Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

When the Great Sun Mystic Scripture reached its maximum limit, the force unleashed by its internal energy allowed Ning Xiu to tear apart the hands of the two-horned evil spirit with his bare hands.

With a 'sizzle' sound, the two-horned demon's claws instantly split in two.

Without pausing, Ning Xiu pushed off with his feet and leaped swiftly toward the two-horned demon.

He raised his right fist high, and with the added speed of his accelerated sprint, he unleashed a full-force punch at the head of the two-horned demon.

boom!

The crimson fist formed from his vigorous blood energy was Ning Xiu's most powerful weapon at this moment.

Blood and vital energy are the natural enemy of any evil spirit, let alone the pure Yang energy fist that Ning Xiu condensed in his right fist.

The moment Ning Xiu's fist struck the two-horned demon's forehead, the demon's head instantly shattered.

A large number of cracks, resembling a spider web, quickly spread out before the eyes of everyone present.

The enormous, two-horned demon, as big as half a house, began to disintegrate, its entire body dissipating into numerous fragments that shrank back into the surface of the Spirit Gathering Banner.

[Defeat evil spirits, General Proficiency +1000]

Lu Chuan, holding the Spirit Gathering Banner, was speechless, completely stunned by Ning Xiu's actions.

With the amplification and enhancement of the abundant spiritual energy within the Spirit Gathering Banner, his 'Ghost Summoning' technique would be more than capable of killing an eighth-rank martial artist.

But now...

Ning Xiu pressed down on the man's face, his crimson palm like a hot iron, instantly causing numerous cracks to appear on 'Lu Chuan's' face.

With a forceful grab, Ning Xiu tore open a palm-sized gash in the man's face.

It is clear that the area inside the notch in 'Lu Chuan's' face is completely empty.

It's like a hollow clay figure sculpted by a craftsman.

This situation was exactly the same as what Ning Xiu had seen before in the mansion where the scaled demon was hiding.

It's clear that this guy is also a puppet incarnation of that demon.

After shaking the Spirit Gathering Banner for a while, 'Lu Chuan' finally fell to the ground, his entire body instantly shattering into pieces.

"The methods of demons are so bizarre that it's impossible to defend against them without corresponding experience. Fortunately, I am more skilled," Ning Xiu thought to himself.

He reached out and picked up the Spirit Gathering Banner that had fallen to the ground. Since this item was valued so highly by the demon, it must have some powerful properties, so he naturally had to take it with him.

As Ning Xiu dispersed the Great Sun Mystic Scripture, the golden patterns on his back slowly faded away, returning to their normal appearance.

Fang Ping rushed over and asked, "Lord Ning, are you alright?"

“It’s alright, I’ve already eliminated this demon, but I suspect there might still be other incarnations of the demon hiding in Wendeng County. Go to the imperial post station immediately and write a letter in my name requesting help. Send it to the Demon Subduing Division and give it to a woman named Su Qianqian,” Ning Xiu said.

"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Fang Ping nodded, then turned and ran away.

Although the two demons who were causing trouble in Wendeng County have been captured by Ning Xiu, one is dead and the other is captured.

However, some remaining problems are now beyond Ning Xiu's ability to handle.

This sorcerer who can create puppet avatars has been in Wendeng County for nearly half a month, and must have secretly created quite a few avatars.

To thoroughly uncover the existence of these incarnations, we need to rely on the Demon Subduing Officers in the Demon Subduing Division who specialize in other paths.

Carrying Lu Dengke's corpse and holding the Spirit Gathering Banner, Ning Xiu quickly left the Lu residence, intending to return to the county government office first and imprison this sorcerer.

……

April 22nd, the day of Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects).

According to the Wendeng County Annals, riots broke out in various parts of the county. In the market, a vegetable vendor, bewitched, used a knife to injure more than 20 innocent people.

An old scholar at the Nantang Private School, in a fit of madness, strangled more than ten students to death, while a waiter at a post station rode his horse and trampled more than thirty passersby to death.

The cook at the Wudou Inn poisoned the food, killing more than forty diners. Hunter Cai Liang indiscriminately shot and killed more than ten women and children with his hunting bow.

They were subsequently killed on the spot by constables who arrived after being alerted. The perpetrators were as fragile as porcelain, lacking internal organs, blood, bones, and brains, and were identified as evil spirits responsible.

When Ning Xiu returned to the yamen, the entire county office was already in complete chaos.

In a single day, in less than half an hour, more than 130 people died in the small county of Wendeng.

When the constables informed Magistrate Dong Fu of the news, he was completely stunned.

It was like a bolt from the blue for him.

It was as if someone had slapped him hard across the face, causing him immense psychological trauma.

"The pain of an entire county is a wound to a very line of people. In the more than 300 years that Wendeng County has existed, such a serious and terrible incident has never occurred before."

Dong Fu slammed the copy of "The Golden Lotus" on the table and shouted angrily.

Several constables stood by, not daring to utter a word. No one could have imagined such a thing would happen. It just goes to show that evil spirits are causing chaos in this world, and things are unpredictable.

Just then, a yamen runner ran in from outside and said, "Sir, Lord Ning is back."

Dong Fu's eyes lit up instantly. With such a tragedy occurring in Wendeng County, his position as county magistrate was in jeopardy, both publicly and privately.

