Da Xuan Martial Saint

An Yu County Northwest.

Between a slightly sparse forest.

Chen Mu stood atop a towering tree that one could wrap arms around, his entire body perched on a slender branch that seemed like it would snap at any moment, his gaze sweeping across the seemingly endless forest below.

After careful observation, he extended a finger toward a certain direction in the west and said, "There."

Not far away.

Atop the crown of another ancient tree, Xu Hongyu also stood among the fragile branches, meticulously observing the forest below. Hearing Chen Mu's words, she immediately turned her gaze in that direction and after closely scrutinizing, said, "Correct, it should be there."

As her words fell.

She and Chen Mu concurrently leapt, not descending from the tree, but moving forward by hopping along the treetops.

Xiao He stood atop a slightly shorter tree behind them, similarly scrutinizing the surroundings in detail, and quietly followed Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu as the three of them moved forward together.

The wolf demon's act of consuming humans had taken place several days prior. Finding its traces within the secluded forest was not an easy task, and for an average person, it was nearly impossible.

But Chen Mu and his companions were different.

Having reached the Tendon Changing realm, the enhancement of their Qi-Blood made all their senses far sharper than an average human's, allowing them to quickly find faint traces even in the sparse jungle.

The wolf demon, after all, was a demon. Especially in a state of frenzy, its actions were often violent and reckless, sometimes leaving footprints, breaking small trees, or tearing through shrubs along its path—all remnants of its passage.

Along the way.

Xu Hongyu exhibited extremely keen observational skills and clear judgment. After all, her demon hunting experience wasn't limited to just once.

Even before taking up the position of Chief Constable in the South City District, she had experiences of hunting demons accompanied by elders from the Yu Family, thus her expertise far outstripped that of Chen Mu, who was venturing outside the city for the first time.

Throughout the journey, Chen Mu listened to Xu Hongyu's explanations about tracking, observing, and other aspects. Although he understood quickly, it was still his first experience, and there was an inevitable unfamiliarity—not instincts etched into his bloodline.

However.

After about half a day of tracking, Chen Mu's experience in other areas might still be rough, but his observational skills had already surpassed Xu Hongyu's. The range of his vision was wider, and he could catch traces more sharply, often discovering remnants left by the wolf demon before Xu Hongyu.

The group tracked the demon to the top of an ancient tree. The tree wasn't particularly thick, but beneath it was a bush that had clearly been battered into a shattered mess.

These vines and shrubs still retained their green hue, having grown well before being snapped. The plants were quite resilient, and even the grey bears and wild boars in the mountains wouldn't have been able to forcefully break through them. Such evidence of destruction, reduced to a broken state, could not be the work of a normal beast but only that of a demon.

"Over there."

After closely inspecting the bushes, Xu Hongyu pointed in a direction to the south.

Chen Mu, contemplative, carefully observed the traces on the bush and then glanced in the direction Xu Hongyu had judged, nodding slightly, "Mm, that should be it. Let's continue the pursuit; this creature is running all over the place, making it quite the challenge to find." Stay connected via мѵʟ

Xu Hongyu took the lead, once again climbing atop the treetops, continuing to travel through the trees while adding, "Given that it's frenzied from its demonic nature during the full moon night, its trail would naturally be chaotic, zigzagging erratically. Its intrusion into the village was just a coincidence."

"Mm."

Chen Mu followed beside her.

A Third Rank White Wolf Demon couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere; it must have been living in the woods for a long time. It never entered the village to eat humans before, so this time it could only have blundered in due to its frenzy.

Nevertheless, they had to deal with it. Even if it didn't specifically target the village and simply blundered in during its frenzy, there could be a second time after the first. As long as it lived, it posed a significant threat to the villagers near this mountain range. Eliminating these threats was the very reason for the Demon-Slaying Office's existence.

Of course.

A Third Rank White Wolf Demon also had considerable value in itself. If its fur was intact, its worth would be at least a thousand taels of silver, not to mention the medicinal value of its bones and blood, and its meat was of a type rich in Qi-Blood and edible.

As the sky grew dark and night approached, the group was not in a hurry. It was difficult to discern traces at night, so they found a place to settle down and rest for the evening. The next morning, they continued their pursuit.

After two days of pursuit, although they were constantly twisting and turning, still, they progressively ventured deeper into the woods.

"It's very close."

Xu Hongyu stood in the midst of a thicket, her eyes fixed on a dried pool of blood and some scattered bone fragments.

From the shattered bones and the remaining traces of fur, it looked like it was a creature similar to a grizzly bear, large and ferocious. Although not a demon, creatures of this sort could sometimes be just as dangerous as a First Rank demon.

For instance, the bloodline demon rats that the Black Crow Sect had once attempted to cultivate were not particularly strong and, even fully grown, could not hunt large beasts like grizzly bears, often opting to avoid them instead.

