Hongjun was silent. Chong Ming waited for a moment, but there was no response. He asked in a low voice, "Why did she die?"
"In your heart, you know best." Hongjun said in a low voice, "You wanted to separate the Tianma seed from my father's body so that he could go to the human world and find a girl to give birth to me … Is that right?"
Hongjun's voice trembled as he spoke. Chong Ming's eyes widened. He thought that Hongjun was going to tell him the details, but he never expected that he would dig up an old case from many years ago!
"Who told you that?" Chong Ming's voice changed.
"Is that right?" Hongjun panted. "Answer me!"
"How dare you!" Chong Ming stood up abruptly. His powerful aura made Hongjun take a step back. "If not for that, why would you be here today?!"
Chong Ming's reaction confirmed Hongjun's guess. All the worries and fears he had along the way finally exploded at this moment. He could no longer suppress the anger in his heart and roared, "You killed my mother! What am I?! What am I?! Answer me! "
"You are Kong Xuan's son," Chong Ming said coldly.
"I'm just a sacrifice …" Hongjun trembled and kept retreating. He said in a trembling voice, "I'm just a sacrifice that you made to separate the demonic seed."
"That's right." Chong Ming looked at Hongjun and said slowly, "If your father didn't die, you wouldn't be standing in front of me now."
In that instant, Hong Jun felt as if the world was spinning around him and he found it difficult to breathe. Halcyon scrutinized his face and said, "I didn't want to let you live on the first day Qing Xiong brought you to the Dazzling Golden Palace."
Hongjun, "…"
"But I feel guilty," Chong Ming said again, "Kong Xuan died because of me, so I took you in."
"No … No …" Hongjun stared blankly at Chong Ming.
"Isn't this what you're thinking?" Chong Ming said coldly. "Isn't this the reality that you're most afraid of? Isn't that the voice in your heart?! "
"What is your mother? If I don't care, then what are you? I'm even less concerned about the fact that Kong Xuan, that trash, would actually disregard his own life in order to protect you. That's what I'm really concerned about … "
"… The people who killed your mother were me, Qing Xiong, and your father!" Chong Ming was furious. "But it is also because of this that you are able to see this world. You should be thanking us. How dare you accuse me now?"
Hongjun felt a chill run down his spine, straight to his scalp.
"Then why did you … adopt me?!" Hongjun felt that his soul was shattering under Chong Ming's words. He mercilessly revealed the inside story that he did not dare to think about. As he revealed the truth sentence by sentence, it was as if all the memories of the past in Dazzling Gold Palace were being torn apart in front of him!
Chong Ming sneered. "Xie Yu wanted to devour you and transform into the Devil Dragon to rule over China. How could I let him do as he wished?!"
"No." Hongjun said in a trembling voice, "It's not like that …"
Hongjun took another half step back, but Chong Ming said coldly, "Where do you think you're going? I've already given you a choice, but now you're the one who wants to come back! "
Just as Hongjun was about to leave, thousands of orange-red rays of strong light burst out from Chong Ming's hand and wrapped around his body. Hongjun roared, "Let me go!"
Chong Ming wrapped Hongjun with the strong light and grabbed him by the throat, pushing him to the corner of the hall. His eyes shone with golden light, and his voice became as deep as the sound of the heavens.
"I should've gotten rid of you long ago. There will be endless trouble in the future."
That voice was the last sentence Hongjun heard before he lost consciousness. In an instant, endless darkness rushed over and enveloped him.
He curled up in the corner of the main hall, while Chong Ming quietly watched his figure until the morning sun rose. He turned his head and saw a giant roc covered in golden light flying over from the mountains.
Early in the morning, Li Jinglong woke up to the pleasant chirping of birds and walked out of the room in a daze. He saw the clouds and mist lingering around and creeping into the Dazzling Golden Palace. The parasol tree forest outside had become a sea of clouds and mist. It was a magnificent sight.
Chong Ming walked in from outside the parasol tree forest, and behind him, birds were singing continuously.
"Mortal, I have something to say to you." Chong Ming's voice came from afar.
