Zhennan Pass, inside the former Zhennan Prince's Mansion.

Chen Yuan sat high in the main seat, his gaze solemn. Jiang He, Chu Changfeng, Lingxu Taoist, Zhao Danqing, and others were seated below in order, the atmosphere equally silent.

An invisible pressure swept through the entire hall.

Demon Gods, Demon Saints, a million demon soldiers...

Any one of these terms was enough to cause terror, and now, they were all gathered together, bringing with them an immeasurably terrifying pressure.

Anyone else would likely have fled for their lives already.

The news of a million demon soldiers pressing the border hadn't spread yet. Only Nangong Lie's spies embedded within the demon race were aware of it, and they had paid a great price to deliver it to Chen Yuan.

He didn't doubt the authenticity of the news. In fact, the reason he had cleared out Nanzhou so quickly was to prepare for the pressure from the demon race.

Nangong Lie's death, the fall of four Demon Saints, and the unraveling of the demon race's years of planning were bound to provoke their fury. A million demon soldiers pressing the border was entirely possible.

"What should we do now?"

Chu Changfeng frowned, turning his gaze to Chen Yuan, hoping he could come up with a plan. He was the core of the Shuzhou interest group, and only he had the qualifications and ability to make them act according to his orders.

"A million demon soldiers, with Demon Gods overseeing... This pressure is almost certainly the greatest since the war against the demons five hundred years ago.

In this humble monk's opinion, we should announce it to the world and summon all human powerhouses to assist in the battle. That way, we can definitely keep the demon race out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains of Southern Border."

Lingxu Taoist, the leader of Shushan, said in a deep voice.

He didn't approve of using their current forces to resist the demon army. It would be very difficult to stop them. Only by gathering the strength of the Central Plains could they contend with them.

"This poor Daoist agrees."

Zhao Danqing nodded.

Jiang He frowned:

"Senior Lingxu, even if we summon the world, how many people do you think will actually come to help?"

"You mean..."

"What Heavenly Sword Daoist means is that those forces won't help. It would be a great blessing if they didn't attack us while we're vulnerable."

Chu Changfeng sighed.

If the world wasn't in chaos, summoning the heroes of the world to face the demon race together might be feasible. But now, the world was in turmoil, and the heroes were carving out their own territories.

They were concerned with their own interests, not the interests of the human race.

Not to mention distant events, but even in the recent great battle in Liangzhou against the Northern Barbarian invasion, who came to help? Wasn't it the local forces of Liangzhou who risked everything?

Therefore, Chu Changfeng believed that they would be better off hoping for a natural disaster to befall the demon race, or for a meteorite to fall from the sky and directly cut off their advance.

"This..."

Lingxu Taoist frowned. He wanted to refute, but he suddenly realized that what Chu Changfeng said wasn't entirely unreasonable. Even if they were invited, would they definitely help?

If that were the case, the heroes of the world wouldn't be blockading Shuzhou now. Most of them were on the same side when it came to dealing with Chen Yuan.

After all, who asked Chen Yuan to be the most powerful and influential right now?

"Then what does the Underworld Daoist think we should do?" Lingxu Taoist asked in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Chu Changfeng remained silent, only turning his gaze to the figure seated at the head of the hall, awaiting his orders.

Chu Changfeng's intentions were clear. The others also turned their gaze to Chen Yuan. The situation was now very clear.

The next step was up to Chen Yuan's command.

Feeling everyone's gaze, Chen Yuan took a deep breath and said solemnly:

"Nanzhou is in our hands, the Demon Saints have fallen. The large-scale invasion of demons from the Southern Border was not unexpected. Now that Nanzhou is pacified, we can free up our hands to deal with it.

But Brother Chu is right, we shouldn't count on other forces to resist the demon race. Ultimately, we have to rely on ourselves to deal with this pressure.

As for the odds of winning, who can predict everything before the fight?"

"What the Prince of Yan said is true."

Zhao Danqing nodded.

"The demon race has always planned to secretly push the Central Plains into internal strife, to settle everything in one battle. Otherwise, all forces would attack the demon race together.

