Exorcism

Everything is inevitable, and everything is accidental: the collapse of a thousand-mile embankment is inevitable, but the ant nest that created the last crack is accidental; the dryness of the sky and the increase in fires are inevitable, but the sparks falling on someone's roof are inevitable. Accidental; killing the sacred tree is inevitable, but who does it is accidental.

Most of the thirty-seventh generation ancestors of the Taoist tradition were in the realm of Rimang. Only three were in the realm of Yuemang. One of them was the contemporary patriarch Fang Xunmo. He felt that the Patriarch of Rimang could explain the matter of "Killing the God" more clearly. It's more reasonable. Maybe they don't need to explain. They can just stand there and convince everyone with the three words "Serve Rimang".

Fang Xunmo had to resort to language. The audience was a female Taoist priest named Shanxia and a blank head. Yang Qingyin was trying hard to listen and understand, but the bald man felt that this was a strange story. It should have been interesting, but it was The story was obscure and difficult to understand, and he did not have a high opinion of the ancestor's story-telling skills.

Fang Xunmo said that the sacred tree is like a fire, bringing warmth and light to human beings, but also disaster and darkness. Fire does not distinguish between high and low, close to each other, and the result is the same whether you please it or hate it. Fire people always hope to tame fire and make fire their own without causing harm.

The sacred tree possesses powerful power and spreads it at will. However, the creatures that gain the power always want to monopolize the power. Are these creatures selfish? Not really. The demons communicate with each other, and the Taoist tradition also spreads spells to as many people as possible. They are selfless to their own side, but there is a life-and-death competition between humans and demons.

Fang Xunmo talked about the Dao Demon War more than 130,000 years ago. Both sides thought that the sacred tree would be on their side, so they agreed to choose the place for the decisive battle near the sacred tree.

Dao Tong got Dao Fire from a burning tree root, and of course he thought he was carrying out God's will.

The demons have been studying the method of destroying trees, but in their view, destroying trees is not "killing the gods", but transferring the power of gods to the demons, allowing the sacred trees to last forever in another form. Since the sacred trees have never been If you have expressed opposition, then all the actions of the demons are certainly in line with God's will.

But there is no divine will in this world, not even a god. There is only a tree. It happens to have power, just like fire. It happens to be able to roast food, and it happens to be able to burn houses to ashes.

Before the Dao-Demon War began, the demons had already figured out a way to destroy the tree. They hoped to use a magic seed to corrode the inside of the tree, and then use the Taoist priest's Taoist fire to burn the outer branches. However, although the tree has no "divine will", it has the instinct of self-preservation: while being corroded by the power, it also corrodes all the demon species in the body of the demon race.

This is the fundamental reason for the defeat of the demons. They were defeated by their own corrosive power. The initiator was the demons and the spreader was the tree.

Tao Tong witnessed the fiasco of the demons with his own eyes, and he understood one thing. There is an inseparable connection between the demons and the tree, and between Tao Tong and the tree. The tree can spread the power of demonic erosion to all demons, and one day it will also destroy all Taoist priests. The inner elixir.

Baldy had deep doubts here, and couldn't help but ask: "The demons were retaliated for trying to destroy the tree. They deserve it. Wouldn't it be better if Dao Tong didn't provoke the tree?"

Fang Xunmo did not ignore the problem because it came from a head, and explained the reasons carefully.

The demons did not decide to destroy the tree from the beginning. The demons who first proposed this idea were ridiculed and punished, but the idea did not disappear. After all, the tree is the source of power. The reverence will gradually dissipate, but the greed will not disappear. Will grow up slowly.

More and more demons feel that they are the top beings in the world. Taking over the power of the tree is not only not "killing the god", but also a form of respect for the god.

The first generation of the three ancestors understood the history of the demon clan. They jointly used great supernatural powers to look into the future that had not yet happened, and foresaw the decline and changes of the Taoism. They knew that as long as the tree was still the source of power, and as long as the Taoist priests knew the existence of the tree, sooner or later the Taoism would follow. Demons also have the thought of "killing gods".

The Third Patriarch was prepared for a rainy day and lit the Dao Fire on the day he defeated the demons, and started the business of "killing gods" in advance.

The Third Ancestor knew very well that it was impossible to complete the unfinished business of the demon clan with the power of Taoism alone. Dao fire could not kill the tree. They were actually using Dao fire to hide the existence of the tree. This must be done immediately, because the first generation , The second generation of Taoist priests saw the power of the tree and the destruction of the demons with their own eyes and could understand the importance of this move, but the Taoist priests of the third and fourth generations may not be able to do so.

The bald man vaguely understood, "It's like my mother knows that I love to eat sweets. Even if I swear to God that I will never eat them secretly, she will hide the sweets in advance and make me think that there is no sugar at home."

In Fang Xunmo's view, both trees and sugar can cause cravings, but the intensity is very different. Taoist priests spend their lives getting rid of the seven emotions and six desires, but the desire for practice itself cannot be eliminated. Sooner or later, this desire will lead Taoist priests to Sacred tree.

The Third Patriarch also expected this. Concealing the existence of the tree is only effective for low-level Taoist priests. There will always be some powerful high-level Taoist priests who will guess or see through the truth. Some people don't care, but some people will be attracted. They may just want to see it at first. Judging from the appearance of the tree, if you continue step by step, you will eventually develop the same greed as the demons.

The Third Patriarch then set up the illusion of Zhibo State. All Taoist priests who enter it will feel the divine will through various signs. When they discover that this divine will has nothing to do with the tree and actually comes from the Taoism, everything will be too late. Whether they are trying to put out the fire or follow the instructions of the Third Patriarch. It means spontaneously igniting the inner elixir, and the result is the same: becoming part of the Tao Fire.

