Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

Underwater ghosts love to drag fishermen into the water and drown them. Besides water ghosts, there are other evil spirits underwater, such as fish demons and water monsters, which ordinary people cannot deal with.

The Demon Slayers are responsible for regularly cleaning up the waters where fishermen frequently cast their nets, in order to eliminate the threat.

Even so, it is difficult to truly guarantee that the waters will always be safe.

It's very likely that the Demon Slayer just swept through the area yesterday and confirmed that there were no water ghosts causing trouble, but then another one sneaked in from another body of water the next day.

Ningde walked home along the usual route, carrying his fishing net, feeling rather downcast.

My wife hasn't been feeling well lately. We saw a doctor, and she took some medicine, but her condition hasn't improved. This is really worrying for Ningde.

If this doesn't work, then we really will have to send Ningxiu's mother to a clinic in the city to see a doctor.

When Ningde arrived at his own door, he noticed that for some reason, a large group of relatives from the same village had gathered at the entrance of his fenced yard, talking all at once about something.

When Ningde saw this, his heart tightened. Could it be that something had happened to the mother of his child?

He quickly dropped the fishing net in his hand, ran forward, and pushed through the crowd. He immediately saw the village chief of Ningjia Village standing anxiously at his door.

Upon seeing Ningde return, Village Chief Ning immediately rushed forward excitedly, grabbed his arm, and exclaimed, "Ade, Ade, something terrible has happened!"

Ningde hurriedly asked, "What happened to my wife?"

"No, no, no!" Village Chief Ning quickly shook his head: "It's your ancestral graves emitting auspicious smoke!"

Ningde was taken aback: ? ? ?

Outside Ningjia Village, at the ancestral burial grounds, there is a grave mound with a crack on its surface, from which blue smoke is constantly being emitted.

It is the ancestral grave of Ning Xiu's family.

……

Some serious illnesses in the world offer only a 10 or 20% chance of survival, or even a certain death.

However, with so many cases, there will inevitably be one or two survivors. Doctors can't figure out the real reason why they survived, so they can only say that they are lucky and blessed by heaven.

Such examples demonstrate the power of destiny.

When a person's luck exceeds their misfortune, all sorts of things that should never have happened can happen.

Everyone's luck in life is limited. If you use too much at once, your luck will decrease in the future, resulting in a mediocre and uneventful life.

Luck cannot be increased or decreased at will; once used, it must be replenished, and if it is insufficient, death will ensue.

To save Ning Xiu, Emperor Wu not only used his own imperial destiny but also the destiny of the Shang Dynasty.

The two efforts, undertaken simultaneously to save Ning Xiu's life, came at an extremely high price. If Ning Xiu ultimately could not be saved, it would be the greatest loss for the Shang Dynasty in nearly a century.

In this respect, the loss of national fortune was far more devastating than the apparent defeat of the army.

……

In complete darkness.

Ning Xiu sat motionless on a tree stump formed by a tangled mass of tree roots.

His arms and legs were completely bound by vines, and some parts of his body had even become one with the tree stump.

Ning Xiu, whose eyes were originally gray, suddenly had a blue and red aura appear out of thin air around him, forming fine needles that pierced into his body.

At first, there weren't many blue and red energies, but soon the number of light spots became overwhelming, completely surrounding Ning Xiu and illuminating the darkness with a bright light.

Following the azure and crimson aura, a hint of purple light appeared, and the moment this purple light appeared, the place instantly changed.

The purple dot gradually grew larger, eventually transforming into a purple sphere of light. A resounding dragon's roar emanated from it, and a nine-clawed purple dragon burst forth, beginning to circle around Ning Xiu.

Finally, the head sank into his chest.

Ning Xiu, who was seemingly lifeless, suddenly felt his chest pounding, and a red light flickered on his chest.

A second purple dot appeared, followed by a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth...

This momentum only stopped when the ninth purple dot appeared.

