Chapter 361: A Farce at the Central Camp

Clearly, the changes in the people at the Central Camp were not because the events in the West had already stirred up waves here, nor because they knew the Blood Demon scourge in the South had already been resolved by Du En.

Rather, it was something else—something completely different yet seemingly trivial, something that was actually quite routine around here.

Luo Heng, the leader of the Queguang Sect, had reappeared and revealed his tracks, having just publicly inspected the inside and outside of the Central Camp a few days ago.

"Is it really that perfect?"

Finding that he could actually catch the other party, Du En became cautious instead; he did not rush to find them, but first observed from all aspects whether there were any traps in this Central Camp.

On the front of the surface space, it was clear at a glance; nothing was found.

Thus, he stepped into the reverse side, and the prosperity changed abruptly; the mirror-image Central Camp was only empty and hollow, yet equally bright. The tentacles of power emitted by the Spirit Mother still existed here; one could see in the light, in the fire, and in the shadows, slippery eyeballs opening from time to time, scanning everywhere, as if observing and monitoring the people in the corresponding places.

The malice was becoming thick, and the situation was subtly and gradually changing.

As for Du En, due to the effect of the Sinful Dragon Robe, as time passed, he could no longer completely hide his status as a truly normal person in this environment where even the Qi was polluted and filled with evil to varying degrees.

Especially since he was constantly acting and moving, his connections in terms of causality, fate, and existence were indeed gradually deepening, making it impossible to sever the ties; therefore, at this moment, some eyeballs also began to glance over vaguely, carrying a faintly restless, probing malice.

"It seems the Spirit Mother doesn't have many small tricks; it is mainly still silently nursing its wounds and brewing changes..."

It was just that this level was an instinctive reaction, not that the Spirit Mother had recovered enough to reach out its tentacles from behind that self-sealed door and resume command of these scattered clumps of power.

Because to it, Du En was a person who truly existed and whom it had already come into contact with, so if the Spirit Mother were capable of small tricks now, it could not be this kind of behavior devoid of subjectivity.

In other words, on the reverse side of the surface space, he also did not discover any problems.

So, was it really that Luo Heng was self-righteous and hadn't expected him to make a sudden return?

Just as Du En fell into deep thought, he heard faint, indistinct sounds from the front of the surface.

"The Holy Sect Leader has a decree... gather in one place immediately to witness... there is a major event to announce..."

One coincidence is a coincidence, but two in a row like this clearly are not.

Du En returned to the surface front and saw the priests of the Queguang Sect proclaiming the summons to gather and witness, causing the people of the Central Camp to be surprised and begin whispering to one another.

"Why does the Sect Leader suddenly want to hold a Great Viewing?"

"Has something important happened recently?"

"Looking at the solemn expression of the priest, it doesn't seem like a good thing, does it?"

People muttered like this, and the turbulence hidden beneath the prosperity and peace gradually began to reveal ripples.

"Is it that the Blood Demon in the South has had problems again? I heard that the Holy Sect Army was transferred away from there recently. Could it be that it has rotted to such an extent that they have to choose to cut off the main tunnel and block the path of expansion to the South?"

"It should be about the matter in the West, right? Those guys who call themselves monks and ascetics seem to have made quite a big move recently. I heard that the Holy Sect Army was drafted over there; it seems there was some operation, and perhaps the result was so poor that it was necessary to convene a Great Viewing that everyone must attend."

"Are they increasing troops or conscripting? Sigh~ the demon scourge in the East is hard to eliminate, the prohibition in the North is not lifted, and now there are disturbances in both the West and the South; it truly is rotting on all four sides, with nowhere left to expand!"

"... Hey, you say, could it be because of the ritual not long ago? I heard that an accident seemed to occur during that time. Is it because of that that the Spirit Mother no longer protects us, which is why the situation has suddenly collapsed and rotted?"

"Do you not want your life, daring to speak so recklessly? Uh, I didn't hear that; my devotion to the Sect Leader and the Spirit Mother is unshakable!"

The people's whispers suddenly braked when the priest, who should have been far away, suddenly appeared in their field of vision; they hurriedly changed their tune and distanced themselves from the one who spoke, quickly clearing their relationship, fearing that blood would splash onto them.

The one who spoke was now covered in cold sweat, hands and feet cold; normally, they would at least lose a layer of skin if not die, but this time it was not normal. After the priest snorted coldly, they actually left directly, without any reprimand at all.

Such an unusual attitude did not make people feel lucky; instead, they only felt panicked and uneasy for a moment.

Because this situation made it seem as if the Spirit Mother was about to abandon them! Before, even knowing that the environment on the edge and periphery was difficult and perceiving the instability on all four sides, no one had really taken it to heart and could still be content enjoying the status quo.

