At night, Yu Prefecture was still sitting, leaning against the wall of the cave and sleeping soundly. Li Jinglong hugged Hongjun as they slept in the innermost part of the cave. Hongjun used his fingers to gently poke Li Jinglong's nipples through his clothes.
"Stop playing." Li Jinglong's breathing quickened as he whispered in his ear, "It's so hard that it's about to explode."
Hongjun looked up at him and said, "There's a lamp in here."
Li Jinglong grabbed Hongjun's hand. Yu Prefecture was nearby, so he couldn't do anything with Hongjun right now. Otherwise, he would really bully Yu Prefecture too much, and Yu Prefecture would definitely go crazy.
"It only lights up for you," Li Jinglong said softly.
"It lights up for everyone in the Divine Continent," Hongjun said softly, "and guides them in the darkness …"
Li Jinglong looked down at Hongjun in his arms. Hongjun didn't look up as he muttered to himself, "But it doesn't light up for the demon race. The lamp of the heart originates from humans, and it only shines on humans. How can it be considered 'all living beings'? "
Li Jinglong was speechless.
Hongjun closed his eyes and fell asleep. However, that sentence was like a thunderbolt that flashed through Li Jinglong's mind, shattering the rock-solid mountain range. His heart beat violently, and countless memories flashed through his mind. Finally, he returned to this small cave. Hongjun's unconscious words were like a blow to his head, causing him to tremble.
The snow stopped in the morning. In the second month of the second year of Zhi De, the sun shone on the Sacred Mountain, creating a spectacle of golden sunshine. Li Jinglong had searched for four magic tools in a row, so he was already familiar with the way. When he climbed up the Sacred Mountain, he first found the entrance to the mountain. This mountain only thawed for two months every year, and there was a waterfall on the mountain. Hongjun suddenly thought of the lonely peak in Mo Rigen's hometown.
"Let's take a look behind the waterfall?" Hongjun said.
"Do you have any impression of this place?" Li Jinglong asked Yu Prefecture.
"I think so …" Yu Prefecture replied.
With success so close at hand, Li Jinglong could not help but feel nervous.
"… I don't think so." Yu Prefecture said, "Second Brother, do you think there will be carps in a place like this?"
Li Jinglong was suddenly enlightened. He suddenly realized a very serious matter. If Ergai was located on a plateau, it was reasonable to say that even in the middle of summer, the water temperature should be extremely low. Most of the aquatic animals living here were alpine cold-water fish species. There shouldn't be carps here.
"Let's go in and take a look first." Li Jinglong braced himself and said. After that, he climbed up the ice wall and entered the waterfall. Behind the waterfall was a vast space.
He took out the Sword of Wisdom and pointed it towards the depths of space. This time, the Sword of Wisdom did not shine.
"Maybe we're in the wrong place." Li Jinglong said, "If we didn't come to the wrong place, then we must have brought the wrong person … My luck is really …"
Hongjun bent down and carefully groped his way forward along the slope. Yu Prefecture said, "You can fly."
Oh right, Hongjun always forgot that he could fly. He immediately picked up Li Jinglong and flew in with Yu Prefecture. This time, they were very careful to avoid encountering any big monsters.
"Wait." Li Jinglong suddenly said in the darkness, "Look to your left and take a look. Hey! Hongjun! Don't let go! I'll fall down! "
Hongjun was about to stretch out his left hand to make a judgment when he heard Li Jinglong's voice. He immediately laughed.
Yu Prefecture said, "Here?"
Rather than calling it a cave in the Holy Mountain, it was more like an abyss. There was a bottomless cliff at the bottom, and there were only mountain walls on all sides. Li Jinglong ordered, "Come closer."
Li Jinglong's eyesight and hearing were outstanding. Hongjun tried hard to identify for a long time before he found a faint light on the cave wall.
Li Jinglong raised his hand, and the Mind Lamp illuminated a small part of the cave wall. Hongjun cried out in surprise when he saw strange runes engraved on it.
