Longzang

Chapter 971 I'm afraid I'll forget that I love you
The full moon hung high in the sky, silently watching the celestial sorcerers below who were about to clash. The shadow cast upon it showed no change, but every celestial sorcerer knew that it was growing larger and larger, and faster and faster.

As soon as Ming Lei grasped the ribbon, a ghostly flame immediately ignited in his hand, but each flame was extinguished by an invisible force. The two faced off for only a few breaths, during which hundreds of ghostly flames were extinguished, yet Ming Lei's hand remained motionless, and the ribbon remained trapped, unable to advance or retreat.

Youfeng snorted and stopped the Netherfire. As soon as the Netherfire stopped, Minglei also released his grip, and the ribbon flew back into Youfeng's hand, no longer striking at the Flame Demon.

Although the clash was brief, all the Celestial Witches clearly saw that Ming Lei had gained the upper hand in a direct confrontation with You Feng. While Ming Lei possessed the authority of the First Celestial Witch, You Feng also had the ancestral bloodline of a Celestial Witch, making her no less powerful. Therefore, the outcome was essentially that You Feng was defeated by Ming Lei in a direct confrontation.

At this point, the celestial witches saw no need to stay any longer and parted on bad terms. As for the shadow in the full moon, half of the celestial witches felt that someone else would handle it, and it wasn't their place to worry about it.

Ming Lei appeared in the main hall of the Heavenly City. Another slender shaman walked over and asked, "Is something unpleasant?"

Ming Lei sighed, "As expected."

"I watched the whole thing, but I don't quite understand why Youfeng is forcing Yanmo like this. What benefit does she gain from doing this?"

This slender witch was not tall, only reaching Ming Lei's waist, but she was also another celestial witch among the holy witches.

Ming Lei looked around but couldn't find a suitable seat, so he simply sat on the ground so they could talk at eye level. Then he said, "She's scared."

The witch asked in surprise, "Afraid? She can be afraid? She is a descendant of the Ancestral Witches, when has she ever been afraid in the Witch Realm?"

Ming Lei said, "Everyone is afraid. She was fearless before because she was protected by her bloodline, and all the wrong things she did were still within the tolerance of the Ancestral Witches. For example, she would occasionally humiliate me, which would be a big deal in other people's eyes. But that's just her way of showing off her superior status and letting everyone know that she is the number one Heavenly Witch in the entire Witch Realm, not me, the nominal First Heavenly Witch. So as long as I don't take it too seriously, it's not a big deal."

But this time was different. The trouble she had caused was far too great, so great that even her few drops of ancestral witch blood couldn't escape the consequences. She knew this very well, and that's why she was afraid.

"But why does she seem even more arrogant than before?"

Ming Lei smiled and said, "It is precisely because of fear that she becomes hysterical, in order to temporarily forget her fear. She is unreasonable and desperately provoking and forcing the Flame Demon, not because she really thinks the fault lies with the Power Witch. She wants to force the Flame Demon to rebel, so that once the Ancestor of Steel is fully awakened, the situation will be serious enough that the Ancestral Witch can temporarily disregard the mistake of losing the Ancient Full Moon and the authority of the Desolate Realm."

The priestess said, "Why did you place the ancient full moon before the authority of the Desolate Realm? Is it more serious than losing most of the Desolate Realm? Isn't that just one of Kaguya's foundational cultivation points?"

Ming Lei nodded and said, "Don't underestimate the Ancient Full Moon just because it's only a foundation of the Dao. It's the only foundation of the Dao in all realms. It exists in the Witch Domain to supplement and support the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth in the Witch Domain. I know this, and You Feng knows it too, but the other Heavenly Witches don't. That's why You Feng went crazy when the Full Moon was in trouble."

The shrine maiden then asked, "Doesn't Kaguya know either?"

Ming Lei's lips curled up almost imperceptibly as he said, "She... probably doesn't know."

The priestess bowed, turned, and left the hall. Behind her stood the Nether Thunder; behind the Nether Thunder stood the colossal statue of the Ancestral Witch, silently gazing down upon the world.

……

In an unnamed small town inhabited by witches, Sacred Heart and Painted Heart were dressed in rags and covered in filth. The witches who passed by instinctively took two steps back, keeping their distance from this ugly and dirty pair of lowly witches.

Hui Xin sighed and said, "I never thought we'd go hungry, let alone for so long. What are we supposed to do? Why are we always so unlucky? We've even lost our cultivation!"

“Your cultivation hasn’t disappeared, it’s been sealed,” Shengxin explained.

Huixin was so hungry that her steps were weak, and she said weakly, "What's the difference? I just don't understand, we were just traveling peacefully, and a black bird just flew by in the sky, why did you suddenly start cursing it?"

Sacred Heart remained silent for a moment, unusually offering no explanation, then slapped himself across the face.

At this point, Huixin couldn't bear it anymore and sighed, "Never mind, at least we're still alive and have something to eat... What are you doing?!"

Shengxin squatted down in front of a skinny dog ​​that was tied up and handed it a dirty steamed bun. The dog was obviously hungry, swallowed it in one gulp, and then licked Shengxin's hand in a fawning manner.

Shengxin turned around and saw Huixin's murderous gaze. She smiled bitterly and explained, "What I can't stand the most right now is seeing dogs on leashes. If their owners are in a good mood, they'll feed them a bite; if they're in a bad mood, they'll just go hungry. Beating and scolding are the least of their worries. But at least they still have something to eat. The two of us don't even have a chain now, so we can only wander around."

