Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

To be able to command a force of a first-rank expert, their background must be far too powerful! Looking across the entire Four Symbols Continent, there are only a handful of such forces.

Because the woman in the purple dress was closest to Ning Xiu and the Demon Buddha, she could easily see the strangeness of the situation. The Demon Buddha and Ning Xiu looked exactly alike, the only difference being their skin color.

Unless they are twins, how could there be two men in the world who look so alike?

"Tea is fine," Ning Xiu said calmly, completely ignoring the surrounding chatter.

"Okay." The woman in the purple dress nodded in agreement and immediately turned to leave.

"This guy is amazing. Which family's young master do you think he is from? To have both Buddhist and Taoist first-grade skills is incredibly impressive."

"Speak less, or it won't be good if he targets you. Talk about something else, something else."

Soon, the conversation in the inn shifted to other topics.

These people began to chat about various rumors about the Four Symbols Prefecture, which was exactly what Ning Xiu needed right now, so he listened very carefully.

"Recently, the White Mountain Elephant Kingdom has been recruiting demons as soldiers on a large scale, and it seems that they are preparing to go to war with the Azure Sparrow Prefecture again to compete for the Earth Spirit Jade Vein."

"The White Mountain Elephant Kingdom has recovered its strength quite quickly. It's only been a month or two since the last battle. The Great Shang Dynasty is eyeing it covetously, and it has even started a war with the surrounding demon kingdoms. Aren't they afraid of being attacked by all sides one day?"

"This is not good for us. Without the White Mountain Elephant Kingdom to hold the fort, the Four Elephant Prefecture will once again descend into chaos and become a place fought over by many parties. Not everyone will be able to have a good life then."

"Speaking of which, didn't the Black Heaven Gate recently hold a ritual to worship the heavens in the Four Symbols State? Is it related to the White Mountain Elephant Kingdom?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but the Black Heaven Gate has indeed gone to great lengths behind the scenes for this matter, sending people to do a lot of things and collecting a lot of materials. I don't know what they're planning to do."

Ning Xiu immediately asked, "Could you elaborate on the matter of the sacrificial ceremony at the altar?"

The people who were chatting turned around and looked at Ning Xiu when they heard him. Normally, they would never pay attention to such a request.

But when the Demon Buddha's cold gaze swept over them, the group immediately shuddered and said, "Of course, of course."

"Young master, the altar sacrifice to heaven is a mysterious ritual within the Black Heaven Gate. It is said that as long as you are well prepared and complete the ritual, you can summon the power of the heavens to descend upon you, making things twice as easy. Because the Black Heaven Gate has this ability, the White Mountain Elephant Kingdom has cooperated with them and provided strong support. It can be said that the Black Heaven Gate is one of the most prosperous major forces of the human race in the territory of the White Mountain Elephant Kingdom."

The White Mountain Elephant Kingdom was a demon kingdom that occupied the Four Elephant States. More than 500 years ago, a powerful elephant demon with a mysterious origin occupied the land and became its king. Later, the Great Shang Dynasty was unable to reclaim it in time, so the elephant demon seized the opportunity to recruit demons as soldiers and establish a kingdom in the state.

With the situation in Sixiang Prefecture deteriorating, even the Great Shang Dynasty was unable to conquer the Baishan Xiang Kingdom in a short period of time.

This demon kingdom thus became a thorn in the side of the Shang Dynasty's path to reconquest.

Even so, the Shang Dynasty did not give up its efforts to reclaim the lost territories. In almost every demon kingdom that had not yet been reclaimed, there were personnel from both the Shang Dynasty and the Demon Subduing Division planted to gather intelligence, knowing the enemy and knowing yourself to win every battle.

Therefore, Ning Xiu, as the Demon-Subduing Commandant, naturally knew quite a bit about the affairs of the White Mountain Elephant Kingdom.

This demon kingdom is mainly ruled by the descendants of the elephant demon from back then, and has developed many other demon soldiers and generals. After so many years of development in the Four Elephant Continent, it seems to be deeply rooted and not so easy to shake.

Furthermore, some of the rulers of the demon kingdoms acted very hastily, treating human civilians and experts who were willing to leave the Great Shang or who had been driven out by the Great Shang very well.

They would not harm their lives, but would also give them a high status. In this way, with the help of human knowledge, these demon kingdoms developed more and more powerful. Some of them were so powerful that even the three tigers of the Demon Subduing Division would feel a headache when they talked about them. It is unknown how many more years it would take to completely recover the thirty-six states of the Great Shang.

The alliance between Baishan Xiang Kingdom and Heitianmen indicates that Heitianmen will do everything in its power to help Baishan Xiang Kingdom. This explains why Heitianmen has repeatedly targeted Da Shang, the most notorious demonic force on Da Shang's blacklist.

