Chang'an.
The overcast rain that had persisted for days finally stopped.
Though the casualties were heavy, the haze hanging over the heads of Jiannan Circuit and the Longyou Region had finally dissipated.
Living in such a world, maintaining this surface-level stability had already exhausted all mental and physical strength.
To want everything to be perfect, to want the world to be at peace... in the end, the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.
"Your Majesty, Lord You has returned."
The Old Eunuch walked in lightly and spoke in a low voice.
The young emperor's spirit was bolstered, and his eyes instantly lit up: "Summon him at once!"
Before long.
The sound of two sets of footsteps echoed.
You Wujiang was dressed in white, his expression uneasy, and behind him, he was forcibly dragging an old man.
It was none other than the Deputy Commander of the Demon Suppression Division, Zhao Zhongliu.
Zhao Zhongliu looked helpless as he was half-pushed and half-pulled into the great hall by You Wujiang; he had to brace his old face and bow to the emperor.
"Your subjects pay their respects to Your Majesty."
The emperor didn't care about these details. He leaned forward and asked urgently, "Rise, rise. Where is Lonely Moon? How is she now? Is she injured? Where is she?"
A string of questions came out at a very rapid pace.
You Wujiang's body stiffened slightly, and he glanced at Zhao Zhongliu.
Having spent a short time with Jiang Yuechu, he hadn't learned much else, but his mind was indeed turning a bit faster than before.
If he reported such news alone, he feared he would be cursed into the ground on the spot by this emperor who was so protective of his sister.
And so.
He quietly moved half a step to the side, exposing Zhao Zhongliu, who had been trying to shrink back.
"Reporting to Your Majesty."
You Wujiang lowered his head, his voice somewhat weak. "Regarding this matter... Deputy Commander Zhao is also aware of it."
Zhao Zhongliu's body trembled, and he glared at You Wujiang in disbelief.
This little brat!
He actually dragged me here to be his shield?
But at this moment, being stared at by the emperor's burning gaze, even if Zhao Zhongliu cursed You Wujiang ten thousand times in his heart, he could only bite the bullet and step forward.
"Your Majesty... Her Highness... she did not return to the capital."
The emperor was stunned. "Did not return? Then she stayed in Yizhou Prefecture to handle the aftermath? That makes sense; Yizhou has just been settled, and it indeed needs someone to oversee it..."
"No..."
Zhao Zhongliu interrupted the emperor. "Her Highness... left City and headed straight west."
"West?"
The emperor's brows furrowed as his thoughts raced.
West... that is... Boom—
The emperor's body swayed violently, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.
"She went to... the Demon Court?!"
The Western Regions Demon Court.
What kind of perilous place was that?
And now.
She was alone?
She had just quelled the demon calamities of two circuits, and without even taking a breath, she charged in again?
"What... what is she going there for?!"
The emperor's voice trembled, his eyes bloodshot. "Has she gone mad?!"
You Wujiang shrank back, not daring to say it was for the sake of the precious medicine.
Zhao Zhongliu took a deep breath. Even if he himself was uncertain, he could only force himself to offer comfort. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, please remain calm. Her Highness is not a reckless person. On this journey west, she did not go alone."
A glimmer of hope lit up in the emperor's eyes. "Did she take troops?"
"Uh... no."
Zhao Zhongliu gave a dry cough. "However... Right Demon Suppressing Envoy Gu Wanlan also went with Her Highness."
Hearing this name.
The hope in the emperor's eyes did not last long.
Gu Wanlan?
In the past, this number one Prodigy of the Great Tang could indeed provide some peace of mind.
But now... my sister is a Lamp-Lighting! What can a Mountain Gazing do!?
Looking at the emperor's gradually darkening expression, Zhao Zhongliu wanted to offer a few more words of comfort, but he couldn't even believe the words he wanted to say.
Forget Gu Wanlan.
In the entire Great Tang today, besides a few Lamp-Lighting Martial Saints,
Who else could stop that Highness?
But the more the emperor worried about how he could help, the more he felt powerless.
Dispatch troops?
Currently, the Great Tang's military strength was stretched thin. Two circuits had just been settled; if they raised another army for a western expedition, the Great Tang's empire would likely collapse before they even reached the Demon Court.
Send experts for support?
White Jade Tower, the Commander-in-Chief of the Demon Suppression Division, was already a cripple.
The Lamp-Lighting combat power they could deploy was almost zero.
Just as the emperor was about to say more.
BOOM—!!!
A massive explosion erupted over Chang'an.
Everyone in the hall was stunned.
Immediately after, their expressions changed drastically.
This is... "Lonely Moon?!"
The emperor jerked his head up.
That's it!
It must be Lonely Moon who has returned!
Besides his imperial sister who had now entered the Lamp-Lighting stage, who else in this world could make such a massive commotion?
"Quick!"
"Follow me to welcome her!"
The emperor didn't even bother to straighten his slightly messy crown. Grabbing the hem of his bright yellow robes, he strode toward the outside of the hall.
Zhao Zhongliu and You Wujiang exchanged glances, both seeing the joy in each other's eyes, and quickly followed behind.
The group rushed out of the hall.
The emperor looked up at the sky with great hope.
However.
In the next moment.
The smile on his face froze.
Not just him.
Zhao Zhongliu, You Wujiang, and the civil and military officials who had rushed over upon hearing the news behind him were all as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, their entire bodies turning cold.
They saw that above the sky,
There was no familiar golden color; instead, a patch of rolling red clouds appeared.
The red clouds were as thick as blood, covering the sky as they approached.
It was like an inverted sea of blood, unscrupulously pressing down on the head of Chang'an City.
Within the red clouds, two figures stood faintly.
Their auras were grim and superior.
"This..."
Zhao Zhongliu's pupils shrank, and he reflexively shielded the emperor.
Such a powerful aura, such unscrupulous behavior.
The visitors were not friendly!
The emperor stared fixedly at the red clouds, and anger welled up in his heart as well.
Had the Great Tang... truly reached such a state?
First, there was the invasion of the Spirit Mountain demons.
Now that the demon calamity had just been quelled, where did these monsters and demons come from, daring to behave so wildly over Chang'an City?!
"Which petty scoundrels are you!"
"How dare you violate the majesty of our Great Tang—!!!"
The Commander of the Imperial Guard drew his blade and roared.
Thousands of Imperial Guards simultaneously drew their bows and notched arrows, their tips pointing straight at the red clouds.
However.
The people atop the red clouds didn't even spare a glance at those below, continuing to press down slowly.
At that moment.
An aura soared into the sky from the depths of the Imperial City.
An old man dressed in ordinary robes, yet unable to conceal his imperial air, stood against the wind, blocking the red clouds.
The newcomer was the current pillar of the Great Tang.
Li Clan High Ancestor, who guarded Chang'an.
Gaozu stood with his hands behind his back, staring deeply at the red clouds before him.
An old man and a Child stood atop the red clouds.
The old man looked somewhat familiar, while as for the Child... he had an arrogant expression, and the unscrupulous aura was emanating from him.
Gaozu took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and gave a slight bow.
"I did not know the immortals from Five Immortals Mountain were descending. I, Li, apologize for the lack of welcome, but..."
Gaozu's tone shifted as his body straightened slightly. "This is the Imperial City of the Great Tang. For the two of you to enter so ostentatiously and recklessly, is it... perhaps a bit against the rules?"
The red clouds came to a sudden halt.
Atop the clouds.
The Child, as delicate as carved jade, finally deigned to look up and glance at the old man blocking the way.
"Heh... Rules? Why should my Five Immortals Mountain need to explain our actions to you Mortals?"