Chapter 179: Didn’t I Startle You?

"The materials for refining the Demon Slaying Crossbow must be quite precious, wouldn’t you say?"

Shen Changqing changed the subject.

Hearing this, Jiang An shook his head.

"The material itself isn’t especially rare.

The true value lies in the runes inscribed upon it. Those are the product of generations of research by our Demon Subjugation Pavilion, allowing us to tap into a formidable power.

Runes are rather complex, but if Brother Shen wishes to learn more in the future, you are welcome to visit the Demon Subjugation Pavilion anytime."

As they talked, they unconsciously passed through the Guardian Courtyard and entered a tunnel that led to the front of the Demon Prison.

Exiting the tunnel through a side entrance, they stepped inside.

The familiar scent of blood filled the air.

This wasn’t Shen Changqing’s first time at the Demon Prison. Back when he first joined the Demon Suppression Division, he was a frequent visitor here.

Before long, they officially entered the Demon Prison.

The garrison appeared within their sight.

"I am from the Demon Subjugation Pavilion. We are here to reinforce the seals within the Demon Prison."

Jiang An displayed his identity token and spoke in a deep voice.

The guard carefully inspected the token before respectfully returning it.

Then, he turned his gaze towards Shen Changqing.

The Demon Prison was a place of vital importance. Anyone entering had to present their identity token, regardless of who they were accompanying.

Shen Changqing had already retrieved his token when the guard looked over.

Earth-Rank Demon Slayer.

Shen Changqing!

Seeing the information on the token, the guard respectfully returned it as well.

"Please, both of you!"

"Thank you!"

Jiang An nodded, and he and Shen Changqing proceeded directly to the second level of the Demon Prison.

As soon as they stepped onto the second level, a chill surged through the air.

While this coldness might be intense for an Apprentice Demon Slaying Envoy, to the two of them, it was negligible.

They arrived at the first cell.

The Bewitching Woman that had originally been imprisoned there had been replaced by another evil.

"What happened to the original Bewitching Woman?"

Shen Changqing’s expression shifted slightly as he looked at the evil before him.

Jiang An shook his head.

"That Bewitching Woman harmed countless villagers. She was imprisoned here solely for research purposes. Once we learned enough, we naturally eliminated her, avenging those who died by her hand."

When speaking of the evil’s death, the member of the Demon Subjugation Pavilion remained calm, without the slightest ripple in his demeanor.

The evil treated the human race like livestock, and the human race reciprocated.

It was killed.

That was all there was to it.

At that moment, Jiang An’s gaze fell upon the cell. The runes inscribed on it had faded significantly.

"The sealing power has been consumed by half. It seems it was constantly trying to break free. Fortunately, we arrived on time. If we had delayed for two or three months, it might have escaped."

He shook his head slightly.

Then, he untied the package on his back and took out something that resembled an engraving knife.

The blade was slender and as black as ink.

A dense Yin and evil aura emanated from it, causing Shen Changqing’s eyebrows to twitch slightly.

He didn’t ask questions.

He silently watched Jiang An’s movements.

He saw the other man holding the engraving knife, carving runes on the cell, gradually merging them with the existing ones.

As he carved, the simple lines seemed strangely bizarre to Shen Changqing.

At the same time, the blackness on the engraving knife seemed to fade slightly with each rune he etched.

The entire process flowed as smoothly as floating clouds, pleasing to the eye.

The evil imprisoned within seemed to sense something and began to frantically bombard the cell door, while also conjuring various illusions in an attempt to bewilder the two men.

However, the evil’s illusions had no effect on Shen Changqing.

After breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm, his spiritual power had undergone a transformation.

The evil’s illusions were no longer able to deceive him.

To his naked eye, even if the evil transformed in countless ways, Shen Changqing could still see its essence – a mass of black gas without any fixed form.

After about a quarter of an hour, Jiang An put away the engraving knife, re-shouldered his package, and turned to look at Shen Changqing.

"Finally done. Brother Shen, let’s move on to the next cell!"

"Ah, alright."

Shen Changqing nodded.

Immediately, the two of them moved on to the next cell.

There was another unfamiliar evil there, different from the evils he had seen in the same cell before.

Clearly, that evil had also met the same fate as the Bewitching Woman.

Jiang An repeated the process, carving runes on the cell to repair the faded seals.

Seeing his actions, Shen Changqing stood aside like an observer before finally speaking.

"Brother Jiang, the runes used to seal the evils in the Demon Prison seem similar to the runes you showed me on the Demon Slaying Crossbow."

"Indeed."

Jiang An’s movements didn’t stop as he answered.

"Runes have many uses. The Demon Slaying Crossbow is just one application. Similarly, the seals in the Demon Prison are another.

But as I told you before, runes require specific energy to activate them.

The engraving knife contains the energy needed to activate the runes."

