Within the abyss, Hongjun and Li Jinglong could feel the entire world spinning. A mysterious and powerful force was dragging the formation beneath their feet and the mountain rocks into the distance!
Within the Dragon Subduing Pagoda, all the pillars of light were moving. The mountains rumbled and the waves surged.
Light and shadow flashed, and the stars moved.
Spring, 14th year of Tianbao.
Mo Rigen and Lu Xu left Youzhou and rushed back to Chang 'an to report to Crown Prince Li Heng about the urgent military situation in Youzhou.
Atay and Trandol entered the depths of Taihu Lake and discovered an ancient altar.
Within the Dragon Subduing Pagoda, Hongjun looked at Li Jinglong.
Hongjun asked, "How do we go up later?"
Li Jinglong said, "I don't know! Yongsi shouldn't care about killing and burying! Focus on controlling the formation! "
Li Jinglong had already moved behind Hongjun. All the runes were aligned, and energy surged towards Hongjun. Hongjun connected the energy of the earth veins, and the formation shone brightly.
The two had already moved to the center of the Dragon Transformation Pond. Countless flood dragons flew over, wanting to attack the formation. However, the pond water covered the sky and attacked the approaching flood dragons!
Summer, 14th year of Tianbao, June.
Mo Rigen, Lu Xu, Atay, and Trandol returned to West Lake. The Crown Prince's special envoy also came. Suddenly, the Dragon Subduing Pagoda shot out a beam of light that reached the sky for nine days and nights.
Li Longji sent an imperial envoy to Youzhou to summon An Lushan, but he was killed by An Lushan.
Summer, 14th year of Tianbao, 17th day of the ninth month.
The Exorcism Division returned to Chang 'an, and Yang Guozhong went to court.
Summer, 14th year of Tianbao, 23rd day of the tenth month.
An Lushan, Luo, Xi, Khitan, Shiwei, and other races declared war on Yang Guozhong. They claimed that there was a demon in the court that controlled the Emperor.
Within the Dragon Subduing Pagoda, the formation had already been restored. Li Jinglong quickly rushed in and held hands with Hongjun. The two of them raised their heads together and looked up.
At the top of the tower, Ashina Chong shouted, "It's not over yet?!"
The Ashina Chong had already used up all of its strength. It spread its flaming wings, protecting Qiu Yongsi and the formation in the center. The flood dragon souls attacked from all directions, and the God of War's flaming wings were on the verge of collapse!
"Retreat!" Qiu Yongsi shouted.
Bahram withdrew its flaming wings, and Qiu Yongsi flew up. With a turn of his body, talismans flashed with lightning and scattered in all directions, accompanied by Ye Ming's wild roar.
In an instant, Ye Ming rushed to the top of the tower. With a long roar, he turned around and charged down, crashing into the center of the platform. Qiu Yongsi leapt toward Ashina Chong, grabbed his wrist, and flipped him over. The platform in the air shattered and collapsed toward the ground. Ashina Chong grabbed onto the edge of the platform, and the two of them slid to the end.
The Dragon King's roar shook the heavens and earth!
The pillars of light from each floor overlapped. Ye Ming charged through the pillar of light from the eighth floor, his body exploding with light powder that scattered toward the eighth floor. In the blink of an eye, the Dragon God charged into the seventh floor once more. The light powder turned into rings that gently dispersed.
The sixth layer, the fifth layer — one layer after another. Wherever the groaning sound passed, the passageway was once again forcefully pierced through. The bone ashes turned into a river of stars, infusing its powerful Time Flow Dragon Power into every layer, turning into rotating stars, connecting layer by layer like the Milky Way.
The second floor, the abyss!
The dragon's roar gradually approached. Li Jinglong and Hongjun raised their heads at the same time. Ye Ming's flashing body illuminated the entire abyss as he arrived before them in an instant.
"Let's go!" Ye Ming roared.
