Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

The battle was a great victory, with over four thousand demon soldiers killed, one demon saint killed, and two demon kings killed.

The siege of Shule City has been completely lifted.

When the good news reached the rear, the entire Longyou region was thrilled. This was the first major victory for the human race on the Western Regions battlefield since the fall of the Mengchi Protectorate.

Li Yuan's name quickly spread throughout the world.

At the tender age of twenty, he used the Condensing Yuan Mirror to slay the Demon Saint on the front lines, making him the undisputed number one figure in the Tang Dynasty for hundreds of years.

This was different from the previous battle against Lü Ming, and it greatly boosted the morale of the human race. The emperor was overjoyed upon hearing the news and issued a special decree to summon the entire country, promoting Li Yuan to the rank of fourth grade and granting him the authority to make arbitrary decisions on the battlefield in the Western Regions.

After the war, Hu Cheng was busy reorganizing military affairs and repairing the city. Li Yuan was not idle. He led a team of men out of the city to wipe out the remaining demons.

They eliminated any small groups of demon soldiers they encountered along the way, and only returned to Shule City on the evening of the third day. By then, there was no longer a single living demon soldier to be found within a radius of two hundred miles outside the city.

"General Hu, now that things have stabilized here, I will go and support Lord Feng."

Li Yuan did not linger and led his subordinates day and night to the Mengchi Protectorate.

Mengchi Protectorate is located more than 800 li west of Shule. It is the front line of Longyou Road in the Western Regions and has a border line of more than 1,000 li with the Demon Court.

The terrain here is complex, mainly consisting of Gobi Desert and mountains. Since its fall, it has become the focus of contention between humans and demons. The two sides have been locked in a tug-of-war on this land, and the battle has never stopped.

The temporary command post for the Mengchi front was located outside Anxi City.

The military camps stretched along the mountain range, their tents densely packed together, seemingly endless.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, and cultivators occasionally flew across the sky on their swords.

After exchanging the password, Li Yuan finally met Feng Wuhen.

This legendary powerhouse of the Tang Dynasty is currently standing in front of a huge sand table, discussing the battle situation with several generals.

Seeing Li Yuan enter, he nodded slightly, revealing an expression of appreciation: "I have received the battle report from Shule. You did a good job."

Li Yuan bowed.

"Senior Feng, you flatter me. The White Ape Demon Saint was only a half-step Demon Saint. I was able to kill it by some stroke of luck."

There is no room for luck on the battlefield.

Feng Wuhen said seriously, turning around and pointing to the sand table, "Since you're here, I won't stand on ceremony with you. You should already have some understanding of the situation in Mengchi."

"Currently, the Demon Court has eight Demon Emperors in charge, and there are four main battlefields. I, General Yuchi, Lord Chu, and General Song are each responsible for one of them, barely managing to hold back the Demon Army."

"The problem now is that the demon race's military strength far exceeds ours, and they are constantly reinforcing their troops."

His expression was grave as he pointed to several locations on the sand table: "Besides these, there are some smaller battlefields that, if they get out of control, will affect the overall situation."

"I want you to be in charge of the left flank. There are three demon kings there, each with two or three thousand demon soldiers under their command. Your task is simple: guard the left flank and prevent the demon soldiers from breaking through the defenses and surrounding the main battlefield."

Li Yuan glanced at the markings on the sand table and nodded solemnly: "Understood, subordinate."

Feng Wuhen glanced at him and added, "There's one more thing I need to remind you of. Be careful of the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor. It's impulsive and has a close personal relationship with the White Ape Demon Saint. If you kill the White Ape, it will definitely come looking for trouble."

Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat as he recalled that terrifying golden figure: "Thank you for your advice, sir. I will be careful."

After taking over the left flank defense, Li Yuan immediately led his team to Yuezhi City to join the local garrison.

Before he arrived, Yuezhi City was already in grave danger. Li Yuan's reputation was too great. He had just killed a demon saint in Shule City. The three demon kings opposite him were very cautious and immediately held back their troops.

Li Yuan seized the time to repair the formation and reorganize the army.

By evening on the third day, the demon soldiers on the other side could no longer contain themselves and sent a demon king with more than a thousand demon soldiers to launch a probing attack.

Li Yuan activated his grand formation and held his ground, neither side engaging in a full-scale battle.

Just then, he suddenly sensed a powerful aura approaching from afar.

Li Yuan was astonished. He looked up and saw a crimson fire rapidly spreading across the western horizon, turning half the sky a fiery color.

In the firelight, a tall figure strode over, his body engulfed in crimson flames. He was at least three zhang tall. As he drew closer, Li Yuan could see clearly that he was covered in flowing, lava-like flame armor, radiating intense heat.

In just a moment, Li Yuan understood the identity of the person who had come.

Crimson Flame Demon Emperor!

Before even reaching the city, its gaze had already traversed several miles and locked onto Li Yuan.

"You're Li Yuan? You're the one who killed the white ape?"

It opened its mouth wide and spewed flames.

Alarm bells rang in Li Yuan's mind. This aura was several times stronger than that of the White Ape Demon Saint.

This is the true Demon Emperor; his mere aura was enough to shatter the protective array.

"Exactly."

Li Yuan looked up and met his gaze without flinching.

"very good."

The Crimson Flame Demon Emperor laughed loudly, "Hahaha, you really have guts. Let me, the Emperor, have a go and see just how much you're worth."

Before it finished speaking, it raised its hand and waved, and a crimson flame whip materialized out of thin air, lashing fiercely at Li Yuan.

The flaming whip was so fast that Li Yuan had no time to dodge and could only risk parrying it with his sword.

"clang!"

A loud bang!

Li Yuan was sent flying backward by the blow, crashing into the city wall behind him with a loud "boom," shattering the wall into pieces.

So strong!

Is this the power of the Demon Emperor?

He had previously fought against Lü Ming, who was at the Dao Realm, and only now did he realize that even within the same realm, the difference in strength was immense.

"Want to kill me? Not so easy."

Li Yuan climbed out from the rubble, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stared intently at the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor. This whip had not made him back down, but instead had aroused his fighting spirit.

"Star Flame Slash!"

He communicated with the stars, and the silver light on the blade shone brightly. Facing the Demon Emperor, he dared not be careless in the slightest. He used all his strength to slash at the throat of the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor.

A hint of contempt flashed in the eyes of the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor. He extended two fingers and casually pinched Li Yuan's blade.

"Is that all you've got?"

It sneered, clenched its fist, and punched Li Yuan in the chest.

Li Yuan's pupils contracted sharply. He dared not take the blow head-on. He abandoned his sword and used teleportation to barely dodge it. The wind from the fist grazed his shoulder, and the scorching flames left a charred scar.

"Ugh!"

Li Yuan groaned and appeared several feet away. A burning pain came from his left shoulder, and smoke was coming out of the wound, which smelled of burning flesh.

He immediately channeled the power of the stars, and a cool current flowed into the wound, extinguishing the flames.

"Again."

The Crimson Flame Demon Emperor gave him no chance to catch his breath, and pressed forward again, his fiery whip whirling, forcing Li Yuan to dodge constantly. In just over ten rounds, he had already suffered several burns and was in a terrible state.

It was clear that Li Yuan was at a significant disadvantage in their fight.

However, he was not without a fighting chance. With his agile movements, he narrowly escaped the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor's attacks time and time again. Although he looked dangerous, he did not suffer any fatal injuries.

He could even find time to launch counterattacks, although his counterattacks did not cause any substantial damage to the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor, they made him feel increasingly irritable.