The sky in Luoyang was dark and gloomy. The entire city was almost completely wiped out. All the corpses in front of the Ming Hall had been sucked dry by An Lushan. Black Bear Demon An Luzhuang pushed an iron cage with twenty people in it to the front of the steps of the Ming Hall.
A flock of crows came uninvited and lined up at the top of the Ming Hall. Their eyes were bright as they stared at An Lushan below.
The people of Luoyang all had numb expressions as they stared at An Lushan at the top of the steps. An Lushan's body was pitch-black and his flesh was beginning to fester.
An Lushan stared greedily at the cage as if he was looking at delicious food.
The bear demon took out a spear and ruthlessly stabbed it into the cage!
The one who was stabbed was a child. The long spear pierced through his body and he died instantly. Behind him was his mother. She immediately let out a heart-wrenching scream. A small demon opened the cage and dragged the woman in front of An Lushan.
An Lushan let out a wild roar as his entire head exploded, turning into rolling black Qi that wrapped around the woman. Immediately after, the woman screamed as her flesh withered at a visible speed. She had been sucked dry to death! The people in the cage had never seen such a scene. They immediately cried out in shock. Immediately after, An Lushan greedily pounced towards the large iron cage. The black Qi suddenly engulfed the entire cage.
The chilly wind howled and the square in front of the Ming Hall was like hell on earth!
The cries below were endless. Everyone in the side halls of the Ming Hall felt their hair stand on end. Hongjun's eyes were red and his anger was about to explode from the bottom of his heart.
Li Jinglong pressed down on his shoulder and said, "Prepare to take action. Go."
"Hongjun, let's go." Lu Xu flashed and hid beside Hongjun on the roof of the Ming Hall's East Hall. "Saving people is more important."
Hongjun looked at Li Jinglong who was leaning on the roof of the hall. Coincidentally, Li Jinglong also turned his head and the two looked at each other.
Li Jinglong pointed at his chest and then at Hongjun, giving him a thumbs up.
Hongjun knew what it meant: We protect each other.
Li Jinglong had a peacock tattoo on his heart, and Hongjun had a heart lamp on his heart meridian.
However, Hongjun also knew that Li Jinglong sent him away because he was about to step into An Lushan's trap and fall into the enemy's hands. In order to prevent him from acting rashly, he had to let him leave this place.
Hongjun nodded toward Li Jinglong, then together with Lu Xu, he leaped down from the Eastern Hall of the Ming Hall, spread out his arms, and leaped onto roofs and vaulted over walls to leave.
The Carp Demon turned around to leave with Hongjun, but Li Jinglong held it down with one hand.
"You stay here," Li Jinglong said in a deep voice.
"It's not like I can help you fight!" The Carp Demon thought of provoking Liang Danhuo and was scared out of his wits. "Spare me!"
Li Jinglong stared at the Carp Demon. The Carp Demon instantly felt the danger and could only say, "Fine."
"You have to choose a side," Li Jinglong said, "if you still want to return to the Exorcism Division."
The Carp Demon understood Li Jinglong's meaning and could only obediently nod.
After An Lushan finished absorbing the lives of everyone in the cage, the large iron cage was pushed away to transport the next batch of people. In fact, from the moment they entered the city until now, twenty people would be transported every fifteen minutes. An Lushan had been absorbing the evil aura day and night without stopping.
Liang Danhuo yawned, Chao Yun squatted outside the hall and took a nap. An Lushan and the bear demon exchanged a few words, and the bear demon began to flatter and laugh.
Hongjun and Lu Xu nervously stared at the iron cage from the top of the long corridor. They saw the iron cage push out of the Eastern Hall and arrive at the entrance to the underground palace at the northernmost part of the Ming Hall. At that time, the guards had already dragged out twenty people and had them enter the iron cage one by one.
When some people saw that there were only four guards, they immediately broke into a run. However, the guard was a wasp demon. With a slight movement, it shot out poisonous stingers from its mouth, killing the escapees on the spot.
