Exorcism

The excited roars of the demons came from behind, which was a catharsis after surviving. But it sounded like a great irony to the disciples of the Taoist sect. They were retreating, but their ears could not ignore it.

No one asked the Taoist priests who were traveling with them, because the incident happened too suddenly. More than a dozen Taoist priests were also at a loss.

The Taoist priests who were in charge of the gods would definitely not ask for a retreat without reason. This time, they just stood too high and looked too far, and even the Taoist priests who were only one level lower than them could not keep up.

The three teams of the Taoist sect met dozens of miles away, and received further orders here: continue to retreat until they completely leave the land of demons. In other words, this high-profile operation to slay demons and eliminate monsters has ended. As for the reason, the Taoist priests were told not to think too much, and they would get the explanation from the master after returning to their respective Taoist sects.

This will happen in more than 20 days, and those with the strongest Taoist hearts also feel a little impatient.

Shen Hao was one of the most impatient people, because he cared about the fate of Mu Xingqiu and others, and wanted to know whether his good friend had turned into a demon. Also, because he was the leader of the Demon Slayer Society, many people did not dare to speak to the senior Taoist priests, but kept asking him questions.

"You said on the battlefield that Mu Xingqiu had not turned into a demon. Did the Taoist priests hear it?"

"Didn't Taoist Xingluo tell you anything?"

"Is the Demon Slayer Society still independent? Why should we obey the orders of the senior Taoist priests to withdraw from the land of demons?"

...

Shen Hao could not answer any of them. He endured for three days, three whole days, and then he went to see Shen Jixian, the head of the Five Elements Department, "I want to see the Taoist priests. I must get an explanation immediately, otherwise I will order the Demon Slayer Society to stop retreating."

This was the first rest since the withdrawal of the troops for several days. The Taoist sect camped in a demon village that had just been destroyed, and eliminated the remaining monsters here.

Shen Jixian stood alone outside the village, as if he had expected Shen Hao to come to him, his expression was more severe than ever, "The Demon Slayer Association has nominally withdrawn from the Taoist tradition, but how many people do you think will disobey the orders of the high-level Taoist priests because of your words?"

Shen Hao suddenly remembered Mu Xingqiu's reminder. He said that the biggest problem of the Demon Slayer Association is that it is difficult to gain true independence. Shen Hao believed this judgment, but he did not expect the interference to come so quickly and thoroughly.

"Not many people." Shen Hao admitted that his influence on the members of the Demon Slayer Association was not as great as that of the Taoist tradition, "But even if I was alone, I would stop moving forward. The low-level Taoist priests would follow you, but their doubts would be stronger."

This was simply an open threat, but Shen Jixian was not angry, but smiled, "It seems that you are serious, okay, I will pass your request to the Taoist priests, maybe you will get an explanation before me."

"Thank you." Shen Hao was a little embarrassed. Shen Jixian, as the head, was also kept in the dark, but Shen Hao had no choice. He could not contact the master or other Taoist priests at all, so he could only pass the message through Shen Jixian.

The Taoist priest took this "threat" more seriously than Shen Hao expected. At about three o'clock that night, he was summoned. To be precise, it was a dream.

Taoist priests rarely dream. Shen Hao was sitting in his tent and thinking, and fell asleep unknowingly. At this time, a strange Taoist priest walked in and waved at him. Shen Hao got up and followed him. He knew it was a dream and that this dream was controlled by others, but he was not frightened at all. Instead, he felt very at ease.

The scene outside the tent was not much different from the real scene. The caves of the demon clan had been sealed, and a large number of useless objects were piled in the middle of the camp, wrapped in the five elements of fire and burning wantonly.

There was a Taoist priest standing near the campfire. Shen Hao looked and recognized it as Yang Yannian, the master of Pangshan.

The Taoist priest who summoned Shen Hao out of the tent disappeared.

Shen Hao hurried over, feeling a little panic even in his dream. After all, not every Taoist priest could be summoned by the master alone, not to mention that he had said some disrespectful words in front of the chief seat.

Shen Hao was about to salute, but Yang Yannian raised his hand to stop him, and then pointed to the bonfire not far ahead, "The fire of the five elements can destroy monsters and remove unclean air, but after more than 100,000 years, unclean air still occupies most of the world." "But the Taoist and human beings have the best part of the world. Even in the border areas, there are fertile land and good weather seasons. Unlike the land of monsters, there is often no living creature within hundreds of miles." Yang Yannian smiled, "But the monsters live here, and they grow stronger every once in a while, causing great trouble to the Taoist." The master put away his smile and said seriously: "When the Old Ancestor Peak was breached by the monsters, you were there, and told me What did the disciples of Pangshan do? "

Shen Hao was slightly stunned. He didn't expect the master to ask about the old things a few years ago. After thinking for a moment, "The vast majority of disciples fought bravely to kill monsters, lived and died with Laozufeng, and never bowed to the monsters. A few disciples, including me, followed the head of the Forbidden Secret Section to leave Laozufeng and take refuge in Duanliu City. "

"Martyrdom or evacuation, which choice do you think is wiser?"

