Bounty

Slaying demons and exterminating devils—ironclad proof.

Gu Jinlai let out a long breath.

"How are your injuries?"

He looked toward Su Nanxing.

Su Nanxing sensed himself for a moment before replying, "Half a month to recover."

A Core Forming expert's blood and qi formed a core, their true body flawless and without leakage, greatly enhancing their recovery.

An injury that took half a month to recover from was already grave.

"Focus on healing from here on."

Gu Jinlai said.

"Yes."

Su Nanxing nodded, then turned to one side. "The Demonic Beast also abducted someone."

At that moment, panicked, worried cries came from not far away. "Young master, young master..."

A cluster of lights accompanied them.

"I'll notify the Demon Refining Hall."

"Go tend to your injuries. Leave everything else to me."

Gu Jinlai said.

"Yes, Master."

Su Nanxing retreated into the night.

"It's the young master."

"The young master is over there."

Soon, a group of more than ten people arrived in the area and quickly surrounded the abducted figure.

Among the dozen or so people, the middle-aged man at their head had already condensed qi into gang.

Gang Condensing cultivators were prominent figures even throughout Changjun City, so naturally he recognized Gu Jinlai.

His expression shifted slightly. Steeling himself, he stepped forward. "Many thanks to Elder Gu for saving our young master."

Gu Jinlai nodded. "Send someone to notify the Demon Refining Hall."

"Yes."

The middle-aged man summoned a Qi Refining disciple and gave him instructions. The disciple soon bounded away toward the Demon Refining Hall.

Only after he had left did the man turn to Gu Jinlai. "Elder Gu, may we take the young master back first...?"

Gu Jinlai waved a hand and waited quietly amid the middle-aged man's profuse, grateful thanks.

Before long, several figures strode through the night. The leader was none other than Zhang Xiu, deputy hall master of the Demon Refining Hall.

"Elder Gu."

Zhang Xiu looked at Gu Jinlai, both startled and delighted. "Elder Gu truly is my lucky star. This Demonic Beast has been in Changjun City for days and has already claimed dozens of lives. Now that Elder Gu has slain it, this is truly Changjun City's good fortune."

"From the moment night fell, I searched for this Demonic Beast's whereabouts. At last, I lived up to expectations, found its trail, and killed it here."

"Demonic Beasts are formed when Demonic Spirits and savage beasts merge and mutate. Their senses are sharp, no weaker than Heavenly Masters who specialize in Spirit Refining. Added to their naturally cautious nature, they flee and hide at the first hint of danger, making them difficult to kill. Only an expert like Elder Gu could hunt one down."

The Spirit Refining hall master said enthusiastically, "This is a great merit. Does Elder Gu want a Spirit Nourishing Pill? We'll report it for you at once."

"I want a Spirit Refining method."

Gu Jinlai said.

"A Spirit Refining method?"

Zhang Xiu was somewhat surprised. "The Purgatory Sect's Six Desires Demon Art advances extraordinarily quickly along the path of Spirit Refining..."

"I have already said that, having seen how the Six Desires Demon Art harms heaven and violates reason, I am unwilling to cultivate such an evil technique any longer. I hope to exchange it for an upright and resplendent Spirit Refining method."

Gu Jinlai said solemnly.

At once, Zhang Xiu's gaze became somewhat strange.

After quite a while, he said, "This... if Elder Gu insists, the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram will naturally satisfy Elder Gu's request."

"This is what I want."

Gu Jinlai confirmed.

"When the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram opens next time, I'll notify Elder Gu."

Zhang Xiu agreed.

After that, Gu Jinlai returned to his own small courtyard.

Zhang Xiu, meanwhile, led people about busily, taking tireless pleasure in it.

With their powerful physiques, Demonic Beasts were even more terrifying than human Core Forming cultivators.

To hunt a High-ranking Demonic Beast, one generally needed to deploy three or four Core Forming cultivators just to have a chance—and they had to be Core Forming experts skilled in combat.

