At night, the heavy snow cleared, and the cold moonlight was chilling.

The expansive mountain range was draped in a thick layer of white, the snow emitting a cold sheen under the moonlight as clear as water.

Zhang Kui held the Lu Li Sword in a reverse grip, standing with closed eyes in the courtyard, while the candlelight inside the house was dim and the cold wind outside was fierce.

In his mind, the star representing the Demon-slaying Skill slowly ascended, accentuating the unknown darkness.

The Evil Qi Condensing Skill, Nurturing Evil Skill, the Gang Qi Running Mantra... various methods of practicing demon-slaying techniques flooded his mind incessantly.

Zhang Kui abruptly opened his eyes, a surge of murderous intent exploded, scattering the snow on the ground, instantly freezing it into solid ice.

Then, the Geng Metal Evil Light, condensed to its utmost, turned from bright to dark, blending with Zhang Kui's overwhelming murderous aura, becoming gradually harmonious and restrained.

Seeing a mountain is not a mountain, yet when lifting the eyes, it still is the mountain.

Today, the Demon-slaying Skill finally achieved perfection.

Zhang Kui began to slowly wield the sword, memories of past battles vivid in his mind, his movements natural yet fluid, light yet heavy as a thousand pounds.

Fatty Tiger, standing nearby, watched with wide eyes, its fur standing on end, feeling an inexplicable fear, and suddenly dashed back into the house, mumbling unnaturally:

"It's only been a while, and it seems the Taoist has improved again, really frightening…"

Outside in the courtyard, Zhang Kui slowly executed a final straight thrust, a "clank" sounded, and he sheathed his sword in reverse.

"Well done!"

On the rooftop, Manzudia swung her legs leisurely, took a swig from her wine jug with her head thrown back, then wiped her mouth with her sleeve and said with a smile:

"Friend, your potential is truly rare, with just this swordsmanship, you could dominate the world."

Zhang Kui laughed heartily, "It's merely a means of defense and killing, the notion of dominance in a land filled with demons is laughable. What have you discovered these past two days?"

Manzudia shook her head slightly, "The court and the Astronomical Bureau are loose on the outside but tight within, searching everywhere for the remnants of the Demon Star Pavilion. These guys are hiding, leaving no trace."

Zhang Kui nodded, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"I've always felt that relying on divine spirits or such is unreliable, destiny is ultimately manipulated by people, it's better to rely on oneself."

Manzudia snickered:

"For thousands of years, countless prodigies have thought the same, only to leave regrets in vain, leaving nothing but a handful of yellow earth."

Zhang Kui raised an eyebrow, "That would at least mean dying with understanding. Anyway, Old Zhang here is only willing to rely on himself."

Saying this, he went to the side of the courtyard wall and lifted the tarp covering the stone coffin with a single motion.

Manzudia was taken aback,

"So late at night, where are you going?"

Zhang Kui grinned,

"If you wish to rely on yourself, you must learn to seize opportunities."

With that, he jumped into the Nether Soil Stone Coffin, black smoke rose, slowly sinking into the ground…

Manzudia shook her head slightly, looked up at the bright moon, took a sip of wine, and murmured to herself:

"When you see true terror, I wonder if you'll still think this way…"

...

The Nether Soil Stone Coffin shuttled underground at an astonishing speed.

This ancient artifact was fascinating, traversing through earth and stone turned everything into a black void, while other things stood out exceptionally.

Thus, in Zhang Kui's eyes, the underground world appeared remarkably rich.

Thick tree roots, rusty iron tools, the bones of animals after death… such things were scattered everywhere, he could even see ancient tombs from unknown eras deeply buried, but they held no value at all.

As he approached Haojing City, in his vision, layers of dense bones appeared like an ocean, growing darker the deeper they went, turning into fossils.

Among these bones, some were over ten meters long, grotesquely twisted, clearly from the Demon Race, but most were human bones.

Haojing City was the capital during Great Zhou, a desolate wasteland under the Yu Dynasty, and Emperor Qianyuan rebuilt the capital here; each stratum represented a fierce battle.

Zhang Kui paused in silence for a long time, then shook his head slightly and headed straight into the city.

The scene within the city was different.

There were ancient escape routes built by residents, long disused and collapsed over time.

