Return to Qingzhu City

As dawn broke, Fang Mu, carrying the incredibly heavy Zen Staff wrapped in cloth, led Fang Jing, who had just woken up, out of the temple.

Wen Xuan and Qi Zhu, their injuries and Vital Energy largely recovered, were leading the way ahead.

Fang Mu had left the cellar last night and refined the demon snake's corpse, obtaining several good Essence Blood Pills and Essence Pills.

He felt a bit regretful that he hadn't obtained any other items.

However, Fang Mu had absorbed the remaining power of faith from the shattered demon Buddha statues, which significantly boosted his soul power.

This trip was not in vain; both his physical body and soul power had noticeably strengthened.

He wouldn't dare say anything else, but he was confident he could easily beat a Third-Rank Realm martial artist.

Last night, the shadowless little monk was truly fierce, smashing the heads of three large demon snakes and many smaller ones with extremely brutal methods.

Seeing how ruthless he was when killing demons, it didn't seem like he had the compassionate heart of a monk.

If Wen Xuan hadn't repeatedly vouched for him, Fang Mu would have definitely thought the little monk was a fake monk.

While Fang Mu was lost in thought, they finally emerged from the dense forest. Upon exiting, he was drenched in sweat from exhaustion.

"You two go ahead to the village and explain things. I'll rest here for a bit and wait for you."

Wen Xuan chuckled as he looked at the profusely sweating Fang Mu, then turned and headed towards Gu Village.

Qi Zhu didn't leave; she took out a sweat towel to wipe Fang Mu's sweat, while Fang Jing fanned him from the side.

This made Fang Mu feel like he was being treated like a lord.

Before long, Wen Xuan returned, bringing back three spirit horses.

What left Fang Mu speechless was that his Zen Staff was too heavy for him to ride a horse, so he could only follow behind the three people who were riding.

"Sigh! I'll just consider it training!" Fang Mu sighed, comforting himself with this thought.

Thus, with frequent stops, Fang Mu, nearly dead from exhaustion, finally returned to Qingzhu City with Wen Xuan and the others.

Fang Mu had explained the reason for Tu Qing's death to Wen Xuan and Qi Zhu on the way.

He simply said that Tu Qing and the others failed to escape into the temple before the darkness arrived, and were thus consumed by it.

Wen Xuan merely nodded faintly, showing no reaction, as if he didn't care at all about Tu Qing's death.

Qi Zhu, though a little suspicious, was sensible enough not to ask further questions.

By the time they returned to the County Office, it was already evening. Fang Mu told Fang Jing to go back first.

With the Green Snake protecting her, ordinary thugs and demons wouldn't be her match, so Fang Mu wasn't too worried.

Fang Mu followed Wen Xuan and Qi Zhu to the Demon Extermination Division's main hall.

This was Fang Mu's first time in the Demon Extermination Division's hall; it was much grander than the Demon Slayer Division's hall.

There were quite a few Demon Extermination Envoys inside, whispering amongst themselves, seemingly discussing some mission.

Seated at the head position was the Deputy Chief Envoy, Tu Shan.

"Greetings, Deputy Chief Envoy! Wen Xuan has not disgraced his mission and has returned to report."

"Qi Zhu pays her respects to the Deputy Chief Envoy!"

"Fang Mu pays his respects to the Deputy Chief Envoy!"

Seeing Fang Mu and the other two bow, Tu Shan's expression turned very grim.

"Where is Tu Qing?"

A cold voice echoed, and Fang Mu could feel Tu Shan's gaze on him, filled with killing intent.

"Reporting to the Deputy Chief Envoy! Tu Qing and the others failed to enter the place protected by divine light before the darkness arrived and were consumed by it."

"Bang!"

"You say Tu Qing is dead?"

As soon as Fang Mu finished speaking, Tu Shan slammed his palm onto the table in front of him, stood up, and asked in a grim tone.

"Yes!" Without any hesitation, Fang Mu looked directly at Tu Shan and replied calmly.

"Did you kill him?"

A terrifying killing intent suddenly enveloped Fang Mu, making him feel as if he were in an ice cave. However, he did not yield, maintaining his composure and meeting Tu Shan's gaze.

"Deputy Chief Envoy, please don't misunderstand. We all witnessed Tu Qing's death."

