Hong Jun and Lu Xu stood outside the garden. In the wilderness, there was a lonely palace that used to be resplendent in gold and jade. The Deer King's Own Life was about a hunter who accidentally met a nine-colored deer in the forest. Then, he reported to the king and brought people to hunt this deer king who protected all living beings.
But now, it was polluted by black gas.
Lu Xu said to Hongjun, "I've seen a magic array in the center of the palace. Mystic Fairy and the God of Plagues entered the painting through that magic array. Through that magic array, we can definitely get out."
As he spoke, Hongjun suddenly remembered something — the incantation used by the fox demon when creating the Blood Sea!
"Is it like this?" Hongjun drew the incantation on the ground according to his memory.
Lu Xu was shocked and asked, "You've seen it before?"
Hongjun immediately understood that this might not be a complete mural, but a void world created by Mystic Fairy and the God of Plagues!
But at this moment, two shooting stars swept across the sky and entered the forest behind them!
Hongjun, "???"
Lu Xu subconsciously turned his head and said, "Someone's coming in!"
In the forest, Li Jinglong and Mo Rigen were completely naked. They looked at each other and sized up their surroundings. Hongjun and Lu Xu had already rushed in. Hongjun immediately shouted.
Li Jinglong rushed forward and grabbed Hongjun's arm. He said angrily, "What are you doing?!"
"Lu Xu?! You're awake? "Mo Rigen rushed forward. Lu Xu took half a step back and hid behind Hongjun.
Li Jinglong frowned and said seriously, "Hongjun, what's wrong with you these days?"
Hongjun did not answer. Lu Xu had seen Hongjun's dream and naturally knew what was bothering him. He said, "You … put on your clothes first."
Li Jinglong: "…"
Lu Xu raised his hand and snapped his fingers. A white light rolled over and transformed Li Jinglong into a set of cloth clothes. Mo Rigen, on the other hand, transformed into a Grey Wolf. He shook his fur and said in a low voice, "I'm fine. Lu Xu, is this your dream?"
"I don't know," Lu Xu replied.
"What happened?" Grey Wolf asked again.
When Mo Rigen and Li Jinglong arrived, Lu Xu seemed to be on his guard and didn't want to talk much. Hongjun looked at him and recounted what had happened to the two of them. Li Jinglong had been staring at Hongjun the whole time. His eyes seemed to see through Hongjun's heart. Hongjun felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by him, so he looked away.
"This is the void in the painting," Li Jinglong thought for a moment and answered.
Although Hongjun had been thinking about the past, when he saw Li Jinglong, he couldn't help but feel a lot more at ease. After all, with him around, many things could be solved.
Grey Wolf asked, "Is this the same principle as the cave created by the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox?"
"Maybe," Li Jinglong said, "but it's definitely more complicated."
Li Jinglong and Mo Rigen had a short discussion and looked at Lu Xu together. Li Jinglong said in a low voice, "Lu Xu, you have to explain the situation clearly. Otherwise, we won't be able to make a judgment."
Lu Xu frowned and said, "I really don't know."
Lu Xu's knowledge of this place was intermittent. He heard it from Mystic Fairy and the God of Plagues. After all, he had been living in this painting since he was born. His body in the human world could only sense the surrounding environment under rare circumstances. He couldn't even recognize Chinese characters. Being asked like this, he racked his brains and began to recall, trying to give them as much information as possible.
It turned out that when the monk Le Zun built the Mogao Cave in the past, when he dug the first cave, he used a secret method to carve many scriptures on the stone wall. The scriptures had the meaning of "Three Thousand Great Worlds, Three Thousand Prajna Bodhi" and "Sumeru Mountain in a mustard seed". They had supreme supernatural powers. And these scriptures were weathered over time. They were leveled by the craftsmen and gradually disappeared in the passage of time. But the power of the scriptures magically remained.
