Actively Entering the Urn

[Minor Heavenly Cycle Qi Circulation Method +1]

[Minor Heavenly Cycle Qi Circulation Method +1]

"This circulation method is truly convenient. No matter the time or place, as long as I circulate my true essence through my meridians, I can draw origin energy from the heavens and earth to strengthen myself."

"However, the time it takes for the circulation method to increase by a single point is much longer than before."

After about an hour, the circulation method had only progressed by seven points.

Chen Zhuo slowly opened his eyes. Feeling the difficulty of strengthening the true essence within his sea of qi, he couldn't help but sigh to himself:

"To advance as valiantly as before, I must rely on the True Blood of demon beasts, and it must be a second-tier demon beast at that."

Chen Zhuo tapped his fingers rhythmically against the table. After pondering for a long time, he arrived at only one answer.

After the Autumn Hunt, he must head to the Northern Suppressing Faction.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhuo raised his eyes to look at Sun Fei and asked, "What kind of place is the Northern Suppressing Faction, exactly?"

The name existed in his memories from his past life, but he wasn't sure if the Northern Suppressing Faction of today was the same as the one in his memories.

"Awake? Have some tea first."

Sun Fei turned his gaze back from the window, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Chen Zhuo.

"Many thanks."

Chen Zhuo pressed two fingers together and tapped the table three times.

Sun Fei nodded slightly, his expression suddenly shifting to one of solemnity:

"Within the borders of Great Yong, anyone involved with demons or evil spirits may be executed before reporting—by imperial decree!"

"That is the Northern Suppressing Faction."

Chen Zhuo's expression turned stern.

So overbearing and tyrannical; as expected, anything daring to call itself the Northern Suppressing Faction was no simple matter.

No wonder the last page of the Inheritance Manual, handwritten by his master, contained only a few lines, yet still mentioned the Northern Suppressing Faction.

The Demon Prison held countless types of demon beasts.

If one were to join the Northern Suppressing Faction, would they ever lack Demon Blood?

At the thought of this, Chen Zhuo's breathing grew heavy.

"If you can join the Northern Suppressing Faction, it would naturally be excellent. As long as you have the ability, drinking Demon Blood and resting your head on secret manuals is not impossible."

After Sun Fei finished speaking, he paused in silence for a moment before changing the subject: "But you must also know that the reason the Northern Suppressing Faction recruits talent directly from the county yamen's runners is because the daily casualty rate for those serving in the Northern Faction is extremely high. Not to mention special missions—often, if ten people go out, it's considered good if one returns."

Chen Zhuo nodded. "Caution is indeed necessary."

Living to see another day, whole and intact, was always more important than any Demon Blood.

"However..."

Sun Fei smiled. "If you and I can go to the Northern Suppressing Faction together, then when we go out on missions, if we encounter any danger, we can be brothers who fight back-to-back."

"The risk of death will naturally be greatly reduced."

Chen Zhuo nodded with a smile, but upon further thought, he felt a bit puzzled:

"Why does a young master of the Sun Family like you think I have the ability to fight back-to-back with you, rather than being a burden?"

Since they first met, Sun Fei seemed to have a blind confidence in his strength.

Sun Fei smiled mysteriously. "A secret."

Chen Zhuo smiled faintly and didn't press the matter.

Just then, Chen Zhuo frowned imperceptibly and turned his gaze directly toward the gambling den downstairs.

"That demonic aura... why did it disappear?"

Chen Zhuo stared at the gambling den, quietly circulating his true essence to maximize his perception.

"Got it."

Chen Zhuo's gaze followed the demonic aura to the other side of the gambling den.

The distance was too great; if he hadn't already achieved Aperture Opening, he would never have been able to sense this demonic aura again.

"Hm? It's still moving?"

Chen Zhuo held his breath, his perception tracking the movement of the demonic aura.

The aura circled outside the gambling den and then gradually began to grow thicker.

The demonic aura seemed to be... moving in his direction?

Chen Zhuo's face darkened as he stared intently at the bustling street below.

A moment later, a middle-aged man of average build and plain appearance suddenly emerged from a nearby alley.

Chen Zhuo's gaze narrowed.

The Demon-Seeking Art could not be wrong; beneath this man's seemingly ordinary exterior hid a body full of Demon Blood.

