This sentence represented the attitude of the Academy, indicating that they had no intention of participating in the fight for the "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane. Then why did the Academy change the location of the practice meeting to the frontier fortress of the North of Yan Kingdom? Why did the back of the mountain of the Academy send Ning Que all the way to the north?
Ye Su frowned slightly. Obviously, he did not understand the meaning of the Academy defining themselves as passers-by. He looked at Eldest Brother thoughtfully. Xia Hou obviously did not expect the situation to develop in this way. His thick eyebrows suddenly raised. If the Academy left, how could he, who was between the Taoism and the Devil's Sect, live?
Tang looked at Xia Hou and said in a low voice, "I have said that you are old. Only an old and dying man will pin the opportunity to change his fate on illusory legends or things like the Tomes of Arcane. If a volume of the Tomes of Arcane can really change everything, how could the Enlightenment Doctrine be destroyed? How could the Abbey Dean always be floating on the South Sea? "
Hearing Tang mention that his master was floating on the remote South Sea, Ye Su frowned even more.
Xia Hou looked at Tang indifferently and said, "If you are not interested in the Tomes of Arcane, why are you here?"
Tang said, "My purpose here is to kill you."
Ye Su did not care about the confrontation between the two powerhouses of the Devil's Doctrine. Although Xia Hou was a visiting professor of the West-Hill Divine Palace, the trip to the Wilderness to obtain the Tomes of Arcane had obviously shown that the general had a disloyalty to the Divine Hall, just like his disloyalty to the Tang Empire.
He just quietly looked at Eldest Brother of the Academy. His eyes moved slowly on this scholar who had no sense of existence, as if he wanted to find out the real intention of his decision.
Xia Hou slowly lowered his head and looked at the iron box in his hand.
At this moment, there was a faint rainstorm-like sound of hooves coming from the Hulan Sea.
The earth trembled slightly. Countless of the most powerful black-armored cavalry of the Tang Empire galloped from the south. The cavalry spread across the Winter Wilderness like an endless black tide. It was extremely shocking.
Then, hundreds of Papal Cavalrymen of the West-Hill Divine Palace in black armor with golden talisman roared from the east of the Wilderness. In a very short time, they arrived at the Hulan Sea. They were silent and solemn, but showed a sense of sacredness and inviolability.
When the two cavalrymen came to the Hulan Sea, they set up their respective formations and silently stationed their horses on the ice. However, the cavalrymen did not get off their saddles. They still sat on their horses and maintained the attitude of charging at any time.
An oppressive and tense atmosphere enveloped the shore of the Hulan Sea at the foot of Tianqi Mountain.
In the eyes of the world, the Tang Empire's Black Armored Cavalry and the West-Hill Divine Palace's Papal Cavalrymen were undoubtedly the two most powerful and terrifying cavalrymen. However, due to historical, political, and religious factors, these two cavalrymen had never confronted each other on the battlefield, at least not in history.
Today, these two cavalries suddenly left the Central Plains and went deep into the cold lake of the Wilderness, shouldering the task of providing support. They were an important part of the fight for the "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane. Could it be that they were finally going to have a big battle today?
The heavy armored cavalry with amazing speed and terrifying charging force had always been a nightmare for all kinds of cultivators on the battlefield. That was because the carefully cast thick armor could allow the warhorses and cavalrymen to completely ignore the attacks of flying swords and the like.
At this time, these people standing at the foot of the mountain north of the Hulan Sea were the strongest in the world. Of course, they were not ordinary cultivators who would easily die on the battlefield. Even in the face of the black armored cavalry, they still maintained their calmness and confidence. However, even if they were Grand Cultivators at the peak of the Knowing Destiny State, they were not willing to continuously collide with the heavy armored cavalry in the Wilderness. This was because, whether it was the historical records of the West-Hill Scriptures or the records of the opening battles of the Tang Empire, there were stories of cavalry generals who went crazy and used hundreds of precious heavy armored cavalrymen to kill powerhouses at the Knowing Destiny State.
