Demon Suppression Division

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Organization

Recruitment and ranks

• The Division visits counties to select personnel. Xiangyun County’s selection is highly competitive; under its customary rules, applicants must be younger than twenty, and those at the sixth stage of Body Forging have a realistic chance of selection 1 2.
• Recruits below the Qi Gathering Realm begin as Patrol Soldiers, Brawny Guards, or Scouts, performing patrols, support work, and mission assistance 37.
• Qi Gathering practitioners may take the Captain examination. Successful candidates become Demon Suppression Guards eligible for missions outside the city; newly appointed Captains receive one free cultivation-manual selection 37 38.
• Deputy Generals can command guards assigned to them, potentially including several hundred Captains. Yang Xiao receives the rank after the Guanlan River campaign 64 69.
• Demon Suppression Generals direct major regional operations and exercise authority over subordinate officers. Pei Xuance commands the Guanlan River blockade, while Lu Changgeng judges officers accused of neglecting their duties in Longwind Commandery 51 118.
• Circuit Inspectors inspect the provinces, assist in suppressing demons, and oversee local powers. Their tokens authorize them to demand cooperation from local Division offices, and emergencies permit them to act first and report afterward. The posts require Dao-Infant Realm experts 253 254.
• The Pacification Commissioner guards the entire circuit and stands above its Inspectors. Luo Zheng holds this office in Cuiyun Circuit 253.

Shen Qingyang describes realm, merit, and survivability as the measures that matter within the Division, rather than a recruit’s family background. High-level manuals, pills, and weapons generally require Merit earned through service; breakthrough arts specifically cannot be claimed without it 37 39.

The practical Captain examination requires Yang Xiao to endure ten moves from an examiner. After passing, a Captain receives an identity waist tablet, black martial attire, a Merit Booklet, and living quarters. The tablet proves eligibility to enter and leave the Division and claim missions, while damaged uniforms can be replaced 37 38.

Deputy General is described as the highest rank an ordinary Demon Suppression Guard can reach and the threshold for selection into the Demon-Slaying Battalion. Battalion advancement depends on demon-slaying achievements; Zhou Zheng states that every Qingzhou Demon Suppression General fought their way up through its ranks. Deputy Generals still perform ordinary command duties before taking Battalion assignments, and their missions commonly involve Liquid Condensation through Aperture-Opening threats, martial sects, and great clans 73 75.

Each commandery normally has one Demon Suppression General, with a fixed complement of Deputy General positions beneath that officer. A General must have reached at least the Core Illumination Realm, commands the troops of an entire region, and belongs to Qingzhou’s upper leadership. Yang Xiao becomes Qingzhou’s fourteenth General after Pei Xuance secures his appointment 153 199 201.

The circuit’s established reinforcement procedure requires a province to address its own Demon Plagues first. If it cannot cope, it reports to circuit headquarters, which should dispatch an Inspector. In Cuiyun Circuit, this system is hampered by Inspector vacancies that have persisted since the previous officeholders died in the line of duty; no new provincial Dao-Infant Realm experts have stepped forward to replace them 253.

Facilities and records

• Qingzhou headquarters — Contains guard residences, training arenas, archives, and mission facilities. Its Demon Subduing Stele names fallen guards and records 103,712 deaths in the line of duty since the Qingzhou Division’s founding 37 38.
• Merit Hall — Registers newcomers, issues identity tokens and Merit Booklets, and settles Merit 37.
• Task Hall — Posts mission bounties and registers teams. New guards cannot take field missions alone; a team must have at least two members 40.
• Cultivation Manual Archive — Holds martial and cultivation methods, with access restricted by rank and Merit. The Division also maintains a Pill Archive and Forging Pavilion 37 69.
• Demon-Slaying Battalion — Qingzhou’s elite force of Deputy Generals, responsible for missions against demons too powerful for ordinary guards. Its members usually operate separately and assemble for major disasters or Demon King hunts 73 86.
• Qi-Gathering Bottles — Hold demon aura used to document Battalion kills and calculate Merit. Corpses, cores, and witness testimony can also help verify kills when aura was not collected 96 133.
• Deputy General Courtyard — Located in the northeastern part of headquarters. Its residents receive private houses and courtyards more spacious than Captain accommodations. Yang Xiao’s residence includes a bluestone training ground, racks of standard-issue weapons, and a quiet room for secluded cultivation 71.
• Stables — Provide mounts including Half-Demon Horses descended from Demon Horses, whose speed and endurance surpass those of ordinary warhorses 76.
• Council hall — Hosts meetings of regional Generals to coordinate demon-suppression affairs, troop shortages, and personnel transfers. Thirteen Generals assemble there before Yang Xiao’s appointment 198.
• Internal Affairs Office — Handles the issue of Yang Xiao’s new uniform and armor after his appointment as General, under Li Hanguang’s supervision 199 200.
• Technique Pavilion’s fifth floor — Houses Mysterious Core Realm techniques. Its steward personally guides General Yang Xiao through saber, spear, fist and palm, and movement techniques, explaining how particular arts suit different Pill Patterns 209 210.
• Topographic Map of Qingzhou — Used by Li Hanguang to track developments reported by regional offices. He reviews urgent border dispatches and updates the relevant locations on the map 221.
• Cuiyun Circuit headquarters — Oversees several provinces but occupies a comparatively modest government compound, with a weathered plaque, worn stone beasts, and only two soldiers guarding its entrance. Its primary function is overall coordination and deployment, rather than maintaining a large concentration of personnel 251.

