Li Jinglong said, "Let's talk about the six artifacts."
Yuren looked at it for a moment. Atay said, "The fourth artifact is mine. I'll ask around."
Li Jinglong asked Hongjun, "Where were you born?"
Hongjun shook his head and said, "I dreamed that in Hangzhou, my father and Xie Yu were talking under the roof on a rainy day."
Lu Xu said, "That wasn't when you were born."
"What about the dream?" Hongjun asked.
Lu Xu shook his head and said, "When you were too young, you couldn't remember things, especially when you were born. There was no way to set the time."
"Kun Shen and Qing Xiong might know." Hongjun said, "Why don't we ask them when we meet again?"
"Then, there are only two artifacts left." Li Jinglong said, "According to our speculation, it might be here." Li Jinglong turned the "river" symbol to Qinghai.
"Were you born in Qinghai?" Lu Xu asked.
Hongjun shook his head and said, "My father didn't seem to have been to Qinghai."
Suddenly, Qiu Yongsi asked, "The brother who turned into a dragon, was he a Yellow River Carp or a Huai River Carp? Or a Yangtze River Carp? A Dongting Carp? "
Everyone was speechless.
Hongjun's mouth twitched. A moment later, everyone was shrouded by a terrifying thought. If the Carp Demon was born in the first bend of the Yellow River on the Qinghai Plateau, it might really be it …
Everyone discussed for a long time and finally decided that as long as the fourth "river" artifact was found, they might be able to set the fifth artifact. As for the sixth artifact related to Atay, its whereabouts were currently unknown. It should be the most difficult to find, so they would leave it for last.
The fourth artifact was in Ruoergai, which was at the border of Northern Shu, Liangzhou, and Tufan. After they finished their business in Chengdu, they could go all the way north. After the agreement was reached, Li Jinglong immediately relaxed a lot and left the rest to Atay to worry about.
At night, the sound of flowing water could be heard. Hongjun put the lamp aside and carefully observed the Carp Demon.
"It really grew longer." Hongjun measured the Carp Demon. It had grown to two feet and six inches, a full four inches!
"I told you so!" The Carp Demon said, "Don't disturb my concealment of spirit and qi, I'm going to grow my horns next!"
The Carp Demon was simply too excited. Hongjun laughed, stroked its fish head, and said, "It's finally out."
"How long is a dragon?" the Carp Demon asked. "I grew four inches in just ten days."
Hongjun said, "The Flood Dragon is about seven, eight zhang long, and the Dragon is about twelve, thirteen zhang long."
Four inches in ten days, one foot in forty days, ten feet in four hundred days, ten feet in four thousand days … The Carp Demon shouted excitedly at the thought, "In another fifteen years, I'll be as long as a dragon … Wait! Another fifteen years? "
Hongjun said, "The key is that if you grow any longer, you'll be too big when you reach three feet … I can't carry a three foot long carp on the street."
The Carp Demon suddenly realized a problem. If it grew longer and longer, and eventually became even longer than Li Jinglong, what would it do? Moreover, as its body changed, its fish head didn't seem to grow correspondingly. Only its body was elongated, and in the end, it would look like an eel. It wouldn't be able to support itself and would have to put its two hands down and crawl on the ground. It would definitely scare a lot of people to death.
"Oh right, then what should I do!" The Carp Demon felt as if the sky had collapsed. There had always been an unwritten rule among the aquatic animals. Kun looked down on whales, whales looked down on sharks, those in the sea looked down on those in the river, and those in the river looked down on those in the river. Those who ate grass looked down on those who ate mud, just like how grass carps looked down on carps, carps looked down on crucian carps, crucian carps looked down on eels, and eels looked down on loaches. There was a strict hierarchy, forming a clear hierarchy of contempt. If the Carp Demon were to be treated the same as the eels it looked down on the most, how humiliating would that feel?
However, to transform into a dragon, a short period of humiliation was necessary. When the heavens were about to bestow a great responsibility on a fish, they would first torment its will and disturb its actions. Hongjun said, "Think about it! If you become a dragon, no one will be able to look down on you anymore! What's a short period of humiliation? "
The Carp Demon thought about it and agreed. Even someone like Li Jinglong, who had a lot of big shots helping him, would have a time when he would fail. It immediately decided to use the good-for-nothing Li Jinglong as an example to cultivate properly.