From the signs at hand, it was clear that this large beast was overpowered without a chance to fight back, crushed, then devoured alive; and judging by the dryness of the bloodstains, this had happened within the last two hours.

Having confirmed this,

Xu Hongyu took out a small jade vase from her pocket, gently tipped out a drop of pale cyan liquid, then clapped her hand in the air, turning the drop of 'Rosemary Essence' into a mist. She then pulled out a ribbon and lightly shook it, causing the mist to swirl and be absorbed into it.

"Let's go."

Xu Hongyu held the ribbon in her hand, "Although this should be the territory of the White Wolf Demon, and there should be no other demons around, it's still best to use the Rosemary Essence sparingly. Moderate concentration is key, to avoid attracting other trouble... Why are you looking at me like that?"

Chen Mu smiled and said, "I'm just impressed by your adeptness and attentively listening to your guidance."

"... It's just a bit more experience, that's all."

Xu Hongyu's gaze shifted slightly, and she spoke a tad unnaturally, "These are just common strategies for hunting demons. If we encounter extreme weather conditions, like 'Great Cold', 'Great Drought', 'Great Tide', or even 'Dual Suns' and 'Endless Night', the whole Earth would be thrown into chaos, with evil demons likely to appear everywhere, rendering these techniques useless."

After hearing Xu Hongyu's words, Chen Mu pondered, "The 'Great Cold' phenomenon occurred at the end of last year, right? And the last 'Great Drought' was five years ago... It has been decades since the last occurrence of 'Dual Suns'. I remember that there is no clear pattern for these celestial phenomena mentioned in the records of unusual events in Da Xuan."

He had personally experienced 'Great Cold'.

The most recent 'Great Drought' occurred four years ago. This phenomenon wasn't about a prolonged absence of rain but rather about rivers drying up and wells running empty within an extremely short period.

In contrast, 'Great Tide' resulted in rising river levels, well water overflowing, and was often accompanied by dense fog. Moisture-laden mist saturated the environment, making it difficult to find anything dry, let alone start a fire.

Of course.

These were relatively common celestial events, typically occurring every few years and not lasting very long. The main issue was the chaos they caused amongst the demons, some of which were provoked by the cold, others by the drought, leading to aggressive behavior and wreaking havoc in their surroundings. Although the Demon-Slaying Office would suppress them, disasters still frequently occurred.

Compared to these, 'Dual Suns' was a more severe situation. According to the records, when this happened, another sun resembling a reflection in water would rise into the sky, affecting a broader range of demons and a wider area.

The most frightening, however, was 'Endless Night'.

The archives described a complete darkness enveloping the land during 'Endless Night', with no sun or moon in sight, plunging the Earth into nightfall. Demons roamed during this extended darkness, which lasted for months or even half a year.

"Hmm, the last 'Dual Suns' phenomenon was fifty-seven years ago, and 'Endless Night' was two hundred and forty-one years ago. Speaking of patterns, events like 'Great Cold' and 'Great Drought' typically happen every few years, but 'Dual Suns' and 'Endless Night' are much rarer. Many people may never witness them in their lifetime, and we might not see them either... Ouch!"

Lotus, who was following behind Chen Mu, began to speak but suddenly cried out in pain.

Thump!

A red mark appeared on Lotus's forehead as she held her head, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at Chen Mu.

Chen Mu, slightly irritated, withdrew his finger, "Don't talk nonsense! What if the heavens hear you and decide to punish you?"

Lotus replied, hurt, "If the heavens would punish me just for something I said, I must have committed some terrible sins in my last life..."

Xu Hongyu, seeing Lotus's expression, almost laughed, "Alright, Lotus, stop talking nonsense; don't joke about the heavens."

Among the diverse characters of all walks of life, there seemed to be fortune-telling swindlers who claimed that bad things shouldn't be mentioned, as speaking of them could make them come true. However, she had never believed in such things. Even if fate did exist, it wasn't something that could be divined by some pretentious Taoists.

Rumors said there was a sect in the neighboring state called 'Mysterious Mechanism Pavilion' that could glimpse the mysteries of heaven and earth, but its authenticity was uncertain.

"Miss..."

Lotus looked pitifully at Xu Hongyu, then at Chen Mu.

However, at that moment, Chen Mu's ears twitched; his demeanor shifted from amiable to solemn, and he abruptly stopped walking. Turning his head in one direction, he said, "There's movement, it seems to be coming."

Lotus immediately became serious as well, shedding her playful tone.

Xu Hongyu also stopped in her tracks and, sensing something, lightly swung her right hand, drawing the Soft Sword and holding it ready, her expression growing earnest and solemn.

Finally.

Noise came from the distant jungle.

It seemed a fierce creature was making its way towards them, charging through the underbrush. Though it had not yet appeared, an aggressive momentum could already be sensed, causing the birds in the nearby forest to take flight, screeching as they soared into the sky.