The Marquis Wuyi Estate.
Once bustling with visitors, the Marquis Wuyi Estate had now become desolate after the Demon Subduing Bureau issued a sealing order.
With no one permitted to enter or leave, the Demon Subduing Bureau's people delivered all the estate's daily fruits and vegetables.
Seated in an underground chamber beneath his own estate, Wu Huannian read by candlelight the letters Steward Chu had sent him through special means.
The letters said that Steward Chu had dispatched members of the Black Heaven Gate to towns and villages within a hundred miles of Chaotian Capital to frantically gather the vital essence of the living.
They had already gathered seven or eight hundred portions, making rapid progress. They would soon meet the requirements for reviving Wu Huannian's wife, Han Wan'er.
Wu Huannian was very satisfied with this, but beyond his satisfaction, he was even more anxious.
Because the Spring Full Pavilion affair had been exposed, the Demon Subduing Bureau had focused all its attention on him.
If he did not hold the title of one of the Thirty-Six Marquises, Qin Daorong would have taken him back to the Demon Subduing Bureau for questioning long ago.
He would never have been placed under house arrest like this.
But he could not remain locked up forever. The fact that Wu Huannian had fallen from the righteous path and joined the Black Heaven Gate was undeniable.
The only reason the Demon Subduing Bureau had not acted yet was that they did not know the truth. If they found evidence—
Then even as one of the Thirty-Six Marquises, Wu Huannian would be thrown into the Demon Subduing Prison, forced to reveal all the information he had, and executed afterward.
Before the Demon Subduing Bureau made its move, Wu Huannian had to seize the chance to escape Chaotian Capital with the Black Heaven Gate's help.
But he could not do any of that until Han Wan'er had been successfully revived.
After reading all the letters, Wu Huannian held each one over the candle and set it alight.
He tossed the pages into the iron basin beside him and only let out a sigh of relief once they had burned completely to ash.
I can't afford to be careless when dealing with the Demon Subduing Bureau. One wrong move, and I'll be doomed for eternity, Wu Huannian thought.
"This place looks kind of eerie now," Qin Ben said, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
After being sealed off for several days, Spring Full Pavilion had fallen into disrepair. Tables and chairs lay scattered throughout the hall, and the place looked utterly abandoned.
"I practice the Body Refining Technique. Let me take the lead," Ning Xiu offered. Then he hefted the Startling Thunder Hammer and strode inside.
"I think Brother Liu practices a body-refining technique too. Brother Ning, what do you practice?" Li Yueying asked curiously.
"Golden Bell Shield."
At that, Liu Yong's face lit up with confident but not conceited pride. "What a coincidence, I practice Golden Bell Shield too. Ning Xiu, I've been at it longer than you, and I'm already at the seventh layer. Let me take the lead. You stay behind me."
The Demon Subduing Bureau had always upheld the tradition of the strong protecting the weak and superiors shielding their subordinates.
In a disaster or a dangerous encounter with an Evil Spirit that required an immediate retreat, Silver Tiger Demon Subduing Captains had to bring up the rear for Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains.
Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains, in turn, had to do the same for Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captains, while Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captains had to protect the common people from behind.
At every level, no one was allowed to abandon their post and flee, leaving the weak behind to save themselves.
Anyone caught violating this rule would be expelled from the Demon Subduing Bureau and never recruited again.
It was said that several decades ago, the Demon Subduing Bureau had sent troops to Qingque Prefecture in an attempt to reclaim it.
On the way, a group of dozens of Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains encountered two second-grade great demons.
Faced with such a vast disparity in strength, the Silver Tiger Demon Subduing Captain leading the group stayed behind alone to fight both demons, buying time for the main force to retreat.
In the end, all the Demon Subduing Captains made it safely back to Chaotian Capital, but that Silver Tiger Demon Subduing Captain remained forever on the lands of Daliang Prefecture.
Looking at Liu Yong's confident but not conceited expression, Ning Xiu wanted to say, "I'm at the ninth layer of Golden Bell Shield."
But the words were so shocking that he swallowed them instead of saying them aloud.
Golden Bell Shield was a body-refining technique with twelve layers. The first six were relatively easy to cultivate; a talented person could break through one layer in half a year.
But after the seventh layer, each successive layer became harder to advance. Without spending two or three years tempering the body, one could not break through.
Even its founder had spent a full forty-five years reaching the perfect twelfth layer.
And reaching the ninth layer of Golden Bell Shield was impossible without thirty years of hard cultivation.
Liu Yong had practiced the technique for more than a decade, yet had only reached the seventh layer.
Ning Xiu's time in Champion Camp, counting both his own time and that of his predecessor, amounted to only a few years.
If he revealed his true Golden Bell Shield level, it would invite far too much speculation, and the consequences would be hard to predict.
After dutifully taking his place behind Liu Yong, Ning Xiu and the other three members of their temporary team began searching every corner of Spring Full Pavilion.
The naked eye could rarely spot the crucial clues when it came to Evil Spirits. While Spring Full Pavilion remained dark, Ning Xiu quietly used the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique to examine the surrounding corridors and corners.
They searched from the main hall to the third floor, then to the kitchen, but found nothing at all—not even the slightest sign of anything unusual.
It seemed that after the Demon Subduing Bureau had swept through the place, Spring Full Pavilion had returned to complete peace.
"Looks like we were worrying for nothing. Everything here is normal. There's no sign of any Evil Spirits hiding," Liu Yong said.
Ning Xiu had used the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique to inspect all of Spring Full Pavilion. He said nothing, but he had come to the same conclusion.
But just then, Li Yueying looked up at the ceiling inside Spring Full Pavilion as if she had noticed something. Her expression turned thoughtful, and no one knew what she was thinking.
