Complete the Mission

The morning sunlight was exceptionally bright, shining over the town that had been reduced to ruins.

The gentle sunlight did nothing to dispel the gloomy look on Fang Mu's face.

After an entire night, Fang Jing still had not regained consciousness.

Fang Mu had infused her with a vast amount of Vital Energy and refined quite a few Essence Blood Pills, injecting their medicinal power into her body.

Only then did her complexion gain a few traces of color.

At that moment, Fang Mu saw his clone slowly approaching from outside the town, carrying a half-dead giant snake over his shoulder.

Fang Mu was somewhat surprised. He had only sent his clone to patrol the surroundings and see whether anything unusual was happening. He had not expected the clone to return carrying a giant snake.

When the clone came close, Fang Mu checked his memories.

Only then did he learn that the giant snake had ambushed his clone while he was on patrol.

In the end, the clone had beaten it savagely, actually beating several corpses it had swallowed out of its body.

Later, the giant snake could no longer withstand the clone's merciless beating and had been beaten to the verge of death, which was why he had carried it back.

Fang Mu found the situation both amusing and exasperating, but this time he praised his clone for a job well done.

He had been worrying about how he would report back. Although he had only been sent to investigate, he had no proof to back up his words.

The culprit, Black Wolf, had been smashed to death by his bare fists. If he brought it back to report his accomplishment, it would certainly make people suspicious of his strength.

The giant snake was different. Its aura did not seem very strong.

No matter how one put it, he was now a seventh-grade Martial Realm warrior. Capturing a snake would not be a problem.

After storing the giant snake in the demon-catching pouch, Fang Mu took out the recording stone.

As long as Vital Energy was infused into this stone, it could automatically record images. It was quite peculiar.

Fang Mu recorded the entire scene of the town, using it as proof that he had visited the place.

He did not leave immediately. Instead, he stayed in the town for another day.

Fang Mu refined the demon wolf's corpse and obtained several Essence Blood Pills, some Essence Pills, and a sturdy wolf fang.

The wolf fang had no special use. It was merely sturdy and could be used to forge weapons or armor.

The next day, as soon as dawn broke, Fang Mu left the town with the unconscious Fang Jing on his back and headed toward Qingzhu City.

There was now a golden longsword in Fang Mu's hand.

It had been obtained when the Demon Refining Mirror refined a Golden Buddha.

That Golden Buddha had been hidden inside the town, within the body of a massive mountain Buddha.

Fang Mu had searched the entire town. After exhausting every means and spending an entire night smashing open the mountain Buddha, he finally found the Golden Buddha.

The Golden Buddha had been the source of the Buddha's light that blocked the darkness. Having experienced the darkness himself, Fang Mu had deeply felt how terrifying it was.

Thus, after finding the Golden Buddha, he had not expected the Demon Refining Mirror to refine it into a Golden Sword.

Looking at the gleaming Golden Sword in his hand, Fang Mu helplessly stored it inside the Demon Refining Mirror.

The Golden Sword was far too ostentatious. Carrying it was like carrying a gold brick; wherever he went, it would be dazzling. It did not suit Fang Mu's low-key temperament.

After hurrying along the entire way, Fang Mu returned to the Demon Slayer Division at dusk with Fang Jing, still unconscious, on his back.

The moment he entered the Demon Slayer Division, Fang Mu encountered the lackey Sun Hou.

Fang Mu happened to need Sun Hou to notify Tu Qing that he had completed the mission.

Sun Hou was rather annoyed. He was extremely displeased that Fang Mu had ordered him to run an errand. After cursing and grumbling a few times, he ultimately went to deliver the message.

With Fang Jing unconscious on his back, Fang Mu simply walked toward the main hall of the Demon Slayer Division and sat there waiting for Tu Qing.

Before long, Tu Qing arrived at the main hall of the Demon Slayer Division with Sun Hou.

Fang Mu did not waste words. He handed the recording stone and demon-catching pouch to Tu Qing, then briefly explained the situation.

