Yaohua snapped back to her senses and was shocked to find that, in her exhaustion, she had been influenced by the spiritual power of the Paoxiao within her and had destroyed the Sutra Pavilion!
The keeper of the pavilion rushed in. Seeing the long sword in her hand still trembling slightly, he looked furious. "I wonder what offense I've committed to you, General, that the Sutra Pavilion has suffered such a calamity?"
Yaohua composed herself, her face grim. "You've done nothing wrong."
"Since I've done nothing wrong, then it must be that the General is deliberately showing off her power?" The keeper's face darkened slightly. "The Sutra Pavilion is a crucial place in the Immortal Realm. We won't tolerate your tantrums. I must report this to the Divine Lord!"
"Don't misunderstand. I just..." Yaohua tried to explain, but saw the keeper muttering something. A red rope flew out of his sleeve and directly tied her up.
He snorted. "Deliberately destroying the Sutra Pavilion is a serious crime. General, you can explain yourself to the Divine Lord!"
Having said that, he waved his hand gently, and the red rope dragged her forward.
Yaohua was helpless. Although this red rope couldn't really trap her, at this moment the keeper was convinced that she had deliberately destroyed the Sutra Pavilion. He would surely exaggerate the matter in front of the Divine Lord. Instead of that, it would be better for her to explain it to the Divine Lord herself.
Since all the immortals had gone to eliminate the demons, the front of the Divine Lord's palace was empty.
The keeper dragged her to the palace aggressively but stopped in his tracks.
This was because faint voices of discussion were coming from inside.
Eavesdropping on the Divine Lord's discussions was a serious crime. He didn't know whether to go in directly or come back another time.
Just as he hesitated, a sigh came from inside.
Inside the palace, the Divine Lord said, "... This is the only way."
The Divine Envoy Tu Yang said respectfully, "Please think twice, Divine Lord! Now we know that the only way to suppress the Heavenly Demon is to let a phoenix with pure bloodline use its innate supernatural power - the power of extreme yang to weaken the demonic energy of the Heavenly Demon, and then suppress it with the phoenix's natal spiritual light. But if the phoenix exhausts both of these supernatural powers, it will surely die. The sacrifice is too great."
"Sacrifice?" There seemed to be a touch of pity in the Divine Lord's voice, but his words were heartless. "The Phoenix Clan and the Heavenly Demon are mutually restraining. It is their destiny to sacrifice one life to save all sentient beings."
Tu Yang disagreed. "But the clan chief Qingcang is dead. Even if they were to sacrifice themselves to suppress the demon, no one in the Phoenix Clan has enough strength."
"Didn't Qingcang have many descendants?" The Divine Lord had not been defied for a long time. Hearing this, he slightly lowered his eyes.
Hearing this, Yaohua was slightly shocked - was the Divine Lord actually eyeing her elder brothers?
This was a matter of the lives of her closest relatives. Immediately, her blood boiled, and the spiritual power of the Paoxiao within her became restless. She quickly composed herself and listened more intently.
Inside the palace, Tu Yang said in disbelief, "Does the Divine Lord mean..."
"If one is not enough, then add more." The Divine Lord said indifferently. "Moreover, isn't Yaohua of the Phoenix Clan very powerful?"
Tu Yang said with some difficulty, "Yaohua may have enough strength, but she is a disciple of the Supreme God Chongming and has made great contributions to the Immortal Realm. If the Divine Lord forces her to sacrifice herself to suppress the Heavenly Demon at this time, even if the chaos of the Heavenly Demon is quelled, it may chill the hearts of all in the Immortal Realm!"
"Precisely because she is a disciple of the Supreme God, she should set an example for all the immortals! Chongming died at the hands of the Heavenly Demon. She should avenge her master." The Divine Lord suddenly scolded severely. "You indulged Yaohua in stealing the key before. Do you have some connection with her and thus want to save her life?"
