Not far behind him, the Ghost King silently listened to Li Jinglong's narration. He let out a long sigh and slowly stood up.
"… That's all." Li Jinglong finished his last sentence and waited for the Ghost King's response.
Hongjun looked down at Liu Fei's skeleton. Suddenly, he heard the crisp sound of a rattle-drum.
The Ghost King held the rattle-drum and slowly walked to the center of the snowfield full of corpses. The rest of the people got up and slowly followed behind him.
He put on his helmet seriously. With the constant "Dong Dong" sound, the earth seemed to have undergone a strange change!
"Dong."
The ghouls that had been lying on the ground in a disorderly manner began to move.
Hongjun took a few steps back and looked at the Ghost King in surprise. The Ghost King stood still in the open space, and the nearly 200,000 corpses all came to life with the sound of the rattle-drum!
They grabbed their weapons and stood up one after another. Li Jinglong and the others were instantly nervous. They winked at Hongjun and asked him to come back. After all, no one wanted to be attacked by this group of corpses again. But this time, all the ghost soldiers appeared to be well-trained. They did not attack recklessly. After retrieving their weapons, they retreated like the tide and stood in a square formation at the bottom of the valley. They also put their rusty weapons back into their sheaths.
"Dong, dong —"
The sound of the rattle-drum resounded through the snowy plains, making it seem even more lonely and distant. For a moment, everything was silent, and the breeze stopped. Only the rattle-drum in the Ghost King's hand was left, rhythmically hitting the ground, as if it was knocking on the vault of heaven, knocking on the earth …
Twenty cavalry commanders appeared in front of the square formation. Each of them was a 10,000-man commander. The chiliarchs galloped in the square formation, followed by the hundred-man commanders, ten-man commanders, and five-man commanders. A total of two hundred thousand ghoul corpses quickly formed up amidst the sound of the rattle-drum.
The people of the Exorcism Division looked at each other in shock. Li Jinglong thought that it had been a close call. Earlier, the army had fought without any order or tactics. If Mystic Fairy had truly and completely controlled the Ghost King, perhaps the battle last night would not have been so simple.
The rattle drum stopped, and the snowy plains were covered in a black mass. The mountains and plains were filled with corpses and ghosts that had died in battle.
The Ghost King held the helmet in his hand. A captain rode forward, took off the wineskin he carried with him, and poured the strong liquor into the helmet.
"What are you trying to do?" the Carp Demon asked.
"Shh." Li Jinglong gestured for Hongjun to come to his side. Everyone stood side by side and looked at the Ghost King and his 200,000 Ghoul Soldiers, as well as Liu Fei's skeleton lying quietly under the stone.
At that moment, Hongjun vaguely expected the Ghost King to have some kind of magic that could resurrect Liu Fei.
The Ghost King's voice resounded throughout the snowy plains.
"Since ancient times, who preached the Dao? Up and down are not formed, how can we test? "
"Who can reach the pinnacle?" After speaking, he raised the helmet as if holding a cup to the sky.
"Life and death are endless, without an end, only a dream can end!"
In an instant, all the Ghoul Soldiers fell to one knee at the same time! The sword shook the scabbard, and the sound was like the roar of dragons, echoing in the valley for a long time!
Everyone held their breaths and looked at the Ghost King who had his back to them. Hongjun strongly felt that the powerful force that transcended life and death had returned, just like the night when Liu Fei was cured of the corpse poison!
Then, the Ghost King held the helmet in his left hand, dipped the fingers of his right hand into the bowl, and flicked it towards the sky.
"To the vast sky, the beginning of all things."
He flicked it towards the ground again.
"To the fertile land of the Divine Land, the end of all living things."
In the next moment, the Ghost King let go of his hand and poured the wine in the helmet onto Liu Fei's skeleton with a crash. He said in a deep voice, "To the King of Jiangdu, finally liberated —"
The two hundred thousand Corpse Ghost Soldiers had their heads lowered, but at the last moment, they all raised their heads. A gust of wind blew, and in an instant, the withered bones scattered into countless specks of light, rising into the blue sky amidst the gale.
The fine powder was like the Milky Way, slowly rising, and like a burst of green smoke, it became a path to heaven under everyone's gaze, and finally disappeared in the wind.
After people died, could they become Ghoul Soldiers and continue to live? Hongjun couldn't help but think of his deceased family.
"When was the first time you saw death?" Li Jinglong suddenly asked him.
