The corner was desolate and empty, with only a broom leaning forlornly against the wall, seemingly just a pile of ordinary clutter at first glance.

However, as Qin An's gaze swept over, he keenly detected something unusual.

The broom was arranged too neatly, and the green bricks at the base were laid out diagonally.

"If it's merely a pile of clutter, why the deliberate arrangement?" Qin An's eyes flickered slightly as he pondered silently.

Seeing that there was no one around, he quickly stepped forward, his five fingers gripping the handle of the broom.

As soon as this seemingly ordinary broom was lifted, a hair-thin triangular scratch appeared on the green slate, perfectly concealed by the broom.

After a moment's thought, Qin An crouched down and tapped his knuckles on the slate, receiving an echoing hollow sound.

"There is a secret compartment."

Qin An's lips curled up slightly as he mustered strength into his palm and lifted it upwards.

In the space of a few inches, the secret compartment suddenly appeared.

A sandalwood box the size of a fist lay quietly inside, its surface covered in array patterns resembling a cobweb.

If one did not understand arrays, it would be impossible to open this wooden box in a short time.

Qin An circulated the True Qi within his body, forming his fingers like a sword.

True Qi poured out from his fingertips, shattering the light patterns of the array upon contact.

Qin An squinted slightly, revealing a trace of excitement in his eyes as he opened the wooden box.

At the moment the box was opened, the glossy light of the Demon Pill flowed like mercury, with hidden surges of vigorous blood.

The wooden box had a shielding function, concealing the aura of the Demon Pill inside, so Qin An had not sensed it before.

"This is excellent! Truly, heaven is helping me!" Qin An's lips turned up slightly, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.

With another Demon Pill obtained, once he returns, along with the one promised by the Alchemy Master Alliance, only one more Demon Pill is needed for the Supreme True Elixir to be completed.

This harvest could be described as a bumper crop.

After calming his mind, Qin An placed the Demon Pill into his chest, covered the secret compartment again, and then left the secret chamber.

...

Outside the chamber, Chu Xing and Zhao Nian had already tidied up the battlefield flawlessly.

If one did not look closely, it would be impossible to notice that this battlefield had just experienced a devastating blood battle.

As for the disciples of the Thunderfire Sect, a household officer had been specially dispatched to secretly guard them.

Zhao Nian stepped forward, "Mr. Qin, everything is in order, we just need to invite them into the trap, and when the creatures from Jiao Long Hall come to the Thunderfire Sect, we can catch them all in one net."

Qin An clapped his hands, saying, "That's great, the fish of Jiao Long Hall should be taking the bait."

As night passed, the sky grew darker, and the figures of the three men blended into the twilight.

...

The next day, when the morning sun pierced through the cloud gap and shone on the gate of Thunderfire Sect, three Pulse Condensation Realm jiao demons were stealthily prowling in the hidden forest.

At that moment, hesitation appeared on the face of the leading jiao demon, "Why haven't we found any mountain guardian disciples?"

The jiao demon on the left bared his fangs in a grim smile, "Jiao Yue, you're too cautious. We're here for the pills, they're valuable and there must be guards. Thunderfire Sect definitely wants to use this chance to curry favor with our Jiao Long Hall, so sending people to guard is normal."

The jiao demon on the right was even more impatient, scoffing, "Such a minor force, Jiao Long Hall can crush them barehanded. If they weren't still useful, I'd want to devour them all today!"

Hearing his fellow clansmen's words, Jiao Yue relaxed his knitted brow slightly, "I hope you're right, but a little caution wouldn't hurt. Let's go, we'll take the pills and return to Jiao Long Hall at once."

The three demons wasted no more time, heading up the mountain path.

...

No unusual occurrences transpired during this time.

The Thunderfire Sect, sparsely populated, was serene and quiet.

Upon entering the mountain path and ascending, there was a giant platform.

This was the only way to the mountain top.

As Jiao Yue led his fellow clansmen to this point, a sense of danger suddenly surged in his heart.

"Be careful!" Jiao Yue shouted.

As the words fell, a straight blade accompanied by a piercing sound appeared.

The blade's bright light was like sudden thunder, directly aiming at the jiao demon on the left.

