The fire crows are demonic creatures, adept at using fire poison for attacks, exceedingly fierce.

The wounds left by a weapon before them are obscure and hard to discern, but they can't escape the eyes of Qin An and Duan Feng.

Duan Feng took a deep breath, "There are beasts colluding with demonic creatures."

Those who can wield a sharp weapon to kill a Silver Guard, apart from humans, have no other choice.

Qin An raised his gaze, scanning the deep dark path, eyes as sharp as blades, "The answer lies inside."

Now there is only this secret path, and as such, we can only follow it downward.

The two exchanged a glance, said no more, and cautiously entered the path.

...

Deep within the cave, the fire flickered.

Liu Qingzhou's eyes were bloodshot, glaring at Nie Ruhai, "What exactly do you want to do? Our only enemy is Qin An!"

Nie Ruhai wiped the blood off his sword, without lifting his head, said, "But I want to join the Mountain Patrol."

Liu Qingzhou gritted his teeth, "Does that mean attacking our comrades?"

"If word of this gets out, both of us will die without a grave!"

Just a while ago, the two arrived at the brick kiln, coinciding with several Silver Guards who tracked them there.

Nie Ruhai checked their number and found three hadn't arrived, then instructed Liu Qingzhou to hide.

Although Liu Qingzhou didn't understand why, they were grasshoppers bound to the same rope, so he complied.

Who would have thought that as soon as those three Silver Guards entered the room, they would be ambushed by five Jade Bone Realm fire crows.

Nie Ruhai immediately took Liu Qingzhou over there.

While Liu Qingzhou thought Nie Ruhai was going to help the Silver Guards, unexpectedly, Nie Ruhai turned and drew his sword toward their comrade's throat.

By the time the battle ended, none of the three Silver Guards or fire crows survived.

Liu Qingzhou trembled, fear coiling his heart like a venomous snake.

Nie Ruhai looked up, his eyes coldly scanning, "What are you afraid of? No one saw anything. Now that four Silver Guards are dead, we only need to eliminate six more, and I can join the Mountain Patrol."

Liu Qingzhou's grip on his sword tensed, veins bulging, still wanting to speak.

Nie Ruhai interrupted, "Face reality, we have no way out, this is a transaction."

"Kill Qin An, then remove the redundant."

"It fulfills your desire for revenge, and allows me to smoothly join the Mountain Patrol, it's a win-win."

Liu Qingzhou stood stunned for a long time.

After a long while, as if resigning to fate, he lowered his head dejectedly.

There was no turning back.

Since the moment he swung his sword at a comrade, there was no redemption.

Even if ahead lay a chasm, he could only walk forward.

"When will you kill Qin An?" Liu Qingzhou's eyes erupted with a desire for revenge.

If not for Qin An, why would he trade with the tiger, trap himself in this desperate situation?

Kill Qin An, then cover up the news, blaming everything on the fire crows.

He would remain a Silver Guard.

Nie Ruhai said indifferently, "Let's resolve this crisis first."

Though anxious, Liu Qingzhou relied on Nie Ruhai now and could only keep silent.

The two stopped talking, their figures gradually swallowed by the darkness.

...

The secret path was scorching, unbearable for ordinary people.

Qin An trudged across the scorched ground, his palm never leaving the black knife.

This path led downward and could only accommodate two people at a time.

After walking for about an incense stick's time, no danger arose.

There were only some battle marks, indicating everything was not as simple as imagined.

Duan Feng positioned the double rings for easy access, "Mr. Qin, looks like we got lucky here."

The scene before his eyes clearly explained why it occurred.

There surely were Silver Guard main forces clearing the path ahead, wading through the danger for them.

Qin An said calmly, "Not necessarily."

Duan Feng was stunned, then suddenly realized, "Mr. Qin, do you suspect there's a traitor?"

Just now while examining the Silver Guard's corpses, they found traces of weapon wounds.

He thought it was practitioners conspiring with demon creatures.

But Qin An's words made him think on another level.

Qin An shook his head, "Uncertain, let's walk a bit further to see."

The two continued forward.

The closer they got to the path's depths, the fiercer the scorching heat.

After another incense stick's time of walking, anomalies appeared ahead.

Four Silver Guard corpses lay across the ground, engulfed in fire poison.

