Chapter 155: Fearless Courage

The Hall of Demon Gods.

The six Holy Immortals of the bright side: Hongjun, Yang Mei, Amitabha, Shenni, Qiankun, and Yinyang.

The three Demon Patriarchs of the dark side: Luohou, Hetian, and Wumo.

Today, the nine Chaos Demon Gods—who rarely gathered even once in tens of millions of years—appeared simultaneously in the Hall of Demon Gods.

One could easily imagine the immense significance of today's Demon God assembly.

There was neither time nor space within the Hall of Demon Gods, nor did any of the Holy Immortals speak, making it extraordinarily silent.

All nine Holy Immortals sat quietly upon their divine thrones, deep in their own thoughts, each unwilling to be the first to break the silence.

After an unknown length of time, Hongjun could no longer bear it. Breaking the silence to elicit further discussion, he initiated the topic, "What do you all think should be done with Nan Luo?"

Still, no Holy Immortal or Demon Patriarch answered. Everyone maintained their silence.

Hongjun looked at the eight motionless Holy Immortals, furrowed his brow slightly, and said, "In this poorist's view, we might as well just kill Nan Luo."

"If none of the Holy Immortals object, I will go right now and scatter Nan Luo's soul to destruction." A fierce gleam flashed across Hongjun's eyes, yet his tone remained utterly calm.

Once Hongjun spoke these words, the various Holy Immortals and Demon Patriarchs could no longer sit still.

They had lived alongside Hongjun for hundreds of millions of years and understood his personality very well.

He was a being of peerless ruthlessness and decisiveness!

If Hongjun made up his mind and no Holy Immortal or Demon Patriarch opposed him, he would immediately set off to kill Nan Luo.

Shenni looked at Hongjun, his chaotic beast-like pupils brimming with profound meaning, and smiled faintly, "Wait a moment!"

"Hmph!" Looking at Shenni who dared to voice opposition, Hongjun knew this fellow would be the first to jump out. With a blank expression, he asked, "I wonder what insights Fellow Daoist Shenni might have?"

Shenni did not care about Hongjun's icy expression in the slightest and said leisurely, "Insights are hardly what I'd call it. It is simply that the matter of killing Nan Luo still requires careful consideration."

The remaining seven Holy Immortals and Demon Patriarchs watched the scene unfold with a rather bizarre feeling.

They remembered that during the last Demon God assembly, Hongjun had fiercely protected Nan Luo, while Shenni had advocated for his death.

Now, their roles had completely reversed.

Hongjun advocated killing Nan Luo, while Shenni fought to protect him.

However, having Shenni oppose Hongjun was not necessarily a bad thing. If Hongjun were truly allowed to single-handedly determine Nan Luo's life and death, what would be the point of today's assembly of the nine Demon Gods? They might as well just obey Hongjun's every word.

The remaining seven Holy Immortals and Demon Patriarchs looked on apathetically, standing by as spectators while burying their own thoughts deep within their hearts.

Hongjun stared expressionlessly at Shenni and spoke, "Fellow Daoist Shenni, since you are stopping me from killing Nan Luo, you must at least give me a reason!"

"Then what is Fellow Daoist Hongjun's reason that makes killing Nan Luo an absolute necessity?" Shenni threw the question right back at him.

At this very moment, Hongjun suddenly drew a deep breath. He closed his eyes and opened them again; his black pupils instantly transformed into purple ones, cold and merciless.

Opening his pair of purple eyes, Hongjun swept his gaze quietly across the eight Holy Immortals and Demon Patriarchs, speaking calmly, "Nan Luo is a variable—the greatest variable. He might destroy our grand layout for ruling the Primordial World."

"Therefore, Nan Luo must die!"

Shenni asked a critical question with a calm expression, "Then are we no longer going to catch the mastermind hiding behind Nan Luo?"

"We are not catching them anymore!" Hongjun said with a grave expression, "This mastermind is far too cunning and formidable."

"Today, he has already sanctified Nan Luo. In the future, he will surely make Nan Luo attain sagehood to overthrow us."

