The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

Xia Tian squatted down and examined the corpse closely. "The talismans on it are very strange."

Mo Lin walked behind her and illuminated the entire body for her. Then he frowned and said, "Why don't you put on a mask? Just in case there's some kind of poison."

Xia Tian raised his hand and cast a cleansing spell. "In the inheritance I obtained in the Cold Moon Secret Realm, there is a record that in ancient times, witch doctors used talismans to heal. The incantations on them are somewhat similar, but not exactly the same."

She carefully cut off a piece of rotting flesh that was on the verge of falling off with a knife, raised her hand to cover it with spiritual fire, and just as the pungent smell wafted out, Mo Lin put a mask on her face with one hand.

"Junior Uncle already told you to wear a mask, just in case this thing is a trap."

The young man was tall and imposing. He easily held the stiff gauze mask made of fine metal wires with one hand, almost completely encircling Xia Tianwu into his territory. He used his spiritual power to light a lamp that enveloped the two of them, creating a bright world in the dim night.

Xia Tian unfastened her mask, fastened the spiritual energy clasp, revealing a pair of clear eyes. "I want to figure out how people turn into demons."

Yan Qing had finished dealing with the coachman and came over. "I compensated the coachman with ten mid-grade spirit stones and found out that the coachman said he was still a person when he hired the carriage. He passed through the carriage shop's mirror without any problems."

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Lin Du, who was standing to the side with his arms crossed, seemingly lost in thought. "That person also said, cough, said... that he even went out and prayed to the portrait of Master Lin Du, trying to identify the demons mingling among the crowd. Who would have thought that there could be something that was human at first but turned into a demon halfway through?"

Master Lin Du himself happened to look up and said, "Hmm?"

What is that?

What did you worship?

What real person?

Yan Qing suppressed a laugh, "Well, I suppose the portrait is already quite bad, so he wouldn't have recognized the real person."

Lin Du: ...

She closed her eyes. "It's better to worship my master than me. At least my master really smashed the Demon Lord into the ground."

"Junior Uncle, what should we do now?" Yuan Ye asked.

Lin Du stretched his arms. "Professional team, they get paid to do their job."

Yuan Ye understood, and took out a coffin from his storage ring. "Second Senior Sister, have you finished checking?"

Xia Tian lowered her eyes and said, "I wish it could be cut open completely."

Yuan Ye was nervous. "This is a client, after all."

Lin Du raised his hand and put on his mask, revealing only the upper half of his face. "We'll make plans after we've seen Hu You. It's a one-stop service, including tomb repair. There's plenty of time. Did you find anything during the sampling?"

Xia Tianwu nodded. "It's a little bit. The physical tissue has completely mutated, and there is a very strong source of demonic energy inside. I suspect that the source of demonic energy was inscribed into a spell on the body and implanted into the person's body. Once the source spreads and assimilates, the person will completely transform into a demon."

Lin Du frowned. "But in reality, even if a low-level cultivator is invaded by the source of demonic energy, it is difficult for them to mutate; instead, they will die."

Xia Tian carefully held a glass bottle in his palm, inside which was sealed a small piece of meat. "That's why I said this incantation is very special. It doesn't seem like the incantations of today, but rather like the incantations of ancient shamans."

Lin Du frowned slightly, and Han Yueling's voice came through his consciousness, "There's too much filth here, I can't stay any longer, are you coming or not?"

"How is Qi Zhen?"

"The persona is very stable, it hasn't collapsed, not even a little bit." Han Yueling had learned Lin Du's vocabulary and felt that this sentence perfectly described Qi Zhen's current behavior.

Lin Du looked up and met Hou Cang's gaze. Suddenly, she had a bad feeling and spoke first, "Senior brother, how about reimbursing me for the ten mid-grade spirit stones?"

Hou Cang: ...

Yuan Ye chimed in, "Yes, yes, that's the driver's only source of income. The car was rented by the Chamber of Commerce, so the driver has to pay for it himself. We could have dragged it out and beaten it, but you, Uncle, just went and chopped the car up."

"But you can deduct it directly when the dividends are distributed!" Yuan Ye silently added, meeting Hou Cang's emotionless eyes.

Hou Cang twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Mm."

Yuan Ye suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck, and then heard his uncle, with whom he had almost never interacted, speak coolly, "The valley is full of demons. You haven't practiced yet, have you? I'll watch you go in and practice. There aren't any powerful demons."

Yuan Ye: ...