Many of the caves dug by the scriptures and the murals in them also had the wonderful power of the void in the painting. When Le Zun passed away, the White Deer came to the west and chose a cave to place the spirit beast's soul. Later on, the painter of the Mogao Cave saw the mysterious stone patterns in the cave and picked up a brush to paint the "Deer King's Own Life".
"What is the Inner Demon?" Li Jinglong asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.
"It's me … or rather, the evil spirit of my previous life." Lu Xu couldn't remember what happened before his reincarnation. All of his memories only started from the moment of his reincarnation. Most of the fragmented information was obtained from the conversation between Mystic Fairy and the God of Plagues.
"I'm afraid it's not evil spirit." Grey Wolf looked at Lu Xu and said, "It's the nightmare that you took away from all living beings in a long time."
"Maybe." Lu Xu said, "It's like this life forgot the previous life. In short, they made those nightmares into something new."
Hongjun seemed to have thought of something in an instant and asked, "Have you seen the Demon King?"
Lu Xu thought for a while and answered, "There's a black snake that occasionally appears in front of the altar. They really do call him 'His Majesty the Demon King'. "
Li Jinglong observed the palace. Grey Wolf answered, "There's a protective enchantment outside."
"The Inner Demon isn't here." Lu Xu said, "It must be looking everywhere for Hongjun and me."
"Let's go in and take a look!" Li Jinglong said, "Hongjun doesn't have any magic power. You guys follow behind us."
Grey Wolf immediately led the way and leaped into the garden. Li Jinglong walked in quickly. Hongjun said, "Aren't you also …"
As the four of them approached, the black flame surrounding the palace sensed the intrusion and rushed towards them with a roar!
The black flame was like a flying snake, wreaking havoc everywhere and rushing towards them in an instant. However, Li Jinglong raised his hand and with just one move, the power of the Mind's Lamp exploded. The flying snake let out a terrifying roar and exploded under the white flame!
"You …" Hongjun was shocked.
"It seems that the Mind's Lamp has already entered my three spiritual and seven physical souls." Li Jinglong lowered his head to inspect his right hand and then looked up at Hongjun.
Hongjun thought to himself, No wonder when I injected the Rainbow Divine Light into Li Jinglong's meridians, I couldn't find the location of the Mind's Lamp!
Hongjun was still in shock when Li Jinglong said, "Let's go!" He immediately controlled the strong light of the Mind's Lamp and rushed into the palace. After everyone entered the painting with their spiritual power, Hongjun who was good at using magic weapons became the weakest one. Mo Rigen could transform into the Grey Wolf and Li Jinglong had the Mind's Lamp. Thus, he protected Hongjun and Lu Xu behind him.
In an instant, the flying snakes filled the sky, but they kept rolling and retreating under the strong light of the Mind's Lamp. Li Jinglong raised his hand and the light shone everywhere, covering everyone as they entered the palace. Then, the thousands of black flying snakes on the roof of the palace roared and rushed towards them, crazily rushing into the palace door.
A huge flash of light exploded and the black flying snakes rushed out.
"Close the door!" Lu Xu yelled.
Hong Jun and Mo Rigen pushed open the palace door. When they turned their heads, they saw an altar in the middle of the main hall. A black sphere was floating on top of the altar. Around the sphere, several black flames were blooming and lingering around it!
"This is your Mind's Devil?" Li Jinglong asked.
Lu Xu looked at the black sphere, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Speak!" Li Jinglong shouted.
"Yes, maybe it is," Lu Xu immediately said, "I haven't seen it for a long time. How could it grow so fast?!"
"Destroy it!" Grey Wolf roared, "Lu Xu's three spiritual and seven physical souls can be purified!"
Li Jinglong immediately reacted. Every time Lu Xu left the mural, he would be swallowed by the Mind's Devil. Only in the mural could the Mind's Devil be separated from his three spiritual and seven physical souls. This was also the best opportunity to eliminate the Mind's Devil!
