Everyone felt they could understand Mu Jinyu's explanation, and the fear of the imminent catastrophe in their hearts was somewhat alleviated.
At the same time, they also understood why Dante had inexplicably sought trouble with Jian Ruyan earlier, eventually escalating to a fierce fight after a brief disagreement.
Clearly, it was not just the grudge between Withered Tree Quest for Spring and Dragon King Hall. Normally, under the circumstances of a world-ending disaster, they could have set aside their grievances.
Since Dante was the representative sent by Withered Tree Quest for Spring, it was unlikely he would act so irrationally unless he had been suddenly controlled by the disaster, leading him to falsely accuse Jian Ruyan of being controlled by the disaster and about to attack.
Li Yaotong, seeing the pleased crowd, spoke, "Don't think you're safe and disregard this matter. Dragon King's speculation makes some sense, but we can't be sure it's true. Therefore, everyone should not take it as the truth. Otherwise, if we encounter the catastrophe and regard it as the truth, we might not even know how we died."
The crowd nodded, indicating their understanding.
Mu Jinyu also found this reasonable and didn't feel that Li Yaotong was targeting him.
After all, it was just speculation, and without confirmation, nothing could be taken for granted.
"Of course…" After advising everyone not to be complacent, Li Yaotong continued to encourage them: "If Dragon King's guess proves true, perhaps our burden might not be so heavy…"
"Because if the so-called catastrophe and Tide of Chaos are just the malice from a Demon Cultivator or Demon God after their fall, then as time passes, without Demon Yuan to nourish them, they will gradually weaken."
"Of course, there's also another possibility that as time goes on, if they can't find a suitable host, they will devour the host's energy to grow, or rather, to regain their original strength…"
As he spoke, Li Yaotong glanced around at the crowd, his expression solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "At that time, even if we maintain our current mental state, it might be difficult to resist their corruption."
The crowd, hearing this, felt a chill and an urgency.
Whether or not this conjecture was true, the catastrophe and the Tide of Chaos needed to be contained quickly.
Otherwise, it would truly lead to perpetual dread among the people, mutual suspicion, and even fighting, brewing a massive disaster!
"Amitabha…"
At that moment, Sheng Rulai, who was pinning the demonized Dante with his Zen Staff, chanted a Buddhist mantra helplessly and spoke, "Fellow cultivators, could you first help little monk figure out a way to imprison or resolve this? Do you expect little monk to keep standing here?"
"Sorry, my oversight," Li Yaotong said apologetically to Sheng Rulai upon hearing him.
He was initially also about to deal with the demonized Dante, but because he feared that there were still Demon Slaves among the crowd, he did not dare to tackle Dante immediately, preferring first to check if there were any Demon Slaves among those present.
He then explained the situation to the crowd, coupled with Mu Jinyu's conjecture, which caused him to forget that Sheng Rulai was still restraining Dante.
Ren Xiaoyao laughed heartily, "Old baldy, what are you afraid of? With your strength, restraining this demon with your Zen Staff for seven days and nights should be no issue. Why the complaint about being tired?"
Sheng Rulai sighed, "Ultimately, things need to be resolved. If little monk could be free to resolve more demons, wouldn't it be much better than just guarding one?"
Just then, Lucifer from Fallen Splendor came over with a lazy expression and said, "Let me give it a try."
As soon as the words fell,
Lucifer raised both hands, and suddenly, from the void, clumps of crimson blood appeared, twisting and leaping before surging toward the immobilized demon.
The boiling blood enveloped Dante, soon devouring his thick fur and revealing the scorched skin underneath, with not a single intact spot to be seen.
The crowd all watched intently, not daring to be careless.
Seeing this, Sheng Rulai also waited for Lucifer's eerie blood to completely envelop Dante's body before he tentatively withdrew his Zen Staff.
"Roar!"
However...
As soon as Tathagata Sheng Rulai made a move, barely pulling the Zen Staff above Dante's head, the demon Dante suddenly let out a fierce roar, as if his boiling blood was about to be devoured.
Seeing this, Tathagata Sheng Rulai's expression slightly changed, and he had no choice but to continue holding the Zen Staff to immobilize the demon.
"It won't work..."
Lucifer concluded that he could devour all those with lower strength but could not deal with the demonized Dante.
"Let me try."
Ren Xiaoyao's expression also became more serious; he then took out a few talismans from his collection, affixed them to the demon's head, and then signaled Tathagata Sheng Rulai to try moving the Zen Staff away.
"Ao hou!"
The moment the Zen Staff was tentatively removed, the demon immediately became mobile.
Unconvinced, Ren Xiaoyao then employed the Taoist Law, summoning thunder from the sky above, striking the demon with divine majesty, but still to no avail.
"I can't do it either!"
Ren Xiaoyao sighed in dejection.
He was still not convinced; why could the Buddhist sect subdue this demon when the Taoist sect couldn't?
Then, everyone turned their heads towards Reinhardt from Brilliant Divine Authority.
Since Ren Xiaoyao and Lucifer had failed, there was no need for those from Dragon King Hall, Paradise Lost, and Jinyu Mantang to try; after all, they mostly practiced martial arts and lacked such peculiar methods.
"Let me give it a try."
Seeing everyone looking at him, Reinhardt spoke softly and then took out a gleaming golden cross from around his neck.
Reinhardt, holding the cross, slowly walked over to Tathagata Sheng Rulai, then fixed the cross on the demon's forehead, his expression solemn, and started reciting scriptures softly.
"Om!"
Suddenly, his cross began to emit a bright and gentle white light.
Standing beside him, Tathagata Sheng Rulai felt relieved and completely relaxed as if his spirit had expanded immensely.
Thus, he also tentatively withdrew the Zen Staff.
Everyone was not very hopeful about Reinhardt's intervention, yet, contrary to their expectations, once Tathagata Sheng Rulai withdrew the Zen Staff, the ferocious demon remained still.
Could Reinhardt also immobilize the demon?
Seeing this scene, neither Lucifer nor Ren Xiaoyao showed much change in their expressions, yet their hearts sank slightly.
Even though the underlying principle wasn't clear, if this scenario were true, under the chaos plaguing the world, the forces of Brilliant Divine Authority, and Buddha's Light Shines Everywhere would likely develop explosively!
"What's going on here? Why can they immobilize the demon, and others can't?"
San Liu asked, somewhat puzzled.
He had no intention of stepping forward to try, as after all, he was merely an assassin, skilled in killing rather than subduing demons and dispelling devils!
Li Yaotong also frowned, deep in thought about the principle.
Then, he glanced at the Zen Staff in Tathagata Sheng Rulai's hand and the cross in Reinhardt's hand, trying to discern any commonalities.