So it turns out I'm the demon!

Having received Ran Qingshan's promise, Jiang Mu immediately shut her mouth.

Since the leader is giving us benefits, we have to give them face.

But when his gaze swept over Wang Ershang and his group, he suddenly remembered something and raised his voice:

"Ten demons are acceptable. However..."

Wang Ershang and his men picked up one of my subordinate Zhang Daxiao's demon cores. Shouldn't it be returned to its rightful owner?

"?"

Wang Ershang and the others were completely dumbfounded.

Zhang Daxiao, standing behind Jiang Mu, was also taken aback.

When did I lose my demon core?

But he reacted quickly, immediately lowering his head and forcing himself to cooperate, saying, "Yes... that's true. I risked my life to get it."

"You're talking nonsense!!"

Wang Ershang was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged.

"Zhang Daxiao, you only helped kill one third-tier snake demon. Where did you get extra demon cores for us to pick up? This is extortion!"

The others also joined in with angry curses.

Jiang Mu sneered:

"Whether you picked them up or not, just show me the demon cores on your bodies and I'll know."

"My subordinate Zhang Daxiao has a habit of making a special mark on every demon core he takes out. What? Are you hiding something and afraid to take it out?"

"you--"

Wang Ershang was speechless with anger.

"Take them all out."

Seeing Jiang Mu's confident assertion, even Wen He, who had been observing coldly, began to have some doubts.

Although he was protective of his own, he couldn't bear the shame if his subordinates actually did something so dishonest.

Seeing that their superiors had spoken, Wang Ershang and the others, though full of grievances, had no choice but to angrily take out their respective demon cores from their pockets.

"Let's go check it out."

Jiang Mu pulled Zhang Daxiao, who looked somewhat embarrassed, and walked over.

He first picked up the demon core from Wang Ershang's hand and pretended to examine it carefully.

The moment their fingertips touched, a wisp of black energy was drawn away.

boom--

The magic trough, which was just a hair's breadth away from being full, was finally filled after absorbing this last bit of pure magic energy.

The next moment, his sea of ​​consciousness trembled.

The dark red, blood-red character for "demon" trembled.

As the demonic blood overflowed, a golden light surged from the bottom of the groove, quickly engulfing the dark red.

At the same time, the capacity of the magic slot has doubled.

Next to the magic slot, a dim spot of light appeared out of nowhere.

"The daddy's level has been upgraded?!"

Jiang Mu was overjoyed.

This means that the upper limit of demonic energy storage has doubled, and two demonic shadows can be summoned at the same time to assist in cultivation.

Cultivation efficiency will increase dramatically once again!

Jiang Mu followed the same method, examining each of the remaining demon cores in the hands of the others, absorbing every last drop of demonic energy before throwing the demon cores back.

"There doesn't seem to be a mark. It seems I remembered wrong. Since it was a misunderstanding, let's just let it go."

Everyone: "..."

They realized that this guy was doing it on purpose.

The whole "lost demon core" thing, the "marking" thing, it's all just to disgust them.

How childish!

Wen He glared at Jiang Mu and left angrily with his subordinates.

……

After everyone had left, Jiang Mu secretly went to the chief's room.

"Tell me about it," Ran Qingshan said, sitting down in a chair.

"What did you say?"

"You brat, how did you break through again so quickly?"

Ran Qingshan sized up Jiang Mu with a suspicious look. "From the first realm to the second realm, how long has it been? Confess honestly, did you use some kind of evil cultivation method to accelerate your progress?"

Jiang Mu said with a serious expression:

"My lord, I have achieved my current level of cultivation entirely through my own diligence and talent; I have never taken any shortcuts."

"If you do not believe me, you are welcome to investigate my background."

Ran Qingshan stared into his eyes for a long time, then waved his hand helplessly.

"So be it. Whether you are gifted with extraordinary talent or have a special physique... as long as it can improve your strength, it is a good thing for my Demon Slayer Division."

Jiang Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He then remembered the ten snake demons that had been extorted from him earlier and took the initiative to remind them, "Sir, those fifty-odd ones, we really killed them all; we didn't steal them."

"Alright, you don't need to remind me. I'll definitely give you compensation."

Ran Qingshan said irritably.

He took a wooden box from a hidden compartment under his desk.

After opening it, he took out a talisman with a pale blue glow and handed it to Jiang Mu:

"This is a superior protective talisman made by the Nine Turns Dao Sect. I'm giving it to you."

Jiang Mu accepted it with both hands.

The talisman felt smooth and warm to the touch, unlike ordinary paper; it was more like some kind of specially tanned animal hide.

"This talisman is extremely precious. Once activated, it can withstand the full force of attacks from experts at the fifth realm or below."

Ran Qingshan instructed,

"But remember, the spiritual energy inside is only enough to activate it three times. After that, it's just a piece of waste paper. Don't use it recklessly unless it's a matter of life and death."

Jiang Mu felt a chill run down her spine.

This is great stuff!

Being able to withstand attacks from a fifth-realm expert is practically like having three extra lives.

Moreover, my newly upgraded "Hanging Daddy" has a lot of demonic energy, so I can try to inject it into this talisman when I get back to see if I can strengthen it further.

but……

Ran Qingshan suddenly gave himself such a valuable trump card to save his life, just because of the compensation from those ten snake demons?

Jiang Mu's eyelids twitched, and she whispered:

"My lord, surely Master Wen isn't that petty?"

Ran Qingshan was taken aback at first, then understood the implied meaning and couldn't help but chuckle:

"What nonsense are you thinking? Even if there are disputes within the Demon Slayer Division, we will never allow colleagues to kill each other. That's the bottom line."

Besides, if he really wanted to harm you, this one talisman wouldn't be enough to stop him.

"That's true."

Jiang Mu realized she had misunderstood.

"However, I do have another concern when I give you this amulet."

Ran Qingshan's gaze was deep and thoughtful.

"We've found some clues about that Wong Tai Sin. This demon is quite powerful. He has six children, and the Wong Si Lang you killed was his most beloved son."

"Last month, this old demon caused trouble in the Yunzhou City area and was severely injured by Chief Xia of the Yunzhou Demon Slaying Division. He is currently hiding somewhere to recuperate and should not have time to come and retaliate in the short term."

Jiang Mu frowned: "Is this good news?"

"It's neither good nor bad, since it's even harder to find if it hides."

Ran Qingshan said, "However, its eldest daughter, 'Huang Dalang,' has been active in Yancheng."

Huang Dalang?

Jiang Mu was taken aback; the name sounded like someone who sold sesame cakes.

This female demon must be very hot.

"This demon's cultivation level is around the fourth rank. Although it is not as powerful as its father, it is most skilled at bewitching people's hearts and is full of cunning schemes."

Ran Qingshan said in a deep voice,

"The recent unrest in Yancheng was instigated by her and a group of demons. She has always doted on her younger brother, Huang Silang."

Although we have tried our best to track them down, the situation in Yancheng is currently chaotic, and the Demon Slayer Division there is too busy to provide effective assistance.

"It's hard to guarantee that Huang Dalang won't sneak into my Huzhou territory..."

Jiang Mu understood.

"Are you afraid that Huang Dalang will retaliate against me, sir?"

"good."

Ran Qingshan nodded slightly. "So you must be careful during this time. This talisman is for your self-defense."

"Understood, sir. I will be careful."

Jiang Mu nodded solemnly.

"in addition……"

Ran Qingshan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondered for a moment, and then said...

"I'm going to assign you a mission. This mission is quite special; it's top secret."

"What mission?"

"I'm sending you to catch ghosts."