"Yin and evil energy!"

Shen Changqing spoke the words.

Now he was completely certain that the black gas contained in Jiang An’s engraving knife was Yin and evil energy.

He had always been curious about what the Demon Suppression Division did with all the Yin and evil energy they collected.

Now, seeing the engraving knife, Shen Changqing had a rough idea.

It turned out that the collected Yin and evil aura ended up in the hands of the Demon Subjugation Pavilion.

Soon, another thought occurred to him.

"If runes can be activated with Yin and evil energy, then the Demon Slaying Crossbow can too, right?"

"It’s not the same." Jiang An shook his head. "Yin and evil energy is highly corrosive to ordinary people. Even if we inscribe runes with Yin and evil energy, allowing those without true Qi to use the Demon Slaying Crossbow, the potential problems would be immense.

Unless we can eliminate the effects of Yin and evil energy on ordinary people."

So that was it!

Ever since he entered the Martial Pavilion, Shen Changqing felt as if he had opened a new world. All his previous knowledge and experience were like that of a frog at the bottom of a well.

"Are the evils sealed in the Demon Prison not to be killed at will?"

"That’s for sure. Capturing evils isn’t easy. Unless an evil has already broken through its seal or there’s some other unavoidable issue, we can’t just kill them randomly."

Jiang An replied casually.

Not to be killed at will!

Shen Changqing looked at the evils before him, which were like walking slaughter points, and felt an itch in his heart.

It had been a while since he last killed an evil, and his slaughter points hadn’t increased in a long time.

Now there were so many evils sealed here.

In his eyes, they were like fragrant delicacies.

But Jiang An’s words temporarily dispelled Shen Changqing’s idea of reaping slaughter points from the Demon Prison.

The seals on the second level were quickly re-established.

Then, the two of them stepped onto the third level.

At that moment, the Yin and evil aura on the third level was noticeably denser. An individual approached them, and upon seeing Shen Changqing and Jiang An, they instinctively lowered their head and walked past.

Suddenly.

Shen Changqing reached out his hand.

"Hold on!"

"I wonder, Lord, is there something you need?"

The person wore the uniform of an Apprentice Demon Slaying Envoy, kept their head lowered, and spoke with a somewhat apprehensive tone.

Jiang An, at the side, looked strange, not understanding why Shen Changqing had stopped the person.

Shen Changqing smiled, but his gaze remained fixed on the person.

"How did you know I was a Lord?"

"——This one saw that the Lord possessed an extraordinary bearing and understood that the Lord’s identity was out of the ordinary."

The person replied truthfully.

"Brother Shen?" Jiang An couldn’t help but speak.

Shen Changqing waved his hand, his gaze still on the person.

"Well said. Raise your head and speak."

"This one wouldn’t dare to be presumptuous before a Lord."

"You speak quite well. To be honest, for an evil to possess such intelligence and be able to answer with such human understanding is truly admirable. I have slain many evils, but you are the first of your kind."

Shen Changqing clapped his hands. Although his words were praise, his tone was extremely cold.

Evil!

Jiang An was shocked.

Before he could react, the person suddenly exploded with energy. Veins bulged on their lowered face, and their eyes turned bloodshot.

Roar—

A roar unlike any human sound burst forth as their hands tore through the air.

Their target was not Shen Changqing, but Jiang An.

The evil’s senses told it that Shen Changqing was not to be trifled with. In contrast, Jiang An was the weakest, so he became the target of its attack.

"Courting death!"

Jiang An was furious and was about to attack when, suddenly, Shen Changqing, who was standing beside him, moved. A palm strike infused with Great Sun True Qi was unleashed, instantly clearing the Yin and evil aura on the third level. An incredibly blazing aura rose with it.

Boom—

The palm struck the evil squarely.

In an instant, the evil emitted a miserable scream and was completely consumed by the burning power.

As for the body it had possessed, it was sent flying.

After landing, it was completely silent.

Seeing the increase in his slaughter points on the status panel, Shen Changqing smiled inwardly. On the surface, he remained calm as he looked at Jiang An, who was preparing to attack.

"Brother Jiang, I didn’t startle you, did I?"

"No, no, Brother Shen is incredibly strong. I am impressed!"

Jiang An quickly shook his head.

The evil’s aura had been hidden, and even he hadn’t noticed it. Clearly, it was a very powerful evil, at least not weaker than an Innate Realm Peak cultivator.

But such a powerful evil had been instantly killed by the person before him.

The extent of his strength was beyond imagination.

After the shock passed, Jiang An looked at the body on the ground, his expression turning ugly.

"An evil possessing an Apprentice Demon Slaying Envoy… the seals on the third level must be failing. Damn it!"

It would be bad enough if only the seals on the third level were failing.

If the seals on the fourth and fifth levels were also failing, then it would be a major problem.

End of Chapter