Hongjun couldn't help but want to make a move, but Lu Xu held him back.
"This batch can't be saved!" Lu Xu said in a low voice.
Hongjun had to watch these people die an unnatural death. He only hated himself for not being able to do anything.
After the escapees were killed, the guards went in and dragged out two more people to fill the numbers. In the eyes of the demons, this process was nothing more than counting the chickens, ducks, and geese provided for food. After dragging everyone into the iron cage, the small demon pushed the large iron cage cart away with a bored expression.
The four guards sat on the ground, either sleeping or chatting.
When the iron cage cart was far away, Lu Xu and Hongjun got down, one on the left and one on the right. Hongjun threw out four throwing knives at the same time, nailing the four guards at the same time. Lu Xu swung his dagger and immediately slit the guard's throat.
The two of them almost silently took care of the four guards. Lu Xu was still looking for the key when Hongjun had already unsheathed his Mo Sword and slashed at the tightly locked door of the underground palace. The bronze lock fell down with a clang.
The two of them bowed and pushed open the huge bronze door. When they entered the underground palace, Hongjun released flames and panicked screams could be heard incessantly.
The entire underground palace was densely packed with nearly ten thousand people. It was crowded with people, and gradually, it returned to silence.
At the same time, in front of the Ming Hall.
When the iron cage cart was pushed over, the demon generals were still dozing off. This time, An Lushan chose a young couple. The man stood in front of his wife without any fear and angrily cursed An Lushan. Then, the bear demon directly entered the cage, causing a wave of panicked screams. It slapped the man to the ground and dragged the girl out.
The girl screamed loudly. Liang Danhuo was impatient. She pulled out her sword and stabbed it into the girl's abdomen.
The man struggled and grabbed the iron cage door, roaring crazily. An Lushan laughed loudly. His head turned into black gas and pounced on the man, entangling him and beginning to absorb his resentment and pain. When the people in the iron cage saw An Lushan suddenly turn into a monster with only a huge body and no head, its neck turned into a rolling black gas that sucked on flesh and blood, they immediately screamed in fear.
Just as the iron cage was about to turn into purgatory again, an arrow rushed over a hundred steps and shot An Lushan with a resplendent white light!
"Enemy attack!" Liang Danhuo shouted angrily.
Chao Yun was suddenly jolted awake. She looked left and right. The bear demon instantly roared and flipped the cage over, turning into a huge monster on the ground.
Mo Rigen, Atay, Trandol, and Ashina Chong rushed over first. Mo Rigen's Nailhead Arrow spun and shot at the bear demon. The bear demon rushed over quickly like a mountain, trying to catch Mo Rigen. Everyone spun in the air. Atay turned on the fan and blew the exorcists away.
They were not afraid of the bear demon at all. After all, although the bear demon was brave, it was only brute force. The real problem was Liang Danhuo behind it. At that moment, Liang Danhuo's eyes widened in anger and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Countless blood-like malicious spirits appeared in the blood mist and pounced on everyone!
Li Jinglong had already learned of Liang Danhuo's methods from the Carp Demon, so he was prepared in advance. He immediately shouted, "Cast the net!"
The exorcists stayed behind in Trandol to deal with the black bear while they went forward at the same time. Atay spread his arms and spun, flying up from the ground. He formed a Fire Seal with one hand and chanted an incantation. He shook the Black Wind Fan —
A hurricane swept across the square, and the flames exploded, turning the square into a sea of fire. Ashina Chong and Mo Rigen released the people from the cages and shouted, "Run!"
The Blood Refined Baleful Ghosts released by Liang Danhuo were all engulfed by the flames. She immediately rose into the air and chased after Atay!
As soon as Liang Danhuo rose into the air, Atay threw something at her and it hit her face. The thing that flew over was actually a carp. It kept flapping its wings and shouted, "Save me!"