Duan Feng, seeing this, rushed forward, carefully checking, his eyes showing a solemn expression, "Mr. Qin, there are weapon wounds, identical to before."

These four corpses bore the same weapon-penetrated wounds as the previous ones.

And they were clearer.

The enemy seemingly no longer bothered to conceal it.

Qin An gazed into the obscurity, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, "Even more interesting now."

What seemed a mere ordinary trial turned out to be mixed with something else.

Qin An wished to find out who is hiding in the shadows.

The two checked again, finding no more anomalies, then continued moving forward.

After nearly another incense stick's time of running, they finally encountered an anomaly ahead.

A huge exit appeared before them, with waves of heat rolling out from it.

Faintly, sounds of battle echoed from within.

Qin An squinted, "Take a look."

Duan Feng appeared cautious, approaching the exit alongside Qin An.

...

Beyond the exit lay a vast cavern.

Unlike ordinary caverns, scorching flames lay beneath this one.

The flames rose about a yard high, with only a few spots suitable for standing.

Eight Silver Guards were battling with weapons against over a dozen fire crows.

The fire crows were engulfed in flames, standing about a yard tall, their fiery red wings emitting terrifying heat.

Each fire crow possessed the strength of Jade Bone Realm Perfection, and amidst the scorching temperature, there was little room for footing, forcing the eight Silver Guards into a tough battle.

Qin An, after counting the numbers, frowned, "The numbers don't add up."

Counting the eight already deceased Silver Guards, aside from himself and Duan Feng, there should be ten others here.

Yet only eight are present.

And Liu Qingzhou is nowhere to be seen.

There's something amiss here.

Duan Feng grasped his double rings, urgently, "Mr. Qin, quickly offer support."

They are all colleagues from the Evil Extermination Bureau, all vying for the Mountain Patrol trial.

Now, with their comrades in a deadly struggle, naturally, they should lend a hand.

Let's put the mission aside for now and first ease the current situation.

Qin An nodded and said, "Alright."

He temporarily put aside his doubts and planned to first resolve the current circumstances.

Duan Feng shouted loudly, and the twin rings shot through the air, flying downwards together.

Qin An executed the Shocking Dragon Wind and Cloud Step, leaping down to land on the narrow open space.

The arrival of the two immediately caught the attention of the Silver Prefecture Guards and the Fire Ravens.

The eight Silver Prefecture Guards were visibly pleased upon seeing Qin An and Duan Feng.

They were locked in a difficult battle and feared they would die on the spot if it continued.

Now, with two comrades joining, things suddenly became much easier.

Upon seeing this, several Fire Ravens split off four, heading towards Qin An and Duan Feng.

Duan Feng shouted and the twin rings rapidly circled around him, clashing with the Fire Ravens' sharp claws.

He had some strength to spare even when facing two enemies.

But the fire poison was extremely fierce, stirring Duan Feng's internal energy, and he thought to himself.

"For a short time, I can maintain a standstill, but if it drags on, I'd surely die a horrible death."

The temperature here was extremely high, and the number of monsters was advantageous.

The Evil Extermination Bureau had deep foundations, but neither the timing nor the terrain was in their favor, and continuing like this would lead to heavy losses.

With this in mind, Duan Feng made up his mind, turning his head and shouting loudly: "Mr. Qin, join forces to slay the demons!"

He had figured it out.

They should first join forces to kill one Fire Raven to significantly reduce the risk on their side.

Now that he was close to Qin An, he could only first cooperate with him.

But as Duan Feng turned his gaze away, he was struck dumb like a wooden sculpture.

He saw the Fire Raven attacking Qin An suddenly pause.

A blood line appeared on the neck of one of the Fire Ravens.

Qin An reached out his hand, pressing the Fire Raven's head while his Gang Qi dispersed the flames.

With only a "pop," Qin An casually twisted off the Fire Raven's head, and the headless body fell into the flames.

Qin An flicked off the blood droplets from his black blade and tucked the blood marrow into his robes. "Not bad."

The Ice Flame Extinction Saber was now at the level of Jade Bone Realm Great Success, far superior to the previous Triple Ice Flame.

Moreover, Qin An's bones were nourished with Cangshan Jade; within the Jade Bone Realm, he was unbeatable.

