"Master Mu, please lead us to defeat the evil cult!" A group of monks bravely stepped forward and bowed.
"Master Mu, please lead us and stay away from the sharp edge!" Another group of monks also bowed.
The two groups of people spoke in unison for the first two sentences, but by the last sentence, their voices were divided into two different ones.
For a moment, the whole yard was quiet.
Sure enough, with a powerful enemy in front of them and no one leading the group, everyone had different ideas.
All the different thoughts mixed together and eventually split into two directions - one was to fight, the other was to escape.
One group wanted Mu Qingning to plan tactics, while another group wanted Mu Qingning to plan an escape route.
After a moment's silence, the two groups were stunned for a moment, and then began to argue fiercely. The atmosphere became heated again, and it could even be said that they were tit-for-tat and tense.
"Fight? How to fight? The Immortal Lord just passed away and we are totally unprepared. Even if Immortal Master Mu is extremely talented, it will be difficult to defeat the well-prepared army of the Demon Cult!" Several elderly monks sighed, stroking their beards.
"With a powerful enemy in front of us, you actually only want to escape and disregard the honor of Kunlun?" Several monks who have always been known for their bravery were also angry: "We would rather die in battle than be laughed at by the Demon Cult, and we can't let people from other sects laugh at us for being spineless!"
"Of course you are willing to sacrifice, but there are plenty of women, children, the elderly and the young on Kunlun Mountain. Are you going to let them die in vain?" The escaped party sneered, "He who knows the current affairs is a hero. Only by saving your life can Kunlun continue."
"If they run away, women and children may not be able to save their lives!" The War Party also has a point: "How do you know that the Demon Cult will not chase and intercept them? Then you will die faster!"
…
The two sides went back and forth, neither side giving in.
Li Yuebai listened carefully and quietly for a while, but for a moment he couldn't tell whether it was right or wrong.
After arguing for a long time, both groups turned their attention to Li Yuebai.
"Master Mu, what do you think?"
"Yes, Master Mu, do you think that I, Kunlun, should fight or flee?"
"..." Li Yuebai was speechless for a moment, cold sweat running down his back.
In the real world, he had dealt with countless naughty students and answered countless tricky and strange questions in the classroom, but he had never answered such a difficult and big question.
This is no joke. The lives of tens of thousands of people and the survival of an entire sect, how can they be decided by just a few words from me?
If it were in a modern Western country, the result could be decided by voting, but in this world, the power is still in the hands of the Immortal Lord.
"Whether to fight or surrender should be decided by the Immortal Lord." Li Yuebai said.
Everyone looked at each other uneasily.
“I’m afraid Master Mu hasn’t received the news yet.” An elderly cultivator stepped forward and said, “The Immortal Master… passed away yesterday…”
As soon as the words fell, everyone present burst into tears.
"What?" Li Yuebai could only pretend to be shocked and sad.
He also noticed that everyone present was dressed in white, even the hilts of their swords were tied with white silk. The news of the Immortal Lord's death had already been made public, but he had not left the house, so he had only officially received the news now.
"The position of Immortal Lord is vacant and no one can seize it. Therefore, we will carefully consider and listen to Master Mu's opinions..." Everyone grieved for a while before continuing.
"My dear friends, please forgive me for not being able to judge. I am incompetent and have been retired for many years. I am afraid I cannot take on such a big responsibility..." Li Yuebai sighed and answered helplessly.
After crossing over, he took on countless solo missions, or faced groups of enemies alone...but he had never commanded tens of thousands of people, and had never made such a difficult choice.
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of flying robes, and all the monks in the yard half-knelt down in unison.
Half-kneeling is the etiquette of becoming a disciple in this world of cultivating immortals.
"Master Mu, you can't abandon Kunlun!"
"Yes, now only you can save the lives of tens of thousands of disciples!"
"Whether it's fighting or surrendering, you're the only one who can come up with the best tactics!"
"If Master Mu is willing to take on the responsibility, we will obey you no matter whether you say to fight or surrender!"
Li Yuebai saw everyone's eyes, which were filled with grief, anxiety, despair, anger... and only a little hope.
