Bait

The night was as dark as ink, and the mountain forest was silent.

Inside a hidden mountain cave, Fang Mu sat cross-legged in cultivation, while Fang Jing lay beside him, already fast asleep.

He had discovered the cave by accident while descending the mountain. Since Fang Mu wanted to cultivate an External Incarnation, he had entered the cave to practice.

After Fang Mu swallowed the pill, his entire body began convulsing violently, yet he endured it without making a sound.

A wave of agony surged through his body, as if his skin were being peeled and his bones scraped clean.

A hazy figure slowly peeled away from his body, gradually taking shape.

Another tearing pain struck. Part of Fang Mu's soul power was forcibly stripped away and fused into the incarnation.

As the incarnation fully took shape, a person with exactly the same appearance as him appeared beside him.

Fang Mu opened his eyes and stared at the completely identical version of himself, a strange look in his eyes.

Through his soul power, he could completely control the incarnation.

The incarnation had been formed by separating some of the flesh and blood from his body and refining it into shape, so it was no different from an ordinary person.

When the incarnation opened its eyes, Fang Mu could sense everything it saw through the connection between them.

After testing it, Fang Mu discovered that both his control over the incarnation and his sensory range extended only about a hundred meters.

Once it went beyond a hundred meters, he could no longer control the incarnation. It could only rely on its own judgment to make some simple responses.

The incarnation had no ability to think for itself and was completely controlled by Fang Mu, so there was no danger of it betraying him.

After gaining some understanding of the incarnation, Fang Mu took out a Demon Core and had it swallow it.

He quietly watched the incarnation refine the Demon Core and increase its cultivation.

From the Martial Realm unranked, to Martial Realm ninth-grade, then Martial Realm eighth-grade—

After the Demon Core was completely refined, the incarnation's cultivation rose to Martial Realm sixth-grade.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth grades of the Martial Realm were the foundation. Only those above seventh-grade could be considered experts.

In other words, Fang Mu's incarnation was now considered a minor expert.

Fang Mu planned for his main body to take the path of physical strengthening, while the incarnation followed the path of cultivation.

He still could not break away from the Demon Slayer Division. If his cultivation rose too quickly, it would easily arouse suspicion among those with ulterior motives.

Secretly nurturing an incarnation was the best choice. As long as the incarnation grew stronger, it meant he grew stronger as well.

In the future, when he encountered danger, he might not even need to act personally.

"Whimper!"

Suddenly, a whimper came from outside the mountain cave.

Fang Mu instantly became alert and controlled the incarnation to go outside and investigate.

The moment the incarnation stepped outside the cave, it was ambushed. A black shadow shot toward it at tremendous speed.

Fortunately, the incarnation already possessed sixth-grade Martial Realm strength. As it dodged the black shadow's attack, it struck out with a fist and sent the shadow flying.

It was a black civet demon. After being hit by the incarnation's fist, it crashed into the grass some distance away.

With a sharp howl, the civet demon transformed into a streak of dark light and pounced at the incarnation, engaging it in a fierce battle.

Although the incarnation's strength was not weak, it was no match for the civet demon.

The civet demon was incredibly fast, with razor-sharp claws and fangs. It had already bitten and injured the incarnation.

The incarnation was flesh and blood as well. Although it had no heart or other organs, damaged flesh and blood still consumed the Demonic Energy within its body.

Bang!

With a loud explosion, Fang Mu activated Extreme Wind Speed and suddenly launched a sneak attack, blasting the civet demon away with one punch.

The civet demon let out a shriek and tried to flee, but the incarnation blocked its path.

Fang Mu and the incarnation attacked together, joining forces to besiege it.

With their combined strength, they heavily wounded the civet demon. Then the incarnation forced its way close and swung a sword at it.

The civet demon shrieked as the incarnation cleaved it in two. But in its dying counterattack, it clawed a bloody hole into the incarnation's body.

After the civet demon died, Fang Mu grabbed its corpse and returned to the cave with the incarnation.

Fang Jing was still asleep. Without disturbing her, Fang Mu took out two Low-Grade Essence Blood Pills and had the incarnation swallow them.

The incarnation swallowed the pills, and the gaping bloody hole slowly began to heal.

