A Compendium of One Hundred Demons: My Path to Immortality in a World of Demons and Monsters

The Shadow Pavilion.

They collaborate with evil spirits to create ghostly creatures, exchanging their blood for cultivation resources...

This organization is undoubtedly larger and more dangerous than he anticipated.

What intrigued Xu Yuan even more was why the other party chose Cangzhou as their base. Was this related to the Netherworld Palace behind Shuangshan Village?

Three years later, the Underworld was opened, but a mysterious organization colluding with demons and evil spirits appeared in Cangzhou.

All of this is too much of a coincidence.

"Perhaps..." Xu Yuan's eyes flickered slightly, "This Shadow Pavilion is actually targeting the Netherworld!"

If that's the case, then his situation is probably more dangerous than imagined.

After all, he possessed the Netherworld Guide and had even had contact with Xu Changming.

If the Shadow Tower traces it back to him...

"I need to speed up my cultivation," Xu Yuan thought to himself.

The Demon-Slaying Conference a month from now will be an excellent opportunity to improve his strength, but before that, he must first formally join the Demon-Suppressing Division.

With the identity of the Demon Suppression Division, his actions would be much easier, and he could also investigate the Shadow Pavilion with a legitimate reason.

As for the Liu family...

Xu Yuan recalled Liu Qingyun's three dried corpses, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

The disappearance of the eldest son of the Liu family would inevitably cause a huge uproar, but Huamei handled it very cleanly, leaving no clues pointing to him.

Even if the Liu family suspected him, they had no evidence.

Moreover, he now possesses the [Thousand Illusions] ability, allowing him to alter his appearance and aura at any time.

The Liu family wants to find him? Dream on.

"I'll go to the Demon Suppression Bureau to hand in the mission tomorrow."

Xu Yuan returned to his room and sat cross-legged.

Instead of lying down to sleep, he activated the "Netherworld Soul Refining Technique" to begin tempering his soul.

Tonight, he devoured the souls of two painted-skin ghosts and subdued the thrush, further enhancing his spiritual strength.

If he can fully digest these gains, he will be one step closer to condensing the fourth aperture.

…………

The next morning, Xu Yuan got up early.

He changed into a clean blue robe, put the two human skin masks into his storage bag, checked the Ghost Cry Bow and longsword again, and only after confirming that everything was in order did he walk towards the Demon Suppression Division.

He left Huamei in the villa; with her mid-stage Ghost General strength, ordinary people wouldn't be able to spot her at all.

As for whether she will take the opportunity to escape...

Xu Yuan was not worried about this.

Under the master-servant contract, he could destroy someone's soul with a single thought.

Demon Suppression Division, North Camp Front Hall.

Xiao Yunhan was reviewing official documents when he saw Xu Yuan enter, and slowly put down his pen and paper.

"You're back so soon?" A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. "Has the case in Willow Leaf Alley been solved?"

Xu Yuan nodded calmly, and took out the scroll, the bronze mirror and half a page of notes that he had found in the abandoned house.

"The evil spirits have been exorcised; this is the evidence."

Xiao Yunhan reached out and took it, examining it carefully.

A faint aura of yin still lingered on the bronze mirror, and the blood-written words on the note were still clearly discernible.

Based on his experience, he could tell the authenticity of something at a glance.

"You found the ninth-tier Ghost Soldier Painted Skin Ghost so easily?" Xiao Yunhan looked at Xu Yuan with considerable curiosity, his eyes filled with a scrutinizing gaze.

Xu Yuan remained calm: "I was lucky; it was eating, and I just happened to catch it."

Xiao Yunhan stared at him for a few moments, but ultimately did not ask any further questions.

Everyone may have their own secrets and opportunities, but as long as they are not evil or crooked, the Demon Suppression Division never investigates them deeply.