Nine nine-clawed purple dragons entered his body one after another, turning Ning Xiu's entire body a deep red, as if he were a fire god sitting in place.

The vines that were wrapped around his arms and legs began to show signs of burning and cracking.

Snapped!

As the first vine broke, other vines followed suit, and the restraints binding Ning Xiu were being released.

However, such assistance was not enough to completely rescue Ning Xiu.

At this moment, a fourth color suddenly appeared among the three colors of light: blue, red, and purple.

A dazzling gold.

The golden light was so pure that it had no other color.

It gradually twisted in the air and evolved into a human script – Shang!

The aura slowly floated towards Ning Xiu, finally imprinting itself on the martial acupoint on his chest. At that moment, a magnificent golden light erupted from Ning Xiu's body.

The golden light resembled an exploding star, its rays spreading in all directions and instantly illuminating the dark world.

At the same time, the Ningxiu Life Star above the Demon Subduing Camp also burst forth with a beautiful, dazzling light that rivaled the blazing sun.

The pillar of light reached the heavens, drawing in the clouds of the nine heavens.

The beam of light pierced the earth, stirring up the evil spirits of the nine netherworlds.

The entire Qingque Prefecture was alarmed, everyone felt their hearts pounding and a sense of inexplicable panic and fear, as if some ancient ferocious beast was about to awaken.

Peng Futian looked at the impressive display and his face showed surprise and shock.

Even though he had already reached the Dragon Elephant Upper Realm for many years, he still felt a slight palpitation at this moment.

Ning Xiu's potential probably far exceeds his imagination.

Emperor Wu's eyes shone brightly. He could sense that Ning Xiu's body had undergone a significant change, a change that was the beginning of his awakening.

Ning Xiuming, who had his eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide, revealing a soul-stirring light, and his eight arms behind him frantically formed hand seals.

It draws in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and concentrates it here, compressing and condensing it infinitely, condensing and compressing it infinitely.

Ultimately, eight spiritual energy spheres formed purely from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth were created, and the black infant slammed them down with all its might.

The eight beams of light, arranged in the shape of eight stars connected together, pierced through the ground and accurately struck nine key acupoints on Ning Xiu's body.

hum!

Even without wind, the wind inside the Demon-Subduing Camp swayed in all directions, forming a golden vortex.

Finally, it all entered Ning Xiu's body. His eyes slowly opened, his gaze as calm as a still pool of water that had remained undisturbed for millennia.

"Thank you..." The woody parts of his body burst into flames and instantly returned to normal.

Ning Xiu stood up and bowed to Peng Futian and Emperor Wu in thanks.

Although he fell into a coma after killing Wang Bing, he could still sense what had happened.

After this ordeal, Ning Xiu's Dragon Elephant Upper Realm was completely stabilized, saving him a lot of time that would have been spent in seclusion to consolidate his realm.

“Our Great Shang Dynasty has gained another Dragon Elephant King today, a cause for celebration.” Peng Futian returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Before this, he was far superior to Ning Xiu in terms of age, seniority, and ability, so the two were naturally senior and junior, or superior and subordinate.

But as Ning Xiu reached the Dragon Elephant Upper Realm, even if he was still as young as a newborn calf, he was now on par with Peng Futian, and even followed the rules of rewarding the Demon Subduing Division.

Even those in the Dragon-Elephant Realm can remain neither arrogant nor humble, neither kneeling nor showing respect, before the Emperor of the Great Shang Dynasty.

"Very good, very good. Such a Dragon Elephant King, it is an honor for the Great Shang to have you." Emperor Wu withdrew his hand, and the golden light on his body began to dissipate, gradually returning to his normal appearance. Even his double pupils merged into one, and everything returned to normal.

"From now on, Ning Xiu will take the goals set by the predecessors of the Demon Subduing Division as his own responsibility, and hopes to recover all thirty-six states of the Great Shang Dynasty in his lifetime, thus fulfilling the lifelong dreams of the predecessors and the Three Saints." Ning Xiu nodded in agreement.