Liang Danhuo: "…"
Liang Danhuo grabbed the Carp Demon from her face. The Carp Demon shouted, "It really has nothing to do with me!" As it spoke, it held a dagger in its hand and pointed it at Liang Danhuo's neck. It kept trembling, but no matter how hard it tried, it could not stab it.
Liang Danhuo instantly understood and shouted angrily, "You traitor! Traitor! "
"Save me! Save me! " The Carp Demon was caught by Liang Danhuo, and its tail kept flapping. It was so scared that it wanted to die. In the end, it had no choice but to stab the dagger at Liang Danhuo's neck.
"Ding!" The dagger broke. Liang Danhuo was so angry that she screamed hysterically, "Traitor!" Then, she slapped the Carp Demon away. Atay flew over and raised his hand to catch it. He smiled and said, "This is our boss! Show some respect! "
Then, Atay grabbed the Carp Demon and threw it at Liang Danhuo. The Carp Demon was already unconscious. "Swoosh!" It drew an arc and smashed into Liang Danhuo's chest.
Liang Danhuo shouted angrily, "Bastard!"
The Carp Demon woke up when it smashed into Liang Danhuo's body. Liang Danhuo grabbed its leg and Atay flew around again. She was so confused that she did not know how to fight this battle. Atay even made a face at her. Liang Danhuo could no longer control her anger. She directly threw the Carp Demon at Atay!
Ah Tai, on the other hand, was agile. He caught the carp monster again and threw it back, hitting Liang Danhuo's buttocks. The two of them tossed the carp around. Liang Danhuo finally couldn't take it anymore. He shook his sword and shouted, "Are you done playing?!"
Atay saw Liang Danhuo unsheathe her sword and sent the Carp Demon away with his fan. They began to fight seriously.
On the ground, Trandol held a long whip and faced the black bear that was glaring at them covetously.
"Come on!" Trandol swung the long whip and slapped it on the ground. The black bear roared and charged at Trandol on all fours.
Trandol's long whip cracked as he led the black bear to the corner of the square. The black bear jumped up and buried its head in the ground. Suddenly, the wall collapsed. Before it turned around, Trandol had already lashed out with his whip.
The whip was called the "Whip of Unbearable Pain". It was a divine weapon from the Western Regions. Its lethality was naturally inferior to magical weapons like the Nailhead Seven Arrows. For Li Jinglong, who had a firm mind and the Mind's Lamp, it was even less effective. However, as long as a mortal or a demon was hit, although they would not die, they would suffer unbearable pain in an instant.
This whip was simply tailor-made for the bear demon, the tiger demon, and other big demons. Everyone discussed and felt that if Trandol were to take action, it would definitely be twice the result with half the effort. Sure enough, the bear demon roared madly after being whipped. It turned around and charged at Tran Duo, but Tran Duo lashed out with her whip again.
The bear demon charged here and there and was whipped by Trandol more than ten times. Tears streamed down its face as it howled in pain. Finally, fear grew in its heart. Trandol flicked the whip and it instantly covered the sky. There was nowhere to hide. If the bear demon was whipped like this, it would die on the spot.
It screamed and felt fear. It turned around and rushed out of the gap in the wall.
"Why are you running? Come back! Weren't you very arrogant? " Trandol smiled and flicked the whip. With another "Pa" sound, it chased after the bear demon and rushed out of the Ming Hall!
In the sea of fire, the frightened people scattered. Mo Rigen and Ashina Chong, one on the left and one on the right, drew their bows and shot out flying knives, aiming at An Lushan on the steps. Li Jinglong held the Sword of Wisdom and walked over through the sea of fire.
An Lushan's head returned to its original state. He raised his head and roared in the sea of fire. He reached out and grabbed the arrow nailed to his heart, pulled it out, and threw it on the ground. Chao Yun guarded An Lushan's side and stared at the three people below the steps vigilantly.
An Lushan said in a hoarse voice, "You deal with them. Leave Li Jinglong to me!"
Chao Yun turned into a snake and rushed towards Ashina Chong and Mo Rigen, falling into a fight.
