The wicked Monk within the room had already been dealt with by He Qing, a woman. What remained were pitiable souls, mere playthings for the corrupt monks within the temple. Yet, in an instant, the divine consciousness starlight was deflected!

The Starlight Parasite, residing within the Brain Palace of living beings, was but a blink of an eye's work, not a challenge. However, when encountering someone above a Golden Elixir cultivator, their essence, energy, and spirit were unified and harmonious, like a solid iron plate. The starlight couldn't find a crevice to implant itself, and was thus flung far away.

This was Yu Ci's most direct way of discerning another's Cultivation Level.

Could it be that, more precisely within the group of women in the house, there was someone possessing the capabilities of a Golden Elixir Cultivator?

Demons! It could only be Demons! Moreover, it was a type that Yu Ci had never encountered before, one that could transform and conceal their identity, a perfect spy and assassin by nature.

A chill ran down Yu Ci's spine. Just then, his shoulder was lightly bumped, a faint fragrance wafted close then receded.

Gan Shi Zhen, her head lowered as if she couldn't bear the ugliness of the scene, hastily left her original position of control. As she passed by Yi Xin, who was acutely aware of his own issues, he stepped aside from a distance.

Yu Ci was momentarily taken aback, then quickly realized. The warning that had risen to his lips was suppressed. He maintained his original pace, exiting the corridor missing a wall. Ahead, the delicate female cultivator slowed down, allowing him to easily catch up.

"Master Gan?"

Gan Shi Zhen, her face still hidden under her hair curtain, whispered so softly that only Yu Ci could hear:

"Be silent. The Demon-Identifying Dish has reacted. There were demons in the room just now. Aunt Qing is aware and is now discerning carefully."

"It's the woman with the high bun, the fourth one on the left."

The female cultivator looked surprised, even forgetting to hide her expression.

Yu Ci didn't know what a "Demon-Identifying Dish" was, probably something that sensed the presence of demons. Gan Shi Zhen, as a cultivator, certainly had an array of magical instruments and treasures. However, when these two treasures were inadvertently compared, the Divine Bronze Mirror seemed more precise.

Gan Shi Zhen fell silent for a while, and Yu Ci felt she was probably communicating with He Qing in some way.

He Qing hadn't turned around, and Yu Ci wasn't sure if she had received the information. He could only look at Gan Shi Zhen: "Aren't we going to act now?"

"Just wait a little longer."

Their eyes met, the message clear and understood.

Yu Ci didn't know what He Qing would do. In his mind, killing a demon was nothing significant. The real accomplishment would be to use this demon as bait to catch a bigger fish, which was what he believed He Qing should do in her position.

At this point, the cultivators from the Thousands Spirits Sect had arrived to handle the situation. Under their guidance, the unfortunate women found nearby clothes to cover themselves and began to leave. They would be questioned about their family and homes, in preparation for their return.

Using the perspectives of others, Yu Ci could see that the demon, disguised as a high-bunned woman, was doing a convincing job. She mimicked human behavior well, even her fabricated address seemed plausible. At least, the cultivators in charge didn't notice anything amiss.

With his attention focused on the demon, Yu Ci paid little mind to his surroundings. He followed the crowd, making two more turns. There were still traces of demons here, presumably from the demon's earlier movements.

Separated by three or four walls, the human-shaped demon, following He Qing's instructions, also moved with the crowd. The women beside it, having suffered greatly, walked with difficulty. It was fortunate that the demon could mimic humans so well, though to Yu Ci, who knew the truth, it was a pitiful sight.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

After a couple more turns, they were now a hundred feet apart. Yu Ci began to prepare to reset his Starlight Parasite, intending to keep the demon under surveillance.

Just then, He Qing suddenly turned around.

A wave of energy, with her at its center, spread rapidly. The power was so strong that even Golden Elixir cultivators like Shi Song couldn't resist and had to retreat. Yu Ci also retreated, feeling a sense of vertigo. This wasn't his own feeling, but rather the sensation of those hosting the Starlight Parasite a hundred feet away.

A sharp, buzzing scream erupted, like the collective noise of hundreds of flies, piercing through seven or eight thick stone walls. It still had the power to make one's skin crawl.

At the source of the scream, the once beautiful high-bunned woman was now throwing her head back in a long howl. Her delicate skin split instantly, numerous fine scales bulging out, coated in an iron-blue hue. This eerie scene caused the recently escaped women to scream, half of them fainting on the spot.

