I became a martial arts saint while playing games.

Broken walls and crumbling ruins, withered vines entwining the pillars, the eerie old building stands in the suburbs. Cobwebs cover the interior, and a cold wind howls through the windows, giving it a ghostly atmosphere even in broad daylight.

Following directions from nearby villagers, Gu Yan and Li Shun finally found the haunted building.

Standing at the door, Li Shun sensed the heavy yin energy within the building and unconsciously placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. He glanced sideways at the Demon Suppression Division official beside him, but saw that the other party remained calm and composed, as if he didn't care about the aggressive yin energy at all.

He vaguely guessed that the lord was on a mission to suppress evil spirits and rid the people of harm. However, he was also a little curious, thinking that the lord had been traveling with him all along, yet he didn't know where he had heard about the haunted building here.

Li Shun stood at the door and, sensing the eerie atmosphere, was certain that there were indeed ghosts lurking there. If ghosts had indeed taken lives, why did the officials from the county government insist that the person had committed suicide?

This was the first time Li Shun had heard about this matter today.

He suspected that Magistrate Liu was colluding with demons. Could it be that this haunted house was also connected to the demons, which was why Magistrate Liu let it go unchecked?

However, it's also possible that the county government simply found the haunted building troublesome and difficult to handle. Furthermore, the location was remote and desolate, outside of Qingxi County, so they simply ignored it. Considering the nature of the Qingxi County government, this is indeed a possibility.

Li Shun felt increasingly disappointed with the Qingxi County government office, and only hoped that both the county government office and the demons would be completely wiped out.

The two had already stepped into the courtyard. A cold wind blew, making the broken windows creak and groan, but no ghosts appeared.

Li Shun thought to himself that he had long heard of the Demon Suppression Division's skillful handling of cases and their own methods for dealing with ghosts. He waited with bated breath, secretly anticipating what methods Gu Yan would use to make the ghost appear.

Then Gu Yan boldly pushed open the door and entered, arriving at one of the doors in the dilapidated house. He knocked loudly, asking, "Hello? Is there a ghost here?"

Li Shun: "?"

Is this how your Demon Suppression Division makes evil spirits manifest?

A moment of silence.

The door suddenly sprang open with a snap. A ghostly figure flickered, neither human nor inhuman, enveloped in a chilling, decaying aura. Its face was indistinct, and it moved silently, its pale, ghostly hand rushing towards them.

Gu Yan already had his longsword in hand. With a horizontal slash, the two ghostly hands were severed at the wrists, their claws falling to the ground. With a second diagonal thrust, the tip of the sword pierced through the abdomen, and domineering internal energy flowed into the body along with the sword, causing the ghostly creature's body to explode and turn into black mist.

Once a martial artist enters a certain realm, starting from the Solidifying Yuan Realm, they absorb the Qi of heaven and earth and transform it into internal Qi, which they can then use to slay evil spirits.

With a single, swift strike, Gu Yan continued forward. Li Shun watched as he walked straight past several doors, arriving at yet another room, where he knocked again: "Hello, is there a ghost?"

The door opened again, and this time a vengeful female ghost appeared, shrieking loudly.

But Gu Yan still swung his sword once, slicing through her throat. The female ghost's head was severed from her body, her shriek abruptly stopped, and she turned to ashes and vanished.

Li Shun suddenly had a strange feeling.

He felt that this man seemed to know all along which door was haunted, and that knocking was merely a matter of politeness.

It's like it's been opened up completely.

The surrounding atmosphere grew increasingly gloomy, like a cold mist spreading. Shadows flickered within the building, accompanied by a series of rustling sounds.

Ghostly figures flickered, some emerging from between the beams and pillars, some from behind the broken windows, and some slowly climbing down the old wooden stairs. They gathered in greater numbers and silently surrounded the two of them.

Li Shun swallowed hard, took a half-step back with his hand on the hilt of his knife, and was filled with horror.

No, where would so many ghosts come from in a dilapidated building?

Could it be that a ghost market or a large fair is being held here?

But it seemed like that wasn't enough.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed beneath my feet, and the rotten floorboards shattered. Amidst the flying dust and debris, a ferocious dog's head burst forth from the dark abyss beneath the ground, a foul stench filling the air, its massive claws tearing through bricks and splitting rocks.

A cave demon dog!

Its body was several times larger than that of an ordinary vicious dog, its entire body was as black as ink, its fangs protruded outwards, and its four claws were as hard as refined iron.

Li Shun was even more shocked. There were actually demonic beasts!

What's the story behind this haunted building?

