"How's the snake venom?" Chao Yun asked.
Hongjun adjusted his breathing. The venom was still there, so he said, "Let out some blood to cure the poison. Stay by my side."
He had the Phoenix's true essence in his body, which could allow his flesh to continuously regenerate. In other words, as long as he didn't lose too much blood at once, he could quickly recover.
"When will we act?" The Battle Corpse Ghost King asked.
Yu Zaoyun said worriedly, "It's better to cooperate with the exorcists."
Hongjun said, "This is a matter for the demonic beasts. We can't rely on them anymore."
The Ghost King nodded and said, "Very good, Fox King. Let's do it this way. I agree."
Yu Zaoyun said, "They've decided to gather all the demonic beasts to publicly judge you on the third day of the third month. That's four days later."
Hongjun said, "Then, let's set it at that time."
Qing Xiong wanted to use Hongjun's collusion with the exorcists to announce to the entire demonic beasts. He wanted to abolish his inheritance rights and execute him in public. Hongjun remembered very clearly that Qing Xiong had personally mentioned that Li Jinglong would step into his trap at that moment. But as long as he showed up in advance, Li Jinglong would be on guard.
"He said he set up a trap." Hongjun frowned and said, "What is the trap?"
Suddenly, he remembered something that he had forgotten for a long time — — Xie Yu!
"Where's Xie Yu?" Hongjun seemed to have guessed what the trap was.
"Underground." Yu Zaoyun said, "Do you want to go take a look at it?"
Hongjun was about to nod when the Ghost King said, "There are eyes and ears everywhere here. The entire city is filled with birds. Once you leave, you will be discovered. You must wait for an opportunity."
Hongjun had no choice but to give up on meeting Xie Yu for the time being. The Ghost King and Yu Zaoyun went to gather their subordinates and prepare for the decisive battle against Qing Xiong in four days. It was very difficult to avoid the surveillance of the birds. Hongjun remembered that back in the Dazzling Gold Palace, Chong Ming and Qing Xiong both had eyes and ears that were like an inescapable net. They could use the birds to monitor the grass and trees around Taihang Mountain, and through the pond in the palace garden, they could see everything that the birds saw.
He repeatedly reminded Yu Zaoyun and the Ghost King to be careful before the two Monster Kings left.
Under the gloomy sky, the cold of spring had not yet passed. The uninhabited Luoyang was even colder. Chao Yun lit a brazier in the room, and Hongjun sat quietly across from him. Hongjun used a sharp knife to cut open the blood vessels in his arm. The purplish-black poisonous blood flowed out endlessly, making him feel a little dizzy.
Outside, everything was silent. Only the snow fluttered around, and the clear sound of blood dripping onto a copper plate could be heard. Drop by drop, it flowed down Hongjun's little finger.
"Drink." Hongjun said to Chao Yun.
His blood contained the Phoenix's Zhenyuan, which could promote the regeneration of his skin and flesh. At the same time, his blood was also filled with the Ba Snake's venom. However, Chao Yun was not afraid of this poison. Coincidentally, Hongjun's whole body was changing blood, and Chao Yun drank his blood, regenerating his broken skin and flesh.
Before drinking, Chao Yun looked at Hongjun, and then lowered his head to look at the copper plate.
"Your Majesty." Chao Yun seemed to tremble a little, and said, "I drank your blood …"
"That's my monster," Hongjun joked.
Chao Yun had never thought that one day he would be able to drink Hongjun's blood. In the monster race, this action was tantamount to declaring a strange symbiosis, as if creating some kind of blood curse oath. However, to Hongjun, this was just in passing. He wondered if the Ghost King could repair his body if he drank this blood filled with the Phoenix's Zhenyuan … while hinting for Chao Yun to drink it while it was hot.
After Chao Yun drank it, he closed his eyes and began to cultivate. In the end, Hongjun frowned and asked, "Is it useful?"
Chao Yun hurriedly replied, "Of course it's useful! The promise that Kun Shen made to Han Ba was to drink your blood and eat your flesh. "
Hongjun nodded. He didn't expect that the Zhenyuan that Chong Ming left for him would be so strong. He felt that a lot of the poison had been expelled along with the loss of blood, and the obstruction to his breathing had lessened. A ball of flame in his chest was mobilizing his limbs and bones, regenerating blood. Even so, letting out too much blood at once made his whole body cold, and he couldn't help but tremble. Chao Yun hurriedly found a quilt and wrapped Hongjun in it. The two of them leaned against the porch, looking at the pale horizon.
"Sleep for a while." Chao Yun said.
