The sky and earth are without light, ghostly wails echo...

The crowds of spirits in ancient attire gather more and more, flickering in and out of sight, expressionless as they approach the manor.

Amidst the howling yin wind, faint voices can be heard,

"Huan, it's dark, rest early..."

"Father, get up and drink some medicine..."

"Mother, what is that sound outside, Yuan'Er is scared..."

And as these voices resound, black liquid like blood seeps from the hollow eyes and mouths of these spirits, their expressionless faces gradually turning ferocious.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, the roar of a tiger shatters the silence, vibrating through the night.

Immediately after, a massive creature leaps fiercely from the manor's wall, blue flames blazing in its pupils, padded softly on the snowy ground, growling lowly.

Squeak~

The wooden door of the manor slowly opens, Zhang Kui, with the Lu Li sword strapped on his back, strolls out, looking up at the snowy night sky.

"I thought the Capital City was teeming with dragons and tigers, full of wise men, but it seems Zhang was naive, where in this world is there truly a peaceful place..."

Clang—clang—clang!

Three gong strikes resound, the old watchman slowly emerges from the darkness, coughing a few times, sighing deeply,

"Young man, you're right, living in this world is tiring, someone's after your life, better be on your way."

Zhang Kui narrows his eyes slightly,

"You're neither ghost nor demon, what exactly are you?"

The old man shakes his head slightly and sighs:

"The world is full of secrets, knowing too much does no good."

Saying this, he lifts the broken gong and strikes it three more times,

"The third watch is here, the Netherworld emerges!"

As soon as he finishes speaking, thick black fog surges from the ground, countless malevolent ghosts and spirits struggle to climb out, as if the Underworld's netherworld had been breached.

Zhang Kui's eyes widen sharply, evil qi spilling out,

"Hmph, stop pretending, it's just an Ancient Artifact!"

With that, thicker black fog behind him suddenly disperses, a parasol with a black face and white banner floats above his head, the bewitching Vine Demon holding the umbrella with bare feet hovering in the air.

The two clouds of black fog clash suddenly, making hissing sounds, green vines dancing like thousands of snakes, dragging the ghostly creatures into the fog...

The old watchman is taken aback, muttering:

"Such an Ancient Artifact, underestimated this boy, hmm..."

He frowns at once, suddenly realizing Zhang Kui, who was just standing there, has vanished.

Suddenly, the old man's pupils shrink, and his figure transforms into a cloud of black smoke, retreating sharply.

Clang!

The sword sings like a dragon, a golden light cleaves out diagonally.

The surrounding ghosts vanish into smoke, even the black smoke emits a miserable scream.

The Invisibility Skill fails, Zhang Kui's figure slowly appears, gently stroking Lu Li, the sword hums, his smile chilling,

"Old thing, you're quite spry."

The black smoke disperses, revealing the old watchman's figure, a long wound on his chest, oozing rotten flesh as white as a corpse, his face grim.

"Well, well, this trip wasn't in vain..."

With that, he drops to the ground, his figure rapidly expanding, black fur rustling out, his hands turning into sharp claws, his skull pushing forward exposing deadly fangs, transforming into a massive black dog over three meters tall.

More bizarre is the appearance of sharp-fanged mouths all over this black dog, opening and closing incessantly, dripping malodorous slime.

The black dog growls lowly, accompanied by a putrid wind.

Zhang Kui laughs heartily,

"So, an old night patrol dog!"

Having said that, the sword light flashes, instantly charging forward.

Clang!

The air blast scatters, snow and wind rise.

Zhang Kui grips the Lu Li sword, eyeing the beast so close, murderous intent in his eyes.

The black dog's eyes burn with blood, fangs damaged by Lu Li sword's Geng Metal Evil Qi, crumbling visibly, yet stubbornly biting.

Suddenly, those menacing mouths on the black dog open wide, shooting shadows at Zhang Kui.

"Qi Ban!"

Zhang Kui stretches his left hand, fixing those shadows, which turn out to be barbed tongues.

This black dog is a Demon Beast in the Grain Avoidance Realm, its demon qi roiling and fierce, merely fixing these tongues rapidly depletes Zhang Kui's mana.

However, it's the black dog that buckles first, its mouth full of shattered fangs, its mouth drawn into long gashes by the Geng Metal Evil Qi of the Lu Li sword.

"Awoo..."

The black dog howls miserably, suddenly releasing and retreating.

Taking advantage, Zhang Kui does not relent, stomping hard, the ground exploding, his figure shooting forward with the sword light.

"Die already!"

The black dog retreats repeatedly, while those tongues on its body stab at Zhang Kui like sharp swords.

Swish swish swish...

Zhang Kui halts, wrist turning, golden light scattering, instantly severing the shadows, the severed tongues on the ground writhing like lively fish.

The black dog howls continuously, black smoke rolling off its body, its wounds healing at an eye-catching speed.

Zhang Kui coldly snorts, about to advance further, the black dog shudders, its whole mass opening giant mouths howling miserably.

"Woof... Woof woof!"

Whatever this demon skill is, Zhang Kui's temples throb violently, eyes bloodshot, head splitting with pain, quickly activating Golden Light Skill for protection.