Li Jinglong swung his hand, and light shone from his palm. The Mind's Lamp suddenly transformed into a huge bow. As he drew the bow, a dazzling arrow of light appeared. The black sphere seemed to feel the danger and shook violently. Thunder rumbled in the sky. The Mind's Devil that was searching for Hongjun's whereabouts instantly felt something was wrong. Thus, a monstrous black aura rushed into the palace through the windows in all directions.
Li Jinglong's shoulders and back were bare. With vigorous strength, when he drew the bow, the contours of his arm muscles were stretched to the extreme. He shouted, "Hit!"
The arrow left the bowstring and flew out. The Devil Qi surged towards the black aura. With a loud bang, the black aura blocked the arrow! A shockwave spread out. Then, the overwhelming darkness rolled over and collided with the light of the Mind's Lamp!
Li Jinglong: "…"
In the past, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, the Battle Corpse Ghost King, and countless demons and ghosts that carried Devil Qi were all either retreated or purified under the illumination of the Mind's Lamp. Li Jinglong never expected that the Mind's Devil could be evenly matched with the light!
The Mind's Lamp burned the Devil Qi like a raging fire. Then, more darkness surged and swallowed the entire palace in an instant. The Mind's Devil opened its mouth and roared, spitting out a flame-like black aura!
"Be careful!" Grey Wolf shouted.
Hongjun rushed forward, grabbed Lu Xu, and rolled on the ground. Li Jinglong turned the Mind's Lamp into a lightsaber and went forward. The Mind's Devil sneered, "You can't even summon the Burning Lamp Dharma Form, and you want to use the Mind's Lamp to release me?! You're like a moth flying into a flame. You're overestimating yourself! "
In the blink of an eye, the Mind's Devil contracted and released thousands of nightmares from the altar. They flew in all directions, like dark meteors that crisscrossed and wreaked havoc in the palace, chasing after the four people!
Hongjun grabbed Lu Xu. At this moment, he wanted to fight, but he had no strength to fight back. He could only take Lu Xu and keep dodging. He shouted, "Lu Xu! What can we do?! "
Lu Xu said, "Go to the altar! There's a magic array! Let me activate that magic array! "
In an instant, the roof of the palace collapsed layer by layer from the impact of the black aura. Grey Wolf rushed from the side and pushed the two people away. He roared, "Go outside!"
The Mind's Devil had already absorbed the black aura and was flying in front of the altar. It kept spitting out dark aura at Li Jinglong. Li Jinglong resisted with his sword and shouted, "Get out of here!"
Hongjun said, "Mo Rigen! Cover us! "
Grey Wolf's pupils suddenly contracted. Hongjun pulled Lu Xu and rushed to the center of the altar.
The black aura surged and crashed into Grey Wolf. Grey Wolf somersaulted in the air, and the black aura around him intertwined. The black aura transformed into countless halberd-wielding soldiers that rushed toward him! Grey Wolf roared. In the sound of the impact, the nightmares gradually dissipated.
Hongjun avoided the black aura and was five steps away from the altar. However, the Mind's Devil roared. It turned around and split out a sword-wielding Liu Fei from its body. It fiercely crashed into Hongjun!
Hongjun immediately stood in front of Lu Xu and raised his arm to block Liu Fei's attack.
"Hongjun!"
"Don't worry about me!" Hongjun shouted. Then he pushed Lu Xu towards the altar.
Liu Fei, half of whose body was formed by the black aura, shouted and slashed at Hongjun's head! However, Hongjun, who was hit by the black aura, was completely different from Mo Rigen, Li Jinglong, and the others. In an instant, the black aura in Hongjun's chest flashed and absorbed Liu Fei's nightmare!
In the loud noise, Hongjun briefly saw Liu Fei's dream again.
It was just like the night when they first arrived in Liangzhou. In the sunny courtyard, there was a handsome young general and a girl walking slowly through the corridor … They met in the summer night and kissed under the starry sky … Then there was a ferocious quarrel and the girl turned and left.
