Chapter 8: The 31st Year of the Great Qin

Regarding the *Meinu* (Charm Demon).

Shen Changqing was already very familiar with her.

He had to come to the Demon Suppression Prison six times every month, and every time he entered, this was the first creature he would see.

But what left him speechless was that the *Meinu* always appeared in the exact same form as before.

As time went on, Shen Changqing had almost come to believe that such a seductive woman was what a *Meinu* truly looked like.

Two months had passed.

Every five days, he would go to the Library Pavilion right on schedule.

Aside from searching for other martial arts, the rest of his time was spent looking for information regarding demons and ghosts.

Logically speaking, he could have just asked some official Demon Suppression Envoys to clear these things up.

Unfortunately, while the Yellow Division’s Demon Suppression Court was large, Shen Changqing didn't know any official envoys, so he had no way to inquire about the situation.

As for Liu Chang, he was a suitable candidate.

However, although the man’s attitude had softened somewhat, he would never answer his questions, only saying what he was willing to say.

Regarding this, Shen Changqing was quite impressed by the Demon Suppression Division’s "free-range" approach.

They recruited newcomers, explained only the basic rules, and taught nothing else, leaving everything to be figured out on one's own.

Therefore, he could only rely on himself to find information in the Library Pavilion.

Fortunately, if the Library Pavilion lacked anything else, it certainly did not lack records of demons and ghosts.

As long as he went to the relevant section and pulled a book off the shelf at random, it would contain similar content.

Through this back-and-forth, Shen Changqing had gained a great deal of understanding regarding demons and ghosts.

"In the thirty-first year of the Great Qin, the sun and moon lost their light, stars fell from the sky, and fire rained down. On that same day, demons and ghosts wreaked havoc, throwing the world into turmoil.

To maintain stability, the Great Qin established the Demon Suppression Division, taking the slaughter of demons and the suppression of ghosts as its duty, to cleanse the world and ensure peace!"

Looking at the *Meinu* before him, Shen Changqing recalled the information stored in his mind.

It was evident that demons and ghosts had not existed since ancient times, but had appeared out of thin air in the thirty-first year of the Great Qin.

It was currently the three hundred and eighty-first year of the Great Qin.

In other words, demons and ghosts had existed for over three hundred years.

The Demon Suppression Division had been established only after the appearance of these creatures; although its history was slightly shorter than theirs, it still spanned about three hundred years.

"I always thought that so-called demons and ghosts were things that evolved after people died due to various mishaps. It seems I thought too much—"

Shen Changqing shook his head slightly and then left the front of the *Meinu's* cell.

Over three hundred years.

The Great Qin had not figured out the origins of these things, so even if he was very curious, there was no way he could know too much.

However, there was another possibility.

That was that the Great Qin had long since figured out the origins of demons and ghosts, but had kept it sealed for certain reasons.

But regardless of which it was, it was not something a lowly probationary Demon Suppression Envoy like him could get involved in.

Passing the *Meinu's* cell, Shen Changqing walked along the row of cells. In less than half an hour, he had finished patrolling the second floor.

With the patrol complete, he had no intention of leaving and headed straight for the third floor.

Just as he entered the third floor, a dark shadow caught his eye.

Shen Changqing’s expression tightened. Instinctively, he raised his Pure Yang True Qi while narrowing his eyes to look at the shadow.

He saw that the shadow was not the demon or ghost he had expected, but a Demon Suppression Envoy.

Looking at the robes the other person was wearing, Shen Changqing understood that the newcomer was just like him—a probationary Demon Suppression Envoy.

"That’s strange. Isn't it my turn to patrol the third floor today? Why is there another probationary envoy here?"

Looking at Shen Changqing, Meng Shan frowned.

Patrolling each floor of the Demon Suppression Prison only required one person.

When he accepted the mission, he had never seen any other probationary envoys on the third floor.

Although curious, Meng Shan did not show too much, merely cupping his hands slightly: "Xuan Division probationary Demon Suppression Envoy, Meng Shan. May I ask who you are?"

"Yellow Division probationary Demon Suppression Envoy, Shen Changqing!"

Shen Changqing also returned the salute.

He hadn't expected to run into someone from the Xuan Division’s Demon Suppression Court here.

After a simple greeting, neither of them said anything more. With a slight nod, they passed each other and went their separate ways.

Standing at the exit of the third floor, Meng Shan couldn't help but look back. He immediately saw Shen Changqing’s figure continue without pause, heading straight for the entrance to the fourth floor.

This sight made his heart tremble.

"Daring to go to the fourth floor—that is something no ordinary Pulse-Connecting Realm cultivator can do. Since when did the Yellow Division have such a formidable probationary envoy!?"

As a veteran who had been here for over half a year, Meng Shan knew very well what kind of dangers the fourth floor of the Demon Suppression Prison held.

Even he, who was only one step away from the Pulse-Connecting Realm, did not dare to go to the fourth floor.

Yet a probationary envoy dared to do so.