The fight for the "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane finally came from the dark corner to the light of the world with the cavalry gathering like dark clouds and black tides. It could no longer be hidden.
Looking at the black armored cavalry of the Tang Empire by the Hulan Sea, the gentle smile on the face of the Eldest Brother of the Academy finally disappeared. He looked at Xia Hou and asked softly, "General, do you want to rebel?"
Ye Su lowered his head and said softly, "Elder Xia wants to betray Haotian Taoism and return to the embrace of the Devil's Doctrine?"
The voices of these two people were very calm and soft. However, they represented the Tang Empire and Haotian Taoism, the two most powerful forces in the world. No matter how powerful Xia Hou was and how loyal the Northeast Border Military of the Tang Empire was, if he was abandoned by both parties at the same time, he would only die.
Xia Hou said after a moment of silence, "I am indeed old … The Tomes of Arcane are useless to you, so you don't have to care. But it is useful to me. At least I hope it can be useful to me, so I care very much."
Then he looked at Ye Su and said expressionlessly, "I am a visiting professor of West-Hill, but also a general of the Tang Empire. I am a man of the secular world, so I have to borrow the power of the secular world. Today, neither you nor the Tang Empire have the confidence to keep me here. Mr. First will not intervene, so this Tomes of Arcane must be taken away by me."
Eldest Brother seemed to have thought of something and sighed, "Why won't I intervene?"
Xia Hou said indifferently, "Because I will present the" Ming "Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane to the Emperor of the Tang Empire. Today, in front of everyone, I ask Mr. First to be my witness. According to the rules set by the Headmaster of the Academy, this is a political matter, and no one from the Academy can interfere."
As a general of the Tang Empire, he left his station without an imperial edict. Now, he even ordered more than a thousand black armored cavalry to enter the Wilderness. No matter how one looked at it, it was close to rebellion. However, if Xia Hou really presented the "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane to the Emperor of the Tang Empire, then all these actions could be found a relatively reasonable explanation.
If the imperial court of the Tang Empire accepted the Tomes of Arcane, then this matter would become a political matter. According to the strict orders of the Headmaster of the Academy, no matter how unwilling the people in the Academy were, they had to remain silent and even secretly help.
Today, by the Hulan Sea, if Eldest Brother did not intervene, Ye Su and Tang, as World Wayfarers of the Taoism and Diabolism Sects, would not act together. Then, Xia Hou, who was protected by thousands of cavalry, would undoubtedly have the best opportunity.
Eldest Brother sighed and said, "After doing so many things, you just want to take a look at the Tomes of Arcane?"
Xia Hou said indifferently, "I have to take a look before I give up."
Eldest Brother fell silent and said nothing more.
Thus, there was silence. The wind by the Hulan Sea was like a knife cutting the ground and people's cheeks. It was somewhat oppressive and cold, as if the wind did not know where to fall. No one knew how this battle for the Tomes of Arcane would end.
At this moment, a voice rang out.
"If the general wants to see the Tomes of Arcane, then why did you snatch my box?"
Ning Que opened his eyes and looked at Xia Hou curiously and confusedly. His eyes were bright and clear, and his expression was innocent. But in fact, there was great malice hidden in them. He wanted to see Xia Hou's disappointed look and vomit blood.
Except for Mo Shanshan and Ye Hongyu who understood what he meant, the rest felt that his question was a little meaningless. The "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane was naturally in the iron box. Otherwise, why would Xia Hou be willing to withstand the two great mountains of the West-Hill Divine Palace and the Academy for that box? Ye Su glanced at Xia Hou coldly. He thought that although the "Ming" Handscroll had been lost for a long time and he had not seen it personally, Xia Hou had it for a long time and must have found out what was in the box in some way.
Eldest Brother did not enter the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine, but for some reason, he seemed to believe Xia Hou's words. There was a hint of a smile in his gentle and clean eyes. He looked at Xia Hou and asked, "Yes, why?"
