High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

An Nuan stopped at the top of the slope and didn't look away for a long time.

"It's so beautiful."

Bai Yin smiled and said, "Of course, this is the Ancient Demon King's Court! I've been to the outer city before, but I've never been inside. I've heard that the residences of the eight royal families are all different; some are on mountains, some are by lakes, and some are in vast forests."

She pointed to Zu Wu.

"But you couldn't see this tree before; it's much prettier now than before."

An Nuan nodded.

Sunlight fell on her face, casting a faint golden-red hue in her eyes. She glanced at the houses along the riverbank, then at the passersby on the road, and finally looked down to check on the wooden box beside her.

Then, a very soft sigh drifted into the wind.

Baiyin turned her head: "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, let's go."

An Nuan gently shook the reins, and the horse Zhu Feng slowly descended the hillside.

Bai Yin paused for a moment, glancing at the distant royal court, then at An Nuan's retreating figure. She didn't understand; she had only seen good things along the way, so why did An Nuan seem preoccupied?

The question I wanted to ask was on the tip of my tongue, but in the end it just turned into a greeting.

"Wait for me."

She gently spurred her horse and quickly caught up with An Nuan ahead.

Two swift horses galloped side by side, their hooves echoing on the solid dirt road, gradually blending into the sounds of the approaching caravan. In the distance, the ancestral tree still shone brightly, illuminating their northward journey.

......

Medical Department, Headquarters of the Night Division in Shanghai.

The array in the ward slowly activated, and gentle spiritual light continuously flowed into Old Wang's body. The old man closed his eyes, his breathing was steady, and he looked no different from a few days ago.

The doctor on duty had just finished a round of checks, confirming that the monitoring equipment was functioning normally, and then gently closed the door. The footsteps faded away down the corridor, and the room fell silent again.

A moment later, a nearly transparent figure sat up from the hospital bed.

Old Wang glanced down at his physical body, then moved his hands, which were formed from his divine soul, a few times. Most of the cracks that had covered his soul body had been repaired, with only a few shallow marks remaining on his chest and shoulders, which shimmered with light as he moved.

The Great Dream Spring and Autumn Manual did indeed help him a lot.

These days, he has been sinking his consciousness into dreams, gradually recovering his damaged soul, and is recovering faster than initially expected. If he can continue to nurture it peacefully, his condition will improve even further in time.

But some things can no longer wait.

Looking at himself on the bed, Old Wang recalled what An Nuan had said before she left and gently shook his head.

"At my age, I thought I could finally relax and lie down for a few days, but I still can't find a moment of peace."

He raised his hand and touched the space between his eyebrows, leaving a wisp of his soul to maintain the dream state. A faint light spread out, slowly merging with the surrounding nurturing array. The fluctuations on the magical artifact beside the bed changed slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

From the outside, the body still appears to be asleep.

After confirming that nothing had been missed, Old Wang got up and took out the ring that An Nuan had left for him from the cabinet next to him.

His soul then moved outwards along the familiar gaps in the array. Having spent so many years at headquarters, he knew by heart which areas were used for reconnaissance and which were used for isolation.

Before long, the faint figure left the medical department and quietly rose into the night sky.

He glanced back at headquarters, then gathered his soul light and headed south.

......

The Demon Capital of South China, a retirement area for cadres.

Bai Chongguang sat in the courtyard, a half-finished chess game in front of him.

With no one opposite him, he took the two pieces by himself. He had just placed a piece for the black side when he felt that the white side had suffered a loss. After thinking for a moment, he simply took back the move he had just made and changed its position.

The afternoon sun shone through the leaves and fell on a corner of the chessboard. He held a chess piece, ready to continue, when he suddenly noticed a familiar presence outside the courtyard gate.

Bai Chongguang looked up and his hand froze in mid-air. Wang Shuhan stood outside the railing, his figure slightly transparent, looking at the chessboard in front of him.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and then Bai Chongguang slowly stood up.

"Wang Shuhan? You're dead?"

Old Wang's expression froze.

"Can't you wish me well for once?"

Bai Chongguang walked a few steps to the door, carefully examined his soul, and confirmed that it was still connected to his physical body before he breathed a sigh of relief and opened the courtyard gate.

"Everyone outside says you're badly injured and haven't woken up yet. A few days ago, Chang'an came, and when I asked him, he also said you still need to recuperate."

He looked Wang up and down: "Now that your spirit can travel this far, are you hiding away from work again?"

"If I wanted to hide, why would I come looking for you?"

"That's true, but it's never good news when you come to my door on your own initiative."

Bai Chongguang turned and walked into the house, still grumbling, "Let's make this clear first, don't come to me with any trouble. I've been retired for so many years, and I'm finally getting a few days of peace and quiet."

Old Wang followed behind and casually pointed to the chessboard.

"I can tell, you're living a good life. You can even regret playing chess alone."

"It's my own game, I can play it however I want."

Bai Chongguang glared at him as he turned around, then habitually picked up the teapot after entering the house. Just as he was about to pour, he saw Old Wang's semi-transparent body again, so he put the teapot back.

"I forgot, you can't drink now. Tell me, what's so important that you've dragged your soul all this way?"

Old Wang did not sit down immediately, but looked around first.

Seeing this, Bai Chongguang's smile faded slightly, and he raised his hand to activate the isolation array inside the room. Old Wang then set up another layer of dreamscape to separate the two of them from the outside world.

He sensed it for a moment, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"A new tactic?"

"I just learned it, I'll talk about it later."

Old Wang sat down opposite him and got straight to the point: "I would like to ask you to accompany me to the capital to retrieve something."

"What is it?"

"slate."

Bai Chongguang frowned.

"That stuff is difficult to transfer. The Zhenye Division, the military, and the person in charge of sealing it all have to go through the procedures. Where it's transferred to, what it's used for, and who's in charge—everything has to be clearly stated."

He thought for a moment and then said, "I can ask my old subordinates, but you have to give me a decent reason first."

"It's not a transfer."

Old Wang looked at him and spoke clearly.

"Without notifying the capital in advance or going through the application process, I need to secretly remove the stone slab."

Bai Chongguang stared at him for several breaths before speaking.

"So you mean... you want me to steal it?"