In his right eye, the writhing fox's head appeared as a hazy foggy shadow.

The fox leaned in to sniff him, nostrils flaring, sniffing over and over.

Shi Chun also detected the source of the fragrance, which was indeed the fox demon before him. His smile grew increasingly sycophantic, mixed with the agony within, making it indeed quite unsightly.

The next moment he could no longer smile; his grin froze on his face as the Green Fox Demon revealed terrifying fangs to him.

Shi Chun shouted in a panic, "Fox Fairy..."

He couldn't distinguish its gender, but he guessed it was female since he had heard a woman's voice earlier.

But before he could finish begging for mercy, he was silenced.

A pink, slimy tongue shot out from between the fierce fangs, licked his face and body a few times with disdain, and then the fox turned its head away while emitting a tinkling chuckle, "Your blood stinks."

Suddenly, it lowered its head and bit into the accuser's corpse, blood spurting everywhere, sucking a mouthful and carrying it away, which sent a shiver down Shi Chun's spine, who was close at hand.

The Green Fox Demon's head then retracted into the spatial rift, and the overwhelming Demonic Qi retreated like a tide, its clawing paws withdrawing from the fissure, which rapidly healed itself. In an instant, all was as before. A large amount of Demonic Qi still drifted through the city, but the terrifying pressure that had bolstered it had vanished abruptly.

Atop the Bowan Building, Lan Qiaoyan and others, and all those astonished and bewildered within the city, were almost all staring in the same direction.

Shi Chun fell to the ground, touched his face and body, feeling the wet slobber. But that was the least of his worries; looking around, at least he confirmed he was temporarily safe. Yet, he still felt panic-stricken, his legs going weak from fear—after all, the accuser had been devoured right before his eyes.

The city guard still holding the drum mallet gulped, clearly frightened by the intense pressure just experienced.

He had wanted to run, but he knew someone was watching from the side and dared not abandon his post.

Du Huoguan, up in the building, seemed calm and unruffled, knowing after all that the Green Fox Demon had been released by the prison master. But he still did not quite understand and reminded, "Prison master, the wounds on the dead could serve as evidence; Shi Chun should be clear about the course of events that night."

His implication was, why did you let the fox demon eat the evidence?

Nie responded indifferently, "How long do you intend to leave those corpses lying around? Clean it up."

Du Huoguan was stunned. Besides the corpses of Qi Yueru's son and his group, there was no one else. His eyes flickered, then he turned to look at the scene smeared with blood but void of bodies, and instantly understood.

In other words, what his eyes saw substantiated the fact that the prison master had intentionally released the fox demon to consume the evidence, to devour the proof that Shi Chun was the murderer of Qi Yueru's son!

Thus, the prison master's order to clean up those corpses seemed clear.

His eyes widened a fraction more; was the prison master intending to protect the frightened, weak-kneed lad below?

He found it somewhat incredible. What kind of person was the prison master to actually protect an "ant" he had never met?

"Yes," he verbally consented, yet the shock and doubt in his eyes lingered as he wondered why the prison master would make such a startling move. He couldn't help but recall the mention of some Demon Skill the prison master had recognized earlier. Although he was uncertain about the pronunciation of the first character, homonyms were too numerous, the imprint of a skull seared onto the skin of the slanderer was etched in his memory, distinctly abnormal. He ventured to ask, "Prison Master, is it possible that Shi Chun has been practicing a Demon Skill?"

His heart throbbed uneasily as he asked the question. After all, righteous and demonic paths did not coexist—why would the prison master protect someone practicing a Demon Skill?

Nie glanced at him and initially had no desire to explain, but some misunderstandings needn't persist, especially ones involving righteous and demonic divergence. Uncommonly, he spoke to clarify, "The Bath Demon Skill, 'bath' as in to bathe. The first person to create this technique was an Ancient God who, during the great war with the demons, severely wounded the hordes and beheaded the Demon Ancestor."

At this revelation, Du Huoguan was profoundly shaken and exclaimed, "Beheaded the Demon Ancestor?"

