Chapter 167

Everyone agreed that the main purpose of this battle was to get rid of Liang Danhuo. As for An Lushan, it was beyond everyone's ability. However, at least as far as the Exorcism Division knew, the Inner Demon had never really had a chance to fight.

In the past, it had always been the Huashe, the Bear Demon, Wine, Women, Avarice, Liang Danhuo, and other monsters who gathered food for him, the living and the dead. An Lushan had never brazenly appeared on the battlefield and caught people to eat. Li Jinglong had also thought about this question — why didn't An Lushan fight?

There must be a reason, but they didn't know the inside story. When Li Jinglong read ancient documents in the Luoyang Bureau of Exorcism., he found a possible explanation: Heavenly Tribulation. The changes of vengeful souls in heaven and earth, the birth, death, transformation, demon transformation, and demon transformation were all closely related to the veins of heaven and earth.

Legend had it that when demons killed wantonly, they would attract punishment from the heavens, which was the Lightning Tribulation. If they couldn't survive the Lightning Tribulation, they would be reduced to ashes. If a dragon wanted to become a dragon, it would break through some kind of restriction and attract Heavenly Tribulation. Xie Yu had once carefully laid out a plan in Chang 'an, and it was because of this.

However, no one had seen Heavenly Tribulation and didn't know what to do to surpass it. Therefore, Li Jinglong speculated that Xie Yu and An Lushan were constantly trying not to touch a certain line in order to avoid unnecessary trouble.

This line was: Directly kill a large number of mortals.

As for how large a number was, whether it was the Exorcism Division, the enemy, or even Di Renjie, they couldn't estimate the exact number. Therefore, An Lushan joined the rebellion and used mortals to kill mortals and absorb the evil energy. It was always safe. In other words, if mortals could kill mortals, they would never let demons kill them. If demons could kill them, An Lushan would never do it himself.

"Our goal is to force An Lushan." Li Jinglong analyzed for a long time and finally said, "Get rid of Liang Danhuo and withdraw the army to Tong Pass. It's better if the rebels can withdraw to Luoyang."

"What is Liang Danhuo's weakness?" Ashina Chong looked at Atay. Out of all of them, Atay was the only one who had officially fought with her before. Moreover, this guy was really the most difficult to deal with. So be it if he was painted, but he could release a blood mist to kill people. Not only could he kill people, but he could also fly. Even Wu Qiyu had not been so difficult to deal with back then.

"How did you break the Blood Pool back then?" Atay suddenly recalled the past. During the battle to subdue Wu Qiyu, neither Qiong nor Lu Xu participated in it.

Li Jinglong suddenly found a strange connection between the two. Could the blood pool created by Wu Qiyu be related to Liang Danhuo? The matter before his eyes seemed to have become an invisible giant net. It was complicated and interconnected.

"Five-colored Divine Light." Li Jinglong answered, "Later on, I used my heart to break it."

"When it blossomed into a blood mist, she was hidden in the mist." Lu Xu said, "If we can see her true form, we might be able to give her a fatal blow with the help of a transcendent artifact."

"I hope Zhao Zilong can bring back useful information." Li Jinglong said helplessly, "Let's leave it at that."

Li Jinglong had been waiting for night to come so that Lu Xu could bring him to the northern border. However, Gao Xianzhi had ordered the army to march quickly. If they did not keep up, they would soon fall behind. In addition, Li Jinglong's body had not yet recovered, so his horse speed was already lagging behind.

"The heart's lamp can get rid of it." Lu Xu said.

In the dark night, the army rested for a short while before setting off again.

"Yes." Li Jinglong was already very tired. The continuous march caused his whole body to ache unbearably. The lack of sleep made him even more irritated. Lu Xu urged his horse and followed Atay, one on the left and one on the right to protect him.

Lu Xu suddenly said, "The heart's lamp is still in your body, Jinglong."

Li Jinglong smiled bitterly and said, "Lu Xu, don't comfort me anymore."

Lu Xu suddenly said, "Why don't you believe me? Because your heart is wavering? "

In the Exorcism Division, only Lu Xu knew everything that Li Jinglong was hiding in his heart. Atay heard it but did not leave. He just followed silently.

"It's not that I don't believe you." Li Jinglong suddenly said, "Even if I believe you now, what's the use of winning the war? You tell me that the heart's lamp is still in my body. I can't even draw my bow. If I take this broken sword and rush to An Lushan to die, will the heart's lamp come out to protect me at that time? "

Lu Xu did not say anything.

"I also hope that a miracle will appear." Li Jinglong said, "But in fact, every time I hope for a miracle, it has never favored me. Later, I thought that I shouldn't hope for a miracle. I should just rely on myself, right? " As he spoke, he smiled bitterly and said, "But even if I calculate everything that should be calculated, I will still suffer the most fatal blow at the most critical moment."

Only the sound of horse hooves could be heard in the dark night. Ashina Chong suddenly said, "I'll go ahead and scout the road."