Hongjun shook his head and muttered to himself for a long time. Chao Yun asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"
Hongjun replied, "I'm thinking about Kun Shen, Qing Xiong, and the future. Chao Yun, am I wrong? "
Chao Yun frowned deeply and stared at Hongjun with a puzzled expression. Hongjun had some things that he couldn't say to Li Jinglong, Qiu Yongsi, or his companions in the Exorcism Division. When facing Chao Yun, he seemed to have found someone he could confide in. Therefore, he recounted his conversation with Qing Xiong to him word for word. In the end, he smiled and said, "I don't know why I'm telling you this … I still remember that Zhao Zilong told me that when you left Tianma, you came to seek refuge with Dazzling Gold Palace."
Chao Yun nodded and said, "I … I have a lot of things that I don't know how to say, but I'm the same as Zhao Zilong. From the beginning, we felt that Your Majesty … was different from other demon kings."
"This difference is very important." Chao Yun said seriously, "Very, very important. I … I'm too stupid to know how to say it. "
"You're also a great demon." Hongjun murmured, then laughed and said, "If you cultivate for a while more, you might also transform into a dragon."
Chao Yun was about to say something when Hongjun suddenly said, "Chao Yun, promise me."
Hongjun's words immediately made Chao Yun very nervous. Hongjun said, "Promise me that no matter what happens next, you have to live and protect the Holy Land for me."
Chao Yun said, "Your Majesty! You definitely won't … "
Hongjun stopped him from saying anything else. He looked at Chao Yun's eyes under the bandages and repeated, "No matter whether we're in danger or not, whether we can defeat Kun Shen or not, the sky is unpredictable. You have to promise me."
Chao Yun was silent for a long time, then finally nodded. Hongjun laughed and said, "We'll win. I don't know why, but I always have a strange confidence in this."
Chao Yun whispered, "I know you don't want to fight with Qing Xiong."
Hongjun murmured, "There's no other way … Say, do you think Yuan Kun will know the final result of this battle?"
In fact, after the battle of Chang 'an, the most talked about topic in the entire Exorcism Division was Kun Shen's ability to "foresee the future". Hongjun was a little confused by Qiu Yongsi, Li Jinglong, Mo Rigen, and the others' words over and over again. However, Qing Xiong's words inadvertently inspired him to a certain extent.
Kun Shen saw the future where Hongjun would be interrogated and executed in front of all the demonic beasts. Li Jinglong was preparing to put on a show of Operation Talos again, but just happened to step into Qing Xiong's trap.
However, the current "bait" had been secretly replaced by Du Hanqing. Kun Shen had foreseen all of this, or could it be that the current events were already outside of Kun Shen's foresight?
"I think Kun Shen didn't foresee that you would escape," Chao Yun said cautiously, "because when I was in the Holy Land, I overheard a sentence from them. Kun Shen. "
After Hongjun left the Holy Land with the exorcists, Chao Yun and the Carp Demon each swallowed half a Ba Snake's inner core. Their bodies underwent a strange change, and their demonic power became stronger. Under the influence of this demonic power, Chao Yun began to shed her skin. They were hiding in the depths of the Stalagmite Forest. On that day, Qing Xiong and Yuan Kun happened to walk along the river and talk about the demonic beasts. Many of them involved Hongjun, Li Jinglong, and the Exorcism Division.
Qing Xiong hid it from the Ghost King and Yu Zaoyun and prepared to send a message to Han Ba, asking Han Ba to subdue Hongjun and bring him back to the Central Plains. Kun Shen was even more ruthless. Behind Qing Xiong's back, he issued a second order, asking Han Ba to directly suck Hongjun's flesh and blood, ending his life in the Western Regions.
For a moment, the two demonic beasts forgot about Chao Yun, who was hibernating in the Holy Land. After making the decision, Kun Shen used a spell to find out the results of this operation …
"In other words," Hongjun murmured, "Kun Shen saw the results."
"An instant," Chao Yun explained. "Kun Shen can only see fragments of an instant."
"I understand." Hongjun instantly understood the principle behind Kun Shen's spell. He said in a low voice, "He must first determine a certain time and place. I remember … That day, he let me see a certain day in the future, a scene in Chang 'an's house …"
Chao Yun did not know which moment in the future Kun Shen saw after casting the spell, but this scene must have told him the variables that would occur. Therefore, Qing Xiong and Yuan Kun deduced that it was Chao Yun who leaked the information. They immediately turned around to search for Chao Yun's whereabouts.
Chao Yun was at the critical moment of molting and almost died in Qing Xiong's hands. The Carp Demon, who was a step ahead of her, immediately took her and escaped along the waterway. However, Kun Shen was the king of the Aquatics, and his power was omnipresent. The Carp Demon could only take her ashore. However, Chao Yun told him not to care about her and to save Hongjun first.
Therefore, the scene by the Aral Sea was born.
"Kun Shen needs to consume energy to see the future." Chao Yun said, "After I told Fox King, Fox King speculated that it was impossible for him to see every moment clearly. He could only infer the cause and effect of it based on a certain scene that he saw."
Hongjun murmured, "It's exactly the same as what he said when he cast the spell on me on the way back to Chang 'an … I feel that my mind has cleared up a lot. I can bleed now. Come on."
