A life of idleness in the world of demons

Chapter 41. The Third Refining of the Talisman

Since the arrival of Fairy Yao, Ning Xuan no longer needs a horse.

The qualitative leap of a First-Rank Celestial Master compared to an ordinary sorcerer lies in the "significantly reduced consumption of mountain-moving spells, which can be cast instantly." Ning Xuan had previously observed that sorcerer. To restrain the three kings of a mountain-ramming bear demon that lacked magical treasures, the sorcerer exerted all his strength, barely managing to entangle the three kings with the Earth-Emerging Golden Serpent. But if it were Ugly Slave or Fairy Yao Zhen, they would simply grab the Celestial Master's Seal and violently smash it everywhere. If they couldn't smash it anymore, they could directly transform the Celestial Master's Seal into a golden mountain and smash it again.

Compared to the first-rank Celestial Master, the qualitative change of the second-rank Celestial Master lies in the fact that "the consumption of low-level earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic) is greatly reduced and can be cast instantly." This is reflected in the fact that Fairy Yao Zhen walks as if floating, because it is not strenuous at all. Of course, it is unrealistic to expect her to use earth-遁 continuously without interruption, or to use it many times a day.

However, a second-rank Celestial Master can still inspect an entire prefecture.

Having roughly determined the types of demons inside and the truth about the black smoke, the two began to work on solving the problem.

Fairy Yao Zhen led Ning Xuan to the original spot to collect the flesh and blood of the Fragrance-Stealing Rat, which was then placed in a special jade bottle for later use in alchemy.

She then led Ning Xuan to escape quickly, covering several miles in a flash. They sensed the earth veins within a radius of more than ten miles, pinpointing the location and approximate distribution of the "human-headed black smoke" and the "human-skin demon," and then Ning Xuan was tasked with killing them.

The two thousand soldiers and over one hundred martial arts practitioners brought earlier proved useful.

Prohibition signs began to be erected one after another.

As dawn broke, the two began to encounter scattered soldiers and warriors from Heian Prefecture.

Although those people were not qualified to recognize Ning Xuan's identity, they knew about "True Persons". After seeing the two people's extraordinary abilities, they naturally understood that the two people were "powerful True Persons" sent by the higher-ups, so they chose to cooperate.

Three days later.
Ning Xuan finally met Tang Chuan.

Tang Chuan is definitely not dead; the "human skin demon" at the post station is lying.

Upon seeing Ning Xuan's tiger tally from General An Yuan, and then seeing the Fairy Yao Zhen beside him, Tang Chuan immediately chose to obey without saying a word.

He was originally one of the emperor's men and knew a little about the reforms. His daughter was still in the Imperial Guard in the capital. When she saw the emperor's decree, she naturally understood that the emperor still recognized him as one of his own, so there was no way she could cause any trouble.

After exchanging a few words, Tang Chuan understood the characteristics of the "human skin demon." This was truly a case of "a bucket of cold water being poured over his head, chilling him to the bone," since he had previously sent quite a few people to suppress the demon calamity.

It now seems that the more people he sends, the more human skins he ends up giving to the enemy.

The thought that those "human skin demons" could still seize the power of their victims made Tang Chuan want to slap himself.

He sent almost half of the strongmen in the manor there.

After learning about Ning Xuan's "blockade plan," Tang Chuan also did his best to cooperate.

He was originally the true prefect of Ping'an Prefecture, and with his transfer, Ning Xuan no longer needed to worry about many things.

But we still lack experts.

At this moment, a group of thirty demon plague warriors in purple robes appeared before Ning Xuan.

The Heavenly Master was sent by Madam Qin. When he arrived, he found that there was no need to fight to the death, only to assist in defense. So he decisively led everyone to appear.

“General An Yuan, it is General Qin’s duty to inspect the area around Hanzhou and even the entire Kyushu Dao. Besides, our two families will soon be even closer.” The Celestial Master smiled and was quite polite to the young general.

After the Heavenly Master from General Qin's Mansion left, Tang Chuan, with a deep gaze, stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "General Ning, we must deal with the Qin family's daughter with caution."

Ning Xuan's head started spinning upon hearing this.

Even without Tang Chuan saying it, he knew that the emperor's "Divine General Plan" clearly conflicted with the "veteran generals".

Now that he has participated in the "Divine General Project" and been bestowed a title by His Majesty, he must avoid any further contact with the "old-school general faction" in order to maintain his loyalty as a loyal subject and ensure his longevity.