The left jiao demon reacted instantly, roaring as his horns gathered a thread of True Qi.

His massive jiao dragon form immediately manifested, opening his blood-red maw to bite at the straight blade.

The next moment, the jiao demon's form suddenly stiffened.

A massive jiao dragon head was raised high, blood spilling onto the ground.

Qin An casually snagged the falling demon crystal, his lips curling in a smile laced with coldness, "Only three Pulse Condensation Realm ones showed up, quite fewer than expected."

Jiao Yue's face showed fear, his pupils shrinking, "You are Qin An!"

Before he could continue speaking, two more piercing sounds followed.

The jiao demon on Jiao Yue's right promptly revealed his jiao dragon form, counterattacking toward the sound behind him.

The iron spikes hit Jiao Yue, and he immediately felt a sharp pain strike him.

Turning his head, Jiao Yue saw Chu Xing's mocking smile.

On the other side, Zhao Nian's fists pounded onto the jiao demon's head, causing it to crack inch by inch.

The three were ambushing, prepared against the unprepared, so naturally quite effective.

In just an instant, Jiao Yue, along with another jiao demon, had already sustained significant injuries.

"Run quickly!"

The jiao demon on the right, terrified to the core, shook Zhao Nian off with a vibrating jiao dragon form, then rose into the sky, trying to fly over the mountain to escape.

The next moment, he saw a figure ghostly blocking his path.

The jiao demon widened his eyes, seeing a fist growing larger before him.

"Boom!"

The terrifying roar sounded.

The jiao demon's skull shattered into pieces.

The demon crystal was captured in Qin An's hand.

In just moments, two Pulse Condensation Realm great demons were slaughtered by Qin An instantly.

Although Jiao Yue was fighting Chu Xing, feeling Qin An's cold gaze, he only felt a prickling sensation on his back.

"Battling while distracted is not wise."

Qin An's figure was ghostly, appearing before Jiao Yue, and his hand's cold star slashed horizontally.

Four-colored True Qi spread across, as if capable of destroying everything.

Jiao Yue felt a crisis of life and death enveloping his entire body.

With this strike down, he would inevitably be beheaded.

In this critical moment, Jiao Yue suddenly curled up his limbs and wailed on the ground.

"I surrender! I have a lot of information about the Jiao Long Hall that can help the Evil Extermination Bureau acquire valuable intelligence. Please don't kill me!"

Some humans fear death and will cooperate with demons.

Demons also fear death and will cooperate with humans.

Just like the Mountain Patrol General, who uses the fear of death of many demons to maneuver between them on the path of exterminating evil for miles.

The Straight Blade stopped less than three inches from Jiao Yue.

Jiao Yue felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows and immediately shouted, "Mr. Qin! Spare my life! The Jiao Long Hall plans to cooperate with Carefree Mountain against you after the Hunter Conference!"

"I have a lot of intelligence on the Jiao Long Hall that can help you destroy the Jiao Long Hall!"

Upon hearing this, Qin An raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Is this true?"

Jiao Yue quickly said, "Mr. Qin, I am already in such a pitiful state; I absolutely dare not deceive you. You can take me back to the Evil Extermination Bureau, and I'm willing to atone for my sins with merit!"

Chu Xing retracted his twin daggers and sneered as he kicked Jiao Yue over, "Spineless scum!"

Zhao Nian grinned, "This is better; a living capture is much more useful than a dead demon. Taking back a live demon and locking it in the Evil Extermination Bureau's prison will earn us far more merit than a dead demon."

Qin An raised his hand, placing it on top of Jiao Yue's head.

A terrifying True Qi spread throughout Jiao Yue's entire body.

The Blood-Burning Eight-Forged Dragon Demon Kill came with a capturing force, making Jiao Yue feel weak all over and unable to muster any strength.

Jiao Yue transformed, becoming a half-human, half-demon form, kneeling on the ground without daring to resist in the slightest.

Qin An withdrew his hand, "I trouble Mr. Chu and Mr. Zhao to guard him and take him back to the Evil Extermination Bureau."

Chu Xing was surprised, "With Mr. Qin's methods, it's unexpected that you wouldn't kill him."

Qin An shook his head, "The Jiao Long Hall and Carefree Mountain hate me to the core, wishing to eradicate me, so if I can obtain intelligence and eliminate these two forces, it will make me much safer."

