As Zhang Qingyi asked the question, the leading monk stepped forward, clasped his hands together, and bowed, saying, "Yan Jing, the monk from Shuangjian Temple, greets the Earth God. These are my fellow apprentices. We are here to hunt down these three evil spirits, following the command of our master."

"Oh?" Zhang Qing turned around and glanced at Bao Yun and the other two, then asked Yan Jing, "Are they causing trouble in the world or eating human blood?"

Yan Jing said calmly, "They are monsters, and monsters should be killed. This is also the decree of the Minister of Western Heaven, Master Hongqing."

Zhang Qingyi heard this and said, "Daoyou said this was an order from Master Hongqing. When has Master Hongqing ever issued an order like 'kill any demon'? Hmm? How come I don't know about it?"

Yan Jing smiled and said, "Doesn't the land god know that on the eve of the Battle of Banjie Mountain, Master Hongqing issued an imperial decree to all the Buddhist temples in Xiniuhezhou?"

Zhang Qing said, "That imperial edict clearly ordered you to eliminate the demons causing chaos in Banjie Mountain and Amo Country. Now that the demons in Banjie Mountain and Amo Country have been eliminated by my Xitian Mansion, that imperial edict has become invalid. Yet, you are now using it to slaughter innocent demon cultivators. What is your intention?"

A monk stepped forward from behind Yan Jing and said to Zhang Qing, "Evil cultivators are disturbing the human world. We, the righteous, should punish them upon seeing them. We, the humble monks, will first receive the imperial edict from the Western Heaven Palace, and then receive the decree from the Bodhisattvas to eradicate the evildoers. What's wrong with that?"

At this point, the monk pointed at Zhang Qing and said, "You, the Earth God? As an official of the Heavenly Court, not only did you disregard the imperial edict of the Western Heaven Palace, but you also attempted to use your divine authority to protect the demon cultivators. If I report this to Master Hongqing, not only will you lose your official robes, I'm afraid you won't be able to save your life."

Zhang Qingyi's eyes flashed as he looked at the monk and asked, "Are you threatening me?"

"I dare not." The monk smiled slightly and said, "I am only explaining the severity of the situation to the land god. Please think carefully about it."

Zhang Qingyi fell silent. What the monk said did make sense. The battle of Banjie Mountain had just ended, and no one knew what Fang Jian's attitude was towards the demon tribe of Xiniu Hezhou.

If Fang Jian counted all the monsters in Xiniu Hezhou as part of the Banjie Mountain monster clan, then he would definitely carry out a large-scale cleanup.

In this case, his protection of Bao Yun's family is definitely a serious crime. As the monk said, losing his position as an immortal official is the least of his worries.

Thinking of this, Zhang Qingyi was also in a dilemma. Bao Yun was his good friend, and he usually acted righteously and kept a low profile as a demon. His morality was definitely above average among demon cultivators.

Besides, for the Heavenly Court, as long as the demon cultivators are not clearly identified as rebels and are not found to have committed crimes of harming living beings and disturbing the mortal world, they are creatures that the Heavenly Court will protect.

Just as Zhang Qingyi hesitated, Bao Yun and Bao Xin looked at each other behind him. After a brief exchange of words, Bao Yun bowed and said, "Land God."

Zhang Qing turned his head to look at Bao Yun, and then he heard Bao Yun say: "They came to kill my husband and me. My husband and I also know the difficulties of the land god. We are ashamed to come here to seek refuge. But my husband and I are not afraid of death, as long as

It's our child... Bao Yun is certain that the land god, out of our long-standing friendship, will protect our child. My husband and I will face death calmly, without regrets."

Zhang Qing frowned upon hearing this, but unexpectedly, Yan Jing, who was not far away, heard Bao Yun's words and immediately said, "To kill evil spirits, we must cut off the roots. Leaving this little evil spirit here will definitely bring disaster to the future. For the sake of the people of Xi Niu Hezhou, we should kill them together."

Zhang Qing's expression changed immediately upon hearing this, and he immediately shouted at Yan Jing, "Shut up! How can I do anything for you, a monk, to tell me what to do?"

After saying that, Zhang Qingyi pushed Bao Yun behind him, then looked directly at Yan Jing and the others and said, "This deity will protect the three of them today. Unless Xitian Prefecture immediately issues an edict ordering this deity to kill them, no one can lay a finger on them today."

"Land God, you..." Yan Jing's expression changed, and he pointed at Zhang Qing and said, "Land God, you should think it over carefully."

Zhang Qingyi said calmly, "This deity has considered this very clearly. If you and the monk have the guts, then come and attack my land temple. If you want to kill them, you must first kill me and then flatten my land temple."

After saying this, Zhang Qing turned to Bao Yun and his wife and said, "My two fellow Taoists, bring your children with you and follow me into the Earth God Temple to rest."

Hearing Zhang Qingyi's words, Bao Yun and his wife were overjoyed. They immediately took Bao Mi and followed Zhang Qingyi into the land temple.

Seeing this, the monks outside became anxious. Five monks stepped forward and asked Yan Jing, "Brother, what should we do now?"

Yan Jing's face darkened slightly, and he said immediately, "Don't worry, we'll just stay here and see how long they can hide in the land temple."

The other five monks looked at each other, and one of them said, "If they hide for a year, do we have to wait for a year?"

Yan Jing asked the monk, "Do you still want to attack the Earth God Temple? Do you think that orphan has too few excuses to attack us?"

Hearing Yan Jing's words, the monk was speechless. After pondering for a while, he said, "I'm just worried that they've been hiding for too long. We can't keep waiting forever, right?"

Yan Jing thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, they won't be able to hide for long. Don't forget, this is a land temple, not a demon cave. If a few demon cultivators were to take up residence in the temple, do you think a mere land god like him could withstand it?"

When the monks heard this, they suddenly realized that it was just as Yan Jing said. No matter what, a monster was still a monster. How could it be proper for a monster to live in a temple for a long time?

"We will stay around this land temple for the time being and see how long they can last." Yan Jing said with a smile.

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