"The truth..."

On the deck, a cultivator suppressed the unease and terror in his heart, feigning composure as he said, "Daoist Luo, what are you talking about? Didn't we work together to eliminate this fish demon..."

"First, let me clarify,"

Luo Siyuan said with a gentle smile, "The giant fish you just killed was not a demon."

"For the past few years, I have been feeding the giant fish demon flesh and blood gathered from various places.

Over time, it became surrounded by a strong demonic aura, deceiving all of you."

"Luo Siyuan!"

General Du Tinghuai's eyes suddenly widened, and he took a step forward, sternly shouting, "Are you saying that you deliberately raised a demonic creature, causing disaster in the Ling River?!"

"The first half of your statement is correct, the second half is wrong."

Luo Siyuan shook his head and said, "I did feed the giant fish demon flesh and blood,

But even without the giant fish,

The Ling River is a natural, unknown disaster rooted in the heart of the Central Plains."

Everyone was confused,

They thought Luo Siyuan was referring to the frequent ice floods on the Ling River that submerged fields and displaced countless people.

On the contrary, the faces of the Longhu Mountain Taoists changed drastically.

A middle-aged Taoist said in a gloomy voice, "Junior Brother Luo, do you know what you're saying?"

"I know. This plan was my idea, wasn't it?"

Luo Siyuan glanced at the bewildered crowd on the ship and explained with a smile, "The Ling River passes through Chenzhou, Fengzhou, Qizhou, and other places, with complex and dense tributaries, providing water to hundreds of millions of people in the Central Plains.

Several years ago, I suggested to the Sect Leader that we introduce the demonic Qi from the Lianmo (Demon Refining) Cave into the Ling River,

Using the power of the Ling River to dilute the demonic Qi,

In order to alleviate the crisis of the Lianmo Cave's destruction.

If you think carefully, you should notice that in recent years, there have been many more demon rumors in the Ling River basin—

The large-scale breeding of demons is one of the consequences of this plan."

"..."

The Wude Guard Commandant's eyes widened, and he clenched his fists tightly, murmuring, "So that's it. I've been leading troops to patrol everywhere, and I always felt that there were more and more demons being killed in Chenzhou,

But the reports were never answered, and there was no news,

When I went to the capital to report on my duties, I was even reprimanded by my superiors for making a fuss,

They told me not to be alarmist and spread rumors."

"Absurd,"

General Du Tinghuai gritted his teeth and said, "If that were the case, why wouldn't I know about it?"

Luo Siyuan said indifferently, "Even the Prefect doesn't know about this.

Only a very few members of the imperial family and Longhu Mountain elders know the full picture of the plan—

After all, if the world knew that Longhu Mountain was secretly condoning or even deliberately breeding demons, it would be a disaster.

And my fellow disciples,

Seemingly stationed in Chenzhou to assist the Wude Guard in patrolling for demons,

In fact, they are also secretly monitoring me to prevent me from spreading the news everywhere."

The Taoists were silent, their faces gloomy and terrifying, like thick clouds that couldn't be dispersed in the sky.

"Heh,"

Luo Siyuan smiled, ignoring his fellow disciples' glares, and casually explained, "The Tianshi (Celestial Master) Dao has been based in Longhu Mountain for thousands of years, and is the leader of the righteous path in the world.

The cultivators of Longhu Mountain understand the mysteries and have profound magical powers.

The Lianmo Cave of Longhu Mountain is even more of a treasure bestowed by Laozi in a dream to Zhang Tianshi,

On par with the Zhengyi Mengwei Talisman, the Sanwu Zhanxie Male and Female Swords, and the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal.

The Six Ding Divine Fire burning in the cave can refine all the goblins and monsters in the world.

No matter how fierce the demon is, it will be burned to ashes by the eternally burning Six Ding Divine Fire in the cave.

Only leaving behind one or two essences similar to a corpse transformation relic or a Zen Buddhist relic,

To be reused and cast into magical artifacts and spiritual treasures,

Provided to righteous cultivators, allowing them to continue hunting demons.

It can be said that the Longhu Mountain Lianmo Cave is one of the most important existences in the world.

Without the Lianmo Cave, the Dao would decline and the demons would flourish, and monsters would run rampant."

Luo Siyuan looked around and said indifferently, "However, the most critical part of the Lianmo Cave, the wick that carries the Six Ding Divine Fire,

Was destroyed hundreds of years ago by a White Lotus Sect spy who infiltrated Longhu Mountain and blew himself up.

After the wick was destroyed, although the Six Ding Divine Fire in the Lianmo Cave did not go out,

It needs to be burned non-stop,

Even if it stops for a second, the Six Ding Divine Fire without a source will directly annihilate and can never be rekindled."

"..."

The cultivators on the deck couldn't hide their shock. They had never heard of such a secret.

"You must be wondering, if it's just a missing wick,

Why can't we use rituals to directly connect with Zhang Tianshi, who has already ascended to immortality, and ask Zhang Tianshi to bestow a new wick."

Luo Siyuan sighed, "In fact, Longhu Mountain had already completely lost contact with the Immortal Realm hundreds of years ago.

No matter what method is used, it is impossible to connect with any immortal.

Since we can't get a new wick, we can only maintain the status quo,

Desperately collecting demons from all over the world, using them as firewood to continuously fill the Lianmo Cave.

However, the divine fire burns forever, but the demons will eventually run out.

In order to keep the divine fire going, the mountain tried almost everything.

In the most critical moments when no usable demons could be found,

They even allowed elders whose lifespans were coming to an end and had no hope of ascending to enter the bottom of the Lianmo Cave, using their bodies as firewood to maintain the Six Ding Divine Fire and the hope of the world."

Luo Siyuan shook his head and said, "Several years ago, I got inspiration from ancient books and designed a formation

That can introduce the demonic Qi from the Lianmo Cave into the Ling River, using the power of the Ling River to dilute the demonic Qi.

There are two benefits to doing this:

First, we can create demons in a controllable manner—most of the newborn demons bred by demonic Qi are low in cultivation and difficult to achieve anything, so they can be easily hunted and used as firewood.

Second, it can relieve the high pressure in the Lianmo Cave—the Lianmo Cave has not stopped for hundreds of years, and the accumulated demonic Qi on the top of the cave is almost solid.

The entire Lianmo Cave is like a pot of boiling water that is forcibly covered, and there is a risk of bursting at any time.

Dredging the demonic Qi can also stabilize the Lianmo Cave."

"..."

All the cultivators were speechless and silent.

The middle-aged Taoist of Longhu Mountain said expressionlessly, "The demonic Qi dredging formation buried under the Ling River bed

Has indeed created a large number of demons,

But this is a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils.

If immortals and Buddhas do not save us, mortals can only save themselves."

"Well said."

Luo Siyuan nodded and said, "The Sect Leader adopted my suggestion and secretly built a formation in the Ling River.

The Nine Twists Locking River Suppressing God Formation that you see at this moment is actually a backup plan that I, as the designer, secretly left behind."

"..."

General Du Tinghuai took a deep breath and said slowly, "Why does Daoist Luo need to tell us this?

We didn't know the secrets of Longhu Mountain in the first place. You don't need to kill us to silence us. Why did you use the formation to trap us here?"