The White Mountain Elephant Kingdom is closest to the Great Shang Dynasty. If one day the White Mountain Elephant Kingdom can gain an advantage from the Great Shang Dynasty, then not only the White Mountain Elephant Kingdom will benefit, but also the Black Heaven Gate.

"The altar..." Ning Xiu noted this down; in the absence of Fang Jingzhou, this was a good clue for a breakthrough.

"Do you know where the Black Heaven Gate's altar is located?" Ning Xiu asked.

"Well, I'm not too sure about that. The matter of the altar is a private affair. If it were to actually be held, the White Mountain Elephant Kingdom and the Black Heaven Gate would work together to suppress the information and prevent any leaks, so as to avoid being sabotaged by our opponents," said a man dressed as a swordsman.

"Hehe, but there is a branch of the Black Heaven Gate a few miles away from here. There is a deacon there who may know about the altar."

"You actually dare to think about something so suicidal?" someone laughed and cursed.

The atmosphere in the inn was filled with casual conversation, and no one took these words to heart.

Soon, the woman in the purple dress returned to the hall, this time carrying a purple clay teapot, and walked straight toward Ning Xiu.

"Young master, here is your tea."

Seeing this, someone nearby immediately laughed and joked, "That's not fair! That's not fair! Yan Niang, you've never done this kind of work before. You have to treat everyone equally."

"Yes, yes, I'd like a pot of tea too."

"Yan Niang, give me a bowl of mutton noodles!"

After placing the purple teapot on the table, the woman in the purple dress glared at the jeering guests and said, "Go eat your food."

Special people deserve special treatment. Someone like Ning Xiu, with a mysterious background and an extraordinary identity, should be treated well.

However, Ning Xiu did not really intend to stop here for tea. Now that he had obtained some clues, he had to investigate them as soon as possible.

The townspeople of Beimen Town said that all the people who came to Beimen Town to investigate ended up going in this direction, which might be related to the Black Heaven Gate's base that is very close to this place.

So Ning Xiu took out one tael of silver, placed it on the table, went out and left, riding the dragon away.

Seeing Ning Xiu come and go in such a hurry, the people in the inn couldn't help but start gossiping again.

……

A few miles away from the inn, there is a mountain stronghold built against the mountain. The entire stronghold is mainly black, and it looks pitch black, which is very conspicuous in the daytime.

Just as the guys in the inn said, the Black Heaven Gate's headquarters was located here. After Ning Xiu got closer, he did not choose to rush in directly. He came here not to destroy the Black Heaven Gate's headquarters, but to obtain information related to Fang Jingzhou.

Although the Demon Buddha is a first-class Buddhist and Taoist master, his aura is too powerful. Without a technique to conceal his aura, he is easily exposed.

Therefore, Ning Xiu left the Flood Dragon and the Demon Buddha in a place where they could not be observed by the Black Heaven Gate's headquarters, and went to the headquarters alone.

The Black Heaven Gate's stronghold occupies a square area with two entrances in the southeast. Ning Xiu found a place with low patrol and guard and used his lightness skill to leap in.

As soon as he reached the massive wooden city wall of the encampment, he bumped right into two patrolling demons. Before they could utter a sound, Ning Xiu grabbed them with both hands and instantly snapped their throats. Then he threw them off the wall.

The entire Black Heaven Gate encampment was enormous. Standing on the city wall and looking inside, one could see that the encampment was extremely deep and heavily guarded, with numerous arrow towers and sentry towers. If the patrolling demons had made even the slightest sound, Ning Xiu would have been immediately discovered by the other demons in the area.

"I don't know where the person in charge is. If I want to get any clues about Fang Jingzhou, I have to find someone in charge to have a chance to ask them," Ning Xiu thought to himself.

After saying that, he quickly descended the city wall and, relying on his lightness skill, quietly sneaked into the depths of the camp.

This Black Heaven Gate outpost had clearly been developed by the Black Heaven Gate people for many years, with numerous overt and covert sentries. If Ning Xiu hadn't had strong insight and quick reflexes, he probably would have been discovered long ago.

Every so often, Ning Xiu would encounter patrolling Black Heaven Gate demons on the road. He would either choose to hide from them or avoid being discovered.

If there is nowhere to hide, they will choose to take direct action, kill the person, and hide the body.

Under these circumstances, he quickly arrived at the depths of the camp alone.

The closer you get to the center of the camp, the more you can feel the dampness in the air. If you wipe your hand on the stone lanterns on both sides of the road, you can get a handful of water droplets.

The wooden buildings, on the other hand, were severely damp, with mushrooms growing on their surfaces, making the situation look rather strange.

Soon, Ning Xiu arrived at the deepest part of the camp, where there were the auras of several fourth and fifth-grade experts, as well as a third-grade expert.

