Outside the Heavenly Goods Branch.
Four masked men gathered together, their eyes filled with nothing but cold malice. The temperature around them was frigid, devoid of even a trace of the warmth of the living, accompanied by a faint stench.
"How did it go?"
The masked young man was the first to speak.
"We staked out the main and side entrances of the other gates, but we never caught that brat's scent!"
"Same here. I stayed inside the auction, waiting by the tree stump for a hare, but there was no trace of him!"
"Boss, do you think those two might be together? As soon as the auction ended, they might have slipped out through the back door?"
The masked young man pondered. "Very possible. That cultivation method had practically been ours for the taking, yet someone suddenly appeared to compete with us. It's hard not to suspect they were working together."
"Boss, is this cultivation method really that important?"
One subordinate asked in confusion.
The masked young man glanced at him and said blandly, "You only just joined Black Wind Cave, so it's normal that you don't know. A hundred years ago, an immortal cultivation sect developed a mental cultivation method specifically against demons. It could obstruct our mental erosion of the human race. Back then, the demons suffered enormous losses, while the humans held every advantage."
"The cultivation method we're looking for?"
The subordinate asked.
The masked young man nodded. "That's right. The human race fell into internal strife, and that sect has now declined into ruins."
"Before our invasion, Black Wind Cave obtained news of this cultivation method. To ensure the plan proceeds smoothly, all unfavorable factors must be uprooted first."
A vicious glint flickered in the masked young man's eyes.
Black Wind Cave's plan had originally targeted Jinzhou, intending to further infiltrate the human race. But now that they had discovered the reappearance of the Soul-Subduing Mind Technique, it posed a grave threat to them.
They absolutely could not allow the humans of today to discover the Soul-Subduing Mind Technique's true purpose. Otherwise, their space for survival would be squeezed even further.
In other words, if they failed to obtain it, they would have no choice but to alter their target and strike at other prefectures and counties.
"Boss, look! There's a human woman over there."
At that moment, a subordinate beside him pointed across the street and shouted.
At the street corner, a cold and stunning woman emerged. She wore a thin green gauze blouse and a plain white long skirt, her figure exquisitely graceful.
Her gaze swept in every direction. Clearly, she was looking for someone.
"Strange. I remember my husband saying before he left that he was coming to the auction to buy some things. Could it already be over?"
The newcomer was none other than Yu Qinghan, who had tracked him all the way from the pawnshop.
Deeply worried for Zhao Huai's safety, she had hurried after him. All she vaguely remembered were words her husband had mentioned: auction, cultivation method.
She searched around the Heavenly Treasures Guild, but still found no sign of him.
Her heart could not help but skip a beat. She did not want to see the thing she feared most come to pass.
An icy expression surfaced on Yu Qinghan's face.
Whoever dared harm her husband, she would tear them into ten thousand pieces.
"Boss, what do you think? Pretty, right?"
"Not bad, not bad. If we turn her into fresh human skin, the results should be excellent. She could probably ensnare a whole crowd of men."
The masked young man's eyes gleamed brightly.
For demons, choosing a good outer skin was an exceedingly important matter.
A good outer skin could save them much unnecessary trouble.
"May I ask, has the auction already ended?"
"Yes. Everyone left half an hour ago."
After receiving the answer from the attendant outside the Heavenly Treasures Guild, Yu Qinghan once again made her way through the nearby streets. Her phoenix eyes swept over the intersections ahead, but she still did not see Zhao Huai.
Her anxiety grew ever fiercer.
Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she noticed four figures following her. Judging by their movements, they were no ordinary people.
Yu Qinghan's delicate brows drew together. Her phoenix eyes narrowed, and her anger flared at once.
I wasn't looking for you, yet you came looking for me? Yu Qinghan deliberately walked into a deserted alley, then turned and said coldly to the four masked men behind her:
"You're the assassins sent by the Black Market?"
"Assassins?"
