Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

"Gentlemen, would you mind traveling together? It would be good to have company," the caravan's guard commander asked, riding up on horseback.

"I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry to get to Shenjia Town. Your caravan is traveling too slowly and I'm afraid you can't keep up with our pace," Ren Qianxing said directly and decisively.

There is a huge difference in speed between mythical beasts and horses. Even the best horses cannot match the speed and endurance of mythical beasts. This is why the Demon Subduing Division established the Beast Taming Workshop.

If I agree to let this caravan accompany me, it will probably take several days to reach Yunxia Mountain.

After watching the four Demon-Subduing Guards politely decline his request and then quickly disappear at the end of the road on their strange beasts, the Guard Commander couldn't help but sigh regretfully. It was all for nothing again.

……

Before the official road was blocked due to the earth dragon's transformation, Shenjia Town could be considered a small place on the periphery of Yunze Prefecture.

Few people would pass through this place, but with the official road temporarily impassable, Shenjia Town, as the first town on this old road, suddenly became extremely important.

The town became incredibly popular overnight, and the number of guests at the town's inns increased significantly.

For all those traveling from Jingzhou to Yunze Prefecture, Shenjia Town was the first place where they could rest.

Furthermore, this place is guarded by experts sent by the Demon Subduing Bureau, making it a relatively safe location.

When the outline of a town with white walls and black tiles appeared at the end of the road, Ren Qianxing finally smiled: "We've finally arrived. This road runs through Shenjia Town. We have to go through Shenjia Town to reach the other side of the road outside the town."

Xia Yunsi laughed and said, "I still can't figure out why Shen Congyun, such a cautious and cunning person, would agree to go to Yunxia Mountain with you this time. Did you shield him from some life-or-death crisis before, so he owes you a favor?"

"Senior sister, please don't joke. Cong Yun and I have a life-and-death bond from the Champion Camp. Although he is a coward, he will never refuse if I need his help."

Upon entering Shenjia Town, Ren Qianxing said to Ning Xiu and the other two, "You should find an inn to rest first. I'll go find someone and then come back to meet you."

"it is good."

Leaving behind a puppet to follow Zhengwu, Ren Qianxing left alone to find his friend.

Ning Xiu and his companions found an inn with available rooms to rest temporarily. As soon as he entered his room, Ning Xiu immediately took off his black silver chainmail and clothes and began to examine his left arm.

In fact, he had wanted to do this long ago after leaving the mural world, but he didn't have a private space and didn't want others to know about the changes that had happened to him, so he could only endure it until now to have the examination.

At this moment, on Ning Xiu's left arm, there were clearly twelve spiral dots created by the insertion of Buddhist beads into his body, and on the palm of his left hand, there was also a very obvious white circular pattern, which was the Ghost Tear.

No matter how Ning Xiu tried, he couldn't figure out what the purpose of these thirteen circular patterns was, and even when he poured in his internal energy, there was no reaction at all.

“I asked the monk Zhengwu on the road before, and he said that the string of prayer beads was a gift from his master and was no ordinary item. Now that the twelve prayer beads have entered my arm, they must have some kind of power. Could it be that I activated them incorrectly?” Ning Xiu frowned and thought to himself.

He fiddled with it for a long time but couldn't get any reaction from the thirteen circular patterns, so he had to give up.

Perhaps it's just not the right time yet; we can figure it out slowly later.

……

After waiting for a full hour at the inn, Ren Qianxing finally returned with a seemingly ordinary-looking young man.

The phrase "plain-looking" is not meant to be derogatory at all; this person truly has the kind of face that wouldn't attract any attention in a crowd.

The eyes, nose, and mouth are all extremely ordinary facial features.

Coupled with his simple yamen runner's uniform, this man exuded an air of ordinariness.

"This is Shen Congyun. He was one of the same batch of apprentices as me in the Champion Camp. Now his strength is at the ninth rank of the Music Dao," Ren Qianxing introduced with a smile.

Like painting, music is a refined art form.

Those skilled in music can use various musical instruments, and those of the lowest rank can influence others' minds and disrupt their thoughts and actions through music.

