Monster?
Zhu Tianqi glanced around, unable to contain herself, and almost burst out laughing, "Qin Yexuan, is that really you? I never thought a centuries-old monster would be hunting demons? Are you still the invincible Qin Yexuan I know?"
Qin Yexuan waited for her laughter to subside before calmly saying, "A powerful demon from Chaoge is nearby. I've learned they seem to have some connection to the Demonic Cult."
Upon hearing the word "Demonic Cult," Zhu Tianqi's smile vanished, and she eagerly leaned closer, "Whether you're telling the truth or not, if there's any connection to the Demonic Cult, you have to bring me along."
Qin Yexuan shrugged, "Fine. I'm just an ordinary person now and need a bodyguard. Your strength is acceptable, barely."
Hmph…
Zhu Tianqi didn't believe him for a second. Ordinary person? You're more terrifying than anyone.
She thought, "For you to give your Golden Core to Bing Yan was clearly a deception. A person with so many secrets wouldn't be without backup, would he? Not to mention your Mind Control technique, which is already world-shattering."
While she was lost in thought, the Qin Yexuan in front of her packed up his stall and handed her a basket of steamed buns, "Carry this. Be careful. Let's head to the place I rented. We'll make our move tonight. I've been tracking that demon for over ten days."
His rented place was right next to the vegetable market, a mere tin shack.
This area was once for selling fruits, and the heat inside was unbearable this season, like an oven.
Zhu Tianqi circulated her internal energy and used her cultivation technique to resist the stifling heat.
She turned to look at Qin Yexuan, who appeared cool and composed, "Are you intentionally suffering?"
Qin Yexuan smiled, "As you said, I'm reshaping my body… After reshaping, I need a period of adaptation, hence this environment."
"Hmph, I knew you'd reshaped your physical form, but are you trying to roast yourself like a pig?" Zhu Tianqi couldn't help but quip.
Qin Yexuan took the basket from her and opened it, revealing the steamed buns.
Zhu Tianqi peered inside and gasped, "What kind of buns are these?"
"Demon-catching buns!" Qin Yexuan patted her, "Stop laughing and help me set up the traps!"
A slit was made in the steamed buns, and a sharp piece of soft bone was bent into a ball and stuffed inside, then filled with pig's blood.
Finally, the outside of the buns was coated with raw chicken liver, bloody and foul-smelling.
After helping him prepare the basket of bun traps, Zhu Tianqi washed her hands and picked up a piece of soft bone to examine.
"Qin Yexuan, what kind of bone is this?"
"Heh, didn't you help me catch demons before? Are you that rusty? Think about what kind of magical artifact it is."
Zhu Tianqi pouted, "I don't want to think about the past. The memory of how I admired you back then makes me feel ashamed."
Even as she complained, she picked it up and sniffed it. Her eyes widened, "What a waste! This is a Buddhist bone!"
After the cremation of eminent Buddhist monks, in addition to relics, there were also bone fragments like this, shaped like willow leaves and as white as jade.
They were soft yet sharp, and when bent into a ball, they would spring open with a "bang" upon impact.
Qin Yexuan picked up a bun, "Once that demon eats this, the bun and the chicken liver outside will be digested. This Buddhist bone will then spring open, piercing its internal organs. With the power of a relic bone from a high Buddhist master, even a thousand-year-old demon king won't be able to withstand it."
Zhu Tianqi was even more shocked, "What level of demon are you trying to catch? To use so many relic bones?"
Qin Yexuan paused for a moment, then said coldly, "Celestial Master Yaksha!"
What?!
Zhu Tianqi suddenly recalled something, "Could it be that demon? The rebellious son of the Daoist sect, who transformed into a demon in human form and almost destroyed the entire Daoist Divine Palace?"
Qin Yexuan nodded coldly and then, with a swish, unfurled a portrait.
Above the portrait, inscribed in the imperial handwriting of the Great Ming Emperor, were the words: "Supreme Lord of the North Pole, Zhenwu, Heavenly Emperor Xuan Tian!" Below it was a painting, bearing the name Zhang Shouyun.
Zhu Tianqi stared blankly, "It really is him, Zhang Shouyun! The forty-fourth generation successor of Longshan Divine Dao!"
During the Great Ming Dynasty, the Daoist sect rose in prominence.
After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended to the throne, he conferred True Lord Zhenwu as the guardian deity of the Great Ming. By the reign of Emperor Yongle, he even claimed to be an incarnation of True Lord Zhenwu.
"Supreme Lord of the North Pole, Zhenwu, Heavenly Emperor Xuan Tian!" was his title.
In the tenth year of Yongle, Zhu Di ordered Marquis Longping, Zhang Xin, to lead over 200,000 laborers in the extravagant construction of the Daoist Celestial Master Orthodox Temple, bringing the incense offerings to True Lord Zhenwu to its peak.
However, the True Lord Zhenwu depicted in this portrait was a disheveled, barefoot Taoist priest dancing with a sword.
Zhu Tianqi looked again, even more shocked, "This portrait strongly resembles my ancestor…"
Qin Yexuan snorted, "This portrait was originally painted based on the image of your Great Ming Emperor Zhu Di."
Zhu Tianqi was confused, "Then why is it signed Zhang Shouyun?"
Qin Yexuan smiled, "Because Zhang Shouyun wanted to be emperor, he practiced dark arts and took on the emperor's appearance. His plan was ludicrous and was immediately seen through by the Grand Preceptor of the Great Ming. The Emperor then ordered his personal guards to raze Zhang Shouyun's temple, and Zhang Shouyun himself was impaled through the heart with a stake and buried in a ghost mound."
"The Emperor hated him deeply, wanting his soul to be forever tormented by ten thousand ghosts in the ghost mound. However, Zhang Shouyun was a cultivation master, and at the time of his death, his cultivation was close to the Dao Refining stage. His soul devoured all the ghosts in the ghost mound, and even killed a yaksha, thus transforming into a Luo Tian Great Demon!"
Zhu Tianqi had never heard this story before.
She stared at Qin Yexuan, "You know Zhang Shouyun's disguise technique too, don't you? The one you can only use once a year, I've heard you mention it."
Qin Yexuan chuckled, "I used it not long ago. This is nothing. Cultivation masters at a high level can all do this. It's just that those senior masters disdain to use such methods."
The two waited in the small shack until deep into the night.
The vegetable market was quiet, with only the sound of dogs barking.
Qin Yexuan slowly stood up, picked up the basket of buns, "Let's go, it's time to act."
Zhu Tianqi tidied herself up and, on a whim, smashed the wooden table in the room. She grabbed a table leg, and her slender fingers, sharp as blades, sliced through the wood, causing slivers to fly off.
Carving wood with bare hands.
By the time they walked out of the shack, Zhu Tianqi held a wooden sword.
Qin Yexuan looked on speechlessly.
Zhu Tianqi blinked, "What are you looking at? Of course, you need a peach wood sword to catch demons. That table you had was made of red peach wood."
Qin Yexuan shook his head and quickened his pace. Soon, the two arrived at a bustling street filled with bright lights and lively music.
Ahead, there was a bar!
Elegant music drifted out, and fashionable youths from the nearby town were all gathered there.
Zhu Tianqi was stunned, "What are you bringing me here for? Aren't we catching a demon?"
Qin Yexuan patted her shoulder, "The demon is inside! And it's the owner of this place!"