"There is no so-called wise choice. If everyone dies at Laozufeng, the ancestral tower will fall into the hands of the monsters, causing a catastrophe; if everyone evacuates Laozufeng, Pangshan will be ridiculed by the world, and the disciples will feel humiliated, and it will be meaningless to save the ancestral tower. "

Yang Yannian nodded, obviously very satisfied with Shen Hao's answer, "Practitioners have form and spirit, and the Taoism is the same. The Patriarch Tower is the shape of Pangshan, and the inheritance and belief of the disciples are the god of Pangshan. When the Old Ancestor Peak falls, ”

"god."

Shen Hao was stunned again, because in his opinion, this withdrawal of troops destroyed the pride and belief of the Taoist disciples.

"Zuo Liuying is a great Taoist priest." Yang Yannian sighed, "But his ideas are often too unique."

"I have seen, for example, that there were so many disciples guarding the Ancestor Peak, but he only took away a group of Taoist priests. For example, when he went to Luanjing Mountain to rescue the former grandmaster, he almost opened a void passage to let the demons in."

"Well, that's true, but those practices are still within the scope allowed and accepted by the Taoist tradition. But since it was confirmed that he had encountered the Sighing Tribulation, Zuo Liuying's ideas began to go out of line."

The Sighing Tribulation is a Taoist calamity that all Taoist priests will experience sooner or later. The Taoism is boundless but the human power is limited. After endless years of climbing, the Taoist priests with the strongest and purest will will also become tired. The tiredness will accumulate over time and eventually burst out. , so that the Taoist priest can no longer improve his realm. He can continue to think and work hard, but he can't make even half a step forward.

No Taoist priest has ever survived the tribulation of sighing, so Zuo Liuying decided to give it a try.

"Zuo Liuying wants to use Mu Xingqiu and those demon-invading Taoist priests to save themselves from disaster?" Shen Hao was surprised.

"It's even more unique than this. You will know it later. The key is that Zuo Liuying convinced us." Yang Yannian did not say any more, but stared at the bonfire, as if there were important secrets hidden inside.

Shen Hao waited for a while and felt that the conversation was not over, so he asked in a low voice: "Did Zuo Liuying convince the Taoist priest not to kill Mu Xingqiu and the others?"

"If you experience another crisis at Laozu Peak, will you choose to evacuate or die as a martyr?" Yang Yannian suddenly changed the subject.

Shen Hao's thoughts were a little confused. He had never thought about this problem before, "Evacuate, I still choose to evacuate."

"Why?"

"Because it was a sneak attack. The demon tribe occupies the right time and place. Only after they evacuate can they re-select a battlefield that is beneficial to the Taoist order, and -" Shen Hao knew that there was no need to hide his true views in front of the grandmaster, and he could not hide it, "I can understand The importance and necessity of evacuating, I will not fall into regret, I can fight back.”

Yang Yannian nodded again, "The arrival of the demons is likely to be earlier than any previous prediction. For the entire Taoist tradition, this is a crisis in the Ancestor Peak."

Shen Hao shook his head, unable to believe his ears, "What the grandmaster means is... some Taoist priests will evacuate before the demons arrive? Who will evacuate? To where?"

"It's not just some of them, it's all Taoist priests. We have our own arrangements for where to go."

Shen Hao began to feel that this was really just a dream, "But the demons... and the humans in the entire world..."

"Didn't you have similar thoughts when you were at the Ancestor Peak? Instead of letting the orthodoxy wait uneasily for the demons, why not leave this anxiety to the demons? Humanity will always be revived. 130,000 years ago, humans It was just an inconspicuous race, but now it occupies some of the best land in the world, and its number is a hundred times or a thousand times that of the demon race. In another 130,000 years, humans will only be more prosperous than today, because when the orthodoxy returns. When we are in the world, we will no longer let demons hide in the void. This is not my expectation, but a reality that is taking shape.”

Shen Hao's mind became even more confused, and he couldn't tell whether this was really the Grandmaster's dream or a hallucination of his own. He thought he needed some time to understand the Grandmaster's plan, so he turned to ask about other things, "But this has nothing to do with this time." What does it matter if we withdraw our troops?"

"Zuo Liuying reminded us that if someone evacuates this world, someone must die for it. He is willing to be a martyr and also promised that Mu Xingqiu and others will follow him. He has other reasons, but this is the most important of."

Shen Hao felt like he had been punched hard. He was dizzy and everything in front of him was shaking upside down. "Why...why is the Grandmaster willing to tell me the truth?"

"As you said, you can understand the importance and necessity of evacuation. We need you to convince the lower Taoist priests. This is very important to the entire evacuation plan. It's not about convincing now, but later."

Yang Yannian raised his right hand and put it on Shen Hao's shoulder. In the dream, he looked twice as tall as an adult standing in front of a four or five-year-old child, "You will have a bright future."

Shen Hao did not break free from the master's hand. He had a premonition that the dream was about to end, because the master's appearance began to become distorted, so he hurriedly asked the last question, "Has Xiaoqiu really turned into a demon?"

Did the Grandmaster answer? How did you answer? Shen Hao had no impression at all. He woke up in a cold sweat.