Qin Ben immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
"That spot seems a little off. It gives me a strange feeling." Li Yueying pointed at the ceiling.
Everyone followed her gaze, but to them, everything looked perfectly normal. There was nothing unusual.
"If I'm not mistaken, some kind of formation's eye is hidden there. I just don't know what kind of formation it is or what it does."
Qin Ben was startled. "Could those Evil Spirits have crept back after the Demon Subduing Bureau sealed this place off?"
"That's not impossible. They say the most dangerous place is the safest, and it really could be the case," Liu Yong agreed.
"Yueying, can you break this formation?"
"I'll try. I hope it's not too difficult."
Li Yueying raised her hands, the air around her swirling until her Mysterious Silver Lock Armor clattered.
Half an incense stick later, the entire ceiling of Spring Full Pavilion suddenly rumbled and shook. Clouds of dust and wood shavings drifted down, settling on the floor to reveal a massive formation.
"There really was one!" Liu Yong hurriedly watched their surroundings, ready for any danger.
Who would have thought those Evil Spirits would be so brazen? After the Demon Subduing Bureau sealed Spring Full Pavilion, they had secretly returned to set up a formation and hide there.
In this situation, no one could say how many Evil Spirits or Demon Persons were currently concealed inside Spring Full Pavilion.
Ning Xiu used the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique to scan their surroundings again. Sure enough, after Li Yueying destroyed the formation's eye—
Spring Full Pavilion instantly seemed to change. Wisps of Evil Qi seeped out between the gray bricks of the floor.
It seemed the Evil Spirits were hiding beneath Spring Full Pavilion.
"They're below us. We need to find a way underground," Ning Xiu said.
The others exchanged glances, then all said at once, "The cellar!"
As soon as they spoke, the four of them ran toward the back courtyard.
In a pool of dark green water, a pale woman of elegant, orchid-like bearing lay motionless in an ice coffin floating on the surface.
Deep green mist billowed from the pool and seeped into the woman's body, keeping her skin supple and her complexion rosy.
Steward Chu, her face covered in scars, stood beside the pool and stared solemnly at the female corpse in the coffin.
The Black Heaven Gate had mysterious origins. No one had ever seen its founder, but rumors had long claimed that his magic was unrivaled, unmatched throughout history.
Any method of bringing the dead back to life or achieving eternal youth could be realized through him—as long as one could pay the price.
Wu Huannian had chosen to fall from the righteous path and join the Black Heaven Gate precisely to obtain a way to revive his wife.
They had come to Chaotian Capital, the Great Shang capital and the Demon Subduing Bureau's headquarters, several years ago to carry out their secret work.
Steward Chu had been under tremendous pressure. Fortunately, the sect master had arranged for a concealment formation to be delivered to her.
It was said that once the formation was activated, no one below the second grade could detect it unless they came within ten paces.
That was how she and the other Demon Persons of the Black Heaven Gate had managed to hide inside Spring Full Pavilion for several years.
Following the sect master's instructions for reviving the dead, Steward Chu had secretly performed the method on Han Wan'er's corpse all this time.
The results had indeed been miraculous. For years, Han Wan'er's corpse had shown no signs of withering skin or decay, and had retained the same appearance and figure she'd had before she died.
However, Steward Chu had only learned this method of bringing back the dead. She had never actually revived anyone, so she still had her doubts.
On either side of the pool, two snow-white Demon Persons waved a Spirit Gathering Banner apiece over the water.
Fluorescent green globes kept falling from the banners, merging with the surface as they landed in the pool.
Each new globe deepened the water's dark green hue.
As Steward Chu silently recited the spell, thin streams of water shot up from the pool and pierced the acupoints all over Han Wan'er's body.
Her expression instantly grew more vivid and full, as if she could open her eyes and return to life at any moment.
"Steward Chu, most of the disciples sent to gather vital essence from the towns around Chaotian Capital have returned, but we're still short by more than a hundred portions. The Spirit Gathering Banner in Wendeng County hasn't sent word in a long time. I'm afraid something happened to it."
A Demon Person approached Steward Chu from behind and spoke.
"Demon Subduing Captains captured Du Luo and Pu Sheng, and the several disciples I sent after them still haven't reported back. I've already prepared to cover the shortfall."
Steward Chu took out a white jade bottle with a narrow neck and poured it into the pool. Countless green globes flowed out, fell into the water, and deepened its color even further.
The Demon Person exclaimed in delight, "Steward Chu, you really saw this coming!"
One stream after another pierced Han Wan'er's body. Within a few breaths, her entire body was covered in water streams.
Using the streams as conduits, they forced a huge amount of vital essence into Han Wan'er's body, making her life force seem more and more abundant.
"We've spent years gathering this much vital essence from the living. Whether she can truly return from the dead depends on tonight."
Steward Chu formed a hand seal. The dark green pool churned violently, and the water level began to drop at a visible rate as all the water flowed into Han Wan'er's body.
Soon, a complicated ghost-face totem slowly appeared on her chest.
One after another, blue-green lines spread from Han Wan'er's chest toward her limbs and neck. In no time, they covered her entire body.
Steward Chu was deeply astonished by the sight.
This wasn't what she had imagined the method of bringing back the dead would look like. If Wu Huannian saw this, wouldn't he fly into a rage on the spot? Had something gone wrong?
At the same time, a muffled thud suddenly came from overhead.
A Demon Person hurried out through the entrance and shouted, "Something's wrong! Four Demon Subduing Captains are outside, and they've destroyed the formation's eye of our concealment formation!"
Steward Chu's expression darkened. Just when things couldn't get any worse, the Demon Subduing Captains had shown up at this critical moment.
"Go stop them. No matter what, you have to keep them from finding this place."
"Understood."
Before you continue