"I wouldn't dare!" Tu Yang kowtowed heavily. "My loyalty can be seen by the sun and the moon. All my thoughts are for the Divine Lord and the overall situation!"
The two had a disagreement over Yaohua's sacrifice and didn't notice that there were two more people outside the palace.
Yaohua listened intently to the conversation inside, her mind heavy.
She heard Tu Yang say earnestly, "Back then, the Phoenix Ancestor suppressed the Heavenly Demon in this way, but now the seal has been broken again. It shows that this method is not foolproof. Now that Yaohua is guarding the Heavenly Gate, our battle situation is gradually improving. We can think of another way. There's no need to rush to let her sacrifice herself to suppress the demon! The Heavenly Way is kind. Wouldn't it be better if we could suppress the Heavenly Demon without sacrificing the Phoenix Clan?"
The Divine Lord said indifferently, "When the seal is broken again, there will surely be new talents born in the Phoenix Clan. This is their destiny. Otherwise, why was Yaohua born just when the seal was broken? This is the Heavenly Way. Not letting her suppress the demon is going against the Heavenly Way."
At first hearing, these words did seem reasonable.
Hearing this, the keeper secretly glanced at Yaohua's expression, but saw that her expression didn't change much. He couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
General Yaohua seemed to have a very bad temper. She had just split half of the Sutra Pavilion. Now that she heard she was going to be sacrificed, would she lose her temper?
Yaohua thought that since the method they were discussing was the same as the one used by the Phoenix Ancestor in the Heavenly Demon War back then, it must be effective in suppressing the Heavenly Demon.
If she could make those Heavenly Demons pay the price and avenge her master in this way, even if she died and her dao was extinguished, it would be worth it.
If she had known earlier that there was such a method to eliminate the Heavenly Demon and save her master from the calamity of the demonic heart and prevent him from dying at her hands, she would have been willing to die a thousand or ten thousand times!
Just as she was about to push the door open and express her willingness to sacrifice herself to suppress the demon, she heard Tu Yang say, "But back then, the Phoenix Ancestor buried the remains of the sacrificed phoenixes in the four directions of the Divine Land respectively, using the resentment of the dead phoenixes to strengthen the spiritual light power of suppressing the Heavenly Demon. This act will only make the resentment deeper. I'm afraid it will go against the Heavenly Harmony. Do you really want to do this? In my opinion, even if we sacrifice the Phoenix Clan, we shouldn't use such a cruel method."
The hand Yaohua had stretched out froze in mid - air. After the initial shock, her expression gradually became terrifying.
If a phoenix died, where would the resentment come from? Only by imprisoning the residual soul in the body and preventing it from reincarnation could there be deep resentment!
This meant that the residual soul would stay in the body forever, repeating the pain it endured before death.
The keeper saw that the situation was not good and quietly took back the red rope that had been tied around her and slipped away silently.
He couldn't beat the general of the Phoenix Clan, and eavesdropping on such a secret was a serious crime. He'd better go back and repair the Sutra Pavilion!
Before leaving, he hesitated for a moment and still turned to give Yaohua a look.
The Divine Lord wanted to kill the general. If she didn't leave now, when would she?
But Yaohua suddenly spoke up, interrupting the conversation between the Divine Lord and the Divine Envoy Tu Yang. "Since there is a method to suppress the Heavenly Demon, why don't we discuss it together?"
The Divine Lord narrowed his eyes and was extremely angry. "You dare to eavesdrop outside the palace?!"
Tu Yang looked surprised. "General, aren't you supposed to be guarding the Heavenly Gate? Why did you suddenly come here?"
She ignored their different expressions and walked in with a smile. "I came here originally to look for a method to suppress the Heavenly Demon. Since only my sacrifice can ensure the peace of the world, fine, I'm willing!"
The Divine Lord had originally raised his hand to punish her for the crime of eavesdropping and disrespect. Hearing this, his expression softened slightly. "You are so noble - minded."
Yaohua said slowly, "But I have a condition."