They rode side by side, following behind the Ghost King. The two hundred thousand soldiers were sent back, and the Ghost King was only accompanied by twelve bodyguards. Mo Rigen held Lu Xu in his arms, and together with Atay and Ashina Chong, they followed the Ghost King to the end of the snowfield.
They didn't ask where the Ghost King was going. Everyone remained strangely silent, especially Mo Rigen and the others. It was as if this was the first time they saw the Soul Ferrying Technique, which spanned across the two realms of life and death. Everyone couldn't help but think of many mysterious questions.
Hongjun slowed down his horse. If he didn't count the time when he saw his parents die as a child in his dream, the first time he saw death was in the Dazzling Golden Palace.
"… At that time, I brought back a bird from the bottom of the mountain." Hongjun said, "It was already very, very old. I begged Chong Ming to save it. Chong Ming said, 'All living things will die one day. I can cure illness, but I can't save life.' That was the first time I knew death. "
"What do you think death is?" Li Jinglong asked again.
Hongjun couldn't help but think of his parents when he was asked this question, and his face became a little gloomy.
Li Jinglong hurriedly said, "I just mentioned it casually."
When Hong Jun raised his eyes, he suddenly saw that Li Jinglong's expression was a little uneasy. It was as if after waking up from his dream, he felt that he had subconsciously distanced himself from him. This caused Li Jinglong to always carry a certain uneasiness that was not expressed in words along the way. He seemed to want to find a few words to say to him, but he anxiously mentioned something that he didn't want to talk about.
"Death is the shedding of a cocoon into a butterfly and returning to the sky." The Battle Corpse Ghost King suddenly spoke. He slowed down his horse and said in front, "It is snow turning into water and returning to the earth; it is a drop of water that sinks into the rivers, lakes, and seas. From then on, you can no longer distinguish yourself, or the whole world. "
A continuous stone wall appeared in the distance. It was near dusk. It was a section of a stone mountain that was more than ten feet high. In the middle of the stone wall, there was a huge red lacquer building with green carvings. It had nine floors.
"Wow, Mogao Cave!" The Carp Demon answered Hongjun's unspoken question.
The Ghost King and a group of guards dismounted. There were only a few soldiers on duty outside the nine-floor building. When they saw the group, they all held their weapons and shouted, "Who is it?!"
Li Jinglong immediately showed his waist token and revealed his identity. The Ghost King's cloak fluttered in the wind as he strode into the nine-floor building.
"Come in." The Ghost King ordered. His tone seemed to be indisputable.
On the nine-floor building, there was a huge sitting Buddha — Maitreya. One of his hands was flat in front of his knees, and the other hand was hanging outside his knees. The Ghost King was more familiar with this place than his own home. He held a rope in his hand with a jade token tied to it. He swung it a few times, and the jade token flew out of his hand in an arc. It flickered with light as it flew into Maitreya's flat palm. With a "ding" sound, it fell into Maitreya's palm.
"Ghost King." Li Jinglong was about to ask, but the Ghost King raised his hand and stopped everyone from talking. He walked up the side of the wooden ladder. The guards spread out at the bottom of the ladder. The rest of the people could only follow behind him. They went up to the fifth floor one by one. When they came out, they were actually at the top of Mogao Cave. The cold wind was biting cold. The Ghost King led everyone into a bright hall. There were no sculptures or statues in the hall. There were only colorful murals and prayer mats on the ground.
"How should I address you?" Li Jinglong asked.
"I've long forgotten my name." The Ghost King said in a low voice. "You still call me Ghost King. Sit down and do whatever you want. This place is the holy land of the Living Dead. "
Mo Rigen carried the unconscious Lu Xu. The Ghost King said, "Put him here."
He pointed at the murals in the hall. Mo Rigen laid Lu Xu in front of the murals. The Ghost King took off his cloak and covered Lu Xu's body.
Li Jinglong looked at the murals. He remembered what the Sand Snake said and asked, "Where is the murals of Mysterious Fairy, God of Plagues, and the Demon King?"
"That reptile doesn't dare to come again." The Ghost King replied in a low voice. "As long as I wake up from my dream, I have absolute control over this place. As long as you are in Mogao Cave, you are absolutely safe."
Li Jinglong let out a long sigh. He suddenly felt extremely tired.
Atay asked, "Since you have such great abilities, how could you still be controlled by the Demon King's subordinates?"
The Ghost King turned his head and looked at Lu Xu lying in front of the murals. His meaning was clear at a glance.