"Let's wait a little longer." Chao Yun said worriedly.
Hongjun waved his hand to indicate that it was okay. This happened several times. Every time he recovered, he would try to bleed. During this time, he kept thinking about Kun Shen's spell and repeatedly discussed it with Chao Yun. He realized that many of his thoughts coincided with Yu Zaoyun's questioning of Chao Yun. There were even many questions that Yu Zaoyun had made meticulous assumptions before he devised this strategy of substituting one person for the other, and swapped the real Hongjun.
In the middle of the night, the fox outside gently knocked on the window. Chao Yun hurriedly let Yu Zaoyun in.
"How is it?" Yu Zaoyun saw that Hongjun's face was pale and was very worried.
Hongjun indicated that it was okay. Yu Zaoyun said again, "Let me tell you a piece of good news. Your companions have already arrived at the foot of Longmen Mountain."
Hongjun immediately caught a glimpse of hope. However, in an instant, another thought appeared and suppressed his impulse.
"Jinglong doesn't know that the one being imprisoned isn't me." Hongjun said.
"That's right." Yu Zaoyun's fox eyes narrowed as if he was smiling.
Hongjun said, "Don't tell him that I'm here first."
Yu Zaoyun wagged his tail and said, "Let's see how he's going to act."
Hongjun nodded.
"Very good." Yu Zaoyun praised from the bottom of his heart. He then took a step back and replied, "Tomorrow morning, I'll let Han Qing go and talk with your lover first. You're quite smart. In the future, if anyone says that our Emperor is stupid, I'll get angry with them. "
"What do you mean?" Chao Yun was at a loss. She asked Hongjun, "Why don't I see Li Jinglong? Your Majesty? "
Hongjun finally smiled and didn't say anything for once. He waved his hand to tell Chao Yun not to worry anymore. It wasn't until late at night that the poison was gradually cleared. Hongjun went to sleep first. He was still thinking about Kun Shen and Li Jinglong. He didn't know what Yu Zaoyun would say when he met them.
When he woke up, he felt his strength returning. Chao Yun faced the mirror and untied the bloodstained bandages wrapped around her body.
"You're better!" Hongjun was both surprised and happy.
Chao Yun was no longer in her original snake form. Her appearance had clearly changed. The outline of her eyes had shrunk and become more suitable. Her eyes had turned black and no longer had the narrow slits of a cat's eyes. Her body had become more well-proportioned. The scales on her hands and feet had also faded. Her bestial nature had been completely removed.
She looked at herself in the mirror in a daze. Hongjun stepped forward and lifted her chin to make her open her mouth slightly. Chao Yun's tongue licked her lips. Her red lips and tongue were exactly the same as a human's.
Hongjun smiled and said, "It seems that everyone is quite good-looking after cultivating into a human!"
First, it was Yu Prefecture. Then, it was Chao Yun. Once they were reborn and obtained a human body, they all became handsome men. This was the normal state of a great demon. Chao Yun's face turned slightly red. She wanted to salute Hongjun again, but Hongjun hurriedly waved his hand. At this moment, the Ghost King's voice came from outside the room, "Your appearance is not bad. You can be the dream lover of young boys and girls."
Chao Yun hurriedly put on her clothes. The Ghost King first saluted Hongjun. Hongjun knew that after a night of discussion, he must have made arrangements. Thus, he asked Chao Yun to stay behind and provide support. Then, he left the Luoyang Bureau of Exorcism. with the Ghost King.
Two horses were prepared outside. The Ghost King gestured for Hongjun to get on the horse and asked, "How do you feel?"
Hongjun replied, "The poison has been temporarily removed. I can't use any magic."
The Ghost King urged his horse to lead the way and answered, "The most important thing in winning a war is not how strong your cultivation is or how strong your magic is. Victory or defeat has long been decided. What decides everything is your heart."
Hongjun replied, "This sounds like something Li Jinglong would say."
"That child knows better than you." The Ghost King said, "Without magic, there will be no war. It is a very dangerous thing. Yes, compared to the Golden-winged Roc and the Kun King, we are very weak … "
Hongjun stared at the Ghost King's back and his cloak fluttering in the snow. At this moment, he suddenly realized that the Ghost King and Yu Zaoyun seemed to be more confident than he thought. And this kind of confidence was faintly similar to Li Jinglong's.
"… But the heavens are on our side." The Ghost King continued.
It was an extremely difficult feeling to describe. Hongjun even had a thought. He was loyal to the Ghost King, not because he was the rightful successor of the Chong Ming, but because in the unseen world, the Ghost King and the Fox King's ideals were similar to theirs. And if we were to talk about a serious position, Hongjun's position had never been clear. There was only one person who was so stubborn: Li Jinglong.
In other words, rather than saying that they supported him, it was better to say that the person who the Ghost King and the Fox King truly recognized was Li Jinglong.