The Demon-Slaying Battalion’s monthly Merit settlements provide one of the few regular opportunities for its scattered Deputy Generals to meet. Li Hanguang verifies the demonic aura in their bottles with a spell and enters their achievements in a Merit Booklet 133.

Military law and resource policies

• Mission discipline — Disobedience in battle is subject to Division military law regardless of family background. Yang Xiao explicitly invokes this rule when taking command of his Captains 75.
• Accountability — The Division’s disciplinary rules are described as extremely strict and dependent on evidence rather than pleas or justifications. Han Dingshan is returned under restraint with his cultivation sealed after the Longwind Commandery investigation 118.
• Seized manuals — Cultivation manuals captured during missions must be submitted to the Technique Pavilion for archiving. An accepted informal practice allows the responsible Deputy General to make a personal copy first 84.
• Recovery leave — Completed missions entitle personnel to at least several days of rest. Yang Xiao also receives a month of leave for the Guanlan Commandery campaign, although he seeks further assignments before using it 86.
• Merit distribution — Mission rewards distinguish between principal and supporting contributions. After the Painted-Skin case, Yang Xiao receives 600 Merit and Xu Qingshan receives 400 47.
• Mission suitability — Li Hanguang refuses to send the newly advanced Yang Xiao against Pill-Pattern Demon Kings, explaining that each Mystic Core Demon King in Qingzhou is already watched by a Demon Suppression General and that an inexperienced Core Condensation officer would be risking his life for Merit 140.
• Higher-realm resources — Pei Xuance explains that meritorious service and demon slaying can help Yang Xiao obtain the Five Elements Spiritual Roots needed to advance his Dao Infant 250.
• Emergency authority — A circuit Inspector may take action before submitting a report when a crisis requires it, in addition to compelling cooperation from local Division offices 254.

Weapons, techniques, and uniforms

Relations with other powers

The Division, martial sects, and great clans together maintain an insecure balance against Qingzhou’s demons, which vastly outnumber human cultivators. Cooperation is limited by sect rivalries, clan interests, and covert dealings between some human factions and demons. Demons themselves are also divided by bloodline, territory, and competing interests 86.

Zhou Zheng warns that the Division’s reputation does not guarantee the obedience of every martial-world faction and that officers must consider the connections behind the groups they investigate. Nevertheless, he tells Yang Xiao that local Division branches will support action against wrongdoing rather than requiring him to yield to influential sects or clans 75.

Sword-Hiding Mountain receives Yang Xiao and Yan Tieyi as Division guests at its Hundred Swords Return to the Pool gathering. Lu Changgeng supplies his sword, a family letter, an identification token, and the Division’s invitation for their visit. The mountain subsequently grants Yang Xiao the honor of placing the first weapon into its Sword Pool and admits the visitors to its restricted grounds 120 130.

Yellow Wind Mountain becomes a major adversary during the later Qingzhou operations. After Lady Musk is killed by a young General in black armor and a red cloak, the Yellow Wind Demon King resolves to place responsibility on the Division, orders his remaining Demon Kings to withdraw from Qingzhou, and seeks Master Xuanzhen’s assistance at Lotus Flower Temple 222. Xuanzhen later attacks at Qingzhou headquarters, gravely injuring Qin Lie and Pei Xuance 238 244.

