Demons and monsters wreak havoc: gain one new confidante every day.

Shen You's heart was suddenly filled with turbulent waves.

He assumed that Third Sister had only recently arrived at Renxin Hall and must have only recently separated from that Liu Lang. Little did he know that it had happened a hundred years ago.

"So I've been impersonating someone from a hundred years ago?"

Shen You found it hard to believe.

"And Third Sister's feelings for that Liu Lang have lasted for a hundred years?"

Indeed, in all the stories of love between humans and ghosts, it seems that the female ghost is more devoted?

Furthermore, the Liu Gongbai before him was indeed a member of the Liu family, one of the three major families in Rongcheng.

The man named Liu Lang, who is also from the Liu family, is almost certainly true.

It is precisely because of its century-old heritage that the Liu family has become the number one family in Rongcheng.

At the end of the day, Shen You earned several thousand merit points for the demonic snake he had hunted. For Qingyi, who was on her first mission, this was a remarkable achievement.

With merit points, you can exchange them for various elixirs from the inner courtyard steward. These are all miraculous elixirs from Renxin Hall, and their quality is guaranteed.

That evening, after eating the dinner that Aunt Dou brought, Shen You suddenly remembered that Xiao Hui hadn't gone over yet.

"Auntie, did any of the Lin family's maids come to see you today?" Shen You asked Aunt Dou.

"The little maid from the Lin family, the one from last time?" Aunt Dou asked, surprised.

"Yes, she is my sworn sister!" Shen You nodded.

"I haven't seen her today!" Aunt Dou shook her head.

Shen You couldn't help but worry: "She said she was coming to find me today, and if she didn't find me, she was going to ask you, Auntie, but it's so late and there's still no news..."

Thinking of the rampant serpent that specifically targets young girls, Shen You felt a sudden chill run down her spine.

"Do you think she might be in danger?"

Aunt Dou frowned, immediately pulled out her butcher knife, and turned to leave: "I'm going to find her!"

"Auntie..." Shen You looked at Aunt Dou in surprise, then clenched her fist and nodded vigorously, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Auntie!"

If Aunt Dou goes to find someone, then we should be able to rest assured, right?

Despite saying that, Shen You was still restless for the next half hour and couldn't concentrate on his cultivation.

After waiting for a long time, Shen You heard heavy footsteps outside. She pushed open the door and saw Aunt Dou carrying the unconscious Xiao Hui back.

"She encountered a group of large green snakes near Renxin Hall. Those green snakes were all demonic beasts. They strangled the guards who brought her there, and she was also poisoned by the snakes and fell into a coma."

Aunt Dou put Xiao Hui down. "But before I came, I went to the front hall to find the pharmacist to detoxify her. She should be fine soon."

"Thank you, Auntie!" Seeing that Aunt Dou was so reliable, Shen You finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, she felt a lingering fear. If she hadn't noticed something was wrong and asked Aunt Dou to look for someone, Xiao Hui would probably have died in the mouths of those demonic snakes.

"Who exactly is behind this mess in this city?" Shen You was now even more determined to find out who was behind it all.

Aunt Dou took out something shiny. "I found this thing on the ground over there. I wonder what left it?"

"What?" Shen You looked closely and saw a patch of exceptionally gorgeous and shiny green scales that shone brightly even in the dark.

"Scales..."

Shen You held the scales up in front of her eyes.

So, could the mastermind behind this be a high-level snake demon?

"Auntie, do you know how the levels of demonic beasts are actually classified?"

Shen You seized the opportunity to ask.

"demon?"

Aunt Dou replied, "Before a demon takes human form, it is judged solely by its cultivation level; the deeper the cultivation, the higher the level of power. However, because its mind is incomplete, its threat to martial artists is ultimately limited."

"But after transforming into human form, they all acquire human intelligence and can lurk in the human world. Demons and humans can fall in love and even unite. At that time, they often follow the path of martial arts cultivation to quickly become stronger. After all, slowly cultivating one's cultivation is too time-consuming and too easy to die young."

"So, before transformation, one's cultivation level is considered, and after transformation, one's rank is also considered?" Shen You concluded.

"That's right, but most of the demons that have taken human form are highly skilled and have many unique demonic magic techniques that are beyond the reach of ordinary martial artists."

Aunt Dou said, "There are also demons. Although they have the ability to transform into human form, they disdain becoming human and instead forge a unique path of cultivation for themselves. Their minds are not human, and their strength is exceptionally profound, earning them the title of Great Demons."

"So the lowest level is the ordinary demon beast, then the transformed demon and the great demon? Is that how demons are classified?" Shen You asked.

"That's about right," Aunt Dou nodded.

Shen You asked, "So, ma'am, you're a demon in human form?"

Aunt Dou slapped Shen You on the head: "You brat, I'm not a demon. I just have some demon blood in my veins. One of my ancestors was related to a demon."

"So it's a half-demon!" Shen You exclaimed in realization.

"A half-demon?" Aunt Dou said. "That's a rather novel way of putting it..."

"The strongest are all half-demons!"

Shen You casually made up some nonsense and then changed the subject:

"So, the snake attack on innocent young girls in the city might be the work of a demon in human form, or perhaps a cultivation method of a powerful demon?"

"That's right." Aunt Dou nodded. "Although I picked up a scale, it's very common for a demon to not be fully transformed and to have some demonic parts remaining on its body. So we can't conclude that it's a powerful demon based on that alone."

"Interesting..." Shen You asked again, "So, in your opinion, what level of martial artist does that demon's strength correspond to?"

Aunt Dou pondered, "His ability is to control demonic snakes, but he can only control first- or second-grade demonic snakes. Therefore, his strength is probably only at the third-grade level. However, since he has already started performing rituals in the city, he may have reached a critical period for breakthrough. He may already be at the peak of the third grade and is about to break through to the fourth grade."

"Peak of the third rank, is it...?"

Shen You couldn't help but gasp.

I just learned about the third-grade "Great Strength" from Old Ghost Huang. If the opponent is a transformed demon, then they must possess "Great Strength". And if the opponent is a great demon, then they must also possess similar abilities.

Thinking about it this way, I, who have only just reached the second rank, have absolutely no chance against him.

It seems there's no hope of avenging Xiaohui anytime soon.

Is the only option to secretly keep an eye out for clues about this demon, and then hand over the clues to the higher-ups of Renxin Hall and ask those big shots to take action once we actually find his trail?

This is a viable solution, but I still feel somewhat unwilling to accept it.

But things have come to this point, and it seems that this is the only option.

"There's nothing I can do... I can only keep getting stronger!"

From that day on, Shen You entered into another period of arduous cultivation, the duration of which was unknown.