But now, realizing that the affluent environment might be about to disappear, they were all terrified and uneasy, hurriedly crowding toward the place where the Great Viewing was to be held, wanting to get a negative answer.

The Sect Leader, the Holy Sect Leader should not abandon them!

Du En mingled with these panicked people, walking along with a calm expression.

Very quickly, they arrived at a large open space in the North that had been specially set aside.

A bonfire platform as high as thirty-three zhang had already been built, and soldiers of the Holy Sect Army stood on the periphery, silent as stones, pulling up a low cloth curtain to block passage.

After the summons, the priests had all returned and were distributed between the cloth curtain and the large bonfire platform, muttering something silently, as if chanting scriptures.

The people of the Central Camp gathered, dense and shoulder-to-shoulder, appearing extremely crowded; it clearly exceeded the capacity of this Great Viewing venue, and many who came late were squeezed in the back and could not see the situation inside at all.

This made them even more restless, which in turn exacerbated the degree of crowding.

Looking down from high above, amidst the flickering firelight, it was as if dense maggots were huddled together.

As the situation threatened to spiral out of control and the people in the front row were pushed and began to slowly approach the boundary line of the cloth curtain, those Holy Sect Army soldiers seemed to reveal killing intent; at this critical juncture, a 'thump' sound rang out.

The dome of this central large cavern suddenly ignited with clusters of flames, traveling along the carved patterns, eventually forming a huge flaming eyeball.

Thus, these crowded people all gained a clear view and were able to see the situation inside the Great Viewing venue.

They were slightly settled by this, though still full of worry, fearing to hear any news or events that would overturn their existing lives.

"The Sect Leader arrives!"

Amidst such trepidation, accompanied by chanting, ceremonial guards clearing the way, and priests singing praises, countless people knelt and prostrated as a sedan chair carrying a ball approached.

Luo Heng, the leader of the Queguang Sect, was wearing excessively exaggerated clothing and was practically a ball himself; now, sitting in the sedan chair, he looked even more like a ball.

However, at this time, only the out-of-place Du En was looking directly at this side, daring to have such thoughts, while intending to first see what tricks this Luo Heng was playing.

The other party sat upright on the sedan chair with an expression neither sad nor happy, seemingly just like last time, not noticing Du En's presence, and was carried to the main platform of the open space.

He did not say any nonsense either; sitting upright on the sedan chair, he spoke to the uneasy people, stating the specific reason for convening this Great Viewing.

"The last ritual encountered an accident and was declared a failure; the Spirit Mother is furious and requires life to appease it!"

Once these words were spoken, the priests and soldiers also knelt on the ground, fear appearing in their eyes.

The people who were already kneeling were even more desperate to press their bodies to the ground, because the worst-case scenario had truly appeared; the ritual had actually encountered an accident, and now the Spirit Mother was truly furious—what was to be done?! Haha!

You actually said it yourself!

Among the crowd of priests, the Great Priest closest to the Sect Leader was filled with wild joy in his heart. It was he who had sensed the clues and spread the news in secret, so although it was a bit sudden now, it was perfect to take the opportunity to attack; thus, at his signal, a trusted priest could not help but bite the bullet and, not daring to lift his head, interrupted the Sect Leader's speech.

"Where is the crux? With whom does the cause lie? The ritual was clearly held normally; why did an accident suddenly occur, causing the Spirit Mother to be so enraged that it ignores us, its pious and kind followers?"

A series of questions, in this situation where everyone was silent, could truly be called a stone stirring up a thousand waves, immediately guiding the thoughts of all the uneasy people.

That's right!

Who is it?

Who exactly did the wrong thing, causing the Spirit Mother to be enraged? Whoever it is, they must be made to pay the price!!! The crowd's fury merged into one.

Du En, the instigator, kept his expression unchanged, without the slightest ripple.

Even the fire-patterned pupil on the dome above, following the collective fury of the people, was burning ever more fiercely, brewing as if it were about to simulate layers of hell through the sentient beings' obsession and wish-power, just as it had during the time of the Buddha Land.

It was simply like a trap, a trap aimed at Du En! Luo Heng sat upright on his palanquin, his gaze glancing toward him, but he could only meet a pair of eyes like an ancient well, instantly giving rise to a sense of unfathomability.

He quickly withdrew this glance, though it was still detected by Du En.

Then, this Sect Leader of the Truth-Light Sect did not make any targeted moves, but spoke leisurely: "Through communication with the Spirit Mother, it is known that the cause of this matter lies entirely with the Grand High Priest, whose heart is not sincere, who colluded with external evils, and who acted against the Dao and rebelled; his crimes are unforgivable, and with the Spirit Mother's affirmation, he shall be punished with the ultimate penalty!"

