Chapter 243 - Senior Brother Chen Chen, the Moral Benchmark
Chapter 243: Senior Brother Chen Chen, the Moral Benchmark
Looking at the Berserk Lion Demon Emperor, who had gone mad, the Divine Snow Demon Emperor’s expression changed.
‘The Berserk Lion Demon Emperor is still alive!’
To be honest, when he was on the way back, he had already prepared to collect the corpse of the Berserk Lion Demon Emperor, even thinking of a series of ways to deal with it.
Yet, the Berserk Lion Demon Emperor had survived.
Of course, that was a great thing, but he had a strong feeling that there was something amiss with the situation. He just couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
Just as he was feeling distracted, the Berserk Lion Demon Emperor suddenly opened his mouth and spewed out a shockwave that blasted at him.
“Brainless thing!” the Divine Snow Demon Emperor cursed, then furiously stomped his feet against the ground. The temperature plunged immediately, and the Berserk Lion Demon Emperor was soon frozen, unable to move.
Looking at the frozen Berserk Lion Demon Emperor, the Divine Snow Demon Emperor really wanted to smack him to death right on the spot, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it in the end.
After all, this madman was the key figure that the demons wanted to protect, and the morale of all the demons was at stake.
Besides, if he had sensed correctly, the Berserk Lion Demon Emperor may have been severely injured, but his bloodline had been revived.
‘Heaven must be blind.’
…
On the other side, the human cultivators tried to return to the campground after seeing that the Divine Snow Demon Emperor had retreated.
After discovering that the Divine Snow Demon Emperor really hadn’t returned, they finally heaved a sigh of relief.
It did not take long for the scattered human cultivators to all assemble in the camp after some contact.
Nearly a hundred human cultivators had died in that battle. Although it didn’t do much damage to the humans’ team, the problem was that all the cultivators had died during the pursuit, and not a single demon was injured or killed.
In layman’s terms, they died for no reason.
That was unacceptable for many cultivators. After all, those people were their comrades and seniors, ones whom they had lived together with.
Hence, when Zhang Ji returned to the camp, the atmosphere in the entire camp was a little off.
Anger was brewing within everyone’s heart, and they seemed to be losing their temper.
Zhang Ji was helpless.
No matter what, he couldn’t tell others that his master had headed to the demons’ territory. At this moment, he had to take all the blame and bear the brunt of their anger.
‘Master has taken the risk to go to the demons’ territory and if I can’t even withstand the pressure here, how can I face Master?’
Thinking of this, his expression became resolute and determined. Before the cultivators could ask about it, Zhang Ji took the initiative to speak.
“I will give everyone an explanation in a few days’ time. Please calm down.”
Many people had contemptuous gazes in their eyes when they heard his words.
‘They’re already dead, what else is there to explain?’
‘Could it be that the Seven-Slaughtering Demon Lord has already reached the critical point of cultivation and has gone into seclusion?’
However, if that was the case, he ought to inform everyone in advance. They felt that it wasn’t right for him to keep everyone in the dark.
Everyone was there to fight for the human race, not to die for no reason.
“Fellow Daoist Zhang, given the current situation, we still don’t know if we can stay alive. How are you going to give us an explanation?” a cultivator sneered sarcastically.
Zhang Ji secretly clenched his fist, but he didn’t retort back.
Seeing that the anger in the crowd’s eyes had intensified, an abrupt laughter sounded from afar.
“Hah, what is everyone doing here?”
Hearing this voice, the crowd looked in the direction that it came from, only to see a slightly disheveled figure slowly emerge from the miasma. It was none other than Chen Chen, who had disappeared for a night.
In fact, the majority of people did not notice Chen Chen’s disappearance.
Although Chen Chen was extremely talented, handsome, kind, righteous, and loyal, the ones who got the most attention during a battle would always be the powerhouses.
Hence, now that Chen Chen was in such a disheveled state, the cultivators thought that Chen Chen had also been fleeing for a night, like they did.
A cultivator looked at Chen Chen and said with a tone full of resentment towards Zhang Ji, “Fellow Daoist Chen, Zhang Ji is your best buddy, isn’t he? Ask him where the Seven-Slaughtering Demon Lord has gone.”
Chen Chen walked up to Zhang Ji in a serious manner and asked in a deep voice, “Zhang Ji, where did the Seven-Slaughtering Demon Lord go?”
Zhang Ji glanced at Chen Chen in shock and then lowered his head without saying a word.
Many cultivators were furious when they saw this scene.
‘You refuse to even tell your close buddy, who traveled miles to help you? You’re really incorrigible.’
