Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

"I have a brilliant plan, so don't ask any more questions. I'll let you know when I've achieved my goal."

Listening to the conversation between the two people inside the room, the situation was very clear: they were the real culprits behind the drowning of more than ten people in Wendeng County.

However, to Ning Xiu's utter surprise, there were not just one, but two, sorcerers hiding in Wendeng County.

Fortunately, one of the demons was discovered today, and Ning Xiu followed him to his hiding place; otherwise, he might never have discovered this secret.

Now that the perpetrators have been caught red-handed, let's take direct action to eliminate them completely. This way, we can consider the mission that Su Qianqian sent me to Wendeng County to accomplish as a success.

Bang!

In an instant, Ning Xiu burst through the window and immediately saw two people standing inside.

One of them was the one Ning Xiu had followed all the way, while the other had a very strange and bizarre appearance.

Half of his body was covered with dark green scales, and his head was completely hairless, consisting entirely of a layer of milky white, transparent flesh.

Ning Xiu could even see the brain's patterns inside the fleshy membrane.

The moment Ning Xiu rushed in, the two demons in the room were clearly stunned, obviously not expecting that someone would be hiding outside.

"You lured him here?!" the scaled demon roared.

"Never mind all that for now, just kill him."

Two demons quickly pounced on Ning Xiu. The scaled demon's claws were as sharp as a wild beast's, and if he were caught, he would surely be riddled with holes on the spot if he couldn't resist.

The other demon looked ordinary, but he simply pulled out a short sword from his robes and made a move to stab Ning Xiu.

Despite possessing the ninth layer of the Golden Bell Shield, Ning Xiu remained completely calm. He unleashed his fists, simultaneously meeting the two demons, and the profound internal energy of the ninth layer of the Great Sun Mystic Scripture erupted instantly.

boom!

The scaled demon shuddered and was instantly blasted back by Ning Xiu's punch. The other demon's short sword was knocked out of his hand and fell to the ground.

Several clearly visible nicks appeared on the edge of the short sword, caused by Ning Xiu's Golden Bell Shield.

"Eighth Stage Martial Arts!"

The two demons exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Ning Xiu acted swiftly, grabbing the weaponless demon's arm and immediately channeling his inner force into his palm before violently throwing him over his shoulder.

Snapped!

The demon was completely powerless; his strength was far less than Ning Xiu had imagined.

However, something strange happened.

The moment Ning Xiu slammed the demon to the ground, his body shattered like broken ceramic, instantly cracking in numerous places.

Finally, it shattered into pieces with a loud crack.

This person's body contained no internal organs or blood; it was simply a blank slate.

It looked just like a clay figure.

【022】Puppet Incarnation

"Um?!"

Upon seeing this strange situation, Ning Xiu couldn't help but widen his eyes.

As it shattered like a clay figure, the demon completely ceased to exist and move. Those unaware of the situation would never have guessed that this person was still talking at the exit just moments before.

Ning Xiu couldn't care less about anything else for the moment, so he had to head towards the scaled demon.

They're in cahoots, so they should know the other sorcerer's background.

However, the scaled demon would not sit idly by and wait to die. When the demon's body shattered, he, who had been knocked to the ground by Ning Xiu's punch, quickly got up.

A large amount of purple smoke immediately gushed out from the gaps in its scales, filling the entire room.

Ning Xiu quickly held his breath, in case the purple smoke was poisonous.

The appearance of the purple smoke not only required Ning Xiu to be more vigilant, but also affected his vision.

Before long, the scaled demon disappeared from Ning Xiu's sight.

"I don't know where you, a martial arts eighth rank expert, came from. Since you dare to meddle in other people's business, then be prepared to die here."

From within the smoke, the voice of the scaled demon slowly rose.

His voice sometimes swayed to the left and right, sometimes to the front and back, sometimes near and sometimes far, extremely elusive.

Ning Xiu couldn't pinpoint the opponent's exact location by relying solely on sound.

Ning Xiu had no choice but to cross his arms in front of his face to protect himself from the demon's attack on his head.

At the same time, he secretly used the Spiritual Eye Observation Technique, and a figure immediately appeared in his eyes.

call out!

A dark shadow swiftly attacked, piercing Ning Xiu's abdomen; it was the hand of the scaled demon.

If it were an ordinary person, this blow would probably have pierced their body, but Ning Xiu's Golden Bell Shield had reached the ninth level, and he was completely unaffected after taking the blow.

"Huh?" The demon exclaimed in surprise, then quickly disappeared from the spot again.

Faced with the elusive appearances of the scaled demons, Ning Xiu remained completely calm, standing motionless in place, silently waiting for his opportunity.

With the help of the Spiritual Eye Observation Technique, a blurry human figure could be clearly seen within the purple smoke; it was the demon hiding in the purple smoke.

