Bait

After daybreak, Ming Shu and Little Zhao were finally allowed out of the carriage. Although the weather was a gloomy overcast day, it was said that some powerful Ghost Spirits could also act outside.

Chong Li and Second Senior Brother were discussing something nearby, while Old Zhao and Ren Yuan sat by the campfire roasting sweet potatoes.

After a night of intense fighting, everyone was tired and hungry, needing to replenish their food first.

Other Demon Hunters were skillfully cleaning up the battlefield. No teammates had died, but there were quite a few minor injuries, and they were being bandaged.

The traces on the ground needed to be dealt with.

Ghost Spirits left behind no items.

However, when a Ghost Spirit completely died and dissipated, it would form a layer of white powder on the surface of the sand and soil, on tree bark, leaves, or stones.

This powder possessed a certain spirituality. If collected, it could be used in alchemy for medicine, for refining artifacts, or even simply smeared directly onto the edge of a weapon to borrow a bit of the Ghost Spirit's power to increase damage.

The effect was said to be quite good.

Everyone here was a Demon Hunter, living life on the edge, so they were accustomed to collecting these useful items first before distributing them collectively.

Although Ming Shu had learned about the forbidden area where Ghost Spirits were imprisoned and refined, he had no reason or opportunity to pass on this crucial piece of information.

He was only a thirteen-year-old boy right now. He might become impulsive and dare to fight due to his sudden acquisition of power.

However, what he feared exposing the most was the actual age of his soul. He could appear dazed and dull, but he couldn't appear steady and cunning.

Just like what he saw in the memory fragments he obtained from the completely dead Ghost Spirits, some of them were from the neighboring Zhuo Shui County, some were traveling merchants, and some were poor families from Qing Shui County.

This world must have ways to view memories, right? He wondered if the Fate Book could help him block such methods?

The enemies who had been operating in Qing Shui County for years, creating many accidental deaths, continuously collecting souls after people died, and then refining them in the forbidden area, were able to preserve this immense power over a long period.

He wondered how much of it was consumed in last night's battle.

Even if one investigated each incident carefully back then, it would be difficult to find anything unusual. It wasn't as if there weren't accidents involving young ladies and gentlemen from wealthy families, and those also ended inconclusively.

Ming Shu, like Little Zhao, was very curious about Demon Hunters.

After each of them ate a sweet potato, they proactively helped with the cleanup. Little Zhao still didn't dare to touch anything, only helping to search and calling others to collect when he found something.

Ming Shu picked up the club Ren Yuan had given him earlier. It was already broken into several pieces, all covered in white powder.

Taking this opportunity, the Demon Hunters around them took the initiative to explain to the two youths what this powder was, its uses, and how to preserve it.

He was also very curious how many Ghost Spirits this ordinary club had killed to be covered in such a thick layer of white spirit powder.

Professionally, these could be called Death Spirit Powder.

The quality would vary, leading to differences in color.

Never let it come into contact with fresh blood, as it might ignite and burn the soul.

Of course, this situation was considered an accident; under normal circumstances, it wouldn't react. This explanation startled Little Zhao.

Sorcerers would combine incantations with the powder and blood with a certain degree of spirituality to achieve a certain power.

This was generally used against Demon Beast Spirits.

Demon Beast Spirits mostly had physical forms, while Ghost Spirits did not, though they could still act. Demonic Spirits, on the other hand, needed to borrow human or beast bodies.

Ghost Spirits were relatively purer, with several different types within their own kind. Demon Beast Spirits were relatively stable. Demonic Spirits, however, would absorb and incorporate other spiritualities and powers to strengthen themselves.

Many of the Demonic Spirits currently in the Demon Subduing Hall were no longer the original pure Demonic Spirits; they were new Demonic Spirits formed by combining with other spiritual powers.

This knowledge was public among Demon Hunters. Second Senior Brother also encouraged everyone to teach each other, pass on experience, and develop the organization.

Chong Li and Second Senior Brother had finished their conversation and came over to sit and eat sweet potatoes with them.

"The leader of the Demon Hunters, codenamed Kirin," Chong Li introduced to Ming Shu.

"We Demon Hunters are a loose organization. Our daily activities involve chasing and collecting Demonic Spirits. Wherever Demonic Spirits plague humanity, that's where you'll find us."