Ashina Chong went far away. In the dark night, Atay said slowly, "Speaking of the blood demon and the blood pool, I suddenly remembered something."

Li Jinglong did not answer. Atay said again, "The people who were here when the heart's lamp was first released are not here now. But I remember that later, you all said that you relied on your sudden burst of power to escape …"

Lu Xu had heard Hongjun mention it briefly, but it was not detailed. Hearing this, he held his breath and listened quietly.

"Yes." Li Jinglong said in a low voice, "Now that I think about it, it feels like a lifetime ago."

He urged the horse forward neither too fast nor too slow, looking into the dark distance. It seemed to be a road with no future, leading to endless despair and the abyss.

He thought about that day, the reason why the heart's lamp suddenly erupted, and he understood.

At that time, Hongjun was grabbed by the back of his neck by the demon. A dagger was placed on his ear, and he sank into the blood pool. He was powerless and could only watch as the demon cut open Hongjun's ear. Hongjun was in extreme pain. His eyes were filled with tears. He seemed to be begging for mercy, but also seemed to be calling for his guardian. Recalling his emotions at that time, Li Jinglong only felt a burst of power in the depths of his heart.

"I only have one thought." Li Jinglong said, "Protect him. Even if I have to die, I will not hesitate."

Lu Xu hesitated and said, "Then … let him come back and have his ear cut again?"

"How can that be the same?" Li Jinglong said, unable to bear it any longer.

Atay said, "One night, Trandol told me that she guessed the reason why the heart's lamp no longer appeared …"

Li Jinglong could not help but think back to that moment in the blood pool. When Hongjun was suffering in front of him, he finally awakened the heart's lamp. But just before he obtained this power, in the short span of a few seconds, he seemed to tacitly agree to a certain fact. That is, he had always been Hongjun's guardian.

It was as if fate had decreed that he was a certain Divine General, and his purpose in coming to the mortal world was to protect Hongjun. However, they had never seen each other, and all their memories had been sealed. When a certain scene appeared in front of him, this seal was finally completely broken, and the heart's lamp thus became a part of his soul.

"… I understand." Li Jinglong answered.

The moment the heart's lamp appeared, it was born because of Hongjun. The moment the heart's lamp disappeared, it was also extinguished because of Hongjun.

Li Jinglong finally understood that at this moment, it was no longer important whether the heart's lamp acknowledged him or not. In fact, the heart's lamp had never acknowledged him. This light that dispelled the darkness was only born because of Hongjun.

He needed him, so in an instant, a strong light surged out.

"The reason for losing the heart's lamp is …" Li Jinglong said, "I feel that perhaps Hongjun no longer needs me."

This was the most painful thing for him from beginning to end, and it was also his heart's demon.

"How can that be?" Atay said.

"How can that be?" Lu Xu answered.

Li Jinglong stopped his horse and silently looked ahead. Atay said, "Find your original feelings."

"It's very difficult." Li Jinglong said, "You don't know that I …"

"Because the future we're working so hard for is for him to become a Heavenly Demon and completely disappear from this world?" Lu Xu said, "It's precisely because of this that we need to prevent all of this from happening, isn't it? Da Lang also said that he can't suffer for the common people of this world. No one is born to do this. "

Li Jinglong took a deep breath. Atay said again, "You just have to think that if you can't summon the heart's lamp again, Hongjun will have to give up his life and die for us. That's enough."

Although Hongjun was not by his side, Li Jinglong thought of countless past events in an instant, and familiar emotions surged in his chest.

"Maybe he will hate me." Li Jinglong said, "But I still hope that he will live well."

Lu Xu and Atay looked at each other and did not answer. Li Jinglong continued to urge his horse forward. After a long silence, the sound of hurried horse hooves broke the silence of the long night.

Ashina Chong rushed over with a torch in his hand and said, "I see the camp ahead!"

In the dark night, there was an imperceptible disturbance in the marching troops. The two sides used the river as the boundary. An Lushan's camp was actually closer than the scout's by nearly ten li!

The wrong information caused the marching troops to lose the initiative. Fortunately, the rebel army did not find any traces of them. Gao Xianzhi had already passed down a military order, and the entire army was in attack formation. The vanguard rested for a while, and with the Owl Cry Arrow as the command, they concentrated their attacks and set fire to the enemy camp.

In the pitch-black darkness, the Carp Demon climbed ashore, dripping wet. It was so cold that it could not help but shiver. It tore a square piece of cloth to wrap around its head and looked around. After taking a few steps, it was shocked to see the demons' camp.

This time, the camp was actually so close?! The Carp Demon seemed to understand something and moved closer to peek into the tent. At this time, it saw a huge tent in the middle of the camp. The defense was extremely tight, and there were guards patrolling everywhere. The tent was brightly lit for a moment.

"What is this? I didn't see it last time. "The Carp Demon muttered to itself.