"Nuo Ji …" Liu Fei, who was on the sickbed, held the girl's hand tightly.
The beautiful girl called Nuo Ji's eyes were red. She choked and said, "I will go with the king …"
Liu Fei finally closed his eyes in peace. However, countless scenes flashed before Hongjun's eyes. Liu Fei was sent to the royal tomb. Nuo Ji walked to another young man's bed and slowly untied her mourning robe.
At that moment, in the deepest part of Hongjun's heart, a surge of anger almost roared and rushed out! After death, his lover and son made love with each other. Liu Jian committed suicide by hanging himself. Nuo Ji ran out in fear but was pulled into the arms of her brother … until the Ghost King pressed a hand on Liu Fei's forehead.
"The past is the past. Enter my sect. From now on, you are outside the two paths of life and death …"
"Hongjun —!" Li Jinglong roared angrily. A strong light shone on him. Amidst the wolf's howl, Hongjun suddenly woke up.
Lu Xu threw himself in front of the altar and looked down at the array on the altar. However, now, the demon had abandoned everyone and turned to face Hongjun. A pair of blood-red eyes appeared in the black figure.
"You can actually suck away this nightmare?" the demon roared in a low voice. "Demon Seed!"
Hongjun took half a step back and looked down at the black gas lingering in front of his chest. His heart slowly emitted black smoke. Liu Fei's pain had been injected into his soul. The pain of losing his lover and the various feelings after death made him truly feel the most original and deepest pain between heaven and earth!
The demon roared and shot out a black meteor-like demon energy again. Li Jinglong dodged and stood in front of Hongjun. A strong light flashed and blocked the incoming black gas. Unexpectedly, Hongjun pressed Li Jinglong's shoulder and pushed him to the side. He faced the demon without fear!
Demonic Qi shot towards Hong Jun one after another. Loud noises could be heard as the Demonic Qi entered his body one after another. In that instant, Hong Jun felt incomparable despair and anger. His father cooked his son for food, a cavalryman killed his comrades, and a scout jumped off a cliff. Betrayal, assassination, hunger, trampling!
"No —!" Li Jinglong shouted crazily.
Lu Xu and Mo Rigen were stunned for a moment. They saw the demon energy around Hongjun madly swirling and dancing. He closed his eyes with a ferocious expression. Then he suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, "Back off!"
The next moment, Hongjun stretched out his hand. Countless nightmares flying in the palace turned around and shot toward his palm. They gathered into a sharp blade and slashed toward the demon!
The demon roared, "Demon Seed —!"
The voice stopped abruptly. The sky shook and the earth shook. The palace collapsed in all directions. The pillars broke and the haze rolled over the sky and earth. In an instant, Hongjun and the demon rose to the sky at the same time. The sadness and pain of the nightmares accumulated in the world for thousands of years gathered into a whirlpool and spun rapidly around Hongjun and the demon!
Hongjun's half-naked body showed blood-red demon patterns. His eyes bloomed with red light. The demon turned into Lu Xu's form and frantically sucked the nightmares back into its body. It was afraid that Hongjun would absorb them again.
"Demon of ignorance." Hongjun's voice became low and hoarse. He said slowly, "The pain of mortals should have been buried in the darkness long ago. When did it become a toy in your hands?"
Li Jinglong saw this change and was caught off guard. He shouted, "Lu Xu! Quick! This can't go on! Send them out —! "
On the altar, Lu Xu's hands shook. A silver-white light appeared in his hands and was injected into the altar.
Outside the mural, the Ghost King, Atay, and Ashina Chong quietly looked at the "Deer King's Own Life".
At this moment, the Deer King's Own Life had undergone a terrifying change. The colors and patterns on the painting had been distorted. Two half-naked youths appeared on the mural, each of them surrounded by black gas. Below them, there was a wolf and a man emitting light as they fought against each other.