To put it more bluntly, how long can an emperor live? You, a young general, should be conserving your strength and clearly defining your allies. If you really want to cause trouble, wait for the next emperor, or the one after that.

Tang Chuan's words, seemingly mature and patriotic, were actually pushing him to the front lines of the conflict.

If he actively sought a marriage proposal and was rejected, that would be fine. But if the Qin family took the initiative and he still rejected them, huh, what would happen then? Anyone with a brain can guess.

Suddenly, a powerful enemy appears out of nowhere, and everyone around them is put in danger.

Fairy Yao Zhen had obviously thought of that as well.

However, her thoughts might be slightly different from Ning Xuan's.

Fairy Yao Zhen said, "The old generals obey orders but not summons. I am deeply entrenched in the government and have long served the country."

Ning Xuan covered her mouth.

Tang Chuan chuckled and said, "A parasite on the nation, a nation within a nation, is that right?"

Ning Xuan said, "Uncle Tang, if you keep stirring things up, I'll marry Bingbing and then tell the Qin family that I rejected them because of Bingbing."

Tang Chuan laughed heartily, looked at Ning Xuan and nodded, saying, "Nephew, you are truly remarkable for your insightful observations and your composure."

Hearing others praise Ning Xuan, Fairy Yao became even more certain that she hadn't misjudged him. She was pleased, though her face remained icy and tense, like a frozen peach blossom, a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes. "The Qin family daughter is not easy to deal with, my dear nephew. You'd better play this move carefully," Tang Chuan said, giving him a deep look. "I need to mobilize troops and seal off the border. We shouldn't refuse General Qin's support now, especially since it was approved by General An Yuan. Hehe."

With that, the old fox ran out of the hall.

Ning Xuan didn't want to think about anything.

All he wanted to do now was return to Chenxiang Pavilion and ask the madam if she had taken in any more pitiful beauties due to the recent influx of refugees.

Then, while listening to music, drinking and making merry, he listened to the beautiful woman tell stories. When he heard something particularly delightful, he tossed out a silver ingot and exclaimed, "That deserves a reward!"

After a night of passionate lovemaking, he would wake up and go to find the dog and the horse.
Forget it, dogs and horses are no longer interesting.

Ning Xuan sighed softly.

I'm so lonely.

After becoming stronger, all those old tricks are no longer effective.

He still fondly remembers the days when he could "lead a yellow dog on the left, hold a falcon on the right, and call out to his friends and companions."

When Yao Zhen Fairy saw him sigh, she thought he was upset about the current situation, so she comforted him, "General, you don't need to worry. No matter what, I will always stand with you."

Ning Xuan looked at her in astonishment, and it took him a moment to realize what she meant.

Fairy Yao Zhen said with a firm expression, "When I return, I will immediately begin to refine pills for the general. I will do my utmost to assist the general."

Ning Xuan sighed, "Yao Zhen truly understands me."

More than ten days later.
The work of defining and sealing off the borders is almost done.

Ning Xuan and Yao Zhen Fairy walked in the very last section.

It's summer already, but this place feels chilly and damp.

In the distance, snow was still falling.

The snow was deathly white.

The towering icebergs were also deathly white.

This is the northernmost border of Ping'an Prefecture, so the iceberg that wasn't there before can already be seen.

"I have already reported it. The Zixia Temple in the capital has given this iceberg a name in order to gather intelligence."

"what name?"

"The Frozen Hell".

"That's a good description; those frozen corpses do look like they died of freezing."

"That's right. Zixia Temple has now sent more people to investigate and resolve the issue. The higher-ups told us not to worry about it for the time being, saying that this matter is beyond our capabilities."

Ning Xuan nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right."

He liked the statement above.

This means that he no longer needs to worry about this iceberg.

However, Ning Xuan suddenly felt Yao Zhenxian Gu beside him clench her small fists tightly. Then she closed her eyes tightly and murmured, "I am not reconciled. I will definitely break through to the third rank as soon as possible."

Ning Xuan was secretly pleased, but he still kept a straight face and clenched his fist, saying, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river."

He believed that this statement could provide emotional value to the dead woman beside him, thereby prolonging the period of "no more talking back".

However, after the word "west" was uttered, he waited for several breaths but received no response.

He glanced at it.

Fairy Yao Zhen has disappeared.

With another sweep, the soldiers who had accompanied him to blockade the area also disappeared.

He tilted his head back
The dark moon hung high in the sky, casting its bright light upon the distant, chilling hellscape.

Snapped!
Ning Xuan slapped himself hard.

(End of this chapter)