Although everyone knew that Kirin was someone from the Sky-Toppling Observatory, they all tacitly agreed to simply refer to him as Kirin.

"Besides the Demonic Spirits in the Demon Subduing Hall, there are many Demonic Spirits wandering the world. As for where they come from? You'll have to find that answer yourself," Second Senior Brother said with little interest.

Chong Li took over, continuing to instruct Ming Shu, as he had now been recognized by the small stone tower and could be developed into a Demon Hunter.

"Demon Hunters are a jianghu organization, not official. Besides Demon Hunters, there are Demon Beast Hunters who target Demon Beast Spirits, and Ghost Exorcists who target Ghost Spirits. Both of these come from the Daoist Sect."

The Daoist Sect was the sect that protected the Dao in the previous dynasty. It once dominated the world, being even larger than the current Sky-Toppling Observatory.

However, internal management problems led to its division into multiple factions. Years of infighting culminated in one faction choosing to head north when the world began to fall apart.

This faction was relatively radical.

They now occupied the Demon Locking Pagoda and drove the Demon Beast Hunters to roam the world, collecting Demon Beast Spirits.

The Demon Locking Pagoda was a treasure of the northern barbarians, similar in nature to the Demon Subduing Hall.

The other faction of the Daoist Sect chose to submit and went south to lie low. They guarded their ancestral Ghost Refining Prison.

They maintained the Ghost Exorcists, who exorcised ghosts in the world and protected mortals. This faction was relatively more moderate.

They often spoke of the "Great Dao of all living beings."

As for the Academy, it was too complicated. It was a matter for scholars, and they couldn't explain it clearly. The relationships within the Academy were intricate and deeply entangled.

The situation for Martial Artists was much simpler. In the past, many Martial Artists from the jianghu could join the army and become a part of its middle-tier strength.

As the Immortal Dynasty decayed, more and more benefits were monopolized by the noble families and clans. They lost their chance to rise.

The Director had already foreseen that a new era of chaos was about to arrive.

Chong Li had hinted at this information to Ming Shu several times. They were afraid that the young man, with his hot-blooded nature, would still be clinging to the glory of his ancestors.

Or were they afraid that he couldn't see the situation clearly and would go looking for death like his other brothers?

Most of the Demon Hunters present were actually Martial Artists from the jianghu. They had only learned some methods to deal with Ghost Spirits, Demon Beast Spirits, and Demonic Spirits. In reality, they didn't have any Demonic Spirits themselves.

Two or three of them had a dog with a Demon Beast Spirit by their side, which could be called a War Hound.

The others only had weapons produced by the Sky-Toppling Observatory, which possessed a certain ability to restrain Demonic Spirits.

This battle also came suddenly. To gather enough manpower to eliminate as many Ghost Spirits as possible, Second Senior Brother managed to buy Chong Li and the others an extra hour.

If it weren't for Ming Shu's sudden outburst, which delayed things considerably, Chong Li and Ren Yuan would likely have had to reveal more of their trump cards.

This was because Ming Shu and the others had deliberately leaked the aura of the Sky-Toppling Observatory, which Chong Li had intentionally let out. This was the real bait.

The enemies in the shadows guessed that they might be important figures from the Sky-Toppling Observatory, which was why they dispatched so many Ghost Spirits at any cost to intercept them.

This also caught Second Senior Brother off guard.

However, he himself was the biggest trump card. If things really came to that, he would make a move. It was just that Chong Li didn't know exactly when Second Senior Brother would intervene.

Therefore, she had already spoken to Second Senior Brother privately.

After days of probing, Second Senior Brother had confirmed that there were at least two powerful Demonic Spirits in Clear Water County.

These Demonic Spirits were not like the "docile" Demonic Spirits in Ming Shu's possession. They possessed high intelligence, were capable of scheming, and their plots were insidious.

They were also very good at hiding.

Under normal circumstances, they were difficult to detect.

Furthermore, the abilities of Demonic Spirits varied.

If a large-scale battle truly broke out in the city, the casualties among the civilians would undoubtedly be severe. This issue had to be considered carefully.

Should they continue to use bait?

Second Senior Brother and Chong Li looked at Ming Shu simultaneously.

The young man, who was learning knowledge from his Demon Hunter uncle, inexplicably shivered.