Xie Lian stood between the two of them and said, “I still think we can sit down and have a good talk first. Look at this child, doesn’t he look a lot like…”

Jun Wu smiled and said, "Looks like your son, right?"

"……Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"

Xie Lian laughed dryly for a while and said, “How do you know what I’m going to say?”

Jun Wu finally withdrew his gaze from Hua Cheng, patted Xie Lian's shoulder gently, and turned back to the table without saying anything. Xie Lian knew that this meant that there would be no direct conflict for the time being, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He had seen with his own eyes how terrifying Jun Wu would be if he drew his sword when he wanted to kill someone. No matter what, Xie Lian didn't want Hua Cheng to have the chance to face him head-on.

However, Hua Cheng's gaze did not retract, and he was still unfriendly. Jun Wu pushed away the three cups of tea one by one and said, "Although this is not the first time I have met you, it is the first time we are so close and the atmosphere is so peaceful. Why not use tea instead of wine to make peace with this situation."

Xie Lian coughed lightly, put on his clothes as naturally as possible, and asked as he put on his boots, "Emperor, how is the Heavenly Palace now?"

“…”

Jun Wu put down his teacup, looked out the window at the bright moon, and sighed, "Don't mention it."

Xie Lian: “…Okay. Let’s not talk about it.”

It seems that it is really bad. Jun Wu turned around and said seriously: "I was just kidding. I have to mention it even if I don't want to. Xianle, put your little friend down first and go out with me for a while."

I guess there are things that are inconvenient to explain in front of others. Xie Lian was about to answer, but he heard Hua Cheng behind him say leisurely: "You are in the heaven and there is chaos and disorder now. It is no longer a secret. Even the little ghosts in the market and the countryside know that the ten thousand ghosts gathered this time and they are so excited that they crow. Why bother to go out and talk about it?"

He also got off the bed, walked to the table leisurely, picked up the teacup, played with it for a while, but seemed to have no interest in drinking the tea in the cup. After a while, the three of them sat at the table. Although Hua Cheng was in a different form at this time, his expression and demeanor always made people forget about this matter. Jun Wu said in a gentle voice: "It's true that nothing can be hidden from you, Your Excellency."

After all, it was Jun Wu who poured the tea, so Xie Lian had to give him some respect. He drank it anyway, saying, “Isn’t there still some time before Tonglu Mountain is officially opened and closed? Has it been confirmed?”

Although Feng Xin had mentioned it, Xie Lian felt that it was somewhat exaggerated and not so certain. Jun Wu said, "It is indeed impossible to stop it."

Hua Cheng said: "I think your original plan was to send all the Martial Gods to completely block the passage to Tonglu Mountain as you did in the past, and stop them on the road. But Mu Qing broke out of the prison and escaped, and his whereabouts are unknown, so a big gap opened up in the south in an instant."

Xie Lian asked, “Has Feng Xin returned to Xianjing? How is he? Did he say anything?”

Jun Wu said, "I went back. It's not good. Nanyang came back injured and hurriedly reported the truth. He asked me to order all the priests not to kill the female ghost Lanchang and her son. He wanted to go back after reporting, but his injuries were not optimistic. His right hand could hardly move, so I detained him in Xianjing to recuperate. As a result, the defense of the southern defense was riddled with holes."

If it was something else, such as someone was needed to kill monsters and steal elixirs, Xie Lian would immediately volunteer, but leading troops and defending the way is not something that can be done alone. One person can defeat an army of thousands, but cannot defend against an army of thousands. Xie Lian had already deeply understood that leading people and leading troops was not his forte, so it would be better to let someone who is really good at this do it, so he did not volunteer himself, but only asked: "Is there no other martial god who can take over?"

Jun Wu said: "Other martial gods already have their own territories and tasks to take care of, and they are too busy to take care of themselves. Originally, there was Pei Su in Mingguang Hall, and he could be borrowed for use, but he has long been exiled. As for Qiying, like you, he is also a madman who likes to conquer the world alone and does whatever he wants. Moreover, his whereabouts are unknown now, and this kid never listens to spiritual communication. In addition, Lingwen Hall has lost its chief priest and has temporarily changed its owner. The other literary gods are good at writing and romance, but they can't listen to orders, make arrangements and make decisions. These past few days..."

Hearing what he said, the Heavenly Palace in the next few days might be paralyzed. Xie Lian felt that it was too tragic to listen to, and suddenly felt sympathy, and said: "I remember you said at the beginning that even if you can't stop it, there is still a way to remedy it? How can you remedy it?"

Hua Cheng said, "Remedy? It's suicide, right?"

Jun Wu looked at him and sighed, "I also said that I don't want to go that far unless it is absolutely necessary."

Xie Lian’s heart was moved, and he asked, “Could it be…?”

Jun Wu said slowly: "That's right. Now, the only way to remedy the situation is to send a martial god to blend into the myriad ghosts gathered in Tonglu Mountain."

Since we can't stop the fight from starting, we must ensure that the fight continues to the end, leaving no one alive!

Xie Lian put his hands up in his sleeves, frowned slightly, and said, “I’m not very familiar with Tonglu Mountain, and I don’t quite understand its rules, so what should I do? Should I kill all the thousands of demons and monsters in there one by one?”

But this is almost impossible to do. To sneak into Tonglu Mountain, one must conceal one's identity and not bring too many helpers. Otherwise, once the ghosts find that one or more priests have sneaked in, they will definitely attack them. Tonglu Mountain is an extremely evil place, and the priests' magic power will be restricted to the greatest extent there, which is definitely more restricted than when they were in the Black Water Ghost Cave.

Jun Wu said, "No, it doesn't need to be such a big project."

Hua Cheng said: "I am familiar with Tonglu Mountain. Brother, look outside."