His gaze shot toward the window lattice, looking at Shi Chun with newfound wonder. This insignificant ant practiced the very technique that had slain the Demon Ancestor; no wonder he possessed such authoritarian palm power from the outset.

Sensing Du Huoguan's thoughts, Nie, not wishing for further misunderstandings, explained again, "The existence of this technique is now akin to a chicken rib, even less useful than that. Firstly, it's extremely discriminating in its selection of practitioners, and its exacting requirements are unclear. It is said to be difficult to embark on, and though initially stronger than the average technique—as you have witnessed—if he wishes to proceed, he ultimately must change his Cultivation Technique or he will stagnate at the Initial Martial realm, hardly able to step into the High Martial Realm."

Du Huoguan, puzzled, asked, "Why?"

Nie continued, "Although forceful upon mastery, its cultivation process, true to its name, gathers all things demonic, necessitating the absorption of Demonic Qi. The higher the cultivation advances, the more Demonic Qi is required. The era of rampant Demon Path has long passed, with demonic traces withering away, rendering the support for 'Bath Demon Skill' cultivation impossible."

"I see," the prison master Murmured Du Huoguan, his eyes returning to Shi Chun below with a new question, "Life Prison actually still possesses the inheritance of the 'Bath Demon Skill.'"

Such a top-level Cultivation Method should not be obscure; he had never even heard of it, which showed its disappearance was long-standing, and only time could defeat and engulf everything.

Nie spoke, "Before I came to Life Prison, I had also never heard of this technique. When I assumed the role and, with nothing better to do, was browsing through the handover items passed down by generations of prison masters, I chanced upon an age-old record. That was from before several turnovers at the Heavenly Court, quite some time ago indeed, when there was indeed a practitioner of 'Bath Demon Skill' demoted here."

"Ah?" Du Huoguan was quite astonished, reflexively questioning with the same two words, "Why?"

Nie elaborated, "Because the practitioner cultivated a technique of such limited value, failing to achieve much, they had no choice but to take a crooked path. Indeed, this technique is powerful—you can not only absorb Demonic Qi for cultivation but also refine your body with the qi of slaughter. The pinnacle of killing qi is in the midst of army clashes. The cultivator schemed in secret, stirring up wars in the mortal realm, but the commotion was too great and drew attention. After being captured, their cultivation was abolished, and they were cast into this place. Records indicate they perished soon after arriving, and unexpectedly, after so many years, the lineage has still been maintained."

Du Huoguan nodded repeatedly as he listened. Indeed, only a technique so impracticable that its cultivators could not make a name for themselves would fade into obscurity, or else such a domineering technique would not have remained unnoticed for so many years.

Nie too turned his gaze toward Shi Chun below, "The most domineering aspect of this method is that those killed by it will be utterly annihilated, both spirit and form, utterly dissipated from this world, not even given the chance to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Perhaps this is the reason this technique has not resurged; its method of killing is too extreme."

Du Huoguan inhaled sharply with realization. This was tantamount to not only ending the current life of the victims but also severing any prospects for their afterlives. Such an extreme method of slaughter indeed—it brought to mind the tortured and writhing face he had seen beneath the skin.

With these words, Nie lifted his chin, signaling toward the scene below, "He won. Let them go."

"Yes." After receiving the order, Du Huoguan recalled that the other side had deliberately protected someone and warned again, "Prison Master, leaving here might be easy for him, but once outside, the Qi family might not let him go. He could be walking into death."

The implication was clear—even if you help him out now, it's all for naught.

Nie pondered for a moment before responding indifferently, "That woman who came to inspect the prison, have her executed on the spot."

Du Huoguan, thinking he had misheard, quickly inquired, "Kill Qi Yueru—how will we explain to the Qi family?"

"What Qi family? Never heard of them." Nie turned and walked toward the luxurious couch, "Display the corpse outside the city after the execution, and say I personally executed her!"

The implication was clear—afraid of the Qi family seeking retribution? Let them come to me.

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