For several days in a row, during the summer, torrential rain poured down the Yangtze River. It was rare for everyone to have a stress-free time. Qiu Yongsi's health also gradually improved. Hongjun and Li Jinglong stayed together all day long, expressing their feelings to each other, and were inseparable from each other. As long as you saw one, you would definitely find the other. They would either hold hands or sit on the other's body. They always had endless things to talk about, making everyone's teeth ache.
"They're always so lovey-dovey." Mo Rigen didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
After the rain, Ashina Chong and Mo Rigen stood at the front of the ship's railing. Li Jinglong and Hongjun leaned side by side on the deck, watching the green mountains on both sides of the river recede into the distance.
Ashina Chong said, "Sigh, why can't I live like this? It's really a hard life. "
Mo Rigen glanced at Hongjun and Li Jinglong and said, "Hongjun's soul was made by Li Jinglong. It's better not to think about it. When will you make one for yourself?"
Ashina Chong replied, "I'd like to, but I'll have to have the chance." When Mo Rigen turned his head, he saw Lu Xu come up to the deck to get some fresh air. He turned around and left the lonely Ashina Chong alone.
Ashina Chong: "…"
Li Jinglong and Hongjun leaned together. Li Jinglong said, "There's a lot to play in Chengdu, a lot to eat, and a lot of old friends. You'll definitely like it."
During the chaos of war, many scholars and poets left Chang 'an and fled to Shu. Hongjun, however, remembered his old friends Li Guinian and Li Bai. After asking around, he found out that the two had indeed left the capital with the Crown Prince and the Emperor. At that time, they went to the foot of Ma Huai Slope with Qiu Yongsi, but they didn't see the two. However, with Li Bai's skills and Li Guinian's mana, they shouldn't be in danger.
"What kind of person is the Crown Prince?" Hongjun suddenly asked.
"He's a reasonable person." Li Jinglong said, "But he's also reasonable. Don't worry, I'll be in charge of negotiating with him. Which part of China do you like? "
These days, Li Jinglong and Hongjun completely poured out their emotions after a long separation. They talked about many things over and over again. Li Jinglong didn't know why, but he was very interested in the demon race's new destination. He had nothing to do during the journey, so he asked Hongjun about the demon race's history over the years.
When Hongjun was young and lived in Dazzling Gold Palace, he often pestered Chong Ming to tell him stories. Every time Qing Xiong went up Taihang Mountain, he would ask about this and that. Over time, he learned from the Demon King, so naturally, his stories were more detailed than the rumors among the people.
When Qiu Yongsi came out for a walk, he accidentally heard the conversation between Hongjun and Li Jinglong, so he came over to listen for a while. Gradually, the exorcists had nothing to do, so they all gathered to listen to Hongjun's stories. The Carp Demon had mentioned the history of the demon race before, but no matter what, the Carp Demon was just a small demon. Naturally, his knowledge couldn't be compared to the super big demons like Chong Ming and Qing Xiong.
"… So in fact, the Demon King can only appear from two places." Hongjun said, "The first is the Bird Clan in Dazzling Gold Palace, and the second is the Water Clan in Benming Hall."
"There's more?" Ashina Chong said, "No way."
"There's no more." Hongjun said, "Many years ago, because of a past event, a dragon in Benming Hall betrayed the whole clan, so a great war broke out. Afterwards, Benming Hall was destroyed and the dragon clan scattered …"
"I know this legend." Qiu Yongsi said, "A long, long time ago, before the human race flourished in China. The chaos in Benming Hall was called 'Dragon's Death'. Originally, the dragon clan was arrogant and unruly. After the destruction of Benming Hall and the death of the Dragon God, the dragons declared themselves kings. Later on, there was the Great War of the Mountains and Seas … "
"Can you tell me more details?" Li Jinglong was very interested in this history.
"I can't." Hongjun said, "It's been too long. At that time, there weren't even words, and even Kun Shen hadn't gained intelligence."
If one were to ask about the first intelligent creatures to appear in the world, it would be the dragons and phoenixes. Before the human race existed, these ancient inhabitants of China lived in the Central Plains, the Western Region, and even farther overseas. According to Chong Ming, in the far east, beyond the Yun Country, across the vast sea, there was a vast land and territory.
According to historical records of various dynasties, after leaving the Western Region and passing through endless yellow sand and fog, there was another land. On this land lived a large number of people who spoke a different language from the people of the Central Plains. Hongjun went further and further away from the topic. Chen Feng held the little Phoenix in his arms and listened with admiration.
