Demon Traces in Qingyang Town!

Li Changsheng continued refining Turtle Breath Secret Medicine and soon produced flawless-grade Turtle Breath Secret Medicine.

The reason he could so quickly refine flawless-grade Turtle Breath Secret Medicine was naturally because Turtle Breath Secret Medicine was not of a particularly high grade; it was merely Skin Grinding Secret Medicine. If it had been Bone Refining Secret Medicine or Tendon Refining Secret Medicine, it would not have been so easy to refine.

Afterward, he used the flawless-grade Turtle Breath Secret Medicine to cultivate the Turtle Breath Skin Refining Technique.

Sure enough.

After breaking through to the Bone Refining Realm, Li Changsheng quickly brought the Turtle Breath Skin Refining Technique to the entry level. The aura around him had become somewhat concealed, but that was still not enough. He needed to cultivate the Turtle Breath Skin Refining Technique to the Perfection Realm before he could completely hide the aura produced by the Dragon Skin Realm.

With flawless-grade Turtle Breath Secret Medicine and the boost of the Demon Slaying Dao Fruit, Li Changsheng cultivated the Turtle Breath Skin Refining Technique rapidly, reaching the Perfection Realm before long.

Once the Turtle Breath Skin Refining Technique reached perfection, ordinary martial artists would not merely find it difficult to see through his Dragon Skin Realm—they would find it hard even to gauge his cultivation. At the very least, only someone in the Blood Changing Realm could sense his approximate cultivation.

Xu Zixi had already left Baiye City several days ago, and the Martial Arts Hall returned to its usual peace.

But on this day, a mission was issued from the inner city to the various major powers of the outer city, and Azure Steel Martial Hall received its own mission details.

Upon receiving the news, Li Changsheng immediately went to the Martial Arts Hall.

"Master, what happened?" Li Changsheng knew something had happened, but he did not know what exactly.

Xu He said, "Quite a few demons have appeared outside the city. They are scattered about and have specifically targeted some of the towns and villages outside the city. In addition, a large number of demons are heading toward Baiye City. The Baiye Army has gone to stop them, leaving them short-handed. Therefore, all the major powers in the outer city must investigate the demons' traces. This time, our Azure Steel Martial Hall has been assigned a mission as well: investigate Qingyang Town."

"Qingyang Town!"

Li Changsheng quickly learned Qingyang Town's information from his master. It was a town with six thousand residents and some martial artists, though none were particularly strong. They were all Skin Grinding Realm martial artists; the truly powerful ones had long since moved into the city.

This time, Qingyang Town had been losing people every day. Even Skin Grinding Realm martial artists had gone missing, confirming that demons had appeared.

Yet the demons' numbers and strength remained unknown, so Baiye City had handed this mission to Azure Steel Martial Hall.

"Changsheng, Ling'er, take several more disciples and investigate Qingyang Town," Xu He instructed.

"Yes!"

Li Changsheng had no objections.

Xiao Ling, however, asked, "Master, where is Senior Brother?"

Among the Azure Steel Martial Hall disciples, Senior Brother was the strongest. Yet he was absent this time. Relying on Li Changsheng and herself alone might not be safe enough.

"Your Senior Brother has gone out," Xu He said with a sigh.

While Xiao Ling went to select disciples, Li Changsheng asked, "Master, what happened to Senior Brother?"

Xu He said, "Your Senior Brother went to the Bibo Lake region. He still wants to achieve Flood Dragon Tendons. His foundation had been slightly lacking before, and he wants to make up for it in the Tendon Refining Realm, staking everything on a glorious future."

"What? Senior Brother went to Bibo Lake?" Li Changsheng was shocked. That was a region with major demons! Forget a Tendon Refining Realm martial artist like Senior Brother—even Viscera Realm martial artists would have little chance of surviving there!

"Master, didn't you stop him?" Li Changsheng asked.