Li Jinglong hurried in and changed his clothes. He felt nervous for no reason, not because of Chong Ming's special identity, but because he was Hongjun's adoptive father.
The clouds and mist dispersed, and Chong Ming and Qing Xiong stood in the forest. In the past, Qing Xiong had taught Li Jinglong a set of fist techniques, and he remembered it. He hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed to the two. When he looked up at Chong Ming, he saw anger on his face, and Qing Xiong's expression was obviously not good. Li Jinglong did not see Hongjun, and he knew that there was trouble.
Sure enough, Chong Ming looked at Li Jinglong and said in a low voice, "The Mind's Lamp was not originally given to you."
Li Jinglong heard this, but his mind moved faster than Chong Ming, and he replied, "The child of the Chen family is not yet grown up, how can he control the Mind's Lamp? Since you need the power of the Mind's Lamp to dispel the demonic aura in Hongjun's body, what's wrong with letting me keep it and control it for the time being? "
Chong Ming did not expect to be stopped by Li Jinglong's words, and the atmosphere became very awkward.
"When I die one day," Li Jinglong looked at Qing Xiong and said slowly, "I will naturally return it."
Qing Xiong looked at Chong Ming, but Chong Ming said coldly, "No need, you can go down the mountain now. From now on, you have nothing to do with Dazzling Gold Palace. "
Li Jinglong, "!!!"
Li Jinglong knew something was wrong when he did not see Hongjun. He did not expect Chong Ming to directly ask him to leave.
"Where is Hongjun?" Li Jinglong immediately said, "I want to see him, let me see him and leave."
"Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit." Chong Ming's words had a hint of threat. "This is not a place for you to Chang 'an in the human world. You are just one of the billions of ants. Do you think that you dare to speak to me like this just because you have a broken sword that you picked up from the garbage collection?!"
While they were talking, Chong Ming did not make a move, but his aura was released and flames surrounded him. Li Jinglong subconsciously retreated and naturally raised the Mind's Lamp, reaching behind him with his right hand!
"Buzz." The wisdom sword seemed to have sensed something and shot through the window, landing in his hand. The flames were also in front of him! Li Jinglong blocked with his sword, but the high temperature hit him like a meteor crashing into the wisdom sword. Amidst the loud noise, Li Jinglong did not have time to make a move before his sword fell from his hand. Under the impact of this force, the Mind's Lamp was burned to ashes like a paper shield!
"Have mercy!" Qing Xiong shouted instantly.
Li Jinglong felt a dull pain in his chest and fell back, landing solidly in the corridor. For a moment, he was battered and exhausted, struggling to get up.
Chong Ming stared at Li Jinglong silently. After suffering such a blow, Li Jinglong felt that the difference between their cultivation levels was like the difference between heaven and earth. It was almost impossible for him to fight back.
"Get down the mountain." Chong Ming said, "Hongjun has already told you everything. He will not see you again."
Li Jinglong raised his head, but Chong Ming had already walked past him and left the garden.
Qing Xiong looked at Li Jinglong. After a long time, he sighed.
"Let's go," Qing Xiong replied, "Go back and Chang 'an. You will still be an exorcist."
Li Jinglong raised his head and stared at Qing Xiong in a daze. Qing Xiong raised his hand and a ray of light lit up around Li Jinglong. Then, with a flash of white light, the surrounding scenery changed rapidly. Li Jinglong appeared at the foot of the mountain nearly a hundred miles away.
The wisdom sword spun from the sky and fell rapidly, nailing into the ground with a clang.
Li Jinglong: "…"
In the Dazzling Gold Palace, Chong Ming sat silently on the throne.
Qing Xiong walked into the main hall and sized up Chong Ming.
"It didn't have to be like this," Qing Xiong said.
"It didn't have to be like this?" Chong Ming said in a low voice, "Back then, you were the one who urged him to go down the mountain. The reason was that the one who started the trouble needed to untie it. Now that the demonic aura has not been removed, it has become even stronger! It has even come to the Dazzling Gold Palace and is full of hostility! "
Qing Xiong replied, "You can hide it from him for a while, but you can't hide it from him forever."