The third rank is much more powerful; they can control the movements of others to serve them.

The third rank is even more extraordinary; they can not only use musical instruments to bewitch people's minds and seal their memories, turning them into completely blank individuals.

It can also wipe out thousands of troops with a single song, making it extremely lethal.

However, the Way of Music, the Way of Painting, and the Way of Calligraphy belong to the kind of great paths that rely heavily on talent and comprehension, and are not easily cultivated by ordinary people.

People without talent might spend their entire lives stuck at the ninth rank and unable to advance, so there are very few people who are proficient in this art.

Masters of the Music Dao who can cultivate to the upper three ranks are extremely rare.

"Greetings everyone, and greetings to Senior Sister Xia. I am Shen Congyun, a yamen runner from this town," Shen Congyun said, clasping his hands in greeting.

But Ning Xiu looked at the other person with a strange expression, his face showing some hesitation.

For some reason, he always felt that this person was not as simple as he seemed, and even he himself could not fully see through the other party's strength.

This person's strength is probably not as Ren Qianxing said, that he is a ninth-grade music master.

"Interesting," Ning Xiu thought to himself.

'

【054】Evil Qi Forms Lotus Platform in Eighteen Villages of Yunxia Mountain

Now that all the team members had arrived, there was no need to linger in Shenjia Town. After a short rest, Ning Xiu and his group set off on their journey again.

Shen Congyun's mount was a gray donkey, which seemed ordinary, but according to Ren Qianxing, it was also a strange beast that Shen Congyun had captured and raised himself.

In terms of speed, they were no less than the beasts that Ning Xiu and his companions had brought out from the Beast Taming Workshop.

Shenjia Town is about 800 li away from Yunxia Mountain. If you travel overnight, you can arrive in a day.

With nothing else to do on the way, Ren Qianxing chatted with Shen Congyun, telling him about some interesting stories from their time training in the champion camp.

Ning Xiu suddenly interjected and asked, "Since Brother Shen is a ninth-rank musician, why didn't you join the Demon Subduing Division back then? Instead, you were assigned to this remote Shen Family Town as a yamen runner."

Shen Congyun scratched the back of his head and said honestly, "When I was eighteen, I participated in the selection of the Demon Subduing Division, but I had not yet reached the ninth rank, so I was not selected. It was only in recent years that I made the breakthrough."

"Alas, it's such a pity. Cong Yun, like me, had a heart to serve the country and protect the people, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned," Ren Qianxing sighed.

Xia Yunsi immediately gave a "yeah right" look and added, "I think it's because Shenjia Town is a remote place that it's quite safe to be a yamen runner."

"Hey, Senior Sister Xia, what you're saying is really true. You have such a big prejudice against me," Shen Congyun said calmly.

After traveling for eight hundred li, the group finally arrived at the Yunxia Mountain area.

This place was occupied by demons in the past, and no living person dared to approach it, otherwise they would suffer a terrible fate.

Later, it was only after a high-ranking Buddhist or Taoist monk from Dalingyin Temple personally came to exorcise the demon and eliminate the evil spirits that Yunxia Mountain became normal and safe, suitable for habitation.

Many refugees migrated here and built villages and houses in the mountains. Later, in order to protect the villagers of the eighteen villages in the mountains, the fourth-rank monk Master Chanhui of Dalingyin Temple came here to build a temple.

Many years have passed in the blink of an eye.

As they approached the foot of Yunxia Mountain, they saw several villagers carrying baskets emerge from the mountain. Zhengwu immediately dismounted from Heifeng's back, walked over, and asked with his hands clasped together, "Greetings, benefactors. May I ask how Master Chanhui has been doing lately?"

“Master Chanhui? I don’t know much about him. It seems like I haven’t seen him for a while,” several villagers replied.

"Amitabha, thank you." Zhengwu nodded and thanked him.

After the incident at Jinzhao Temple, Ning Xiu now often instinctively uses his Spiritual Eye Observation Technique to observe his surroundings.

This time was no exception. He quietly observed the villagers in front of him. He should have kept quiet, because as soon as he looked, he immediately noticed something strange.