The human-shaped demon had returned to its original form, a sight to chill the soul. However, it was in a dire situation. Around it was a conspicuous golden ring, emerging from the void, encircling its body. The ring mercilessly contracted, squeezing its already slender body even tighter.

The demons let out a second piercing shriek.

A hundred feet away, He Qing flicked her fingers. With a "thunk" sound, a large hole opened in the thick stratum above her head. Daylight filtered through, and He Qing disappeared in the blink of an eye. Then came the surface water layer, wrapped in mud and sand, pouring down.

As He Qing broke through the earth, the demons a hundred feet away could not help but collide directly with the rock layer above their heads. In the violent shaking, they were used as a chisel to break mountains, forcibly piercing nearly twenty feet of thickness, and amidst the chaos, they were flung into mid-air.

Yu Ci watched with wide eyes. It turned out that He Qing was not trying to fish, but was looking for an opportunity to strike. His move was decisive,

"Above!"

Shi Song and others also reacted very quickly. They didn't care about the pouring mud and water, they all rushed out with their devices, even Yu Ci was pulled by Gan Shi Zhen, and easily flew up.

By this time, the overall situation in the sky was already decided. The demons were still struggling, but they were already at the end of their strength. He Qing used the Law Sky Prison to start, mobilizing the Primordial Qi of the heavens and the earth within a radius of ten miles, forming a demon-binding ring. It not only locked the body but also suppressed the demonic energy and magic power within it.

This is the power of combining Vacuum Walking Cultivator and high-quality magic weapons. A Golden Elixir demon, its strength has not been fully exerted, it was captured without resistance, this is not a competition of the same level.

Yu Ci's gaze moved from the struggling demons back, found Shi Song and Hu Dan, looked at each other, and before they could form a tacit understanding, they heard Dong Yan sneer: "Big Monk, your underground palace really has everything. Beautiful women, demons, I wonder what you'll turn up next time?"

Monk Yi Xin's expression was unmoved, and he said indifferently: "Immortal Yu spoke well, in the future, with the grandeur of Cliff City, these underground palaces will be of no use, either sealed or destroyed. Once everything is over, these problems will naturally disappear."

Dong Yan was amused, it was rare for the Monk to speak such nonsense so seriously, directly shirking his responsibility without a trace of shame. After living in the city for decades, he just discovered that the silent Monk Yi Xin was the most shameless of them all!

Yu Ci felt that if the conversation continued, Dong Yan would probably draw his sword and kill. He spoke to stop it, and at the same time said coldly to Yi Xin:

"In such a place that harbors filth and evil, even if it is abandoned, it will still reek of disgrace. Shouldn't Master Yi Xin give an explanation?"

"Indeed, he should."

Master Yi Xin responded with a courteous nod, promising to do so. However, he remained silent on the details of what he should do.

At this moment, Yu Ci felt that He Qing might have acted too hastily, not fully utilizing the Demons. Monk Yi Xin was cunning and deep, even if he could not shake off suspicion, it would be difficult to expose his flaws. The Demons should have been a good opportunity.

Just as he was thinking, Gan Shi Zhen beside him suddenly gasped, "Disaster!"

Yu Ci instinctively turned his head, only to see the Demon, captured mid-air by the Demon-binding ring, suddenly swell abnormally. Only the part gripped by the golden ring remained constricted as before, exposing the Demon's grotesquely transformed body.

With a loud bang, a bloody carnage exploded in mid-air, blood and flesh splattering in all directions. The Demon was shattered to pieces, beyond any hope of recovery.

The scene was momentarily stunned into silence.

Yu Ci scratched his head, "Did He Qing mess up?"

**********

The daytime search ended in a mess. Those involved in this matter felt it was a half-baked effort.

No one was unfortunate, except for Monk Yi Xin. Due to the terrible state of the underground palace, after brief discussions, He Qing, representing the Lichen Sect, sealed the doors of the Pure Water Sect's temple, symbolically locking all the monks inside. Led by He Qing, they unanimously agreed to purge the Pure Water Sect, starting from the next day.

This was to guard against Demons, but more so against the monks' disgraceful behavior of harboring filth and evil. It was simply more convenient to use the pretext of Demons to clean up.

Deep into the night, few among the hundreds of monks in the Pure Water Sect could sleep peacefully, with the majority terrified of their fate the next day. Under this atmosphere of unease, the vast temple was quiet, with sparse lights casting a ghostly ambiance.

In the shadows cast by the pillars, something even darker was moving softly, slowly weaving through the steps and stones, gradually approaching its target.

About a mile away, Monk Yi Xin, who had been sitting quietly, opened his eyes.

*********

...