The night wind carried the scholar's gentle voice to everyone's ears. The cultivators present had varying degrees of experience and had seen and heard many things. They were somewhat surprised to hear that the scholar was going to take on all the sins of the Purple Star Demon.
"This scholar must be crazy. Doesn't he know how cruel the Purple Star Demon Dao is?"
"You are late but don't know. This person said before that this monster was his master."
"Hmm... That's no wonder. But in this case, I don't want to fight with this person."
"Yes, the Purple Star Demon Dao has taken so many lives, how can we just let it go..."
"Wouldn't it be enough if we just killed the big toad monster?"
"I'm afraid that scholar will go crazy."
There was a burst of conversation all around, and someone from Chengyun Sect walked up to the old Taoist priest and whispered, "Master, are you really going to let that casual cultivator take over for the Purple Star Demon Taoist?"
The old Taoist closed his eyes, stroked his beard and thought carefully. After a moment, he opened his eyes and saw the scholar opposite him trembling slightly. He had been hit twice by him and the old monk Zhenhai from Wanfo Temple. Even if he was at the Nascent Soul stage, he would not be able to hold on for long.
"What a pity..."
As he sighed in his heart, the Sui soldiers who were rushing along the city wall in the distance held torches high. The flames fluttered in the wind and Lu Liangsheng's voice was heard.
"All of you present here are my predecessors in the path of cultivation, but you fellow Taoists also know that the kindness of a teacher is so great that I cannot repay him."
The scholar cupped his hands, then slowly bowed towards the people in front of him as he spoke, his whole body trembling slightly. This simple movement caused his muscles and bones to feel an unspeakable pain.
The master is in danger, but as a disciple, I cannot sit idly by...
… But… alas… if a fight breaks out, the soldiers rushing over will suffer in vain.
Seeing his master acting like a child who had done something wrong, Lu Liangsheng stood up, looked at Zuo Zhengyang and Yan Chixia who were looking at him with concern on both sides, and bowed to them and asked them to step back.
"Qian Wei, Fellow Daoist Yan, thank you both for your help, but I will handle the rest by myself."
"How do we solve this?! We might die!"
On one side, Zuo Zhengyang looked anxious. He had been in the underworld for a long time, and in this situation, he was afraid that even if he paid with his life, it would not be enough. He looked at Yan Chixia who was also looking at him, and wanted to go up and hold up the scholar who was walking forward, but the latter suddenly turned around and stretched out his hand to slap them in front of him.
"Certainly!"
Zuo Zhengyang and Yan Chixia, who had been rushing over, immediately stopped grabbing and stood there motionless, with only their eyeballs rolling around in their sockets and their lips biting hard as if telling him not to do anything stupid.
Also, Old Donkey and Toad Taoist were frozen in place.
"I'm sorry."
Lu Liangsheng clasped his hands, turned around and walked forward, coming to the center of the encirclement, only seven or eight steps away from the Zhenhai old monk.
"I am just a young man from the mountains. If I hadn't met my master, the Purple Star Demon Daoist as you all call him, I wouldn't have embarked on the path of cultivation, let alone seen this vast and colorful world. This is a favor that I must repay.
… You all had a feud with my master in the past. He ate many people and killed many people. This is hatred, and it is what you should do.”
The scholar stopped talking, closed his eyes, clenched his teeth and exhaled, then slowly raised his hand, causing the surrounding cultivators to hold their breath. Duke of Yue Yang Su, who was on the treetop, descended to the ground, ran in front of his brother's horse, and shouted, "Daoyou Lu, no!"
However, Lu Liangsheng on the other side seemed not to have heard what was said. He just slowly opened his eyes, pulled his wide sleeves back to his wrists, and raised his sword finger.
“… But he is my master. I don’t know what he did in the past, but in all the years we have been together, he has never done anything to harm others. On the contrary, I am where I am today because of my master’s guidance…
… I remember that there was a dispute between Lujia Village and a neighboring village, and the dispute went to court. I remember Master said that people should stand firm, stand upright, uphold justice and stand in the world, even at the cost of their lives. ”
Behind the scholar, the Toad Taoist stood on one webbed foot and raised the other to stride forward, his eyes sparkling with water and his lips trembling slightly.
"Why would I accept a good-for-nothing like you as my apprentice..."
Lu Liangsheng looked ahead and heard the faint voice behind him, a smile gradually appeared on his face.
