Hongjun carefully scrubbed the Ghost King's body and said, "Your smell isn't strong."
"I bathe often." The Ghost King said, "The corpse smell is too strong, it's easy to smell others."
Hongjun: "You're a zombie who loves cleanliness, but zombies who die in battle can't smell, right?"
The Ghost King lay on a low couch made up of several tables and slowly said, "Because I like to deal with people, your father gave me a medicine bag to cover up my smell."
"Is it this?" Hongjun looked at the small pouch that the Ghost King carried with him.
"Yes." The Ghost King replied.
The Ghost King's right arm and right shoulder were badly burned, revealing the bones of his hand and ribs. Some of his dark internal organs could also be seen. Hongjun scratched his head. He could treat people, but he didn't know how to treat zombies.
"Is Han Ba's inner core useful?" Hongjun asked.
The Ghost King put on his clothes and stood up. His right sleeve was empty, and his bony claws stretched out and closed, grasping the hilt of his sword.
"It's useless." The Ghost King simply and crudely cut off Hongjun's thoughts.
Hongjun: "…"
The Ghost King tried to swing his sword, but the bony claws in his right hand were still very strong.
Hongjun: "After Chao Yun swallowed the Ba Snake's inner core … Uh … I thought that absorbing the inner core of the same race could …"
The Ghost King: "Zombies are different from living monsters."
Hongjun: "Then …"
The Ghost King: "There's no cure."
The Ghost King's words blocked Hongjun's thoughts. Since he couldn't cure it, Hongjun could only give up.
After the Ghost King swung his sword a few times, he turned his head to look at Hongjun and handed Han Ba's inner core to him again, meaning to give it to him. Hongjun lowered his head to carefully examine it. The Ghost King continued, "The Corpse Race's Neidan can stabilize the soul. After the three spiritual and seven physical souls have left the body, they can be stored inside."
Hongjun vaguely understood the principle of the Corpse Clan's survival — Logically speaking, after a person died, their three souls and seven spirits should be sucked into the veins of heaven and earth and leave the world. The Neidan of the Undead Clan happened to be the place where the soul was stored. Liu Fei had died because his Neidan had been broken, and his soul had dissipated. He looked at the Neidan under the pale sunlight. The Ghost King said, "Han Ba was burned to death by the Earthfire. At the last moment, I left behind the Neidan and sent his soul back to heaven and earth."
Hongjun pondered deeply for a moment before he said, "How did the two of you meet?"
"This is a story from a long time ago." The Ghost King said in a deep voice. He walked to the corridor of the mansion and sat down quietly. "He was the first living corpse in the world, and also the ancestor of the Corpse Race. It was so long ago that it could be traced back to the time when Chiyou led the Five Armies against the Yellow Emperor. At that time, you and I weren't even in the human world … "
Hongjun remembered that the ancient book recorded the battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou. It mentioned Han Ba, and the Ghost King even said that he was a handsome man. He just didn't know what this great demon had experienced in these past few years.
Hongjun was about to ask again when suddenly, the entire Luoyang shook. The world turned pitch-black, and birds covered the sunlight. Tens of thousands of demonic beasts rolled toward Luoyang, attacking the thousand-year-old ancient capital that had already been in ruins.
Hongjun quickly walked out and looked up at the horizon. The demonic beasts entered the city one after another, and they scattered through the streets and alleys of Luoyang.
Immediately after, the distant Ming Hall rang out with the sound of bells and chimes, accompanied by the cries of birds. That was the long cry of the Golden-Winged Great Peng. It was deep, clear, and full of dignity.
"The Golden-Winged Great Peng is gathering the entire race." Yu Zaoyun hurriedly entered and said to the Ghost King. "They discovered that their magic tools were stolen."
The Ghost King grabbed his sword and held the rattle-drum in his left hand. He muttered to himself for a while before looking at Hongjun.
Hongjun pressed down on the rattle-drum and slowly shook his head. "It's not time yet."
The Ghost King and Yu Zaoyun lowered their heads and looked at the Thousand Possibilities Chain on Hongjun's ankle. Hongjun said, "You guys go. I'll think of something."
Yu Zaoyun said, "It's not time yet. The Golden-Winged Great Peng won't dare to fall out with us."
"Let's go meet him." The Ghost King said in a deep voice. "Your Majesty, take care of yourself."
After saying this, Yu Zaoyun turned around and left the mansion with the Ghost King. The sun was setting in the west. Hongjun stood in front of the door. His long black shadow was cast on the floor of the abandoned hall. In the distance, the Golden-Winged Great Peng cried out three times before stopping. A flood of demonic beasts passed through the door and rushed towards the Hall of Enlightenment.
Hongjun returned to his room and picked up the flying daggers. After losing his transcendence energy, the flying daggers no longer flickered with luster. The five-colored divine light was also like an ordinary unpolished jade.
Hongjun used the flying daggers to pry open the Thousand Possibilities Chain, but it didn't move at all. At this moment, he knew that Qing Xiong wasn't lying. He frowned deeply and sank into anxiety. He tested the four flying daggers one by one. The Thousand Possibilities Chain was undamaged. The noise outside gradually stopped and footsteps could be heard. Hongjun raised his head and found that it was Chao Yun.