The Carp Demon tried to approach the tent. It retracted its two legs and hands, lying on the ground, and moved gently. It had just rained in spring, so the ground was very wet. The fish's body was covered in mud, and it looked no different from the ground. It was also dark, so the patrolling guards did not pay attention to their feet at all.

The Carp Demon slowly approached the tent step by step. It moved to the side of the tent and squeezed through the gap between the tent and the ground. It accidentally caught on the edge of the tent and scraped off two or three of its scales. It was so painful that it almost cried out.

Liang Danhuo held an ancient wooden dagger in her hand and stood in front of a huge bird. The huge bird was covered in human skin, and under the translucent skin, there was flesh and blood covered with veins.

The dagger in Liang Danhuo's hand was covered in runes, and the runes shone with a green light. She chanted an incantation, and suddenly, the huge bird's body lit up and moved. The Carp Demon was so shocked that it screamed in its heart. After Liang Danhuo cast the spell, she was exhausted. The red flesh and blood on her body that was exposed also dried up. It was obvious that she had used up too much of her mana.

Immediately, a demon came from behind and supported Liang Danhuo. Liang Danhuo staggered and walked out of the tent. Before she left, she said, "Guard this place well. Don't let anyone in."

Humans can't come in, but no one said that demons can't come in, the Carp Demon thought. After Liang Danhuo left, there was no demon in the tent. The Carp Demon carefully walked towards the huge bird and circled it. It saw that the demon bird was covered in human skin. Its wings were half open, and the bird's head was extremely ferocious. The bird's bones were covered in human skin, and it looked like a huge skin kite.

The skin was also covered in tattoos and runes. The Carp Demon recognized a few of the skins. They were the skins that Liang Danhuo had replaced in the past. It looked like some powerful demon prepared by the rebel army. If the skin on its wings could be pierced, it might not be able to fly.

In the dark night, the Tang army rustled and hid in front of the forest. They faced the stream, and on the other side of the stream was the endless plain of Shan Commandery. On the plain were the fifty thousand troops of An Lushan.

Gao Xianzhi ordered an ambush and prepared for a sneak attack. This time, there were more than ten thousand people. If they came out in full force and set fire to the camp, they might be able to catch the enemy off guard. But on the other side of the stream, the camp was dark. There was not even a bonfire. The camp was like a monster that chose people to devour. In the darkness, the sound of wind whistling could be heard.

"They shouldn't fail," Lu Xu whispered. "If they fail like this, the Tang army shouldn't fight."

Since the retreat to the west of Luoyang several months ago, the Tang army had been defeated time and time again. Along the way, they either surrendered or were defeated. Lu Xu had followed Geshu Han's army in the past and had never seen such a useless army.

"There's no other way." Li Jinglong frowned in annoyance and answered, "They're all militia that were temporarily recruited from the marketplace. They can't even gather enough armor. They can't compare to your border army."

"Shh." Ashina Chong came out of the water and said, "There's no ambush on the East Road."

"It's your turn." Li Jinglong said to Lu Xu.

Lu Xu's body was as light as a swallow. He spread out his arms and jumped into the river. When he landed on the water, Ashina Chong threw out a branch, which happened to land at Lu Xu's feet. Lu Xu stepped on the branch and flew across the river.

"Crossing the river on a reed." Li Jinglong could hardly believe what he saw. He whispered, "It's simply a godly skill."

Lu Xu circled around the plains on the other side of the river. He did not dare to get too close to the enemy camp and quickly returned. He said to Ashina Chong, "Are you blind or stupid? You didn't see those eight big monsters on the plains? "

"What monsters?" Ashina Chong was confused.

In the darkness, the eight Earth-devouring Beasts that had devoured corpses in Luoyang stood in a row outside the camp.

"How are we going to fight this?" Atay asked again.

"Are you guys brainless?" Li Jinglong could not bear it any longer.

"This is out of respect for you! Chief Inspector! "Lu Xu said.

Li Jinglong had momentarily forgotten that there were monsters under An Lushan. He had not thought of a way to restrain them. He thought about it and said, "Atay, use fireballs to bombard their mouths. Lu Xu, lure them over one by one and deal with them. Chong, go inform General Feng that we are not going to attack the camp for now. We'll deal with the enemy first. "

Ashina Chong went to deliver the message. Li Jinglong observed the other side of the river for a while and suddenly said, "If we really can't beat them, let's summon the dragon. Where are the life-saving dragon scales?"

Atay: "Mine is in Trandol's hands."

Lu Xu: "Mine was given to Da Lang. They went to the north."

Li Jinglong: "…"

None of them had any dragon scales. Atay suddenly remembered and said, "Zhao Zilong has one."

"Who told it to go to the enemy camp?" Li Jinglong said.

Lu Xu: "Wasn't it you?"

Everyone looked at each other. The only life-saving dragon scales were actually on the Carp Demon, and the Carp Demon had been sent out by Li Jinglong.

Atay said, "Chong should have one with him. Don't worry, I hope he didn't give it to Hongjun."

Li Jinglong: "…"