Changes to the Demon Subduing Diagram

Chen's Apothecary.

Backyard.

As dusk gradually settled, Wu Ming sat in the courtyard, the Crimson Serpent Spear laid across a stone platform beside him. On the platform was also a tea set, with a small amount of tea remaining in the cup. It wasn't the blood grass medicinal tea, but ordinary water.

"It's getting late, time to rest."

Ma Liu sat nearby, sipping his tea. Seeing the sky darken, he stretched and stood up.

"Brother Wu, you'll be on watch for the first half of the night."

Sun Wang, also present, nodded towards Wu Ming and said, "I'll relieve you in the second half."

"Alright."

Wu Ming gave a slight nod.

Guard duty at the apothecary wasn't too demanding during the day, but it was different at night. It fell to the four of them, including himself and Hu Yong, to take turns in pairs. Tonight, he and Sun Wang were on duty, with Wu Ming taking the first half and Sun Wang relieving him later.

Just then, Hu Yong entered from outside, speaking to Wu Ming in a deep voice, "Little Wu, I heard tonight is some sort of yin moon yin day. Unclean things might appear. Don't get scared if you encounter any tonight."

Yin moon yin day?

Wu Ming was taken aback, his gaze sharpening.

But at that moment, Sun Wang, seeing Wu Ming's suddenly serious expression, grinned broadly:

"Hahaha, Brother Wu, though young, is a proper Blood Forging martial artist. With pure yang blood energy within him, even if something unclean appears, those things will steer clear. They only scare ordinary folk."

As Sun Wang laughed, Hu Yong's feigned seriousness also broke, and he chuckled, clapping Wu Ming on the shoulder. "I was just teasing. We martial artists, even in the dead of night, at the most yin hour, walking through mass graves, won't encounter any yin evil spirits. Those folk tales are just for ordinary people with weak blood energy, who get agitated by yin energy and see illusions. At least I haven't seen any ghosts in person in my life."

"That's right."

Ma Liu casually shook his head. "Yin evil spirits are never frightening. If anything is frightening, it's people's hearts, which are far more terrifying than yin evil spirits. The fact that the Evil Bandits haven't been wiped out yet is the real trouble."

Hearing Ma Liu mention 'Evil Bandits,' Hu Yong's expression grew more serious. Indeed, compared to some ethereal ghosts, these bandits who roamed the city, killing indiscriminately, were a truly frightening nuisance.

"Rest assured, everyone. If there's any disturbance, I'll alert you immediately."

After a brief moment of thought, Wu Ming said to the others.

He had personally witnessed Malevolent Spirits before and knew that ghosts and spirits were not mere phantoms in this world. However, he was now a Blood Forging martial artist and had no reason to fear them. As Hu Yong had said, since he had mastered Congealed Blood, he hadn't encountered any yin evil spirits. Martial artists like them, filled with pure yang blood energy, would cause even true yin spirits to retreat from a distance.

In comparison, the bandits rampaging through the city were indeed a greater problem.

Sun Wang nodded and went into the house to rest, as he would be relieving Wu Ming in the latter half of the night. Hu Yong chatted with Wu Ming in the courtyard for a while longer, and when the sky had completely darkened, he too went inside, extinguishing the lamp.

Wu Ming sat in the center of the courtyard, holding his spear. After a few more moments, the surroundings grew completely dark, and the night became silent, save for the occasional chirping of insects.

After an unknown amount of time.

Wu Ming suddenly sensed something. His gaze shifted slightly, and he immediately gripped his spear, leaped forward, and grabbed the edge of the outer courtyard wall with one hand. He poked his head over the wall, looking towards a direction not far away.

In that direction, he saw a group of figures moving, with faint lights flickering, heading towards the courtyard where he was.

"That's..."

Wu Ming's eyes initially narrowed, but his expression soon relaxed slightly.

He saw the group of people swiftly pass through the street ahead. They were all clad in dark green flying fish uniforms, carrying weapons, and at their waists hung special illumination devices that glowed like flames in the night.

Such ostentatious attire, and the subtle pressure he could feel from a distance, made their identity obvious. They weren't bandits roaming at night, but Cautious Punishment Division night patrolmen on duty in the city.

Having guarded the Chen's Apothecary for many days, this wasn't the first time Wu Ming had seen them.

Among the patrolmen, a skilled individual had already noticed Wu Ming's scrutiny. However, they merely glanced back from afar in the darkness, paying no further attention, and continued their patrol along the street.

After the Cautious Punishment Division patrolmen passed, the nearby streets became even quieter. Wu Ming, carrying the Crimson Serpent Spear, moved into the shadows near the courtyard wall, standing still, maintaining his vigilance, constantly sensing the movements within and outside the courtyard.