"The White Deer was supposed to be reincarnated 18 years ago to protect the human world." The Ghost King said slowly. "Unfortunately, the Hei Jiao's' Xie Yu 'set up a trap and took away two souls and six spirits. Only one soul and one spirit were left to be reincarnated …"
As soon as he said this, everyone was shocked. This happened to match Li Jinglong's previous speculation. Mo Rigen suddenly became nervous. Li Jinglong immediately signaled Mo Rigen to calm down.
"Sit down." Seeing that Hongjun was still looking at the murals, the Ghost King ordered.
Hongjun glanced at the Ghost King and nodded. He moved the praying mat over, but he didn't sit next to Li Jinglong. Instead, he sat next to Ashina Chong.
"Come here." The Ghost King lightly pointed at the empty seat next to Mo Rigen.
Hongjun was silent for a moment. The Ghost King said, "Chong Ming and I are old acquaintances. You can accept calling me 'Uncle'. Are you also this disobedient at home?"
This time it was Hongjun's turn to be surprised. He asked, "You …"
"If you want to ask something, I will naturally tell you." The Ghost King's voice faintly carried the dignity of an elder. Hearing this, Hongjun had no choice but to do as he was told. He sat next to Mo Rigen.
When Hongjun sat down, the Ghost King's gaze followed him from beginning to end.
"When will Lu Xu get better?" Mo Rigen asked.
"Maybe soon." The Ghost King slowly said, "Maybe he will never get better. It depends on your decision."
Mo Rigen was the first to understand. He asked, "What should I do?"
The Ghost King didn't answer. Instead, it was Li Jinglong who accurately cut to the core of the problem.
Li Jinglong: "What happened to the remaining two souls and six spirits?"
The Ghost King frowned slightly. He pressed one hand on his knee and sat cross-legged. He muttered, "The remaining two souls and six spirits have been possessed by the devil. This matter started from Xie Yu's obsession with reviving Tianma. It has been nearly four hundred years since he escaped. In these four hundred years, there has never been a real king … "
Hongjun had a premonition that the Ghost King's words were closely related to his life. He immediately held his breath and listened.
The demon clan of the Divine Land originally didn't have a king. Or it could be said that many small demons would worship certain existences as kings. For example, the Battle Corpse Ghost, the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Kun, the Golden-Winged Roc, and other powerful demons with deep backgrounds and powerful magical powers.
The four great demons were also often called "Demon Kings". However, this king was different from the other "kings". The Ghost King himself had never thought of unifying all the demon clans of the Divine Land and establishing a new order. Therefore, for nearly a thousand years, the demon clan was like a plate of loose sand.
"This is good." Atay said, "Without fighting, there will be no extinction."
Ashina Chong shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"The demon clan is different from you humans." The Ghost King said slowly, "The process of gaining spirituality after cultivating for ten or a hundred years is extremely difficult. Therefore, the demons also cherish their lives very much and are unwilling to give up their cultivation easily. However, above the demon clan, there is no doubt that there is one person with absolute power … Tianma. "
When everyone heard this, their hearts skipped a beat.
"Tianma is the manifestation of the world's evil spirits." Li Jinglong said lightly, "Every thousand years, one reincarnates. However, I don't understand why the demon clan must listen to Tianma's orders? Isn't it better to continue cultivating and living your own life? "
"Because the demon clan is different from you humans." The Ghost King replied, "Except for the Nine-Tailed Fox, the demon clan is born unable to resist the erosion of Tianma. We don't want to, but we have to submit."
Hongjun: "Why?!"
"Let's talk about this in detail." The Ghost King muttered, "It's a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
Hongjun hesitated for a moment. Li Jinglong replied, "Let's talk about it later."
The Ghost King thought for a moment and said, "The demon clan's evil spirits are deep. Although their cultivation is human, their nature is ultimately difficult to abandon the bloodlust and greed rooted in the depths of their hearts. However, humans are different. Many people, in desperate situations, still have their own perseverance."
"But as long as one's heart is good, one can always cultivate …" Mo Rigen comforted.
"Cultivate what?" The Ghost King asked, "Become a saint? Become a Buddha? "
Hongjun looked up at the mural. Everyone understood the Ghost King's doubts. Although all living beings had Buddha nature, any demon who cultivated to this realm was no longer a demon.
"A thousand years is a reincarnation." The Ghost King continued, "The descent of Tianma is the tribulation of all living beings. We are helpless. Although we are unwilling to submit to Tianma, there is nothing we can do. However, when Xie Yu came to visit me two hundred years ago, he took the initiative to propose a plan. He wanted to unify the demon clan with himself as the leader and the remaining four kings as his assistants. Before Tianma was born, he wanted to unify all the demons in the land of Divine Prefecture and order them around. "
Hearing this, the Carp Demon suddenly said, "Later on, he was chased away by Chong Ming."