He thought he was perfectly concealed in the purple smoke, but little did he know that he had been quietly exposed in Ning Xiu's eyes.

One strike!

As long as Ning Xiu can capture the scaled demon's body, the situation will be settled instantly.

"Your external martial arts are quite good, but unfortunately you can only passively take hits now. I want to see how many attacks your body can withstand," the demon said sinisterly from within the purple smoke.

Ning Xiu did not respond, his whole body tense, ready to react as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, a whistling sound came from his ear. It was the demon who had moved and was kicking him in the left cheek.

Ning Xiu's eyes lit up, and he suddenly reached out with both hands to grab to the left.

boom!

The demon's ankle was firmly held in his hand, and he did not move an inch.

"What?!" The scaled demon was shocked. He never expected that Ning Xiu could grab his leg so accurately.

Logically speaking, Ning Xiu shouldn't be able to see anything within the purple smoke.

However, he no longer had a chance to think too much. With one move, Ning Xiu captured the enemy without hesitation. He directly poured his inner force into his arms and swung the scaled demon into the ground.

boom!

A loud bang echoed throughout the room, and the ground shook, demonstrating just how ferocious Ning Xiu's attack was.

"Pfft!" The scaled demon was no match for the attack and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood mist, becoming on the verge of death in the blink of an eye.

Dragging the demon's body outside, Ning Xiu finally saw just how miserable the scaled demon looked.

His bones were severely twisted in several places, and his face was a bloody mess, barely clinging to life.

With his internal strength, Ning Xiu could easily wield the 320-pound Thunder Drum Golden Hammer.

When unleashed at full power, the force can almost triple. With nearly a thousand pounds of force applied to the scaled demon, if he can remain calm and unaffected, then Ningxia really needs to go back to the champion camp for a makeover.

"Tell me, what's the deal with your accomplice?" Ning Xiu threw the demon's body on the ground and immediately grabbed his neck to question him.

"You, you must be the Demon-Subduing Commander..." The scaled demon looked at Ning Xiu and said, "I thought I had hidden myself well enough in Wendeng County, but I didn't expect you to find me. Cough!"

The demon coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his speech became intermittent.

Even so, Ning Xiu could still detect a strange smile on his face.

"It's no use that you've discovered us today. The moment you made your move, you were exposed. That guy is on guard and will never be caught by you again. You can only watch helplessly as people keep dying in Wendeng County."

Ning Xiu frowned: "Wendeng County is so close to Chaotian, where do you demons get the audacity to commit crimes in Wendeng County? Could it be that someone else is behind this?"

"You'll never know." The scaled demon left those words behind before his life completely vanished.

[Defeat the demon, General Proficiency +800]

These half-fallen demons are the most stubborn. Ning Xiu was already prepared not to get any clues out of them, but he still had to give it a try.

One of the demons has already been killed by him. From the conversation between the two demons in the house just now, it can be learned that the drowning ghost was the one who harmed people.

If Ning Xiu wasn't mistaken, the other demon was still alive and was currently somewhere in Wendeng County.

The man who just spoke with the scaled demon was probably just a puppet avatar of that demon.

Ning Xiu had heard of similar techniques while he was in the Champion Camp.

For example, the puppet cultists can use secret techniques to transform the puppets they create into avatars, and then control the puppets to go to various dangerous places to investigate the situation.

The puppet can see what it sees and hear what it hears; it is truly mysterious.

There are three thousand great paths, each with its own unique characteristics, making it difficult for those unaware of them to guard against them.

The remaining demon has now discovered his presence, instantly turning the situation into one where the enemy is in the dark while he is in the light. This leaves Ning Xiu feeling rather helpless, and he can only plan his next move carefully.

Ning Xiu went back inside, grabbed a tablecloth, wrapped the scaled demon's corpse in it, and then carried the body away from the demon's residence, quickly returning to the county government office.

……

Dong Fu was quite efficient; in less than half a day, he had already ordered his men to investigate the matter Ning Xiu had entrusted to him the previous night.

When Ning Xiu carried the corpse of the demon back to the county government office, he immediately handed over a thick list.

"Lord Ning, all the information you requested is written down here," Dong Fu said.

Wendeng County is located at the intersection of four post roads, and the flow of travelers and merchants from the north and south is enormous.

It's naturally difficult to investigate these people, but investigating those outsiders who have lived in Wendeng County for half a month greatly narrows the scope and makes the investigation much simpler.

The list that Dong Fu gave to Ning Xiu contained the names of the outsiders who had been staying in Wendeng County for the past two weeks.

Yesterday, Ning Xiu thought this trick would work, but after discovering that the mysterious demon could use puppet avatars, he immediately felt that the hope was slim.

Who dares to say that the sorcerer wouldn't kill a local and then use a puppet to impersonate that local?