At the mouth of the seven earth veins, one of the earth veins arrays in the northwest of Luoyang collapsed with a loud noise.
"Hongjun!" The Demon Carp cried out madly and rushed forward. The Babel Pagoda collapsed step by step, disintegrating in all directions. The pillar of light disappeared in an instant.
Lu Xu stood at the top of the Ode Monument. He suddenly turned his head and saw the Babel Stupa collapse.
In front of the Ding Ding Gate, Atay immediately turned his head.
On the Tianjin Bridge, Trandol was controlling the array. He said with a trembling voice, "What's going on?!"
"Hongjun!" the Ashina Chong shouted.
On the altar of heaven in the Ming Hall, a strong light rolled back and burned Li Jinglong's body. Li Jinglong controlled An Lushan with his left hand and held the sword with his right hand. The sword couldn't stab down, and he felt his consciousness being pulled out of his body bit by bit. He had lost control of the God Summoning, and the God had left his body and looked down at Li Jinglong from above.
Li Jinglong's soul was being examined by Dipankara. Dipankara made a seal with his left hand and reached out with his right hand into Li Jinglong's heart. Just as the God's hand entered his body —
On Li Jinglong's chest, the peacock seal suddenly glowed and resisted Dipankara's invasion!
In this stalemate, Li Jinglong was in great pain.
"Why …" Li Jinglong said with a trembling voice, "Why … Why …"
The raging energy in the distance spread rapidly, and the earth veins arrays collapsed one after another. It quickly spread to the top of the Ming Hall! The blue light suddenly retracted into the ground with a loud noise. The power of Dipankara's God Summoning disappeared, and Li Jinglong felt all his energy being sucked away. Then, his vision turned black, and he fell from a height of nearly ten feet!
With a long hiss, he turned into a snake and spread his wings to fly up!
An Lushan was buried in the rubble. All the blue earth veins dimmed and disappeared completely. In the distance, the Big Dipper Array disappeared completely. The buildings collapsed one after another, and the exorcists fled.
When the Babel Stupa collapsed, it shook the heavens and the earth. Dust flew up into the clouds, scattering all the buildings in all directions.
"Hongjun!" The Carp Demon shouted in panic.
Hongjun was crushed under the rubble, unconscious. Xiang Yu rushed over and hurriedly moved the beams and bricks away.
"Your Highness!" Xiang Yu shouted.
Lu Xu rushed to the front and shouted, "What the hell happened?!"
The Carp Demon stuttered as he tried to explain. Lu Xu carried Hongjun out of the ruins, but Xiang Yu instantly turned around and stood in front of the two of them.
After the Babel Stupa collapsed, the smoke and dust dispersed. More than a hundred demonic beasts appeared from all directions. Each of them was eyeing them covetously, staring at them in front of the ruins.
Liang Danhuo was the first to walk over, blood mist surrounding her.
"Let's go," Xiang Yu whispered.
Lu Xu: "…"
"Take the Young Highness away," Xiang Yu whispered. "Don't tell him."
After saying that, Xiang Yu slowly walked toward Liang Danhuo. She was dressed in a white robe, and her long skirt was draped over the snow, as if it was the same color as the pure white snow.
The Transformed Serpents hissed and flew across the sky. Accompanied by An Lushan's world-ending roar, the Transformed Serpents flew north over Luoyang City. The fierce wind carried the fiercest cold wave after winter. It traveled south at lightning speed. Wherever it passed, rivers, lakes, and seas were instantly frozen.
On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, in the fourteenth year of Tianbao, Luoyang City completely fell. The Exorcism Department of the Tang Dynasty failed in their mission to eliminate demons and fled Luoyang in panic.
The biting cold north wind was like countless flying daggers of the God of Creation. It flew all the way to the south, falling from the sky and hitting every town and village in the Divine Great Land. Black smoke filled the air. The flames of war had swallowed lives and tore off hope. The two hundred thousand Tang soldiers in Hebei Road and Henan Road were defeated immediately. The Fanyang rebels were like wolves in a flock of sheep.
Nine out of ten houses in the Central Plains were empty. Starving people were everywhere, and groups of gluttonous dogs were everywhere. The north and south of the Yellow River were scorched.
On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, in the fourteenth year of Tianbao.
Hongjun's fingers moved slightly, and he suddenly woke up from a deep sleep. He gasped with difficulty. He was so cold that his whole body trembled. It was as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
He had a splitting headache. When he lowered his head, he found that he was naked. The bruises on his body hurt uncontrollably when he moved. His whole body was boiling hot, as if he had a fever. His clothes were folded on the table beside the couch.
"Is anyone here?" Hongjun groaned.
He saw that there was water on the table. He reached out and drank it. The water was very cold. After drinking a big bowl, he finally felt better. He got up and put on his clothes. As soon as he got off the bed, he staggered. Suddenly, he heard a noise outside. Hongjun was about to open the door when the cold air rushed in. His throat constricted and he couldn't speak.
