Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

Ning Xiu walked over and picked up the black-robed demon he had slammed against the wall and knocked unconscious. He then had Ba Wang take Yan Chong and they immediately left the place and returned to the inn.

This matter must be made known to Qin Zhen and the other leaders of the Bronze Leopard Team.

……

"Such a thing is true." In the main hall, Qin Zhen looked at Yan Chong and the black-robed demon that Ning Xiu had brought back and said in surprise.

"In that case, those four Iron Horse Demon-Subduing Captains must have already been harmed by these demons and met with misfortune," Captain Zheng said with a heavy heart.

Team Leader Jia frowned: "The Black Heaven Gate has been so bold this time, what they're after must be something extraordinary. We must not let them succeed no matter what."

Ning Xiu nodded: "Then it seems that the breakthrough point right now lies with this demon. We must force him to reveal the true purpose of the Black Heaven Gate this time."

Qin Zhen patted his chest: "Then leave this to me. I know the methods of questioning best."

Now that they knew it was the Black Heaven Gate that was behind this, several Copper Leopard Demon-Subduing Officers sent men to recall the Demon-Subduing Officers who were investigating outside. Then they stormed into the Qiantang City government office and took control of all the yamen runners and constables.

Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without exception. As for whether there are other demons hiding in other parts of the city, that will require a thorough investigation.

"what!"

The inn's basement.

Ning Xiu never expected that there would be a small torture chamber in this inn.

The room was filled with various professional-looking torture instruments. After tying the black-robed demon to a custom-made chair, Qin Zhen brought a basin of cold water and splashed it on the guy to wake him up.

"Demon Subduer!" Upon seeing the black-robed demon's expression change instantly upon seeing Qin Zhen's silver chainmail, he clenched his teeth, only to find his mouth empty; the contents were gone.

Ning Xiu said calmly, "Stop struggling. I've already removed everything from your body that could have enabled you to commit suicide."

"What brings your Black Heaven Sect to Qiantang City all of a sudden? I suggest you tell me everything now, or you'll be in big trouble." Qin Zhen took a pair of iron pliers, walked up to the demon, and held them to the demon's mouth while laughing.

"You think you can torture me and I'll confess? Bah! Don't even think about it! I am a member of the Black Heaven Gate, and my will is stronger than iron. I will never bow down to you demon-slaying officers. If you have the guts, kill me!" the black-robed demon shouted.

Qin Zhen and Ning Xiu exchanged a glance, and Ning Xiu nodded: "Let's begin, Captain Qin."

Half an incense stick later, the black-robed demon lay sprawled in the chair with a look of utter despair on his face, his eyes rolling back, foaming at the mouth, his face utterly broken.

Qin Zhen's interrogation methods were indeed excellent. Even though this demon man initially appeared very tough, he eventually couldn't withstand Qin Zhen's terrible torture and obediently confessed everything he knew.

The Black Heaven Gate demons came to Qiantang City mainly to wait for something to appear so they could secretly take it away without attracting anyone's attention.

Meanwhile, remnants of the Golden Snake Party were also involved in this operation, which is scheduled to take place in the next few days, but there is no definite date.

Unfortunately, this sorcerer didn't know much information; he was just a slightly higher-ranking figure than an ordinary henchman and not the true mastermind behind the Black Heaven Gate plan.

The person in charge is someone else, who will take the initiative to contact the black-robed demon when necessary.

In other words, the real leader of the Black Heaven Gate has not yet been captured; he is currently hiding somewhere inside or outside Qiantang City.

"Captain Qin, what do you think Black Heaven Gate wants? Did Qiantang City possess some extraordinary treasure in the past?" Ning Xiu asked Qin Zhen.

The other party is a veteran who has served as the Bronze Leopard Demon-Subduing Captain for many years, so he should know more information than I do.

"Treasures? There haven't been any treasures in the history of Qiantang City. This city was actually abandoned many times in the early years. It was only after the Shang Dynasty brought it under control from the evil situation that it gradually stabilized. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any good things hidden there," Qin Zhen pondered.

The main problem is that even the Black Heaven Gate doesn't know what kind of vessel the thing they want is in—whether it's a living thing or an inanimate object, a person or a material.

With such a lack of detailed information, it is really difficult for Ning Xiu and others to take corresponding countermeasures.

Since the Black Heaven Sect values ​​this item so much, even going so far as to secretly send so many people into the Great Shang territory, the Demon Subduing Commander must definitely sabotage their plans and ensure they never return. The demons of the Black Heaven Sect must not be allowed to succeed.

"Here's what we'll do, Captain Qin. Have all the Demon-Subduing Guards remove their Black Silver Chainmail, change into ordinary clothes, and go to Qiantang City to ask the elderly people. Perhaps we can get clues from the locals about what the Black Heaven Gate demons are after," Ning Xiu said.

Qin Zhen nodded: "Okay, I'll have my team members take care of it right away."