If it were an ordinary adult, it would be unbelievable. However, Chen Feng was still young and had witnessed Li Jinglong expel Tianma. No matter what Hongjun said, he felt that it was natural.
Qiu Yongsi added, "After the Great War of the Mountains and Seas, the dragon clan kept the agreement and was locked up in the Dragon-subduing Pagoda …"
"Not all of the dragons." Hongjun said, "But the water clan was once weak, and the demon clan gradually grew stronger. The dragons, phoenixes, and other clans agreed to worship a spirit beast as the king to rule the demon clan. As for who the subordinates were, I'm not sure. "
Li Jinglong vaguely guessed the inside story. After the dragons and flood dragons gradually stopped managing the water clan, it was Kun Shen who ruled most of the water creatures, replacing the dragons. And the "phoenix" deservedly occupied the Bright Gold Palace and became the Demon King. Sure enough, as Hongjun said, after many generations, although the Bright Gold Palace was the place where the Demon King lived and ruled the demon clan in the name of the "Three Saints", gradually, because it was located at the peak of Taihang Mountain, it was beyond the control of the entire clan.
Just like the change of dynasties in the human world, the demons would naturally rebel, especially when they met Chong Ming, the king who did not care about anything. After a thousand years of nirvana, the demon clan did not care about the Bright Gold Palace anymore. Two hundred years ago, when the separation of the north and the south came to an end, Emperor Yang unified the world. Xie Yu escaped from the Dragon-subduing Pagoda and gathered the demons to declare war on the Bright Gold Palace.
In the war, Chong Ming was defeated by Xie Yu and retreated to the Bright Gold Palace. From then on, he completely lost his position as the Demon King …
"So, to lead the demon clan again," Li Jinglong said, "we can no longer stay high on Taihang Mountain and ignore the affairs of the human world."
"Wow," Qiu Yongsi said, "why do I feel that … Kun Shen is the biggest winner all these years?"
Li Jinglong gave Qiu Yongsi a look, hinting him not to say that in front of Hongjun. Hongjun thought about it and said, "It seems like it. My father did not like Kun Shen very much in the past and did not even let him come to the Bright Gold Palace."
Li Jinglong said, "He is too smart and can see the future. It always makes people feel unsafe."
Hongjun said to the crowd, "But Qing Xiong and Kun Shen have always been good friends."
Li Jinglong said, "What I think is, since we have started this, we might as well let the demon clan settle down. Hongjun is right. Demons are not guests, but the masters of China. After choosing a place, we will help the demon clan to build a new city. The two clans will strive to live in harmony and ensure the peace of the human world."
Compared to the first time he met Wu Qiyu, Fei Ao, and the other demons, Li Jinglong's state of mind was different now. Hongjun was a demon, Chao Yun was also a demon. What they needed to fight was the "demon" that eroded people's hearts and the demon clan.
At this moment, the boat passed by Mount Wu. The rushing river rushed forward and the boatmen tried their best to steer the boat. Everyone stopped talking and stood up to look at both sides of the river. At this moment, the clouds dispersed and the green mountains on both sides of the river appeared opposite each other. The scene was magnificent and strange. The Goddess Peak of Mount Wu faced the vast sky and the cries of apes could be heard. It was truly a sight to behold.
It was the exorcists' first time in Shu and also the first time they saw such a grand scene. They were immediately amazed. The Wu Gorge stood tall as if it had never changed since ancient times.
Hongjun stood at the side of the boat and looked up at the Goddess Peak. His heart was filled with pride. He felt that the world was so vast that he was like a mayfly in the sea.
"I think this place is not bad." Li Jinglong said with a smile, "Choosing the southeast gate of Bashu is like living in seclusion. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is also abundant. Do you remember the land of the Dragon Veins that we were looking for on the map? The Wu Gorge is one of them. "
"Yes." Hongjun did not know why, but he felt that the Goddess Peak looked familiar to the east. He said, "The spiritual energy of heaven and earth here is very strong."
Suddenly, countless cries could be heard from the river. A huge snake spread its wings and led hundreds of snakes to follow the boat.
"It's Chao Yun!" Hongjun said, "Chao Yun is back!"