But looking at Gu Yan, it seems that no matter what he saw, whether it was the room full of ghosts or demonic dogs, his expression remained unchanged, showing no surprise whatsoever.

He drew his sword and casually said, "I'll deal with this monster first; you can handle the rest of the ghosts for a while."

As he spoke, he walked slowly toward the demon dog, his back to Li Shun, seemingly intending to leave the rest of the ghosts to Li Shun.

Li Shun was stunned.

Huh? Me?

He stared blankly at the other ghosts, and all the ghosts in the room looked at him.

The demonic dog barked angrily and slammed its paw down with tremendous force. Gu Yan dodged to the side and returned the blow with his sword. The sword surged with internal energy, carving a gash about an inch long into the demonic dog's body.

The demonic hound flew into a rage, its claws lashing out and its teeth snapping with tremendous force, proving its formidable strength. Gu Yan dodged left and right, his longsword whirling like a silver snake as he engaged the demonic hound in battle.

Li Shun gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "I am most annoyed by the officials who hold their positions without doing anything, and I only regret that I cannot kill demons and eliminate evil spirits. Although the situation is dangerous today, as a dignified constable, to take up this sword and fight for the people is not the same wish I had when I first became a constable."

He exhausted all his strength and perished here, thus fulfilling his youthful ambitions and dying without regret.

He untied the gourd from his waist, took a large gulp, as if to bolster his courage. Then he threw the gourd aside, raised his sword, roared, and slashed fiercely at the nearest ghost.

The ghosts howled and swarmed forward, all rushing towards Li Shun.

Li Shun swung his sword wildly, the wind howling and the light flashing fiercely. His clothes were torn to shreds by the ghostly claws, his figure was disheveled, and he staggered, but with a fierce and desperate strength, he managed to hold on for a time amidst the horde of ghosts.

Ordinary constables would have been torn to pieces by the ghosts in a single exchange in this situation. But Li Shun's swift sword strikes revealed a fighting power far exceeding that of ordinary men.

Li Biao, the vicious constable who was killed by Gu Yan in the street, was practically a top-tier fighter in Qingxi County. Although Li Shun was also quite good in Qingxi County, his colleagues, including the county magistrate, felt that his skills were far inferior to Li Biao's. He was considered a good fighter in the county, but not a first-rate one.

However, if his colleagues had witnessed this scene, they would have been shocked to realize that Li Shun's true strength was far beyond that of Li Biao. Even if two or three Li Biaos stood side by side, they would definitely not be his match.

Clearly, he had been deliberately hiding his abilities, and neither his superiors nor his colleagues knew about them until this life-or-death crisis.

Even though he had concealed his strength, Li Shun discovered as soon as they engaged in combat that the ghosts were of varying strengths. Some were weak, but others were quite formidable. Although he remained undefeated for a time, he couldn't hold out for long.

The demonic beast that Gu Yan faced was even more extraordinary. Demonic beasts can also devour the energy of heaven and earth to strengthen themselves; if converted to human cultivation levels, this demonic hound might also be at the peak of the Solidifying Yuan Realm.

In addition, this demonic dog is incredibly strong and has a tough body; its strength is probably no less than that of the shopkeeper and his wife from last time.

Li Shun pondered that if his side were to fall and be defeated, the ghosts would join forces with the demonic dog to attack Gu Yan. Even this Demon Suppression Division official might not be able to withstand such a combined attack...

Thinking this, he swung his knife wildly while shouting, "My lord!"

Don't let me be a burden, go quickly! Go to the inn, find Lord Shen, and then avenge me! I, Li, will be a hero again in eighteen years!

That was what he originally intended to say.

It just didn't happen in time.

Suddenly, Li Shun saw a flash of sword light before his eyes, like lightning and thunder, which swept across the room in an instant.

But as the sword's momentum surged and its cold light swept across, several ghostly creatures before him didn't even have time to utter a sound before being swiftly cut down by the sword's light.

Li Shun, still in a desperate stance with his sword drawn, froze on the spot.

The remaining ghosts also froze instantly, too afraid to move.

That's it...?

He glanced at Gu Yan, and seeing Gu Yan sheath his sword and stand still, he suddenly felt a little unreal.

Wait, Lord Gu freed up his hands to help me slay the ghost... but what about the demon dog? What about such a huge demon dog?

He turned around blankly and saw the massive body of the cave demon dog frozen in place, its huge head already rolled to the ground, black blood gushing from its neck, stinking and pungent, its limbs twisted.

It was clear that his departure was not peaceful.

Li Shun's mouth dropped open.

Huh? That huge demon dog... is it dead?

Isn't this even faster than my... you know?