The other party was either purely seeking death, or his strength was formidable enough to rival a true Demon Suppression Envoy.

"Yellow Division, Shen Changqing!"

Meng Shan silently repeated the name to himself, having already committed it to memory.

A probationary envoy qualified to go to the fourth floor—if he didn't die, his strength was definitely not to be underestimated.

Perhaps when he became an official envoy in the future, he would have dealings with this person.

However, he had no intention of secretly probing further.

In the Demon Suppression Division, prying into others' privacy could lead to a fatal disaster.

Moreover, in Meng Shan’s view, Shen Changqing’s strength was far greater than his own.

Unless he had a death wish, he wouldn't be stupid enough to walk into the line of fire.

On the other side, Shen Changqing had already stepped onto the fourth floor.

The Xuan Division probationary envoy was just a trivial matter.

He had noted Meng Shan’s name, but had no other plans for the moment.

He had come to the Demon Suppression Prison no less than ten times before, but Shen Changqing had never wanted to enter the fourth floor.

But this time was different.

Two days ago, his Pure Yang Skill had officially broken through to the third level. With a nine-level skill, reaching the third level could be considered a small success.

Shen Changqing felt that the Pure Yang True Qi in his Dantian was nearly twice as deep as the True Qi from his Thirteen Taibao Hard Qigong.

That was why he had stepped onto the fourth floor.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve had any Killing Value income. Fourth floor, don't let me down!"

Enduring the impact of the cold, his Pure Yang True Qi circulated automatically, neutralizing the chill within his body as Shen Changqing walked toward the first cell.

The layout of the fourth floor was similar to the previous two.

Walking up to the first cell, a thick, pungent smell of blood rushed toward him.

The intensity of the stench was such that even Shen Changqing, who had grown accustomed to the smell of blood, felt a strong sense of discomfort.

He stepped back slightly and fixed his eyes on the inside of the cell.

He saw a creature covered in green scales, roughly the size of a human, but with eerily long arms and no facial features, bound tightly there.

Its limbs, head, and other parts of its body were pierced by thick iron nails, forcibly pinning it in place.

Despite its violent struggling, not a single drop of blood flowed from the wounds.

"A demon!"

Shen Changqing’s expression changed instantly as he looked at the creature nailed to the cell.

Demons were existences of a higher order than ghosts.

Any single demon, if left unchecked, had the qualifications to slaughter an entire city.

He had only seen portraits of demons in the Library Pavilion, but had never truly seen a living one.

The demon before him was the first.

Looking at the demon, Shen Changqing could clearly feel the tyrannical aura emanating from it, as well as that nauseating, bloody stench.

Even after looking for a while, an uncontrollable feeling of fear welled up in his heart.

Regarding the various changes in his mind, Shen Changqing forced himself to stay calm.

Although demons were strong, the cells of the Demon Suppression Prison were not so easily broken.

Don't let the cells look simple; in reality, they were laid out with numerous methods to serve as seals and barriers.

Otherwise, the demons and ghosts imprisoned there would have escaped long ago.

Although his gaze remained on the demon, Shen Changqing’s attention was already fixed on his own interface.

"Strange!"

"How can there be nothing?"

Half a quarter of an hour passed.

The Killing Value on the interface remained unchanged, and Shen Changqing’s expression gradually turned ugly.

His previous Killing Value had all been obtained from the remains of demons—

"Wait, demon remains!"

Shen Changqing realized the key point. He immediately withdrew his focus from the interface and observed the demon before him once more.

Demon remains could provide Killing Value.

But the demon before him could not.

So the question arose.

There must be some difference between the two that prevented him from obtaining Killing Value.

The most obvious difference was that demon remains were, strictly speaking, dead objects. Although they looked as if they were alive, they were not alive in the true sense.

He had learned this through the Library Pavilion.

Demon remains were not living things, but the demon before him was clearly a truly living creature.

Having figured out the crux of the matter, Shen Changqing confirmed one thing.

"Killing Value can only be obtained from dead demons; it cannot be obtained from living demons—"

"By the same token, if Killing Value cannot be obtained from living demons, then it certainly cannot be obtained from living ghosts either. This is the reason why I didn't get any Killing Value from the ghosts on the second floor."

Sorting through the logic, Shen Changqing had gained a great deal of understanding regarding his interface.

At the very least, he now had a rough idea of how to obtain Killing Value.

The rest would have to be verified through practice.

But Shen Changqing also understood that he had no way to verify it right now.

Because he had no authority to kill the demons and ghosts in the Demon Suppression Prison, and with his current strength, he lacked the ability to kill the things imprisoned there.

"This matter will have to wait until later!"

Shen Changqing took a deep breath, but he was unwilling to give up and walked around to the other cells on the fourth floor.

Unfortunately, everything imprisoned on the fourth floor was a living demon.

In the end, he could only leave helplessly.

PS: I didn't even make it into the top ten of the signing list. I feel like I'm done for. Please vote, please vote!

(End of chapter)