Chapter 85: The Warlock of the Divine Surveillance Bureau

Bang!
The cell door was kicked clean off its hinges.

Baili Feihong stepped out of the prison, the stench of rot suffocating him. But what was even more detestable were the words of the gaoler.

"A seed of ghost thralls, embedded deep in the soul—so that's it. No wonder I sense no trace of demonic energy."

"I've heard that the Flower Sect practices two infamous dark arts. One is the Grand Illusion, able to beguile all beings, craft perfect bliss, and commune with the Netherworld. The other is the Immortal Heresy, which seizes a person's three souls, robs their six spirits, absorbs a hundred lives, and renders one undead and indestructible."

Baili Feihong strode from the cell, his martial will enveloping the prison, sealing it off entirely. If a cultivator at the Spirit-Refining stage were present, they would see: the five elements formed a dome, locking down this place.

"How... how can this be... These meteoric iron shackles— even Spirit-Refining experts can barely break free!" Gaoler Qin trembled, his words stammering with fear. He was the only one left to guard the prison; the rest had gone to attend the Hundred Flowers Festival.

"Spirit-Refining cultivators can't break these shackles? It seems you misunderstand the meaning of 'body refinement'," Baili Feihong smiled. "A man may be as decayed wood, but with a hundred tempers becomes iron, a thousand tempers becomes steel, ten thousand tempers becomes gold. Gold is imperishable. This is the ancient martial way of body refinement."

"Realms are but rough descriptions, standards for reference. Cultivation is the gathering of great power into oneself, to forge the invincible path. Those who fixate on realms understand only a fragment of cultivation’s true nature. At its core lies force and magnitude."

"When your strength is such that you can, with a wave of your hand, fell stars and extinguish the sun, your flesh traversing the cosmos, immune to all harm—then realms are meaningless."

"Not that explaining this to you matters. You wouldn't understand." With a sweep of his sleeve—smack—Gaoler Qin was reduced to a mist of blood, brutally slain.

Baili Feihong gazed at the nine prisoners locked away, all tormented to wretched states.

"Honored Demon Suppressor, will you release us?"

"I am an officer of the Southern County Garrison. Please, sir, let us out!"

"Thank you, sir, for killing that gaoler. Ha! After ten years of imprisonment, today my heart is unburdened!"

The nine prisoners, all held in the Hundred Flowers Town jail, burst out laughing.

Baili Feihong stood quietly, regarding them with pity. When their laughter faded, they too sensed something was amiss.

The Demon Suppressor before them was watching in utter silence.

"Is something wrong, sir?" one ventured.

Baili Feihong shook his head and turned to leave.

"Sir Demon Suppressor, let us out!"

"Come back! Release us!"

"Sir, we beg you, please let us out!" Their shouts echoed behind him.

"Ignorance is its own kind of happiness," Baili Feihong sighed.

These nine had long since passed the point of salvation. They had seen the true nature of the Black Tiger Lord, but failed to see their own.

"All nine are notable figures of the Southern County. I saw them during my circuit of the region—just a fleeting glimpse from afar. But I did not mistake their identities."

"What a secret art, what a method."

These nine were no different from Gaoler Qin—they were all made into thralls by the Black Tiger Lord.

"Besides the Black Tiger Lord, the Flower Sect’s Soul Transference technique was used to shift portions of their souls into the bodies of their pawns, seizing their places and gaining control over Southern County."

After exposing the Black Tiger Lord’s plot, Baili Feihong finally understood the oddities about these men.

"The Demon Compass isn't foolproof. It seems these mysterious sects have devised ways of countering the judicial instruments of the Divine Inspectorate."

Yet for Baili Feihong, the Demon Compass remained useful. He infused his divine sense into his eyes, activating a special talent from the Six Paths of Demon Suppression—manifesting the Demon Suppressing Divine Eye to survey Hundred Flowers Town.

Fragrant wisps masked every trace of evil. All he saw was a riot of colors—the essence of the world itself. Even the primordial energy of heaven and earth was shrouded in floral scent.

"The Grand Illusion?"

Over a thousand people were present, many having embarked on the martial path. Like fervent devotees, they worshipped the Flower Fairy with fanatic zeal. Baili Feihong was certain: with a single word from the Flower Fairy, the whole town would be swept into war.

"Hm?" he murmured. "That thief—he's unaffected."

Baili Feihong looked towards a stunningly beautiful scholar in the distance, holding a landscape fan, with a demon-slaying sword at his waist. An uncanny forcefield enveloped the scholar, repelling the floral incense.

Unlike Baili Feihong, whose Six Paths of Demon Suppression inherently countered all evil arts and illusions, the scholar possessed immense resistance.

With a leap as light as the breeze, Baili Feihong appeared before the beautiful scholar. The youth exuded a clean fragrance, his flesh aglow with a sacred radiance, immaculate and untainted, his bearing ethereal.

"Miss, I believe it's time you returned my demon-slaying blade?" Baili Feihong smiled suddenly.

The white-robed scholar started, leaping away to put distance between them. "The Demon Suppressor?!"

The scholar in white asked in a low voice, then recovered composure. "No, you are a Guardian, not a Demon Suppressor. May I ask where you serve?"

"Bold indeed—cross-dressing, drugging me, stealing my demon-slaying sword. Your methods are impressive." Baili Feihong’s eyes shone silver as he stared at the other’s face.

"What a marvelous disguise. Not even the Demon Suppressing Divine Eye penetrates it. Were it not for your qi betraying your sex, I might have believed you a man. But the qi of men and women is fundamentally different."

Baili Feihong took his time scrutinizing the scholar.

A hint of embarrassment crossed the scholar’s exquisite features, eyes flickering with anger.

"So I misjudged—you’re a Seed of Demon Suppression, training in the Six Paths method?"

"Seed of Demon Suppression?" Baili Feihong repeated in confusion.

"You don’t know? Who gave you the Demon Suppression Jade Scroll? Ah, Gongyang Yan must have received it from the Grand Inspectorate."

The white-robed scholar was quick-witted, catching on instantly.

"You’ve piqued my interest. But for now, keep your distance, Inspectorate magician."

Baili Feihong reached out across the air, unleashing the Dragon Claw Hand.

The scholar’s face changed, retreating to protect her chest. When she steadied herself, her demon-slaying sword was already back in Baili Feihong’s grip.

"How did you see through me?" she demanded, her shame giving way to curiosity.

"By probing, of course." Baili Feihong replied with a hint of smugness.

Truly, she was an Inspectorate magician. No wonder she was shrouded in mysterious power—a power distinct from the martial way, and the first of its kind Baili Feihong had encountered.

"You..."

The white-robed scholar pointed at him, nearly losing her composure.

"The Flower Fairy has noticed us. A sect master at the Primordial Embryo stage—she’s a tough opponent. But first, we clear the field and deal with these minions. Afterward, I’ll give this high disciple of the Flower Sect the battle she deserves," Baili Feihong said gravely.

Looking into the distance, he met a pair of enchanting eyes brimming with irresistible allure.

The Flower Fairy raised her hand, pointing directly at him. "Hound of the Court—kill him!"

Over fifteen hundred eyes turned on Baili Feihong, glaring with murderous hatred.

"Go! That woman from the sect is beyond us," cried the white-robed scholar, her voice urgent. Without waiting for Baili Feihong, she drifted to the edge of town like a falling leaf.

Baili Feihong, however, stood his ground.