One more catty, one more attribute point

"He gave you the cultivation technique he practiced, so you must have paid a steep price," Li Lingxiu said, eyes wide.

"No," Zhao Meiying relayed what Su Heng had told her that day to Li Lingxiu.

"Whack!" Li Lingxiu suddenly stood up from his chair, pacing back and forth with his head bowed. Finally, he remarked with emotion, "That is truly the demeanor of a grandmaster."

"Did you really carry it on you?"

"Yes!" Zhao Meiying nodded, handing over the two scrolls Su Heng had personally made to Li Lingxiu.

Li Lingxiu vigorously rubbed his robe before solemnly and seriously taking them and hanging them on the wall nearby to unfurl them.

With just one glance, he was deeply attracted by the content and the artistic conception depicted in the scrolls.

He seemed frozen in place, motionless.

"Commander, commander!" Seeing Li Lingxiu's state, Zhao Meiying immediately felt a headache coming on. She had even promised to help Su Heng secure as much compensation as possible.

"Damn, awesome! It's really complete, seamless, unbelievable," Li Lingxiu finally managed to tear his gaze away from the scrolls after quite some time.

But he still seemed somewhat absent-minded, clearly still immersed in the artistic conception of the two fundamental drawings.

"We can't just take something for nothing in the Demon Suppression Army!" Zhao Meiying quickly reminded him.

"Yes, indeed we can't just take it!" Li Lingxiu nodded, tossing a copper key to Zhao Meiying, "This is the key to my private treasure vault; take anything you want from there. It's okay to empty it, just leave me two sets of clothes to change into."

"I need to go into seclusion for two days; come find me before we set off to the Skull Plain," Li Lingxiu said urgently.

Bang!

Before his words ended,

he had already grabbed the two scrolls, pushed open the window, and dashed out.

Zhao Meiying was left alone, disheveled by the wind.

...

...

...

Baihua County, Anping District.

After the flood disaster, Anping District took in a large number of refugees, causing security to be in chaos, with small-scale cases of people going missing. It might be the work of gangs, or it might be the doing of demons. Our mission this time is to thoroughly investigate the ins and outs of this matter, not to act rashly or stir up incidents, but to cleanly and efficiently resolve the problem. Do you understand?"

In a worn-down alley reeking of decay, Li Hongxiu, holding a sealed letter, spoke in a calm tone to the two men in front of her.

Among these two, one was an ordinary-looking young man with a dark face.

The other wore an old robe and had a scar on the left side of his face, presenting a composed demeanor.

The dark-faced youth was named Xu Chong, recruited by the Demon Suppression Bureau from Jiangzhou as a freelancer who originally studied in a sect and specialized in fist techniques, known for his enthusiastic personality.

The composed middle-aged man was a collateral relative of the Zhou family, named Zhou Shun.

As he hadn't committed any major wrongdoings,

he joined the Demon Suppression Bureau after the alliance of six families was destroyed and became a steward responsible for suppressing demons.

Li Hongxiu briefly explained the mission, and the two men nodded. They then turned around and entered the alley together. After joining the Demon Suppression Bureau, they had completed many similar missions, most of which were caused by gangs.

Even if they encountered demons, these were quickly resolved.

Thus, the atmosphere among the three was relaxed.

The lively Xu Chong, the dark-faced youth even had the mood to crack a few jokes, which, unfortunately, no one cared to entertain.

He didn't seem to mind, walking ahead by himself and pushing aside those who obstructively stood in his way.

After several turns, they quickly arrived at their destination.

Looking up, they saw a signboard named "Bamboo Shadow Pavilion" that seemed no different from the surrounding residences. From inside came a strong herbal scent, which was normal since Anping District had taken in a large number of disaster victims, and the smell of herbs had been noticeable all along, though it seemed particularly strong here.

"Chief, what should we do next? Should we just burst in and inquire, or sneak in and take a look?" Xu Chong turned to look at Li Hongxiu.

"Don't act rashly," Li Hongxiu pointed at the courtyard wall, "Climb in and take a look."

"No problem!" Xu Chong easily climbed the over two-meter-high courtyard wall with a kick and entered inside.

The entire process was silent.

Li Hongxiu and Zhou Shun followed, finding two rusty iron pots in the yard.

Inside the pots, mushy medicinal herbs were stewing uncovered, and the strong scent of the herbs came from these two iron pots.

"With no lids, the potency of the medicine is being lost," Xu Chong commented, frowning.

"It seems we've come to the right place. They're using the scent of the herbs intentionally to cover up something else," Zhou Shun, who had been silent till now, also spoke.

"Looks like we've nabbed a big fish this time!" Xu Chong seemed somewhat excited.

In the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Apart from their monthly allowance,

everything else had to be earned through merits—the more numerous and dangerous the missions completed, the more valuable the resources they could exchange.

Moreover, Xu Chong knew that Li Hongxiu seemed just like a young girl who had not yet matured, but her strength was formidable, ranked among the top within the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Moreover, with Su Heng, a Grandmaster, backing the Demon Suppression Bureau, there was little chance of any small fry causing trouble.