This was a seal, and there was a thick layer of ice on the outside of the seal.
"There might be some monsters inside." Li Jinglong whispered, "You must be careful."
Last time, they encountered the Ba Snake. Fortunately, they had external help. This time, they couldn't wait for others to come to their rescue, so they had to be very careful.
Yu Prefecture cleared the ice and revealed the seal's pattern. He asked in surprise, "What is this?"
The seal was made of nine symbols, and there was a vertical rectangular hole in the center. Li Jinglong said in a low voice, "This is … the Nine Syllables Mantra."
"That's not right." It was Hongjun's first time encountering this kind of seal. He muttered, "Weren't there only Earth Vein Arrays and artifacts in the past?"
Li Jinglong was carried by Hongjun. He pulled out the Wisdom Sword and stared at the Nine Syllables Mantra. He slowly inserted the sword into the rectangular hole in the center.
Hongjun, "!!!"
The Wisdom Sword fit perfectly, and it went deep into the hilt, leaving only the sword guard!
Immediately after, the Nine Syllables Mantra lit up one by one, flashing rapidly one after another. The seal disappeared, and the door opened, revealing a deep and long tunnel behind the door.
"It's open!" Hongjun was very shocked. He entered the tunnel with Li Jinglong and Yu Prefecture.
The tunnel had obviously not been repaired for many years. The deepest part of the tunnel shone with golden light. The light that they saw in the darkness just now was the golden light that was projected through the seal's keyhole. The golden light pulsed in the darkness as if it had a frequency. Following that, the light on the Wisdom Sword flickered along with the pulsation.
Li Jinglong held Hongjun's hand tightly and quickened his pace. After leaving the tunnel, Yu Prefecture suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Hongjun and Li Jinglong were also shocked!
Before entering, they had once guessed the area where the last artifact was sealed. According to the previous five artifacts, this place should be dark. In the darkness, there should be an Earth Chakra Array with a Vajra Arrow in the center. However, the scene in front of them completely overturned their understanding —
There was no Earth Vein Array. This was a grand shrine!
On the stone walls in all directions of the shrine, there were huge shrines like the Thousand Buddha Cave. From high to low, there were more than ten thousand shrines. The shrines were filled with lifelike demon statues!
In the center of the shrine, there were two statues. One of them overlooked the empty space in front of the shrine. It was the six-armed Acalanatha. Five of the Acalanatha's six arms were empty. The only weapon in his hand was the Vajra Arrow.
Opposite the Acalanatha was the statue of the Fixed Light Burning Lamp!
Yu Prefecture opened his mouth and muttered, "Oh my god …"
The moment the three of them walked into the shrine, the candles in all the demon shrines in all directions lit up at the same time, illuminating the shrine like a small universe.
The sky was round and the earth was round. The Acalanatha's power shook the heavens and the earth. The light of the burning lamp shone in all directions. Thousands of demons wanted to escape, but they could not break free from the power of the Acalanatha and the Burning Lamp!
In front of the Acalanatha and the Burning Lamp, there was a small altar. On the altar, there was a lifelike bird spreading its wings. It was the Mahamayuri.
"Jinglong, look," Hongjun said.
Li Jinglong looked in the direction that Hongjun indicated. He saw that outside the Ten Thousand Demon Shrine, the lights were flickering. Through the lampstand, they formed intersecting shadows in the shrine. It was as if countless Buddha shadows had appeared.
There was a faded mural on the dome. It was the flying of the immortals.
The ground around the altar was divided into six huge floor tiles. There were six lines drawn on the floor tiles. Outside the Acalanatha and the Burning Lamp, there were circles of spreading circles. The shapes of ghosts were drawn on them.
"Three Realms, Six Paths, Celestial Immortals, Gods, Buddhas, and Ten Thousand Demons," Li Jinglong said seriously.
