Devouring demons, I attain immortality.

Lin An's gaze was fixed on Zi Li's departing figure, and he felt a vague unease in his heart.

He always felt that the aura emanating from Zi Li was somehow connected to the extraterrestrial demons.

Although her spiritual power appeared normal on the surface, the faint evil aura emanating from the purple arc of electricity made even him feel a chill.

"Brother Lin, what do you think?"

After the fight ended, Su Yichen walked to Lin An's side, his face pale, clearly indicating that the battle had left him with serious injuries.

Lin An withdrew his gaze, pondered for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Zi Li's strength is indeed extraordinary, especially her purple whip, which seems to contain some kind of strange power. Did you sense anything unusual when you fought her just now?"

Su Yichen frowned and recalled, "Something is definitely not right. Her spiritual power, on the surface, appears to be ordinary lightning attribute."

"But with each collision, I felt a chilling aura invading my body, as if it were eroding my spiritual power. If I hadn't used my Azure Cloud Sword Qi to protect myself in time, I probably would have been killed by her strange arcs of electricity..."

Lin An nodded, a hint of seriousness flashing in his eyes: "It seems my intuition was correct. This Zi Li's power is probably not pure spiritual energy, but rather mixed with some kind of evil energy from extraterrestrial demons..."

"Brother Su, you didn't lose to her, but to the people behind her..." Lin An frowned as he looked at the Zi family's camp.

"Extraterritorial evil?"

Su Yichen's expression changed, and he whispered, "You mean, she's colluding with those extraterrestrial demons?"

As an inner disciple of the Qingyun Sect, Su Yichen also had some knowledge of the extraterrestrial demons.

Lin An shook his head: "It's hard to say right now. But her power definitely doesn't belong to her... We need to proceed with caution."

Just then, Zhu Ling'er ran over, looking at Su Yichen with concern.

"Senior Brother, are you alright? Zi Li's attack was so fierce, I was so worried!"

Su Yichen forced a smile and comforted him, "It's nothing, just a minor injury. I'll be fine after a bit of rest."

Zhu Ling'er breathed a sigh of relief, then said indignantly, "That Zi Li is too arrogant! She's only in the mid-stage of Core Formation, yet she managed to defeat you, Senior Brother. She must have used some underhanded methods!"

Zhu Ling'er's guess was almost exactly the same as Lin An's idea, which shows that a woman's intuition is the most acute.

"Brother Liu, could you tell me more about the Zi family's situation...?"

Lin An asked in a deep voice, "And what exactly is this extraordinary treasure from the cultivation gathering?"

Upon hearing Lin An's question, Liu Mingxuan's expression hardened slightly, and he then said in a low voice, "Brother Lin, the Zi family is one of the four great families of Jinzhou City. It has a profound foundation and many powerful members."

"Especially Zi Yan, the patriarch of the Zi family, who broke through to the late Golden Core stage ten years ago, possesses unfathomable strength. Zi Li, as the eldest daughter of the Zi family, is exceptionally talented, reaching the mid-Core Formation stage at a young age, and is hailed as a genius rarely seen in the Zi family in a century. However..."

Liu Mingxuan paused, his brow furrowing slightly, before continuing, "However, in recent years, the Zi family's style of doing things seems to have changed somewhat. While the Zi family used to be powerful, they were still relatively upright. But in recent years, the Zi family disciples have become increasingly strange in their actions..."

"She's even a bit ruthless and vicious. Especially Zi Li, her strength has improved too quickly, even to the point of being illogical. Many people speculate that the Zi family may have obtained some kind of secret technique or rare treasure, which is why Zi Li has made such rapid progress in such a short time."

Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Lin An's eyes: "Secret technique? Rare treasure? I'm afraid it's not that simple..."

Lin An is now almost 100% certain that the Zi family must have made a deal with the extraterrestrial demons, which is why the family's strength has increased so rapidly.

Liu Mingxuan nodded and continued, "As for the extraordinary treasure of this cultivation event, it is said to be an ancient relic called the 'Heavenly Evolution Pearl'."

"Legend has it that although this pearl is a low-grade spiritual treasure, it contains the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, capable of helping cultivators break through realms and even comprehend the laws of heaven and earth. However, apart from the Demon-Suppressing National Preceptor of the Great Qian Demon-Suppressing Division, no one has ever seen what it looks like..."

"The Heavenly Evolution Pearl..." Lin An murmured softly, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

His purpose in coming to Jinzhou City was not only to investigate the traces of the extraterrestrial demons, but also for the rare treasure that was about to appear in the world. If he could obtain the Heavenly Evolution Pearl, it might allow him to advance his cultivation further, and he might even have a chance to break through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

Moreover, Earth-rank spiritual treasures are very valuable, and Lin An can use them to exchange for more treasures from the system.

"So, if the extraterrestrial demons really do take action against Jinzhou City, it must be for the Heavenly Evolution Pearl!" Lin An muttered to himself.

In that case, arranging for human cultivators to participate in the official competitions held by the Great Qian Demon Suppression Division is indeed the fastest way to achieve the goal.

Just as everyone was discussing, Xuanfengzi's voice rang out again in the center of the dueling arena.

"Everyone, today's preliminary competition has come to an end. There were a total of 18 groups of competitors. Nine people have been eliminated, and nine have emerged victorious. These nine outstanding talents will participate in tomorrow's intermediate examination! See you tomorrow!"

