Chapter 172 Putting Yourself in Someone Else's Shoes
"You've certainly improved. I almost managed to capture you just now. I suppose once the Golden Crow Sacred Body is fully refined, I won't be able to summon you to the Purple Cloud Palace like that anymore." Hongjun said with regret, as this would be quite inconvenient.
Chang Hao's face instantly lit up with a smile. It was a false alarm. He reached out and took the Demon Refining Pot.
Hongjun casually took the Demon Refining Pot away.
Chang Hao was stunned for a moment, then understood and said, "Thank you..." As he spoke, he reached for the Demon Refining Pot again.
Hongjun's eyes flickered. "You should thank me. If it weren't for me, you would only have gotten a dead Golden Crow, which is not as useful as a living one."
"The two saints plus Yang Mei were indeed a tough opponent for me, but thanks to you." Chang Hao was grateful that Hongjun intervened in time, and indeed, he was in dire straits.
"Although you thanked me, I still cannot give you the Demon Refining Pot." Hongjun moved the Demon Refining Pot to a different spot, a sense of unease creeping into his heart. He had a feeling that Chang Hao didn't genuinely want to refine the Golden Crow Invincible Body, but rather...
"Why?" Chang Hao stared intently at the Demon Refining Pot, not blinking. "Wasn't the name Golden Crow chosen for me?"
“I’m afraid you’ll soften your heart, so let me help you,” Hongjun said, taking out the essence blood of the ancestral phoenix. “You’re not decisive at all. We already have the little golden crow, and it can be refined immediately. Dijun can’t worry about that right now.” As he spoke, Hongjun was about to drip the essence blood of the ancestral phoenix into it.
"Sigh... wait..." Chang Hao gently squeezed Hongjun's hand, which was about to pour out the phoenix blood essence. The phoenix blood essence was extremely domineering. It would be a great tonic for him, Dijun, and Taiyi, but for the little golden crow, it would be suicide.
"What do you mean by this?" Hongjun glanced at Chang Hao's hand that was blocking him. "Isn't this the little golden crow you wanted?"
“Hongjun,” Chang Hao said, feeling extremely guilty, “why are you so eager to kill? Heaven cherishes life, why should we take their lives?”
His hand stealthily climbed onto the Demon Refining Pot...
Hongjun grabbed Chang Hao's restless hand. "Not going to kill him? You've changed your mind?" He had already taken ninety-nine steps, and now he's calling it a stop? Are you playing with him?
“If you can’t do it, go back to your palace,” Hongjun said, removing Chang Hao’s hand. “I’ll take care of you, just wait here.”
Chang Hao, in a moment of panic, snapped, "Stop! Listen to me!"
Hongjun's phoenix blood essence did not drip down in the end. "Stop, then stop. Just tell me what you want to say and I'll listen. Why get angry? You have too much of a temper."
Chang Hao brushed his eyelashes aside, his tough stance softening; he knew he was in the wrong.
“Hongjun… I didn’t mean to yell at you,” Chang Hao explained softly.
"I know you did it on purpose." Hongjun shrank the Demon Refining Pot and held it in his hand, feeling a strange sense of unease in his chest.
Chang Hao was speechless. Hongjun was too blunt. "Hongjun, taking the Golden Crow to refine the Holy Body is a heretical and evil path. I have thought about it carefully. How can someone with an evil heart attain the Primordial Dao Fruit? I am not Rahu. Besides, the Golden Crow is young, pure, and innocent. How can you bear to do this?"
"I can bear it." Hongjun met Chang Hao's gaze frankly, his eyes unwavering, clearly showing that he did not regard the Golden Crow's life as his own.
"You can bear to do it, but I can't. If I really do it, I'll have inner demons, and that will definitely give Rahu an opportunity to take advantage of me." Chang Hao spoke frankly about the matter at hand. If the little golden crow wasn't his close relative but someone he had no relation to, he wouldn't be able to do it either.
"You're utterly useless. Rahu dared to use dragons, phoenixes, and unicorns to consecrate his sword, yet you didn't even dare to kill nine little golden crows. You're too soft-hearted; what can you possibly accomplish?"
Hongjun couldn't understand it. Chang Hao should have been used to killing, so why did he have such a compassionate heart?
