Under the Son of Heaven's Feet, the Evil Spirit's Lair

They say the world is plagued by evil spirits, and the common folk live in fear every day.

When Ning Xiu stepped into Spring Full Pavilion, the sight that greeted him was one of spring in full bloom—beautiful young women busily weaving through the hall, chatting and laughing with every guest who passed by, effortlessly coaxing smiles out of them.

"Brother Lu, the expenses here for one night must be quite something," Ning Xiu quietly asked Lu Hao.

"Ah, Brother Ning, don't worry about that. Rest assured, I'll cover everything tonight. Just enjoy yourself."

As they spoke, a heavily made-up, voluptuous woman swayed her hips as she approached. Holding a round fan half-covering her mouth, she leaned her body against Lu Hao with practiced ease.

"Sir, do you have a lady in mind? I can have her come keep you company."

"No, no. I've booked the Spring Breeze Pavilion. Just take me there directly." Lu Hao urged impatiently. The woman could tell at a glance that he wasn't interested in her type—even with her leaning on him, his hands stayed perfectly still.

To survive in a place like Spring Full Pavilion, one had to be sharp as a tack. The woman immediately pulled back from Lu Hao and walked ahead to lead the way for Ning Xiu and the others.

"Gentlemen, please follow me."

Ning Xiu followed behind the group, his eyes occasionally scanning the surroundings. After spending over a year in the Champion Camp, this was his first time in such a lively place.

At the center of the main hall stood an ornate stage for performers to dance on. The stairs to the second floor were to the left of the stage, so when Ning Xiu climbed them, he could look down and clearly see what was happening onstage.

At that moment, five dancers in blue skirts were gracefully moving to a beautiful medley of pipa, zither, and flute, creating an atmosphere thick with allure.

Just as Ning Xiu was enjoying the performance, the scene before him suddenly shifted.

The five beautiful, slender women instantly transformed into white-haired, clawed, hideous creatures, with gray-black mist swirling around them.

As an Executioner fresh out of the Demon Subduing Prison, Ning Xiu was all too familiar with that gray-black mist.

It was the Evil Qi that only evil spirits emitted!

Before Ning Xiu could show a look of shock, the scene returned to normal, as if the strange sight had been nothing but a fleeting, bizarre dream.

"What's wrong?" Lu Hao, walking ahead, turned back to ask.

Following Ning Xiu's gaze, Lu Hao's face lit up with a knowing grin. He slung an arm over Ning Xiu's shoulder and said with a smirk, "Brother Ning, I know you're itching for it, but don't rush. I'll find you something better. Just hold on."

Ning Xiu was speechless, but he couldn't exactly explain what he'd just seen. Activating the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique, the dancers onstage instantly reverted to those white-haired hags. Only then was Ning Xiu certain that what he'd seen wasn't an illusion.

In Chaotian Capital, where the Demon Subduing Bureau held sway, for evil spirits to take human form and mingle among the people—no one would believe it if he told them.

These evil spirits were so brazen as to openly reveal themselves, completely disregarding the Demon Subduing Bureau. If there wasn't some big shot behind it all giving tacit approval, Ning Xiu absolutely refused to believe it.

Withdrawing his gaze, Ning Xiu knew this wasn't something he could meddle in. He silently followed Lu Hao up to the second floor.

After discovering evil spirits in Spring Full Pavilion, Ning Xiu kept using the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique whenever no one was looking, scanning his surroundings.

And he found quite a lot. Some of the servants in Spring Full Pavilion had spirit-like evil entities inside their bodies, like parasites, coexisting without interfering with each other.

He hadn't noticed before, but now he saw that Spring Full Pavilion was practically a den of evil spirits. In Chaotian Capital, under the emperor's very nose, with the Demon Subduing Bureau standing guard—

For such a place to exist was truly beyond Ning Xiu's expectations.

"Gentlemen, the Spring Breeze Pavilion has arrived." The voluptuous woman pushed open the door, revealing the spacious interior.

As Lu Hao and the others stepped inside, Ning Xiu suddenly spoke up. "Brother Lu, you all go ahead. I need to use the restroom."

"Hurry back."

Along the way, through his observations with the Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique, Ning Xiu noticed that most of the gray-black mist in Spring Full Pavilion gathered on the upper floors—meaning that was where the most evil spirits were.

Taking advantage of no one watching, Ning Xiu slipped up the stairs to the third floor, intending to investigate.

On the third floor alone, the Evil Qi in the corridor was as thick as a heavy fog, most of it seeping out from the private rooms on either side.

Ning Xiu crept up to a window of one private room and poked a hole in the paper with his finger.

"Sir, have another drink~"

Through the hole, he saw a scene of drunken revelry inside. Two wealthy merchants in fine clothes sat at a table, flushed and gulping down their wine.

Beside them, eight stunning women vied to serve them, pressing their bodies close, letting the merchants grope freely and take full advantage.

