"Did that guy... just notice us?"
"How could he? Why would you think that?"
"I just felt that the way he glanced over here was a little strange."
"It was just a coincidence. Stop talking. Keep watch. The General Banner Lord will be here soon, so don't let this evil cultivator get away."
Less than a hundred paces from the courtyard Kong Wu had just entered, two men dressed in purple-black brocade robes were crouched on the roof, whispering to each other.
After a while, one of them could not help saying, "Is it really necessary to deploy so many people just for an evil cultivator? And we even have to wait until General Zhang arrives before taking action."
"What do you know? Three days ago, a Minor Banner investigating a case became suspicious of this demoness and chose to investigate alone. In the end, he vanished without a trace."
"What? A Minor Banner Lord went missing—why don't we just rush in and search the place?"
"You idiot! A Minor Banner of the Demon Suppression Division entered that courtyard, yet not even the sound of a struggle came out. That proves the demoness's cultivation is extraordinary. Acting rashly would only alert her. General Zhang is returning from outside the city tonight. Only then will we have the confidence to close the net."
Hearing this, the Demon Suppression Division member who had asked the question looked at the small courtyard with pity. "That fellow who just went in is pitiful. He lost his life for no reason."
"Who's pitiful?"
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out behind them.
The two reacted with astonishing speed. Almost the instant the voice sounded, they darted apart to either side. When they turned around and were just about to draw their blades, they saw the blue-and-black brocade robe on the newcomer and immediately saluted. "General Banner Lord!"
A large county like Purple Flame County naturally had Demon Suppression Division personnel stationed there.
The Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division had established a Hundred Household Office here, guarded by one Hundred Household Lord and two General Banner Lords.
The man before them was one of the two General Banner Lords of the Demon Suppression Division in Purple Flame County: Zhang Hao.
He stood on the roof with his hands behind his back. The night breeze blew around him, yet the hem of his robe did not stir in the slightest.
He nodded. "Not bad. Your response to the sudden situation barely passed."
Then he shifted his gaze toward the courtyard, and a sliver of golden light flashed through his pupils.
The evil cultivators and demons hidden in the great cities often knew secret methods for concealing the fluctuations of their True Qi.
Although no one could conceal those intense fluctuations during a battle, if they did not make a move, ordinary people would generally find it very difficult to see through such methods.
Of course, this did not include the Demon Suppression Division, which possessed countless inherited secret arts.
The secret art he was using now was one that only General Banner Lords and those above them could exchange for within the Demon Suppression Division. It was called the Golden Eye Technique.
After activating the secret art, the world in Zhang Hao's eyes turned pale gold.
And within the courtyard, a faint wisp of black smoke rising slowly became exceptionally conspicuous.
His expression grew more solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "Your earlier decision was correct. This evil cultivator is at least in the Foundation Establishment Realm."
Hearing this, the two men across from him exchanged glances, their hearts filled with relief.
But now, with a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage General Banner Lord leading more than a dozen Demon Suppression Guards, even if that demoness was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, she was doomed.
Zhang Hao pinched the tip of his tongue and blew a whistle.
In an instant, countless black shadows leaped from the surrounding rooftops and moved to encircle the courtyard.
Seeing this, Zhang Hao also jumped down with the two men and walked toward the courtyard's main gate.
Knock, knock, knock!
A Demon Suppression Guard stepped forward and knocked on the courtyard gate.
The courtyard was utterly silent. There was no response.
Seeing this, Zhang Hao waved his hand. The Demon Suppression Guard immediately kicked the wooden gate with all his strength, shattering it on the spot.
Zhang Hao led the way inside, followed by the others.
Without needing him to give orders, several men naturally took up positions around the courtyard to prevent the demon cultivator from escaping.
After entering the courtyard, Zhang Hao immediately looked toward the window.
Under the reflection of candlelight inside the room, one shadow was tightly embracing another.
Seeing this, Zhang Hao furrowed his brows, realizing who the pitiful fellow mentioned in the earlier conversation was.
He drew his saber and slashed out a cross-shaped blade aura while shouting, "Demon cultivator, stop!!!"
Although he intended to rescue the victim if possible, he also knew that the hope was slim.
An ordinary person was simply too fragile before a cultivator.
Sure enough, the blade aura struck the window and cleaved it into pieces, revealing the scene inside.
A tall, powerfully built man was restraining a beautiful woman from behind.
The instant the window shattered, the man glanced casually outside. Then he lowered his head and twisted both hands carelessly, leaving the woman facing Zhang Hao with the back of her head.
To commit such violence against an innocent person right before his eyes deeply enraged Zhang Hao. He pushed off with one foot and charged forward in an instant.
His long saber swept out in a silver arc. Pale-cyan True Qi formed a blade aura and savagely hacked down at the towering figure.
This slash carried the strength of the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. You're a... Wait. Facing an attack, why was there no True Qi fluctuation on this person?
The thought had barely arisen when Zhang Hao saw the man casually slap a palm toward him.
The condensed True Qi cultivated through the secret cultivation method passed down by the Demon Suppression Division formed a blade aura of extraordinary might. Even ordinary spirit artifacts could not withstand it.
But now, what happened within Zhang Hao's sight instantly made him forget how to think.
The instant flesh met blade aura, the blade aura shattered into fragments like broken glass. Even the spirit-artifact saber in his hand could not withstand the impact and snapped with a crisp crack.
Then the gale stirred up by that palm struck Zhang Hao and sent him flying.
Boom!
Zhang Hao's body smashed through the wall and flew outside the courtyard.
At the same time, the anxious shouts from behind finally reached Zhang Hao's ears.
"General Banner Lord, that woman is the demon cultivator!!!"
But by then, Zhang Hao himself was certainly unable to hear them.
Kong Wu stepped over the threshold. Looking at the panicked group outside, his eyes lit up.
"I didn't expect there to be an unexpected harvest."
Perhaps because the gap in strength was too great, the fellow inside the room had only provided him with 0.5 attribute points.
Kong Wu had originally been somewhat interested in the so-called Essence Absorption. If it could satisfy him, he would have gone ahead and absorbed it—after all, he did not believe the system-granted Strength attribute could be taken away by her.
But damn it, that woman had come at him with a small knife, trying to gut him and take his kidneys.
So this is how you perform Essence Absorption???
Kong Wu immediately lost all interest in this so-called Essence Absorption and made his move to seize the attribute points.
The maid outside had wanted to come in and help, but he casually sent her off to sleep elsewhere.
Judging from the scene before him, this demoness had quite a broad range of services. Not only did she gut people and take their kidneys, she also offered an all-inclusive honey trap.
Although her accomplices were not very strong, after dealing with all of them, he should at least be able to scrape together one free attribute point, right?
But the next moment, the words spoken by the people opposite left Kong Wu rooted to the spot.
"General Banner Lord, are you all right? General Banner Lord, wake up!"
"How dare you, you insolent criminal! You actually attacked a General Banner Lord of the Demon Suppression Division!"
"Form the array! Form the array!"
Some hurried over to help Zhang Hao up, some loudly berated Kong Wu, and others drew their blades and shrieked.
Faced with the scene descending into chaos, Kong Wu tilted his head. A huge question mark appeared above it.
"The Demon Suppression Division???"
Before you continue