In this way, Taoism not only concealed the existence of the tree, but also eliminated the wavering high-level Taoist priests - these people may cause greater harm if they stay within Taoism - which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

The first ones who were tempted were all Taoist priests of Fu Yuemang. In the past tens of thousands of years, Taoist priests of Fu Yuemang and Zhu Shen secretly entered the Zhibu State. Their magic power was weaker, and the slight shaking of the illusion they caused was recorded by the Zhibu State.

Yang Qingyin had been listening quietly, but Baldy asked if he had any questions, "Aren't the Third Patriarchs afraid that the ancestors of future generations will also be tempted? For example, you know everything. If you sneak into Zhibu State, you will definitely not be tempted. Trapped.”

The seventh-generation Patriarch was the last person to understand the whole truth. He invented the method of fundamental seclusion, which made the Taoist priests' three fields stronger and protected their memories more tightly than ever before. Even low-level Taoist priests would find it difficult to have their memories stolen. After his death, the truth was hidden like the tree.

The Third Ancestor's plan proceeds naturally and does not require anyone's promotion or maintenance. The illusion is an illusion. All the actions and thoughts of the Fire Tree King and his subjects have been planned, and there will be no unnecessary conflicts like real humans and monsters. Ambition, let alone unexpected adventures.

Fang Xunmo has been the thirty-seventh generation patriarch for more than a thousand years. He didn't know the secret of Zhibu State until a hundred years ago, not because he was smarter or more curious than the previous generation of ancestors, but because the time had come.

The Tao fire never goes out, because it has been passed down from generation to generation. The Tao fire that burns the tree will eventually end. The fire uses the tree as firewood, and the tree uses the fire as nourishment. In the end, the fire and the tree will become one, and the seeds of the fire tree will Then they will break out of the stagnant state and spread all over the world. They may not have any intention of revenge, but their nature allows them to ignite the Taoist priest's inner elixir, which will be the demise of the Taoist tradition.

This is the most unpredictable moment in the entire plan of the Third Patriarch. They had no way of judging whether this generation of Patriarchs would be tempted more than 130,000 years ago. Fang Xunmo was one of the three weakest Patriarchs in the Taoist tradition, but he had to do it. make the most important decisions.

Fang Xunmo did not hesitate at all. The Taoist priest's heart was not disturbed by knowing the truth and the existence of a stronger person. He meticulously implemented the plan that the third ancestor had already formulated: to find the last Taoist priest who went to Zhibu State within the Taoism. At the same time, he tested the demon species' intentions, hoping to get support from the void.

The demons were corrupted by their own power, and their hatred for the tree had long since disappeared. However, they knew that as long as the tree still existed, it was a huge threat. So after nearly a hundred years of testing and negotiation, the demons agreed to hand over the destroyed tree. The condition is that the Taoist priest removes the demon-suppressing clock.

Fang Xunmo agreed. In fact, this was also the negotiation condition set by the Third Ancestor. They expected that it would be increasingly difficult for Taoist priests to improve their realm, but the power of magic weapons would become stronger and stronger, and the overall strength of Taoism would still be far behind. In an era that was stronger than the first Dao Demon War, it was acceptable to release the demon species for another decisive battle.

The search for candidates within the Taoism was also going smoothly. Fang Xunmo was the founder and could appoint any Taoist priest to carry out this irreversible task. However, this was not the way Taoism behaved. He observed silently, if there was any If the high Taoist priest happens to see through the truth on his own during this period and is tempted by the tree, then he just needs to let nature take its course.

This person appeared decades ago and was Zuo Liuying.

Yang Qingyin raised a question for the first time: "Zuo Liuying? He knows the secret of Zhi Bubang, but he delegated the task to Mu Xingqiu?"

This is why Fang Xunmo found it difficult to explain. The low-level Taoist priests did not understand the high-level Taoist priests, so they had doubts that they should not have.

"So far Zuo Liuying knows nothing about it, but he has triggered the true illusion, has calamity in his heart, and is even willing to break through the void and directly fight the demon species. Such a Taoist priest will definitely be tempted by the tree."

However, neither the Third Patriarch more than 130,000 years ago nor today's Patriarch Fang Xunmo could have predicted all of Zuo Liuying's actions. This mind-conscious Taoist priest actually vomited pills twice and lost the strength to enter Zhibo State.

There was an accident in the inevitable. Daotong urgently needed a replacement for Zuo Liuying. Mu Xingqiu, who was not in the plan at all, got involved. He was not even tempted by the tree, but he walked into Zhibu State by mistake.

"No Taoist priest who enters Zhibu State can come out again. This is a commandment established by the Third Patriarch. If Mu Xingqiu is unwilling or unable to perform the task, then I will have to send a Taoist priest in, maybe myself."

While Fang Xunmo was revealing the secret, he was also observing the situation inside the Zhibu State. Only his magic could pass through the restriction and enter the Zhibu State.

"I don't think I need to go in." Fang Xunmo looked at the accidental things in front of him with a certain look, so he would not express emotion. He only did what he should do, "Mu Xingqiu has an expectation, and he will put it into practice Injecting into the illusion, I don’t think his expectations can be realized, but I am willing to give him all possible help.”

Fang Xunmo paused for a moment and took out a palm-sized copper bell from his wide sleeves, "But I can't stay here, so you two have to provide help to Mu Xingqiu."

The bronze bell grew in the wind. At the same time, the huge waves in the north stopped and became a wall of water towering up to the sky.