The demon race can't possibly not understand this. Therefore, I'm certain that this time, the demon race will make a lot of noise but do little. They might retreat after capturing Zhennan Pass.

To avoid provoking an encirclement by the powerhouses of the Central Plains.

So, the forces coming this time are unlikely to be too strong, and we have a chance of winning. A precious sword is forged from sharpening, and plum blossoms smell sweet from bitter cold. Without experiencing the trials of blood and fire, our subordinates will never be able to truly unite, and we will never be able to train a mighty army capable of pacifying the world.

The demon race wants to kill me, and I also want the demon race to understand that even if the dynasty collapses and the Central Plains is in chaos, they will not have the slightest chance to enter the Central Plains!

Those who invade our Central Plains will be exterminated!

When we repel the demon race, that will be the day we launch our Northern Expedition!"

Chen Yuan said solemnly.

The pressure from the demon race was indeed great, leaving him with no time or energy to seek opportunities in the Flaming Mountains of the Southern Border. He could only think about getting through this first.

But within the crisis, there were also opportunities.

Repelling the demon race, what a reputation that would bring!

Nanzhou and Shuzhou would be completely united around him, and the surrounding forces would gradually shape him into a god, a divine figure like Emperor Chu Taizu!

"What the Prince of Yan said is correct! We have long anticipated the demon race's invasion. It's just one battle. They have Demon Gods, and we also have Immortals.

They have a million demon soldiers, and we also have hundreds of thousands of elite troops, and tens of millions of people from Shuzhou and Nanzhou as our backing. What do we have to fear?

A place in history awaits us in this battle!"

Chu Changfeng's eyes narrowed, and he said firmly.

"Good!"

Jiang He nodded.

"Although the Biyou Palace has no Immortals, it still has some foundation. In this time of human crisis, this poor Daoist will definitely not be stingy. When the demon race comes, we will leave them here!"

Zhao Danqing smiled, his expression calm. After all, it was a thousand-year-old immortal sect, and it still had some foundation.

Lingxu Taoist said with a wry smile:

"This poor Daoist only has a single Immortal Slaughtering Sword. The foundation was exhausted at Zijin Mountain. However, my Shushan disciples are still not afraid to die.

At that time, they can also fight to the death for the human race!"

Everyone expressed their stance, raising the atmosphere in the hall to a fever pitch.

Chen Yuan nodded, stood up, and continued:

"It's just one battle, a battle of life and death. It's not like we haven't encountered it before. However, some preparations are still necessary."

"Please give your orders, Prince of Yan!"

Everyone stood up in unison.

"First, spread the news of the demon race's million-strong army heading north throughout Nanzhou and throughout the world. Tell all the people, warriors, and officials of Nanzhou that once the demon race breaks through Zhennan Pass, Nanzhou will be barren, and everyone will become food and slaves. Call on them to contribute all their resources to resist the demon barbarians here.

At the same time, to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to escape, set up twelve checkpoints on the border between Nanzhou and Shuzhou. From today onwards, allow only southward travel, and do not allow anyone or any force to head north.

Order all the soldiers in Zhennan Pass to prepare for battle and prepare everything. Mobilize the armies from all the prefectures of Nanzhou to replenish the troops, and transfer another 100,000 elite troops from Shuzhou to Zhennan Pass.

At the same time, all Shushan disciples, those belonging to the Yan Prince's Mansion, and all Jianghu forces, are to be transferred to Zhennan Pass to fight the demon race to the death!!!"

Chen Yuan's body exuded killing intent.

Previously, he divided his forces into two groups because he was wary of Xiang Qianqiu suddenly attacking, and he had no choice but to divide his forces to resist. But now, relying solely on the current forces would definitely not be enough to stop the demon race.

He had to gather all his strength to have a chance of winning.

"This... If we transfer all the forces from Shuzhou to Nanzhou, what if Xiang Qianqiu or other forces launch a surprise attack on Shuzhou?" Lingxu Taoist frowned.

Chen Yuan looked at Lingxu Taoist and said, word by word.

