"Boss Zheng, where are we going now?"

Guo Huai followed Zheng Quanyou around Xinghua Square the entire afternoon, and as it grew dark, he hurriedly asked.

"It's time to eat."

Zheng Quanyou headed directly towards a noodle shop with his hands behind his back.

"Ah, eating again..."

Guo Huai mumbled, quickly catching up.

Meanwhile, in a wine pavilion a little above them, a pair of enchanting eyes withdrew their gaze from a window.

The songstress gently caressed the infant skull in her hand, as a green flame flickered to life.

"Star Lord, those two little constables roamed Xinghua Square all day, should we..."

The green flame flickered unsteadily,

"Those two are insignificant, don't cause trouble."

"Yes..."

The songstress put away the skull, her body twisting oddly with a series of cracks, sprouting two arms from her back that quickly retracted.

Suddenly, a voice came from outside,

"Lan Xiang, Lord Liu from the Ministry of Revenue has come, specifically asking to hear you play a tune."

"Mrs. Wang, I will go at once..."

At the same time, in a secret chamber, as the man held an infant skull alight with green flame, commands were issued one by one.

"Yi Chou, handle the old black dog's corpse..."

"Ding Wei, wait for the right opportunity."

"Jia Hai, keep an eye on that Daoist..."

...

Astronomical Bureau, Dissection Workshop.

Rows of fire basins illuminated the warehouse brightly, and various corpse lay on stone platforms of different sizes:

On the giant python's body were bloody holes. The frog, round like a table, had human-head-like tumors all over. The cat, with the size of a bull's belly, had two tails, its head half shattered...

Several dozens of strong men wore leather aprons, skinning, disassembling, and dissecting the corpses, tanning various hides on site, and classifying the bones of different sizes for boxing and transportation.

A man with a red bulbous nose and a skinny old man with a white beard reclined slantwise on a grandmaster chair, puffing an old pipe while watching the men's actions.

"Birds and beasts become insects; after death, they are food for worms and ants."

In this world, demons run rampant, yet materials for making Flying Sword Magical Treasures are scarce. Moreover, many Black-clothed Profound Guards are ordinary people, so demon corpses naturally become materials.

These items will be sent to the Court's Ministry of Industry, to be made into various Leather Armor Talisman Arrows for the Astronomical Bureau's use.

A man directed a specially made bone knife towards the Toad Demon's body, intending to slice off those repulsive human-head tumors, but his hand was abruptly struck with a sharp thwack by the smoking pipe rod.

The man yelped in pain but dared not speak.

The old man, who had somehow hopped over without being noticed, fiercely scolded, "Do you want to die? Have you forgotten how I taught you!"

As he spoke, he picked up a hollow bone tube and inserted it into the human-head tumor, causing sticky green poison to drain into a ceramic jar at the rear of the bamboo tube.

At this moment, another platform suddenly sounded with exclamations, "Elder Tu, come and look at this!"

The old man turned and walked over, spotting a half-skinned, half-stripped dog corpse on the table, its head placed on the side.

The burly man hesitated and stammered:

"Elder Tu, the 'Demon Marvel Scripture' states: when demons transform, they may produce unusual things, but they stay consistent with their bone structure. But this dog's spine, the more I look at it, the more it resembles a human's, and then there's this..."

Elder Tu's white brows furrowed, following the man's finger to see a bronze contraption lodged within the Demon Dog's spine, like linked copper nails inserted into the spinal gaps.

"Hiss..."

The old man drew a sharp breath, approaching for a closer look, and saw the object with thick patina, faintly engraved with three words: Demon Star Pavilion.

"Demon Star Pavilion?"

The old man puffed his pipe, pondering for a long time before a flash of insight hit him, and he harshly commanded:

"Quick, bring the records of this demon corpse!"

A man hurriedly handed over a booklet, and the old man scrutinized it closely, not missing a single word.

"Outskirts of the capital... Gu Plague... Impossible..."

Pa!

The old man snapped the booklet shut, his face full of uncertainty.

"I'll make a trip to the island, you guys continue working!"

After casually instructing them, the old man hurriedly left the warehouse, his mind troubled and failing to notice the absence of the usual guards.

"Mmph..."

A large hand suddenly covered the old man's mouth, swiftly dragging him into a dark corner.

In the shadows, a hissing sound echoed, and before long, a plain-looking Black-clothed Profound Guard emerged, breathing no different from a normal person.