"Master Mu, we all unanimously recommend you to serve as the chief priest." An immortal walked out from the crowd.
Everyone agreed: "Yes, we all unanimously recommend Master Mu to serve as the chief priest."
Li Yuebai looked carefully at the person who came out, and the system immediately gave him information: Su Xu, the head of Miaoyan Pavilion, was a well-known figure in Kunlun, famous for his intelligence and tact.
It seems that this person is here to convince himself on behalf of everyone else.
I just don't know what the position of Jijiu is in this world of cultivating immortals.
"System, what is the chief priest?" Li Yuebai asked secretly.
Of course this is in the original owner's memory, but the original owner's memory is too much and too heavy, and it takes a lot of energy to look it up, so it is faster to ask the system.
"Jiu, in Kunlun Immortal Mountain, is an extremely high immortal position, usually held by the most trusted person of the Immortal Lord. It can be said that he is the Immortal Lord's right-hand man, second only to the Lord and above ten thousand others." The system replied.
"There is no Immortal Lord now..."
"Then the chief priest is the supreme leader." The system replied.
Although he was promoted to such a high position in an instant, Li Yuebai only felt worried.
"Master Su Ge, you are joking. The position of Jijiu is of great significance and I cannot take on the responsibility." Li Yuebai declined.
"Master Mu, please take a look at this precious mirror first." Su Xu sighed and took out a bronze mirror from his sleeve.
The bronze mirror has an antique shape and its surface is so shiny that one can tell at first glance that it is not an ordinary item.
As soon as Su Xu moved his fingers, a moving image appeared in the mirror.
"Two months ago, the Demon Cult launched a surprise attack on the Hualong Immortal Mountain in the central part of the Shenzhou mainland. The incident happened so suddenly that the Hualong Immortal Mountain was not aware of it and did not take any precautions. By the time the major sects sent reinforcements, it was already too late." Su Xu explained, his tone very heavy.
The images in the mirror were shocking—the pavilions and towers were all razed to the ground, the clear spring water turned blood red, and the ground was scorched. Many monks had their elixirs and flesh sucked away by the evil cultists, and turned into a shriveled human skin, including young disciples...
"System, are the images in the mirror real?" Li Yuebai asked.
"Yes." The system replied: "Baojing is the video player in the world of Xiuxian. What it plays are all real events. The Demon Cult has always been like this."
Hualong Xianshan was a small sect and had relatively distant relations with the major sects, so their demise did not cause much waves in the world of immortal cultivation.
"Master Mu, are you going to just watch Kunlun Mountain become like this?" Su Xu said with great sorrow.
Li Yuebai felt as if a needle had stabbed his heart.
The sky was clear and the air was fresh. The surrounding mountains were undulating, and several peaks were covered with white snow. Fragrant flowers and plants grew on the ground, and lush fairy trees grew on the mountains. Various buildings were scattered in an orderly manner, magnificent and elegant. You could even see disciples studying in the building halfway up the mountain from a distance.
The system's answer is decisive - don't have any hope of getting lucky with the cult.
Just as they can crush other sects, they can also crush Kunlun Mountain.
Tens of thousands of people were just numbers, but the two little disciples under his knees were real. He had no relationship with these disciples, but they had deep feelings for the original owner. The original owner certainly could not watch them die.
And...according to my usual style, I will certainly not hide back.
Li Yuebai didn't want to hesitate any longer and accepted the position of chief priest.
Everyone turned sadness into joy and regained their spirits.
"System, what do you think?" After the previous two time travels, Li Yuebai acted much more cautiously, but still wanted to ask the system for more opinions.
"Please don't worry, host. It is my duty to serve as the chief priest." The system replied.
"Do you also agree that I should take on the task?"
"You have no other choice anyway." The system's voice was full of as-is.
"What did the original owner do in the original story?"
"Same as you are now, no difference." The system replied.
"Then I'm just repeating the same mistakes." Li Yuebai sighed.
"Some tragedies are inevitable and must be repeated." The system replied: "What everyone said is right. If no one stands up to lead everyone to repel the evil cult, Kunlun Immortal Mountain will surely suffer a devastating disaster."