The memory seemed to go back many years ago, to the drought-stricken land of Heliang Prefecture, on the rain-praying platform, amidst the bright yellow lightning and thunder, the short figure ran up the stone steps and threw out the purple gold gourd to block the thunder for him.
"... Although my master is a demon, his nature is not bad. He has committed murder. Lu Liangsheng will not defend him, but he cannot... just watch him being killed by you all!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the sword finger suddenly pressed against his left shoulder and pulled it outwards. The cloth opened with a hissing sound, and blood gushed out. Only a wisp of clear air floated out and dissipated in the air.
This made all the cultivators there fall silent. They had thought that the scholar would plead for the Purple Star Demon Taoist, but they didn't expect him to be so straightforward. It took them a long time to recover from the shock.
"This guy is serious. Once his cultivation is scattered, it will be difficult to cultivate again."
"… What are you going to do next? The other party has already taken it on behalf of the Purple Star Demon Dao. If we continue to press him, it will be embarrassing to tell others about it."
"But what about the people who died back then? He was just a Yuanying realm cultivator, so what? Why are you saying so much? Just kill that big monster!"
"No, no, if that were the case, we would be inferior and it would be detrimental to our cultivation."
"Well, I don't know how much of what he said is true."
"Bah! If the Purple Star Demon Daoist changes his habit of eating people, I will eat this magic weapon right now!"
…
At the city gate, Yang Jian on horseback was a little confused. He could only see that Mr. Lu was scratched on the shoulder, as if he was seriously injured and almost fell to his knees.
He frowned slightly, pulled the reins, and rode forward to his cousin's side.
"What's wrong, Mr. Lu?"
"He... took the blame for his master and wasted his cultivation."
“How can this be possible!!”
Hearing this, Yang Jian's cheeks puffed up and he reached out to grab the hilt of the sword at his waist. Before he could draw it out, he was held down by Yang Su, who held the horse's neck and pushed Yang Jian back to the city gate.
"Your Majesty, you cannot interfere. This is a matter between cultivators, and the other party is in the right."
"Then go help Mr. Lu!"
Yang Su looked at the emperor on horseback with his mouth slightly open, wishing he could slap himself. Before he could say anything, a voice suddenly shouted from the city wall, shaking the night sky.
"Master—"
On the city wall, the soldiers shouted in panic and scattered everywhere. Then there was a loud bang and the bricks of the wall broke and flew everywhere. The monks below heard the noise and turned around. They saw a young man standing on the parapet of the wall with his fists clenched, looking down coldly with his brown-blue pupils.
"You...you...you bully my master alone?!"
The wind blew, and his robes fluttered. A green light appeared around his body. The stars and the moon in the sky dimmed at this moment. The surrounding woods swayed wildly, and the branches broke with a crackling sound and were picked up by the wind, flying in the night sky.
"Yuwentuo, stop!"
Lu Liangsheng weakly propped himself up and shouted at the city wall with all his might: "This is my master's business, don't mess around!"
After saying that, he pointed his finger at his abdomen and pulled it outwards.
puff!
A wisp of clear air flew out and then dissipated.
“Master…” Yuwen Tuo lost his magic power and stood on the top of the city wall in a daze, watching the figure staggering and half-kneeling weakly.
Whoosh…
Lu Liangsheng could feel that the magic power around him was gradually disappearing. Behind him, Yan Chixia, Zuo Zhengyang and others who were immobilized broke free from their restraints, and the Toad Taoist rushed forward.
"Liangsheng, Liangsheng, don't scare your master. Why do you do this?" For the first time, the Toad Taoist choked up.
The scholar raised his face with difficulty, looked at the master in front of him, and forced a smile.
"What the Master does is what I do..."
As he spoke, Zuo Zhengyang and Yan Chixia also rushed over and helped the scholar up. Lu Liangsheng supported themselves with their arms and looked at the people opposite him.
"... In the future, in Naluohe Town, Lu Liangsheng will erect a monument there to pray for the deceased. Is that okay?"
In the night, one figure after another fell silent. They were all cultivators and naturally understood that cultivation was not easy. They felt sorry for the scholar who had to give up his own cultivation. Moreover, the other party had never taken the initiative to attack from beginning to end and had always maintained goodwill. If they really continued to make things difficult for him, many people would feel embarrassed.