"That's right." The Ghost King said casually, "In order to prove that he was qualified to be the Demon King, Xie Yu issued a challenge to the master of the Dazzling Golden Palace. In that battle, both sides suffered great losses. Phoenix was poisoned by the fire poison and swore to never interfere in the affairs of the human world. Xie Yu became the nominal master of the demon clan in Divine Prefecture, but he was also badly injured. In the remaining two hundred years, he could not cause much trouble."
Li Jinglong murmured, "Until twenty years ago …"
"That's right." The Ghost King nodded and replied, "Logically speaking, Tianma's resurrection is still more than a hundred years away, but Xie Yu had found Tianma's host body in advance …"
At this point, Mo Rigen subconsciously glanced at Hongjun. Hongjun's heart suddenly beat wildly.
"Who is it?" Li Jinglong asked.
"I don't know." The Ghost King replied, "But I'm sure that the host body is in his hands."
When he heard this, Hongjun was truly relieved. Mo Rigen smiled at him and nodded, indicating that it was fine.
Li Jinglong saw this and did not say anything. After a moment, he asked again, "Why do you say so?"
The Ghost King replied, "When Xie Yu appeared in front of me for the second time, he was already able to control the Devil Qi. He could easily erode other demons. The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox willingly submitted to him. Many demons in the Divine Prefecture had also become his followers."
"But he didn't succeed in recruiting you." Ashina Chong sized up the Ghost King and said.
"In terms of age, other than the Three Sages of the Dazzling Gold Palace and Kun Shen of the North Sea, I'm the oldest among the demons in the Divine Prefecture." The Ghost King said contemptuously, "Xie Yu is just a snake with less than five hundred years of cultivation. What can he do to me?"
Li Jinglong instantly thought of the "Kun Shen" whose eyes were covered with a black cloth. His mind raced. He and Hongjun were involved in such a complicated dispute among the demons. Everything seemed to happen naturally, but how much of the undercurrent was the careful planning of these great demons?
When the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox was dying, the appearance of the Golden-winged Roc, and then Kun Shen specially asked him for "a corpse" and "a soul". Until now, he was still puzzled. The next time he met him, he had to ask him clearly.
What happened next was self-evident. Xie Yu could not subdue the Ghost King, the battle corpse, so he captured the soul of the White Deer. In the past ten years or so, he used the Devil Qi to repeatedly refine the two souls and six spirits of the White Deer, slowly eroding it. Then, in a roundabout way, he sneaked into the dreams of the Ghost King and Liu Fei to achieve the purpose of controlling them.
"There will be a battle between you and Xie Yu sooner or later." The Ghost King thought for a moment, and then said loudly, "No matter when and where this battle takes place, I will lead the army to the Central Plains and take revenge for Liu Fei. Exorcists, please forgive me."
Although he said "forgive me", the Ghost King's words were irrefutable. Li Jinglong smiled bitterly in his heart. Even if I don't forgive you, how can I stop you?
Mo Rigen finally asked, "Then, how can I restore Lu Xu to a White Deer?"
He picked up the two horns of the stag beside him. Although Hongjun had cut them off, the antlers were still pitch-black.
"His horns were cut off by you, so he has lost his magical power. When he wakes up, you have to find a way to expel the Devil Qi in his body." The Ghost King replied, "As far as I know, there are only two ways in this world. One is to use the power of the Mind's Lamp to illuminate his soul. The other is to combine the Six Immovable Wisdom King Weapons and shoot it into his heart."
Everyone looked at Li Jinglong. Li Jinglong was a little flattered and said, "Mind's Lamp? As long as it's something I can do, I will definitely not refuse. But what should I do? "
The Ghost King said seriously, "How much friendship have you had with the White Deer?"
Li Jinglong's face was blank. He didn't know why, but he subconsciously looked at Mo Rigen, and then at Hongjun.
"Friendship?" Mo Rigen asked.
"If you want to illuminate his soul with the Mind's Lamp, you have to believe in him for a long time, and make him believe in you." The Ghost King replied, "The only catalyst for the Devil Qi's pollution is desire. People have desires because of their emotions, and desires give birth to thoughts. Everything arises because of a thought, and the world moves because of a thought … "
"If you have desires and can't get them, you will become ruthless. The ruthless aura will become heavy and turn into a demon."