"There are so many talented people in Kunlun Immortal Mountain. Is there really no one other than me who can defeat the Demon Cult?"
"There used to be one, but now... you are the only one left." The system replied.
All of the original owner's old friends have passed away, and there are very few new talents.
What's more, in that explosion, not only did the Immortal Lord Yu Pengzhi die, but thousands of cultivators accompanying him were also burned to death. Among them, many were elites among Kunlun disciples, and many of them were highly expected and were at the top of the pyramid. Thus, a huge gap in top talents suddenly appeared... It is no wonder that everyone placed their hopes on Mu Qingning alone.
"Don't forget, I'm here to save myself..." Li Yuebai asked the system: "Why haven't you told me the cause of the original owner's death so far? How can I save myself?"
"There is no rush to save yourself." The system said: "Now you must first save Kunlun Immortal Mountain, and then save yourself."
"First, save the Kunlun Fairy Mountain..." Li Yuebai felt more and more that this journey was too difficult.
In the previous two worlds, just saving oneself was already difficult enough, but here, one has to save the world first and then save oneself.
"Is it so easy to save Kunlun Fairy Mountain?" Li Yuebai smiled bitterly.
"Anyway, the original owner did it." The system replied.
"Wait, what you mean is," Li Yuebai was stunned, "the original owner saved the entire Kunlun Immortal Mountain, but died a violent death?"
"Yes." The system answered firmly.
"How is this possible? A person who is so powerful can't save himself in the end..." Li Yuebai felt depressed.
"So, it's up to you. Come on, host." The system said, "Once you have saved Kunlun Fairy Mountain, I will tell you all the information for the next step."
Li Yuebai shook his head and decided not to worry too much about the future and focus on the matters at hand.
"Master Jijiu." Su Xu said, "The Immortal Lord has passed away, and everyone in Kunlun is deeply saddened. With the enemy of the Demon Sect in front of us, we must not lose our dignity. Today, let's invite Master Mu to join us in the funeral ceremony of the Immortal Lord!"
Naturally, Li Yuebai couldn't refuse this request.
The funeral ceremony of the Immortal Lord was held at the Queen Mother Terrace, the highest point of Kunlun Mountain.
Wangmu Terrace is a spacious platform carved from a whole piece of white jade. It is solemn and can accommodate 10,000 people. All kinds of sacrificial ceremonies are held here.
The monks stood in neat rows according to their rank. All of them were dressed in white robes and tied with white silk sashes. They stood tall, solemn and serious, with sad expressions.
The rules of Kunlun Mountain prohibit excessive expression of human emotions. Laughing or crying are not allowed. Therefore, even when a relative or immortal lord passes away, there is often no crying, only silence.
The Immortal Lord died by self-explosion, so naturally there would be no body left. Therefore, there was only a symbolic tablet placed on the altar.
An immortal came forward and recited a flowery eulogy, which probably praised the immortal master's immortal spirit, noble virtues and unparalleled Taoism.
Li Yuebai stood among several immortals, listening quietly to the eulogy.
After the eulogy was read, the ceremony ended.
After the ceremony, the crowd did not disperse.
Now that a powerful enemy is in front of them, everyone must have a good discussion on how to deal with the situation after the ceremony.
Before the discussion even started, there was a small commotion in the back row.
Li Yuebai's five senses are now very sharp, and he can hear that in the back row of the crowd, several disciples are secretly discussing the cause of the Immortal Lord's death.
"The Immortal Lord has unparalleled magical powers, how could...what exactly happened?"
"I can't figure it out either. Maybe he has achieved enlightenment and ascended to heaven?"
…
The people who were talking were a few younger disciples who had weak skills and did not know how to hide their voices. They thought no one heard them, but they did not know that the immortals could hear them clearly.
Of course, such doubts have been quietly fermenting in every corner of Kunlun since the news of the Immortal Lord's death spread.
At this time, someone must give a reasonable explanation to put all these doubts to rest.
After the eulogy was finished, Su Xu came out again.
Su Xu was usually very kind to others, never offended anyone, and always had a smile on his face. But now, the smile on his face was gone, replaced by deep sorrow and anger.