A dragon and a phoenix stood around the altar like a chessboard of heaven and earth. In front of the altar, there was a strange geyser of earth veins. The geyser surged with earth veins energy. On the pedestal, there were five symbols, which coincided with the locations of the five artifacts of the Acalanatha.
"The Pantheon of Demons," Hongjun murmured.
"There's such a place?" Li Jinglong said in surprise.
Hongjun said, "Chong Ming mentioned it when I was very young. But even he has never been here. He has only heard of it. "
The shrine was built even before the beginning of human civilization. At that time, there was no Deification of Shang and Zhou, and the Yellow Emperor's Battle for the Throne had not started. Going back even further, it was even as old as the heavens and earth.
"There are no sealed demons," Li Jinglong said, "This should be the shrine that enshrines the Acalanatha and the Burning Lamp."
The three of them heaved a sigh of relief. Li Jinglong looked at the symbols in front of the earth vein fountain and muttered to himself,
"Under the Dragon-subduing Pagoda is the Flood Dragon, under the Shiwei Gufeng is the Nightmare Tapir, in the Tianluo Mountain is the Ba Snake, under the Longmen Mountain is the Wine, Women, Avarice, and Temper are sealed. I wonder what is sealed in the ancient water channel of Poyang Lake."
"In the ancient water channel, I am sealed," a voice said coldly.
The three of them were shocked and turned their heads suddenly.
Yuan Kun's black robe fluttered in the wind. He walked slowly along the passage alone.
"I've been waiting for a long time." Yuan Kun raised his head. He seemed to be sizing up the grand and ancient shrine with his eyes covered by a black cloth.
"Kun Shen?" Hongjun said in surprise, "Why are you …"
Li Jinglong thought quickly. He walked over slightly and stood in front of Hongjun. At this moment, Yuan Kun's body was emitting an extremely strong aura. For a moment, the people of Yu Prefecture were frightened and stepped back slowly.
"So this is what the Pantheon of Demons is like," Yuan Kun murmured.
Hongjun, Li Jinglong, and the people of Yu Prefecture were watching Yuan Kun vigilantly. At this moment, Hongjun vaguely felt that Kun Shen was in danger. It was impossible for Yuan Kun to not know that Qing Xiong had sent someone to assassinate him. In fact, Qing Xiong and Yuan Kun had been close friends for a long time. Now, it seemed that the two of them were probably in cahoots!
Hongjun wanted to question Kun Shen, but Li Jinglong stopped him with a look.
"Why does the Pantheon of Demons exist?" Li Jinglong pretended to be indifferent and did not mention anything about the demon race. Instead, he treated Yuan Kun as one of his own. He stood in front of the altar and turned around to look at the two statues of Acalanatha and Dipankara.
Yuan Kun replied, "If we trace back this story, it is quite ancient. At the beginning of the ancient times, Tianma came to the world. With the Three Thousand Nightmares, the separation of life and death, and the endless desire to corrupt the human world, she led the demon race to occupy the Divine Land."
Hongjun stared at Yuan Kun quietly. The temple was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, but it was filled with a dangerous aura.
Yuan Kun walked past the Earthvein Fountain. His pale face and skin looked sickly and weak. His slender and white fingers stroked the pedestal beside the fountain, stroking the runes. He walked towards the statue of Dipankara and raised his head.
"Later, Acalanatha and Dipankara worked together to destroy the demon seed and seal us who had followed Tianma in the past." Yuan Kun said leisurely, "Acalanatha released five of the six artifacts and sealed us in five places in the Divine Land."
"Compared to you." Li Jinglong smiled coolly and said, "Whether it's wine, women, avarice, or the Nightmare Tapir, our cultivation bases are too far apart."
"Of course. In the past, when I was by Tianma's side, I also played the role of a counselor." Yuan Kun turned his head and seemed to glance at Li Jinglong from under the black cloth. In the end, he walked towards Acalanatha. The three of them became nervous, but Yuan Kun said calmly, "Don't be nervous. I won't attack you now."
