Evil Immortal!

A line of inconspicuous small print appeared before my eyes:

[You have killed the spirit in the painting, experience +200!]

Ding!

[You have completed the "Strange Tales of Sweetwater Lane" quest and gained 800 experience points!]

"Great, 1000 experience points acquired!"

Meng Yuan smiled, completely satisfied.

Gaining experience by completing tasks is more efficient than fighting monsters!

He glanced at Chen Xiucai on the ground again, and casually channeled a stream of Purple Yang True Qi into his body to remove the evil Qi. Otherwise, given the man's fragile physique, he might have died instantly—although the man was stubborn and brought it upon himself.

The spirits in the painting naturally don't have a gender. It's mostly because Chen Xiucai thought about it day and night, and his thoughts were attached to it. Over time, it attracted some lonely souls and remnants, who entered it, developed spirituality, and became spirits.

The so-called appearance of Yunniang is merely a variation based on the portraits of court ladies.

......

After leaving Sweetwater Lane, seeing that it was still early, Meng Yuan headed straight for the residential area in the northwest of the inner city, where his other mission, [Shadow of the Ghost], was located.

Before long, Meng Yuan arrived at the residential area.

As night deepened, the moon shone brightly, and dark clouds drifted slowly across the sky.

The surroundings were completely silent, with the occasional barking of dogs.

Waaaaah—waaaaah—

Suddenly, a mournful woman's cry could be faintly heard.

The sound was intermittent, seemingly coming from all directions, but upon closer inspection, no one could be seen, yet it gave one a chilling feeling.

Meng Yuan's gaze swept across the area and landed on a dark corner.

There, a figure stood motionless with her back to him, and the voice seemed to come from her.

Meng Yuan strode forward, his expression naturally cold and stern, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I wondered what a formidable character he was; turns out to be just a living corpse!"

[Living Corpse]

Template: Grayish White (Normal)

Order: Second order

Description: A delirious living dead. The body is dead, but the soul's obsession has not subsided. It is unwilling to leave and stubbornly remains trapped in the increasingly decaying body. Its resentment is deep and it is somewhat dangerous.

Risk level: Medium

......

The so-called living corpses are actually living dead. Their bodies gradually rot, but they can still talk and eat. However, they will gradually develop many abnormalities and tend to resemble ghouls.

Meng Yuan was too lazy to delve into the other party's obsession or what story he might have.

They're nothing but evil spirits; just kill them!

Before long, Meng Yuan sheathed his sword.

[You have killed a zombie, experience +230!]

Ding!

[You have completed the "Ghostly Shadow" quest, gaining 1150 experience points!]

Meng Yuan turned and left, completely satisfied.

Another thousand+ experience points have been credited to my account...

If this continues, he might still have a chance to glimpse the Purple Mansion Realm before the players arrive!

......

Time flows like water.

More than four months have passed in the blink of an eye.

The Demon Suppression Division.

At this moment, the Demon-Slaying Hall was bustling with people.

Most of the Demon-Suppressing Guards and Banner Officers were choosing missions, but there were also many acquaintances chatting here, mostly exchanging information, such as where demons had appeared, where floods had occurred, or interesting anecdotes from officialdom...

Even those who have accepted assignments are willing to stay here a little longer.

With the imperial court as its backer, the Demon Suppression Division has extensive information channels, and since everyone is a colleague, they are quite willing to share information, which is beneficial to everyone.

However, as soon as Meng Yuan stepped into the Demon Slaying Hall, the entire hall fell silent!

Then, as if they all had a tacit understanding, they continued to chat about their own things, some drinking tea, others talking nonsense.

It looks the same as before, but the atmosphere has actually subtly changed.

At this moment, many people were subtly observing Meng Yuan, their eyes gleaming.

Some even exchanged glances with their colleagues, exchanging knowing looks or whispering to each other.

"Is he the one you were talking about?"

"That's right, in just over four months, we completed more than a hundred tasks, and 95% of them were successfully completed. I heard that even the Deputy Hall Master was impressed!"

"Hiss—looks like our Demon Suppression Division really has a tough one! So many missions, is this guy crazy?"

"Yes, to be honest, this kid is ruthless, but he's truly capable. Just a few days ago, he was promoted two ranks, skipping the Demon Suppression Guard and becoming a Demon Suppression Captain. Only Commander Gu has done this once before. The Deputy Hall Master has quite a lot of praise for this young man!"

"Goodness, he's been promoted twice in less than five months... But our Demon Suppression Division values ​​merit and ability. This kid's promotion is based on real merit, so it's only right and proper. Nobody can say anything about it."

"I heard this man is one of Commander Gu's men?"

"I wouldn't say that, but Commander Gu values ​​this boy highly, and it was Commander Gu who arranged for him to join our Demon Suppression Division... It's more like he's one of Commander Gu's men."

"However, this Captain Meng has always been a loner, mysterious and secretive, probably not an easy person to get along with... I heard that Commander Xie dislikes him quite a bit. When the Deputy Hall Master wanted to promote him two ranks, Commander Xie tried to stop him, saying that he was too young, lacked experience and qualifications, and that it was inappropriate. Fortunately, Commander Gu spoke up for him, which is why he became the Demon Suppression Captain."

"Commander Xie? You mean... Xie Bingqian? Why did he speak up to stop me?"

"Have you forgotten that this is our Lord Tu's personal disciple? He has always been arrogant, but he has some grudges with Commander Gu because of certain things. So, out of hatred for him, he targeted Meng Yuan."

"Enough, enough. When gods fight, mortals suffer... This is not something we insignificant people can get involved in, so let's not talk about it. But someone like Meng Yuan clearly has a bright future, so even if we don't want to befriend him, we shouldn't offend him. Let's be more polite to each other in the future."

"That's true..."

......

Meng Yuan didn't know what these people were talking about in secret, but he wasn't stupid and could naturally sense some clues.

However, he didn't care, or rather, he didn't have time to pay attention to it at all.

In fact, he has been extremely busy lately.

Accept the quest from the Demon Slayer Hall—travel—complete the quest—turn in the quest—Accept the quest from the Demon Slayer Hall—travel—complete the quest—turn in the quest...

During this period, he was either taking on missions and slaying demons and evil spirits every day, or he was on his way to take on missions and slay demons and evil spirits.

He traveled to almost every part of Linjiang Prefecture.

In a span of almost five months, he managed to complete more than a hundred tasks on the "Ding List," reaping significant rewards, totaling around 150,000 experience points.

During this period, he consumed nearly 30,000 experience points to raise his cultivation to the Great Perfection of the Innate Fetal Breathing Realm, including the "Pure Yang Sword Technique" in the "Purple Yang True Explanation".