Although Ning Xiu's request was strange, Su Qianqian still decided to grant his wish.
After all, the Demon Subduing Prison really was short on executioners these days. Having a Ninth Rank Demon Subduing Captain come help out and execute a few dozen Evil Spirits would be quite nice.
Generally speaking, executioner was not a job any Demon Subduing Captain liked doing. It was exhausting and offered no benefits, so under ordinary circumstances, no Demon Subduing Captain would ever volunteer to go to the Demon Subduing Prison and work as an executioner.
But some people might have a few unusual little quirks, couldn't they?
After all, being a Demon Subduing Captain was stressful, and people needed ways to vent. Su Qianqian could understand that.
Back when she was an Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captain, she had once seen her superior take off his uniform during his leisure time and transform into a pork seller in the marketplace, selling pork to the people at cabbage prices.
People called him "Great Benevolent Butcher."
When Ning Xiu left the Yun Family Cloth Shop, the Grievance Yin Fetus was still wailing inside its bundle of cloth. Ning Xiu killed it with a single punch.
Killed an Evil Spirit, Universal Proficiency +10
Although the child had a pitiful background, it had now become an Evil Spirit. He could no longer look upon it with pity; he had to execute it to eliminate future trouble.
But honestly, the Universal Proficiency awarded for killing such a low-level Evil Spirit was pitifully little.
With the Grievance Yin Fetus, that burden, in tow, Ning Xiu naturally couldn't go to a cloth shop to buy ready-made clothes. Otherwise, if the Evil Qi emitted after the Grievance Yin Fetus died affected ordinary people, it would be troublesome.
Fortunately, after Su Qianqian learned why he had gone out, she told Ning Xiu that the Demon Subduing Bureau had a clothing workshop specifically serving Demon Subduing Captains. If he needed anything, he could simply have it made there, and it would be even cheaper than buying it from an outside cloth shop.
Ning Xiu nodded to show he understood, then parted ways with Su Qianqian along the way and headed alone to the Demon Subduing Prison.
He had only been away for a day, but when he returned to the Demon Subduing Prison, Ning Xiu inexplicably felt like a wanderer returning home.
The familiar sunless gloom, the familiar gates along the long corridor, and the familiar Prison Warden.
"It's you." When the Prison Warden, who was holding a register, saw Ning Xiu, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.
Few of the people chosen from their ranks ever came back.
"This is an Evil Spirit that Lady Su and I caught while we were out this morning. She told me to bring it to the Demon Subduing Prison to deal with. Also, Lady Su approved my staying here for the next two days to continue working as an executioner."
"I'm a Ninth Rank martial artist now, so I'll trouble you to arrange some Evil Spirits for me to execute."
As Ning Xiu spoke, his voice gradually grew louder. He was excited.
He remembered an executioner once telling him that as long as someone reached the Ninth Rank, the vigorous blood energy within their body could expel any Evil Qi that seeped inside. That meant the number of Evil Spirits they could execute each day no longer had to be limited to one.
Ning Xiu had remembered those words clearly. Today, he could finally let loose.
The Prison Warden was a little bewildered. Hadn't this kid only left a day ago? How had he already reached the Ninth Rank?
Besides, everyone else sent to the Demon Subduing Prison to execute Evil Spirits wore drooping faces and looked listless. Why was Ning Xiu so cheerful? Anyone seeing him would think he'd come to collect his monthly pay.
Those below the Ninth Rank would suffer Evil Qi seeping into their bodies if they killed too many Evil Spirits. The Evil Qi would accumulate until their bodies rotted and fell apart.
Since no normal person would lie about something like that, the Prison Warden didn't doubt Ning Xiu. Besides, if he could execute a few dozen Evil Spirits, he would be helping the Demon Subduing Prison.
The Prison Warden opened the register in his hands and quickly flipped through it.
"Cells one hundred thirty through one hundred fifty in the Xuan Zone hold Evil Spirits that can be executed. Choose for yourself. You've only just entered the Ninth Rank, so do your best, but don't push yourself."
Although Ninth Rank martial artists could resist the effects of Evil Qi, killing too many Evil Spirits in a short time could still affect the temperament of those who had just reached the rank. If they didn't keep it in check, evil thoughts could take root and lead them astray.