Luo Zheng distinguishes the Division’s responsibility for guarding Great Zhou from the immortal sects’ responsibility for holding back the Hundred-Thousand Demon Mountains. Among these sects, Xuandu Abbey has the closest relationship with the Division. He notes that Pei Xuance once took its assessment and infers that Pei failed, reasoning that otherwise Lotus Flower Temple would not have bullied him without intervention 254.

History and major operations

Xiangyun County recruitment

The Qingzhou Division is asked to reinforce Xiangyun County against demons beyond the county yamen’s strength. Flag Officer Shen Qingyang arrives with ten elite guards, intending both to address the outbreaks and recruit local personnel. After learning that Yang Xiao has gone alone to Three-Demon Mountain, Shen orders the group to search for him 6 31.

Yang Xiao returns having killed the bull demon. Shen finds that the county’s recorded threats have already been dealt with, then selects three people for the journey to Qingzhou. Yang Xiao’s place is assured by his achievement 35 36.

The visiting Division officer also supplies medicine for the badly injured Zhang Hu. On arrival in Qingzhou, Shen directs the lower-realm newcomers to register for subordinate ranks while taking Yang Xiao to the Captain examination 36 37.

Guanlan River campaign

After River Inspection Envoy Jiang Chen’s collusion with the Flood Dragon Lord is exposed, General Pei Xuance mobilizes Guanlan Prefecture’s guards to seal hundreds of miles of river. Qingzhou sends reinforcements, including Yang Xiao. Division forces restrain the Flood Dragon Lord with nine Demon-Subduing Chains, while Pei rejects its claim that keeping other demons away excuses its attacks on humans 51 61.

The investigation begins after the bodies of several hundred victims, intended to be carried out to sea, wash onto a downstream shoal and are reported to the Division. Jiang Chen escapes into the river’s complex waterways, complicating the pursuit. A temporary camp at Stone Spring Township gathers several hundred guards from different commanderies 51 52.

During the operation, Li Mao’s unauthorized search results in the deaths of seven or eight Captains. Ye Jinkai undertakes to report both the misconduct and Yang Xiao’s killing of a Water Wraith. Zhou Zheng subsequently reinforces the outpost and orders wider patrols before Jiang Chen attacks with more than a dozen water demons, including a Perfected Liquid Condensation Blackwater Mystic Flood Dragon 56.

The returning Qingzhou contingent enters the city with blood and river silt still on its armor. Its losses and achievements become the subject of widespread public discussion, while major clans seek information about those who distinguished themselves. Yang Xiao is later formally appointed Deputy General for his service 67 69.

Qingzhou investigations

• Heishui County — Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan investigate disappearances linked to a Painted-Skin Demon after earlier Division guards vanish on the case 41 46. The investigation concludes with the discovery of victims’ skins, including those of two Division guards, at the County Yamen. On their return to Qingzhou, the partners receive their respective Merit rewards 47.
• Golden Buddha Temple — Yang Xiao leads Captains to investigate reports of disease and exploitation. After finding a ledger of victims and evidence of blood-based cultivation, he orders the mountain surrounded before confronting the temple 75 79 80. Division guards block both departing monks and arriving worshippers, and Yang Xiao orders the monks arrested after defeating Huiming’s guardians. The force returns to Qingzhou with Huiming’s corpse and the captured monks; Yang Xiao submits the Lotus Platform Rebirth Body manual for archiving and reserves part of the seized assets to compensate his men 80 84.
• Mystic Bone Sect — Battalion officers respond to a siege by powerful demons. Yang Xiao kills Bear Mountain Lord, ending the immediate crisis 86 96.
• Azure Mist City — Division officers fight the Seven Demons of She Mountain and subsequently clear the battlefield and rescue civilians held near the City Lord’s Residence. Evidence of an outsider Demon King prompts an investigation into the silence of Longwind Commandery’s reports 99 109.
• Black Miasma Ravine — Yang Xiao recovers badges belonging to fallen Division members and kills the Nine-Poison Scorpion Lord. He asks that the deaths be recorded and the guards’ families compensated 114 115 116.
• Pinewind Town — Yang Xiao investigates nighttime deaths and discovers the Red Lizard Demon King draining a woman’s life with fire. He protects the victim and pursues the demon out of town to avoid endangering residents, then kills it at the Mass Burial Ground. The demon admits that it had hidden near the town for years to evade the Division 181 182 183.

Longwind Commandery accountability

Yang Xiao and Yan Tieyi travel to the Longwind Commandery garrison to investigate its missing reports. The Captains initially bar entry under Han Dingshan’s orders, claiming that their Deputy General has been recovering from an injury sustained three months earlier. Yang Xiao detects both medicinal herbs and Demonic Qi, prompting further suspicion 110.