Replacing his blood with Demon Blood... could he be a member of the Long River Gang?

Within his line of sight, the middle-aged man stepped out of the alley, glanced left and right, then wove through the crowd and headed straight into the tavern where he was staying.

Is he coming for me?

Chen Zhuo's palm lightly brushed against the mottled hilt of his blade.

In his perception, the demonic aura was growing increasingly thick.

Sun Fei noticed his strange behavior and couldn't help but cast a puzzled look his way.

Just as Sun Fei opened his mouth to ask, a "knock-knock" sounded at the door.

A gentle voice followed immediately.

"Young Master, are you still inside?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Sun Fei immediately realized who was outside.

But before he could even stand up, the person outside pushed the door open and walked in.

Such a dense demonic aura; I fear his human blood has been almost entirely replaced.

The moment the man pushed the door open, Chen Zhuo felt an intensely pungent demonic aura rush toward him.

He was certain that this man's replaced Demon Blood was entirely False Blood.

"Uncle Qian, why have you come out?"

Sun Fei greeted the middle-aged man at the door with a smile.

However, the moment the middle-aged man stepped inside, he asked with a gloomy face:

"Why haven't you entered the gambling den? If you linger here any longer, the quota will be snatched up by another family."

As Uncle Qian spoke, his gaze swept over Chen Zhuo only once before shifting away.

"Uncle Qian, calm yourself. Come, sit."

Sun Fei gestured for him to take a seat.

Uncle Qian remained stern-faced, not even letting his backside touch the chair. Instead, he stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly waiting for Sun Fei to provide an explanation.

Sun Fei seemed accustomed to Uncle Qian's attitude and did not feel that the master-servant dynamic had been inverted or that he had been offended; his expression remained normal as he said:

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Why must we rush in and fight to the death?"

Uncle Qian was slightly taken aback by these words, his brows furrowing as if he were about to flare up, but then he seemed to recall something, and his expression gradually returned to calm.

"You have grown up. You have your own ideas and judgment when facing matters; that is good."

Uncle Qian sighed softly, first praising Sun Fei, then asking:

"Let me hear how you have arranged things, to see if there are any oversights."

Sun Fei glanced at Chen Zhuo, and after receiving his nod, spoke frankly:

"I had Yangzi put on a robe and go in to scout for information. We'll see who wins, follow them quietly, and wait for the right moment to signal us."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Qian nodded and said, "The arrangement is not bad, but it is too thin."

"How so?"

"If Yangzi is discovered, wouldn't that be a waste of a great opportunity?"

"Yangzi is clever, and his martial arts are not weak. Even if he were truly discovered, he could at least fire a signal arrow."

"Still not right. I must go and keep watch myself to be at ease."

After saying this, Uncle Qian didn't wait for Sun Fei's agreement; he turned and hurried out.

"Hey, hey, Uncle Qian..."

Sun Fei wanted to call him back, but the man had already gone downstairs, leaving him helpless.

"Brother Chen, Uncle Qian is a good man, but his temperament is just like this. Please don't mind it."

From the moment the middle-aged man entered until he left, he had only glanced at Chen Zhuo once without even offering a greeting, clearly not holding Chen Zhuo in any regard.

Seeing Chen Zhuo fall silent, the observant Sun Fei naturally noticed this.

"It is of no consequence."

Chen Zhuo smiled and waved his hand.

He didn't care about such trivial details at all.

What he cared about was whether Huang Yuan'er would jump out himself later.

How could there be a single word of truth in the mouth of an Uncle Qian who had replaced his blood with Demon Blood?

Knowing his identity, Chen Zhuo had already determined that today's gambling den auction was a sham, and setting a death trap for him was the reality.

Trying to use Fatty Sun's hand to lure me into the trap?

Through Uncle Qian, Chen Zhuo had already anticipated Huang Yuan'er's intentions.

For anyone else, the best choice would be to head straight back to the yamen.

But Chen Zhuo had no such intention.

He turned his head to stare at the gambling den, suddenly breaking into a smile—a smile that concealed a blade.

A short while later, about five streets away from the gambling den, a signal arrow suddenly streaked into the sky.

Whoosh—bang!

Sun Fei shot to his feet.

"Let's go."