Hou Cang looked at Lin Du, "Especially junior sister, when you came out, Master told you that although you have refined powerful energy, you have too little actual combat experience and may not be able to fully master it. Take this opportunity to gain more experience."

Lin Du looked at Hou Cang in despair, "Senior brother, is your senior uncle training you like a wolf?"

A wolf-like company culture is unacceptable!

Although Hou Cang didn't understand what wolf training was, he explained earnestly, "When I was a slave as a child, we were thrown into the arena for amusement, and I did fight with wolves, but Master won't do that."

"I will protect you."

Lin Du looked at Hou Cang, remained silent for a moment, and then conjured a folding fan.

In her mind's eye, Han Yueling was already screaming, "Lin Du, are you coming or not! This filthy thing doesn't seem to want to break character at all!! He's about to get injured! Healing medicine is expensive, and we're already poor!"

"And those dirty things are about to step on me! I'm going to get dirty!!"

"We're here." Lin Du said briefly through the spiritual contract, then used his movement technique to rush into the valley.

"Hey! Junior Uncle! Wait for us!" Yuan Ye pulled out his protective armor and followed.

As soon as the seven entered the valley, they were met with countless pairs of scarlet eyes, their ominous glow gleaming in the silent darkness.

"Wow," Yuan Ye blurted out, "I've never seen so many demons in my life."

Yan Qing silently drew the large sword from his back. "Seriously, let's pay our respects to our junior uncle when we go out in the future."

"Don't worship me. If you don't worship me, something unexpected might happen, but if you worship me, something unexpected will definitely happen."

Mo Lin, carrying his sword staff, asked, "Junior Uncle, should I draw my sword?"

The question is whether or not to go all out.

"No need." Lin Du channeled his spiritual power, and his folding fan suddenly unfolded, producing the sound of shattering ice, like a ray of snow light breaking through a thick, dark valley. "Protect yourself, save your strength, and do not get injured."

Looking at Yuehua rushing towards them from afar, she added, "After all, we're poor, and medicine is very expensive."

Lin Du rushed over following the trail Han Yueling had taken, unleashing the spiritual power from his folding fan to freeze the horde of surging demons.

This time, it wasn't the thin ice from before, but a thick, solid ice shell.

After merging with the Snow Essence Pill, Lin Du's spiritual power offensive was far more powerful than that of ordinary spiritual power.

Yan Qing followed closely behind, looking at the group of demons who had long been frozen in place and could not move, he drew his sword and looked around in confusion.

Lin Du exclaimed and slammed on the brakes. A snow-white rabbit with an ear that hadn't yet materialized was now stuck to his shoulder. "Sorry, I used too much force."

"I'm so sorry." Lin Du felt very guilty; it was her fault for not being able to let her junior disciple train.

As she spoke, she twirled the folding fan in her hand, gathered her strength, and swung it out again.

The ice and snow power, compressed to its limit, transformed into a blizzard powerful enough to crush giant beasts the moment it was unleashed.

But with a crackling sound, the blizzard, carrying destructive power, shattered the frozen demon into pieces, leaving behind a pile of limbs.

Lin Du stopped his attack, glanced at the demon, and said, "A low-level demon, not yet intelligent. No wonder it was so easy to deal with."

"Where is Qi Zhen?"

"They killed two low-level demons and are now hiding behind some rocks with their swords drawn, suspected of deliberately injuring themselves." Han Yueling flicked the ears she had just conjured. "Although they are all low-level demons and don't look human, some of them are a bit strange."

Lin Du nodded. "So you weren't frozen into an ice cube, right?"

"no."

Sure enough, the boy slowly emerged from a blind spot. His black robes were wrinkled and filthy from being stained with demonic blood, and his sword was also covered in thick demonic blood, obscuring its original gleam.

But what was even more astonishing was that he was dragging a demon that was tightly bound by ropes. It was still a low-level demon, on all fours, with hideous demonic horns, and still covered in human blood.

Qi Zhen swayed, looking like he was on the verge of exhaustion.

He walked with difficulty to the front of the crowd. Under the moonlight, his pale face was stained with dirt, yet it resembled a bewitching flower blooming in the mud. "Senior Sister..."

Lin Du's gaze shifted to the demon, from which a low voice emanated, almost inaudible even in the quiet night.

Ke Lindu had excellent hearing, and she clearly heard the words that the demon was struggling to utter.

"Mother...it hurts so much..."

A chill rushed straight to the top of Lin Du's head, making her scalp tingle.