Han attacks Yang Xiao during questioning but is disarmed and subdued. Yang Xiao exposes the severe poison consuming him, and Han admits that he refused treatment while pursuing a breakthrough in a Treasure Ground. He also acknowledges an agreement with the Nine-Poison Scorpion Lord to guard the gateway. Yan Tieyi connects the failure of local oversight to the possibility that the outsider Rock Rhino Demon King entered Qingzhou through Han’s territory 111.

Han is subsequently transported back with his cultivation sealed and his wrists bound in demon-suppressing chains. Lu Changgeng exercises disciplinary authority over the officers implicated in the commandery’s failures 118.

Tangkou Township

Third Lord Jiao seizes the River God Temple in Tangkou Township, displacing Clam Spirit Lady and killing Division agents sent there. The surviving villagers are forced to worship him, and he openly asks whether the Division has sent anyone else who can serve as desirable meat 142.

Yang Xiao enters the township and later overwhelms the Little Dragon King, the young leader of the Canglan River’s Mystic Flood Dragon Clan. Despite the demon’s Pill-Pattern cultivation, Yang Xiao pins it underground, forces it to reveal its Azure Flood Dragon form, and strikes it back to the ground 142 147.

Baisha Commandery wind-pass operation

The Wind Falcon Demon King opens seven wind passes to funnel Yellow Wind Mountain’s sand into Baisha Commandery, threatening to bury the region. After Yang Xiao and Han Chuan capture and interrogate a Sand Crystal Rat, Feng Weibing recognizes that the loss of the outposts has left every pass open 162.

The force numbers fewer than two hundred, creating the danger of isolation inside demon territory. Feng Weibing offers to face the enemy Pill-Pattern Demon King, revealing that he obtained a stable pill pattern with the Governor-General’s support. The party advances to Sinking Sand Pass, where a Sandridge Demon General confronts it, and subsequently reaches Whirlwind Pass. During the fighting, the guards form a shield-outward defensive circle and leave the Deputy Generals room to engage the greater demons 162 163 164.

Yang Xiao and Feng Weibing kill the two Core Condensation Sandridge Demon Generals at Whirlwind Pass. Han Chuan recognizes that keeping the ordinary guards clear of the engagement allows the stronger officers to fight without endangering their own men 165.

Zhenshan Commandery deployment

Pei Xuance issues an urgent order dispatching Yang Xiao to Zhenshan Commandery when Chu Qingtian prepares to pursue a Core Illumination Demon King. Chu’s departure would leave the frontier commandery without a Mystic Core martial artist, creating an opening for nearby demons to invade 172.

Chu later offers Yang Xiao the previously unfilled Deputy General position in Zhenshan Commandery and places the prospect of succession as its next Demon Suppression General before him. The offer reflects Chu’s unusually high trust in Yang Xiao’s ability to defend the region 178.

Yang Xiao’s defense includes killing the Mountain Ridge Demon King before the watching Division guards. Chu later cites Yang Xiao’s defeat of the invading Demon King and his efforts to comfort displaced civilians as evidence supporting his appointment as General 176 199.

Appointment of Qingzhou’s fourteenth General

After Yang Xiao reaches the Core Illumination Realm, Pei Xuance instructs him to remain at headquarters awaiting orders. Generals from the commanderies arrive for a council attended by thirteen Demon Suppression Generals, with Pei presiding, Chu Qingtian seated to his left, and Li Hanguang to his right. The meeting first addresses regional demon plagues, troop shortages, and personnel transfers 198.

Pei then nominates Yang Xiao for the vacant General’s seat, and Li circulates his Merit records. Lu Zhengyi questions the extraordinary speed of Yang Xiao’s advancement and raises the possibility that he is a demon spy. Chu Qingtian and Lu Changgeng defend him based on their own dealings with him. Pei accepts personal responsibility should Yang Xiao prove problematic and confirms his appointment as Qingzhou’s fourteenth Demon Suppression General 199.

Li Hanguang arranges Yang Xiao’s Cold Iron Mystic Armor and Blood Baleful Intent Cloak and escorts him to the main courtyard for his public introduction. Apart from personnel maintaining essential guard posts, the Division assembles to witness the occasion, including Captains, Deputy Generals, Brawny Guards, and Patrol Soldiers. His rise from newly appointed Captain to General in roughly a year astonishes colleagues including Zhou Zheng and Xu Qingshan 200 201.