"The exorcists have returned." Chao Yun said. "The Fox King told me to come here and listen to your orders."
Hongjun indicated that it wasn't a problem and continued to study the magic chain. Chao Yun stepped forward and said, "Let me try?"
Hongjun said, "I believe there must be a way, but I haven't found it yet."
The Immortal Flying Daggers only recognized Kong Xuan's lineage. Not to mention that Chao Yun was a demon, even immortals couldn't control it. Chao Yun was sweating profusely. In the end, she had to give up and asked, "Who else in the world can use this magic weapon? If someone can use it, let's go find them. "
"The Immortal Flying Daggers were passed down from Daoist Lu Ya during the Battle of Muye." Hongjun said, "Later on, it was handed over to my father. Lu Ya had already become a saint and escaped from the Three Realms and Six Paths … The only one who can use it is my father."
Hongjun was exhausted. In another day and night, he would have to fight with Qing Xiong, but he had no clue.
At night, Li Jinglong sat behind the table in the room. In the room was the brazier that Chao Yun had lit not long ago. The exorcists temporarily took shelter in the only intact room. Qiu Yongsi was bending over to make the bed for everyone.
"Someone lived in this room before," Li Jinglong suddenly said.
"Yes." Mo Rigen said, "There are traces of a fire, and it was started just a day before we arrived."
Li Jinglong was silent for a moment. Lu Xu looked around the room and said, "This person even let out blood in the room."
He sniffed an abandoned copper basin in the corner. The basin was stained with mottled blood.
"Maybe it's a demon?" Mo Rigen said.
"Let's sleep." Yu Prefecture said, "I'm so sleepy."
Everyone made the bed and lay down. Mo Rigen lit the fire again. The room was much warmer, dispelling the late spring chill of March in Luoyang.
Li Jinglong was like a statue. The Sword of Wisdom lay across his knees. He didn't move at all, as if he was meditating.
"Let's sleep." Qiu Yongsi said, "There's still one more day tomorrow."
"The Sword of Wisdom still can't find its master," Li Jinglong said.
In the days since they set out from Yuzhou, there were only two topics that everyone talked about. One: Yuan Kun and Destiny. Two: the Sword of Wisdom.
Li Jinglong raised the Sword of Wisdom and looked up to examine the patterns on it. He muttered to himself, "This doesn't make sense …"
Mo Rigen sat up and said, "Brothers, I'm not at ease either."
Apart from Yu Prefecture, who was snoring lightly, the rest of the group had not fallen asleep.
"We're going to fight them the day after tomorrow," Mo Rigen said, "Hongjun hasn't been rescued yet. No one can use the Demon Binding Rope. That's fine, but who's the owner of the Sword of Wisdom? "
Qiu Yongsi said, "Don't you think it's too late to ask this question now?"
Li Jinglong was silent. Atay said, "Elder Shi, this time, it's either success or failure. If you have anything to say, just say it."
The exorcists all looked at Li Jinglong. Qiu Yongsi said, "I still feel that the true owner of this sword should be Elder Shi. It can't be anyone else."
"Otherwise, think about it," Qiu Yongsi said, "when Elder Shi was talking to the Immovable Wisdom King, Di Renjie only had the Sword of Wisdom in his hand. This is the token he used to gather us. It's also the first of the six artifacts. How could it not recognize him as its master? Maybe it's just not the right time, or there's some condition that we haven't fulfilled yet. "
The exorcists did not speak. For a moment, their gazes were fixed on the Sword of Wisdom.
If it was just a matter of the condition, there might be some hope. What they were most afraid of was that the owner of the Sword of Wisdom was someone else. They had worked so hard to gather all the artifacts, but in the end, they were missing the most important person. That was the most dangerous thing.
"This sword was found in the waterway of Poyang Lake. Yuan Kun said that the demon suppressed at that time was him," Li Jinglong said.
"The owner of the Sword of Wisdom can't be Yuan Kun, right?" Lu Xu said.
Mo Rigen said, "That's impossible. Just like how the owner of the Moon Eclipse bow can't be the Nightmare Tapir, this artifact won't recognize the demon suppressed as its master."
Atay took off the golden wheel and spun it on the table. Golden light shot out with a buzzing sound. The remaining artifacts all sensed it.
"The Sword of Wisdom has shown its power in front of me," Li Jinglong murmured. "It's just that the timing is very strange."
Qiu Yongsi said, "I still insist that you're its master. Otherwise, the Sword of Wisdom wouldn't have been ineffective at times."
Mo Rigen said, "Elder, think carefully from the beginning. Then recall clearly every time the Sword of Wisdom exerted its power. Did you miss out on any information?"
Li Jinglong frowned deeply. He said helplessly, "That's really all I know."
The first time the Sword of Wisdom shone was when he met Hongjun after many years. At that time, the Sword of Wisdom broke through the Five-colored Holy Light. After that, Li Jinglong used the Mind Lamp to control it most of the time. Instead of saying that the Acalanatha was manifesting his spirit, it was more accurate to say that even if it were a normal weapon, after infusing the Mind Lamp's power, it would still have the same effect of exorcising demons.