Xia Hou looked at the two brothers of the Academy and said indifferently, "Mr. First, Mr. Thirteen, do you think that you can disturb me with a casual word? I will definitely not misjudge the aura of the thing in the iron box. "
The iron box was very ordinary, but it was very thick and well sealed. There were faint rust marks on the surface, and it also had the smooth metallic luster that Xia Hou's fingers had rubbed on it. It was impossible to tell what was in it from its weight and feel.
However, Xia Hou could clearly feel the aura of the thing in the box. The aura was so familiar and made him feel awe. This kind of awe originated from the deepest part of his sense of perception, as if it was an instinctive fear and respect. He believed that among all the people present, only he, the old man of the Enlightenment Doctrine, could clearly feel the aura of the thing in the box.
Other than the "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane that led to the establishment of the Enlightenment Doctrine, what else in this world could make him instinctively feel fear and respect? He wanted to get close to it but did not dare to get too close to it?
…
…
The iron box opened with a click.
There was no "Ming" Handscroll of the Tomes of Arcane, not even a piece of paper.
There was only a box of dim ashes mixed with some bone chips that had not completely melted.
He was a powerhouse at the Peak state of Martial Arts, and his strong hands were as steady as a rock even when he was holding a giant tripod. However, at this moment, he began to tremble just by holding a small iron box. His face became more and more solemn, like black iron.
Xia Hou stared at the ashes in the box and remained silent for a long time. His silkworm-like eyebrows no longer had a trace of anxiety. He raised and frowned and then calmed down again. His thick blood-like lips were slightly pale, and after a long time, he squeezed out a voice that sounded like metal rubbing against each other.
"What … is this?"
Ning Que looked at his face and said, "This is the ashes of Master Lotus."
Hearing the words "Master Lotus", both Ye Su and Tang's expressions changed slightly. Even Eldest Brother could not help but look at the ashes in the box. He wondered what these children had encountered in the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine.
Ning Que stared at Xia Hou's face. He faintly guessed that Xia Hou should be related to the ghost-like old monk.
Xia Hou just stared at the ashes in the box. Ever since he heard the words "Master Lotus", he had remained absolutely still like a statue. There was no depressed expression on his face. Instead, it was extremely strange, as if he was crying yet not crying.
After a long time, the strange expression on Xia Hou's face gradually disappeared. A deep and bitter smile appeared on his face. He looked at the ashes in the box and sighed softly.
His knuckles that were holding the iron box suddenly turned pale, as if he was exerting force. However, after a while, he gave up this action and said indifferently, "Since it is the ashes of a senior sublime being, then I will bury it for him."
The situation had developed to this point and taken a turn. No one would have thought that the iron box that Ning Que and the others took out from the Front Gate of the Devil's Doctrine, which Xia Hou believed to contain the Tomes of Arcane, actually contained a handful of ashes. There was a dead silence in the field.
Eldest Brother looked at Xia Hou and sighed, "Why?"
Previously, when Xia Hou clearly had the intention to retreat, but still forced himself to fight, Eldest Brother had sighed and said "why". Now he repeated it again, and it was still slow and long, full of regret.
Xia Hou silently looked at the ashes in the box and murmured, "Yes, why?"
Whether it was the Seven Tomes of Arcane or the Thirty-two Petal Lotus, whether it was Xia Hou who did not want to continue to struggle between light and darkness with various identities, or whether it was his teacher Lotus who calmly and joyfully walked between light and darkness in search of liberation, they could only turn into a handful of emotionless ashes in the end.
However, before turning into ashes, people always had to fight and fight for these things and certain ideas. If one were to ask why it was so, one could only sigh and say, "Why is life so bitter?"
…
…
(I have been coughing for two days for no reason. My chest hurts like hell, but it's okay. Tomorrow I will fly to Shanghai for the annual meeting. I will strive to constantly update! Watch my performance! I will work harder when I go home!) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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