Chapter 88

Talent is hard to come by!

It depends on what kind of talent and what kind of organization.

The Demon Suppression Bureau is the most powerful institution in the Great Qin Empire, with branches set up all over the country.

One could say that the Demon Suppression Bureau is constantly searching for suitable martial arts seeds and then sending them into the bureau.

Those who join martial arts sects are mostly the ones left over after the Demon Suppression Bureau's selection.

Of course, there are also some people who are unwilling to join the Demon Suppression Bureau and thus choose to join martial arts sects, but they are in the minority.

Joining the Demon Suppression Bureau, although risky, also comes with significant benefits.

For one, the status and position that the Demon Suppression Bureau brings are not something that martial arts sects can offer.

Relying on a big tree makes it easier to stay cool.

Dealing with demons, though dangerous, does not instill fear in everyone.

However, not everyone has the qualifications to choose.

Like Shen Changqing's predecessor, to survive, he could only join the Demon Suppression Bureau. If he had joined a martial arts sect, he would likely have died on the way before reaching that day.

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"Being able to make a mid-meridian martial artist flee, the demon's strength should be around the mid-meridian level, definitely not too strong. Otherwise, Zhou Qin wouldn't have had the chance to escape."

"Each minor realm surpasses the previous one in a crushing manner for martial artists."

Shen Changqing channeled his true qi, burning the paper completely.

He had fought demons many times and had a good understanding of their strength.

In terms of true strength, at the same realm, demons are not much stronger than martial artists.

The greatest advantage of demons lies in their lack of physical form, allowing them to attack martial artists at will, making it difficult to defend against them.

Additionally, demons carry a yin-evil aura that greatly restrains ordinary martial artists. Only those who cultivate pure yang true qi can resist this yin-evil aura.

"Zhou Qin delved deep into the ancestral home last night, and the Heavenly Investigation Guard received the news today. It seems there are informants within the Zhou family."

Shen Changqing gained a better understanding of the pervasive nature of the Heavenly Investigation Guard.

It makes sense. The Zhou family is a major clan in Jin City, so it's normal for the Heavenly Investigation Guard to send people to act as informants within the Zhou family.

After a quick wash, Shen Changqing got up and left the Tianyi Building.

Since damaging the Demon Suppression Bureau's uniform in Lin'an City, he hasn't collected a new one, instead buying several sets of casual clothes to change into.

Not wearing the Demon Suppression Bureau's uniform has its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that he can act without drawing too much attention, not being a walking beacon of light wherever he goes.

The disadvantage is that some people might try to provoke him, not recognizing his status.

However, Shen Changqing has never encountered such people during his time out.

Leaving the Tianyi Building, he headed towards the southern part of the city.

The Zhou family's ancestral home is located in the southern part of the city. Shen Changqing wanted to see the level of the demon there.

According to the mission process, if the demon is at the mid-phantom level, he wouldn't need to intervene much.

But if the demon is more than just mid-phantom, Shen Changqing would have to 'help' a bit.

The area where the Zhou family's ancestral home is located is one of the most prosperous in the southern part of the city. However, when he arrived, he found the surroundings eerily quiet, with no sign of people.

Clearly, the news of the demon in the Zhou family's ancestral home had spread.

Faced with a demon, ordinary people instinctively feel fear. Even if the area was once prosperous, no one dares to approach it now.

In front of the Zhou family's ancestral home, Shen Changqing saw several talismans pasted on the closed gate, seemingly to imprison the demon inside.

"If demons were so easy to deal with, they wouldn't be so feared."

Looking at the talismans on the gate, Shen Changqing sighed inwardly.

To be precise, talismans have no effect on demons.

During the Great Qin Empire's demon troubles, many charlatans have profited from this. However, none of them can truly deal with demons.

He had read about these things in the Demon Suppression Bureau's library.

Standing in front of the Zhou family's gate, Shen Changqing could clearly sense the yin-evil aura inside.

After a brief pause, he left the front of the Zhou family's ancestral home and leaped over a side wall, entering the Zhou family's compound.

As soon as he entered, a cold chill enveloped him, and the temperature dropped significantly.

Looking up at the sky, the sun was just rising, casting its light on the earth.