So people who had only just reached the Ninth Rank still couldn't kill too many Evil Spirits in a single day.
"Understood." Ning Xiu agreed, handed the Grievance Yin Fetus over to the Prison Warden, and headed for the Xuan Zone along the familiar route.
When he arrived at the entrance to cell one hundred thirty in the Xuan Zone, Ning Xiu was about to push the door open when someone suddenly emerged from a nearby cell.
Ning Xiu took a closer look. What a coincidence—the man was He Yunlang.
"He Yunlang." Seeing one of his few friends, Ning Xiu immediately called out to him.
"Ning Xiu? What are you doing back here?" He Yunlang looked a little surprised. He hadn't expected to see Ning Xiu again after he joined the Demon Subduing Bureau.
"The bureau hasn't given me any work, so I came back to work as an executioner for a couple more days," Ning Xiu said with a smile.
As he spoke, Ning Xiu's gaze instinctively swept over He Yunlang. The man's robe bulged around his chest, and Ning Xiu couldn't tell what he had stuffed inside.
Noticing Ning Xiu's attention, He Yunlang quickly turned sideways. "You're a strange one. Everyone else is desperate to get out, but you want to come back. Anyway, get to work. I've finished my executions for today, so I'm going back to practice."
With that, He Yunlang quickly left, not giving Ning Xiu a chance to look him over any further.
Watching He Yunlang's hurried retreating figure, Ning Xiu couldn't help wondering, "Strange. Why's this guy acting so furtively today? Next time I see Su Qianqian, I'll have to mention recruiting He Yunlang into the Demon Subduing Bureau. If he stays in the Demon Subduing Prison any longer, he's going to turn into someone else."
Thinking nothing more of it, Ning Xiu had his own business to take care of, so he went straight into the cell.
After seeing Ning Xiu enter the cell, He Yunlang didn't return to his quarters right away. He looked around, and when he saw no one nearby, he hurried into cell ninety-seven in the Xuan Zone.
If an executioner had seen this, they would certainly have come over to seize him and demand an explanation.
After all, apprentices from the Champion Camp like He Yunlang weren't allowed to wander into other cells. They could only enter the ones assigned to them for that day's executions.
Inside the cell, half of a gaunt old man's body was embedded in a massive black ore, with only part of his upper body exposed.
Seeing He Yunlang arrive, the old man let out a strange, cackling laugh. "I knew you'd come."
Ignoring the old man, He Yunlang took a cloth bundle from his robe and tossed it over.
Before the bundle could hit the ground, the old man's long tongue shot out, caught it precisely, and unwrapped it.
Inside was a heart the size of a fist.
"Excellent, excellent! I always keep my word. Here's your reward." The old man swallowed the heart and the cloth together.
A long gash suddenly split open across his abdomen, and three black beads rolled out onto the ground.
He Yunlang warily glanced at the old man, then picked up a spear from the execution table and used it to sweep the black beads toward himself.
He kept his distance from the old man the entire time, in case the Demon Person tried something.
"Relax. You're willing to work with me and occasionally bring me the hearts of Demonic Creatures to satisfy my hunger. I'd be crazy not to protect you. How could I bring myself to kill you?"
The old man licked his lips and grinned. "These Black Origin Pills were refined from my vital essence. Taking one can strengthen your body and power. The reason the Demon Subduing Bureau keeps me locked up instead of killing me is so I can keep refining these Black Origin Pills for them. As long as you work with me, you'll have all the Black Origin Pills you want. Joining the Demon Subduing Bureau someday will be a piece of cake."
"I'm not working with you. You haven't even seen me today. If you want to keep eating the hearts of Demonic Creatures, you'd better get that straight." After putting away the Black Origin Pills, He Yunlang spoke without expression and quickly left.
The Demon Subduing Prison strictly forbade anyone from colluding or trading with Evil Spirit Cultivators. Anyone caught doing so would be condemned as "willingly assimilated," with no room for explanation.
Although He Yunlang hadn't been at the Demon Subduing Prison long, he knew that rule well.