Hongjun only saw a flash in front of his eyes, and he immediately grabbed Li Jinglong tightly. The two of them hugged each other tightly, and a hurricane of energy rose up from the ground, sending them to the second floor.
On the ninth day of the eleventh month of the fourteenth year of Tianbao.
An Lushan claimed that they were "worried about the danger of the country" and started a rebellion. They led an army of two hundred thousand to the west, and the provinces and counties of Hebei were defeated without a fight.
In Li Mountain's Pure Flowers Palace, the sound of music and bamboo flutes filled the air.
Feng Changqing received the military report and went to Pure Flowers Palace.
The curtains to the great battle known as the "An Lushan Rebellion" officially opened.
The abyss passageway disappeared with a hum.
When they entered the third floor, the two of them were in midair. Hongjun was almost flung out, but Li Jinglong turned around and grabbed his wrist. The passageway to the second floor disappeared.
The pillars of light were extinguished one after another. They passed through the twinkling stars and continued to rise. In the end, they were fiercely ejected from the ninth floor. Hongjun shouted as he was thrown to the ground, crashing into Li Jinglong's chest.
Li Jinglong's ribs were almost broken from the impact. He couldn't get up for a long time.
The various floors returned to their original positions. Qiu Yongsi raised his head and saw a void appear at the top of the sky. The river of stars spun, and the sky was round and the earth was round. It was as gorgeous and magnificent as an armillary sphere.
"Everyone, farewell forever." Ye Ming's voice came from the depths of the earth.
In the abyss, there was a loud sound. Darkness surged as the Dragon God entered the darkness for eternity.
The brambles scattered and bricks flew over to rebuild the ninth floor of the pagoda. It blossomed with colorful light under the river of stars.
Everyone lay at the bottom of the pagoda and looked up at the starry sky. They let out a tired sigh.
"It's so beautiful." Hongjun murmured. This place was chaotic before, but now it looked like a paradise.
"Let's go! We'll talk after we get out of the pagoda! " Li Jinglong stood up. They were truly in a race against time. Qiu Yongsi gasped for breath. "Let me rest for a while."
"You can't rest!" Li Jinglong said. "Who knows what happened outside? We'll rest after we get out. "
Qiu Yongsi struggled to get up. "Let's go to the top of the pagoda. We'll leave from there."
Ashina Chong said, "We can finally leave the pagoda. I need to go drink."
Hongjun thanked the heavens and earth. He really didn't want to stay in this prison any longer. He asked, "How long has it been?"
Ashina Chong said, "Seven days in the human world."
Qiu Yongsi said, "When the barrier was restored, the time was messed up. Maybe it took longer than expected …"
"Hurry up and cast the spell." Li Jinglong said.
"What if it's too cold outside and we don't have anything to wear …"
"Hurry up and cast the spell!" The three of them shouted at Qiu Yongsi. "Don't be so long-winded!"
Qiu Yongsi struggled to cast the spell. A blue light enveloped the three of them.
With a buzzing sound, outside the Dragon-Subduing Pagoda, a blue light shot up into the sky. The four of them were transported back to the human world.
On the seventh day of the twelfth month of the fourteenth year of Tianbao, Hangzhou, Fuyun Villa.
"It really is winter!" Hongjun said. "It's been half a year!"
Small pieces of snow fell from the sky. The cold wind blew and snowflakes swirled in the air.
"It's one and a half years." Qiu Qiu's voice said.
"Grandpa!" Qiu Yongsi shouted excitedly. "You're still alive!"
Everyone was speechless.
Li Jinglong saw that the others weren't there and said, "Didn't we agree to wait in the villa a year later? Where are they? "
Qiu Qiu said, "Marquis Yadan, do you want to hear the news now or later?"
Li Jinglong was exhausted. He sat down on the steps in front of the spell and said, "Elder Qiu, let's hear the good news first."
Qiu Qiu said, "There's no good news, only bad news."
