Chapter 1 Craving for the City

Within Cheng'an Prefecture, people in various counties and numerous towns and villages yearned to live in the prefecture city! Because in a prefecture, most of the Demon Slayers were located there, making the prefecture city the safest and most stable place.

A courtyard in the prefecture city was also quite expensive. "Mr. Wu, are you satisfied with this house?" Master Yu said enthusiastically.

Xu Jingming looked at the courtyard in front of him. The most outstanding feature of this courtyard was a rather large back garden. The back garden covered an area of more than ten mu, and small lakes divided the back garden, making it quite exquisite.

"Such a courtyard must cost at least five thousand taels in the prefecture city," Xu Jingming looked at Master Yu. This courtyard was located in a relatively remote area, but after all, it covered a large area, so it must be worth more than five thousand taels of silver.

"The Yu family is generous," Wu Qi also said.

"It is also to thank Mr. Wu for saving my life. If it weren't for Mr. Wu, many people in my Yu family would have had to wear mourning clothes this time."

Master Yu said, "By the way, Mr. Wu, the prefecture city has rules that once a new Demon Slayer is discovered, it needs to be reported to the government. My Yu family doesn't dare to deceive, so we must report Mr. Wu's matter to the government as soon as possible."

"Okay, I know," Xu Jingming nodded. He had already collected detailed information before coming.

Master Yu breathed a sigh of relief, "Then I won't disturb you, sir. I'll take my leave first."

"Master Yu, take care," Xu Jingming nodded and watched Master Yu leave.

"Young master."

Wu Qi looked at the big house with some excitement, "Such a big house, we have to hire a few maids and servants to take care of it. I will go to the market tomorrow and hire a few people.

"Uncle Qi, you can handle it," Xu Jingming nodded, "Let's go, let's go out for dinner."

Cheng'an Prefecture City, Demon Slayer Department.

Demon Slayers were discussing cases.

"Captain, this demon in Liu'an Lane in the east city, although it is a demon of the Gu Xin Sheng (Newly Solidified) stage, judging from the information in the files, it is very strong. I am a little unsure. Captain, do you think I am suitable to take over?" A Demon Slayer holding a file asked the captain next to him.

The captain was a tall man with narrow eyes. He glanced at the file and said, "You are only at the second realm, and your spells are also mediocre, so don't go and throw your life away."

"Yes, I will listen to the captain," the Demon Slayer said immediately.

"Everyone come over."

An old man appeared in the yard.

The surrounding Demon Slayers saluted slightly, "Sir." "A new Demon Slayer has come to the prefecture city," the old man said, "Although there are quite a few idle Demon Slayers in the city, you all have to pay attention to this person."

"Sir, is this person very powerful?" someone asked.

"He is likely to be a fourth realm Demon Slayer, and he should have a lot of background in reality," the old man handed a page of paper in his hand to the tall captain next to him. The captain took it and looked at it carefully.

"Suspected fourth realm?"

"In reality, he has a big background?"

The surrounding Demon Slayers perked up and went to look at the page of paper.

With the speed of their brains, they had completely memorized the contents of the page with a sweep of their eyes.

The paper simply recorded the information—

Wu Ming: Suspected fourth realm Demon Slayer. The identity he descended into the Demon Slayer world with is 'Chen Qi' of the Chen family in Bai County, Cheng'an Prefecture. After being expelled from the family by the Chen family, he changed his name to 'Wu Ming' and has now arrived in the prefecture city.

On the way to the prefecture city, he encountered a demon. The demon easily withstood more than ten 'Demon Slaying Arrows' and was not afraid of True Fire Talismans. Demon Slayer 'Wu Ming' took action, wearing a starlight robe, using a net to bind the demon, and killed the demon with three consecutive lightning strikes.

"Chen Qi of the Chen family in Bai County?"

"Bai County, we also have three official Demon Slayers stationed there! I haven't heard of Chen Qi."

"That means he wasn't a Demon Slayer before! He should have just descended."