"Burp~"

The Black-clothed Profound Guard let out a full burp, quickly covering his mouth, a flash of red light in his eyes as he smacked his lips and walked into the warehouse...

...

Qian Imperial Palace's Imperial Kitchen.

Attendants and eunuchs bustled to and fro, pots and pans clanging, while the large steaming baskets emitted swirls of steam.

A long-eyed eunuch in brocade pinched his waist and scolded, "Move it, or you'll all get a beating for delaying His Majesty and the Empress's dinner!"

Finishing his words, he snorted and turned to leave.

Just outside the door, he briefly stuck out a long tongue, quickly retracting it...

In a shabby little Taoist temple on the outskirts of the capital, an old Daoist put away an infant skull, first offering incense to a divine statue before taking a half-jar of old wine from the altar table and stepping outside.

Standing in the icy snow, he looked up at the pitch-black night sky, sighing and pouring wine onto the ground, murmuring to himself:

"Old black dog, you've had a lifetime of nightmares, now you can finally find some peace."

If Zhang Kui were here, he would recognize this old Daoist as the one he met outside the Yin Fire Cave.

The old Daoist, hands behind his back, stepped outside, gazing toward the opposite hillside—the direction of Iron Blood Manor—muttering with a frown:

"Why did that boy go to the Yin Fire Cave, could he have discovered something?"

"Emperor Qianyuan... what ace are you hiding... ah, the Star Lord is still a bit impatient..."

He shook his head and stood quietly in the snow, like a statue, calmly watching toward Iron Blood Manor.

Meanwhile, in the back courtyard of Iron Blood Manor.

The eight trigrams furnace's Tai Chi eye flickered with dim blue light, casting eerie shadows over Zhang Kui's face nearby.

Zhang Kui sat cross-legged on a mat, eyes closed, concentrating on the changes inside the furnace, occasionally injecting Mana to increase the firepower.

The so-called "upper medicine grants immortality, middle medicine nurtures nature, lower medicine cures illness," cultivation never shies away from alchemy and pill consumption.

Among the Earth Demon 72 Techniques, some involve the Eating Skill, collecting the Essence of Yin Wood for refining Herb Spirit Pills to consume. Others practice the Stone Boiling Skill, gathering Five Metals and Eight Stones to refine Gold Stone Medicine.

Zhang Kui advanced both to level one, and though he obtained many pill formulas, those beneficial for his current cultivation were only the Herb Spirit Pill 'Yellow Jade Pill' and the Gold Stone Medicine 'Five and Six Powder.'

Yet pills have drawbacks; not only does frequent consumption inevitably lead to resistance, but it's also bloody expensive.

Just this furnace of 'Yellow Jade Pill' had already consumed all his materials, plus the cost of the Pill Furnace, unattainable even for ordinary noble families.

He's curious about its effectiveness...

Zhang Kui shook his head, discarding stray thoughts, and focused on regulating the furnace's heat.

Day turned to night, and seven days went by unnoticed.

Poof! Poof! Poof!

From within the furnace came bursts of exploding air, signaling the pill's completion, prompting Zhang Kui to stop and let the pill consolidate.

One advantage of the Earth Fiend Yin Fire is its lingering, adhesive flames, allowing the pill to possess rich, lasting potency.

After waiting a while, Zhang Kui slowly opened the pagoda-shaped furnace top.

Boom!

A burst of white smoke dispersed, filling the courtyard with medicinal fragrance, while inside the furnace rested over forty slightly translucent yellow pills.

"Haha, what good appearance!"

Zhang Kui's face was full of joy, immediately using a gourd to store them one by one, totaling precisely forty-nine.

Sealing the furnace, he stretched his body, eagerly returning to his room to swallow one and meditate, wanting to test the pill's properties.

After an indeterminate period, Zhang Kui exhaled a faint wisp of yellow smoke, slightly shaking his head, "It's similar to Elder Huayan's 'Jade Flower Rose Pill,' if I finish these, the Guiding Skill should reach level nine."

"Hmm, each pill requires a day's rest to allow its effects to unfold, I'll find time to replace that coffin..."

After considering for a moment, Zhang Kui stepped out of his courtyard, observing the vast sky shrouded with drifting goose feathers of snow.

Just then, Liu Mao'Er entered the courtyard, looking a bit peculiar, "Master Kui, a familiar from Qingzhou has come to visit."

"Hmm..."

Zhang Kui initially responded indifferently, then suddenly his expression changed, "It wouldn't be a woman, would it?"

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