Hearing that, the masked young man found it rather baffling. His first instinct was that the woman had mistaken them for someone else.
"You may as well consider us assassins."
The masked young man smiled faintly and extended a large hand from beneath his bamboo hat.
It was a pair of ugly, bluish-black bone claws.
The surrounding underlings also assumed fighting stances, their faces brimming with excitement.
Preying upon such a fair-skinned, tender-fleshed woman was simply the greatest joy imaginable.
The pendant on Yu Qinghan's snow-white chest flickered faintly, and a sharp Treasure Sword appeared in her hand.
"So you're a cultivator. No wonder you're so calm."
Seeing this, the masked young man sneered.
"A mere Qi Refining Stage cultivator, struggling on the brink of death."
Yu Qinghan's face remained cold. She said nothing.
Her sword thrust forth, cold light flashing in an instant, swift as lightning.
"Swish!"
In that single instant, she severed the masked young man's head cleanly from his body.
The remaining underlings were utterly shocked.
Yu Qinghan appeared behind them. Seeing that there was not a trace of blood on her blade, her brows furrowed once more.
"Die!"
The masked young man's severed head let out a shrill cry.
Clusters of black Qi rushed out from the shell of his body, gathering into the face of a demonic pig ghost that lunged straight at Yu Qinghan.
Yu Qinghan raised her sword and slashed, but it produced a sharp "Clang!"
Then she leapt into the air, flipping several meters away to widen the distance.
Looking closely, she saw that the Treasure Sword in her hand had already chipped.
Yu Qinghan was not surprised. Instead, she gave a cold smile. "I was wondering where that stench came from. So it was four pig demons."
The four people before her instantly changed form.
Beneath the masks concealing their mouths and noses were rows upon rows of densely protruding fangs, crimson gaping maws, terrifying beyond measure, with pig snouts especially conspicuous.
Once they shed their disguises of human skin, they were plainly four incomparably hideous demons.
"Kill her. Our identities have already been exposed!"
The fat-headed pig demon at the lead said in a muffled voice.
"Roar!"
Amid deep, guttural howls, three currents of demonic wind immediately swept over them.
Yu Qinghan's expression remained calm. She brushed the jade pendant at her chest and said blandly, "Fine. I'll take it as a warm-up."
The pendant flashed, and a long halberd entirely jade-green, its tip sharp as frost, appeared in her hand.
"Thud!"
She gripped the halberd tightly and drove it into the ground, producing a resounding boom.
"Boom!"
Immediately afterward, towering killing intent surged outward from Yu Qinghan's body.
That aura was incomparably fierce, directly blasting the demonic wind back.
With a thud, the fat-headed pig demon fell to the ground and cried out in shock:
"Is that... a magic treasure?"
As far as he knew, magic treasures were rarely seen among humans. They were not something an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator could possess. If she had one, it could only mean that this cultivator was extraordinarily powerful.
Without question, they had kicked an iron plate this time.
Before the four demons could react, Yu Qinghan vanished from where she stood, holding the halberd in one hand.
"Boom!"
The long halberd swept out, carrying explosive True Qi and the might of a magic treasure. Its power was immense, cracking the surrounding bluestone slabs.
The fat-headed pig demon was struck directly by the magic treasure and blown into ashes.
Yu Qinghan swept a cold gaze over the other three demons, whose bodies trembled uncontrollably in terror.
"Heroine, spare—"
Before they could finish begging for mercy, Yu Qinghan tore open their skulls with both hands, killing them all miserably.
After dealing with everything before her, Yu Qinghan put away her long halberd. Her mood had not improved. These were merely insignificant lesser demons; killing them was nothing.
Her goal was to find Zhao Huai, yet she still had no clues.
"Madam?"
With anxiety in her heart, Yu Qinghan walked along the road home when a familiar voice suddenly reached her ears.
She turned and saw Zhao Huai, carrying a bag of vegetables in one hand, his face full of astonishment.
"Husband?"
Before you continue