Demon Refining Hall

"Quite the temper. You still wanted a Spirit Nourishing Pill to restore your cultivation? You really thought you were somebody."

Zhou Yunyi said indifferently, "With Sect Master Lin's methods, would he give him the chance to return to Spirit Refining and raise a tiger to invite disaster? Once he goes to Huayin County and takes up the elder's title, one hand will be enough to press him to death. No one will ask half a question."

"Others may not be able to gauge Gu Jinlai's condition, but we know it perfectly well. Yellow Heaven Sect suffered such a huge loss at his hands. Should we tell Yellow Heaven Sect?"

A sharp-looking young man in his early twenties said quietly, "Let Yellow Heaven Sect and him fight until both are battered and broken. It will be easier for us to establish ourselves in Changjun City, and we can sell Sect Master Lin a favor as well—killing two birds with one arrow."

"No point. Yellow Heaven Sect or Orthodox One Sect, they are not cut from the same cloth as us. They will only believe what they see with their own eyes."

Having said that, Zhou Yunyi turned toward the cluster of buildings that was the Purgatory Sect's residence. "This time, I have secured control over Changjun City's affairs and built the stage for you. Whether you can earn merit and stand out now depends on yourselves."

Several people behind him clasped their fists at once and answered solemnly, "We understand."

Gu Jinlai did not linger. After tidying up with Su Nanxing, they left the Purgatory Sect's residence.

"Master, please give the order."

Su Nanxing, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

"Give an order? For what?"

"I will kill him."

Su Nanxing said in a low voice.

"You cannot kill him."

"To insult Master is to insult me!"

"Knowing shame and then becoming brave is good. Then cultivate properly and reach Spirit Refining as soon as possible."

Gu Jinlai glanced at him. "Leaving aside the fact that you cannot kill him, if you truly did, would that not plainly tell the Purgatory Sect that we were responsible?"

"Demonic Beasts have been causing trouble in Changjun City recently, devouring people at night."

"Demonic Beasts?"

Gu Jinlai had been away from Changjun City for more than ten days and had only returned for less than a day, so he had not received this news.

"Demonic Beasts, or greater Demonic Beasts?"

"The strongest among the victims was at Gang Condensing."

"Too weak."

As Gu Jinlai spoke, an idea stirred in his heart. "Let us go to the Demon Refining Hall."

Since ancient times, there had been tales of the Demon Realm in this world.

Demonic Spirits in the Demon Realm fed on the souls of intelligent beings, taking human lives.

Yet Demonic Spirits feared the blazing sun and rarely emerged during the day. Furthermore, without fleshly bodies to shield them, they found it difficult to withstand Spirit Refining secret arts. Under the hunting of Heavenly Masters who specialized in Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation, cultivating the Primordial Spirit, Demonic Spirits had always struggled to cause too great a calamity.

However, beginning a hundred years ago, cracks into the Demon Realm gradually multiplied, and the number of Demonic Spirits surged. They fused with natural beasts and ferocious beasts, gaining bodies and vastly increasing their resistance to Spirit Refining secret arts. From then on, they ran rampant day and night, slaughtering Heavenly Masters and throwing the world into chaos.

The Great Qian Dynasty made a prompt decision, calling all beasts and ferocious beasts fused with Demonic Spirits Demonic Beasts. It established Demon Refining Halls and used the Dao artifact, the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram, to reward good and punish evil, summoning cultivators from across the land to slay demons and refine fiends in an attempt to turn the tide of heaven and earth.

But ferocious beasts already possessed formidable physiques. Before, lacking intelligence and following only their wild instincts, they naturally found it difficult to threaten humanity's position as the ruler of the world. Yet after Demonic Spirits fused with them and ferocious beasts became Demonic Beasts, their tempered bodies and powerful innate advantages made them increasingly fearsome. In merely a hundred years, the Heavenly Master Lineage had nearly been slaughtered to extinction.

From then on, the world descended into great chaos, with demons dancing wildly. Great Qian could not spare the attention beyond its core fourteen provinces, and could only order each provincial lord to recruit troops, hunt Demonic Beasts, and defend their homes and country.

As a result, the power of the provincial lords swelled greatly. The Ten Great Demon Sects and Six Immortal Sects rose together, each carving out its own territory.

The hastily established Demon Refining Halls in various cities, a motley mix of fish and dragons, also gradually became independent. Bearing the might of the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram, they became regional giants.

The Demon Refining Hall of Changjun City consisted of six halls and twelve courtyards. Courtyards and palaces stood closely connected, while red walls and green trees separated the halls and courtyards, preserving their secrecy.

At this moment, a middle-aged man was leading Gu Jinlai and Su Nanxing toward the main hall.

"Elder Gu, choosing to take a post at our Demon Refining Hall could not have been wiser. Our Demon Refining Hall lacks talents exactly like you."

"With Demonic Beasts throwing the world into chaos, as a member of the cultivation world, I should naturally slay demons and eliminate evil, doing my part for the stability of the cultivation world."

Gu Jinlai nodded.

