I defeated the saint with a parry.

Demon slayers are a rather unique group within the Demon Suppression Division.

According to Xu Ling's understanding, their functions and relationship are more like those of mercenaries and a mercenary guild.

Xu Ling accepted the job of escorting Li west, which would not only earn him payment from Li west but also a reward from the Demon Suppression Division.

If Xu Ling can provide useful information or submit valuable treasures, the reward will increase accordingly.

The Demon Suppression Bureau existed in every city of the Great Chu, but its scale and strength were completely different...

For example, the Demon Suppression Division in Zhangye City, where Xu Ling came from, is relatively weak, probably the kind that's not favored by anyone. Compared to the Demon Suppression Division in Fancheng City, it's not even in the same league, from rewards to the number of strong individuals.

Standing at the main gate of the Demon Suppression Bureau, one can understand Xu Ling's meaning.

The four characters "a high gate and a grand hall" seem to be displayed there blatantly.

The steps leading to the gate were as high as those of other houses, and after going up, there was a threshold as high as one's own span waiting to be crossed. The enormous gate made Xu Ling feel exceptionally small, and even the 'guardian stone pillars' standing on both sides were actually two living 'lion demons'.

"New here!"

The lion demon spoke up: "Haven't you ever seen a barrier beast before? If you keep staring at us, we'll devour you."

"Xu Ling greets the two seniors!" Xu Ling bowed respectfully, presented his demon slayer's token, and said, "I'm not afraid of being laughed at, seniors, but this is indeed my first time meeting you both. It seems that you two are drawn to the moonlight, the moonlight and the patterns on your bodies reflecting each other, like a light in the darkness, illuminating my path ahead."

Upon seeing the waist token handed over by Xu Ling, the two barrier beasts looked at each other, confirmed that the token was correct, and were then flattered by Xu Ling, feeling as if they had eaten candy.

After tossing the waist token back to Xu Ling, the barrier beast on the right grinned and said, "Junior!! You have good taste! We won't blame you anymore, take it or leave it."

After saying that, it deliberately turned its body to the side, revealing the patterns on its body, and even secretly activated its own spiritual power to make the moonlight more obvious, truly resembling a radiant celestial beast.

The other one wasn't much better.

How to put it? When two white lions, as big as elephants in your past life, squat in front of you like kittens, flashing like fireflies, it's hard not to be moved.

Xu Ling almost got a nosebleed from cuteness and couldn't resist touching the chins of the two lions.

The two lions tensed up, about to scold, but an unprecedented pleasure came from their chins, and the scolding that was about to come out of their mouths turned into the sound of an 'engine'.

The V12 type.

Before Xu Ling even entered the gate, he had already won over the two guarding lions.

This scene, placed under the plaque of the Demon Suppression Bureau, seems quite reasonable.

The Demon Suppression Bureau is very different from other government offices. There are basically no people at its entrance and inside. All the demon slayers and demon suppressers are out on missions or on their way to accept missions. They don't stay in the office all the time.

Xu Ling bypassed the two barrier beasts and entered the government office, where he finally saw the entirety of the Demon Slayer Bureau of Fancheng Town. The five-courtyard complex had offices on both sides, with one or two people working in them here and there. Occasionally, a few demon slayers could be seen walking around the courtyard, but they would only nod in greeting and not exchange any words with each other.

This ruthless style is very much in line with a government office that is "decisive and ruthless".

"A new face, give me your badge."

The main hall in the first courtyard was the area for "employment and mission handover." As soon as Xu Ling entered, the cultivator who looked like a "secretary" sitting at the table asked, "Here to report for duty?"

Xu Ling respectfully presented the waist token, and then also took out the demon core of the human-faced tiger, the spiritual treasure doll of the evil cultivator Sumeru, and handed them to the cultivator in front of him along with the job report.

The middle-aged cultivator wore a black robe with gold patterns and a plain blue brocade shirt. His neatly styled hair was tied with a black crown, and he exuded an extraordinary aura.

Xu Ling had just sensed a similar aura from the second master of the Li family, but the person in front of him seemed even more ruthless, surpassing the second master of the Li family, and possessed a greater sense of killing intent.

"Yo!"

A soft gasp of surprise pulled Xu Ling back to reality. The person in front of him spoke, "So, it was you who sent back that illegitimate child of the eldest son of the Li family?"

What appears to be a question is actually a statement.

He added, "This is the demon core of the human-faced tiger, with an aura of medium intensity at the Concentration Realm; this mud doll is a damaged spiritual treasure, possessing the aura of a heretical cultivator at the Spirit Platform Realm; and the quality of this Breakthrough Pill is also quite good..."

"Not bad, not bad, we've gotten quite a few good things on this trip."

He looked at the spoils of war, then turned to Xu Ling with considerable satisfaction, his eyes filled with more curiosity than speculation.

"My name is Xu Huaixu. What is your name?"

"Junior Xu Ling greets Senior."

"According to your report, that heretical cultivator Sumeru has been entrenched near Peach Garden Village for at least ten years. Do you have any proof?"

"Of course I have it." Xu Ling handed over the notebook, which Xu Huaixu took and began to read.

"You're at the Body Tempering Realm?" Xu Huaixu asked. "Did anyone help you along the way?"

"Apart from Zhong Song, the silver-medal demon slayer, there is no one else."

Xu Ling wrote very clearly in his report, which included the Li family sending people to kill Li Xi, and naturally also included his act of using one enemy to devour another.

"good!"

Xu Huaixu smiled and said, "You can stay in Fancheng for two days first. After the verification, I will give you all the rewards at once."

"Thank you, sir!"

After Xu Ling left, Xu Huaixu's smile widened.

He waved his hand, and a phantom emerged from the darkness, surrounded by black mist, as if it were about to vanish back into the darkness.

"Greetings, garrison commander!"

"Go follow that kid and see if he's been in contact with anyone. He's from the border, and although he's only at the Body Tempering Realm, he has the ability to fight against people at the Spirit Platform Realm. It's really strange that he's never shown such abilities before."

"Is the garrison commander afraid that this person is a spy?"

"Not really, I'm just curious about his lineage. The people on the other side won't let such a talent come to our Great Chu so easily. Just as our Great Chu won't let such a person wander off to other places..."

"Shadow understands, I'll go now."

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared into the shadows.

After the shadow disappeared, Xu Huaixu, holding the notes, seemed lost in thought, and then also vanished from the spot.

A few breaths later, over Taoyuan Village.

Xu Huaixu appeared here. He first looked at the surrounding mountains before looking at the old site of "Taoyuan Village", which had now become a lake.

"There are indeed traces of an array."

He nodded slightly, raised his hand and waved it in the air. A flash of sword light appeared, and the lake below split in two, revealing traces of the village below.

Seeing this, Xu Huaixu was still not satisfied. He made a grasping motion in the air and actually lifted the entire lake up, so that the water of the lake floated in the air. His figure then appeared in the ruins... next to the Sumeru corpse.

"His dantian was destroyed; he died with a single blow."

The next moment, Xu Huaixu's figure was back at the foot of the collapsed altar, in the passageway that Zhao Yi had mentioned.

Xu Huaixu took in all the remaining traces of the altar, the talismans, and even the signs of the battle that had taken place throughout Taoyuan Village.

Everything Xu Ling said matched up perfectly.

Can…