Catch demons?
Su Ming looked at Yu Mengmeng, who was shrinking back.
'You, a demon, are here to ask the experts of Jing Yang Temple to catch a demon?
'Aren't you afraid that they'll capture you and bring you to the Demon Subduing Pavilion?'
"Mr. Zhang, he doesn't know that you're a cultivator. If he has offended you, I'll bring him back and teach him a lesson.
"Don't worry, Sir. We will naturally catch the demons—" Su Ming quickly said.
However, before he could finish, Zhang Li had already waved his hand and said, "I think he's right."
"Cultivation is like sightseeing. Bitter cultivation is not the best approach.
"I'll go with you and catch the demons."
Su Ming was stunned, and confusion appeared in his eyes.
Yu Mengmeng was also a little confused.
Zhang Li swore to the heavens that he was telling the truth.
The epiphany earlier had made him understand that if he relied purely on the accumulation of resources, he could increase his cultivation, but he would definitely encounter a bottleneck in the future.
When that happened, he would be stuck in a certain realm, and he would not be able to advance any further.
He could only increase his cultivation without any roadblocks by constantly learning about the mortal world as well as the truths of heaven and earth.
Zhang Li took the Demon Mirror from his waist and handed it to Yu Mengmeng.
"What you said earlier made me understand a lot of things. If you're trying to catch demons, I'll give you this mirror.
"This is the Demon Mirror. If you pour your True Essence or spirit energy into it, you will be able to sense if there are any demons around you.
"If it's a demon that is difficult to defeat, the light will turn red. Run when that happens!
"If it's green, it's probably a small demon."
Zhang Li held the mirror, and a faint stream of True Essence entered his palm.
"That's it."
A faint green light appeared on the mirror.
Yu Mengmeng's body trembled, and her face turned pale.
Su Ming shuddered and looked at Zhang Li nervously.
"Ahem, this mirror isn't always accurate." Zhang Li coughed lightly and cut his True Essence off. He smiled and handed the mirror to the frozen Yu Mengmeng.
"I will meet you at the Luo River tomorrow morning."
...
Yu Mengmeng followed Su Ming, who had a dark expression on his face, and walked about one mile away from Jing Yang Temple before she sent her demonic power into the Demon Mirror out of curiosity.
A green light with a hint of yellow appeared in the Demon Mirror.
"Can this mirror really identify demonic energy?" Yu Mengmeng whispered.
Su Ming stretched his hand out to take the mirror and poured his True Essence into it. A faint green color filled the surface of the mirror.
He took a few steps to the side, and the green on the mirror faded a little. The difference was not huge.
After a hundred steps, the halo on the mirror dissipated.
Walking back to his original place, he handed the mirror back to Yu Mengmeng annoyance and said, "It can detect demonic energy that's within 100 steps."
Was it really such a treasure?
Yu Mengmeng held the mirror and happily said, "In that case, won't we be able to find Qing Yue with this?"
She held the Demon Mirror tightly and looked at the faint reflection of her face. She smiled and said, "Master, why didn't Mr. Zhang think of me as a demon?
"He also said that it's impossible for demons to sneak into Jing Yang Temple."
Su Ming glanced at her, then turned his gaze toward the golden and green Jing Yang Temple. There was some seriousness in his eyes.
"You're saying that he didn't think of it?"
Yu Mengmeng was stunned, and she shrank back.
No way!
"From now on, you're not allowed to visit Jing Yang Temple again. Have you forgotten about the fight with the disciples of Jing Yang Temple?" Su Ming let out a cold harrumph and turned around to leave.
"I didn't show my real face at that time. I was just testing their sword skills. I didn't know it would turn out so bad…" Yu Mengmeng jogged after Su Ming.
...
The emperor of Zhao stood in front of a long table in the Royal Worship Hall. His figure was slightly hunched.
The emperor was over 70 years old, and his name was Yu Jing. He was known as Emperor Yu Jing, and he had been in power for more than 40 years.
His martial arts cultivation was not profound. Although he had heavenly and earthly treasures to enjoy, he had only cultivated to the Spirit Sensing Realm.
At this moment, he was facing a silver-haired old man in white robes.
Zhao Yubing was the pillar of the imperial family, the head elder of the Royal Worship Hall, and a great martial arts grandmaster.
"Summon Zhao Cheng back. Why didn't you tell me about this?" Zhao Yubing looked at the emperor before him. "Zhao Cheng previously mentioned that he had no interest in the throne. He wanted to take over the position of great elder.
"Our ancestors taught us that the great elder and the emperor could not be the same person."
Although Zhao Yu's face was calm, his tone was cold. It was obvious that he was dissatisfied.
