Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

The only other possibility is evil spirits, but this is Chaotiandu. Could it be that evil spirits are now so audacious as to openly appear in Chaotiandu?

“That looks like Chunman Pavilion.” Liu Yong thought for a moment and then said resolutely, “Let’s go take a look. We can’t ignore anything unusual.”

The group nodded and immediately headed towards Chunman Pavilion.

Since Qin Daorong and his men purged the place, Chunman Pavilion is now an empty building.

All doors and windows are sealed with the signature of the Demon Subduing Division. No one is allowed to enter. Anyone who dares to tear off the seals, except for the Demon Subduing Captain, will be considered a demon and punished.

As Ning Xiu and his companions approached, they carefully examined the seals on the doors and windows to see if they had been torn off.

After checking the entire perimeter of the first floor, all the seals were found to be intact and undamaged.

"Strange, Ning Xiu, did you really see something move by?" Qin Ben asked, puzzled.

Before Ning Xiu could respond, Liu Yong said directly, "Never doubt your companions. Evil spirits have strange methods, and it's normal that there are things we can't discover. I'm afraid that what Ning Xiu saw might really be related to Chunman Pavilion."

Li Yueying asked, "Then what do we do now?"

"Go in and take a look, check it again, and make sure this place is working properly."

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Liu Yong reached out and tore off the seal, then pushed open the door of Chunmange.

*Crack!*

Amidst the piercing noise, the dark inner hall of Chunman Pavilion came into view of Ning Xiu and his companions.

Darkness and eerie winds instantly spread out from it.

【031】Breaking the Concealment Formation Reveals the Evil Spirits' Footprints

The Marquis of Wuyi's residence.

The once bustling Wuyi Marquis's mansion is now sealed off by a ban from the Demon Subduing Division.

It became extremely deserted. Under the prohibition that no one was allowed to enter or leave the mansion, the daily consumption of fruits and vegetables in the mansion was handled by the people of the Demon Subduing Division.

Sitting in a secret room beneath his mansion, Wu Huanian carefully read through the letters sent by Steward Chu through special means, by candlelight.

These letters stated that Manager Chu had dispatched members of the Black Heaven Gate to frantically extract the life essence of living people in the counties and towns within a hundred miles of Chaotian Capital.

There are now seven or eight hundred people, and the progress is very rapid. I believe that we will soon be able to meet the conditions for reviving Wu Huanian's wife, Han Wan'er.

Wu Huanian was very satisfied with this, but besides satisfaction, he was also anxious.

Because of the exposure of the Spring Pavilion incident, the Demon Subduing Division's attention was entirely focused on him.

If it weren't for his title as one of the Thirty-Six Marquises, Qin Daorong would have already taken him back to the Demon Subduing Division for interrogation.

There would never be the current state of confinement and lockdown.

But being locked up like this isn't a good solution either. It's a fact that Wu Huanian has fallen from grace and joined the Black Heaven Sect.

In other words, the Demon Exorcist Division is unaware of the truth at this moment, but what if they find evidence?

Even if Wu Huanian was one of the thirty-six marquises, he would still end up being imprisoned in the Demon Suppression Prison, where he would be forced to reveal all the information before being executed.

Before the Demon Subduing Division can act, Wu Huanian must seize the opportunity to escape Chaotiandu with the help of the Black Heaven Gate.

All of this can only begin after Han Wan'er is successfully resurrected.

After reading all the letters, Wu Huanian lit them one by one over a candle.

He then threw the letter into the iron basin next to him, and only breathed a sigh of relief after it had completely burned to ashes.

"We must be extremely careful when facing the Demon Subduing Division, or one wrong move could lead to utter ruin," Wu Huanian thought to himself.

……

"This place still looks rather eerie," Qin Ben remarked, gripping the hilt of his sword.

After being closed for several days, the interior of Chunman Pavilion is now in a state of disrepair, with tables and chairs scattered and discarded throughout the hall, making it quite abandoned.

"I have mastered a body-strengthening technique, please let me go first," Ning Xiu said, then shouldered the Thunder Hammer and took the lead into the crowd.

"Brother Liu seems to also have external martial arts techniques. Brother Ning, what do you practice?" Li Yueying asked curiously.

"Golden Bell Shield".

Upon hearing this, Liu Yong's face immediately showed a confident but not arrogant expression: "Coincidentally, I also have the Golden Bell Shield. Ning Xiu, I have been practicing for longer than you, and I am now at the seventh level. Let me go first, and you can stand behind me."

The Demon Subduing Division has a long-standing tradition of the strong protecting the weak and superiors protecting subordinates.

In situations where an emergency evacuation is required due to disasters or dangers caused by evil spirits, the Silver Tiger Demon-Subduing Captain is responsible for covering the rear for the Bronze Leopard Demon-Subduing Captain.

The Bronze Leopard Demon-Subduing Captain had to cover the rear of the Iron Horse Demon-Subduing Captain, who in turn had to cover the rear of the common people.

As the hierarchy descends, no one is allowed to skip levels and desert their posts, or betray the weak for safety.

If any violation is discovered, the offender will be immediately expelled from the Demon Extermination Bureau and will never be recruited again.

I heard that decades ago, the Demon Subduing Division sent troops to Qingque Prefecture in an attempt to retake it.

On the way, the group of dozens of bronze leopard demon-subduing officers encountered two second-rank great demons.