Chong Ming seemed to be unable to restrain his anger. "Who was the one who assured me that the mortal could suppress the demonic seed in his body?! He can't even take one hit from me. What a piece of trash! "
"Who would have thought that you would use the Phoenix Primordial Fire to test your skills?!" Qing Xiong was also angry. He shouted, "The Heart's Lamp is not a killing technique. Don't you understand?!"
Chong Ming was even more irritable. He roared, "I won't let him leave the Dazzling Gold Palace again —!"
Qing Xiong stepped forward and said in a low voice, "The Hei Jiao split his soul and created a substitute for the demonic seed. Now, who knows how many of them are left in the world?! Do you think that Tianma won't come back to life if you protect Hongjun in the Dazzling Gold Palace?! "
"What does it have to do with me whether Tianma comes back to life or not?" Chong Ming stood up and walked down from the throne. He walked straight to Qing Xiong and stared at him coldly, almost touching his nose.
"Big Brother, you want to fight?" Qing Xiong sized up Chong Ming and suddenly laughed. "It's been many years since we fought. Why don't we go out and fight?"
Chong Ming finally dismissed the idea and pushed Qing Xiong away. Qing Xiong took a few steps back. Chong Ming said again, "How much remorse do I need to atone for the sins I committed in a moment of carelessness? When Tianma comes back to life, it will be the day of my death. Then, I will finally be able to face you and Kong Xuan. "
Qing Xiong pondered for a long time. When he was about to leave, Chong Ming looked at the mountains outside the palace and said slowly, "Seal his memory and let him stay in the Dazzling Gold Palace. When I pass away in the future, this place will be handed over to him. Now, I'm only worried that he will sit in this palace alone in the future. It will be too lonely. "
"I'll try my best." Qing Xiong sighed and replied, "The demonic seed is rampant. After going down the mountain and experiencing so many things, I'm afraid that it won't be sealed."
Chong Ming said, "Then, let him continue to hate me."
Hongjun woke up on the top of a lonely mountain and suddenly found himself in a pavilion. There was water and food around him. The pavilion stood on the top of the mountain and was only ten feet in radius. A thin chain was tied around his left ankle, making a clanking sound. His Five Colored Divine Light and Immortal Slaying Flying Dagger were all confiscated. He wanted to use fire spells but a pain spread from his back.
He grabbed a cup and poured the water on the ground. He turned his head to look and in the center of his bare back, there was a Phoenix rune that was mixed with cinnabar by gold powder. Every time he mobilized the mana in his meridians, the Phoenix rune would light up and suppress his spells.
He wanted to reach out to wipe it but the rune was right in the center of his back. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't touch it. He struggled to the pillar in the hall and turned around to rub his back against the pillar. He felt a burning pain but he couldn't wipe the rune off.
"Father …" Hongjun was helpless. He wanted to shout for Chong Ming to save him but realized that it was Chong Ming who locked him up here.
He dragged the chain and looked out of the lonely mountain. The Dazzling Gold Palace in the distance was a small black dot and the bottom of the mountain was covered by clouds. The mountain that trapped him was like a stone pillar. Compared to the Dazzling Gold Palace, the two places seemed to be about the same height. Even without the chain, he couldn't escape. If he tried to jump down, he would only be crushed.
"Li Jinglong —!" Hongjun shouted at the Dazzling Gold Palace.
There was no reply. Hongjun could only lean against the pillar and sit down weakly.
In the evening, Li Jinglong washed his face by the stream and looked at himself in the water.
In the Taihang Mountains, it started to rain and there was a little snow on the ground. He drank some water and rested for a while. He ate some dry food to replenish his energy and looked up to recognize the mountains that looked almost the same.
He carried the wisdom sword and walked in front of the narrow path filled with thorns. He noticed a bird on a tree and looked around. Its black eyes looked at him.
The bird jumped over the branch and jumped to another tree. A few more birds flapped their wings and flew into the forest.
Li Jinglong sighed and recognized the path that Hongjun came from. He walked towards the cliff of the canyon.
Chong Ming stood by the pool of the Dazzling Gold Palace and looked down at the pool with Qing Xiong.
"That's all there is to it," Chong Ming said coldly and turned to leave.
