Above Chang'an.
Several figures swept past, borne on howling winds.
By the time they hurried to the True Lord Temple.
The enormous temple, once thronged with worshippers and rich with incense-fire power, had fallen deathly silent.
Great batches of Demon-Suppression Guards clad in black with crimson patterns had long since sealed off the surrounding streets so tightly that not even water could pass through.
Their blades were half-drawn, their expressions grave.
Not even a bird could approach within half a step.
Seeing that it was Old Red Flood Dragon and the others, the Langjiang guarding the gate did not dare stop them and hurriedly bowed aside to clear the way.
Old Red Flood Dragon stepped over the Gao Gao threshold and entered the main hall.
Though this had once been one of the places in Great Tang most familiar to him... the oppressive atmosphere now felt strangely foreign.
At the center of the hall, the pedestal that had once enshrined the True Lord's statue now stood empty.
Below it stood several of Great Tang's most powerful figures.
The reigning emperor, clad in a bright yellow dragon robe, stood with his hands behind his back, his body trembling faintly.
Two white-haired, white-bearded elders stood at his side.
Bai Yulou, Chief Commander of the Demon Suppression Office, and Zhao Zhongliu, Deputy Commander.
Behind them stood You Wujiang, along with Lü Qinghou, Gu Wanlan, and the others.
"Investigate!"
The emperor suddenly turned around. "Such a massive Golden Body, right here in Chang'an, right beneath my very eyes! How could it just vanish?!"
When the Son of Heaven raged, everyone in the hall lowered their heads, silent as cicadas in winter.
Bai Yulou sighed and stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, please quell your anger... This old minister has inspected the surroundings. There are not the