Li Jinglong raised his head and looked at Qiu Qiu.
"An Lushan rebelled." Qiu Qiu replied.
The Fisherman's Frown came agitatedly, breaking the Rainbow Feather Dress.
Two hours later, Li Jinglong and the others each took a bath. Qiu Yongsi exhausted too much of his magic and fell asleep in his room. Ashina Chong dried her hair and looked at the large number of letters spread out on the table with Li Jinglong and Hongjun.
These were urgent letters sent by the Exorcism Division from July last year to the end of November this year. They recorded the changes in the situation in the north for a whole year and a half.
"Seventeen months." Li Jinglong murmured, "An Lushan is staking everything on one throw."
"Right now, the whole of Hebei has surrendered." Qiu Qiu stroked his beard and said, "An Lushan sent out the Tang Army and the allied forces of the northern tribes. So far, no demons have come out to battle."
"That's quite smart." Li Jinglong said.
Once the demons came out to battle, the exorcists would be attracted. An Lushan hid in the rear and didn't come out to battle. The Tang Army under the command of the mortal generals fought against the Tang Dynasty army. Even the Northern Hu tribe directly joined the battle. In this way, Mo Rigen and the others couldn't transform into the Grey Wolf and bite the mortal army on the battlefield. Atay also couldn't use magic to bombard the enemy army.
"Let me look at the map."
The butler opened the map. Hongjun said, "Let's go to the rear and take An Lushan?"
"There's no hurry." Li Jinglong said, "An Lushan has just raised its army and must be heavily guarded. Breaking into the rear isn't the best way … Let's go to Luoyang first and meet up with Atay and the others."
"Thank you for your hard work." Qiu Qiu said, "We just came out of the pagoda and have to run around again."
Li Jinglong sighed and smiled, "This life is a life of hard work. There's no other way."
Qiu Yongsi's vitality was greatly damaged after casting the magic array and needed to recuperate. Li Jinglong went to take a look before leaving. He didn't know that Qiu Yongsi's condition was so serious and felt apologetic. Just as he was about to say something, Qiu Yongsi said, "You did the right thing. Fortunately, we came out as soon as possible. If we stayed here for half a day, Luoyang might have been gone."
"You should rest at home." Li Jinglong thought about it. Qiu Yongsi's real mission was to deal with Xie Yu. Yang Guozhong had returned to Chang 'an and the situation was still unclear. He really needed to conserve his energy.
"I'll go to Guanzhong to meet you guys when I'm slightly better." Qiu Yongsi said.
Li Jinglong made preparations. That night, Qiu Qiu ordered people to arrange for a fast boat to take them out of the canal and north. After boarding the boat, the three of them heaved a sigh of relief and finally had a chance to rest.
Hongjun read the letters one by one. Among the information sent by Mo Rigen, there were a few letters written by Lu Xu. In his mind, the image of Mo Rigen teaching Lu Xu how to write appeared.
They hadn't seen each other for more than a year. To Hongjun, although it had only been a short seven days, he missed them dearly. Lu Xu, Atay, and the others had been separated from them for a long time, so they must miss them even more.
Deep in the night, everything was silent. Hongjun leaned over the table and watched as Li Jinglong carefully read every letter. Hongjun asked, "Is there going to be a war?"
"We're not going to war." Li Jinglong said, "We're exorcists. We can only subdue demons and exorcise demons. We can't participate in the war unless An Lushan sends demons to kill people. "
"Why is there such a strange saying?" Hongjun said, "Is it a rule left behind by Di Renjie?"
"Di Gong left it behind." Li Jinglong sighed and said, "Kun Shen also reminded me that if I were to directly participate in a war between mortals as an exorcist, the war would turn into a massacre. This would violate the laws of heaven. Everything has its own destiny, and it cannot be changed. "
Hongjun nodded. Li Jinglong said, "Mo Rigen mentioned that there's an unstable spy in An Lushan's camp. Who do you think it is?"