Ning Xiu quietly climbed up the artificial hill and peeked out from behind the hill to look at the courtyard not far away.

Behind the wall was a dark pool in the shape of a Bagua diagram. The water in the pool was as black as ink and bottomless. At this moment, a tall man covered with skull tattoos stood beside the pool, holding a crescent shovel and stirring something in the water.

At each of the eight locations near the pool stood a Black Heaven Sect demon, each with a strength above the fifth rank.

“Xuanwang, things have already come to this point, so don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. How long do you think you can hide down there? Once the sect leader’s Four Symbols Heavenly Sacrifice Altar is completed, you will have no way to escape. Just obediently submit, and we might spare the lives of your descendants.”

The demon holding the crescent shovel spoke to the black pool as if talking to himself.

However, the pool remained completely still and calm, and it was unclear who he was talking to.

Ning Xiu lay on the artificial hill, quietly observing everything. The man with the skull tattoo should be the highest-ranking person in charge of the Black Heaven Gate here. If they wanted to find out Fang Jingzhou's whereabouts, the success rate of getting the information from him would be the highest.

Thinking of this, Ning Xiu immediately jumped up and into the courtyard.

The moment he landed, Ning Xiu released his inner force and flicked his fingers outwards, knocking out one by one the Black Heaven Sect demons who were standing in the corner of the Bagua Black Pool.

With Ning Xiu's current strength, these fourth and fifth-rank demons simply cannot withstand his surging internal energy, not to mention that Ning Xiu's internal energy can also be transformed into Heavenly Gang, and its power after being released outside the body is even more astonishing.

"Who goes there?" Seeing his several experts fall instantly, the burly man with the skull tattoo glared at Ning Xiu and shouted.

The aura of a third-grade cultivator erupted in an instant.

Ning Xiu had dealt with third-rank experts before, but this place was located in the Black Heaven Gate's territory, and it was not advisable to drag out the battle for too long. The kind of protracted fighting style he used to employ was definitely not going to work.

Ning Xiu immediately activated his Great Black Heaven state and rushed towards the burly man at his fastest speed.

The burly man swung the crescent-shaped shovel with both arms and slammed it down on Ning Xiu's head as he charged forward.

Judging from the bulging veins and muscle definition in the arms of this person when swinging the crescent shovel, the shovel must be quite heavy.

Ning Xiu's body was protected by a golden bell, which directly withstood the blow from the crescent shovel.

boom!

The entire protective golden bell instantly hummed and roared, the sound deafening. Seeing that his full-force attack had been completely absorbed by Ning Xiu's supernatural power, the burly man frowned, immediately stomped his foot, and continued to close in. He released one hand, clenched it into a fist, and forcefully slammed it into the surface of the golden bell.

As soon as this man threw the punch, the bones in his arm cracked and popped. His already very thick arm bulged to more than twice its normal size, looking like it was a size that no normal person could have.

At the same time, the veins on his arms bulged out, like the roots of an old tree, making him look quite ferocious.

Ancient Tree Fist!

The moment the fist struck the golden bell, the protective bell cracked, proving that the power of this punch was far greater than the previous powerful crescent shovel strike.

Lu Han was very confident in his Ancient Tree Fist. Even a third-rank master could not ignore his punch. If someone were to take a direct hit from him, they would either die or cough up blood.

However, when the protective golden bell withstood the attack with only a few cracks, Lu Han's expression changed instantly.

At the same time, he himself did not realize that a drop of sweat was slowly running down his forehead.

This is shocking.

"How is that possible!"

Before he could even be shocked, Ning Xiu raised his fist and threw it. Lu Han reacted and tried to resist, but once the power of the fifth level of Dengfeng Force was unleashed, no martial artist of the same level could withstand it.

Then Lu Han's arms snapped back instantly, and the bones even pierced through the flesh.

Ning Xiu grabbed Lu Han's head and slammed it hard against the ground, instantly pressing Lu Han's head into the bluestone slab, preventing him from having a chance to call for help.

"Uh!"

After suffering multiple blows in succession, even a third-rank expert could not withstand it. Ning Xiu punched Lu Han a few times and then forcefully lifted him out of the crater, carrying him towards the Blackwater Pool.

As Ning Xiu drew closer to the Blackwater Pool, he even lifted himself above it. Lu Han's expression immediately became noticeably panicked, as if he were afraid of something.

Ning Xiu became certain of this situation. There must be something imprisoned beneath the Bagua Black Pool, and if Lu Han fell into that thing's hands, his fate would be extremely tragic.

"I'll ask, you answer, or I'll let go," Ning Xiu said calmly, standing by the pool.

"Don't let go! Don't let go!" Lu Han cried out in anguish.

Ning Xiu said, "Do you know Fang Jingzhou?"