This High-ranking Demonic Beast had only just wandered into Changjun City from elsewhere before being exterminated, perfectly demonstrating the outstanding capabilities of Changjun City's Demon Refining Hall.

Since it involved a High-ranking Demonic Beast, Yun Guantian, hall master of the Demon Refining Hall, had not yet retired for the night.

As hall master, he no longer had to personally handle everything like his subordinates. He merely needed to issue orders and strategize from behind the curtain; Gang Condensing, Core Forming, and even Spirit Refining True Person cultivators would naturally act on his behalf.

At this moment, he sat quietly before a tea table, brewing tea, reading a book, and awaiting Zhang Xiu's report.

"Good news, Hall Master—good news!"

At midnight, Zhang Xiu's voice soon rang out from outside. "The Demonic Beast Gu Jinlai killed was the one called 'Black Demon' that wandered into Changjun City several days ago."

"Black Demon?"

The white jade teacup in Yun Guantian's hand paused slightly. "It really was that Demonic Beast?"

"Absolutely true."

"Gu Jinlai killed it?"

"Yes."

As Zhang Xiu spoke, he smiled. "This Demonic Beast entered Star Province less than a year ago and has harmed over ten thousand lives. In Lingxiao City and Sunset City, its depredations were even more immense. The provincial hall called it 'Black Demon'—such a title is treatment reserved for great Demonic Beasts. Lingxiao City and Sunset City couldn't take it down, yet it fell into our hands."

Yun Guantian said nothing, merely sinking into thought.

Seeing this, the smile on Zhang Xiu's face also faded somewhat. "Hall Master, is there something amiss?"

"You didn't explain in detail to Gu Jinlai that this Demonic Beast was Black Demon, did you?"

"I did not."

"Then it's fine."

Yun Guantian set down his teacup, picked up the teapot, and poured Zhang Xiu a cup of tea. Zhang Xiu hurriedly accepted it with both hands.

"This Demonic Beast caused immense harm. On its way to Changjun City, it killed Xie An, the direct heir of the Xie Family."

"The Xie Family?"

Zhang Xiu's brow rose.

For Yun Guantian to solemnly refer to them as the Xie Family...

"The Xie Family of the capital?"

"Correct."

Yun Guantian nodded. "Three days ago, the Xie Family investigated the matter and issued a bounty. Whoever slays this Demonic Beast may go to the Xie Family to claim it. The bounty... a Heavenly Master of the Xie Family will make one move to forge a Spirit Artifact for them."

"A Spirit Artifact!"

Zhang Xiu drew in a sharp breath.

That was a supreme treasure that even Spirit Transformation True Persons, after exhausting their entire fortunes, might not be able to obtain.

Although the Xie Family Heavenly Master would only forge the artifact, with the materials needing to be gathered at the recipient's own expense, giving away such an opportunity as a favor would still carry tremendous weight even before a Spirit Transformation True Person.

"Zhang Xiu, you and I have shared sixteen years of friendship. To be honest, I am still unwilling to spend my entire life in Changjun City's Demon Refining Hall. I want to take another step forward, go to the capital, and contend for the post of deputy hall master there."

Yun Guantian looked at Zhang Xiu. "If I can leave, I'll hand the activation authority for Changjun City Demon Refining Hall's Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram to you. Then, you will be the new hall master."

Zhang Xiu was deeply tempted.

Yet he maintained his calm. "Hall Master means...?"

"The matter of the Xie Family's bounty has not yet spread widely. Few know of it, and Gu Jinlai himself does not know that the Demonic Beast he killed carried this bounty. Therefore, we will treat it as an ordinary Demonic Beast."

"But if he investigates through the Universe Talisman, he may discover some clues."

"All he seeks is a Spirit Nourishing Pill, and I happen to have one on me. We'll clear the merit in his Universe Talisman and tell him we exchanged it for a Spirit Nourishing Pill. How could he know the details?"

"What he wants is not a Spirit Nourishing Pill, but a Spirit Refining method."

Zhang Xiu said, "An upright and resplendent Spirit Refining method."