Huh? The Grand High Priest was stunned.

He never expected that this old scoundrel Luo Heng would actually dare to shift the blame! The other priests and the believers were all equally stunned.

Because that was the Grand High Priest, one person below ten thousand, the Spirit Mother's personally appointed Grand High Priest; as soon as the Sect Leader abdicated, it would be his time to ascend. Now the Sect Leader was saying he acted against the Dao and colluded with external evils? The first reaction was disbelief.

The second reaction was suspicion.

The third reaction, the Grand High Priest raised his head, about to angrily rebuke and question him.

However, Luo Heng directly raised his hand and pressed down in the air, manifesting great magic power to suppress him directly, making him unable to speak, his face turning red as if he were suffering divine punishment.

Seeing this scene, the people who had found it hard to believe suddenly changed their minds one after another, revealing angry expressions, because it really looked like the Grand High Priest had a problem!

Damn it! Damn it! Why is it like this?! The Grand High Priest was shocked and furious, and even more incredulous that Luo Heng would actually take action against him.

Was he not afraid of the Spirit Mother's blame?!

"Erect the pyre, apply the ointment, light the fire." Luo Heng looked down from above and said leisurely: "If you are truly pious, truly innocent, this fire will surely not burn or kill you; this fire will surely wash away your sins, as a result of the Spirit Mother still having mercy upon you."

Even if there is still mercy, no, it must be so, I did not act against the Dao, it is clearly you who lack piety, but, but, in this way, no matter what, they will surely no longer respect me with all their hearts; what a heart-stabbing scheme!

The Grand High Priest, screaming in such grief and indignation in his heart, was forcibly carried and tied to the large pyre prepared for him by the ceremonial guards; at this moment, not a single priest dared to speak out.

This was not because they realized Luo Heng's intention, but because they truly believed that if the Grand High Priest were truly innocent, nothing would happen to him, and there was simply no need for them to argue anything.

The spirit ointment bestowed by the Great Spirit Mother would protect him, and the spirit fire bestowed by the Great Spirit Mother would surely not harm him! Thus, the Grand High Priest had his tall hat removed, was coated with spirit ointment, and the pyre was immediately lit, soaring into the sky, and then...

"Ah!"

He could not help but scream out.

Countless people were shocked by this; the fire eye on the dome watched, and the people's unease instantly found a point of release, and they poured out their malice one after another.

"Traitor!"

"Rebel!"

"If you are truly guilty, you should let the Spirit Mother's fire burn you to ashes completely!"

Countless curses rose and fell, like adding firewood to the flames, immediately making the fire burn even more intensely.

"Ah!!!"

"I didn't, I didn't, it's Luo Heng, he is the one who is the most damnable rebel against the Dao!"

"Ah!!!!!"

The Grand High Priest screamed and cursed, finally able to speak, but at this time, these words would only have the opposite effect; the people were filled with righteous indignation, spewing evil words, and at the same time, the evil fire burned hotter and hotter.

In just a short moment, the Grand High Priest, who possessed near-Transformation to Divinity power and was personally selected by the Spirit Mother, was burned until not even ash remained.

"Good! Burned well!"

"The traitor is dead! It brings great satisfaction to the people!"

"With the Spirit Mother above, those who rebel against the Dao shall be consumed by fire!"

The crowd shouted one after another that he was burned well.

Just at this moment, two ceremonial guards suddenly hurried over from the outside.

One came from the south, and one came from the west.

The crowd immediately held their breath, and Luo Heng also stood up and got off the palanquin to welcome them.

After some posturing, he finally made a formal announcement.

"The Spirit Mother has manifested her divine power; the Southern Blood Demon has been executed, and the Western Buddha Evil has been destroyed!"

"It is precisely because our pious faith has not changed that we have obtained the fruit of goodness and righteousness!"

"Everyone, cheer!"

In an instant, the people cheered endlessly, looking like madmen; the gloom was swept away, as if they had been reborn.

"What a farce."

Du En walked quietly to Luo Heng's side at this moment and spoke thus, exposing his trick, "Taking advantage of the Spirit Mother's current self-sealing gap, using the crowd's delusional malice to burn its pious follower to death, and using my actions to claim the results and pin them on the Spirit Mother, thereby invisibly and indirectly reinforcing your own power and position, so that even if the Spirit Mother breaks the seal later, she will not be able to blame you too much."

Facing his appearance, Luo Heng was not surprised, only tacitly using his great magic power to ensure that the conversation between the two was not seen or known by outsiders.

Du En just wanted to see what he really wanted to do, and did not stop him.

(End of chapter)