While Qin Zhen's Bronze Leopard Squad was on operation, Ning Xiu naturally couldn't be idle either. Even though it was raining outside, he still put on a straw hat and went to various parts of the city, intending to ask the local people some questions.

At the same time, by using the ability to observe qi and predict fortune, they might even be able to expose those Black Heavenly Gate sorcerers or remnants of the Golden Snake Party hiding in Qiantang City.

As a city located near the Dragon King River, Baisha Prefecture was plagued by evil spirits in the early years. Qiantang City, as the prefecture's capital, suffered particularly severely, with fish demons and water ghosts everywhere, frequently coming ashore to harm the people of Qiantang City.

This caused many people to flee their homes to the interior out of fear, leaving nine out of ten houses in Qiantang City empty. This situation was only resolved after the Demon Subduing Division took action and eliminated the evil spirits in Baisha Prefecture and Donghai Prefecture.

Many people are also willing to migrate back and return to their hometowns to live.

However, as the Longwang River was affected by the floods from the Huangjiang River, it frequently suffered from floods that inundated the land on both banks. The local people built the Dragon King Temple, hoping to pray that the Dragon King, who was in charge of favorable weather, would protect Qiantang City and prevent the floods from affecting the city, so that the people could live and work in peace.

Once the Dragon King Temple was built, the flood problem was indeed significantly alleviated. In the following years, even if the Yellow River flowed very high, it was difficult to cause much of a ripple on the Dragon King River.

The local people deeply felt the power of the Dragon King and held grand events every year on the Dragon King Festival to express their gratitude for his protection.

Given that the Dragon King was a legitimate deity who appeared in the history of the Shang Dynasty, and not some wild god without any origin, the imperial court did not prohibit the Dragon King Temple in Qiantang City, but tacitly allowed the people to worship the Dragon King.

Ning Xiu asked questions as he walked, and before he knew it, he arrived at the location of the Dragon King Temple in the city.

Compared to the uniform gray-blue of the entire city, this Dragon King Temple is exceptionally colorful, with red walls and blue tiles, immediately attracting the attention of passersby.

Even from a distance, you can see a stone dragon head inside the wall that is taller than the top of the wall.

Ning Xiu found it interesting, so he went into the Dragon King Temple to visit this very famous local building.

"Lord Ning?"

As Ning Xiu entered the Dragon King Temple, he saw an old man who was tidying up the offering table turn around and call out to him.

Ning Xiu recognized the man; he had seen him at the ferry crossing before. The man was a local fisherman who had been particularly helpful when loading pig's blood onto the fishing boat, leaving a deep impression on Ning Xiu.

"Grandpa, what are you doing here?"

"Lord Ning, I am the temple keeper of this temple, and I usually live here." The old man put down the rag in his hand, walked over with a smile and said.

Ning Xiu suddenly became curious: "Does the temple keeper also need to make a living by fishing? Doesn't Qiantang City give you any kind of compensation?"

“Lord Ning, what are you saying? The temple keeper is just a nominal position, no different from the common people. If I don’t want to do it, plenty of people can do it for me. There’s no reward. Making a living by fishing is the real job.” The old man brought a bamboo stool for Ning Xiu: “Sir, please sit down. It’s raining heavily outside. Take shelter here for a while.”

"Thank you." Ning Xiu reached out and took it, while using his Qi Observation Technique to observe the old man in front of him. The lines of good and evil on the other party's body were very normal, so he should not be a demon.

"What brings you to the Dragon King Temple today, sir, despite the rain? If you wish to visit, I can show you the way."

"No need, no need. I was just strolling around and happened to come here." Ning Xiu waved his hand and then asked, "Old man, I want to ask you something. Has your Qiantang City produced any famous figures in history, or are there any rumors about famous treasures?"

"People? Treasures?" The old man scratched his head. "No, what treasures could there be in this place?"

"Have any powerful human beings or peerless evil spirits ever perished here?" Ning Xiu asked again.

“Lord Ning, I find your question today quite strange. I have lived in Qiantang City for almost seventy years, and my ancestors have always lived here. I have never heard of such a thing as you mentioned.”

“Is that so…” Ning Xiu sighed.

In this way, it seems that it is truly impossible to find any clues, unless we can figure out what the Black Heaven Gate and the Golden Snake Party are planning to obtain in Qiantang City this time.

That would prevent them from making prior arrangements and disrupting their plans. And if these people get what they want, it might strengthen the Black Heaven Gate, something no Demon Slayer wants to see.

Just as Ning Xiu fell silent, the old man suddenly said, "By the way, Lord Ning, in two days it will be the annual Dragon King Festival in Qiantang City. We will hold a ceremony to worship the Dragon King at the ferry. If you have time, you can come and take a look. This is one of the most lively days of the year in Qiantang City."

The Dragon King Festival in Qiantang City was established to worship the Dragon King in the Dragon King River. It is said that after the worship is performed every year, the rain will stop immediately, and the number of fish in the river will increase dramatically, allowing fishermen to catch fish to their heart's content.