"They're coming out soon," the Ghost King said in a low voice.
Ashina Chong turned around and glanced at the four people lying side by side. The Carp Demon held a cloth and wiped the sweat on Hongjun's forehead.
In the mural, the energy in Lu Xu's hands was continuously injected into the magic circle. The magic circle began to rotate. Hongjun and the demon turned their heads and looked at Lu Xu!
The demon immediately roared and rushed towards Lu Xu. Hongjun followed closely behind. Lu Xu floated above the magic circle. Li Jinglong and Grey Wolf rushed forward at the same time.
In a flash, the demon crashed into Lu Xu. Hongjun shouted, "Lu Xu!"
Lu Xu replied in a low voice, "After we get out, kill me. Death is not scary. Guard your heart, Big Brother."
Lu Xu opened his arms and hugged the demon that was emitting black energy. Hongjun shouted, "No! Lu Xu! "
However, the Grey Wolf howled. Amidst the sound waves, the demon that was about to enter Lu Xu's body was knocked out. The next moment, Hongjun reached out and directly entered Lu Xu's chest. He grabbed the hair of a black figure. The black energy in his hand exploded. It was earth-shattering. He mercilessly dragged the demon out of Lu Xu's body!
Lu Xu was stunned. The magic circle collapsed and a halo spread out.
At the same time, the mural of the "Deer King's Own Life" emitted a strong light. It spewed out soul shadows and black energy that filled the sky. The Ghost King shook the rattle-drum in his hand and shouted, "Rise!"
At the same time, Li Jinglong, Lu Xu, and Mo Rigen suddenly opened their eyes. However, Hongjun's three souls and seven spirits carried black energy and entered their bodies.
"Hongjun — —!" The Carp Demon shouted in shock and jumped away.
Li Jinglong immediately flipped over and raised his Mind's Lamp to dispel the black energy in Hongjun's soul. However, it was already nearing the end. Hongjun absorbed all the demonic energy into his heart. He opened his eyes, which were full of anger and hatred!
The next moment, the mural spewed out another demon that bared its fangs and brandished its claws. Atay and Ashina Chong attacked at the same time. However, the demon rushed out of Mogao Cave with a trail of demonic flames!
"Chase!" Mo Rigen shouted.
Everyone got up and chased out of Mogao Cave.
In the middle of the night, the stars were dim. The demon flew out of the third layer. However, the Grey Wolf stepped on the light and roared at it. The demon was hit and flew straight down. Atay held the railing with one hand and rushed out. He waved a fan and flames swept across.
The Ghost King led a group of guards and jumped over the railing. They flew out of Mogao Cave. Lu Xu followed closely behind and shouted, "Dissolve his nightmare!"
"Where's the Chief Scribe?!" Atay shouted.
Hongjun flicked his flying knife. Just as he was about to rush out of the cave, a hand reached out from behind and locked his wrist, fiercely dragging him back!
"Listen to me." Li Jinglong said in a low voice, "You must not absorb the demon's nightmare …"
His voice hadn't finished resounding out in the air when Li Jinglong suddenly suffered a firm and clean punch from Hong Jun. That punch fiercely struck his eye socket, causing him to feel dizzy and almost lose his footing.
"You guys worked together to deceive me …" Hongjun clenched his fists. He was so angry that he couldn't help but tremble. "You already knew … that it was a demon seed …"
Li Jinglong coughed with difficulty. He covered his eye socket with one hand and said, "It's my fault. I lied to you. But no matter what, you must not, absorb any more demon energy … Hongjun, promise me, promise me …"
He raised his head with difficulty. His vision was full of double images. Hongjun's angry and ferocious face gradually calmed down, but there was a trace of indifference in his eyes.
"Nod." Li Jinglong said, "I promise you, I will defeat it. You must not, be, like, in the painting again … Nod, nod for me, or I won't let you leave here!"
Hongjun panted. In the end, he nodded and rushed out of Mogao Cave!