However, even the sunlight couldn't dispel the cold chill.

"Such a dense yin-evil aura, this demon must be quite powerful!"

Shen Changqing frowned.

Being able to ignore the scorching sun and still give off such a cold feeling during the day is not something a regular mid-phantom demon can do. Even if it's not at the late-phantom level, it's not far off.

Looking around, there was nothing special. Behind him was a wall, and in front was a long corridor with a railing.

But for Shen Changqing, the railing was as good as non-existent. He easily crossed it and walked down the corridor.

"Rich families are rich, their homes are much larger than others'."

Turning left and right along the corridor, passing through several pavilions, Shen Changqing found himself still not at the end, and he couldn't help but complain inwardly.

A major clan in the city, Shen Changqing had seen them before, but compared to the Zhou family, the Zhao and Zhang families were far inferior.

He quickened his pace. Soon, his field of vision opened up.

Rock formations stood tall, and pavilions and terraces were visible. Shen Changqing could clearly hear the sound of flowing water.

"It must be here!"

In the back garden, the yin-evil aura suddenly became more intense.

Silently, Shen Changqing saw a corner of clothing at the base of a rock formation and walked over.

When he got closer, he clearly saw a desiccated corpse. From the clothing and the faint features, he could tell it was a woman, but the body was severely deformed due to the loss of vital essence.

Seeing this, Shen Changqing's expression turned serious.

"The corpse has been drained of vital essence but has no odor of decay, so it must have died recently. Since the demon trouble in the Zhou family began, the last time someone came to eliminate the demon was some time ago. This doesn't match the current corpse."

Combining the information from the Heavenly Investigation Guard, he was almost certain of the source of the corpse.

According to the intelligence, last night, not only Zhou Qin, the Zhou family's young lady, but also others accompanied her in exploring the Zhou family's ancestral home.

The presence of a corpse here indicates that there were casualties last night.

After looking at the corpse for a moment, Shen Changqing turned his gaze to the surroundings. He wasn't a novice and wasn't easily disturbed by the sight of a corpse.

The surroundings gradually became darker, and a faint white mist began to spread.

Shen Changqing didn't move, just stood there, expanding his senses to try to find the demon behind the mist.

The mist swirled, as if a giant beast was breathing behind it. A cold breeze blew, causing his clothes to flutter.

Suddenly, a black shadow appeared from the mist behind Shen Changqing, moving silently and slowly approaching him.

When it got close, the black shadow stopped, raised its green, withered hand, and prepared to make its next move.

At that moment, Shen Changqing suddenly turned around, facing the black shadow. The sudden change made the black shadow pause.

"There you are!"

Shen Changqing smiled, his white teeth making his smile look sunny.

In front of him was a short, emaciated demon with a sharp, monkey-like face, resembling an old woman but more like an old monkey.

After a moment of shock, the demon quickly reacted, its green, withered hand slicing through the air, aiming to tear open Shen Changqing's chest.

To an outsider, the movement was as fast as a ghost, but to Shen Changqing, it was no different from a normal person, not particularly fast.

Reacting faster, he extended his right hand and grabbed the demon's wrist just before it reached his chest.

With his Iron Sand Palm at its peak and the Unvanquished Golden Body enhancing his strength, Shen Changqing's hands were like divine weapons. Even the terrifying yin-evil aura of the demon couldn't harm him when they touched.

His hand, like a red-hot iron clamp, tightly gripped the demon's wrist, and wisps of smoke rose from the contact.

The pain made the demon let out a miserable scream.

In the next instant, Shen Changqing felt his hand empty, and the demon had vanished.

"Trying to run?"

"How easy do you think that is?"

He took a step forward, his body shooting out like an arrow, and then struck a spot in the air with a powerful palm.

Boom!

Aah!!

A miserable scream echoed as the demon, which had seemingly disappeared, fell out, emitting a burnt smell, clearly severely injured by the Iron Sand Palm.

After landing, the demon disappeared again.

This time, Shen Changqing didn't chase it. His previous strike had dissipated much of the demon's yin-evil aura. If the demon was close to breaking through to the late-phantom level, his strike had severely wounded it.

Even maintaining the mid-phantom level would be difficult for it now.

After dealing with this, Shen Changqing left gracefully.