An agent of the Demon Suppression Bureau

Zhang Xuan nodded, his voice low. "We examined the Black Coffin earlier. There were only two headless corpses inside, and they weren't the coffins' original occupants. They were grave robbers."

The monk frowned slightly, as though he had grasped a thread of the truth. "You mean...?"

Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and continued, "My guess is that those were two cenotaphs for Great Zhou soldiers. There were three grave robbers in all. After digging up the coffins, they discovered they contained only clothing and personal effects. Not only had all their work been for nothing, they'd also provoked the Corpse Buddha in the ruined temple. Two died horribly. Only Meng Changxi escaped."

Then Zhang Xuan added, a chill creeping into his voice, "I even suspect we weren't lured into the ruined temple because that Wild God had set its sights on us. Its target should have been Meng Changxi. We were merely caught in the fallout."

The two talked as they fled with all their might. Though the Followers' Flesh and Blood beneath their feet did not cover a particularly vast area, they were in a mountain hollow, where the paths were rugged and difficult to traverse. With Zhang Xuan's strength failing and the monk trapped in an illusion, they could not move very quickly.

After running for roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, their clothes had been shredded by branches, leaving clearly visible streaks of blood across their bodies. Yet both breathed a sigh of relief—the edge of the flesh-laced soil beneath their feet was just ahead.

That meant they were about to leave the Headless Corpse Buddha's sensory range and escape with their lives.

But before their smiles had lasted long, someone strolled out from behind a thick tree ahead.

"My, my. An offering should know its place. How could you run off without permission?" His voice was soft and effeminate, with a teasing edge.

He wore a tall crown topped with a coiling, wondrous Azure Dragon sculpture, and a crimson cloak over fitted black robes. Intricate cloud-and-thunder patterns and Eight Trigrams motifs were embroidered across the robes in dark gold thread.

His lapels fluttered lightly in the wind, his sleeves broad and flowing. A jade belt cinched his waist, inlaid with gems shaped like various spirit beasts. His attire alone made it clear that his background was anything but ordinary.

A gray-feathered hawk perched on his shoulder, staring sharply at Zhang Xuan and the monk. The next moment, its long beak opened and closed, and human speech emerged. "Reporting to the agent, sir. Two mortals, two mortals. Cultivation rank: [Mortal dust]."

The monk's expression tightened, and he murmured, "Demon Suppression Bureau?"

Having lost his memories, Zhang Xuan could not recognize the stranger's origins, but the monk was different. He had traveled far and wide over the years and seen much; a single glance told him where this man came from.

The young man with the delicate features toyed with the jade pendant at his waist, watching Monk Sanjie with an amused smile. "Oh? So even a monk like you knows the fearsome reputation of our Demon Suppression Bureau! Indeed, I am Xu Ming, a Centurion of the Demon Suppression Bureau's Azure Dragon Guard."

The Demon Suppression Bureau had been founded in the 184th year of Great Zhou's Xuanwu era, eighteen years ago, and was the most mysterious presence within the Great Zhou dynasty. Its members held no government office and attended no court sessions. They did not bow before the reigning chief minister or kneel before Great Zhou's imperial family. Their sole duty was to purge all manner of demons and evil beings within Great Zhou, preserving peace and order throughout its territory.

The organization was divided into four guards: Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger. Azure Dragon cultivated control, Vermilion Bird emphasized techniques, Black Tortoise commanded strength, and White Tiger practiced martial arts, each guard with its own focus. The Demon Suppression Bureau's members were martial experts and cultivators handpicked from across the land. Not only did they possess exceptional fighting skills, they were also proficient in all manner of demon-expelling and devil-subduing arts.

Xu Ming, standing before them, was a Centurion of the Azure Dragon Guard. "Centurion" was not an official post but a title, signifying that Xu Ming alone could wipe out an elite enemy unit a hundred soldiers strong!

When Xu Ming introduced himself as a Centurion of the Demon Suppression Bureau, Zhang Xuan was delighted rather than alarmed. An excited smile spread over his face, and he called loudly to the monk, "Monk, he's an expert from the Demon Suppression Bureau! We're saved!"