But in Ning Xiu's eyes, the room was a different sight entirely.

The eight stunning women were all skeletons in gauzy silk dresses. The two men, blind to the truth, were instead fondling the skeletons' ribs and pelvic bones with lecherous grins.

With every touch, a wisp of white vapor drifted from the men's mouths, instantly devoured by the eight Red Pink Skeletons. The whole scene was grotesquely eerie.

"Who are you?"

Just as Ning Xiu was peeping through the window, a shout rang out behind him.

He turned to see a servant with bloodshot eyes glaring at him, a short staff already swinging toward him.

Ning Xiu raised his arm and blocked the attack with his bare flesh. Against the Golden Bell Shield, this damage was utterly harmless.

Before the servant could react, Ning Xiu channeled his Internal Energy into his right hand and punched him square in the chest. A crisp crack of breaking bones sounded, and the servant flew backward, landing on the ground without a stir.

[Demonic Creature slain. Universal Proficiency +100]

As the servant died, his head began to dissolve, soon turning into a Gray Rat Head.

Since he'd been caught, Ning Xiu decided to stop hiding and come clean.

He grabbed the Rat Demon's corpse, kicked open the door to the Red Pink Skeletons' private room, and strode inside.

Perhaps never expecting anyone to barge in at such a moment, both the evil spirits and the humans inside were startled.

Once Ning Xiu closed the door behind him and looked at the young man who had appeared from who knows where, the two wealthy merchants angrily shouted, "Who the hell are you? Do you know what this place is!"

Ning Xiu ignored them completely, fixing his gaze on the eight skeletal Evil Spirits. "Come at me together."

Seeing the dead Rat Demon in Ning Xiu's hand, the eight Evil Spirits immediately understood what had happened. They dropped their wine flasks and charged at him.

"Daring to kill in Spring Full Pavilion—we'll make sure you don't walk out of this door alive tonight."

"This one looks sturdy. Let's drain his essence dry."

Though they were skeletons, the Evil Spirits spoke human words, which made Ning Xiu curious about where their voices came from.

As the Evil Spirits closed in, Ning Xiu grabbed one of them forcefully and smashed his fist into its face.

Under Ning Xiu's punch, the Evil Spirit's face shattered instantly, unable to withstand a single blow.

[Evil Spirit slain. Universal Proficiency +200]

Two Evil Spirits sneaked up behind Ning Xiu and thrust their fingers hard at his back.

But the moment their fingers touched Ning Xiu's body, a powerful backlash shattered their finger bones, failing to inflict any injury.

Instead, Ning Xiu swung a heavy punch backward, his surging Internal Energy shattering both Evil Spirits on the spot.

[Evil Spirit slain. Universal Proficiency +200]

[Evil Spirit slain. Universal Proficiency +200]

Having easily destroyed three Evil Spirits, the remaining five clearly panicked. These skeletal Evil Spirits excelled at disguise, illusions, and seducing men, cultivating by draining their essence.

But they were not strong in combat. Against ordinary folk, they might manage, but against someone like Ning Xiu, a Martial Ninth Rank cultivator, they were nothing but cannon fodder.

Sensing their fear, Ning Xiu quickened his pace to prevent them from escaping and calling for reinforcements.

Before any Evil Spirit could reach the door, all eight skeletons inside the room had been slain by Ning Xiu.

In that short time, he had gained 1,700 points of Universal Proficiency.

Ning Xiu couldn't help but silently remark, This feels familiar.

Having witnessed Ning Xiu brutally and mercilessly kill eight beautiful women in one go, the two wealthy merchants shed their earlier arrogance, trembling as they sat in their chairs, too afraid to move.

In their eyes, Ning Xiu had become a blood-soaked butcher who listened to no reason.

They stayed silent, staring at their wine cups, terrified that Ning Xiu might target them next.

These mortals lacked spiritual sight and couldn't see the Evil Spirits' true forms. Ning Xiu didn't blame them, but since he was in the Evil Spirits' lair and didn't know if stronger ones lurked inside, he decided not to escalate things further.

Earning 1,700 Universal Proficiency points was already an unexpected bonus. Glancing at the two merchants who dared not meet his eyes, Ning Xiu walked over and knocked them unconscious with a chop to the neck each.

Done with that, Ning Xiu quickly left the room, closed the door, and retraced his steps back to the second floor, acting as if nothing had happened.

Not long after Ning Xiu left, two servants walked up to the private room's door.

"Where did Old Eight go? Isn't it supposed to be patrolling now?"

"No idea. Maybe it snuck off to eat something."

"The Madam's methods—Old Eight knows better than to act on its own. If something goes wrong, no one can protect it."

Just as the two servants were puzzled, one of them noticed the torn hole in the private room's window.

He hurried over to peek inside and saw the scene clearly.

The servant's expression changed instantly. "Shit! Something's wrong!"

The two rushed into the room, struck speechless by the chaos inside.

"Hurry, go report to Steward Chu!"