"Lose the land to save the people, and you lose both people and land; save the people and lose the land, and you gain both people and land!

Send the news of the demon race's invasion to all the forces in the world, and tell them that we don't need them to come and help. I, Chen Yuan, can block these demons with my own strength. But if anyone dares to take advantage of the demon race heading north to attack Shuzhou and Nanzhou, then don't blame me for being ruthless and directly abandoning Zhennan Pass and letting the demon race head north.

At the same time, whoever dares to attack, I will personally lead all my forces and kill them at all costs!

Tell them that I, Chen Yuan, always keep my word. If anyone doesn't believe it, they can try!"

The people in the hall were all shocked by Chen Yuan's words. They didn't expect Chen Yuan to be so decisive and possess such great courage, directly abandoning Shuzhou and transferring all his forces to Nanzhou.

He was going to fight the demon army to the death here. Victory meant becoming king, and defeat meant becoming a bandit!

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

......

......

Under the frantic promotion of Chen Yuan's forces, the news that a million demons from the Southern Border were about to head north to the Central Plains quickly spread throughout Nanzhou, causing a huge shock.

Countless people were terrified and wanted to flee north to avoid dying under the iron hooves of the demon race. Unfortunately, they could only dream about it.

Because Chen Yuan had already ordered the sealing of Nanzhou, allowing only entry and no exit, and anyone caught would be killed on the spot. He, an outsider, had come here to coexist with Nanzhou.

How could they stand idly by?

Some people saw huge profits and frantically raised the prices of grain and resources, wanting to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune. But anyone like that who was reported and verified would have their homes confiscated and their families exterminated, and everything would be confiscated.

Of course, some people were afraid, and some were greedy. These were all human nature. Naturally, there were also people who were not afraid of death. After hearing the news of the demon army heading north.

They directly prepared their own food and converged towards Zhennan Pass.

They even formed a long dragon.

Inside, were all the righteous people of Nanzhou.

The storm of invasion swept through Nanzhou and spread to Shuzhou. Under Chen Yuan's order, those belonging to the Yan Prince's Mansion began to migrate, and his women also gathered in Nanzhou.

Eight hundred Shushan disciples went down the mountain to aid Nanzhou. The entire Shushan only left behind two Transformation Yang True Persons and a group of disciples who had just entered the sect to guard it.

The Shuxi Alliance and the Shuzhong Alliance also began to mobilize at this moment. Some people were afraid and secretly fled, and even colluded to rebel, but they were all strangled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

All dissenting voices were suppressed in a very short time.

As the highest leader of Shuzhou, Heavenly Void Taoist was silent for a long time regarding Chen Yuan's order, and felt that Chen Yuan's words made sense, and immediately supported it very much.

He mobilized some of the forces of the Tai Void Palace and gathered them in the Nanzhou territory.

When Nanzhou and Shuzhou moved, half of the south was moving. The news could not be concealed and soon spread throughout the world.

The news of the demon race's invasion once again shocked the entire Central Plains. Some people were terrified, some were indignant, and some were heroic, preparing everything to go to Nanzhou to resist the demon race.

Some people had foreseen this day, as early as when Nangong Lie died, and some people ridiculed Chen Yuan's current situation, thinking that he was overestimating himself and extremely stupid.

This time, facing the demon race, see if he will die!

Some forces even wanted to take advantage of Chen Yuan's main force gathering in Nanzhou to occupy Shuzhou and plunder it here to make up for themselves and cut off Chen Yuan's retreat.

But before they could act, they received a declaration from Chen Yuan.

In short, it was just one sentence.

If anyone dares to take advantage of his fight with the demon race to launch a sneak attack, don't blame him for directly letting go of everything, leading the demon soldiers into the Central Plains, and at the same time, killing your entire family at all costs!

As soon as this statement came out, it immediately aroused the anger of many forces. This was simply pressing their faces to the ground and stepping on them, and repeatedly trampling on them in the process of stepping on them.

It was like a group of ordinary people fighting, and a ruthless man was holding a knife, threatening the other party, saying that if anyone dared to move, he would kill them.

They were very angry, very angry.

