Chapter 356: Panic Across the City

Whether north, south, east, or west, whether sects or noble families, almost no one could remain untouched.

The righteous and the demonic—all factions were swept into this sudden, overwhelming tide!

The Great Zhou imperial court, as the guardian of order, was also forced to intervene; garrisons and elite armies across the land were mobilized, tasked with defending key cities and passes, and likely also with intervening in sect conflicts to maintain at least minimal order and prevent total chaos.

After hearing the chaotic murmurs around him, even Ye Jiuchong, whose will was firm and whose experience with storms was vast, could not help but widen his eyes, lips trembling as he whispered.

"So… is the whole world really about to fall into chaos?"

The whole world falling into chaos?

Chen Mu took a deep breath and looked around.

The once bustling, vibrant streets of the provincial capital now seemed shrouded in an invisible gloom.

Merchants' calls were sparse, pedestrians' faces etched with worry, children's laughter nearly vanished, replaced by hushed, panicked whispers and the distant, urgent clatter of hooves and military orders.

"Even if it's not total chaos, it's close enough."

Chen Mu muttered under his breath, his tone heavy.

The righteous-demonic war was no ordinary martial world feud or sect rivalry.

The Five Demon Sects, as the leaders of the demonic path, had countless smaller heretical sects and deviant schools clinging to and colluding with them.

Now, with all Five Demon Sects striking simultaneously, the entire demonic force had been fully mobilized, dragging along countless monstrous entities, launching a full-scale assault on the righteous camp.

Since its founding, the Great Zhou has endured over five hundred years.

In these five hundred years, though there had been occasional local rebellions, border conflicts, or fierce clashes between a single sect and a demon sect, never before had war ignited across the entire Great Zhou in an instant, engulfing nearly all top-tier forces, forcing even the imperial court into emergency response…

As Chen Mu knew, this was the first time!

"From recorded history onward."

Chen Mu swiftly recalled fragments from the Wusijuan Sect's archives, "The last righteous-demonic war of such vast scope and intensity must stretch back over eighteen hundred years."

Such an immense span of time far exceeded the lifespan and memory of ordinary cultivators and common folk.

Only those top-tier sects or ancient clans with millennia-long lineages might retain scattered records and painful lessons about that war in their secret archives; for the vast majority of people today—

Including many emerging factions and even mid-tier cultivators—the "righteous-demonic war" was little more than a distant, hazy legend, lacking any direct understanding of its true cruelty and devastation.

Coincidentally, Ye Jiuchong's Tianlei Sect was precisely such an ancient, deeply rooted sect.

Upon hearing Chen Mu mention the distant era of the last war, Ye Jiuchong's body trembled slightly, his voice tinged with barely perceptible shaking.

"The… the last righteous-demonic war… our sect's 'Thunder Prison Annals' contain brief records… the number of dead and wounded… could never be accurately counted, only that… after the war, five out of every ten homes stood empty, prosperous cities became ghost realms, thousands of miles of fertile land turned to ash… thousands of sects, clans, and associations were utterly eradicated, their lineages severed!"

He paused, drew a deep breath, his voice thick with dread, "Among them was even the Huang Quan Sect—once one of the Eight Wu Zong alongside Yaoyue, Wuji, Jiuyou, and Zhenwu!"

"Even such a mighty top-tier sect… was destroyed in the last righteous-demonic war."

Chen Mu fell silent for a moment.

Huang Quan Sect…

He had heard the name—it was a powerful sect renowned for its path of life, death, and reincarnation, its strength no lesser than that of today's Seven Wu Zong.

Even such a colossal force had been reduced to ashes in the last righteous-demonic war…

The righteous-demonic war was indeed a brutal clash between top-tier powers, the rise and fall of countless sects and clans.

But Chen Mu knew better: in such a cataclysm sweeping the entire realm, the most grievously wounded, the ones who suffered the deepest, were always the innocent common folk!

Sect cultivators still had mountain arrays, protective secret arts, and escape methods; ordinary civilians, under demonic rampage, military devastation, and collapsing order, had virtually no resistance—they became meat for slaughter, or insignificant dust in the war's aftermath.

"Let's go to the Hero Hall."

Chen Mu quickly regained his composure, his gaze sharp and calm once more.

It was too late for panic or lamentation.

"Alright."

Ye Jiuchong forced himself to calm down, took several deep breaths, his eyes hardening again.

Disciples of the Tianlei Sect never feared challenge or danger.

No matter what sparked this war, the situation could no longer be reversed.

They could not stop the war's outbreak, but they could choose how to respond.

The immediate priority was to obtain as much accurate information as possible.

Knowing the causes and course—even just a rough outline—understanding each side's movements and intentions—was far better than remaining clueless and passively waiting.

The two no longer lingered on the street listening to fragmented, terrified whispers; they headed straight for the most prosperous district within Wuzhou's inner city.

Yet when Chen Mu and Ye Jiuchong arrived at the Wuzhou inner city's Hero Hall branch, the sight before them weighed heavily on their hearts again.

The Hero Hall, once bustling yet orderly, was now overflowing, deafening with noise.

Inside and outside the towering building, crowds of all kinds of cultivators packed every space.

The first-floor hall was jammed shoulder to shoulder; stairs were filled with people; second- and third-floor private rooms were long since full, windows crowded with heads peering out.

The clamor threatened to rip the roof off.

Everyone was locked in heated debate over the topic of the righteous-demonic war.

Some sought reliable companions, trying to band together for mutual protection.

Others shouted curses at the Five Demon Sects, vowing to fight them to the death.

Some anxiously inquired after news of their own sects or loved ones.

Most, however, wore faces of terror, filled with dread for the future, their words heavy with despair and confusion.

Chen Mu and Ye Jiuchong pushed through the crowd, finally reaching a relatively quiet corner on the second floor.

They found the branch's manager—a middle-aged scholar who looked sharp and capable, but now had furrowed brows and sweat on his forehead.

They stated their purpose: to purchase critical intelligence on the war's origins, the movements of the demon sects, and how the righteous factions were responding.

Yet this normally well-informed manager now wore only bitterness and helplessness.

"I'm truly sorry."