Campaign against Yellow Wind Mountain

Pei Xuance assigns Yang Xiao to search Qingzhou’s commanderies for particular demonic auras while Pei watches Yellow Wind Mountain. He provides Yang Xiao with the auras to pursue and shows him a map of the province’s Demon King lairs. During their briefing, Yang Xiao reports that two White Tigers had waited to ambush Lu Zhengyi 209.

After the Canglan River incident, most of the Demon-Slaying Battalion’s Deputy Generals are deployed to suppress outbreaks across Qingzhou. Li Hanguang remains at headquarters reviewing urgent regional reports and updating the province’s topographic map 221.

Lady Musk’s death at the hands of the newly appointed General alarms the Yellow Wind Demon King, who fears repercussions from the Crimson Serpent Demon Emperor. He orders the remaining Demon Kings to leave Qingzhou and travels to Lotus Flower Temple to request Xuanzhen’s intervention 222.

Pei Xuance subsequently destroys Yellow Wind Mountain’s demonic forces. Returning to discover the devastation, the Yellow Wind Demon King vows to wipe out Guanlan Commandery and travels there with Black Rock on the Golden Kite 238.

Guanlan retaliation and attack on Qingzhou headquarters

Black Rock kills a responding Deputy General in Guanlan Commandery by shattering his saber and cleaving him in two. Another Deputy General recognizes that the defenders cannot defeat a Core Illumination Demon King without General Pei and orders the streets cleared and crossbows readied. Yang Xiao arrives, kills Black Rock, and instructs the surviving officer to withdraw his men before confronting the Yellow Wind Demon King 240 241.

Meanwhile, Xuanzhen confronts Qin Lie outside Qingzhou headquarters, claiming to have come to settle an old debt. His Buddhist light erodes Qin Lie’s power, and he strikes Qin through the Division’s outer wall while Li Hanguang watches Pei Xuance continue consuming demon cores 238.

After Qin Lie is gravely wounded and left unconscious with his Dao Infant exposed, Pei uses demonic Sha and demon essence to force a breakthrough. His Mystic Core shatters, revealing a golden Dao Infant wreathed in black Qi. He shields Qin Lie and attacks Xuanzhen, but the monk binds his spear lights and strikes him down, cracking his Dao Infant 244.

Xuanzhen’s pressure immobilizes the Division’s personnel, including Li Hanguang, preventing them from intervening despite their determination to resist. As Xuanzhen declares that Qingzhou’s fortune has ended, a golden light approaches headquarters from the horizon 244.

Cuiyun Circuit mission and Inspector vacancy

In the subsequent debriefing report to Cuiyun Circuit, Pei Xuance credits Yang Xiao with Qingzhou’s major victories. Pei remains behind to stabilize his fused Dao Infant and asks Yang Xiao to escort Governor Qin to circuit headquarters for treatment. Li Hanguang volunteers to accompany him and investigate blessed grounds so Qingzhou can regain access to them. Before their departure, Pei warns Yang Xiao not to mention his dealings with Lotus Flower Temple 250.

Yang Xiao and Li Hanguang reach Cuiyun Circuit headquarters, whose modest appearance surprises Yang Xiao after the scale of Qingzhou’s compound. Li explains its coordination-centered role and presents Qingzhou’s official seal at the entrance, identifying himself as a Deputy General of the Qingzhou Division. They subsequently encounter Luo Zheng 251.

Luo Zheng explains the circuit’s long-vacant Inspector posts and offers Yang Xiao a position. He outlines its responsibilities for inspecting provinces, suppressing demons, overseeing local powers, and compelling local Division cooperation, emphasizing the authority to act first and report afterward in a crisis 253 254.

Notable quotes

“Your realm determines your starting point, your merit determines your resources, and how hard you are to kill determines whether you can stay alive long enough.” — Shen Qingyang 37

“Demons may exist, but they may not prey on humans.” — Pei Xuance’s position in his confrontation with the Flood Dragon Lord 61

“The more Aperture-Penetration Realm demons you slay, the higher you can rise. Every Demon Suppression General in Qingzhou fought their way up through the Demon-Slaying Battalion.” — Zhou Zheng 73

“With an inspector's token, you could demand the cooperation of any local Demon Suppression Division office.” — Luo Zheng 254

“In other words, act first, report later!” — Luo Zheng, explaining an Inspector’s emergency authority 254

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