"Chen Mo!"
"Flag Chief!"
Everyone rushed over.
When she saw that Chen Mo was still alive and well, the taut string in Li Yuan's heart finally relaxed.
She came to his side and examined him closely. The exposed bones had already begun growing flesh, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye!
"That recovery ability is outrageous. He's practically immortal!"
"And that strike that summoned the Azure Dragon phenomenon... It seems he held back back then. If we'd truly fought to the death, I'd probably already be a soul beneath his blade..."
Realizing the vast gulf between them, Li Yuan felt not the slightest hint of defeat. Instead, a strange pride welled up inside her—
No wonder he's the man who can keep me in check!
Though she knew Chen Mo was no longer in any danger, she still examined him meticulously.
His injuries were so severe. What if some part of him had been permanently damaged...?
When her gaze drifted downward, her pretty face flushed red in an instant, and she hurriedly turned away.
She'd almost forgotten. His clothes had all burned off...
You wicked thing. So ugly...
"My lord, are you really all right?"
Qin Shou was both startled and delighted.
The other constables smiled, too.
It wasn't that they were worried they'd have no way to explain themselves if Chen Mo died. The battle they'd just witnessed had thoroughly won them over.
Even now, remembering that blood-soaked figure slaying demons left their hearts pounding!
He truly was peerlessly valiant!
"Don't worry. I'll stay alive until I die."
Chen Mo pointed at the bed and said, "Search carefully and see what's under there."
"Yes, sir."
The others answered.
They moved Qin Ruyan's corpse to the floor and lifted the bed frame. A stench of decay wafted out.
The bricks beneath the bed had been hollowed out, creating a vast space. Strange symbols had been drawn on the ground in blood, and seven oddly shaped stones stood around it, covered in yellow talismans.
"The Three Sha Spirit-Extinguishing Array!"
The ancient texts had been forcibly instilled in Chen Mo, and his understanding of formations was now on an entirely different level.
One glance was all it took to identify it as a vicious array!
It gathered the power of the three sha: blood sha, earth sha, and baleful sha. Once fully formed, it could overturn yin and yang, sever reincarnation, and turn everything within a radius of hundreds of li into a ghost domain!
Of course, the more powerful a formation, the stricter its requirements.
This Three Sha Spirit-Extinguishing Array was riddled with flaws, and its materials were shoddy. It probably couldn't muster even a tenth of the original formation's power.
"The earth veins converge here, and killing intent gathers in this spot. This is where the Qi of Earth Sha is strongest in all of Tongling County... The Liu Mansion's location was chosen with care. It seems she'd been plotting this for a long time."
"The seven concubines served as blood sha, while the ghost creatures she raised served as baleful sha. Once all three sha were gathered, the array could be completed."
"As for her purpose..."
Chen Mo looked toward the center of the array, where a blood-red banner was pinned down by copper coins and blackwood. A line of black ancient script, written in sweeping strokes, covered its surface.
Even a mere glance sent a chill through him.
Chen Mo reached out and picked up the banner.
In an instant, a dark wind howled, and shrill ghostly cries seemed to ring in his ears!
"W-what is that?!"
The others turned pale, their faces full of terror.
Those with weaker wills even had their legs give way, collapsing to the ground!
[Heaven Tier, Mid-Grade Treasure: Soul-Summoning Banner (Sealed).]
[Can devour souls and command ghost creatures. It has already acknowledged a master and cannot be used.]
"A treasure?"
"And Heaven Tier, Mid-Grade?!"
Chen Mo paused, then suddenly understood.
Qin Ruyan must have gotten her hands on this treasure from some powerful figure. She'd wanted to use the power of the Three Sha to break its seal and claim it for herself.
No wonder she'd stayed here day and night, never leaving. She'd been trying to conceal the Soul-Summoning Banner's presence.
So its former owner wouldn't notice.
"This thing's no use to me."