Li Jinglong held his sword with both hands and faced An Lushan from afar. An Lushan said, "I finally see you again — — Chief Exorcist."
Li Jinglong said in a deep voice, "You were lucky to escape with your life that day. Today, I won't let you go. Die! An Lushan! "
Li Jinglong roared in anger. An Lushan shouted crazily and threw the corpse in front of him to the side. He jumped down the steps and rushed towards Li Jinglong! This move was greatly out of Li Jinglong's expectations. He thought that it would be a clash between the Devil Qi and the Mind's Lantern, but he didn't expect that An Lushan would fight him hand-to-hand!
An Lushan's body trembled and he collided with Li Jinglong with a roar. He punched the ground, causing the bricks and stones to shatter and splatter everywhere. Li Jinglong quickly stepped on An Lushan's arm and rushed onto his shoulder. He flew to his back and stabbed the Wisdom Sword into his body.
The Wisdom Sword immediately went along the back of An Lushan's neck and entered the sword hilt. Li Jinglong released the power of the Mind's Lantern and injected it into the sword. An Lushan kept trembling and his body emitted white light.
The Devil Qi suddenly exploded and engulfed the entire square. The Mind's Demon appeared again and left An Lushan's body. It roared towards the sky. Li Jinglong gritted his teeth and used all his strength. His body shone brightly and the strong light continued to increase. Blazing flames shot out from between his brows …
"Foolish mortal … You're delusional to control the power of the gods …"
The Mind's Demon spoke slowly. Its voice was earth-shattering. The shadow of the Mind's Demon that appeared in the square opened its arms and all the bricks and stones in the square crumbled at the same time!
A strange array appeared on the ground and started to rotate. Li Jinglong suddenly opened his eyes wide and felt his body collapse uncontrollably. A huge force was pressing down on his body. It was as if his weight had suddenly increased tenfold or even hundredfold.
In the sky and on the ground, Atay and Liang Danhuo, who were above the array, couldn't help but suddenly fall. While Mo Rigen was fighting with Ashina Qiong, as well as the Transformed Snake, he felt a sudden pressure pressing down on him. His entire body was pressed against the ground!
"I can't move —!" Ashina Chong roared.
The two of them were pressed to the ground. Hua She tried its best to roll around, but its wings couldn't move.
Liang Danhuo and Atay fell at the same time and landed heavily on the square.
Li Jinglong roared angrily and white flames erupted from his body. An Lushan's body slowly raised its arm and grabbed Li Jinglong's neck. With a roar, it pulled him off his back and threw him to the ground!
With a loud sound, Li Jinglong spat out a mouthful of blood. The Wisdom Sword fell from his hand and fell far away.
In the back garden at the northwest corner of the Ming Hall, Hongjun used his Mo Sword to cut open the wall. When he turned back with Lu Xu, they saw a black aura rising into the sky in front of the Ming Hall.
Lu Xu knew that Hongjun wanted to go back. He hurriedly pulled him back and said, "Follow the plan! Don't be rash! "
"Go … Go quickly!" Hongjun shouted at the retreating commoners. "Leave the south of the city! Follow the Yellow River! Quick! "
There was a rumbling sound in the distance, as if something had fallen. The commoners finally all retreated. Lu Xu and Hongjun also left the Ming Hall. Lu Xu flipped over and climbed up the seven-story pagoda in the northeast of the Ming Hall. He and Hongjun looked into the distance.
They saw that the huge square in front of the Ming Hall had already collapsed. The bricks and stones were scattered all over the place. The black aura that filled the sky retreated towards the center. The world returned to silence.
At the top of the Ming Hall, a flame flew out. That was the signal to retreat.
"They succeeded. Let's go!" Lu Xu said.
Hongjun looked at the square in front of the Ming Hall from afar. He couldn't recognize Li Jinglong and could only follow Lu Xu. They jumped down the seven-story pagoda and went to the designated location to meet up with their companions.