Zhang Xuan's words stirred something in the monk's heart. He, too, put on an honest, guileless smile and shouted along with him, "We're saved! We're saved!"

Crying "We're saved!" again and again, the two staggered toward Xu Ming in wild delight, like drowning men clutching at a life-saving straw. As he ran, Zhang Xuan added, unable to contain his joy, "Sir, a great demon is hunting the two of us! Please subdue it, Lord Centurion!"

The monk was faster than Zhang Xuan and reached Xu Ming first. Xu Ming paid little mind to the approaching monk, whose clothes were ragged and whose entire body was smeared with blood. Since the Long-Beaked Messenger had determined that these two were mortals rather than cultivators, there was nothing to be cautious about.

The Long-Beaked Messenger was the supreme creation of another secret Great Zhou institution, the [Fate-Command Palace], which combined heavenly divination arts with secret soul techniques. Every member of the Demon Suppression Bureau ranked Centurion or higher was equipped with one. It could transmit messages over a thousand miles and detect spiritual power.

Within the Demon Suppression Bureau, cultivators and demonic beings were each divided into four tiers and twelve grades...

Cultivators:

Heaven tier (three realms: Nascent soul, jade clarity, great void)

Earth tier (three realms: Golden core, spirit pivot, mystic insight)

Mystic tier (three realms: Spirit gathering, qi control, spirit condensation)

Yellow Tier (three realms: Meridian opening, light opening, foundation establishment)

The same applied to demons and ghosts, though the names differed. For instance, cultivators' Yellow Tier comprised meridian opening, light opening, and foundation establishment, while for demons and ghosts it was painted skin, silk manipulation, and puppet seeding. Overall, however, both had four tiers and twelve grades.

The [mortal dust] warning the Long-Beaked Messenger had given earlier meant that these were ordinary people without any spiritual power, outside the ranks of [heaven, earth, mystic, and yellow]. Even if they were supposedly great martial masters, Xu Ming would not regard them as worth his attention so long as they lacked spiritual power.

Xu Ming had thought that, having made his stance clear, he would see despair on their faces. To think this monk and Daoist were so stupid that they still regarded him as their savior. Foolish mortals indeed!

In fact, when the Long-Beaked Messenger examined Zhang Xuan and the monk, a dim glow flickered in Zhang Xuan's left eye. Xu Ming's information appeared immediately afterward:

[Xu Ming · Grade eleven, Light Opening Realm]

[Status: Heart-Ruling Sword Control, wind control incorporated into spellcraft]

[Threat level: deep red]

After quickly going over all this information in his mind, Zhang Xuan found several questions arising. Earlier, in the ruined temple, when the Headless Corpse Buddha had completed its nirvana and lunged at them to kill, the light around it had clearly shown signs of turning from deep red to black.

Deep red, black? What do these threat-level colors mean? And what do their respective statuses mean? Zhang Xuan wondered.

Just as that thought arose, lines of small, dark gold lettering appeared in Zhang Xuan's field of vision:

[Threat levels: white, orange, pale red, deep red, black]

["White" indicates no threat whatsoever]

["Orange" indicates that the target is capable of harming the esteemed inheritor]

["Pale red" indicates that the target's strength is close to that of the esteemed inheritor]

["Deep red" indicates that, when exerting their full strength, the target has an 80% chance of killing the esteemed inheritor without sustaining injury]

["Black" indicates that the target can instantly kill the esteemed inheritor with a casual strike]

[Note: esteemed inheritor, unless necessary, be sure to stay far away from enemies emitting a deep red glow or higher. Even ants cling to life, so how much more should the esteemed inheritor?]

The small, dark gold letters lingered for only a few breaths before vanishing into thin air.

Threat level? After a moment's thought, Zhang Xuan roughly understood.

The light merely represented how much of a threat someone posed to him, rather than a classification of their strength. Take the monk, for instance: according to the light revealed by the [nether candle mystic eyes], his glow was white. Did that mean the monk lacked the strength to kill him?

Of course not. More precisely, the monk had no "intention" of harming him.

Thus, the [nether candle mystic eyes] could even be used to judge whether someone was friend or foe!

Zhang Xuan inwardly rejoiced at having obtained such useful information...