"Yet we cannot even trace a single hint of his whereabouts."

"Rather than passively taking beatings, it is better to take the initiative."

"Let us eliminate Nan Luo right now and see what else this hidden mastermind can do!"

Faced with Hongjun's seemingly sincere words, the various Holy Immortals and Demon Patriarchs fell into deep thought. Even Shenni maintained his silence.

At that moment, Demon Patriarch Luohou suddenly spoke.

Glancing around at the various Holy Immortals and Demon Patriarchs with a cold expression, Luohou said, "Fellow Daoist Hongjun's words certainly make sense."

"However, have any of you considered this: if that mastermind can toss over one Nan Luo, he can toss over a second Nan Luo, a third, a fourth, endlessly!"

"When that time comes, are we expected to hunt them down one by one?"

"To say nothing of how troublesome that would be, what if even a single fish slips through the net and attains sagehood? Wouldn't our grand layout for ruling the Primordial World collapse in a single day just the same?"

"What does Fellow Daoist Luohou mean by this?" Ancestor Yinyang asked with a solemn expression, staring at Demon Patriarch Luohou.

"My meaning is simply this," Demon Patriarch Luohou said with a chilling visage, "keep Nan Luo alive for now and try our best to flush out the mastermind."

"If all else fails, we can simply crush him to death the moment Nan Luo tries to attain sagehood."

"Fellow Holy Immortals and Demon Patriarchs, do you not trust your own supreme power?"

"As long as Nan Luo does not attain sagehood, we can pinch him to death with a single finger."

Demon Patriarch Luohou's words sounded remarkably reasonable.

Faced with the two completely contrasting arguments presented by Holy Immortal Hongjun and Demon Patriarch Luohou, the various Holy Immortals and Demon Patriarchs momentarily fell into a dilemma.

If they killed Nan Luo now, they would temporarily sever one of the mastermind's demonic claws, guaranteeing safety for a short period.

However, the Holy Immortals would have to prepare themselves to face an endless stream of Nan Luos hurled at them by the mastermind.

By then, it would become endlessly troublesome.

If they did not kill Nan Luo now, they might be able to trace him to the mastermind and eradicate the future root of trouble.

However, what if Nan Luo successfully attained the Dao and became a sage? The hundreds of millions of years of planning by the Holy Immortals to rule the Primordial World would collapse in a single day.

By then, the countless eons of scheming by all the saints would be reduced to nothingness.

This truly was a choice between two equally difficult paths.

Watching the swaying and hesitant Holy Immortals, Hongjun continued, "Everyone, I have dealt with Nan Luo firsthand."

"I believe that here, when it comes to familiarity and understanding of Nan Luo, I can claim first place."

The various Holy Immortals and Demon Patriarchs looked at Hongjun curiously, wondering what he meant by this.

"When I first met Nan Luo, he was merely a little fellow who had encountered some minor fortuitous encounters. In truth, his heart was extremely timid, fearful, and terrified of me."

"Later on, Nan Luo became the Divine Emperor and established the Divine Clan."

"He actually dared to secretly cooperate with the Dragon Emperor, Phoenix Emperor, Qilin Emperor, and Fierce Emperor, plotting for the Five Emperors to rebel against the Saints."

"At that time, although Nan Luo still feared us, he dared to use schemes and plots to contend against us."

"Now, I do not know what kind of fortuitous encounter Nan Luo obtained at Buzhou Mountain, nor do I know why his state of mind underwent such a drastic transformation."

"I only know that Nan Luo no longer hides, flees, or retreats, and he no longer uses those childish and laughable plots. Instead, he stands upright and openly between heaven and earth, charging straight at us."

"One might say that Nan Luo has already become a true emperor—more deserving of being a true Primordial emperor than the Dragon Emperor, Phoenix Emperor, Qilin Emperor, or Fierce Emperor."

"Lastly, from Nan Luo's eyes, I saw supreme fearlessness."

Saying this, Hongjun suddenly closed his eyes and spoke in a voice that seemed calm yet trembled faintly, "Only a sage possesses supreme fearlessness!"