"Why?" Hongjun asked suddenly.
Yuan Kun stood in front of the altar and pressed one hand on it as if he was in deep thought.
"I thought you were on the Dazzling Gold Palace's side," Hongjun asked again.
Li Jinglong wanted to stop him again, but on second thought, he simply let Hongjun ask the question.
"Because I gave you the Mind Lantern?" Yuan Kun said in a daze, "Little Hongjun, I think it's because I've been guiding you since the beginning."
Hongjun's breathing was very clear in this silent temple, but Yuan Kun was like a pale ghost. He turned his head slightly and a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"I did change your fate for you." Yuan Kun said, "From the moment I intercepted the Mind Lantern, it was destined that the Acalanatha Six Artifacts would never be inherited by the same person."
Li Jinglong was speechless.
As if his heart had been opened, Hongjun suddenly understood the true meaning behind Qing Xiong's passing of the Mind Lantern to him that day!
"You guys … chose Jinglong a long time ago!" Hongjun was shocked. Countless chaotic truths were finally revealed at this moment. The moment Li Jinglong shattered the Mind Lantern, the God Power chose him and entered his body …
"That's right." Yuan Kun said slowly, "Ten years ago, the Acalanatha chose Li Jinglong and wanted him to inherit the Six Artifacts. After he obtained the Six Artifacts, he would shoot a Vajra Arrow into your chest and destroy the demonic seed. But thanks to your joint efforts, fate has been changed. After the Mind Lantern was misled and entered his three souls and seven spirits, Li Jinglong returned to the past under my guidance and changed the cause and effect. Once the new cycle of cause and effect forms a complete closed loop, the trajectory of history will be completely finalized. "
Li Jinglong said naturally, "Speaking of which, I still have to thank you, Kun Shen."
"No need to thank me." Yuan Kun replied, "Everyone just took what they needed. You voluntarily gave up the Six Artifacts and saved your lover's life, so we have one less competitor. "
Li Jinglong muttered, "But do you think that just because I lost the power of the Acalanatha Successor, I can't do anything to Tianma?"
"No, no." Yuan Kun laughed and replied, "I never planned to do that. After all, for us, whether it's Xie Yu, An Lushan, or Hongjun himself, we don't want to see Tianma appear again. After all, once Tianma appears, the consequences will be very difficult to deal with. "
"At least on this point, our positions are completely the same. I hope that from now on, the Demon Race can once again rule over the Divine Continent. I don't want them to live in darkness like before … "
Hongjun said with a trembling voice, "So? What do you want to do?! "
"Go to war." Yuan Kun said, "Lead the Demon Race and become the master of the Divine Continent. Hongjun, on behalf of the Demon Race, I give you one last chance to choose. "
"You are the son of Kong Xuan. You should stand on our side." Yuan Kun muttered, "Qing Xiong once had high hopes for you. From the moment Li Jinglong gave up the Six Artifacts, the future was destined to be completely rewritten. Hongjun, let's go."
Hongjun turned his head and looked at Li Jinglong in a daze, then looked at Yuan Kun.
"You have already seen the future." Hongjun frowned slightly and asked, "No matter what choice I make, it won't affect the result. Why did you come here to ask me?"
Li Jinglong instantly cheered in his heart. Hongjun hit the nail on the head, as if he had pierced through a layer of barrier and reached the core essence. Yuan Kun, however, raised the corner of his mouth and said, "You have to understand that all of this is meaningful."
"So you already knew my answer!" Hongjun shook off the Immortal Slaying Mo Saber. "You should have known that I would reject you!"
"That's right." Yuan Kun coldly spat out two words. "Why don't you guess what will happen next?"
"Wait." Li Jinglong suddenly stretched out his hand and pressed down on the Mo Saber in Hongjun's hand. He stared at Yuan Kun and said, "Allow me to say one more thing. Kun Shen, I am quite curious about your ability to predict the future. Could it be that you also know what I will do next?"