The headache vanished in an instant, but the golden light around his body flickered uncertainly, on the verge of collapse, as the black dog above descended like a storm cloud.

"Fix! Fix! Fix! Fix!"

After casting four Body Fixing Skills in quick succession, Zhang Kui managed to immobilize the Dog Demon.

Though it was just a fleeting moment, Zhang Kui reached forward with a large hand, simultaneously a flash of sword light glimmered.

Boom!

The enormous body of the black dog crashed to the ground, sending a spray of snow into the air.

Zhang Kui held the enormous dog head in his left hand, while his right hand lowered the Lu Li Sword, from which foul-smelling black blood dripped.

The dog's mouth opened and closed,

"Enlightenment Slash of Avoiding Grain, the old one…"

"Too much nonsense!"

Zhang Kui snorted coldly, and golden light shot out from his left hand, instantly obliterating the Old Demon's divine soul with Geng Metal Evil Qi.

He tossed the dog head aside and turned to look towards the manor.

Without its master, the mass of black smoke from the spirits quickly dissipated, and a battered bronze gong clattered onto the snow-covered ground.

Zhang Kui nodded slightly.

This bronze gong, an Ancient Artifact, should have the ability to gather and control ghostly creatures, coupled with the Black Blood Pottery Basin, it could be taken to the Astronomical Bureau to swap for that coffin.

With the points from slaying the Dog Demon, tonight's haul wasn't small.

That Xiahou Jie is a narrow-minded man; he had already dismissed his manor's servants as a precaution, specifically to lie in wait. He expected elite assailants from the army, and did not anticipate demons instead.

The Capital City nobles are indeed a cesspool of corruption!

Zhang Kui stepped forward to collect the bronze gong, and the "Longevity" quivered away the black mist and flew into his personal space.

Fatty Tiger trotted over excitedly,

"Mighty Taoist, I, Fatty Tiger, kept watch and didn't let a single little ghost inside."

Zhang Kui smiled slightly, patted the tiger's head, and strode into the manor.

Liu Mao'Er and his disciple were hiding indoors, listening to the wailing ghosts and howling winds outside, secretly worried, but they lit up with joy seeing Zhang Kui return safely.

"Master Kui, are you alright?"

"Just an old dog…"

Zhang Kui laughed heartily, turning to Dong'Er, "Girl, weren't you wanting to cultivate? Let me draft a letter, you can go to Celestial Water Palace in Qingzhou to find True Man Gu Ziqing; she… hmm, should do me this favor."

The girl immediately beamed with delight.

"Thank you, Master Kui!"

Next to her, Fatty Tiger quickly shot her knowing looks, and the girl instantly understood, rushing to the back garden with the tiger. There, the Xunfeng Eagle had already grown two meters tall, sound asleep.

Zhang Kui naturally noticed their little actions, but was also comforted that Dong'Er had a protective demon beast.

After the girl left, Liu Mao'Er's expression turned serious, "Master Kui, is the situation troublesome?"

Zhang Kui slightly shook his head, "I didn't expect the other side would dare to send a Grain Avoidance Realm Old Demon to attack. I have a feeling that the waters in the Capital City are quite murky."

"Old man, I have a sword cultivator friend in Qingzhou…"

"Master Kui."

Old Liu laughed heartily, shaking his head as he said:

"With Dong'Er having a sect to take care of her, my old heart is at ease, but I can't resist staying to watch the show."

"Alright, up to you then."

Zhang Kui slightly shook his head, looking towards the Capital City.

...

Inside a secret chamber, white candles burned with a faint green flame.

Snap!

A dog-shaped pottery sculpture suddenly shattered.

"Hmm…"

A deep male voice resonated, "Old Black Dog actually died, that Daoist really has some skills."

Beside him, the infant skull with twin horns flickered with uncertain green fire in its eye sockets, "Master, should we send someone again?"

The man glanced at the table, where besides the shattered dog-shaped sculpture, there was also a row of animal sculptures in various colors.

"Forget it, better not to expose ourselves now, lest we attract the attention of the Astronomical Bureau."

"And what about Xiahou Jie over there…"

"Him?"

The man smiled slightly, "No need to report back to a dead man, he'll repay in due time…"

...

The long night was pitch-black, and the Capital City was utterly silent.

In the snowstorm, a squad of soldiers passed by with lanterns, and from the adjacent dark alley emerged a figure, none other than Xiahou Jie with a sullen face.

He looked around with frustration,

"Damn it, usually asking only for information; today, what could they want me in this cursed place for?"

What he didn't notice was a woman's hand silently extending from the shadow on the wall behind him.

The hand was slender and white, nails crimson, and most strikingly, it held a gem-like venomous centipede, chilling and constantly writhing.

Chirp!

The centipede shot out, biting Xiahou Jie on the back of his neck, burrowing under his skin.

"Ah!"

Xiahou Jie let out a cry of agony and frantically ran away, but he only managed a couple of steps before collapsing, his face turning ashen, ice forming all over his body.

Soon after, patrolling soldiers circled back, were alarmed at the sight.

"Quick, there's been a murder outside the Ghost Rong Kingdom's station!"

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