"If you want to expel the demon, you have to hand over your seven emotions and six desires, and then use your Mind's Lamp to get rid of the ruthless aura in his seven emotions and six desires."
Mo Rigen: "…"
Li Jinglong: "…"
Atay and Ashina Chong looked at each other. Atay said, "This is a little difficult."
Hongjun said, "I don't understand. What do you mean?"
"Joy, anger, worry, fear, love, hatred, desire." The Ghost King explained, "It's the seven emotions. Lust, appearance, dignified posture, speech and voice, slender and smooth, and mutual desire. These were the six desires. If you only want to save him from a high position, it won't work. You won't be able to find the reason for all of this. Unless you wait for him to wake up, use your seven emotions and six desires to assimilate him, and then use your Mind's Lamp to purify him. "
For a moment, everyone's expressions became very strange. Li Jinglong and Mo Rigen looked at each other, and there was a trace of confusion in their eyes.
Hongjun: "Oh, then we have to find these contaminated places?"
The carp monster said from the side, "That's why you have to wait for him to wake up. You have to like him, be angry with him, worry about him, be afraid of him, love him even more, hate him even more, and want him even more …"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Li Jinglong and Mo Rigen shouted at the same time.
Hongjun: "…"
However, the Carp Demon was like a machine gun as he said, "You have to fall in love with him at first sight. You have to be obsessed with his appearance, his every move, like his voice, touch his smooth body, and finally 'do' him."
"Shut up!" Li Jinglong roared.
Atay and Ashina Chong suddenly burst into laughter. Mo Rigen was about to go crazy. Atay said while laughing, "I'm sorry, Mo Rigen. I should be worried with you, but this is really too funny …"
Li Jinglong said, "Impossible! Ghost King, I've killed many … many demons. Even when I used the Sword of Wisdom to wake you up, I didn't use the seven emotions and six desires … "
The Ghost King replied, "Exorcist, the demonic energy now doesn't just exist in his body, but in his soul. This is different."
Hong Jun simply couldn't believe it. This was simply too inconceivable.
"But if he wants to get rid of Tianma …" Hongjun said again, "Doesn't he have to love him, touch him, and do that?"
Li Jinglong cried bitterly, "Don't say anymore …"
The Ghost King replied, "You can also use the six Acalanatha artifacts and kill the demonic seed with one arrow, causing it to scatter into the veins of heaven and earth. But now, the soul of the White Deer is pitch-black. If you're willing to kill it, then everything will be over. "
Hearing this, everyone looked at Lu Xu. At this moment, Lu Xu was lying alone under the mural, looking very pitiful.
"That's all I have to say." The Ghost King said, "Do as you see fit." After saying that, he got up and left.
Atay held his forehead with one hand and said, "The Ghost King is really amazing. As soon as he came, he broke up two pairs of people from our Exorcism Division. Hongjun, why don't you consider our family's eldest prince?"
Hongjun: "What are you talking about, Atay!"
"I agree!" The Carp Demon raised his hands and replied.
Li Jinglong: "…"
Mo Rigen looked at Li Jinglong and was already disoriented. After a moment, he said, "That's impossible."
"Can I temporarily give you my Mind Lantern?" Li Jinglong replied.
Ashina Chong was laughing so hard that he couldn't straighten his back. Hongjun looked at Lu Xu, feeling both sad and helpless. He didn't know why, but when he thought of what the Carp Demon said earlier, his heart actually felt a little uncomfortable. He couldn't help but size up Li Jinglong. When he thought of how Lu Xu had grown up without two souls and six spirits, his nose immediately turned sour.
"I can't give it to you." Hongjun said, "I once wanted to take it out."
Mo Rigen said, "Let me calm down first. There must be another way … there must be."
Mo Rigen let out a long sigh, got up, and walked out of the hall. The rest of the people found excuses and left, leaving Hongjun and Li Jinglong sitting opposite each other.
Li Jinglong said, "This … Hongjun?"
Li Jinglong saw that Hongjun was sitting with mixed feelings and his expression changed. He observed him while bending over, pulled up a praying mat, and sat opposite him. Just as he was about to open his mouth to explain, Hongjun was absent-minded. He kept thinking about the Ghost King. This great demon had lived for more than a thousand years and knew too many secrets of the human world.
"I'll go out for a walk too." Hongjun said, "You first … think about it."
Hongjun turned around and left, leaving Li Jinglong speechless. The Carp Demon stuck close to the door and glanced at Li Jinglong like a thief, saying, "I'll also … go out for a walk."
"No one cares about you!"
Li Jinglong finally couldn't take it anymore.