Qing Xiong transformed into a golden-winged roc and flew into the sky. He circled around and flew towards the west.
Hongjun heard the bird chirping in the pavilion on the peak. He looked up and shouted, "Qing Xiong! Qing Xiong —! "
The golden-winged roc flew over. Its head was three feet tall. When it spread its wings, it covered the entire pavilion. A strong wind blew. Hongjun kept pulling on the iron chain, afraid that the golden-winged roc couldn't see him. He shouted, "I'm here!"
With a flash of light, the roc's body shrank and turned into Qing Xiong's stalwart body. When he landed, he stepped on the railing of the pavilion and squatted down. He looked at Hongjun with pity in his eyes.
"Take me away from here!" Hongjun said, "Qing Xiong!"
Qing Xiong didn't answer. Hongjun knew that he must have heard the whole story from Chong Ming. His heart sank and he said, "Chong Ming told you everything?"
Qing Xiong lowered his head and nodded. He reached out and gently touched Hongjun's cheek. Then, he covered the side of his face with his palm.
"You must have suffered in the human world." Qing Xiong's tone was unusually calm.
Hongjun looked at Qing Xiong in a daze and then shook his head. Qing Xiong sat on the railing with his legs slightly apart. He still looked down and looked at him. Hongjun leaned against the opposite railing and sighed tiredly.
"Just like you told me before, the human world is good," Hongjun replied. "But what's good about it is different from what you said."
"The reason why the human world is good," Qing Xiong replied. "It's because of the people there. In comparison, Dazzling Gold Palace is like a cage. You should understand now why I'm always unwilling to come back. "
Hongjun still remembered last night when Li Jinglong asked him if he was willing to accompany him back to Chang 'an. He answered without thinking, "Yes."
"Mm." Hongjun nodded.
Qing Xiong sighed again and said, "Chong Ming has been alone for too long. Don't hate him."
Hongjun asked, "Where's Li Jinglong?"
"He left," Qing Xiong said, "We told him not to wait for you and to return to Chang 'an."
Hongjun suddenly looked up at Qing Xiong. Qing Xiong asked again, "Do you regret going to the human world?"
Hongjun replied, "No."
The wind and clouds dispersed and the setting sun shone in the west. The sea of clouds parted and the land of the Divine Continent appeared.
Qing Xiong whispered, "Hongjun, you know better than anyone, don't you?"
"When I was young, did I know Li Jinglong?" Hongjun asked.
Qing Xiong looked at Hongjun. They asked and answered each other. They understood each other without even saying it out loud.
After a long time, Qing Xiong nodded with a serious expression. His eyes were full of pity.
Along the way, Hongjun almost got all the answers he wanted. One answer after another completely shattered his hopes.
"Qing Xiong." Hongjun was very calm. He whispered, "You were the one who sealed my memories, weren't you?"
Li Jinglong, Di Renjie, the abandoned Exorcism Department … Qing Xiong was the first to arrive after the nightmare of his family being destroyed.
Hong Jun still had a vague impression of Qing Xiong kneeling on one knee, looking into his eyes and saying something. Then he pressed his palm on Hong Jun's face, and after a flash of white light, Hong Jun forgot the pain.
"Yes." Qing Xiong did not hide it from him. He said, "I sealed your and Li Jinglong's memories … because I didn't want you to live with pain. Kun Shen gave me the Mind Lamp. He said, 'The one who tied the bell needs to untie it.' I vaguely had a premonition. Maybe when you return to Chang 'an, you will meet Li Jinglong. But I didn't expect the Mind Lamp to enter his body. "
Hongjun said, "I also didn't expect your seal to disappear."
"It was an accident." Qing Xiong pondered for a moment, then answered, "The seal is an incantation. It's a poem I taught you to read when you were young … After smelling the Soul Leaving Pollen, you forgot the most important sentence and the memories of the past gradually emerged."
Hongjun was silent. He looked into Qing Xiong's eyes, his eyes red.
Qing Xiong said again, "Forget it. Staying in the Dazzling Gold Palace, you will only live in pain."
Hongjun's breathing stopped. Qing Xiong raised his left palm and a warm white light shone from his palm.