Hui Xin said softly, "You know we're not even as good as it is now, so why should we feed it? Shouldn't it be feeding us?"

Shengxin paused for a moment, lost in thought, and her expression gradually turned grim.

……

After leaving the secret realm, the Flame Demon headed straight for the teleportation portal and went directly to the Desolate Realm. The Witch Clan member in charge of the portal waited until he disappeared through the portal before rushing out to report.

In the desolate realm, Nine Eyes was dozing in the sunlight when he suddenly opened one eye, looked at the appearing Flame Demon, and said, "Why are you here again? Shouldn't you be avoiding suspicion at a time like this?"

The Flame Demon cursed, "What the hell are you talking about avoiding? Just because you avoid others doesn't mean they won't bother you! Besides, even if she doesn't bother me, I'll still be the one bothering her!"

Jiu Mu sat up and asked, "Why are you so irritable today?"

A wave of fire erupted from the Flame Demon, covering an area of ​​a hundred feet! Only after exhaling the fire did his mood improve slightly. He said, "That bitch Youfeng deliberately provoked me, trying to make me awaken the Ancestor of Steel, or even rebel outright. The problem is, I know she did it on purpose, but I just can't suppress my anger! That bitch was exceptionally cunning today; someone must have been directing her from behind. If it weren't for Ming Lei's intervention, I would have blown up that secret realm, even puncturing a hole in the Ancestral Witch Realm!"

Nine Eyes was shocked: "No way! It doesn't matter if you die, but I'll become the first one to stick my neck out, and then I'll be next!"

The Flame Demon glared at him and said, "Look at your pathetic self! Don't be afraid. I even cursed the Ancestral Witch today, and then I'll run to the Desolate Realm every day. Youfeng will probably think I'm about to rebel or try to seize the newly emerged Heavenly Witch position. But I won't rebel, and then let's see how long the Ancestral Witch can pretend to be deaf and dumb!"

Nine Eyes breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, that's good! To fight without breaking is the best strategy. I knew you were the most cunning, far beyond what a clumsy sorcerer like me could ever achieve."

The Flame Demon glared at Nine Eyes and said, "Stop with the nonsense. The position of Heavenly Witch in the Desolate Realm is vacant right now, which isn't a long-term solution. We must find a way to fill it and put an end to those guys' hopes. Are there any suitable candidates among the rising stars of the Desolate Realm?"

With a flick of its nine-eyed tentacles, it set up a barrier before saying, "Brother, are you really trying to drag me down with you? Couldn't you have set up a barrier before saying that?"

The Flame Demon said apologetically, "I was too angry and forgot."

Nine Eyes reluctantly forgave him, saying, "There's only one little guy named Tianyu whose talent and luck are both decent. The main thing is that his fate is exceptionally good, to the point where it's like pies are falling from the sky, and they're even hot."

The Flame Demon asked in surprise, "So powerful?"

"Yes." Nine Eyes wished he could take her place.

The Flame Demon pondered, but couldn't recall such a person. He asked, "What is their cultivation level?"

"Late stage of Dharma appearance".

The Flame Demon was taken aback and said, "That won't do, it's too small! When will we be able to go?"

Nine Eyes sighed and said, "I know it won't work. But there really aren't any other good people."

The Flame Demon was also helpless and said, "Then let's assume it's him for now, observe and support him. Oh, and give me that book."

"what book?"

"Stop pretending, it's a book written by that little guy who was with the Molten Dragon. You must have secretly kept a copy, give me one."

Nine Eyes then handed over a piece of jade paper, asking, "What do you want to see this for?"

The Flame Demon said, "If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. If you're going to pretend to be a rebel, you have to do it convincingly. You should at least find a book on rebellion to read."

The Flame Demon took the jade paper, carefully put it away, and then left.

Looking at the Flame Demon's back, all nine of Jiu Mu's eyes were slightly narrowed, as if the Flame Demon wasn't really putting on an act.

……

Wei Yuan's divine sense remained in the Pure Land Cave Heaven. He then appeared and slowly walked into the small temple, looking at the empty lotus platform.

On the offering table before the Buddha, the ancient bronze lamp burned silently, its surface bearing the marks of a recent polishing. This time, it remained silent.

Wei Yuan's gaze fell on the three scriptures on the offering table, lost in thought, and he reached out to pick one up. The lotus lantern's movements suddenly paused almost imperceptibly.

Tick ​​tock!

A drop of sweat fell from the lotus lantern's chin and landed on the ground. In this quiet little temple, the sound was as loud as thunder.

Wei Yuan glanced at Lian Deng with some curiosity, only to see that he was facing away from him, concentrating on sweeping the floor.

Wei Yuan withdrew his gaze. Although he didn't quite understand why Lian Deng was sweating at this moment, this fake monk was skilled at using cryptic language; every word and action was a trap. Back then, it had voluntarily followed him to the fragments of the outer world, and it never had good intentions. The best way to deal with someone like Lian Deng was to ignore it and treat it like air, no matter how much trouble it caused.

Wei Yuan did not open the scripture, but put it back in its place and slowly turned around.

At this moment, the unseen hand had placed the entire nation of Ji before Wei Yuan, offering him two paths. One was to approach Wang Fo and save the people from their suffering; the other was to stand idly by and watch the world descend into chaos, ignoring the birth and death of countless lives.

In fact, it did not give Wei Yuan any choice.

But Wei Yuan was filled with deep fear. He was afraid that once he sat on the lotus platform, he would lose his initial feelings and forget his past love. In that case, although he could continue to be with her, they would only become the closest of strangers, unable to get close again.

(End of this chapter)