A golden light enveloped the civet demon and refined it into blood-colored liquid.

A low-grade Essence Pill, transformed from the civet demon's essence. Taking it could increase one's cultivation.

A low-grade Essence Blood Pill, transformed from the civet demon's blood essence. Taking it could strengthen one's vital energy and nourish the body.

Civet Demon Eyes. Fusing with them granted night vision, charm, and the ability to see blood energy.

Looking at the pills and Civet Demon Eyes now in his hands, Fang Mu could not help revealing a hint of delight.

As expected, slaying demons was the fastest shortcut to quietly amassing a fortune.

After swallowing one Essence Blood Pill and handing the Essence Pill to the incarnation, he stored it inside the Demon Refining Mirror.

The night passed without incident. At dawn the next day, Fang Mu returned to the Demon Slayer Division with Fang Jing.

He did not need to slay demons at the Demon Slayer Division that day, so Fang Mu was fairly idle.

Around noon, Wen Xuan came to find him and told him to prepare himself to go demon hunting with them that night.

Wen Xuan did not say what kind of demon they would be hunting, only reminding him to make preparations.

Although Fang Mu was unwilling, he had no reason to refuse and could only agree.

He would not need to fight during the demon hunt. Wen Xuan and the others merely wanted him to serve as bait and lure the demon into taking the hook.

With a certain degree of self-preservation, Fang Mu felt that he should have no trouble staying alive, so he was not overly worried.

As night fell, Fang Mu arrived at the main hall of the Demon Slayer Division.

There were three people in the hall. Wen Xuan wore a white robe, Qi Zhu wore a red robe, and there was also a square-faced young man in a black robe whom Fang Mu did not know.

"Blockhead! How dare you make us wait for you!"

The moment he stepped into the hall, Qi Zhu jumped up and demanded an explanation.

"Fang Mu greets the two lords!"

Fang Mu ignored Qi Zhu and bowed to Wen Xuan and the square-faced young man.

"Bastard! How dare you ignore me!"

"Ow! My foot."

Qi Zhu had originally wanted to kick Fang Mu to vent her anger, but she found that his leg was hard as an iron lump.

When she kicked him, she instead injured her own toes, and the pain nearly brought tears bursting from her eyes.

"Junior Sister Qi Zhu, are you hurt?"

The square-faced young man hurriedly stepped forward with concern.

"You bastard, hurry up and apologize to Junior Sister Qi Zhu."

"None of your business!"

Hearing the square-faced young man scold Fang Mu, Qi Zhu angrily huffed. After shooting Fang Mu an enraged glare, she limped away.

"Junior Sister! Junior Sister!" The square-faced young man gave Fang Mu a gloomy look before calling out and chasing after her.

"His name is Tu Qing. He is the son of the Deputy Chief Envoy, so you should avoid provoking him."

"He is extremely petty, holds grudges, and is very strong. Falling out with him will do you no good."

Seeing the gloomy look on Fang Mu's face, Wen Xuan walked over and warned him.

"This subordinate wouldn't dare!" Fang Mu withdrew his gloomy expression and gratefully bowed to Wen Xuan.

The ranks of Demon Slayer Envoys, from lowest to highest, were divided into white robes, red robes, and black robes.

So Tu Qing was the strongest?

Just as Fang Mu was wondering, Wen Xuan suddenly said, "Tu Qing and I are both black-robed Demon Slayer Envoys. I simply prefer wearing white robes."

Ignoring Fang Mu's astonished look, Wen Xuan continued, "A fox demon has been causing trouble in the city this time. It possesses a charming technique."

"Because fox demons like charming handsome young men and are as sly as foxes, while you have a decent appearance and are clever, we chose you as bait."

With that, Wen Xuan turned and left the Demon Slaying Hall.

"Damn! So being handsome is bad luck now?"

Fang Mu cursed inwardly and headed unwillingly outside the Demon Slaying Hall.

He was also suspicious. The one possessing a charming technique and preying on handsome young men seemed to be the civet demon he had slain earlier.

From the fragmented memories, he had learned that the civet demon used its demon eyes to bewitch many people and suck out their blood essence.

But judging from Wen Xuan's words, there was actually another fox demon in the city that also knew how to use charm to harm people.