Xu He shook his head. "By the time I learned of it, he had already left. But Bibo Lake is not quite a death zone at present. The Baiye Army is dealing with a Demon Race force, and many major demons from Bibo Lake have gone to provide support. Furthermore, powerhouses from the inner city have gone to Bibo Lake to hunt Red Flood Dragon Snakes. If your Senior Brother fishes in troubled waters, it is not as though he has no hope!"

Risking his life for Flood Dragon Tendons was something Li Changsheng felt he could not do. Mainly because he believed he could break through to the Flood Dragon Tendons realm himself.

However, others could not be like him, possessing vast quantities of flawless-grade Secret Medicine and the support of multiple Dao Fruits, allowing them to stack one High-grade Martial Art after another.

"Changsheng, be careful this time. If you encounter a Level 4 Minor Demon, run immediately!" Xu He cautioned.

He roughly understood his disciple's strength. Though Li Changsheng was only in the Bone Refining Realm, he was stronger than many Tendon Refining Realm martial artists, with combat power that could be called invincible within the Tendon Refining Realm. Those Level 3 Minor Demons were likely no match for his disciple. But Level 4 Minor Demons could rival Blood Changing Realm martial artists; even he would face a certain degree of danger if he encountered one.

Thus, if Li Changsheng encountered a Level 4 Minor Demon, Xu He naturally did not want him to charge in recklessly. Running away was the best option.

"Master, this disciple understands!"

Li Changsheng then withdrew. By this time, Senior Sister Xiao Ling had already selected four disciples, all of them Bone Refining Realm disciples. Among them were Sixth Senior Brother Bai Dongdong and three at Iron Bone Realm.

"Let's go!"

Xiao Ling said.

She was the Senior Sister, so she naturally took charge of this operation.

Soon, the group left Baiye City and raced toward Qingyang Town on Horned Horses.

Qingyang Town was some distance from Baiye City. Although martial artists could move quickly, traveling on foot consumed much of their qi and blood and stamina. Riding Horned Horses was the best choice.

Horned Horses were a kind of horse with demon bloodlines. They were easy to tame and served as transportation for many martial artists traveling long distances.

An hour later.

The six finally arrived at Qingyang Town. They went straight to the entrance of the Town Guard Station, tied their Horned Horses there, and entered the Town Guard Station.

The Town Guard Station was the official institution that administered towns. It was staffed by martial artists, and ordinary matters were usually handled and reported by the Town Guard Station.

Before long, they met the person in charge of the Town Guard Station, a martial artist at Iron Skin Great Accomplishment. In Baiye City's outer city, even Iron Skin Realm martial artists could only be considered weak, but here, he was a top-tier powerhouse.

"Greetings, my lords!"

Zhao Feng, the Town Guard Station's person in charge, said respectfully.

"Demons have appeared in Qingyang Town. What clues do you have?" Xiao Ling asked.

"My lady, around a hundred people disappear from Qingyang Town every day now, and more than a dozen martial artists have vanished as well. Judging from the traces left behind during the investigation, they may be snake demons," Zhao Feng said fearfully.

"What else?" Li Changsheng asked.

Zhao Feng continued, "Some people tried to flee Qingyang Town, but they all... disappeared. Not a single one made it out alive."

"How do you know they disappeared rather than escaped?"

Li Changsheng asked again.

Zhao Feng answered truthfully, "Because when those people fled, a fog appeared outside the town—an extremely strange fog. Nothing could be seen within it. By the time the fog dispersed, those people had all vanished as well. So now, no one dares to go out."

"The situation has worsened!"

Li Changsheng and the others frowned.

Previously, people should have been able to leave Qingyang Town, otherwise the news could not have reached Baiye City. But now, not a single person could get out.

"Don't split up." Xiao Ling made the arrangements. If they separated, they could easily be picked off one by one. Their purpose was not to kill demons, but to find the demons' traces, confirm the intelligence here, and report it upward.

The group immediately began moving, searching for demon traces.

And the best method was to go outside!

That was right—they needed to leave Qingyang Town. The demons would surely appear then, and they would find out what kind of demons they were.