Chapter 155

"Let's think about what to do next," Li Jinglong finally said.

Mo Rigen said, "First, we have to figure out what happened before. Otherwise, we'll be confused."

Li Jinglong grunted. He had been listening to the Carp Demon's narration. At this time, Chao Yun was also there and witnessed the entire process. Starting from Hongjun, according to his memory, he reconstructed the changes that occurred in the Sky Stupa from beginning to end.

"At that time, the seal on my Mind's Lamp was broken," Hongjun said. "I also saw … the Immovable Wisdom King."

Li Jinglong's brows were deeply furrowed as he stared at Hongjun. When the Sky Stupa activated the Earth Vein Array, the Immovable Wisdom King suddenly appeared. No one had expected this. Moreover, he even pulled out the golden Demon Binding Rope from Hongjun's body! As Hongjun spoke, he went to rummage through Li Jinglong's cloth bag. However, that magical artifact was still on Li Jinglong's body. What exactly had appeared in his body that day?

"What is this made of?" Lu Xu was diverted from the topic. He said, "It hasn't broken after so many years."

"It's made of dragon tendons mixed with Kunlun's extraterrestrial gold." Chao Yun answered and showed it to everyone under the dim sunlight. A strange pattern appeared on the Demon Binding Rope.

When asked about the Demon Binding Rope, Hongjun explained again. Everyone listened and looked at each other. Previously, they had only met in Luoyang in a hurry and did not have time to talk about it in detail. Now that they thought about it, everyone was shocked!

"What … what happened?" Hongjun said uneasily.

Li Jinglong muttered, "The Demon Binding Rope entered your body."

Hongjun was reminded and instantly understood.

"Was … was it because of this that the Earth Vein Array was destroyed?" Hongjun vaguely had an uneasy premonition. Now, it was finally confirmed. It was because of him that the array was destroyed.

"No." Li Jinglong said, "It's not because of you. It's because of me."

Everyone asked in surprise, "What?"

Li Jinglong said, "The reason for my failure this time was because I had … I … I … In short, my luck was bad. By a freak combination of factors, the Heart Lamp … actually didn't approve of me, so the destruction of the Earth Vein Array saved my life."

When Li Jinglong heard up to this point, he almost understood everything. When he released the power of the Mind's Lamp and used Spirit Bestowal, a powerful force that could topple mountains and overturn seas instantly broke through some kind of restriction in his body. And this restriction was connected to the past that he had completely forgotten — the two years when he had known Hongjun as a child.

The deaths of Kong Xuan and Jia Yuze, as well as the destruction of Hongjun's family, were all because he didn't want to see Hongjun leave him. And after that tragedy, Qing Xiong rushed over and used magic to seal his and Hongjun's memories.

It was also because of this that Li Jinglong finally understood why Qing Xiong always had a sense of familiarity whenever he met Hongjun. He always felt a sense of compensation from the bottom of his heart. Even after regaining the Sword of Wisdom, there was always a force that drove him to cultivate immortality, to visit all the famous mountains, to find a person who he didn't even know who he was …

To collect demons, to exorcise devils, all of these were his destined atonement.

When the restriction was broken, it made him remember the past. Once his heart wavered, the Mind's Lamp sensed his obsession and left his body to judge the crimes he had committed.

In the days that he was brought out, Li Jinglong had always been thinking about the bits and pieces of those two years. After Qing Xiong's restriction was broken, it became clearer and clearer. On that rainy day, he accidentally stepped into the abandoned Exorcism Department and faced the statue of the Immovable Wisdom King. When the Dharma appeared, in order to make Hongjun stay, he didn't hesitate to set a trap and led Hongjun into this final ending.

"Why?" Mo Rigen called Li Jinglong out of his memories and asked uneasily.

Li Jinglong said, "Because I'm not … I'm not someone recognized by the Mind's Lamp. The Mind's Lamp chose the wrong person from the beginning …"

"There's no such thing." Hongjun interrupted. "It's all my fault. It's my fault. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

Everyone looked at Hongjun. Hongjun said again, "But the mistake has been made. Next, should we go back to find An Lushan and seal him again?"

"How do we seal him?" Li Jinglong said, "Without the Six Tools of the Immovable Wisdom King and the Mind's Lamp, we can't rely on anything now. We can only run."

Hongjun thought for a moment and said, "Kun Shen might have a way. He must have foreseen this moment! After all, when we were in Luoyang … "

"Don't mention him." Li Jinglong frowned deeply and replied with anger in his tone, "I don't want to hear him talk about the future anymore! He was the one who taught me the God Subduing Technique, but what's the use? "

"When we were in Luoyang, Kun Shen didn't appear!" Hongjun ignored Li Jinglong's words and said, "This means that something must have gone wrong in the middle, or it's far from the end."