The Sword of Wisdom had once given Li Jinglong an extremely clear hint that he was at Mount Li. It shone with light, guiding Li Jinglong to the Pure Flowers Palace to have an audience with the Acalanatha. He was then given the mission of gathering the remaining magical artifacts.
Li Jinglong held the sword and infused it with magic. The Sword of Wisdom shone with white light, but it wasn't its original power. It was the Mind Lamp's power.
"There's one more question that I still don't understand," Atay said, "Who sent us the letter to report to the Exorcism Division?"
Qiu Yongsi suddenly said, "Could this be the node in the cycle of karma?"
Li Jinglong looked at Qiu Yongsi.
"Let's make a bold assumption," Qiu Yongsi said to the crowd, "What if the person who sent the letter was the Chief Scribe himself?"
The exorcists were dumbfounded and muttered, "It can't be, right?"
"This is the last missing link to complete the change, isn't it?" Qiu Yongsi said nervously, "The Chief Scribe returned to the past, sent a letter, gathered us, and undid some kind of seal on the Sword of Wisdom …"
"No," Li Jinglong interrupted Qiu Yongsi, "There's one detail that's enough to refute you. You've all seen the letter, and I've seen it too. It's not my handwriting on the letter. "
They had studied the letter more than once. The handwriting on the letter was completely different from Li Jinglong's handwriting.
"Moreover," Mo Rigen said, "If it can be used, it can be used. If it can't, it can't. The Sword of Wisdom won't be in a situation where it doesn't work."
"Could it be Di Renjie?" Atay said.
"It's not Di Renjie's handwriting either," Li Jinglong said, shaking his head.
Qiu Yongsi's guess was rejected, and the crowd fell silent again.
Li Jinglong said, "But Yongsi, your inference seems to be correct. There's someone who's secretly driving all of this. In the past, we took one step at a time and didn't think too much about things that we couldn't figure out. We just waited for more clues to surface. But now, I think … we have to find this person. We'll have a chance to win the battle the day after tomorrow. "
"Who could it be?" Mo Rigen frowned, feeling a little restless.
This was the first time in Li Jinglong's life that he felt a strong sense of uneasiness before the test. He was no longer as confident as he used to be. Instead, he was full of confusion about the future.
"I think this is a good thing." Lu Xu suddenly said in an earth-shattering manner.
Everyone was invigorated.
"What do you mean?" Li Jinglong's heart skipped a beat as he asked.
Lu Xu said, "Every time you think victory is in your hands, you'll be very unlucky. Something unexpected will always happen …"
Everyone: "…"
Lu Xu continued, "… But when you feel like you don't know what to do tomorrow and force yourself to do it, or even when you feel like you'll definitely lose, you'll actually win."
Mo Rigen: "Hey! What kind of explanation is that? "
Lu Xu: "Is it wrong? Everyone thought that they had a flawless plan when they fought Yumen Pass, Tongguan, and Luoyang, but in the end, they still ended up in a sorry state. It was only during the battle at Chang 'an that everyone thought they would definitely lose. Who knew that they would be so lucky and actually win. "
Li Jinglong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "If I could choose, I'd rather use all of my luck in this lifetime to bet it all on the day after tomorrow."
"It's already the case," Lu Xu said. "You've been unlucky for so long. You have to make a comeback."
"Don't say anymore." Qiu Yongsi facepalmed.
Li Jinglong sighed and sheathed the Sword of Wisdom. He got up, pushed open the door, and walked out.
"Where are you going?" Mo Rigen picked up his clothes and was about to follow him.
"I'm going out for a walk." Li Jinglong turned around and answered. "Let me think about it."
"Be careful of the birds," Qiu Yongsi reminded him.
Li Jinglong grunted and disappeared into the night.
At five o 'clock, Hongjun woke up. The shackles on his feet were still on.
The entire Luoyang was abnormally quiet. The birds that were monitoring the entire city all withdrew overnight and retreated to the Ming Hall. Hongjun pushed open the door and stood in the courtyard. Chao Yun heard the clanking of iron chains and followed him out.
"Your Majesty …"
"Shh." Hongjun gestured for her not to ask any more questions. He held the Thousand Possibilities Chain in one hand and left the mansion, walking slowly in the alley. Chao Yun looked at the sky vigilantly, guarding against the eyes of falcons that were watching them.
"We'll see Li Jinglong now," Chao Yun said nervously.
"We can't see him yet." Hongjun said, "Although I really want to … really want to, for the sake of everyone's lives, I have to endure it."
Chao Yun said, "I don't understand. Why?"
"Because once Yuan Kun knows that the person Qing Xiong imprisoned is not me," Hongjun muttered, "Li Jinglong will have a slight difference in saving people. Yuan Kun is very meticulous. If this difference appears in the scene he spies on, it'll be easy for him to reveal a flaw. Once he discovers this flaw, his attention will shift to me, and there will be more variables. "
Chao Yun looked around and asked cautiously, "Will he definitely notice?"
Hongjun waved his hand and said, "I don't know. It's always better to be careful."