddenly handed it to Li Huowang, saying in her dazed and silly voice, "Eat... some candy?"

Li Huowang furrowed his brows slightly, seemingly aware of the woman's foolishness, and impatiently took it from her, stuffing it into his sleeve.

Seeing Li Huowang take it, she also took out one for herself from her pocket and put it in her mouth, continuing to say in a silly manner, "Master... hello... candy for Master..."

Li Huowang had no intention of responding to her. The two continued walking and after about fifteen minutes, a quaint, blackened alchemy furnace of great height appeared before him.

The smoky furnace pierced through the top of the cave, and it looked like a small metal mountain.

As they approached, the furnace gradually grew larger, and eventually the shadow of the furnace completely engulfed them, making Li Huowang feel oppressed.

Apart from the immense five-level furnace, another thing that made him feel oppressed was a figure standing in front of the furnace.

From behind, he wore a blue-green Taoist robe, with hairpin and crown, his temples white, giving him an aura of an immortal.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he seemed to be doing the same thing Li Huowang had done before, repeatedly pounding with a pestle. However, the pestle in his hand was obviously much larger, resembling a giant pillar.

With each rise and fall, the sound of stone hitting metal reverberated throughout the cave.

"Master...!" The crooked-mouthed woman clumsily pinched her left thumb with her right hand, placing the four fingers of her left hand on top, clasping her hands to her chest, showing deep respect in her eyes.

As soon as she spoke, the harsh pounding sound stopped.

The figure turned around. Although Li Huowang was prepared, his pupils still contracted slightly in surprise.

The front and back of the Taoist were completely different. From behind, he had an ethereal aura, but from the front, he looked like a disgusting old man with a warty head, with a few yellow teeth sporadically exposed in his dirty and ugly face.

"You're here? Good disciple, making me wait."

Waving his filthy Taoist robe, the old Taoist rose into the air, grabbing the crooked-mouthed woman by the neck and pulling her back.

Before the foolish woman could say another word, she was instantly thrown into a half-height stone jar. In the next moment, the sounds of screams abruptly stopped, emanating from the stone jar.

Flesh remnants and specks of blood splashed onto the old Taoist's face and body, but he remained unaffected, his expression filled with excitement as he chanted something with a certain rhythm.

"Ding Chou extends my life, Ding Hai protects my soul; Jia Zi guards my body, Jia Xu maintains my form; Jia Shen secures my destiny, Jia Wu preserves my soul; Jia Chen safeguards my spirit!"

After completely pulverizing everything, he raised the heavy stone jar with one hand and poured it all into the alchemy furnace in front of him. Then, with an extremely excited expression, he raised his hands high into the air.

"Ignite the furnace, refine the elixir!"

Two exaggeratedly blushing-faced Taoist disciples emerged from the shadows, fanning and pouring various ingredients into the furnace, including various gold and stone powders, as well as many wriggling creatures.

In no time, a strange and intense fragrance permeated the air.

At this moment, the leprous-headed master closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stroked his chin with hardly any beard, revealing a satisfied expression on his dirty and ugly face.

When he slowly opened his eyes and clasped his hands behind his back, turning to look at Li Huowang, he said, "I heard you called me a fart? Is that true?"

In an instant, the air around them seemed to freeze.

Looking at the so-called master who killed without blinking, Li Huowang remained unaffected, slowly closing his eyes to calm his somewhat rapid breathing, silently repeating to himself, "You can't deceive me, it's all fake, it's all fake."

"Speak! Cat got your tongue? Huh?!" With the footsteps of the master approaching, a disgusting stench mixed with the smell of blood hit Li Huowang like a wall.

Trembling, Li Huowang clenched his teeth tightly and forcefully opened his eyes with all his might.

The dim and oppressive cave temple instantly disappeared, replaced by a bright and clean hospital room with fresh air. His lower body was tightly bound to the bed with bandages.