Human Clan Defender

"The materials used to forge the Banishing Evil Crossbow must be incredibly valuable, right?"

Shen Changqing changed the topic.

Upon hearing this,

Jiang An shook his head. "The material for the Banishing Evil Crossbow isn't all that precious; what's truly valuable is the runes engraved upon it. Those are things passed down and developed by generations of elders in the Suppressing Evil Hall, capable of channeling and unleashing tremendous power.

Runes are a bit complicated—if Brother Shen wants to learn more in the future, you're welcome to visit the Suppressing Evil Hall any time. We'd be glad to have you."

As the two conversed,

before they knew it, they had passed through the Defending Compound, and walked through the passageway to arrive at the frontmost part of the Demon-Subduing Prison.

Exiting the passageway,

they came to a side entrance, then walked in together.

The familiar smell of blood.

This wasn't Shen Changqing's first time at the Demon-Subduing Prison; back when he first joined the Demon-Subduing Division, he was already a frequent visitor here.

Soon after,

they entered the inner part of the Demon-Subduing Prison for real.

The prison guards of the Demon-Subduing Prison appeared within their sight.

"I'm from the Suppressing Evil Hall. This time, I'm here to reinforce the seals within the Demon-Subduing Prison."

Jiang An showed his Identity Token and spoke with a grave tone.

The guard carefully inspected the token, then respectfully handed it back.

After that,

he turned his gaze to Shen Changqing.

The Demon-Subduing Prison is of great importance—anyone entering must show their Identity Token, regardless of who they accompany.

Even before the guard looked his way, Shen Changqing had already taken out his own Identity Token.

Earth Rank Demon Hunter.

Shen Changqing!

Upon seeing the information on the token, the guard also respectfully returned it.

"Please go in, My Lords!"

"Thank you!"

Jiang An nodded, then the two of them proceeded directly to the second level of the Demon-Subduing Prison.

As soon as they stepped onto the second level, a chill surged toward them.

Such cold was intense for a Probationary Demon Hunter, but for these two, it made no difference if it was there or not.

They arrived before the first prison cell.

The meinv that had originally been imprisoned there had already been replaced by another demon evil.

"Where's the former meinv?"

Looking at the demon evil before him, a flicker passed through Shen Changqing's eyes.

Jiang An shook his head. "That meinv harmed quite a few civilians. She was locked up here for research, but after our study was done, she was naturally executed. You could say it was revenge for those folks killed by her hand."

When speaking about the death of demon evils, this man from the Suppressing Evil Hall's expression remained calm, without a hint of emotion.

Demon evils regard the Human Clan as livestock, and the Human Clan treats demon evils no differently.

They kill,

and that's all there is to it.

At that moment,

Jiang An's gaze fell on the cell; the runes engraved there were already noticeably faded.

"Half the seal's power has been consumed. Seems it's been constantly battering the seal. Fortunately, we came on time this round—if we'd delayed another two or three months, it might've broken out."

He shook his head slightly.

Then he unstrapped the bundle from his back, and retrieved from it an object resembling a carving knife.

The blade was slender, the whole thing pitch black like ink.

A thick yin evil aura wafted from it, making Shen Changqing's brow twitch ever so slightly.

He didn't ask.

He simply watched Jiang An's actions in silence.

Jiang An held the carving knife and began etching runes onto the cell door, merging them gradually into the existing runes.

During the engraving,

the lines were clearly simple, but to Shen Changqing's eyes, unspeakably strange.

At the same time,

the blackness on the carving knife seemed to lessen with each stroke of the rune.

Throughout the whole process,

Jiang An's inscription was as smooth as flowing water, pleasing to watch.

The demon evil imprisoned inside seemed to sense something, thrashing against the prison door with increasing frenzy, conjuring up all sorts of illusions in a bid to confuse the two men.

However,

these tricks were utterly useless in Shen Changqing's eyes.

Ever since breaking through to Grandmaster Realm, his spiritual power had undergone a transformation.

The demon evil's illusions could no longer confuse him at all.

Looking with the naked eye,

no matter the endless transformations, Shen Changqing could always see the demon evil's true form—a mass of pitch-black vapor, utterly formless.

After about a quarter of an hour,

Jiang An put away the carving knife, slung his pack over his shoulder, and turned to Shen Changqing.

"It's done at last, Brother Shen. Let's move on to the next cell!"

"Mm, alright."

Shen Changqing nodded.

With that, the two proceeded to the next cell.

Inside was another unfamiliar demon evil, different from the one Shen Changqing had seen before in this cell.

It was obvious—

this demon evil had followed the same fate as the meinv.

Jiang An repeated the same method, carving runes to reinforce the fading seal.

Observing his actions,

Shen Changqing stood to one side as a bystander, then spoke up:

"Brother Jiang, the runes sealing demon evils in the Demon-Subduing Prison seem pretty similar to the ones on the Banishing Evil Crossbow you showed me."

"That's right."

Jiang An kept working as he answered.