Tu Qing accepted the recording stone and demon-catching pouch, looking somewhat excited. He could not help praising him. "You handled this quite well!"

"This is the token I promised you, allowing you free entry and exit from the County Office!"

In a good mood, Tu Qing took a token from his storage pouch and tossed it to Fang Mu.

"This is an access token. From now on, as long as you carry it, you can enter and leave the County Office whenever you wish."

After hearing Tu Qing's explanation, Fang Mu accepted the token, put it away, and left with Fang Jing on his back.

This was merely a transaction. Fang Mu was not about to shed tears of gratitude toward Tu Qing.

He had exchanged his life for this token, so there was naturally no need to thank Tu Qing.

"Damn it! What an ill-mannered brat!"

Sun Hou cursed and grumbled, looking furious as he watched Fang Mu leave.

"Brother Qing! You shouldn't have given him the token. You could have toyed with him once, and he wouldn't have dared rebel."

"Hmph! What do you know? This kid's life is pretty tough. I really can't bear to see him die."

"What do you think? In the future, if I accept a dangerous mission and send him to risk his life for me while I reap the benefits, how does that idea sound?"

"Brilliant! Brilliant! Brother Qing, that's a wonderful idea!"

Fang Mu, who had left the County Office with Fang Jing on his back, naturally had no idea that Tu Qing had already set his sights on him.

Looking at the access token in his hand, Fang Mu could not help revealing a faint smile.

With this token, he no longer had to be confined to the Demon Slayer Division. He now had much more room to move freely.

Fang Mu decided to return to the Slums, to the courtyard where they had lived before.

That place was relatively remote and quiet, making it just right for Fang Mu and the others to live.

As he proceeded through the alleys of the Slums, Fang Mu sensed a shadow following behind him.

He did not attack immediately. Instead, he pretended not to notice and continued walking down the alley ahead.

As he passed an alley corner, the pursuing shadow suddenly let out a howl and pounced at Fang Mu.

"Bang!"

"Awooo!"

A thunderous bang and a howl of agony rang out as the shadow was sent flying by a swift punch from Fang Mu.

After crashing into the dark alley, the shadow vanished in a flash and fled, leaving no trace behind.

Fang Mu went to the spot where the shadow had crashed and looked at the bloodstains on the ground, sensing a thick demonic aura.

The one that had escaped was a Black Wolf. If he had not mistaken it, Black Wolf was the demon who had attacked him that day.

That night, Hu Mei'er had fought Black Wolf, and in the end, Black Wolf had been wounded by Wen Xuan and fled.

He had not expected it still to be at large, hiding within the city.

Since enemies had crossed paths, Fang Mu had harbored murderous intent toward Black Wolf. He was also rather annoyed that it had escaped this time.

But though the monk had escaped, the temple remained. The next time he encountered it, he would surely skin it and pull out its tendons.

When Fang Mu returned to the courtyard of his home with Fang Jing on his back, he felt somewhat moved. After all that wandering and circling around, he had ultimately returned here.

It was just that Zhao Li and Aunt Zhao were both gone, leaving Fang Mu momentarily despondent.

After entering the room, he placed the unconscious Fang Jing on the bed.

Fang Mu looked at the wolf-demon's bite mark on his arm, which had already faded, and could not help feeling a pang of heartache.

"Xixi."

At that moment, the plant demon Xixi ran out and curiously looked at the unconscious Fang Jing.

Ignoring Xixi, Fang Mu released his clone and used the power of his blood and qi to alter the shape of the clone's face slightly.

That way, even if he appeared in his true form in the future, no one would suspect that this was his clone.

In the past, he had lacked the ability and had been forced to move out and live in the Demon Slayer Division.

Now that he had the power to protect himself, his clone could stay behind to protect Fang Jing. Living outside would actually be safer and freer.

After swallowing some pills, Fang Mu and his clone both began cultivating.