These villagers were all surrounded by a faint aura of evil, though it was very thin, just a wisp, but it still did not escape Ning Xiu's eyes.

“Ren Qianxing, there is evil energy on them,” Ning Xiu said directly.

The expressions on everyone's faces changed instantly, and they all drew their weapons.

"Search." Ren Qianxing ordered his puppet to jump off the Black Wind and go over to grab the villagers and examine them.

"What are you doing?!"

"Let me go, what do you want to do?"

After the villagers struggled, Ren Qianxing's puppet quickly found several items on them, which were the source of the evil energy.

Ning Xiu looked closely and discovered that those things were actually black-covered scriptures.

"The Avici Sutra?" Zhengwu frowned upon seeing the words on the sutra's cover.

I've lived in Dalingyin Temple for many years, but I've never heard of such a Buddhist scripture. The word "Avici" doesn't have a good meaning.

"Tell me, where did you get these scriptures from?" Ren Qianxing asked.

"They were distributed by the monks at Yunxia Temple. They said that reciting this scripture for a long time will bring a happy life, good health, and smooth sailing in everything." Looking at Ning Xiu and the others riding strange beasts and carrying weapons.

The villagers were clearly frightened and could only answer timidly.

"Then was it even useful for you to recite it?" Ning Xiu asked.

When this was mentioned, the villagers immediately perked up and replied, "It works! It really works! Old Li from the next village was seriously ill and was on the verge of passing away. But after reciting this scripture for a few days, he became energetic again and can now start working in the fields. Isn't that amazing?"

There is only one Buddhist temple on Yunxia Mountain, which was built by Master Chanhui. The appearance of this Avici Sutra must be closely related to him.

Judging from the words of these villagers, it seems that all eighteen villages in Yunxia Mountain have been distributed with this scripture.

According to the laws of the Great Shang Dynasty, it was a very dangerous act to compile scriptures and teach the people without authorization. If any problems were found, the person would be treated as a demon and imprisoned in the Demon Suppression Prison.

In Ning Xiu's observation, these Avici Sutras all contained evil energy, which is a typical sign of a problem and has a very bad influence.

"What's going on with Master Chanhui?" Zhengwu couldn't help but mutter.

"Let's go. There's no use in guessing here. Let's hurry to Yunxia Temple and ask Master Chanhui in person what his intention is in having these scriptures distributed," Ren Qianxing said loudly.

Although Master Chan Hui has been away from Dalingyin Temple for many years, his passion for Buddhism and Taoism and his views on Buddhist scriptures have always made him one of the most outstanding figures in Dalingyin Temple.

Everyone thought that he would have no problem reaching the third rank of Buddhism and Taoism, and might even become a first-rank holy monk in Buddhism and Taoism in the future.

Therefore, Zhengwu was very puzzled when he learned that the monks of Yunxia Temple were distributing black-covered scriptures with evil connotations to the villagers of the Eighteen Villages.

Regardless of the reason, such behavior is the act of a demon. Would a highly virtuous monk like Master Chanhui tolerate his monks doing such a thing?

Was he aware of the situation and tacitly approved of it, or was he completely unaware? Zhengwu's mind was in turmoil, like a long-admired idol whose image was about to collapse.

After confiscating the Avici Sutra carried by the villagers, the group continued their journey into the mountains.

Soon they arrived at the first village in Yunxia Mountain.

The terrain in Yunxia Mountain is extremely rugged and complex, and the mountain roads are winding and circuitous. Apart from a dirt road connecting eighteen villages, there are no other roads leading into the mountain.

Yunxia Temple was built in the eighteenth village deep in the mountains, meaning that Ning Xiu and his party had to pass through seventeen villages to reach Yunxia Temple.

"You guys think Master Chanhui might have fallen from grace halfway through? What if he really becomes a demon? With his fourth-grade Buddhist and Taoist strength, we are no match for him. I think we should go back first and report the Avici Sutra to the Demon Subduing Division, asking them to send a strong person who can rival Master Chanhui. That would be more appropriate."

While everyone remained silent, Shen Congyun couldn't help but speak up.

Ning Xiu nodded silently; this was indeed a solution.