‘Are all diabolic cultivators so paranoid and not willing to trust anyone?’
Thinking of this, some people felt pity for Chen Chen.
Chen Chen looked at Zhang Ji, then patted him on his shoulder with a helpless expression.
“I understand him well. He’s quite daft most of the time, but since he’s refusing to speak, it should be a strict order given by the Seven-Slaughtering Demon Lord.”
The crowd was stunned, not saying a word.
“Since the Seven-Slaughtering Demon Lord has given him orders, he naturally has his reasons for doing so. All we can do is choose to trust him.”
“Everyone, if your master had ordered you to keep a secret, would you tell others about it? I hope you can put yourselves in his shoes and understand.”
Hearing Chen Chen’s words, many people seemed to be less upset, but there were some who were still displeased.
“Fellow Daoist Chen! Are you saying that my Senior Brother should have died in vain just because the Seven-Slaughtering Demon Lord issued an order?!”
Hearing this question, Chen Chen looked into the distance, his gaze becoming deep and profound.
After a long time, he finally said, “There are many other mortals who have died too. Tens of millions of mortals died in vain in the States of Qi and Wei. Who can give them an explanation and tell them why the demons have invaded the human territory?”
The cultivator was speechless and could only silently hang his head low.
The weak could only obey the strong, as they had no control over their destiny. Although the truth was cruel, it was reality.
Although mortals were like ants in the eyes of cultivators like them, they were also nobodies in the eyes of the high-level cultivators.
Only the strong were qualified to understand everything.
Chen Chen continued, “The Seven-Slaughtering Demon Lord is an expert of the human race who has been famous for hundreds of years. I reckon that we all should have faith in him, and the anger that you’re feeling now is only because the anxiety you developed from war has disrupted your minds.”
Hearing this, all the cultivators could not help but be a little ashamed.
They calmed down and thought about it, only to realize that Chen Chen made sense. The reason that they chose to blame Zhang Ji was only because they wanted to find an outlet to vent out their pent up emotions.
If the Seven-Slaughtering Demon Lord had gone to support other places that were more important, they obviously couldn’t let others know about that. If the demons heard about it, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Thinking of this, a few sensible and understanding cultivators looked at Zhang Ji.
“Fellow Daoist Zhang, we have indeed been rash and impulsive. Please don’t take it to heart.”
“Yes, it’s our fault.”
Seeing that a few of them were taking the initiative to convey their apologies to him, Zhang Ji looked at Chen Chen’s back, feeling extremely touched.
‘As long as Big Brother is with me, he will shelter me from all storms. I owe Big Brother too much in this life.’
However, Chen Chen didn’t look at him. He merely waved his arm, after which a giant lion corpse appeared in front of the crowd immediately.
“I killed this Essence Soul realm Lion Emperor only a short while ago, and it’s still warm. Roast it and eat up. It’ll help suppress your shock too.”
Chen Chen pointed to the lion corpse, his face a little pale.
“This is it!”
“I fought with it in an intense battle half a month ago! I didn’t expect it to be dead now!”
The crowd looked at the big lion, which was battered with wounds, before looking at the disheveled Chen Chen with complicated emotions.
‘He has obviously gone through a tough battle before killing this Essence Soul realm Demon Emperor.’
Chen Chen covered his mouth and coughed lightly, after which blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth.
The cultivators felt guilty and ashamed when they saw that.
Even a peerless elite had no complaints about being mixed among them. What was there to complain about?
‘Are our lives more precious than his, who has an innate spirit body?’
Chen Chen hadn’t complained, and even killed an Essence Soul realm Demon Emperor…
His high moral character made them feel extremely ashamed of themselves!
A few female disciples of the Haoran Sword Clan felt rather upset and they hurried over to ask, “Senior Brother Chen, are you alright?”
Chen Chen perked up and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, my kidney and liver just got shattered by the Essence Soul realm Demon Emperor… It’s just a minor injury that is nothing compared to our comrades who have died in the battle.”
Several female disciples almost cried out when they heard this.
‘Both his organs have been shattered, yet he still calls it a minor injury… He’s still trying to talk sense into us, and even shared his hard-earned battle spoil with everyone.’
‘I never thought there would be such a selfless and noble man in the world… No wonder Senior Sister Xishuang likes Senior Brother Chen!’
Thinking of the numerous male disciples in the sect who were prejudiced against Chen Chen, they felt extremely indignant.
They decided that they would reason with them once they returned!
Seeing this, the others immediately came over to show concern for Chen Chen.
Their anger gradually dissipated…
With Chen Chen as the moral benchmark, no one could complain about anything.