"Wait …" Hongjun said with a trembling voice, "I have something to ask you, Qing Xiong."
Qing Xiong looked at Hongjun. Hongjun's whole body was trembling. He said, "Qing Xiong, you can't have waited until the last moment to save me … Why didn't you come earlier? Did you know all this from the start … You just … You wanted to wait for me to die in their hands before bringing my father … back to the Dazzling Gold Palace? "
Qing Xiong turned his head to avoid Hongjun's gaze. Tears flowed down his face as he choked out, "Hongjun … I'm sorry."
Hongjun: "…"
In an instant, Hongjun received his final answer. The grief and indignation in his heart surged out like a flood!
However, Qing Xiong's left hand suddenly moved and pressed against his eyes!
"The living are passersby, the dead are returnees."
"Heaven and Earth are one journey back, grieving for eternity … Seal!"
Instantly, a memory flashed through Hongjun's mind.
"What does that mean?" Little Hongjun asked.
"This is a demon-sealing incantation." Qing Xiong explained, "Remember, don't forget it."
On the Star Cliff Jade Wall, Qing Xiong reclined on the smooth, slanted wall while Little Hongjun lay on Qing Xiong's body. Together, they gazed at the brilliant starry sky.
"The evil aura between heaven and earth does not dissipate. When it exceeds the limits of what the veins of heaven and earth can bear, it will scatter to the mortal realm and accumulate resentment to become a demon," Qing Xiong explained.
"What is evil aura?" Little Hongjun asked again.
Qing Xiong: "It's obsession."
Little Hongjun: "What obsession?"
"It's born of obsession. It's nothing more than life and death." Qing Xiong murmured as he explained, "Whether it's a demon or a human, the souls of all living things are all passersby in this vast world. Birth, old age, sickness, death, the seven emotions and six desires are nothing more than scenery on the road. After transcending life and death, there will be no more obsessions or inner demons. Without inner demons, Tianma will not appear. Remember? "
"I remember." Little Hongjun murmured to himself. Then, he turned around, lay on Qing Xiong's chest, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
On the top of the lonely peak, Qing Xiong unfolded a pair of sky-covering wings on his back. With a swoosh, he flapped his wings in all directions. White light and airflow swirled rapidly around him. Hongjun screamed in pain.
"Let me go —!" Hongjun kept struggling, but Qing Xiong's left palm emitted thousands of rays of light. The white light flowed along his forehead to his naked upper body and waist, and then to his entire body. Hongjun raised his hands and grabbed Qing Xiong's wrists tightly.
"You're all lying to me —" Hongjun's voice turned hoarse and strange. His eyes spewed out black smoke, and a pair of black wings spread out from his back. Hit by the black smoke, Qing Xiong couldn't withstand it and roared angrily, "Seal!"
Just as Hongjun was about to break through Qing Xiong's Demon Sealing Spell, the Phoenix rune on his back emitted a strong light.
In the main hall of Dazzling Gold Palace, Chong Ming's eyes widened.
In the blink of an eye, the pillars on the lonely peak collapsed under the impact of the demonic energy in Qing Xiong and Hongjun's bodies. Tiles and bricks flew everywhere. The demonic energy spread along Qing Xiong's arms and rolled toward his neck.
The demonic energy was like thorns, crisscrossing, causing golden blood to splatter all over Qing Xiong's body. Hongjun's eyes spewed out black flames, and he roared in a strange voice, "I'm going to kill you —!"
In an instant, a blazing flame appeared behind him, and a phoenix appeared within the golden flames. With a long cry, Halcyon flapped his phoenix wings, which could cover the sky, and shouted, "Break!" His hands then led the fire feathers to the center. Thousands of fire feathers stuck to Hongjun's body and burned into a ball of fire, forcing the demonic energy back into his body!
With a loud bang, the pavilion on the mountain collapsed. Hongjun fainted again and collapsed.
Qing Xiong couldn't stop gasping for breath. Chong Ming knelt on one knee and pressed one hand on the rune on Hongjun's back. He said in a low voice, "The demonic seed wasn't so rampant in the past. We can't let it go to the human world again."