Yet those words made the guiding deacon cast him a strange look.

It seemed the words "slay demons and eliminate evil" sounded unspeakably awkward coming from his mouth.

As the two passed a white jade square, they found it packed with voices and people.

Some had even gathered together to spar and compare techniques, making for a lively scene.

"In this day and age, everyone practices martial arts for self-preservation. Yet ordinary people can spend twenty or thirty years tempering their bodies and reach no more than Organ Refining or Blood Changing. To come into contact with the true teachings of Qi Refining, they must join a sect or enlist in the army—but which of those paths does not mean selling one's life to another?"

The guiding deacon spoke with some pride. "Our Demon Refining Hall, on the other hand, only requires one to slay Demonic Beasts and earn merit. The achievements can be reported to the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram, which grants cultivation methods, pills, even divine weapons and sharp tools. It may be dangerous, but one's fate rests in one's own hands. In recent years, more and more cultivators have joined our Demon Refining Hall, and there are no few at Gang Condensing and Core Forming."

This was precisely what Gu Jinlai had come for.

The provinces of Great Qian were divided into three ranks: upper provinces, middle provinces, and lower provinces.

Although over the past century the provinces had been poorly managed, and some lower and middle provinces had developed with each passing day, Star Province, as one of the four great upper provinces, had always remained rather prosperous.

The Purgatory Sect, Cold Moon Sect, Yellow Heaven Sect, and Orthodox One Sect might have fought one another fiercely within Changjun City, but they never dared touch the bottom line of the City Lord Mansion and the Demon Refining Hall, nor did they dare bring chaos into the city.

The City Lord Mansion and the Demon Refining Hall were Changjun City's true overlords.

The Demon Refining Hall alone had three Spirit Refining experts, and it maintained exchanges with Demon Refining Halls in other cities. Across Star Province, it was a colossal existence.

Even Star Province was, for the time being, barely under the provincial lord's control. Even Chi Province, occupied by the Purgatory Sect, would not lightly offend an institution like the Demon Refining Hall.

Lin Xiao of the Purgatory Sect was bringing pressure down upon him one wave after another, leaving him hard-pressed to cope.

But if he could not afford to provoke them, he could still avoid them.

It just so happened that he wished to abandon evil and turn toward good, to come ashore and go straight. Joining the Demon Refining Hall was not a bad choice either.

Gu Jinlai had originally been a Spirit Refining elder of the Purgatory Demon Sect, so the one receiving him was the deputy hall master, Zhang Xiu.

A genuine Spirit Refining Giant.

When this hall master saw Gu Jinlai, surprise appeared on his face.

After examining him carefully, he said, "Elder Gu... your condition does not seem very good?"

"If I told Hall Master Zhang that I felt the Six Desires Demon Art was harmful to heaven and destructive to reason, and thus dispersed my own cultivation, would you believe me?"

Gu Jinlai asked sincerely.

"Heh heh."

Zhang Xiu gave a smile without expression and did not ask further. "Could it be that you wish to exchange for a Spirit Nourishing Pill? With the merit of slaying three upper-ranked Demonic Beasts, the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram can refine one for you."

"I naturally believe in the wonders of the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram."

Gu Jinlai said.

Dao artifacts were forged from innate materials, their Dao patterns evolving within them, granting them inconceivable abilities.

The Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram was divided into three main diagrams and three hundred sixty subsidiary diagrams. Whenever someone performed great merit and it was reported through a subsidiary diagram to a main diagram, the main diagram could invoke its divine wonders and bestow pills and precious treasures.

Zhang Xiu took out a jade talisman engraved with mountains and rivers and handed it over. "This is a Universe Talisman. Elder Gu may use it after dripping blood upon it. Should you slay Demonic Beasts, the Universe Talisman will record it on its own. Once Elder Gu has earned sufficient merit, bring the Universe Talisman to me. The hall master and I will personally activate the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram for Elder Gu—creating fortune from heaven and earth, refining pills and forging artifacts, fulfilling whatever Elder Gu seeks."

After speaking, he took out another map. "These are the recent traces of Demonic Beasts around Changjun. Of course, this map is time-sensitive and can only serve as a reference."

"Thank you, Hall Master Zhang."

"Killing more Demonic Beasts will be the greatest thanks Elder Gu can give me."

Zhang Xiu said with a smile.

His words were true enough.

The Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram did indeed have a yearly demon-refining quota.

As the number of Heavenly Masters specializing in Spirit Refining dwindled by the day, some Demon Refining Halls had long been unable to slay enough Demonic Beasts to fulfill their quotas and had been abandoned by the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram.

Without the ability to activate the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram, naturally no one would serve the Demon Refining Halls. Given enough time, the halls would exist in name only, and Spirit Refining experts like them could forget about maintaining their detached status.

(The new book has relatively few words so far. Everyone can check out Chengfeng's older books. Of the past two years, Chengfeng's favorite has been "Glorious Heavenly Dao, Supreme Sword Sect." The story is complete and of moderate length, just enough to avoid reading fatigue.)