Following his instructions, Xie Lian looked out the window. Outside the window, below, was a large piece of land planted with onions, grass, flowers, and so on. There was also a small flower pot in the corner. Hua Cheng climbed up the window frame, pointed at the flower pot, and said, "In the center of Tonglu Mountain, there is a huge 'copper furnace'."

As soon as he finished speaking, the small flowerpot suddenly fell down, rolled to the center of the land, and stood up automatically. Then, with it as the center, the originally flat soil surface around it bulged up, gradually forming a series of small mounds of different heights.

Hua Cheng said: "The 'Tonglu' is surrounded by mountains in all directions. This entire area is the range of Tonglu Mountain, which is at least as wide as seven cities."

Xie Lian was so curious that he jumped lightly and flipped out of the window. Standing among the small mounds of earth on the ground, he really had the illusion of a giant overlooking the vast land below.

Hua Cheng said: "Ten thousand ghosts are fighting, starting from the outermost edge of the mountains, and constantly approaching the 'copper furnace' in the center."

He waved his hand casually, and many smaller things on the ground began to stir. Xie Lian half-knelt to take a closer look, and found that it was actually many weeds and small leaves twisting, as if they were little people shuttling between the mountains. He said, "In other words, the closer you are to the 'copper furnace' in the center, the stronger the ghosts you encounter?"

Hua Cheng said: "Yes. Because the weak weeds were all killed outside."

He waved his hand again, and a gust of wind swept past. The weeds were swept away by the wind, and the bare little mounds of earth became lonely and pitiful. The small flowerpot in the center suddenly emitted bursts of red light, and it really looked like a small, red-hot copper furnace. Xie Lian stared at it and found that a small red flower and a few inconspicuous weeds jumped onto the small flowerpot and circled around the edge of the flowerpot, as if a few little people were dancing. The little red flower danced the most wildly. Hua Cheng also half-knelt down beside him and said, "In the end, only a few ghosts can enter the interior of the 'copper furnace'. Then, the 'copper furnace' will close."

The "little men" jumped and fell into the pit, and were quickly buried by the dark mud. Hua Cheng continued, "Within the next 49 days, a ghost must break through this 'copper furnace'."

The small flowerpot trembled violently, and suddenly burst into a dazzling red light, and with a "bang", a wave of flying soil exploded.

Along with this "earth-shaking" birth, the little red flower jumped out of the soil, holding up its two leaves, as if shouting in the wind, showing its strength to the world. Seeing this, Xie Lian couldn't help but burst out laughing.

However, perhaps because it was too happy, the little red flower slipped on the edge of the flowerpot and was about to fall. Xie Lian quickly stretched out his hands, gently caught it, and held it in his palms. The little red flower seemed to be a little dizzy from the fall, shook its "head", and looked up at the person who caught it. Xie Lian wiped the dirt that splashed on his hair and said, "This one is the new generation of ghost king born in Tonglu Mountain?"

Hua Cheng nodded and said, "That's right. The fight between thousands of ghosts in front is a process of constantly strengthening strength, which is indispensable. If the ghosts entering the 'copper furnace' are not strong enough and cannot break through the copper furnace, they will be suffocated inside, burned to ashes, and become nutrients for others."

He stood up and said to Jun Wu in the room: "Your method is nothing more than exterminating the elites and leaving weeds. There are only so many with the potential to become Ghost Kings. If you eliminate them yourself, the remaining weak ones will not be able to break out even if you let them enter the 'copper furnace'. If they cannot pass that level, they will still not be recognized as Ghost Kings."

Xie Lian nodded and said, “It sounds feasible, but I wonder how it would be done? Have you tried it before?”

Jun Wu also walked to the window and said, "I don't know. I've never tried it. I always stopped them before they gathered."

Hua Cheng crossed his arms and said, "I'm afraid that's not feasible. Fighting under such conditions would be tantamount to suicide. I suggest that you who came up with this brilliant and heroic idea should do it yourself."

Jun Wu said calmly: "That's exactly what I meant."

Xie Lian was startled and asked, “Emperor?”

Jun Wu said: "Xianle, I came down to earth for this reason. I am going to Tonglu Mountain. You go back to heaven and help me with all the affairs temporarily."

Xie Lian put down his hand, stood up suddenly and said, “How can this be possible? Let me take over temporarily? Don’t be ridiculous, no one will obey me.”

Jun Wu smiled and said, "Then this is a good opportunity to make them obey you."

Xie Lian rubbed his brows and said, “Emperor, this time, I really cannot agree with you. This is too absurd. To use an inappropriate analogy from the human world, the emperor can lead an army in person, but have you ever heard of an emperor going undercover to assassinate someone? The reason why Xianjing can float in the sky is all because of you. Everything that other gods can’t do, you take care of. When you are there, the sky doesn’t fall. When you are not there, the sky really falls.”

Jun Wu said with his hands behind his back, "Xianle, in fact, there is no one in the world that the sky will fall without. Once you get used to it, you will find that you can still live without anyone, and there will always be new people to replace the old. When the Ghost King is born, if there is another Blood Rain Scholar or Black Water Sinking Boat, it will not be a big deal, but if there is another White Clothes Disaster, then the world will be in chaos."

He looked directly into Xie Lian's eyes and said, "You have seen with your own eyes how difficult it is to kill a 'Jue' like him. There is no other way except for me to go."

Xie Lian also knew that this was not Jun Wu’s conceit. In his weakest state, trapped among the ghosts, he had to accurately pick out the strongest ones and kill or subdue them one by one. Even he himself could not say that he could do it. Only Jun Wu had the best chance. However, once he left, it might take about ten years. What would happen to the outside world? What about going to heaven?

At this moment, Hua Cheng said: "Who said there is no other way?"