"Sigh, I never thought that our dignified Qingyun Sect would be eliminated on the first day. I have let everyone down..." Su Yichen sighed.

Lin An comforted him, saying, "Brother Su, don't blame yourself. You were just unlucky..."

"That's right, Brother Su, there's no need to be sad. Tonight, I'm hosting a banquet at the Liu residence, and I hope you can all come and support me!" Liu Mingxuan said.

Everyone nodded.

Lin An also gave Liu Mingxuan a lot of face and nodded, but his mind was still on the fight just now.

No, I have to go to the Purple Mansion tonight, no matter what, to see what's going on. Lin An muttered to himself.

As night falls, the streets of Jinzhou City are brightly lit and bustling with activity.

However, Lin An had no interest in appreciating the bustling night view. His mind was entirely focused on the Zi family, especially the mysterious Zi Li.

At the banquet in the Liu residence, everyone toasted and drank, creating a lively atmosphere.

Although Su Yichen and Zhu Ling'er were feeling a bit down, they gradually relaxed thanks to Liu Mingxuan's warm hospitality.

Lin An sat to the side, his expression indifferent, occasionally offering a few perfunctory words, but his mind had already flown to the Zi family.

Halfway through the banquet, Lin An excused himself by saying he was a little tired and left early.

Although Liu Mingxuan was somewhat disappointed, he did not linger and simply told him to get some rest.

After leaving the Liu residence, Lin An did not return to his inn, but instead quietly made his way towards the Zi family's residence.

The Zi family's seat was given to Lin An by Liu Mingxuan during the banquet earlier, and the latter gave it to him without hesitation.

It's obvious that Liu Mingxuan still has his own agenda.

Although the Liu family is the most powerful family in Jinzhou City, the Zi family has the most Golden Core Realm experts in Jinzhou City, and they are showing signs of surpassing the Liu family and becoming the number one family in Jinzhou.

If we could use Lin An to weaken or even eliminate the Zi family, why not?

The Zi family is located in the eastern district of Jinzhou City. Their territory is vast, their mansion is magnificent, and their security is tight.

Lin An stood far away on a tall building, his gaze fixed on the direction of the Zi family, secretly making plans in his heart.

"The Zi family's defenses are indeed very tight. It won't be easy to sneak in unnoticed," Lin An muttered to himself.

After a moment's thought, he decided to start with the Zi family's back garden. Although there were guards there, they were relatively lax, and the terrain was complex, making it suitable for hiding.

Lin An's figure flashed, disappearing into the night like a ghost.

With his early-stage Golden Core cultivation, he easily bypassed the outer guards of the Zi family and quietly sneaked into the back garden.

The Zi family's back garden covers a vast area, with artificial hills, flowing water, pavilions, and towers, all arranged with exquisite detail.

Lin An carefully navigated through the crowd, searching for Zi Li's whereabouts.

Just then, he suddenly heard a light footstep and quickly hid behind a rockery, holding his breath.

Two disciples from the Zi family walked over and began talking in hushed tones.

"I heard Miss won again today, that's amazing!"

"Yes, Miss's strength is growing stronger and stronger, and the head of the family has high hopes for her."

"However, haven't you noticed that Miss has been acting strangely lately? Her aura seems to have become somewhat cold and sinister..."

"Shh, don't talk nonsense! The head of the family has ordered that we must not discuss Miss's affairs."

The two walked by in a hurry, and Lin An gleaned some clues from their conversation.

He became even more certain that Zi Li was hiding some kind of secret.

After the two disciples had gone far away, Lin An continued to sneak towards the inner courtyard of the Zi family.

After Lin An activated his Ghost Step, even Nascent Soul stage monsters wouldn't be detected unless they collided head-on with him.

He carefully avoided several patrolling guards and finally arrived at a secluded courtyard.

The courtyard was exquisitely decorated, filled with purple flowers, and a faint fragrance permeated the air. Lin An vaguely sensed that an eerie atmosphere lurked within the courtyard.

"This should be Zi Li's residence," Lin An thought to himself.

This aura was exactly the same as that of the corrupted Xu Shan, the man in black robes, whom he had fought before.

He was about to sneak into the courtyard when he suddenly felt a powerful divine sense sweep over him. He quickly concealed his aura and hid in the shadows.

A moment later, that divine sense disappeared.

Lin An breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Zi Yan, the patriarch of the Zi family, was unfathomably powerful. He had already reached the late stage of the Golden Core realm ten years ago, and his current strength was even more unfathomable. If he were discovered, he would probably have difficulty escaping.

Lin An cautiously sneaked into the courtyard and approached the main house.

Through the crack in the window, he could vaguely see a purple figure inside the room, none other than Zi Li, who had crushed the Qingyun Sect's prodigy today with her mid-stage Core Formation cultivation.

Zi Li sat cross-legged on the bed with her eyes slightly closed, seemingly cultivating.

She was surrounded by a faint purplish-black halo, and the air was filled with an extremely yin and evil aura.

Lin An stared intently and noticed a faint black line between Zi Li's eyebrows, resembling a tiny snake slowly wriggling.

"This is... a demonic mark!" Lin An was shocked.

Lin An had also seen this demonic mark on the corrupted Xu Shan!

"This Zi Li, it turns out, has long been a puppet of extraterrestrial demons..."