"Heaven's justice is clear and retribution is swift. If I refine the Little Golden Crow today, and I find myself in the Demon Refining Pot tomorrow, wouldn't I be facing retribution?" Chang Hao firmly believed in cause and effect and retribution.
"What nonsense are you spouting? I'd like to see who dares to do this. The idea of retribution only applies to those who lack the strength. You should learn from Luo Hou." Hongjun rarely praised Luo Hou. He couldn't stand Chang Hao saying that he was suffering from misfortune. Even if Chang Hao said it, it wouldn't matter. "Whoever dares to refine you, I will make them regret being born into this world."
Chang Hao smiled unconsciously and hugged Hongjun's arm. "Put yourself in his shoes. Little Golden Crow also has close relatives. Dijun, Xihe, and Tai must feel the same way as you."
"Same mindset, different strength. With me here, your fate and that of the Little Golden Crow will be completely different." Hongjun has not given up on refining the Little Golden Crow.
The Golden Crow is incredibly powerful. If Chang Hao obtains the Golden Crow Sacred Body, even if he doesn't become a saint, he will be safe and sound traveling through the prehistoric world.
Hongjun was concerned that he had eventually attained the Dao, and if something really happened, it would be too late to seek retribution afterward. The incident where Nuwa pressured him last time was a warning to him.
Fortunately, Jieyin and Zhunti were sensible. If Jieyin had really struck with that palm, Hongjun would have had to feed him another Saint-Destroying Pill.
“I have a deep friendship with Dijun and Taiyi, and I have never intended to use the Little Golden Crow to refine my body. You are just overthinking things.” Chang Hao gently pulled the Ancestral Phoenix Essence Blood from Hongjun’s hand. “Hongjun, don’t be so hostile. Since you gave me the Ancestral Phoenix Essence Blood, it is mine now. I will keep it safe.”
"Really not? Then explain to me the method of the Golden Crow becoming a saint?" Hongjun slapped Chang Hao's restless hand, and then sneakily reached for the Demon Refining Pot. If he didn't explain it clearly, the little Golden Crow wouldn't be able to take it away.
He went to great lengths, not to help these nine brats survive their ordeal.
“That was written with great care for Taiyi,” Chang Hao said, turning the blame onto Taiyi. “Under the Great Calamity, who can say for sure? What if something happens… The purpose was to leave a glimmer of hope.”
"For Taiyi? You seem to care too much about the demon race. Do you intend to get involved?" Hongjun, who has attained the Dao, knows best the horror of the Great Tribulation. Moreover, the Wu and Yao are too disobedient. The Heavenly Dao intends for them to relinquish the Primordial World. Thus, the fate of the Wu and Yao is already clear.
“I see it clearly now. When you turned around, you weren’t trying to take advantage of the situation to grab the little golden crow, but rather to go and help in the battle.” Hongjun saw right through Chang Hao’s thoughts.
"Just a tiny bit, a tiny bit!" Chang Hao held up two fingers to indicate that it really was just a tiny bit.
Hongjun: "You are really audacious. I told you not to get involved in the affairs of the Wu and Yao clans, but you ignored me completely." Don't mention to him that it's just a plan for the Golden Crow clan, and what's the difference between helping the Golden Crow and helping the Wu clan.
“A little bit?” Hongjun was not easily fooled. “I think it’s more than that.”
"I promise, nothing will happen to me. I'm doing this for your own good." Chang Hao had his own selfish motives, but he wasn't greedy.
"For me?" Hongjun thought and thought, but couldn't think of anything good about it for him.
"Think about it, if Di Jun is defeated, the Heavenly Court will also be defeated. The Heavenly Court is an important institution for maintaining the operation of the Heavenly Dao. If the Heavenly Court cannot be maintained, the Heavenly Dao will be half ruined. And who knows how Luo Hou will be waiting in the Demon Realm." Chang Hao analyzed, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
Hongjun seemed to be deep in thought. Yangmei, that coward who was afraid of death, suddenly made such a big move. It was hard to say that it wasn't Luo Hou causing trouble in the dark.
This was his oversight. With the decline of Tao and the rise of demons, the Great Calamity is probably what Rahu most wants to see. Because of this, he will definitely not be at peace. It can be seen that Yangmei's appearance is not accidental but inevitable under Rahu's calculation.
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