Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

Li Yuan looked around at everyone and said slowly, "Therefore, we must prepare for the worst. Those who are willing to stay will live and die together."

"If anyone is afraid, they can leave now; I will not force them to stay."

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion arose in the crowd. A burly human man who was responsible for carrying miscellaneous items stood up, his face pale and trembling, and said, "Young Master Li, I... I still have an old mother at home, I can't die here, I'm so sorry..."

He lowered his head in shame and turned to run away. A cold glint flashed in Shen Lian's eyes, and he was about to get up to stop him, but Li Yuan held him down.

"Let him go." Li Yuan said calmly. "We've gathered together to survive, not to die. There's no point in forcing him to stay."

The burly man, as if granted a pardon, scrambled away, leaving the crowd bewildered and the inn filled with unease.

In an instant, dozens more people stepped forward, including humans and demons, all expressing their intention to leave.

"Those who want to leave can go now. I won't make things difficult for you," Li Yuan instructed in a deep voice. "Take some dry food and water with you, and be careful on the road."

"But remember, once you step out of this door, you will no longer be our companions, and if you ever want to come back, the door will never open again."

The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment. In the end, about a third of them left. The remaining hundred or so people were mostly long-time residents of the street who had nowhere else to go.

Late at night, Li Yuan sat alone on the rooftop, gazing at the desolate Locked Dragon City, and once again tried to communicate with the bronze palace in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The surging spiritual energy poured in, but the palace did not respond in the slightest, as if it were completely sealed off.

He stopped, exhausted, overwhelmed by an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

For the past year, he had always thought of himself as an observer, a passive intruder.

But now, with a life-or-death battle imminent, the Bronze Palace still hasn't responded. Does this mean... this place might not be an illusion, and they really might die here!

He shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions. Now, everyone was watching him. No matter what, he couldn't afford to collapse; he had to lead them to fight their way out.

He took a deep breath, sat down cross-legged, and began to circulate his cultivation technique. The spiritual energy here was abundant, and even without the help of the bronze palace, his cultivation level unknowingly broke through to the late stage of the Breaking Illusion Realm.

Two days later, at dawn, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, shouts of battle grew louder as they approached.

"The Crimson Serpent King has arrived! You ants, what are you waiting for? Die!"

At both ends of the street, dark, swarming demon soldiers surged in like a tide, completely surrounding the street.

The leading general, clad in dark red demonic armor, rode a centipede-like beast covered in poisonous legs; this was none other than the Crimson Serpent King.

It was a giant crimson serpent, three zhang long and as thick as a water bucket, with a single black horn on its head. Its vertical pupils were cold and cruel, and its body was filled with demonic energy. It had already reached the level of a half-step demon general, no wonder it was so arrogant.

"Form ranks! Prepare for battle!" Li Yuan roared from the very front of the fortress.

"kill--!"

War is imminent.

The defensive fortifications on both sides of the street instantly exploded with countless rolling logs and boulders, and crossbow bolts rained down on the demon soldiers.

The defensive formation was triggered, and fire and ice intertwined, reaping the demon soldiers at the forefront in droves.

But the number of demon soldiers was simply too great, and they were fearless in the face of death. They trampled over the corpses of their comrades and frantically charged at the roadblocks. Before long, the fortress was on the verge of collapse.

"Senior Sister Yu, Junior Sister Ji, you two guard this place and absolutely cannot let them break in!" Li Yuan turned and gave the order.

"Yes!" Yu Ling'er knew that the responsibility was heavy, so she immediately led her people to join the defense of the street.

"Let's go, let's go and meet this Crimson Flame King!"

Li Yuan drew his sword, nodded to Chu Yunhe and Shen Lian, and the three of them immediately charged towards the Crimson Serpent King.

"Hahaha!"

"Three juniors dare to block my path!"

The Crimson Serpent King laughed wildly, his massive body swaying violently, creating a foul gust of wind. He opened his blood-red maw and sprayed out a stream of dark green venom, aiming straight for Li Yuan.

Li Yuan retreated swiftly, simultaneously slashing out with his sword to disperse the venom. The venom fell to the ground, immediately corroding the stone slab with a hissing sound and emitting pungent white smoke.

"I'll hold it back!"

Shen Lian roared and charged at the Crimson Serpent King's enormous snake head with his sword, unleashing a series of sharp sword energies that targeted the giant snake's vital spot, hoping to distract it.

However, when these sword energies struck the Crimson Serpent King's scale-covered skin, they only left white marks and could not cause any real damage.

"This skin is too thick!" Shen Lian thought in horror.

"I'll attack its belly!" Chu Yunhe shouted and charged towards the snake's body. His movements were exquisite, not only dodging the Crimson Serpent King's attacks but also distracting the giant snake, forcing it to focus on defense. The giant snake's huge tail swept across, accompanied by a whistling wind, scattering Chu Yunhe's sword light one by one.

"Your cultivation levels are too weak!"

The Crimson Serpent King had the upper hand. Relying on its thick skin and tough flesh, it withstood the attacks of Shen Lian and Chu Yunhe. Its huge serpent body suddenly coiled up and lashed out at Chu Yunhe in the air.

"Bang!" Chu Yunhe was unable to dodge in time and was slapped so hard that he spat out blood and flew backward, crashing heavily into the roadblock.

"Senior Brother Chu!" Li Yuan exclaimed in alarm. Just as he was about to come to the rescue, another part of the Crimson Serpent King's body coiled around him like a nimble snake.

Li Yuan felt a tremendous force come over him, and his whole body was tightly bound. His bones made cracking sounds, and even breathing became difficult.

The Crimson Serpent King's cold, serpentine eyes loomed close to him, hissing as he spoke: "Boy, your body is quite sturdy. I'll strangle you to death and then drain your lifeblood!"

The suffocating pain made Li Yuan's vision go black. At the critical moment of life and death, he bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the nameless knife.

"Buzz—!"

The nameless sword absorbed its master's essence and blood, and the crimson runes on the blade instantly shone like raging fire, unleashing a violent sword intent.

Li Yuan gripped the knife with both hands, and with all his might, he slashed fiercely at the snake coiled around him.

"Sizzle—!"

This strike, as if divinely inspired, actually cleaved open the Red Serpent King's tough scales, creating a deep wound that exposed bone. Scalding hot snake blood spurted out, landing on Li Yuan and scalding his flesh.

"Ah! You're courting death!" In excruciating pain, the Crimson Serpent King loosened his grip.

Li Yuan seized the opportunity to escape, but he was already at his limit and fell to his knees. Shen Lian and Chu Yunhe immediately rushed over, and the three of them stood back to back, panting as they looked at the injured Red Serpent King.

Looking at the burn mark on his wound, King Chilian's eyes showed fear for the first time. He hadn't expected that these three junior humans could actually hurt him.

"Great! Excellent!"

The Crimson Serpent King's voice was chillingly sinister, "I've changed my mind. I'm going to tear all three of you to pieces!"

He no longer held back, his demonic aura surging, and a terrifyingly destructive light condensed on his black horn.

That light contained all its power; it was also its all-out attack.

"Go to hell!"

A chilling killing intent gathered in the snake demon's cold, vertical pupils, locking onto Li Yuan and the other two in front of it.