Continuing Our Demon Slaying Endeavor

[Cloud-Rolling Saber: Forged from flowing cloud iron, it is tough and sharp, capable of cutting through iron and shaving gold with ease. 10 contribution points.]

[Shadow-Breaking Step: A light-body technique. When mastered, one's movements become ghost-like, breaking through shadows. 3 contribution points.]

[Eagle Claw Technique: Fierce and brutal, it involves rapid, tearing movements. With a unique mental method, it condenses the hands. Upon mastery, one can tear through the flesh of demons and monsters with their bare hands. 30 contribution points.]

Besides the Meridian-Opening Pill, there were many other items on the list.

Weapons, martial arts, and Shen Lin even saw a unique reward on it.

[A Deputy Commander of the Youzhou Demon Suppression Division makes one move. 1000 contribution points.]

After pondering for a while, Shen Lin sighed and said, "Once I get the information from the Demon Suppression Division, help me pick out two Meridian-Opening Pills and the Shadow-Breaking Step martial art. If there are any left, they're yours."

"Yes!"

Sun Zhi nodded and got up to leave.

Watching his retreating back, Shen Lin mused and softly murmured, "Whether it's to exchange for martial arts or Meridian-Opening Pills, I'll need quite a few demons. Captain Sun, don't disappoint me..."

After a night of turmoil, the sky was gradually brightening. Shen Lin, however, hadn't rested. Instead, he took out the Meridian-Opening Pill that Miss Zijing had given him earlier.

He studied it carefully, comparing it with the Meridian-Opening Pill he had obtained from Sun Zhi before. After confirming there were no issues, Shen Lin took a deep breath and began to deduce again.

He had already deduced the Qingqiu Body Tempering Art to perfection, and its effects were indeed good.

His strengthened physique could even withstand a direct blow from an iron sword.

And now, it was time to break through the two meridians associated with the Qingqiu Body Tempering Art.

[Year 1: With the help of two Meridian-Opening Pills, the vital energy within your body surged like a broken dam, directly opening the sixth meridian. Even the seventh meridian was half-opened.]

[Year 75: Without the help of Meridian-Opening Pills, you could only work diligently, slowly using your vital energy to impact the blocked meridians. Finally, in this year, you successfully opened the seventh meridian.]

[Year 100: You continued to deduce the Qingqiu Body Tempering Art and suddenly had a flash of insight. You seemed to understand what kind of energy was needed for the next stage of body tempering. It was a special aura present everywhere in the world. If you could absorb it into your meridians, you would undoubtedly break through the current realm and discover a new world.

However, just as you were about to break through, you felt a premonition from the depths of your being. You canceled the process.]

The seventh meridian, opened!

[Shen Lin]

[Mastered Martial Arts: Blood Battle Saber Technique (Perfection), Gale Sword Technique (Perfection), Qingqiu Body Tempering Art (Perfection)]

[Mastered Techniques: None]

[Remaining Lifespan: One year]

[Demonic Lifespan: One hundred eighty-seven years]

Another hundred years of demonic lifespan were consumed, but Shen Lin was exceptionally excited at this moment.

A hundred years of enlightenment poured into his mind, causing his cultivation insights to soar.

This deduction not only allowed him to open the seventh meridian and elevate his vital energy to a new level, but it also made him understand how to break through to the Innate realm.

He could now feel the faint, special aura of the world with a focused mind, and with a mere thought, he could draw it into his meridians and successfully break through.

But he had decisively stopped the process during the deduction.

He could feel that if he broke through to the Innate realm directly like this, his meridians would become fixed. Besides the seven meridians he had opened so far, the other meridians would never be opened again.

Even though Shen Lin came from an ordinary background and didn't know the principle that the more meridians one opened before breaking through to the Innate realm, the better, as Sun Zhi and the others did, his hundreds of years of deduction had given him his own insights into martial arts cultivation.

The more meridians opened, the more martial arts one could master.

This was an intuition he had gained from the depths of his being.

Since he could now break through to the Innate realm and extend his lifespan at any time, and the sense of urgency was gone, it was naturally better to open as many meridians as possible.

Shen Lin took a deep breath and stood up, stretching his body.

His next goals were already clear.

Acquire more martial arts and explore the locations of the remaining five meridians.

Slay demons and monsters to gain demonic lifespan while also exchanging for Meridian-Opening Pills from the Demon Suppression Division.

Over the next week, Shen Lin became extremely diligent, spending his days at the County Yamen waiting for cases.

Unfortunately, none of the cases involved demons.

The biggest case he encountered was a dismemberment case.

Shen Lin had initially thought it was the work of a hidden demon within the county town.

But after painstakingly solving the case, he discovered a serial killer who had committed several murders.

Previously, with countless cold cases solved, the County Yamen had been filled with praise for Shen Lin.

After receiving the rewards from the County Yamen, Shen Lin returned to the office, brewed a pot of tea, and sighed.

As expected, demons weren't something you could find just anywhere.

Otherwise, Sun Zhi wouldn't have collaborated with demons before.

Shen Lin, however, did know of a place where demons gathered.

The location of Black Wind Stronghold was obtained from that Meridian Opening Realm wolf demon previously.

However, Black Wind Stronghold is the largest den of demons in Qiulin County.

There are countless powerful demons within. If Shen Lin were to go alone, it would be like delivering himself as takeout.

Reporting it to the County Yamen and combining all the manpower in Qiulin County to slay demons isn't very realistic either.

Setting aside the issue of how many demons Shen Lin would get if they cooperated, based on what he's seen so far, many people within the Yamen have private dealings with those demons and monsters.

He suspected that the moment he reported the location of Black Wind Stronghold, those demonic creatures would have already moved elsewhere.

This kind of thing had happened before.

Shen Lin remembered an incident where a captain from the Yamen accidentally discovered the location of Black Wind Stronghold and reported it.

But what was the result? When the main force arrived, all that was left was an empty stronghold.

Not long after, that captain was found dead, having been stabbed thirteen times in the back, a suicide.

There must be individuals colluding with those demons and monsters among the higher-ups of the County Yamen.

Lost in thought, Shen Lin's ears twitched, and he turned his head towards the door.

A moment later, a soft knock echoed.

"Brother Shen..."

"Captain Sun, please come in!"

Before the other person could ask, Shen Lin spoke first.

He had already identified the visitor as Sun Zhi based on the sound of his footsteps.

Sun Zhi pushed the door open and walked in.

When Shen Lin saw the wooden box in his hand, his eyes lit up.

"The Demon Suppression Division's rewards have been issued!"

Sun Zhi's words confirmed Shen Lin's guess. He eagerly opened the wooden box.

Meridian-Opening Pill and Shadow-Breaking Step, acquired!

Seeing Shen Lin's excited expression, Sun Zhi tactfully bowed and stepped back, about to leave when Shen Lin called out to him.

"Hold on a moment, Captain Sun."

Shen Lin looked at him with a smile and said, "You've been recuperating for some time now, so your injuries should be mostly healed, right? Can our great undertaking of demon slaying continue?"