Although no one has ever seen the Dragon King in person, many fishermen believe that the Dragon King definitely dwells in the Dragon King River and that it blesses Qiantang City with good weather and abundant harvests.

“Dragon King…” Ning Xiu suddenly remembered what happened that day when he killed the fish demon on the river.

For the first time since he had possessed the Thunder Hammer, it displayed its power to summon heavenly lightning.

In addition, there had been no cases of demons harming people in Baisha Prefecture and Donghai Prefecture before this year, and the demons of Heitianmen were eager to use their methods to drive away fishermen, so no one dared to go fishing in the river during this period.

Today, when Ning Xiu overheard the conversation between the two sorcerers in the yamen, one of them mentioned that the day was approaching, which seemed to be related to the Dragon King Festival in a couple of days.

After piecing together all the clues, it's not hard to see that the finger at the Dragon King River is pointing directly at the matter.

Could it be that the Black Heaven Gate's target is the Dragon King River?

Ning Xiu nodded slowly: "Okay, I will go to the ferry to participate in the Dragon King Festival."

The fact that the Qiantang City government office was secretly occupied by the Black Heaven Gate caused quite a stir. In order to confirm whether there was any problem with the city guard, Captain Zheng led his team directly into the city guard's mansion. After a series of inspections, the city guard of Qiantang City was cleared of suspicion.

Li Jing, the city magistrate of Qiantang City, was quite frightened by what had happened. According to the rules of the Shang Dynasty, such a major incident in the Qiantang City government was considered a dereliction of duty on his part.

In order to completely eliminate the hidden dangers in Qiantang City, several leaders of the Copper Leopard Team joined forces with Li Jing's side to conduct a city-wide investigation, checking all suspicious individuals and non-locals.

They ultimately succeeded in rescuing more than ten Black Heaven Gate demons and seven or eight remnants of the Golden Snake Gang, which was a considerable achievement.

In this way, the entire city of Qiantang was completely placed under the supervision and sealed off by the Demon-Subduing Officer, and no one was allowed to enter or leave until the matter of the demon was thoroughly investigated.

The people were filled with fear and panic, completely unaware of what had happened.

……

The Great Shang Dynasty's capital, the Star Watching Platform, at night.

As night fell, several veteran star watchers used specially made instruments to observe the starry sky from the star-monitoring platform.

Some calamities in the world are occasionally associated with celestial phenomena, such as the Fire Star in July, the Three Stars in the House of Heaven, the Moon leaving the Pleiades, the Dragon's Tail hiding in the Sun, Venus eclipsing the Pleiades, Mars guarding the Heart of the Planets, the Wrong Arrow moving like a snake, and the alignment of the five planets, etc.

Whenever a special celestial phenomenon occurs, strange things always happen in the world.

Therefore, astrologers were needed to monitor celestial phenomena in order to prevent some avoidable disasters in advance.

“In two days, the five planets will be in alignment, and the moon will be closest to the earth in the last three years. The moonlight will be much stronger than usual, so demons will appear in large numbers and even go to places with abundant spiritual energy in order to absorb more moonlight. Have you informed the various places of the things I asked you to tell them a few days ago?” an old star-monitoring official asked.

Several young star-monitoring officials nearby immediately nodded in agreement: "Teacher, the notification letters have all been sent out. We have sent people to inform the local city garrisons of those few places with scarce spiritual energy within the Great Shang territory, and have them send more people to guard against them, so as to prevent the appearance of demons and their evil deeds."

"We have already sent the notices to Cangshan Mountain in Yunze Prefecture, Tianxing Peak in Nanjiang Prefecture, Longwang River in Baisha Prefecture, and Xijiantan Water in Wuyue Prefecture by express courier a few days ago. Please rest assured, teacher."

The old star-monitor nodded: "That's good. The things that happen every time the five planets align are unexpected, so we have to be careful."

……

As the Dragon King Festival draws closer, more and more strange sights are appearing in the Dragon King River.

First, fishermen saw a huge fish shadow on the surface of the Longwang River at the ferry crossing, and then someone saw lightning flashing deep in the middle of the Longwang River at night.

Later, even during the day, large amounts of blood would inexplicably appear on the river, staining parts of the river red.

Then some fish carcasses, scales, and bits of flesh would float on the surface of the Dragon King River, making it look as if a large school of fish were fighting each other underwater.

The strange occurrences made the onlookers of Qiantang City feel uneasy and terrified. Since they didn't know what was going on, they could only keep going to the Dragon King Temple to pray to the Dragon King, hoping that the Dragon King could protect Qiantang City and keep it safe.

In this atmosphere of crisis, the Dragon King Festival has finally arrived.

Even though strange things have happened in the river recently, the people of Qiantang City still started their lively festival ceremony as usual, preparing to offer sacrifices to the Dragon King.

【090】Jiaolong