Losing his official position is not the worst thing; the real fear is that his superiors will be furious and demand that he pay with his life to give an explanation to Wendeng County.

At this point, Ning Xiu was his only hope for survival.

"Quickly, take me to see Lord Ning."

Dong Fu ran quickly out of the study and followed the yamen runners toward the courtroom.

Inside the courtroom, Ning Xiu sat in the magistrate's seat, his feet resting on Lu Dengke's corpse, with the spirit-gathering banner placed on the table.

He had already heard about the terrible events that had occurred in Wendeng County from the constables in the yamen.

The thought that all these things were done by the demon beneath his feet made Ning Xiu feel quite uneasy.

The world has suffered from evil spirits for a long time. Even Wendeng County, which is close to Chaotiandu, has experienced such casualties. What about the prefectures and counties that are far away from Chaotiandu?

Even in those prefectures that had broken free from the control of the Shang Dynasty, what kind of misery and suffering must the people there be living in?

If evil spirits are not eradicated, the people of the world will never have peace.

Ning Xiu suddenly felt a strong determination to take this as his own responsibility. This was also the reason why he joined the Champion Camp and the Demon Subduing Division no matter how hard or tiring it was.

Moreover, Ning Xiu can gain general proficiency by eliminating evil spirits, so why not?

"Lord Ning!"

Just as Ning Xiu was immersed in his thoughts, Dong Fu, swaying his fleshy body, ran in from outside the courtroom.

Before Ning Xiu could ask any questions, the man knelt down on both knees, his old eyes filled with tears, and cried out, "Lord Ning, it is my dereliction of duty that I failed to protect the people of Wendeng County. I deserve to die."

"Alright, the dead can't be brought back to life. This has nothing to do with you. The responsibility lies with me. I'll explain things to the higher-ups for you." Ning Xiu kicked Lu Dengke's corpse in front of Dong Fu.

“Lu, isn’t this County Magistrate Lu? What are you doing here…” Dong Fu had seen Lu Dengke on his first day reporting to the county government, so he recognized him.

When Dong Fu saw Lu Dengke tightly wrapped in blankets, he was extremely surprised. This person had not appeared for nearly half a month, and he did not expect him to appear in front of him in this way.

But this scene looks very strange. Could there be something wrong with this person?

"County Magistrate Lu was unfortunately killed by a sorcerer, an accomplice of the scaled sorcerer from before. The sorcerer is currently hiding inside his body."

Go and have someone find an iron cage to lock him up and put him in jail. Wait until the Demon Suppression Division sends someone over to deal with him.

Remember, do not allow anyone to come into close contact with this sorcerer, to avoid any accidents.

"hiss!!!"

Upon hearing Ning Xiu's words, Dong Fu immediately slid back a few steps, putting distance between himself and Lu Dengke's corpse.

This scene immediately brought a phrase to Ning Xiu's mind: a nimble fat man.

"Thank you, sir. I will do it right away."

"In addition..." Ning Xiu thought for a moment and said, "Since the new county magistrate has unfortunately been killed, Wendeng County cannot be without a county magistrate for a day. Let's find County Magistrate Huang and have him continue to serve."

Dong Fu replied, "This humble official understands."

【025】Eighth Grade of Puppet Dao

"Father, with such a huge mess in Wendeng County this time, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to clean up in the end."

In the courtyard of the Huang family mansion, Huang You and his father sat in the pavilion, drinking tea and chatting.

They had already heard about the deaths of over a hundred people that occurred in Wendeng County today from their servants.

Such a heinous incident has never occurred since the establishment of Wendeng County.

"What a tragedy for Wen Deng," sighed Old Master Huang.

Although he is no longer serving as the county magistrate, the old man, who has always loved the people like his own children and cared for them deeply, still couldn't help but feel saddened upon learning of what happened today.

"By the way, didn't you tell me you invited Lord Ning to stay at your residence temporarily? I haven't seen him at all," Old Master Huang asked.

Huang You scratched his head: "I'm not quite sure either. This Lord Ning has official business in Wendeng County this time. He must be doing his own thing."

Just then, a servant suddenly ran over and hurriedly said, "Master, young master, a yamen runner has come to deliver a message. He said that the new county magistrate was unfortunately killed by a sorcerer. On the orders of Lord Ning, you are to be reinstated to your original position and temporarily take over as county magistrate."

Grandpa Huang: "Hmm? Such an unfortunate thing actually happened."

Huang You: "Hmm! I can't believe there's such a good thing!"

Upon hearing Lord Feng Ning's order, Huang You's heart instantly felt at ease.

It was indeed useful to spend four thousand taels of silver on this important person.

If you're willing to spend money on the right people, won't the benefits come back to you?

For a time, Huang You was very impressed with his own investment acumen.

"The other bailiff also said that he hoped you would return to the yamen as soon as possible to take over your official duties, as there is a lot of stuff piling up at the county yamen that urgently needs to be dealt with."

"I understand," Grandpa Huang nodded.

Huang You laughed loudly: "Father, I have really made a benefactor this time. I never expected that Lord Ning could do this much. Now that you have returned to the position of county magistrate, I can finally use the imperial post station to send goods again."

"Is that all you've got?"

“Father, you don’t understand. Without my talent, who in Wendeng County would be willing to spend four thousand taels to buy a hammer?”

……