"A Spirit Refining method?"

Yun Guantian was taken aback. "Though the Purgatory Sect's Six Desires Demon Art is evil... its progress in Spirit Refining is extraordinary. Why would he think of changing his Spirit Refining method?"

"He said he had come to realize that the Six Desires Demon Art harms heaven and violates reason, but that was clearly an excuse."

As Zhang Xiu spoke, a thought stirred in his mind. "He previously suffered qi deviation while cultivating. Could it be that he cannot cultivate the Six Desires Demon Art?"

"Cannot cultivate the Six Desires Demon Art..."

Yun Guantian listened and smiled faintly. "That makes things even easier."

If he could no longer cultivate the Six Desires Demon Art, then even if they gave him a new Spirit Refining method, he might not be able to return to Spirit Refining.

If it was difficult for him to regain Spirit Refining...

Their calculations would be much easier as well.

"A Spirit Refining method..."

Yun Guantian pondered for a moment, then said, "Speaking of an upright and resplendent Spirit Refining method, doesn't the Great Sun Ninefold Refinement Visualization Method perfectly fit his requirements?"

"The Great Sun Ninefold Refinement Method? Isn't that a Heavenly Master cultivation method? Normal cultivation emphasizes Core Forming to nourish the spirit, conceal the spirit, and nurture the spirit, until spiritual intent arises on its own. The Heavenly Master Lineage, however, uses essence as firewood and qi as fuel, refining qi into spirit, allowing the mind to transform and become spiritual intent."

Zhang Xiu frowned. "Once essence and qi are refined into spiritual intent, the physique naturally weakens day by day. Though one can advance by leaps and bounds in Spirit Refining, traveling a thousand miles in a day, the fleshly body inevitably becomes frail, with qi and blood depleted, making longevity difficult to attain."

Back when Demonic Spirits ran rampant, they were formless and incorporeal. Heavenly Masters refined qi into spirit, rapidly strengthening their spiritual intent, then used secret Spirit Refining arts to destroy Demonic Spirits.

But now...

Demonic Spirits had merged with ferocious beasts and become Demonic Beasts. Blood and qi, as well as true qi, possessed considerable resistance to secret Spirit Refining arts.

Heavenly Masters could not subdue demons, so they naturally retreated to the second line.

Had the surviving Heavenly Masters not turned instead to artifact forging and beast taming, they might already have vanished from the world.

"We'll report to the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram according to his request for an 'upright and resplendent Spirit Refining method.' If the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram bestows the Great Sun Ninefold Refinement Method, it will be perfectly reasonable. After all, that process is beyond our control."

Yun Guantian leaned back slightly in his sandalwood chair, making himself more comfortable. "By then, the merit in his Universe Talisman will already be cleared. Would a mere Core Forming cultivator dare come to our Demon Refining Hall and run wild?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu also calmed down.

Gu Jinlai could not even cultivate the Six Desires Demon Art. He likely had no hope of reaching Spirit Refining for the rest of his life.

The problem truly was not significant.

Even if he did reach Spirit Refining, their actions were seamless and entirely reasonable. Gu Jinlai would have nothing to say.

Try to throw his weight around?

Even the Purgatory Demon Sect did not dare bare its fangs before the Demon Refining Hall.

Him?

"I understand."

Zhang Xiu nodded slightly. "I'll bring Gu Jinlai's Universe Talisman over at once."

"In today's world, few of the Heavenly Master Lineage remain. As upper echelons of the Demon Refining Hall, standing on the front line against Demonic Spirits, we naturally cannot sit by and watch such a thing happen."

Yun Guantian spoke with indifference. "Besides, a top-tier Heavenly Master inheritance like the Great Sun Ninefold Refinement Method was something countless people begged bitterly for but could not obtain a century ago. Giving him this cultivation method means he has gained an enormous bargain. He should thank us properly."

"What the Hall Master says is most true."

Zhang Xiu echoed.

The two exchanged smiles; all was understood without a word.