Outside the room, Lu Xu was chopping firewood. When he heard the noise, he hurried in. The two of them stared at each other for a moment.
"You're awake." Lu Xu was actually a little nervous.
"Where is this?" Hongjun's head began to hurt again. The last thing he remembered was the change in the array.
"Northwest Shan County." Lu Xu hurriedly helped Hongjun into the room. "You have a fever. Rest for a while. Da Lang went up the mountain to find medicine for you."
Hongjun nodded and looked at Lu Xu.
"You know what I want to ask," Hongjun said.
"Li Jinglong is fine." Lu Xu let Hongjun lie back on the bed. He glanced at him and said, "He's a little injured and is recuperating. He fell asleep just now. Don't wake him up."
Hongjun knew that Lu Xu would never lie to him. He nodded and lay down again, moaning, "I feel so bad …"
Lu Xu frowned deeply and touched Hongjun's forehead.
"Did it work?" Hongjun asked.
"It failed." Lu Xu whispered, "But fortunately, everyone is still alive."
When Hongjun heard this, he finally heaved a sigh of relief and fell asleep once again.
This sleep seemed to last longer than when he was unconscious. Hongjun could faintly hear Mo Rigen and Lu Xu talking. Lu Xu said, "He woke up once …"
Mo Rigen said, "He'll be fine after drinking this medicine … Wake him up to drink the medicine and eat something."
Hongjun opened his eyes in a daze. Mo Rigen supported him while Lu Xu held a bowl and fed him the medicine. The two of them cooperated well. After a while, Hongjun finished drinking the medicine. The Carp Demon's voice asked again, "Is Hongjun awake?"
"Shh." Lu Xu said, "Let him sleep for a while more. Leave the food here."
The Carp Demon said, "Also, over there …"
"Keep your voice down," Mo Rigen said in a low voice.
Hongjun lay down weakly again. Mo Rigen got up and left.
After drinking the medicine, Hongjun was sweating all over. His fever gradually subsided, but he felt a little weak. Lu Xu laid down on the floor and fell asleep. Hongjun opened his eyes and felt a little more awake. He quietly got up to eat.
On the table was a bowl of egg porridge made by the Carp Demon.
"Li Jinglong is next door." Lu Xu turned over and said, "Go and accompany him when you're done."
Hongjun nodded. He put away the bowl and chopsticks and walked out of the bedroom. He found that this was a private house. The north wind howled at night, and the world was pitch black. He couldn't see the stars or the moon. There were only two rooms, and there were many bloodstains at the foot of the wall.
He paused in front of the bloodstains for a moment. He went to the room next door and gently knocked on the door. Mo Rigen came out to open the door with his upper body bare.
"Are you done?" Mo Rigen asked in a low voice. He didn't let Hongjun in. Hongjun looked inside. Mo Rigen wanted to say something, but the person inside asked, "Is it Hongjun?"
"Jinglong!" Hongjun hurriedly flashed past Mo Rigen and rushed in like a gust of wind. Mo Rigen turned around and went out, closing the door behind him.
Hongjun lit the oil lamp, and the room was dimly lit. This room was much colder than his and Lu Xu's room. The firewood seemed to have been taken to the next room. It was damp and cold on a snowy day. Li Jinglong lay on the bed and turned his head to look at him in a daze.
Hongjun threw himself in front of the bed and touched Li Jinglong's forehead. Li Jinglong smiled tiredly.
"I'm sorry, I failed again." Li Jinglong said.
Hongjun didn't say anything. He put his hand under the quilt and held Li Jinglong's hand. Li Jinglong's hand only moved slightly, as if lifting a finger had used up all his strength. Hongjun followed his palm to the pulse on his wrist and pressed it gently. Li Jinglong turned his head with difficulty and looked at Hongjun. His breathing was very weak.
They didn't say anything. They were just silent, but Hongjun already knew the cruel truth.
— — Li Jinglong was crippled.
His meridians were completely destroyed by the energy of the ley line. His martial arts were scattered. From now on, he could only lie in bed and become a cripple who couldn't live independently.
"Can you sit up?" Hongjun whispered, "Let me see."
He lifted Li Jinglong's quilt and saw that his upper body was bare and his shoulders were splinted.
"I've taken the medicine." Li Jinglong said, "Lu Xu found it in your medicine bag."
"The effect won't be good if you take too much." Hongjun said, "This is the second time you've taken the Fire Revolving Pill."
Li Jinglong smiled bitterly, "He ate it all."
Li Jinglong's shoulder blade, ribs, left thigh, and right calf were all fractured. When he was rescued by Huashe, there was extremely serious internal bleeding. Lu Xu and Mo Rigen tried their best to treat him. Hongjun touched Li Jinglong's body. Mo Rigen's bone-setting technique was too stiff. Because he didn't know medicine, there were a few ribs that weren't set properly.