"But it'd be a shame to throw it away, and dangerous to hold on to..."
Chen Mo thought it over, then put away the Soul-Summoning Banner.
He'd take it back to Heaven Capital City and see if he could trade it to the empress for another treasure.
That way, even if the banner's owner came looking for it, the empress could deal with them—
Come on. No matter how powerful that person was, could they really be a match for Yu Youhan?
Did they even understand how formidable the final boss was?!
After casually destroying the array, Chen Mo looked at everyone and said, "The culprit has been dealt with, and the case is closed. Go get some rest. We'll return to Heaven Capital City first thing tomorrow morning..."
"Wait, I think I know who she is."
Li Yuan spoke up. She'd been crouching nearby, examining the corpse.
She held Qin Ruyan's head and rubbed it hard. Her features shifted as easily as mud, until even her face disappeared!
A purple crescent-shaped mark appeared between her brows.
"The tenth-ranked on the Heavenly Demon Ranking, Evil Ghost—Qin Wuxiang!"
"What?"
"She's Qin Wuxiang?!"
Everyone cried out in shock!
The Azure Cloud Ranking was published by the Heavenly Pivot Pavilion. It ranked the young prodigies under thirty according to both cultivation and combat ability.
The Heavenly Demon Ranking, on the other hand, was a wanted list issued by the imperial court!
Its rankings had nothing to do with cultivation. They were based solely on the deaths and damage each criminal had caused.
The top ten were known as the Ten Heavenly Demons. Every one of them was a notorious scourge who'd killed countless people!
Ever since the Heavenly Demon Ranking was first published, all ten Heavenly Demons had remained at large!
Not one had been captured!
"To cultivate the ghostly path, Qin Wuxiang poisoned her entire family, including her own parents."
"She extracted the essence and blood of children to feed her ghost creatures."
"She refined hundreds of people from an entire village, forging a Demonic Aspect from their deathly energy..."
"Her crimes were too numerous to list."
"She wasn't especially powerful, but she excelled at transformation. A thousand faces, a hundred thousand appearances, two souls in one body. No one had managed to find her for all these years..."
Li Yuan looked at Chen Mo and smiled. "Flag Chief Chen, you've performed a great service."
Chen Mo hadn't expected such an unexpected boon, either.
Who would've thought the infamous Evil Ghost had been hiding beneath the Son of Heaven's nose?
"It wasn't me. It was all of us. The credit belongs to everyone."
"I'll write down all your names and report them to the Magistrate Office when we return."
Chen Mo said.
This had been a case for the Ding Fire Bureau in the first place.
He'd already made a fortune from it and didn't care much about this bit of credit.
Besides, if Li Yuan hadn't held Lady Liu off, he would've had a much harder time killing her.
Everyone looked delighted.
They knew full well that the case had been solved thanks entirely to Chen Mo, and they hadn't expected any reward.
But this was one of the Ten Heavenly Demons!
And the first one ever captured!
Even just having their names included was the highest honor imaginable!
"Flag Chief Chen is mighty!"
"In life, I belong to the Flag Chief. In death, I'll be his ghost!"
The excited crowd surged forward, lifted Chen Mo onto their shoulders, and hoisted him up.
When you hold the people in your heart, the people raise you high above their heads!
The constables from the Ding Fire Bureau were especially moved, their eyes brimming with tears. They hadn't expected Chen Mo to be so magnanimous.
If Li Yuan hadn't been standing right there, they might've been tempted to defect to the Water Bureau.
Watching them, Li Yuan's cheeks reddened, and her eyes darted away.
After a moment's hesitation, she couldn't help calling out:
"Chen Mo..."
"What is it?"
"C-could you put your clothes on first?"
You're swinging around so much, it's really hard not to look!
Chen Mo: "..."
Qin Shou, carrying Chen Mo's legs at the bottom, rubbed his head.
What the heck kept knocking against my skull?
Before you continue