"I don't believe in fate!" Li Jinglong said.

"I do." Hongjun replied, "If the end is like what I saw, as long as everyone can survive, it doesn't matter."

"What kind of future did you see?" Li Jinglong suddenly asked.

The conversation came to an abrupt end. Hongjun didn't want to continue talking. The atmosphere in the room was a little stiff for a moment. Lu Xu suddenly said, "Hongjun."

Mo Rigen said, "Elder Shi, you're tired. Rest for a while."

Li Jinglong took a deep breath. Lu Xu pushed the door open and went out. Mo Rigen said to everyone, "Everyone, let's disperse first. In the next few days, we'll slowly think of a way."

Hongjun felt that Li Jinglong's mind was very unstable. After losing the Mind's Lamp, he had indeed become a little irritable. Perhaps it would be better to let him calm down. He said to Li Jinglong, "I'll go out and get some wind."

Li Jinglong sat in the corner, seemingly deep in thought, not making a sound.

"Have you been dreaming recently?" Lu Xu came to the backyard and asked Hongjun.

The snow had stopped, the wind had also stopped. The entire world was abnormally silent. The pale afternoon sun shone down on the two people's heads.

"I have." Hongjun said calmly, "The Mind's Lamp enchantment has been broken. I've been dreaming every night."

Lu Xu's heart suddenly clenched. He stared blankly at Hongjun. He hadn't realized it before, but after Li Jinglong's injury, he realized that Hongjun, who had lost the protection of the Mind's Lamp, actually had such strong willpower.

"Jinglong first lost the Mind's Lamp." Hongjun said, "Then it affected the Mind's Lamp enchantment he cast on me and sealed my nightmare … Is that right? The Demon Binding Rope thus sensed the nightmare on my body. Thus, the Immovable Wisdom King appeared. "

"That's right." Lu Xu looked into Hongjun's eyes.

Hongjun said, "Where did the Mind's Lamp go? When I fell asleep last night, I kept thinking about this. "

Lu Xu didn't know much about the Mind's Lamp and was also at his wit's end. However, based on Hongjun's understanding, the Mind's Lamp shouldn't have run away on its own. According to Li Jinglong's description, when it escaped, it was right after he fainted. Would it return?

He remembered that when Qing Xiong first gave this light to him, it was stored in an artifact. In theory, it should have a carrier. If he was lucky, it was most likely still on Li Jinglong's body.

"You'd better not talk about luck with him." Lu Xu said.

Hongjun put a hand to his forehead and said helplessly, "Alright. The most important thing right now is to find the Mind's Lamp. I feel that Kun Shen most likely knows where it went. Even without foresight, he is the one in the world who understands the Mind's Lamp the most."

"What happens after you find it?" Lu Xu said.

"We'll follow the original plan." Hongjun replied, "Since Jinglong has already failed, you can only rely on me."

Lu Xu and Hongjun looked at each other in silence for a long time. After a long time, Lu Xu said, "You're just … you …"

Hongjun smiled and said, "You're silly. Wouldn't it be great if everyone could live?"

"No, I mean …" Lu Xu's brows furrowed. In the end, he gave up on trying to persuade Hongjun and only said, "Brother."

"Mm." Hongjun replied.

"From now on," Lu Xu said, "I can't suppress the nightmare in your body anymore."

"I know." Hongjun also had a nightmare last night. In his dream, he saw the countless sufferings of the people in the world. The past of the ghouls who died in battle, as well as the mortals they killed, all kinds of karma surged uncontrollably toward him.

After waking up from his initial dream, Hongjun gradually became able to bear it. The nightmare no longer brought him fear and pain. Instead, when he woke up from his dream, he felt endless sorrow and pity.

"The Tianma seed is slowly awakening." Lu Xu said in an extremely low voice, "Next, the evil aura between heaven and earth will gather toward you under the suction force of the demonic seed."

"I can feel it." Hongjun muttered, "But I don't know why, but I don't feel uncomfortable. I only feel very sad. I think I gradually understand the reason why Mahamayuri is a god and a demon in one body …"

He raised his head and looked at the heaven, earth, and mountains. Too many people had died in this village. After waking up, every soul seemed to be crying to him about the sorrow of life and the tragedy of death. They struggled to enter his heart, as if only by doing so could they obtain some kind of predetermined and predestined salvation.

"… Take away the evil aura and resentful souls in the world." Hongjun said, "Returning to the veins of heaven and earth might be the agreement between Mahamayuri and the Immovable Wisdom King. This is what I am destined to do. No one can help me escape from it."

At this moment, Mo Rigen walked out of Li Jinglong's room.

"He can't take it for a while." Mo Rigen said to Hongjun, "He has a bad temper. Don't take it to heart."