But it was already fixed. If he wanted to set it again, he would have to break it again. Hongjun wouldn't let Li Jinglong suffer again no matter what, so he said, "You'll be fine."
He had everything in his medicine bag except anesthetics. When An Lushan attacked the city, Hongjun used up all of his anesthetics in order to save the soldiers. Thinking about how Mo Rigen set Li Jinglong's broken leg, Hongjun's heart ached.
"I can't feel the power of the Mind's Lamp." Li Jinglong said calmly, "I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you in the future."
Hongjun said, "It's gone?"
"It's gone." Li Jinglong replied, "It's strange. I don't know where it went."
Hongjun resisted the urge to bury himself in front of Li Jinglong and cry. He forced a smile and tried hard to pull up the corners of his mouth.
Li Jinglong looked at Hongjun in a daze. There was a trace of despair in his eyes that Hongjun had never seen before.
"It's still there." Hongjun said, "It's just that right now … your meridians are destroyed. I can't feel it."
"Why don't you try?" Li Jinglong's hope was rekindled.
Hongjun shook his head. At this time, if he injected the Five-colored Divine Light into Li Jinglong's broken meridians, it would cause him great pain.
Li Jinglong said to himself, "It's my fault. I'm sorry, Hongjun. I lost the Mind's Lamp you brought."
When Hongjun heard this, he finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He hugged Li Jinglong, tears streaming down his face. He gritted his teeth and said in a trembling voice, "It's good that you're fine. Why are you saying this?"
Outside the window, snow fell like goose feathers.
Lu Xu and Mo Rigen lay on the bed, covered with blankets. Mo Rigen said, "Your room is really warm."
Lu Xu turned over and faced the wall. He whispered, "What will happen to them?"
Mo Rigen didn't say anything.
Lu Xu said again, "What will happen to the Exorcism Division …?"
Mo Rigen said, "It will get better."
Lu Xu said, "The enchantment of the Mind's Lamp has disappeared. The nightmare in Hongjun's body is nourishing his demonic seed. In the past few days, I've been losing control of him …"
Mo Rigen turned around and hugged Lu Xu from behind.
Lu Xu: "…"
Mo Rigen: "…"
Lu Xu said, "It's already so late! You're still in the mood … "
"It's uncontrollable!" Mo Rigen said, "I can't help it. I've held it in for too long."
Mo Rigen's thing pressed against Lu Xu. Lu Xu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Mo Rigen asked, "What will happen?"
"He'll be possessed." Lu Xu said, "From now on, the demonic seed in Hongjun's body will begin to grow. It will return to the situation before Dunhuang. All the evil energy in the world will gather in his body. With each passing day, the demonic seed will become stronger and stronger …"
Mo Rigen shushed Lu Xu to stop talking.
"When I was young, Shaka told me a story," Mo Rigen said, "There was a man who was chased by a pack of wolves at night."
Lu Xu was silent. Mo Rigen whispered in his ear, "Do you know how to drive away wolves in the desert?"
"With fire," Lu Xu answered.
Mo Rigen said, "In the wilderness, there was only one withered tree. So he set fire to the withered tree. The fire illuminated the surroundings and the wolves retreated. However, the withered tree had been corroded by the wind for many years and could only hold on for a short while. Soon, the fire became smaller and smaller until only a small flame was left. "
Lu Xu said, "Could he wait until dawn?"
Mo Rigen said in a low, hoarse voice in Lu Xu's ear, "The night sky was covered with dark clouds and he couldn't see the moon. He didn't know when dawn would come. The flame became smaller and smaller. With the help of the darkness, he saw more wolves. Wolves were everywhere."
Lu Xu said, "So he stayed in front of the dying flame and waited for dawn to come. Once the flame went out, the pack of wolves would tear him to pieces."
Mo Rigen said, "Mm," and said, "He began to look for anything that could be burned. However, every time he burned something, there would be one less. He didn't know if he could survive the night."
"What happened in the end?" Lu Xu asked.
"There's no ending to this story," Mo Rigen said, "It depends on what you believe. Dawn may come first and the flame may go out first. But what do you think that man was thinking when he was warming himself by the fire? "
Lu Xu asked, "Was it family?"
Mo Rigen didn't answer. Lu Xu said again, "Did he want to live?"
Mo Rigen still didn't answer. Lu Xu guessed again, "He wanted to go home."
Mo Rigen said, "He was thinking that the flame was really warm." As he said that, he tightened his arms around Lu Xu and said, "Let's sleep. They can survive. It doesn't matter if the fire goes out first or if dawn comes first. It's all a matter of fate. When you're warming yourself by the fire, do it seriously. Don't think too much. "
Lu Xu closed his eyes and didn't say anything else.