Zhao Nian sighed, "Even though Mr. Qin is under the watch of these two great forces, he can remain so calm. It truly impresses me."

The words spoken by the two were sincere.

Even within the power vortex of Xunyang Prefecture, everyone felt stuck as if in a quagmire, finding it hard to extricate themselves. Yet, during their time with Qin An, they discovered many admirable traits in him.

Qin An sheathed his blade, "Brothers, let's keep the small talk short. The sooner we return to the Evil Extermination Bureau, the sooner we can rest."

This trip, Qin An gained a Demon Pill and two Demon Crystals.

Now, he needed just one more Demon Pill to refine a Supreme True Elixir.

The total number of Demon Crystals stored inside him also reached four.

Qin An had not forgotten Gao Lingyu's bet.

Upon returning to the Evil Extermination Bureau, he would practice the Array Master profession to level ten.

By then, once the bet is settled, Qin An can focus back on practicing as a Scholar.

Once he practices the Scholar profession to level eleven, he can then seek the final Demon Pill to break through to the Outer Elixir Realm.

The people of the Evil Extermination Bureau naturally have a swift and resolute nature. Chu Xing and Zhao Nian did not waste any time and immediately instructed their Household Officers to wrap up the operation.

Once everything was settled, everyone hurried back to the Evil Extermination Bureau without delay.

...

Upon returning to the Evil Extermination Bureau, dusk had yet to fall.

"Mr. Chu, could you do me a favor?" Qin An asked.

Chu Xing suddenly became curious, "With your methods, Mr. Qin, what task could I possibly help you with?"

Qin An thought for a moment and said, "Could I trouble Mr. Chu to document this experience and report it to the Internal Affairs Department's Household Officers?"

Every Prefecture General in the Evil Extermination Bureau is required to document their mission experience for the Internal Affairs Department to compile statistics after completing a task.

However, Qin An now wanted to return to practice Array Master skills and did not want to waste time here.

Chu Xing thought it was a significant matter; unexpectedly, it was such a trivial task. He patted his chest and said, "Rest assured, leave this to me, and I will handle it flawlessly!"

The implication was that he also intended to develop a friendship with Qin An.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Qin An's future potential is immense indeed.

Making a connection with him would be highly beneficial in Xunyang Prefecture.

Zhao Nian, though blunt, was not as meticulous as Chu Xing and said in a gruff voice, "Brothers, I'll take this Jiao Long demon to Mr. Zhou and bid farewell for now."

Jiao Yue looked dejected.

Especially after arriving at the Evil Extermination Bureau, he had already resigned to his fate.

Turning Jiao Yue over to Zhou Yuanfeng was a normal procedure.

As for how Zhou Yuanfeng would extract information about the Jiao Long Hall from the demon, that was his own business.

The three of them didn't linger, each going their separate ways.

Qin An quickly headed toward his residence.

He needed to make the most of his time.

After advancing to the Outer Elixir Realm, he still needed to level up his other Cultivation Techniques.

Currently, besides the Array Master, neither the Dancer nor the Pill Master had reached level ten.

This would require a lot of time.

So Qin An didn't want to waste a moment.

The journey back was uneventful.

Only Prefecture Generals with hurried expressions passed by, evidently on their way to execute tasks.

When Qin An finally reached the entrance to his small courtyard, he paused slightly, his eyes focusing on the entrance.

At the courtyard entrance, Hei Feng was wearing the Evil Extermination Bureau's black robe, looking around.

Upon seeing Qin An, Hei Feng's face lit up with a slight smile, and he quickly approached.

"Mr. Qin, long time no see. How have you been?"

Qin An nodded, "I've been well enough. I wonder what brings Mr. Hei here today?"

Hei Feng is Zhao Wuhuan's personal General. Once his strength reaches the Outer Elixir Realm, he could be directly promoted to Mountain Patrol Copper General.

This promotion mechanism differs from Lingzhou's.

Qin An was very puzzled about why Hei Feng was not with Zhao Wuhuan.

Hei Feng leaned in close and whispered, "Mr. Qin, Mr. Zhao is waiting in the inner chamber with important matters to discuss."

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