Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

Old Man Mu smiled and said, "Of course, that's good. Please feel free to stay here. If you need anything, please let me know."

Afterwards, Mu Weng arranged guest rooms for the group and then took his leave.

After settling in, Li Yuan shared his guess with his teammates, who were shocked but also found it reasonable.

"This Serpent King... surely he didn't send us here just so we could watch a show?" Chu Yunhe pondered.

"Captain, what should we do next?" Yu Ling'er asked.

"Let's prepare for both possibilities. On one hand, we need to find a way out, and on the other hand, we need to find a solution. We can't just sit here and wait to die."

Li Yuan sighed inwardly. As the team leader, he couldn't afford to collapse in such a desperate situation.

He assigned tasks at breakfast the next day.

"Shen Lian, Senior Brother Chu, you two will form a team and go to various parts of the city to gather information, focusing on the recent border war situation and paying attention to how others leave the city."

Yesterday, they also followed the people leaving the city, but as soon as they left the city, everything around them disappeared, and the only way to go was back.

"Senior Sister Yu, Junior Sister Ji, you two form a group and try to contact the demons in the city to see if there are any special clues."

"Yes, Captain."

All four nodded in agreement, and Li Yuan repeatedly reminded them, "You must be careful and act cautiously."

"I'll go with Rong'er to the Nuwa Temple. We'll meet here at noon to exchange information."

The group accepted the order and split up to carry out their tasks. Rong'er, upon learning that Li Yuan wanted to go to the Nuwa Temple, was very enthusiastic and skipped ahead to lead the way.

"Rong'er, where are your own family? And why are you living with Senior Mu Weng?"

Li Yuan asked casually.

"I was born in the Wild Mountains. My mother died when I was very young. It was Grandpa Mu who took me in and brought me to Lock Dragon City."

The little rabbit demon did not hide her background, and showed no sadness when mentioning her family.

The law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, is probably a matter of course in the minds of the demon race.

As they walked and talked, they arrived at the Nuwa Temple. Located in the city center, the temple covered a vast area with magnificent halls and a far greater incense offering than Li Yuan had imagined.

Believers came in an endless stream to offer sacrifices and prayers; they were both human and demon, and all of them had melancholy expressions.

Li Yuan also knelt down before the statue with the crowd, silently listening to the prayers of those around him. Most of these people were praying for the safety of their loved ones who were about to go to the front lines, or for the war to end soon.

The statue is over ten zhang tall, carved from pure white jade. It has a human body and a snake tail, a compassionate face, holds a five-colored stone in its hand, and has its eyes slightly lowered, gazing down at the masses below.

After offering incense, Li Yuan made an excuse to tour the temple, but didn't find anything special.

"Rong'er, I've only heard rumors in the city that the Demon God is powerful and has repeatedly invaded the border. How much do you know about this Demon God?" Li Yuan asked while looking around.

Upon hearing this, the rabbit demon's face fell, her ears drooped, and she whispered, "The demon god is terrifying. Grandpa said he's as ancient as Nuwa, a great god who existed since the creation of the world."

"As ancient as Nuwa?" Li Yuan's heart stirred.

"Hmm." Rong'er nodded, looking around nervously. She lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "I overheard Grandpa talking to other old monsters while drinking. They said that in the beginning of time, the Demon God and Nuwa were friends, traveling together through the chaos and creating all things."

"Friends?" Li Yuan was taken aback, recalling the hideous and terrifying demon in the mural, who was actually friends with Nuwa, the goddess who created humans and mended the sky.

"Yes, that's the legend," Rong'er said softly. "Later, Nuwa felt that the world was too desolate, so she created the human race."

"But the demon god dislikes the human race, saying that the human race has too many desires and is a dirty and evil species, and demands that Nuwa exterminate the human race."

Li Yuan held his breath; this was completely different from the myths and legends known to later generations.

"Of course Nuwa disagreed. She said that every life has a reason to exist. Although the human race is weak, it has wisdom and emotions. They argued fiercely about this and eventually became enemies."

Rong'er sighed, "Later, the ancient war broke out, and the other ancient gods split into two factions, fighting so fiercely that the heavens and the earth collapsed."

"And then what happened? How did the war go?" Li Yuan pressed.

"I heard that they eventually suffered heavy losses and neither could defeat the other, so they signed an agreement. The Demon God, with his followers, established the Demon Realm, while Nuwa remained in the Human Realm."

As Rong'er spoke, her tone became somber, "But later, for some reason, the goddess Nuwa disappeared. Nobody knew where she went. The ancient gods searched everywhere, and there were rumors that Nuwa went to another world via a celestial ladder..."

"The Heavenly Ladder?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred; this was the second time Rong'er had mentioned the Heavenly Ladder.

"Later, the ancient gods also went to search for them, but they all disappeared. Now, there are fewer and fewer ancient gods protecting the human world."

"After the demon god discovered that Nuwa was missing, he started to act recklessly, becoming increasingly outrageous over the years. This time, he has gathered a large army, and it seems he is truly going to attack..."

Rong'er sighed, her eyes filled with worry, "Brother Li, do you think we can win this time? Will the human realm... just disappear?"

Seeing the fear in the girl's eyes, Li Yuan was speechless for a moment. Of course he knew that the human race had not perished, but had even established a glorious civilization.

So how exactly did this war end? And for tens of thousands of years afterward, spiritual energy was cut off... What exactly happened in between?

"It will be alright," Li Yuan comforted her with a smile. "I believe that Nuwa will not abandon her people."

"Yes, I believe it too." The rabbit demon nodded emphatically. "Empress Nuwa is the most compassionate of all; she certainly wouldn't abandon us."

At noon, everyone gathered at the inn.

The news brought back by Chu Yunhe and Shen Lian was not good. The border war was intensifying, the demon army had broken through several lines of defense, and large-scale conscription had begun in the city, creating a tense atmosphere.

Yu Ling'er also made some gains. They learned from an old tortoise demon who had lived for ten thousand years that the Snake King had once appeared near Lock Dragon City after Nuwa disappeared.

The space here was unstable at the time, and he stabilized the area with great supernatural power before disappearing.

As for the legend of the Heavenly Ladder, no one can say for sure. The old turtle demon only said that it was a legendary path connecting different worlds, ethereal and mysterious, and no one had ever actually seen it.

More and more clues emerged, but there was still no clear direction. Li Yuan keenly noticed that none of these legends mentioned the bronze palace.

Even though he deliberately inquired about the demon god's supernatural powers and methods, everyone only said that he had the ability to move mountains and fill seas, but no one could explain the specifics.

"Captain, what do we do next? Should we keep waiting?" Chu Yunhe was getting impatient. He came from a wealthy family and had never felt so humiliated before.

Li Yuan pondered for a moment: "Besides waiting, it seems we have no other way to go."

"In the future, besides gathering information, we should also pay attention to the cultivation techniques here. It's rare to come to the ancient era, so if we can collect some to take back, it will be a good gain."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up. How come they hadn't thought of that?

"Okay, I'll go find out right away." Yu Ling'er was the first to perk up, and she ran off without even having time to eat.