Therefore, he was very relieved.

"Be cautious," Li Hongxiu frowned slightly, a sense of foreboding in her heart.

"Let's go inside and have a look first," Xu Chong suggested.

This Bamboo Shadow Pavilion was a two-section courtyard.

Beyond the small courtyard they saw in front, past the porch, there was a larger courtyard behind, as well as various supporting rooms and even a basement. Despite the whole complex being not so large, there were many places that could hide dirt and grime.

But things seemed to be much smoother than they had imagined.

"This is..." Passing through an archway to the larger backyard, Xu Chong stopped in his tracks, stunned by the sight before him. The entire courtyard was covered with human limbs, internal organs, and heads with eyes wide open in death.

The quantity was so large that the originally black ground was soaked into a sinister dark red with blood.

In the middle of the courtyard.

A blood-red giant blade, over two meters long, hovered in mid-air.

Chains as thick as an adult's wrist were coiled around it, spreading out like a spider web over the entire courtyard. The stench of blood emanated from the corpses, slowly being absorbed by the giant blade through the chains. As the sinister ritual proceeded, the blade gradually became covered with patterns resembling eerie eyes.

With just one glance at the blood-colored giant blade, Xu Chong felt a strong aura, as if facing a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, hit him head-on.

His eyes turned blood-red, and he stumbled back several steps.

It wasn't until his back hit the wall

that he felt slightly better. He reached up to touch his face and was horrified to find blood tears streaming from his eyes, and his vision blurry.

"What in the devil is this thing!?" Xu Chong's heart was pounding as he whispered urgently to Li Hongxiu.

Li Hongxiu was originally a half-human, half-ghost existence who had spent time in the Sky Demon Alliance.

After the demise of the Sky Demon Alliance, Li Hongxiu had been confined in the Demon Suppression Tower and then followed Su Heng for a while.

Without saying much,

just in terms of various news, Li Hongxiu was quite knowledgeable.

Sometimes she even served as a counselor, helping Su Heng solve doubts.

"Blood Divine Weapon!" Li Hongxiu's brows were deeply furrowed, her expression extremely serious, "This is a weapon forged through blood sacrifice, demon corpses, and various precious materials in a special way, said to be capable of sealing the complete spirits of demons within it. For both humans and demons, the Blood Divine Weapon is an exceptionally evil and terrifying existence."

"I originally thought that Blood Divine Weapon was just a legend; I never expected it would actually..." Li Hongxiu's face turned extremely pale.

"Just by looking at it, we can't bear it."

Zhou Shun, who was standing nearby, also exclaimed in surprise, "What quality of demon corpse must have been used to forge this."

"At least it must be a demon of Fierce Level seven or higher," Li Hongxiu said seriously, "With the Blood Divine Weapon showing up, no matter who is here, it has become a problem beyond our ability to resolve."

"But why would this power appear here!?"

Li Hongxiu was puzzled.

Baihua County had been peaceful for hundreds of years, but recently one strange event after another had occurred.

The Demon Country's presence due to its longstanding location next to Jiangzhou was understandable, but the power behind the Blood Divine Weapon clearly came from afar. Their purpose was... Li Hongxiu's mind flashed with insight, remembering the secret manual she had scavenged from Hong Dingtian.

"Dragon King An Shelie!" Li Hongxiu murmured inwardly, "These people have come for the tomb of Dragon King An Shelie."

"I should report this information to the bureau chief," Li Hongxiu thought to herself.

"Mission terminated, leave immediately!" Li Hongxiu lowered her voice.

"Alright!" Zhou Shun and Xu Chong, sensing the anomaly, did not hesitate and immediately nodded in agreement.

Escaping the backyard directly over the wall could potentially disturb the blood sacrifice formation on the ground, leading to unintended disturbances. Thus, the trio had no choice but to retreat the way they came. However, just as they stepped into the corridor, passed through the archway, and came to the front courtyard, a bald man with a face full of scars approached.

This man was not more than one point seven meters tall, but his upper body was extremely muscular. His eyes were full of murderous intent, and he had a fierce black cross tattoo on his forehead.

"Who are you people! How did you get here!" the muscular bald man shouted angrily.

"Who are we!" Knowing the man was not to be underestimated, Xu Chong, unwilling to seem weaker, retorted without a hint of fear, "I'm the wild dad who's been missing for eighteen years!"

Bang!

Before his words finished, Xu Chong threw a punch at the muscular bald man's face.

Hailing from the Giant Rock Sect of Jiangzhou, though slender, he trained in genuine hardening techniques. Underneath his tough skin were bulging muscles, and with this punch, the wind howled as his whole arm swelled to twice its size, turning a terrifying blue-black, like a monstrous limb.

However, the muscular bald man did not dodge or evade and took the punch head-on.

"That's all you got!?" the muscular bald man sneered, "With that little ability, you dare to act wild in front of my Demon Elephant Sect!"

Bang!

He grasped Xu Chong's arm, swung him around forcefully, and smashed him down.

The ground immediately exploded on impact, creating a crater, and Xu Chong's eyes rolled back as his body went limp and unmoving!