The boatmen shouted in fear, but Li Jinglong signaled them not to worry. The snakes bobbed up and down on the river, protecting the boat as it crossed the Goddess Peak. When night fell, Chao Yun boarded the boat and reported the situation to Hongjun. The exorcists entered Shu. Bashu had not experienced war for a long time and was like a paradise. However, the Central Plains was still full of war.
An Lushan had been executed, but the rebellion was still ongoing. The remaining troops led by Shi Siming were still on their way to Hangu Pass. Geshu Han was dead. Guo Ziyi fought with Shi Siming and learned that Chang 'an had fallen. He withdrew his troops to help, and the imperial court temporarily moved to Lingwu with the Crown Prince as regent. Li Longji fled to Shu. Now, the Tang army and the rebel army were in a stalemate. Both sides did not move, and Shi Siming went to find An Lushan.
As for the remnants of An Lushan's troops, they escorted him out of Hangu Pass. Looking at the route, perhaps …
"Wait." Li Jinglong suddenly realized a problem. "An Lushan is not dead?"
"No." Chao Yun answered.
"What happened?!" Everyone was shocked.
"Kun Shen said," Chao Yun said, "that is no longer An Lushan, but Xie Yu."
Xie Yu had taken over An Lushan's body. Yang Guozhong's body had been completely abandoned in the battle of Chang 'an. Xie Yu had no choice but to place the flood dragon soul in An Lushan's body and flee to Luoyang. After entering Luoyang, no one knew where it went. At this time, Qing Xiong had sent out birds to monitor the ruins of Luoyang.
"It is in Luoyang," Chao Yun said to everyone. "The birds could not find its whereabouts on the ground, so it must have hidden underground. Qing Xiong has decided to hold back for now and wait for everyone to gather the Six Treasures before attacking it. "
"Is Xie Yu absorbing Devil Qi?" Li Jinglong asked.
Chao Yun shook her head, confusion in her eyes. "I did not see that. Kun Shen said that it is because the Devil Seed was damaged by the Mind's Lamp and will not be able to gather Devil Qi in a short period of time. However, the Devil Seed will gradually repair itself, so he told everyone to hurry."
Li Jinglong nodded in agreement with the Immovable Wisdom King's instructions. Before they had the confidence to completely eliminate Xie Yu, they could not act rashly. Otherwise, once it was alarmed and Xie Yu escaped from the Divine Continent, even if it escaped overseas, it would definitely cause another storm of blood when it returned after the Devil Seed repaired itself.
Yuan Kun asked Qing Xiong to lead his subordinates to monitor Xie Yu's movements, then split up and went to different parts of the Divine Continent. The Ghost King led the army to track down the remaining members of the An Gang. Once they were found, they would attack. Yuan Kun, on the other hand, looked for the demons that were previously controlled by An Lushan's Devil Qi and subdued them. He waited for Hongjun to choose a location to build the demons' territory before letting them come over.
"Qing Xiong said," Chao Yun explained. "If we can't find a place, we can set the capital at Luoyang. That's fine too."
"Absolutely not!" Everyone's expression immediately changed.
"The demon capital of Luoyang, Chang 'an in the human world." Chao Yun said with a blank face. "Taihang Mountain is in the middle, so everyone occupies half of the Divine Continent. It's very reasonable. Everyone likes it, so why not?"
Li Jinglong: "…"
"No." Hongjun rejected this suggestion. "Because I don't like Luoyang."
"Oh —" Chao Yun immediately nodded and said, "Then where do you like?"
"A place with beautiful mountains and limpid waters," Hongjun explained with a frown. "A place with abundant spiritual Qi. The mortal world makes me vexed."
"That's true," Chao Yun hurriedly replied. "Actually, I also like it."
The exorcists' backs were drenched in cold sweat. Fortunately, Hongjun's' I don't like it 'had prevented the Divine Continent from being occupied by the demi-humans. Moreover, it was clearly more effective than finding a pile of excuses. If they had to give Luoyang to the demi-humans, Li Heng definitely would not have agreed. In the end, they could only meet with weapons.
Hongjun did not expect the Demon Kings to be so enthusiastic. At first, he had braced himself and agreed, but now, he had to hurry. Otherwise, once Xie Yu was dealt with, Qing Xiong might have to stay in Luoyang and not leave. Chao Yun also reported to the crown prince that he was reorganizing the civil and military officials of the Imperial Court. He personally rushed to Chengdu to prepare to offer sacrifices to the heavens and accept the succession of the throne.