"Runes have many uses. The Banishing Evil Crossbow is just one application. The seals in the Demon-Subduing Prison are another.

As I told you before, runes need specific energy to activate them.

The carving knife itself contains energy to activate runes."

"Yin evil aura!"

Shen Changqing intoned those words.

By now he was completely certain—that black vapor in Jiang An's carving knife was, indeed, yin evil aura.

He had always wondered what the Demon-Subduing Division did with all the yin evil aura they collected.

Now, seeing the carving knife,

Shen Changqing had a pretty good guess.

The yin evil aura they collected ended up in the hands of the Suppressing Evil Hall.

Soon enough,

another thought occurred to him.

"If runes can be activated using yin evil aura, then the Banishing Evil Crossbow can use it too, right!"

"It's different." Jiang An shook his head. "Yin evil aura is highly corrosive to ordinary people. Even though you could use it to engrave runes so that people without True Qi could use the Banishing Evil Crossbow, the aftereffects would be disastrous.

Unless we could neutralize the effects of yin evil aura on ordinary people."

I see now!

Ever since joining the Martial Hall, Shen Changqing felt like a whole new world had opened up to him—everything he'd seen or heard before was like viewing the sky from the bottom of a well.

"Are the demon evils sealed in the Demon-Subduing Prison not allowed to be slain at will?"

"Of course not. Capturing demon evils isn't easy—unless one has already broken through the seal or there's some unavoidable issue, demon evils aren't to be killed lightly."

Jiang An replied offhandedly.

No killing on a whim!

Looking at the demon evil before him, Shen Changqing couldn't help but itch inside—they were walking Slaughter Value incarnate.

It had been a while since he'd killed demon evils and earned Slaughter Value.

There were so many sealed here right now.

In his eyes, they were as tempting as fresh buns.

But Jiang An's words made Shen Changqing temporarily give up on harvesting Slaughter Value in the Demon-Subduing Prison.

——

The seals on the second level were quickly restored.

After that,

the two moved on to the third level.

At this moment,

the yin evil aura on the third level was significantly thicker. Someone approached; upon seeing Shen Changqing and Jiang An, he instinctively lowered his head and stepped aside.

Suddenly,

Shen Changqing reached out his hand.

"Hold on!"

"May I ask, My Lord, is there something you require?"

The person wore a Probationary Demon Hunter's uniform, kept his head down, and his tone was tinged with anxiety and unease.

Jiang An beside him also looked odd, not understanding why this man had been stopped.

Shen Changqing half-smiled. "How did you know I was an officer?"

"—Seeing My Lord's commanding presence, I instantly knew your status was far from ordinary."

The man answered truthfully.

"Brother Shen?" Jiang An called out in confusion.

Shen Changqing waved him quiet, still fixing his gaze on the man.

"Well said. Now look up and speak to me."

"I wouldn't dare be disrespectful in My Lord's presence."

"Such polite words. But to be frank, it's rare for a demon evil to possess such intelligence, able to converse so smoothly and understand human etiquette. I'm impressed. I've killed many demon evils, but you're the first of your kind."

Shen Changqing applauded. Though the words were praise, his tone was ice cold.

Demon evil!

Jiang An was shocked.

Before he could react further, the man's body suddenly burst into action. His lowered face bulged with veins, and his eyes turned a blood-red rage.

Roar—

The bellow was anything but human, as both hands lashed through the air.

Its target wasn't Shen Changqing, but Jiang An.

Relying on the perception of demon evils, it knew Shen Changqing was not to be trifled with. By contrast, Jiang An was the weaker, and thus became its prey.

"Court death!"

Jiang An roared in fury and was about to make a move when—

Suddenly,

Shen Changqing by his side shifted; a palm infused with Great Sun True Qi struck out. The yin evil aura on the third level was instantly swept away as an intense, scorching power surged forth.

Boom—

The palm smashed heavily into the demon evil's body.

In an instant,

the demon evil let out a shrill, despairing scream, then was utterly incinerated by the burning force.

The body it had possessed was flung across the room.

After landing,

there was not even a trace of movement left.

Seeing the uptick in Slaughter Value on his panel, Shen Changqing smiled inwardly, appearing calm as he turned to Jiang An, who was just about to act.

"Brother Jiang, hope I didn't startle you just now?"

"No, not at all, Brother Shen! Your power amazes me!"

Jiang An shook his head frantically.

The demon evil's aura had been so well hidden—even he hadn't detected it. This was clearly a demon evil of immense strength, at least no weaker than Innate Peak.

Yet such a powerful demon evil had been wiped out by the man before him with a single palm strike.

One could easily imagine how strong this person truly was.

Once his shock passed,

Jiang An looked down at the corpse, his face turning grim.

"A demon evil possessing a Probationary Demon Hunter—there must be a problem with the seal on the third level. Damn it!"

A failed seal on the third level could still be managed.

But if the seals on the fourth and fifth level were compromised too, that would mean real trouble.