Seeing that no one spoke, the old Taoist priest in the middle looked at the Lihuo and Juling sects, and seeing that they were also undecided, the old Taoist priest walked forward and clasped his hands heavily.
"I am touched by your filial piety in taking the blame for my master, but the sin of slaughtering countless lives back then cannot be easily resolved by your self-sacrifice. However, I will not force you today and will let this monster go for now."
"You guys have come all here, but you're backing out again. You really care about your reputation!"
The old monk Zhenhai didn't bother to even look at them. He ignored these monks who were furious at his words and looked at Lu Liangsheng and the Toad Taoist priest next to him.
"Evildoer, if you commit a crime, you must be punished. How can you still get away with it?"
He threw the golden bowl in his hand, and golden light suddenly became brighter. Monk Fajing shouted anxiously, "Master, no!"
Wow~~~
Above the night sky, there was the sound of fluttering robes. The golden light that was blooming in everyone's sight suddenly dimmed, and a cassock covered it and fell down wrapped up.
"My Buddha not only has the angry eyes of a Vajra, but also has a compassionate heart, saving all living beings!"
An old monk in a thin monk's robe, with his Dharma seal upright, chanted a Buddhist name, and walked slowly towards him with a nine-ring staff that made a clanging sound. He picked up the cassock wrapped around the golden bowl on the ground, stood in front of Monk Zhenhai, and seemed to be ready to block him.
The old monk smiled on his skinny face, bowed slightly, and returned the golden bowl from his robe.
"Brother, stop it."
Lu Liangsheng had also seen this monk before, and later heard his master mention him. His Buddhist name was Zhenkong, and he was a famous and virtuous monk in Wanfo Temple. Many monks who were confused would seek his help. His appearance at this time caused more and more monks to lower their magical instruments.
"Since Master Zhenkong has said so, let's just go."
"That's perfect. I don't want to make things difficult for this scholar. This man has a very rare kind of character. No wonder he has such noble aura. Let's go."
"Alas, this trip was in vain. With Master Zhenkong as a guarantor... Never mind, I won't say more. I know there is another evildoer causing trouble. I will go and eliminate it!"
"Count me in, wait for me!"
With all sorts of excuses, groups of monks left in twos and threes. Lu Liangsheng could not hold on for long. He raised his hand to salute the old monk opposite him, but an unprecedented fatigue came over him like a tidal wave. He staggered and fell headfirst between Zuo and Yan and fainted.
The next moment, Yan Chixia picked him up and rushed into the city. He was escorted by soldiers ordered by Yang Jian and rushed to Yuwen Mansion.
…
"Brother, why are you stopping me?!"
Looking at the figures retreating from the city gate, especially the Toad Taoist who was standing on the old donkey and looking back, Monk Zhenhai gritted his teeth, waved his sleeves and walked back and forth.
"That evildoer was almost killed by me back then. This is a great merit. I hope he can ascend to heaven after his death in the future!"
The old monk Zhenkong closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Junior brother, you are too persistent. You are obsessed. Lu Liangsheng blocked the killing today, which was a great kindness and virtue. He cut off the karma of revenge. Why do you have to bring back the karma?"
"you!!"
Zhenhai was unable to refute. He glared at his brother for a long time, then turned around and left. With a leap, he disappeared into the night. Monk Fajing, who was standing by, quickly apologized to his uncle and went to chase after his master.
The field was full of grass, and the sky was clear. The wind blew from this side to the distant foothills. Hua Hongyi, who was sitting on the treetop watching the show, slapped the tree hard with her palm, causing the leaves to fall down.
"It was broken just like that? My husband, why didn't you follow the path I arranged for you? Why did you insist on me going to Qixia in person..."
The words suddenly stopped, Hua Hongyi turned around abruptly and shouted, "Who is it?!"
The red fox demon and spider spirit waiting under the tree were startled and followed Madam Bone's gaze. The forest was dark and they heard rustling footsteps spreading towards them.
In the bright light of the stars and the moon, the man was seen in a Taoist robe with his sleeves embroidered with the pattern of Yin-Yang and Bagua. The three demons didn't have time to react.
The figure raised his sleeves and flicked them.
In an instant, he put the painting Hongyi, the red fox and the spider into his sleeves.
The figure floated to the treetops and looked towards the direction of the Chang'an city gate. Over there, the old monk Zhenkong turned around. The two men seemed to know each other and nodded slightly, then left and disappeared into the night.