"Alright, now that the onboarding assessment is complete," Xiao Yunhan put away the scroll and evidence, "from this day forward, you will be an officially employed Demon Suppression Envoy of my Demon Suppression Division."

He paused, then took out a silver token from the drawer and handed it to Xu Yuan.

"This is your identity token. You can use it to receive your salary, access your records, and exchange for cultivation techniques. Also, according to the rules, new employees must attend tonight's welcome banquet."

"A welcome banquet?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Having a meal together among colleagues is just a formality, but it wouldn't be right not to go," Xiao Yunhan said with a smile. "This is a good opportunity to introduce you to the brothers of our Northern Camp, so that it will be easier for you to get along in the future."

Xu Yuan understood and nodded in agreement.

After leaving the front hall of the North Camp, Xiao Yunhan personally led him to the logistics department to collect the standard equipment for the Demon Suppression Envoy—two sets of silk robes, a pair of leather boots, a standard longsword of the low-grade Xuan level, and thirty low-grade spirit stones.

This is Xu Yuan's first month's salary.

Thirty low-grade spirit stones can be exchanged for sixty taels of silver on the market, enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for ten years.

However, for martial artists, this amount of spirit stones is merely a drop in the ocean.

"The spirit stones are few, but they are stable," Xiao Yunhan explained. "If you want to earn more, you can take on missions. Rank C missions reward between ten and fifty spirit stones, Rank B missions reward between one hundred and five hundred, and as for Rank A missions... those are for those in the late stage of Qi Condensation, so you don't need to consider them for now."

Xu Yuan touched his nose, nodded noncommittally, and then put the spirit stones into his storage bag.

"By the way, Uncle Xiao," he suddenly asked, "does our Demon Suppression Division have any information about the 'Shadow Tower'?"

Xiao Yunhan paused, then abruptly turned to look at him: "How do you know about Youying Tower?"

"Last night, while investigating the Painted Skin Ghost case, I vaguely heard it mention something," Xu Yuan casually made up a reason.

Xiao Yunhan was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Try not to mention the matter of Youying Tower in public. It is an extremely dangerous organization. The Demon Suppression Division has been investigating it for many years, but they have only scratched the surface."

How dangerous is it?

"It's far more dangerous than you think!" Xiao Yunhan said solemnly. "The Shadow Pavilion colludes with demons and evil spirits, sells blood offerings, and secretly trains demon soldiers and ghost generals. At least one-third of the people who have gone missing in Cangzhou in recent years are related to them. However, they are extremely secretive and have a powerful figure behind them, so we have not been able to completely eradicate them yet."

He patted Xu Yuan on the shoulder and earnestly advised, "If you are really interested, you can go to the archives to look up the relevant files. But remember, you can only look at them, and you must not tell anyone."

Xu Yuan nodded knowingly: "Understood."

…………

As evening fell, Xu Yuan changed into the new robes of a demon-suppressing envoy and arrived at the banquet venue.

It just so happens to be the same restaurant in the city where he stayed yesterday while monitoring the Painted Skin Ghost, called "Drunken Immortal Abode".

In the largest private room on the third floor, more than a dozen people had already arrived.

Xiao Yunhan, who was sitting at the head of the table, smiled and waved to Xu Yuan as he entered, saying, "Xu Yuan, come and sit down."

Xu Yuan glanced at the people present and found that most of them were young people in their twenties or thirties, with a few middle-aged faces among them. They were all dressed in black and their auras varied.

The strongest among them was a middle-aged man sitting in the main seat to Xiao Yunhan's left. He had thick eyebrows and fierce eyes, and his aura was deep and composed. He had at least condensed more than twenty-four acupoints.

Most of the others were at the late stage of Blood Refining, with only a few at the early stage of Qi Condensation.

"Come, let me introduce you." Xiao Yunhan pointed to the man with thick eyebrows and said with a smile, "This is our Northern Camp Commander, Lord Lei Zhen, a master in the late stage of the Qi Condensation Realm."