"Gentlemen, everything is obvious. Apart from the Demon Cult, who else would have such despicable and vicious means?" Su Xu said to everyone in a sad tone, "The Demon Cult thinks that as long as they assassinate the Immortal Lord, they can flatten Kunlun Immortal Mountain!"
Everyone was infected by his emotions and listened to him.
The Immortal Lord was originally commanding a number of monks to defend the mountain gate and resist the Demon Cult, but he suddenly passed away. The murderer could only be the Demon Cult.
"...the evil cult is a scoundrel, their methods are despicable and disgusting!" Su Xu said in a stern voice: "They will surely bring about their own destruction!"
The disciples who were still wondering about the cause of the Immortal Lord's death and discussing it privately, now suddenly realized the truth and showed anger on their faces.
Although the claim that "the Immortal Lord died from an assassination by the Demon Cult" is groundless, it is the only possibility that can be announced publicly at the moment.
Some people knew the real cause of the Immortal Lord's death, but they could not say a word. At this critical moment, they told everyone carelessly that the Immortal Lord had gone astray and exploded. That would be equivalent to strengthening the ambition of the Demon Cult and destroying their own prestige. The biggest possibility was that they would be accused of slandering the Cult Master and the entire Kunlun.
What's more, the Demon Cult is a dark cloud hanging over everyone's head. It is the biggest threat facing everyone. Naturally, it is the culprit of everything and the object that should be hated the most.
That Su Xu was indeed quite capable. With just a few lies he dispelled everyone's doubts and brought people together again.
…
Just when everyone was getting excited, someone jumped out and poured cold water on them.
"Master Su, that's easy for you to say." An immortal sneered, "You are powerless, how can you deal with the Demon Cult?"
The sneering immortal was named Wan Guangliu, the master of Qinglong Peak on Kunlun Mountain. He was an expert in swordsmanship, but had a bad temper and was a mean person. He attacked others all the time. At this moment, he was even more displeased with Su Xu's boasting, and could not help but attack him: "Master Su has poor martial arts skills. It seems that he will not participate in the battle against the Demon Cult. At most, he will just watch the battle from the back with a fan! We are the ones who will bleed and sacrifice. In that case, why bother to show off here!"
"You...you are talking nonsense and disrupting the morale of your own people when you are facing a powerful enemy?" Su Xu was furious. He pointed a finger at Wan Guangliu and trembled. "Su has no intention of being in the limelight. I stand up and speak today just to tell everyone that Kunlun will not perish."
"Oh? Could it be that Master Su suddenly cultivated some magical secrets that can save tens of thousands of disciples?" Wan Guangliu didn't believe it.
"Su has not achieved any success in his cultivation, he just invited a master to come out." Su Xu calmed himself down and invited Li Yuebai out.
"Master Mu has long retired and no longer cares about worldly affairs, but now is the key to the life and death of Kunlun Mountain, so Master Mu resolutely came out of the mountain..." Su Xu said.
Mu Qingning?
Some of the older monks showed surprised expressions on their faces, while a group of younger monks were whispering to each other, asking: Who is Mu Qingning?
After a brief moment of confusion, everyone's attention was focused on Li Yuebai.
When Li Yuebai came, in order to keep a low profile, he deliberately stood in an inconspicuous corner. But now, no matter how inconspicuous the position was, it was useless because everyone was staring at him with complicated eyes.
"Master Mu?" Wan Guangliu was also stunned for a moment, and he didn't care to argue with Su Xu anymore. He strode to Li Yuebai and bowed without hesitation: "If Master Mu is here to command, then there will be hope for Kunlun!"
"We have nominated Master Mu to serve as the chief priest. Do you agree?" Su Xu turned to those who did not invite Li Yuebai and asked.
"Of course we would love to have that." Everyone answered.
The older monks all knew about Mu Qingning's glorious military exploits. As for the younger monks, although they did not know about it now, they would understand it after being told in detail by their masters and fellow monks.
The position of Jijiu has been decided, so now it comes back to the question: fight or flee?
Li Yuebai sat down at the position of the chief priest, rubbed his temples, and couldn't help feeling worried.
Do I really have to make this decision by myself?