Hongjun said, "The one I love is neither the heart lamp nor him who has the heart lamp. The one I love is him."

"But when you met Chief Shi, under the influence of the heart lamp, he was …" Mo Rigen also saw that something was wrong, but he knew better than to continue.

Lu Xu said, "Why are you guys so stubborn? When Hongjun liked Li Jinglong, who knows where the heart lamp was. "

Hongjun laughed. Mo Rigen was confused. He didn't know what happened between Hongjun and Li Jinglong when they were young. He was only worried that they would quarrel. But for Hongjun, his love for Li Jinglong was enough to support all of this. He accepted his perfection and wisdom, and at the same time, accepted all of his flaws. Just like how he used to accept everything about him, Hongjun would naturally accept him now.

"Ever since he woke up three days ago, he hasn't said a word." Mo Rigen said, "Last night, after you went in, he really opened his mouth to speak."

Only then did Hongjun know about this. He nodded and said, "I'll accompany him."

Hongjun entered the room. Mo Rigen and Lu Xu looked at each other for a moment. Mo Rigen raised his eyebrows slightly. Lu Xu nodded, meaning that he had told him everything.

Mo Rigen said, "Then …"

Lu Xu made a "shh" gesture, indicating that he shouldn't ask any more questions.

"Let's warm up first." Lu Xu said, "Cherish every day that everyone is still here."

Mo Rigen lowered his head. After a moment of silence, he took out a brocade pouch from his chest. It was the one that Lu Xu had briefly taken from him that day in Luoyang. He opened his palm and handed it to Lu Xu. Lu Xu reached out his hand.

"Take it, and it means that you are willing to marry me." Mo Rigen said, "No matter what the future holds."

"I haven't thought about it yet." Lu Xu looked up and stared at Mo Rigen.

"Then think about it again?" Mo Rigen said.

"But there are many things in this world that it's better not to think too clearly." Lu Xu smiled and took the brocade pouch in the end.

Inside the brocade pouch was the Grey Wolf's replacement. There was a wolf's fang that still had traces of blood at the root, and the dragon scale that Li Jinglong had distributed to everyone.

Hongjun returned to the room. Li Jinglong was still quietly leaning against the bed.

"There's no need to specially look for Kun Shen." Li Jinglong suddenly said, "If he had foreseen all of this, then he would definitely come to find us."

Although Li Jinglong's mood had become much more dejected, Hongjun had to admit that he hadn't lost any of his intelligence.

"Then let's wait in the village?" Hongjun said. As he spoke, he leaned forward and kissed Li Jinglong. After he kissed Li Jinglong, there seemed to be some light in his eyes.

"Were you angry just now?" Li Jinglong asked.

"No."

"You were angry." Li Jinglong said a little stubbornly, "I felt it."

"You really weren't." Hongjun only wanted to laugh when he heard this. Li Jinglong began to worry about personal gains and losses again, saying, "Did I lose my composure in front of them just now?"

"No, no, no." Hongjun answered seriously, "Get up and walk. Mo Rigen said that you have to move a little, or else you might get bedsores."

"I can recover." Li Jinglong said again.

Hongjun reached under his ribs and helped him up. Li Jinglong's face was a little distorted from the pain. Hongjun knew that he must be feeling very uncomfortable, but he pretended not to see. Li Jinglong stood up with difficulty. Hongjun carried his arm and carefully took a step forward.

"The fracture is almost healed." Li Jinglong said, "It shouldn't be too big of a problem for me to take care of myself in the future."

Li Jinglong repeated this too many times, but Hongjun still answered patiently, "Do you remember the day you climbed Taihang Mountain and took me away?"

"Yes." Li Jinglong endured the pain all over his body. His forehead was dripping with sweat, and he took another step forward.

"That day I was thinking," Hongjun said softly, "In this life, no matter what we become, we will always be together."

Li Jinglong suddenly said, "Even if something happened, it doesn't matter?"

Hongjun was startled and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Li Jinglong said unnaturally, "It's nothing."

Hongjun thought, could it be that Li Jinglong remembered everything? Recently, he was really too strange, as if he had too many things on his mind. At this moment, the two of them had different expressions, but they both remembered the same memory.

Two years ago, in the vast land of the Northwest, when Hongjun urged his horse to leave Dunhuang, Li Jinglong caught up with him, sat on his body, and firmly locked his hands. He shouted at him, "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Come, take another step." Hongjun said.

Li Jinglong took another step, and at this moment, the sky darkened. Hongjun suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold enter the room.

"Sit down for a while." Hongjun immediately said, and then quickly walked out of the door.

Mo Rigen stood on the roof and looked into the distance. As far as his eyes could see, there was a vast wasteland. In the distance, eagles were flying in the sky, and the dark clouds were rolling in the direction of this secluded village.