There were warehouses built by merchants, thinking them well-protected, unaware of rat-dug burrows below.

Almost every mansion of high-ranking officials and nobility had secret passages.

Some were long abandoned, perhaps unknown even to current owners. Some stored silver, while others held bodies, having long since become corpses.

Coldness filled Zhang Kui's eyes.

The Qian dynasty, appearing as a millennium empire, resplendent like flowers, was already rotten to the core; if not for external demon threats and interior righteous defenders, the world might have already changed owners.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

In a secret passage, a square-faced man in luxurious robes was slowly crawling, his body stretched long, scale armor covering his skin.

A remnant of the Demon Star Pavilion!

Unexpectedly, one was hiding here.

Zhang Kui glanced at the ground,

Ministry of Justice!

Zhang Kui laughed to himself, wondering if investigator Zheng Quanyou of the Ministry of Justice, scouring the city with Guo Huai every day, realized one was hiding right under their noses.

With this thought, Zhang Kui etched the man's image in his memory, intending to deal with it the next day as he had other matters that night.

He didn't linger, rapidly heading towards Grand Profound Lake.

Reaching the Astronomical Bureau, the intricate network of spirit veins instantly appeared before him, actually running underneath the entire Capital City towards the Yin Fire Cave, clearly visible from here due to proximity.

Heading towards the Insect Beast Cave, from the subterranean view, a different scene unfolded.

The three caves intersected the underground spirit vein network at five hundred meters deep, leading directly further down.

Definitely connected to something below, the Cave Abyss Skill loses sight, likely due to array interference.

With this realization, Zhang Kui carefully navigated the stone coffin around the spirit veins, like a fish swimming through interlaced light rivers.

Soon midway through, he saw numerous crawling insect beasts in an adjacent cave, including species he never encountered before.

Then, breaking through the spirit veins, Zhang Kui suddenly felt a shiver, as he looked down, his mind blank.

Below lay undulating, orderly black mountains, eerie tendrils enveloping these peaks as densely as a forest.

In the forest of tendrils, many insect beasts crawled through, and on closer inspection, the peaks resembled twisted human faces.

An overwhelming sinister aura hit, and in a daze, Zhang Kui saw the earth sinking, rivers reversing, earth fire surging…

Leave immediately!

With only one thought in his mind, Zhang Kui instinctively steered the stone coffin away at high speed, exiting the city and emerging on a nearby mountaintop.

He climbed out, sat on the coffin, panting heavily, taking quite a while to recover.

It was the first time his body's instinctual fear overwhelmed his rationality, never feeling such even facing the General's Tomb and Stone Man Tomb in Qingzhou.

Insect Beast Cave, Lake Heart Island, Sealed Demon Cave, outside the city's Yin Fire Cave… lines sketched across his mind as Zhang Kui looked towards Haojing City.

Emperor Qianyuan…

What exactly have you buried?

...

Returning to the manor, Zhang Kui took two days to adjust his emotions.

He saw no need to dwell on the incomprehensible, choosing to steadfastly pursue his own path.

However, he decided against returning to the Insect Beast Cave; should he disrupt Emperor Qianyuan's arrangements and release what lay beneath, it could be a cataclysmic disaster.

Blissfully ignorant of his master's experiences, Fatty Tiger cheerfully approached in the morning, "Taoist, tonight is Lantern Festival night, Xinghua Square should be bustling, we haven't dined there in ages."

"Lantern Festival…"

Zhang Kui paused, then smiled, ruffling the tiger's head, "Sure, but first accompany me to the Ministry of Justice."

Having uncovered a lead on the Demon Star Pavilion remnants, Zhang Kui wanted to call Manzudia, but she had left for the Capital City the previous day, and hadn't returned yet.

Zhang Kui wasn't concerned, riding Fatty Tiger, drinking and wending leisurely to the Ministry of Justice's gate.

Just about to inform, Zhang Kui paused, eyes sharp, focusing on a small alley opposite the Ministry.

A beggar, eyes vacant, huddled under the eaves, shivering, yet with one look Zhang Kui recognized, it was an acquaintance.

The Dianzhou scholar seen at the desolate temple in Qingzhou, Cui Yebai…

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