But the result was as Chen Yuan expected, none of them dared to move. Even if they cursed fiercely in their hearts, no one dared to jump out at this time.

Because they were all afraid.

Everyone knew Chen Yuan's character. He really dared to do it, and he definitely didn't just talk about it. He killed the emperor when he said he would kill him, so what were they?

No one dared to touch Chen Yuan's brow.

Of course, there were actually some people among them who were righteous, such as Liang King Wei Jinfeng and Ye Xiangnan. They all expressed that they could help Chen Yuan resist the demon race to a certain extent.

But Chen Yuan declined them because he didn't need them!

When Xiang Qianqiu of Xuzhou heard the news about Chen Yuan, he couldn't say that he was angry, and even felt a little gratified. This was the backbone of the Xiang family, although... the other party didn't think he was a member of the Xiang family.

If it weren't for Chen Yuan's words, Xiang Qianqiu would have attacked Shuzhou. In fact, he had already been secretly preparing, but when Chen Yuan said those words, he stopped.

Those words seemed to be said to the heroes of the world, but in fact, Chen Yuan's closest and most threatening neighbor was only him. He was clearly saying them to him.

"What courage."

Dongfang Sheng, the Palace Master of the Heavenly Demon Palace, said with a respectful expression.

Even as an opponent, he still admired Chen Yuan's courage from the bottom of his heart. He was basically betting all his assets just to fight the demon race.

Without a little courage, he really couldn't do such a thing.

"Yes."

The Palace Master of the Seven Killing Hall nodded.

"Without a little courage, how dare he be the first to call himself king?" Xiang Qianqiu smiled.

"Then do we still want to continue to attack?" the Master of the Seven Killing Hall asked.

"I don't approve of it. This is not a battle for hegemony, but a battle between two races. It's already insidious enough to preserve our strength without helping. How can we take advantage of this opportunity to attack?

Even if we attack, the Heavenly Demon Palace will definitely not intervene."

Dongfang Sheng immediately stated his position.

Demons also have principles and are by no means truly conscienceless.

"Since that's the case, then forget it. Let's talk about other things after this war is over," Xiang Qianqiu waved his hand and sighed, sighing with relief.

......

......

In the blink of an eye, nearly ten days had passed. During these days, all parties in the world had learned of the news of the demon race's invasion, and their reactions were different.

Some supported Chen Yuan, some ridiculed Chen Yuan for overestimating himself, and some said that Chen Yuan had actively provoked the war and was the sinner of tens of millions of people in Nanzhou.

Criticism continued.

But one thing was that they only dared to talk about it, and no one really wanted to take advantage of this time to launch a sneak attack on Chen Yuan. Even if there were any, they were secretly framing and framing him.

As things escalated, many Jianghu warriors had already begun to move. The Jin Dynasty court in the Central Province, under the new Emperor Sima Ke, issued an edict condemning the crimes of the demon race and supporting Chen Yuan in fighting the demon race.

There was no substantial help, but it could provide some nominal benefits.

The forces of Shuzhou were also transferred to the Nanzhou territory in a short period of time, which made Chen Yuan more confident, although some people were afraid of death.

But when it came to matters of life and death, the military and civilians of Nanzhou were basically united against the enemy.

Well, it's worth mentioning that.

After the news that the demon race was heading north reached the Northern Barbarian grasslands, it also caused a huge shock. After a short period of consultation, the three royal courts joined forces to send out 300,000 troops and gradually began to pressure Liangzhou.

The thirty-six countries of the Western Regions also began to intensify their attacks on the Central Plains under the call of the holy land Lingshan.

The small countries overseas, under the leadership of Dongying, also frequently began to express their attitudes and wanted to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attack.

For a time, there was indeed a sign of various forces devouring the Central Plains.

Zhennan Pass, on the city wall.

Chen Yuan, dressed in black and gold armor, looked expressionlessly at the army that was training below. Under his call, Shuzhou had sent almost all of its forces.

Two hundred thousand soldiers.

Plus the original two hundred thousand Zhennan Army and the tens of thousands of troops that had been recruited, Zhennan Pass now had 500,000 soldiers who could fight.