Looking at the cell that had fallen silent again, the old man sneered. "A fool who thinks he's clever."
After leaving the cell, He Yunlang returned to his quarters at once. As he looked at the Black Origin Pills in his hand, hesitation clouded his expression.
Everything between him and that Demon Person had to be traced back to yesterday.
After the six Demon Subduing Captains had selected the people they wanted and left the Demon Subduing Prison, the executioners who remained had returned to their usual lives.
He Yunlang had been assigned to execute an Evil Spirit in the Xuan Zone. Unexpectedly, after the Evil Spirit was killed, a Demon Person somehow took over its body and told He Yunlang that if he brought the heart of a Demonic Creature to cell ninety-seven and made a deal, the Demon Person could help him quickly increase his strength.
And so, everything that happened today had followed.
Sitting on his bed, He Yunlang was deeply conflicted. He didn't know if what the Demon Person had told him was true. Were these Black Origin Pills really that miraculous? What if the Demon Person had set a trap to harm him?
After thinking it over for a while, He Yunlang still didn't dare take one. He could only wait until tomorrow, when he went to execute an Evil Spirit, and feed one to it first to see what happened.
Primordial Yang Fist: Seventh Layer (731/3000) (+) Golden Bell Shield: Fifth Layer (13/1600) (+) Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique: First Layer (22/200) (+) Great Sun Profound Scripture: Fifth Layer (311/2000) (+) Universal Proficiency: 1410
Looking at the Broken Tusk Black Pig before him, its body covered in black bristles and its eyes full of malice,
Ning Xiu summoned the Proficiency Panel, raised the Wild Goose Feather Saber he knew so well, and brought it down on the restrained pig demon.
According to the records of the demonic creatures in the cell, this pig demon was twenty-four years old, weighed six hundred and twenty catties, and was skilled at disguising itself.
Over its lifetime, it had had thirty-seven owners. Each time, it ate the owner's entire family, escaped from the pigsty, and wandered around the nearby towns and villages.
Some greedy commoners would bring the ownerless domestic pig home to raise. But before they could sell it or slaughter it for meat, the pig demon would eat the owner's entire family and repeat the same trick.
Disguised by its fat-pig appearance, the pig demon had roamed free for more than twenty years, until a Demon Subduing Captain saw through it and captured it just over ten days ago.
The Evil Spirits and demonic creatures brought to the Demon Subduing Prison were never ordinary. They always possessed treasures or some other valuable thing.
The pig demon was no exception. According to the records, the Demon Subduing Bureau had extracted a pig treasure the size of a water barrel from its body, and it was worth a fortune.
But none of that had anything to do with Ning Xiu. After a flurry of blows, the enormous pig demon soon stopped breathing.
Killed a demonic creature, Universal Proficiency +600
Without pausing, Ning Xiu set down the Wild Goose Feather Saber and left the cell, then entered the one next door to begin a new round of executions.
Killed a demonic creature, Universal Proficiency +700
Killed an Evil Spirit, Universal Proficiency +500
Killed a Demon Person, Universal Proficiency +600
In less than half an hour, Ning Xiu had executed the Evil Spirits in all twenty cells.
As a result, he had gained a whopping 12,000 Universal Proficiency points—a veritable windfall.
Without delay, Ning Xiu immediately began raising the levels of the cultivation techniques he practiced.
First was Primordial Yang Fist. Ning Xiu remembered Martial Instructor Wu saying that the fist technique had a maximum of eight layers when he first taught it.
He had already cultivated it to the seventh layer. Today, he could raise it straight to the eighth and bring his training to perfection.
So Ning Xiu put 2,300 Universal Proficiency points into Primordial Yang Fist.
Primordial Yang Fist: Seventh Layer (731/3000) → Primordial Yang Fist: Eighth Layer (Can Evolve)
When Primordial Yang Fist reached the eighth layer, its proficiency display suddenly changed.
"Can evolve?" Ning Xiu was surprised. It was the first time he had seen that prompt.
Wasn't the eighth layer the perfect realm of Primordial Yang Fist? Could it be that the fist technique's potential went beyond a mere eight layers?
Before you continue