"Although we regret not being able to intervene and save him, his death is truly no one's fault."

Wen Xuan stood up at this moment, blocking Tu Shan's view and reporting.

Fang Mu was somewhat surprised by Wen Xuan's attitude towards him, willing to confront Tu Shan for his sake.

While Wen Xuan hadn't been hostile towards him before, he wouldn't go so far as to make enemies for no reason. At most, they were considered friends.

"Uncle Tu Shan, that's how it happened. I believe even my father would handle this impartially," Qi Zhu said, standing in front of Fang Mu.

Tu Shan understood the implication of Qi Zhu's words.

Clearly, Qi Zhu was warning him that her father, Ye Tian, was still in charge of the county office, and he couldn't wrongly accuse Fang Mu without concrete evidence.

Tu Shan's expression was grim. He knew that Tu Qing's death was definitely related to Fang Mu.

Tu Qing had been sent on this mission specifically at his command to secretly eliminate Fang Mu.

But Fang Mu had returned unharmed, while his son Tu Qing was dead. How could Tu Shan not be enraged?

In the end, Tu Shan did not make a move. He didn't care about Qi Zhu, and without Ye Tian present, Tu Qing had no fear of anyone else there.

However, Wen Xuan was an exception. His identity was somewhat special, and now he had spoken up to protect Fang Mu.

Although he was the Deputy Chief Envoy, he couldn't truly act with impunity. There were many ways to kill Fang Mu, and there was no need to rush this particular moment.

So, he suppressed his anger and killing intent, cast a cold glance at Fang Mu, and turned to leave.

Watching Tu Shan depart, Fang Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been genuinely worried that Tu Shan would attack directly, forcing him to reveal his strength to protect himself.

Now that Tu Shan had left, it meant he wouldn't make a move openly. As for acting in secret, Fang Mu wasn't truly afraid of him.

After thanking Wen Xuan and Qi Zhu, Fang Mu returned to the Demon Slayer Division's main hall.

That guy Huihai was still in the main hall of the Demon Slayer Division late at night.

"Envoy Fang! Congratulations on your safe return!"

Hearing Huihai's pointed words, Fang Mu stepped forward and bowed.

He gratefully returned the Golden Light Talisman and said, "Thank you, Master, for saving my life with your talisman this time."

"It's nothing! Envoy Fang, please keep it. If it's convenient, Huihai would like to ask for your help with something."

Fang Mu really didn't want to help, nor did he want to take back the talisman.

But he couldn't reveal anything, so he politely asked, "Master, what is it that I can help you with?"

"It's nothing major. It's just that this humble monk has never been to the Earth Prison, and I'd like Envoy Fang to take me to see it."

"Envoy Fang can also report to the Chief Envoy. This humble monk only wishes to supercede and purify the vengeful spirits within the Earth Prison. I will absolutely not disturb the Chief Envoy's cultivation."

Fang Mu was so taken aback by Huihai's words that he was momentarily speechless.

Did this old fellow already know that Chief Envoy Ye Tian wasn't in the Earth Prison?

He couldn't refuse to take him, as it would make Huihai suspicious and might force him to resort to extreme measures.

After a moment of hesitation, Fang Mu still agreed. "It's no problem to take you there, Master. However, it's already late today, and you should go back and rest early."

"Tomorrow morning, I'll take you into the Earth Prison, how about that?"

Before Huihai could refuse, Fang Mu quickly continued, "Don't laugh at me, Master, but I've been exhausted all day today and I also want to go back and rest early."

"It's alright! This humble monk is not in a hurry either. Envoy Fang has worked hard for many days, and you should also go back and rest early."

"In that case, I won't disturb you any further. Goodbye!"

"Please go slowly, Master!"

Before leaving, Huihai cast a suspicious glance at the Zen Staff wrapped in cloth in Fang Mu's hand, its original appearance difficult to discern.

Watching Huihai depart, Fang Mu found his clone and inspected it. He discovered that the clone hadn't been tampered with, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

After checking the clone's memories, Fang Mu found that Huihai had behaved normally for the past two days.

He purified souls in the Mortal Character Prison every day, leaving only after dark. Occasionally, he would teach some Demon Slayer Envoys how to cultivate or impart some basic Buddhist teachings.

Fang Mu frowned, pondered for a long time, and then turned to leave.