Demon Stockade!

Having become External Staff of the Demon Suppression Division, Li Changsheng could not live in the Demon Suppression Division, and the tasks he could accept were limited. He could not accept tasks as freely as true official members of the Demon Suppression Division.

Some core tasks were confidential. External Staff came from all walks of life, and no one knew whether they might be Demon Spies or agents of hostile forces, so naturally, the task details could not be revealed casually.

Li Changsheng looked over the recent tasks. Most involved exterminating demons or investigating demon traces, and the rewards were all quite generous.

But he did not dare accept those tasks. They were simply too dangerous. As a mere Stone Skin Realm martial artist, he at most possessed Iron Skin Realm combat power and only dared deal with weaker Level 1 Minor Demons.

But not every task was dangerous, or he would not have become External Staff of the Demon Suppression Division.

Before long, he found a task suited to him.

[Task: Forge Demon-Slaying Arrows]

This task was quite good. Demon-Slaying Arrows were Ninth-grade Weapons, yet they inflicted tremendous damage on demons. As Custom Weapons, Li Changsheng did not know how to forge them, but as long as he accepted this task, he would receive the forging blueprint for Demon-Slaying Arrows.

As an Eighth-grade Blacksmith, forging Ninth-grade Weapons was naturally no problem for him.

"I'll accept this task!"

Li Changsheng went to the task reception area and chose to accept it.

Naturally, accepting the Demon-Slaying Arrow task required an assessment of one's qualifications. Without the skill of a Ninth-grade Blacksmith, one could not accept this task.

Li Changsheng had previously placed among the top ten in the Blacksmith Tournament, and that was easy to verify. He directly obtained the qualifications and accepted the task.

Soon, Li Changsheng met one of the Demon Suppression Division's Demon Suppression Envoys, Cao Jun.

"Li Changsheng, this is the forging blueprint for Demon-Slaying Arrows. After memorizing it, you are forbidden from passing it on. If we discover that you leaked the forging blueprint for Demon-Slaying Arrows, the Demon Suppression Division will punish you severely!" Cao Jun said.

"Yes!"

Li Changsheng immediately gave his assurance.

Soon, he memorized the contents of the forging blueprint for Demon-Slaying Arrows.

Demon-Slaying Arrows required three types of metal materials in total. The most important was Blazing Sun Stone, whose blazing sun power had a tremendous burning effect on demons.

Additionally, Demon-Slaying Arrows needed to be quenched with Demon Blood.

Demon-Slaying Arrows were not too difficult to forge, but the process was rather meticulous and allowed no mistakes. If he made no errors, Li Changsheng could forge several Demon-Slaying Arrows in a day.

According to the Demon Suppression Division's task details, forging one Demon-Slaying Arrow earned 2 Merit Points, while 10 Merit Points could be exchanged for one portion of Secret Medicine.

Over the next several days, Li Changsheng forged Demon-Slaying Arrows at a blacksmith shop under the Demon Suppression Division. He easily forged one Demon-Slaying Arrow after another, and every one reached the Ninth Grade Upper Tier, worth 3 Merit Points.

Within a few days, he forged twenty Demon-Slaying Arrows and earned a total of 60 Merit Points.

"60 Merit Points are enough to exchange for a fairly decent Skin Polishing Martial Art!"

Li Changsheng immediately went to the resource exchange area, intending to exchange them for a decent mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Art.

"As expected of the Demon Suppression Division. There are so many Skin Polishing Martial Arts. Although there are no High-grade Skin Grinding Martial Arts, there are quite a few mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Arts!"

Li Changsheng carefully examined the prices of these mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Arts. They generally ranged from twenty to one hundred Merit Points.

A mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Art costing twenty or thirty Merit Points could allow a martial artist to cultivate all the way to Iron Skin Perfection without issue. But to break through to the Bronze Skin Realm, one needed a top-tier mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Art.

That was the difference between mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Arts!

Li Changsheng did not have high requirements for mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Arts. Ones worth around thirty Merit Points would do, allowing him to purchase two at once.

[Mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Art—Iron Head Skill]

[Mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Art—Iron Crotch Skill]

Li Changsheng had his eye on these two Skin Polishing Martial Arts. They were quite ordinary mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Arts, but they could make up for two major weak points of the human body.

Soon, Li Changsheng exchanged for these two mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Arts.

For the next period of time, he did not continue forging Demon-Slaying Arrows. Instead, he began sensing the qi and blood at the corresponding locations for the Iron Crotch Skill and Iron Head Skill.

Sensing qi and blood in the head was not particularly difficult. After applying high-quality White Spirit Secret Medicine, it was easy to perceive.

But sensing qi and blood at the location required for the Iron Crotch Skill took some effort. That place was simply too sensitive. Applying White Spirit Secret Medicine there produced a sensation too exquisite and agonizing to describe.

Still, Li Changsheng endured it.

Soon, two months passed. The Stone Skin at the corresponding locations for Li Changsheng's Iron Crotch Skill and Iron Head Skill had both broken through to the Perfection Realm, significantly increasing his strength.

Now, he was not far from achieving Stone Skin over his entire body. He only needed to cultivate Stone Skin on his back, abdomen, neck, and other areas for full-body Stone Skin to completely take shape.

Once full-body Stone Skin was achieved, his physical body would undergo a transformation. Only then would his strength truly surge.

Demon Suppression Division.

Li Changsheng came here again to continue forging Demon-Slaying Arrows. This was also his easiest way of earning Merit Points. This time, he planned to forge more Demon-Slaying Arrows and exchange for all the Skin Polishing Martial Arts he needed in one go.

More than ten days later.

Li Changsheng had forged a large number of Demon-Slaying Arrows and earned a total of 120 Merit Points. Then, he began exchanging them for the Skin Polishing Martial Arts he needed.

Soon, he made his selections.

[Mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Art—Bear Back Skill]

[Mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Art—Iron Abdomen Skill]

[Mid-grade Skin Polishing Martial Art—Iron Throat Skill]

As long as he cultivated these three Skin Polishing Martial Arts, the remaining tiny corners would not matter. Under the impact of qi and blood throughout his body, they would completely connect into full-body Stone Skin, allowing him to truly attain the realm of Stone Skin over his entire body.

However, just as he was preparing to cultivate these three Skin Polishing Martial Arts, his master sent someone to summon him.

He immediately went to the Azure Steel Martial Hall.

After arriving at the Azure Steel Martial Hall, he discovered that all the formal disciples of the Azure Steel Martial Hall had come.

Normally, many formal disciples of the Azure Steel Martial Hall were either roaming outside or engaged in arduous cultivation, and could not be seen at all. But this time, they had all come.

Senior Brother Qin Xun, Second Senior Brother Chang Shanle, Senior Sister Xiao Ling, and Sixth Senior Brother Bai Dongdong had all arrived.

There were also other formal disciples, more than sixty in total.

It was also Li Changsheng's first time meeting Senior Brother, Senior Sister, and the others. From the faint auras emanating from them, he could tell that these senior brothers and sisters were all above the Skin Grinding Realm. Even the weakest had reached the Bone Refining Realm, though he did not know what stage of the Bone Refining Realm they had reached.

"Master, you called us all here this time. Did something happen?" Qin Xun asked.

Xu He's expression was somewhat unsightly. Clearly, this was not a good matter.

"An order came down internally this time, requiring the Sixteen Outer City Martial Halls to cooperate with the Nine Outer City Great Clans, the Three Major Factions, and the City Guard to destroy a mountain stronghold more than a hundred li outside the city!" Xu He said.

"So many forces are joining hands just to destroy one mountain stronghold?" Qin Xun and the other disciples realized that this matter was far from ordinary.

"Is that mountain stronghold not simple?"

Qin Xun asked.

Xu He nodded. "It is no ordinary mountain stronghold. According to the information, that mountain stronghold was taken over by demons long ago and has already become a Demon Stockade. Quite a few demons are hiding inside. The inner city is unclear about the strength of that Demon Stockade, so they are sending us to test it."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone's expressions changed.