Hongjun frowned and shook his head. He couldn't figure it out.
Mo Rigen didn't mention a specific name. Li Jinglong guessed that it might be the Carp Demon, Zhao Zilong. However, he couldn't come to a conclusion. He also knew that Mo Rigen's intention was to prevent him from using this matter as a turning point to determine the outcome of the war, so he could only let it go.
"You go to sleep first." Li Jinglong looked at Hongjun and yawned. He said, "I still have to be busy for a while."
"Okay." Hongjun leaned over the table and looked at him with a smile. He thought of the past, when the two of them went to Dunhuang in the desert. In the city of Liangzhou, the wind whistled and Li Jinglong wrote letters every night, so he let him sleep first.
"I'll stay with you." Hongjun replied.
Li Jinglong rubbed Hongjun's head. Before long, Hongjun couldn't resist the urge to sleep. After all, the time in the pagoda was too tiring. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.
In the winter night, the wind on the Grand Canal was biting cold. It was as if countless ghosts were howling as they circled around the ship.
When Hongjun fell into a deep sleep, Li Jinglong picked him up and carried him to the couch. He gently kissed his lips and then sat down on the couch with his clothes on. He flipped open the analysis of the Luoyang region and compared it with the military reports.
At this time, Guo Ziyi had been quickly appointed as the Shuofang Jiedushi. He gathered the Shuofang army and headed east to meet An Lushan. Feng Changqing was reactivated by Li Longji to be the Fanyang Jiedushi, which was An Lushan's original official position. He mobilized troops in Chang 'an and Luoyang to resist.
Geshu Han mobilized the Liangzhou army to guard against a pincer attack by the Tujue, increasing the number of troops defending Liangzhou.
If Li Jinglong were to guess the battle situation, Feng Changqing and Guo Ziyi working together to fight An Lushan should not lose. The letter Feng Changqing sent to Hangzhou requested that he head to Luoyang and not take the sea route to Youzhou to ambush An Lushan. After all, since An Lushan dared to raise troops, he must have made preparations and was waiting for Li Jinglong to walk right into the trap.
The vanguard was Shi Siming. In terms of battle, Shi Siming was no match for the veteran Guo Ziyi and Feng Changqing. An Lushan could not possibly not show himself. As long as he left Fanyang and headed south, it would be the perfect opportunity to kill him.
However, the Six Tools of Immovable Wisdom King that he originally thought would not recognize him as its master made Li Jinglong very depressed. However, just like that night when he intercepted and killed Xie Yu, as long as he set up the trap, it would not be too difficult to use the Heart Lantern to purify An Lushan's remaining demonic energy.
Hongjun was already fast asleep. Li Jinglong took out the Demon Binding Rope from his bag and spread it out on the table. For a moment, he was silent.
In the darkness of the night, the world was pitch-black. Flocks of birds flew to the peak of Taihang Mountain.
They were densely packed, covering the sky and the earth. On this night, flocks of birds covered the roof of the palace, the corridor, the mountain, the forest, and all the way to the top.
Chong Ming stood on the high platform and looked to the east. Qing Xiong slowly walked over from behind him.
"This is all that I can gather," Qing Xiong said.
"Still not enough," Chong Ming coldly replied.
Kun Shen sat on the edge of the pool, one hand immersed in the cold water. He muttered, "They must have already come out of the Dragon Subduing Pagoda. Li Jinglong must have already gone north to Luoyang."
"Rely on that mortal?" Chong Ming's voice was full of ridicule.
Qing Xiong replied, "The power of that mortal may be the only way to break this fate."
Chong Ming said, "I will not place my hopes on that mortal. The time is near. Kun Shen, you must be able to see the future not far from now."
"I see slaughter, blood, and demonic energy." Kun Shen sighed and said, "You are right, Chong Ming. All of our efforts are nothing more than lies to ourselves and others. Fate cannot be changed. Everything is still moving towards the fixed future."