As time passed, the courtyard and its surroundings grew increasingly silent, until even the chirping of insects vanished, plunging into complete stillness.

Gradually, the night deepened.

Looking up at the sky now, he could see that the celestial dome was completely black. Not only were there no stars visible, but even the moonlight was dim and hazy, as if obscured by a black fog.

Although it was early spring and long past the cold of winter, Wu Ming, standing in the courtyard, inexplicably felt a chill permeating his body. This 'chill' wasn't from the temperature, but from an indescribable source.

"Is this the yin moon yin day, the most yin hour?"

Wu Ming glanced at his arm. Although he was wearing clothes and couldn't see clearly in the dim light, he could distinctly feel that a dense row of goosebumps had appeared on his arm at some point.

He suspected that if Sun Wang, Ma Liu, or the others were guarding here, they might not notice anything. The reason he felt this inexplicable chill was due to his powerful spiritual perception, which differed from ordinary people. This perception allowed him to detect extremely subtle changes in the world.

"..."

Wu Ming reached out and touched his arm, feeling his hairs stand on end for no reason.

He looked at the courtyard wall, then suddenly pushed off with his spear, using the leverage to vault over the wall. He then gracefully leaped onto the rooftop along the wall, crouching down quietly, and surveyed the streets in all directions.

He was startled by what he saw.

In his field of vision, the entire street was shrouded in darkness, with no candlelight. However, in the depths of the silent night, there were scattered, eerie white figures, drifting slowly in the darkness.

Wu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly. He quickly realized that if he closed his eyes, his vision would fall into darkness, completely obscuring the outlines of the streets and alleys. However, those white figures did not disappear; they became even clearer.

Clearly, Those strange white figures were not seen through the vision of his naked eyes, but rather "seen" through spiritual perception. If Sun Wang, Ma Liu, or others were here, they likely wouldn't see anything at a glance.

After his surprise, Wu Ming quickly calmed his mind. He was now a Blood Forging martial artist and naturally had no fear of any ghosts or spirits. However, with his powerful spiritual perception, he could directly "see" these so-called dirty things. After a brief moment of astonishment, he found it rather interesting and began observing the white figures with great curiosity.

The white figures could only vaguely discern humanoid outlines, all wandering aimlessly.

"These should be what the old tales call 'wandering souls,' born from dense yin energy during the most yin times. They have no consciousness of their own and are invisible to ordinary eyes. As soon as the yin energy slightly recedes, they quickly dissipate. They likely pose no threat to normal people. Only those who are already extremely weak might 'see' them and be frightened."

Wu Ming observed the white figures, lost in thought.

Suddenly.

He noticed one of the white figures, after wandering aimlessly for a moment, happened to be approaching his direction.

A thought flashed through Wu Ming's mind.

Could this thing be utilized?

The Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram in his mind had been silent since he last subdued a Malevolent Spirit. Those demonic and malevolent spirits were extremely dangerous, and even if they reappeared, he wouldn't dare to act rashly. But these wandering souls, born from accumulated yin energy, posed no threat to him. He only needed to circulate his pure yang blood energy and charge at them from close range, and they would likely scatter immediately.

After a moment of consideration, a faint light flashed in Wu Ming's eyes. He quietly leaped, jumping from the rooftop out of the courtyard, and landed directly towards the floating white figure that was drifting closer.

"..."

As soon as Wu Ming approached, the white figure immediately began to blur, showing signs of disintegration. It instinctively stopped advancing and began to retreat in a direction away from Wu Ming.

Seeing this, Wu Ming controlled and restrained his aura, making his blood energy as contained as possible. Then, he walked directly in front of the white figure and reached out to grab it.

As expected, his palm passed directly through the figure without touching anything solid.

But it was precisely when he contacted the faint white figure that the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram, which had been dormant for months, seemed to awaken. It finally rippled faintly once more.

Buzz!

In Wu Ming's perception, the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram in his mind surged with ripples, creating an invisible vortex that instantly pulled the faint white figure into it. In just a moment, it was directly shredded and silently devoured.

After devouring the wandering soul, the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram fell silent again. However, Wu Ming had a vague realization: these formless wandering souls condensed from pure yin energy were exactly what the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram needed!

If he could accumulate more, perhaps this peculiar divine diagram would undergo some wondrous changes!

Wu Ming's heart steadied. He glanced at the blurry white outlines lingering in the distance, then immediately turned and returned to the courtyard.

He walked to Sun Wang's door and knocked twice.

"Brother Sun, it's time."