All the Yangshen True Monarchs under his command had also gathered in Zhennan Pass. It was almost his most prosperous moment, even surpassing the former imperial court.

He didn't know if doing so was right for the people below, but, facing the pressure of the demon race, someone had to stand up.

If he didn't stand up, Nanzhou would be the demon race's backyard, and everyone would fall into the mouths of the demon race, and his situation would become even more difficult.

So, he had to, and must, stand up and resist the pressure of the demon race.

After this battle, no hero in the Central Plains would be able to compete with him. Not only would there be a difference in reputation, but also a difference in overall strength that had been tested by blood and fire.

In short, if he won, it would be twice the result with half the effort when he launched the Northern Expedition in the future, and it would make others more afraid of him, so he could subdue others without fighting.

At the same time, the public opinion of Nanzhou would gather around him, which would allow his strength to increase greatly. In the future, the power of the people he could mobilize would only be greater.

Just like when he killed the emperor in Zijin Mountain, most of the power of the people still came from the people of Liangzhou. As Nanzhou, which did not belong to Liangzhou,

It could also bring him these things.

Therefore, whether it was a measure of reputation or a consideration of interests, he had to do so.

The white-clothed Moro was illusory and hidden in the sky. Only those whose cultivation had reached the Transformation Yang Realm could see him. He slowly stood beside Chen Yuan.

"Amitabha."

"Senior, how is Senior Lu?"

Chen Yuan asked in a deep voice.

He didn't need Ye Xiangnan's help, but he still needed Lu Chengfeng, the Earth Immortal powerhouse. It wasn't that he didn't believe the spies who sent news from the demon race, saying that there was only one Demon God.

It was because he measured others by himself and felt that this time, it was impossible for only one Demon God to come.

Why?

Because Moro had been exposed in Zijin Mountain, he didn't think the demon race wouldn't know. In that case, what was the advantage of having only one Demon God?

Only the personal arrival of two or more Demon Gods could truly bring him immense pressure.

And he would naturally prepare in advance.

"Benefactor Lu communicated with this humble monk from tens of thousands of miles away. He can come to help, but this humble monk thinks it's not necessary."

"Why?"

"With this humble monk here, and with the foundation of Biyou Palace, we can definitely block two Demon Gods, or at least not be defeated. And once Benefactor Lu shows up.

The pressure from the Immortal Realm may appear immediately, and that is not something we can deal with now. Benefactor Lu's appearance is not an appearance, but it is accelerating the time of our fall.

The Immortal Realm isolates the human world, but there are still spokespersons. Of course, the Immortal Realm doesn't care about ordinary people, but this humble monk thinks that even a powerful Immortal Realm may be very afraid of powerhouses at the Earth Immortal level."

Chen Yuan frowned, was silent for a moment, and nodded, saying:

"Alright, alright..."

Chen Yuan's eyes were slightly thoughtful, and while he was thinking about things, the Heavenly Book Treasure began to tremble. He immediately opened it, and Jiang He's voice came from inside.

This was a preparation that he had arranged in advance. Jiang He was powerful, extremely fast, and had the Heavenly Book Treasure to transmit messages from thousands of miles away. He was definitely a good candidate to be a spy.

In order to accurately learn the movements of the demon race, someone had to take risks to investigate.

"How is it?"

"I am now about two thousand miles southeast of Zhennan Pass and have discovered the movements of the demon race. Prepare in advance."

"They're coming so fast?"

Chen Yuan frowned. It had only been more than ten days, and the speed of the demon race was a bit beyond his expectations.

"They are vanguards, about ten thousand demons, driving many wild beasts."

"I understand, come back first."

"Okay."

"Wait, how are those preparations going?"

"They are ready."

Jiang He responded.

After hanging up the Heavenly Book contact, Chen Yuan turned his gaze to the soldiers who were training below and said loudly:

"The demon army is still two thousand miles away from Zhennan Pass. Be on full alert and prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Dong dong dong..."

Bells began to ring quickly throughout Zhennan Pass. A war was about to begin!