His tone was resolute and unwavering.

Upon reaching the Dragon Elephant Upper Realm, it was as if he had undergone a baptism of transformation from mortal to saint.

Even though he hadn't yet become familiar with or explored his new power, Ning Xiu could already sense that he could easily crush a hundred of his former selves when he was at the first rank.

Once a Dragon Elephant Upper Realm cultivator has stabilized their cultivation, they are virtually invincible unless they commit suicide or are surrounded and attacked by several opponents of the same level.

"What are your plans for the future? Will you stay in Chaotiandu to study the Great Shang Divine Stele, or will you go out to establish a Protectorate?" Emperor Wu asked with a smile.

In the Great Shang Dynasty, powerful individuals at the Dragon-Elephant Upper Realm typically only have two paths to choose from.

One is like many old monsters hiding in the capital, staying in the capital to study the 'Great Shang Divine Stele' which is nowhere to be found.

It is said that the three sages were able to comprehend the method to break through the Dragon Elephant realm by studying that divine stone tablet.

Subsequently, many powerful demon-subduing officers at the Dragon-Elephant Realm also comprehended different mental techniques and insights from the Divine Stone Tablet. These insights played a very important role in enabling the Great Shang Dynasty to gain a foothold in the chaotic world of evil spirits, survive, recuperate, and recover its vitality until today.

If you don't want to do that, you can only take another path.

That would mean leaving the Great Shang Dynasty, establishing a Protectorate in a certain state in a foreign land, and serving as the Protector-General to oversee the state.

To gather information about the local situation and cultivate influence for the Great Merchant, waiting for the day when they could coordinate an attack from within and without to complete the recapture.

Generally speaking, the closer a state is to the Great Merchant, the more likely the Great Merchant will send some less powerful Golden Dragon Demon-Subduing Officers to provide assistance if they encounter any difficulties.

For example, the one Ning Xiu had met before, whose strength had already reached the first rank, was Li Xianhe, the protector-general in charge of Baixiang Prefecture.

The farther a state is from the Great Shang, the more powerful the Dragon Elephant King will be sent by the Great Shang to serve as its protector. This way, if any problems arise, he can buy himself some time and obtain subsequent support from the Great Shang.

If you're not strong enough, going to the outer regions far from the Great Shang is just suicide.

“If possible, I’ll stay in the outer realms. Living in Chaotian Capital and meditating on a stone every day will eventually become tedious. It would be better to hunt demons and monsters in the outer realms,” Ning Xiu said.

Just then, his expression changed slightly as he looked towards the gate of the Demon Subduing Camp: "Excuse me, I have something to do right now, so I'll take my leave."

The Destiny Star of the Dragon-Elephant Upper Realm possesses many supernatural abilities, one of which is observing the heavens and earth with the Destiny Star.

With the help of his own destiny star in the sky, Ning Xiu easily discovered that a demon-subduing squad had rushed back to the gate of the demon-subduing camp.

Leading the group were Aying and Long Ning, followed closely by Daoist Kongxu and Chen Peifeng, who was carrying Chang Fenghai on his back.

"Help! Help! Someone in our team needs help!" Chen Peifeng shouted as soon as he rode his horse into the Demon Subduing Camp.

He could feel Chang Fenghai's heartbeat against his back getting weaker and weaker, so weak that he could hardly hear it at times.

If he does not receive timely treatment, Chang Fenghai may not be able to hold on for even half an incense stick's time.

Many of the Demon-Subduing Officers looked at the hastily moving squad with a strange expression, and for a moment no one took the initiative to step forward. These people were all Bronze Leopard Demon-Subduing Officers or Iron Horse Demon-Subduing Officers. Even if they had medical skills, they could not save Chang Fenghai's injuries.

To truly save them, a Demon-Subduing Officer of Silver Tiger rank or higher must appear.