Currently, Qin An had ingested a Yang Elixir, making his heart blaze like fire.

The power of one strike was vastly different.

Another Fire Raven noticed this, screeched sharply, and flapped its wings vigorously.

The terrifying fire poison, accompanied by the wind, attacked Qin An.

It knew of Qin An's terrifying power, intent on using fire poison to secure victory rather than engaging Qin An in close combat.

Seeing this, Qin An extended his left hand.

The Gang Qi from the Heavenly Gang Dharma Body expelled all fire poisons, and he pressed down on the Fire Raven's neck.

"Quite clever, but not clever enough."

The Blood-Burning Heaven-Cutting Hand suddenly erupted, twisting the Fire Raven's neck into a twisted shape.

With yet another blood marrow in hand, Qin An turned his gaze toward Duan Feng.

"What were you saying just now?"

Duan Feng swallowed, using his twin rings to fend off the attacks of two Fire Ravens, saying nothing.

What can I say?

What is there for me to say?

You've already killed two Fire Ravens, so just pretend I didn't say anything earlier.

The two Fire Ravens, seeing their comrades killed and aware of Qin An's terror, tried to flee in fear.

But as a gust of wind surged by, Qin An, using the Shocking Dragon Wind and Cloud Step, appeared before the nearest Fire Raven.

The black blade whipped up with a fierce wind, tracing an arc through the air.

Another Fire Raven's head flew off.

Qin An stashed away the blood marrow, kicking the Fire Raven's back.

The Fire Raven staggered, almost falling from the air.

Before it could respond, a crack suddenly appeared in its chest.

Qin An drew his hand out and wiped off the blood, pocketed the blood marrow, and thought to himself, "Carrying out tasks is indeed productive."

In a short time, he had already collected four blood marrows. Though they couldn't compare to demon cores, Qin An understood the principle of accumulation.

Just then, a series of sharp cries rang out.

The twelve Fire Ravens that were fighting the Silver Prefecture Guards suddenly dashed into the underground sea of fire, vanishing without a trace.

The danger suddenly disappeared, and all eight Silver Prefecture Guards exhaled deeply, turning their gaze to Qin An with a complex expression.

They knew better than anyone why these twelve Fire Ravens disappeared.

All of this was because of Qin An.

The comrade before them was truly terrifying.

In just a moment, he had slain four Fire Ravens, terrorizing the rest into fleeing in panic.

What immense power is this?

The lead Silver Prefecture Guard clasped his hands, saying, "We are eternally grateful for saving us."

People who live by the edge of swords know right from wrong.

Qin An saved their lives, so naturally, they wouldn't let their status get in the way.

The other Silver Prefecture Guards also cupped their fists in thanks.

Qin An looked around: "We're still missing two."

As these words were said, the Silver Prefecture Guards exchanged glances, already understanding what Qin An meant.

Duan Feng stepped forward, recounting in full what he and Qin An had witnessed.

The lead Silver Prefecture Guard, named Zheng Long, furrowed his brows after listening: "Do you think it's Nie Ruhai and Liu Qingzhou?"

Those who could join the Silver Prefecture Guard's trial were all elites, brave enough to take risks.

None of them were fools; otherwise, they wouldn't have reached this position.

In a few words, everyone began to suspect Nie Ruhai and Liu Qingzhou.

Qin An asked, "Have you noticed anything unusual?"

Since he and Duan Feng arrived later, they were not very informed about many things.

This group of Silver Prefecture Guards had come earlier and might have some clues.

Zheng Long thought for a moment, then shook his head: "We've noticed nothing unusual and haven't even seen them."

The other Silver Prefecture Guards looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.

Since entering, they had encountered many monsters but had never seen Nie Ruhai and Liu Qingzhou.

Qin An frowned, looking toward the sea of fire below: "If that's the case, let's deal with the monsters first."

Without leads, they should keep pushing forward.

The fact that these Fire Ravens dove into the sea of fire meant that the mastermind was likely hiding there.

Everyone nodded, preparing to rest a little before searching.

But just then, something unexpected occurred.

Suddenly, flames erupted at the entrance, sealing the way with fire.

The cavern's temperature soared sharply, like falling into a furnace.

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