"Imperial Uncle, I know that Cheng has made an agreement with you. When he becomes a martial arts grandmaster, he will inherit the position of great elder," the emperor said softly. He looked at the great elder with a helpless expression.
"However, with the Gathering of Immortals and the demonic chaos in Luojing… Zhao needs an emperor who can suppress the situation.
"I don't expect the person who takes over the throne to be as brave as the Martial King, but at the very least, he must be able to protect Zhao"
"According to the ancient records, many dynasties were destroyed by the immortal cultivators after the Gathering of the Immortals."
The emperor's voice was not loud, but he sounded helpless.
Zhao Yubing frowned.
"The demons of Luojing are not a big deal," he said coldly.
The emperor nodded and looked at Zhao Yubing. "You're right, Imperial Uncle. The demons in the Luo River might not cause as much chaos as they did 100 years ago, but..."
Lowering his voice, the emperor said, "Yongzhou has already been invaded by cultivators."
Yongzhou?
Zhao Yubing looked at the Emperor.
Yongzhou was flooded half a year ago, and the court sent three officials to provide disaster relief. They also mobilized 300,000 taels of silver from the emperor's palace treasury.
It was a horrible disaster.
"I'm not afraid of natural disasters. What I'm afraid of are man-made disasters…" The emperor sighed and took out a folded scroll.
Zhao Yubing took the scroll, and the words on it made him angry.
The three officials found that the reason for the flood in Yongzhou but they cut corners when they fortified the river.
During the disaster relief, the local government did not cooperate. Many rich families hoarded their wealth and did not care about the lives of others.
There were even local gangs who wanted to snatch the food that was meant for disaster relief.
According to Patrol Officer Xu Mingji's report, besides in Yongzhou, rebels in the 12 prefectures in the southeast had overthrown the imperial court.
[In the southeast of Zhao, the rulers do no bear the surname "Zhao." Chen and Liu Cao wear official hats.]
"The government does not venture into the southeastern prefectures. There is one manor, two sects, and three gangs.]
Looking at the "nursery rhymes" written on the paper, Zhao Yubing narrowed his eyes and slowly tightened his grip on the paper.
"Aside from aristocratic families in the martial arts world we now have immortal cultivators who have been banished to the mortal world," the emperor said softly.
The immortal cultivators in Yongzhou could not stand the suffering of the people. Armed with swords, they tried to get through to the government and cut off the surplus grain of the rich. They ended up killing people in the streets.
The commoners were all shouting, "Immortals, save us!" Now, they were just short of waving their arms.
"How dare they?!" Zhao Yubing snorted.
As a martial arts grandmaster, if anyone dared to cause trouble, he would kill them.
"Imperial Uncle, the immortal cultivators of may not care about power, but when the situation arises, we will probably be unable to do anything about it…"
The emperor was experienced, so he knew that once a situation like that started, no one could stop it.
How many people in the world could really turn the tide?
"You transferred Zhao Cheng back because of Yongzhou?" Zhao Yubing suddenly realized something.
The emperor nodded before he shook his head again.
It was for Yongzhou, but not all of Yongzhou.
Once the Martial King returned to the world, no one could stop him.
"What do you want me to do?" Zhao Yubing asked as he looked at the emperor.
The emperor had not come to see him just to discuss Martial King Zhao Cheng's return.
"Imperial Uncle, the only one who can destroy the demons in Luojing is the great Zhao imperial family," the emperor said softly.
Zhao Yubing nodded.
Seeing the emperor walk out of the Royal Worship Hall, Zhao Yu's expression was complicated.
He opened his hand, and faint black scales appeared on the back.
"It's almost done…
"Yu Ji, have you found it?
"Jing Yang Temple, Demon Subduing Pavilion, hehe…"
...
In his quiet room, Zhang Li activated the array disc and took out a middle-grade spirit stone.
Faint True Essence entered the spirit stone and drew out the spirit energy within.
This middle-grade spirit stone could last him half a month of cultivation, but today, he had absorbed it all in just two hours.
After absorbing one spirit stone, he took out another one. Unknowingly, he had used up all five middle-grade spirit stones, and his meridians finally felt a little full.
Today's enlightenment was equivalent to half a year of meditation.
After half a year of cultivation at Level 5 of the Spirit Refinement Realm, he was able to stabilize and improve.
What a rare opportunity.
That little demon actually created an opportunity for him.
As expected, there was a path for mortal cultivation.
Sometimes, comprehending the path was a shortcut.
It was not without reason that the cultivation world had always emphasized opportunities and karma.
Since there was a grand Demon Extermination Order in Luojing, it seemed like he would miss out if he did not participate.
It would be as if he had never seen a show in person, and he would have nothing to talk about.
Cultivation was like sightseeing, so he was going to watch.