With a significant disparity in strength between the two sides, the Silver Tiger Demon-Subduing Captain, who was leading the team, stayed behind alone to fight two opponents, buy time, and cover the retreat of the main force.

Although all the Demon Subduers eventually returned safely to Chaotiandu, the Silver Tiger Demon Subduer remained forever in the land of Daliangzhou.

Looking at Liu Yong's 'confident but not arrogant' expression, Ning Xiu really wanted to say, "I, the Golden Bell Shield, ninth level."

But the effect of these words was too shocking, so he chose to keep them to himself and did not say them aloud.

The Golden Bell Cover is a horizontal training technique with a maximum of twelve levels. The first six levels are relatively easy to cultivate, and talented people can break through one level in half a year.

But from the seventh level onwards, the progress becomes more and more difficult, and it is impossible to break through each level without spending two or three years honing one's physical abilities.

Even the founder himself spent a full forty-five years to perfect the twelfth level.

To reach the ninth level of the Golden Bell Shield, one simply needs thirty years of arduous cultivation.

Liu Yong has been practicing this technique for over ten years, but he has only reached the seventh level.

Ning Xiu himself, including his predecessor, didn't spend more than a few years in the Champion Camp.

If he were to reveal the true extent of his Golden Bell Shield technique, it would be far too suggestive, and the consequences would be unpredictable.

After standing obediently behind Liu Yong, Ning Xiu and his three companions began to search around Chunman Pavilion.

It is rare to find the key to evil spirits by visual inspection alone, so take advantage of the fact that the Spring Pavilion is pitch black.

Ning Xiu then quietly used his Spirit Eye Observation Technique to examine the corners of the surrounding corridor.

From the lobby to the third floor, and then to the kitchen, the four of them found nothing, not even a trace of anything unusual.

It seems that after being swept away by the Demon Slayers, Spring Pavilion has completely returned to peace.

"It seems we were overthinking it. Everything is normal here, and there's no sign of any evil spirits hiding," Liu Yong said.

Ning Xiu used his spiritual eye observation technique to examine the entire Chunman Pavilion. Although he didn't say anything at the moment, he thought so too.

But at that moment, Li Yueying looked up at the roof of Chunman Pavilion as if she had noticed something, her expression thoughtful, as if she was thinking about something.

Qin Ben immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

“Something’s not right. There’s something wrong with this Spring Pavilion.” Li Yueying pointed to the roof.

Everyone turned their gaze in that direction, but to them, everything seemed perfectly normal, with nothing out of the ordinary.

"If I'm not mistaken, there's a newly set-up array core there, but I don't know what kind of array it is."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ben exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that after the Demon Subduing Division sealed off this place, those evil spirits have secretly made a comeback?"

“That makes perfect sense. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place, and that’s really possible,” Liu Yong replied.

"Yueying, can you break this formation?"

"I'll give it a try; hopefully it won't be too difficult."

Li Yueying raised her hand and waved it at the roof, but it was unclear what she actually did.

Suddenly, the entire roof of Chunman Pavilion trembled violently, and a large amount of dust and wood chips fell to the ground, slowly forming a huge array.

"It really is!" Liu Yong quickly and cautiously surveyed his surroundings to prevent any danger from occurring.

Who could have imagined that those evil spirits would be so audacious as to secretly return to Chunman Pavilion after the Demon Subduing Division sealed it off to set up an array and hide?

Under these circumstances, no one can say for sure how many evil spirits or demons are hiding in Chunman Pavilion at this moment.

Ning Xiu used his spiritual eye observation technique to look around again, and sure enough, after Li Yueying destroyed the array's core.

The interior of Chunman Pavilion instantly changed, with a small amount of evil energy constantly wafting out from the gaps between the gray bricks on the ground.

It seems that those evil spirits are hiding in the underground of Chunman Pavilion.

“Down there, we need to find a way down into the underground,” Ning Xiu said.

The group exchanged glances, then suddenly exclaimed in unison, "The cellar!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the four of them ran to the backyard together.

……

In the dark green pool, a fair-skinned woman with an elegant demeanor lay quietly in an ice coffin floating on the water.

A deep green mist continuously emanated from the pool and seeped into the woman's body, keeping her skin moisturized and her complexion rosy.

Manager Chu, his face covered in scars, stood beside the pool, staring solemnly at the female corpse in the coffin.

The origins of the Black Heaven Gate are shrouded in mystery. Although no one has ever seen its founder, it has always been said that he possessed unparalleled magical abilities, surpassing all others throughout history.

Any method of bringing the dead back to life or the art of immortality can be obtained from him, as long as you pay a sufficient price.

Wu Huanian was willing to fall into depravity halfway and choose to join the Black Heaven Gate in order to find a way to revive his wife.

I came to Chaotiandu a few years ago, the capital of a great merchant state and the headquarters of the Demon Subduing Bureau, to do things secretly.

Manager Chu was under a lot of psychological pressure, but fortunately, the sect leader asked someone to pass on a concealment formation to her.

It is said that once the formation is activated, no one below the second rank can detect it unless they are within ten steps.

That's how these demons from the Black Heaven Gate were able to hide in the Spring Pavilion for several years.

According to the sect leader's method of bringing the dead back to life, Steward Chu had been secretly performing this technique on Han Wan'er's corpse for a long time.