"That demon could easily withstand more than ten Demon Slaying Arrows, which can be considered the top level among human demons! But in this person's hands, he had no power to fight back. This person... is indeed likely to be a fourth realm Demon Slayer.

"Three consecutive lightning strikes, obviously he cast spells instantly."

These Demon Slayers deduced a lot from the simple intelligence.

"He didn't join a sect, didn't join the officialdom, and stayed in Bai County all the time, and became a Demon Slayer just like that," the old man said, "It shows that his Demon Slayer secret technique was obtained from reality!"

"A newly descended Demon Slayer dares to act alone. He is really confident," the captain also praised.

The Demon Slayers present all remembered the name 'Wu Ming'.

*******

Although a wisp of the demon's original demonic qi was sealed in the jade bottle, Xu Jingming was not in a hurry to refine the demon. This kind of thing cannot be rushed! After all, refining demons is a confrontation between the mind and obsession. He rested peacefully for one night. The next morning, Uncle Qi went to the market to hire people, while Xu Jingming went to the Qi family.

"The most powerful family in the entire prefecture city," Xu Jingming came to the front of the Qi mansion alone.

The Qi family's style was indeed extraordinary. The mansion covered an astonishing area, and there were guards on duty outside the door.

The guards on duty, looking at Xu Jingming in a green robe, felt that the visitor was extraordinary, and their attitudes were much more polite.

"Please inform me," Xu Jingming walked to the door and said, "Just say that Wu Ming has come to visit Senior Qi Xiao."

"Senior Qi Xiao?" The guards were a little puzzled. They had not heard of the name 'Qi Xiao', but the Qi family had a large population, and they only knew the names of some people.

"Please wait a moment, guest."

One of the guards said and went into the mansion to report. After a while.

An old butler ran out, looked at Xu Jingming, and said, "Is it this gentleman who wants to visit Senior Qi Xiao?"

"Yes," Xu Jingming nodded.

The old butler nodded slightly, "Please follow me, sir."

Xu Jingming followed him into the mansion. There were also some young people from the Qi family in the mansion, and they all looked at this scene curiously.

"Butler Ding serves the patriarch. He actually came out to greet someone in person?"

"What is this person's background?" The young people of the Qi family were very curious.

The patriarch's status in the Qi family was very detached, and even the prefect of Cheng'an Prefecture respected the Qi family patriarch.

Soon, Xu Jingming came to a pavilion. An old man with white hair was sitting there, looking at Xu Jingming with a smile, and waved his hand slightly, and Butler Ding bowed and retreated.

When the white-haired old man looked at Xu Jingming with a smile, a formless mental power pressed down!

Xu Jingming stood in place, using the mental power techniques recorded in the *Light Codex* to stabilize his defense and resist all impacts. Although his mental strength was not as strong as the other party's, it was more than enough to defend.

"Wu Ming greets senior," Xu Jingming saluted. "My name is Qi Chen, don't call me senior or anything." The old man smiled, "In reality, it's hard to say who is older, I am only a little over 1000 years old. It is considered young among eighth-order cosmic lifeforms."

"You are also older than me in reality," Xu Jingming said. "Then call me Brother Qi Chen," the old man said with a smile, "Looking at you, you shouldn't have been in the Demon Slayer world for long."

"Yes, I just descended recently," Xu Jingming nodded.

"Then how do you know the name Qi Xiao?" the old man asked curiously, "She has been away from the Demon Slayer world for almost twenty years."

Xu Jingming was stunned.

Almost twenty years?

In other words, Qi Xiao left the Demon Slayer world soon after returning to Cheng'an Prefecture.

"I was also entrusted by someone," Xu Jingming said, "My senior brother Chi Tong asked me to help, and asked me to come to see Qi Xiao."

"I will send a message to her through the virtual world network now, whether she comes to see you or not depends on her decision," the old man said.

Xu Jingming nodded, "Thank you, Qi Chen." "It's a small matter."

The old man smiled, "Brother Wu Ming, are you planning to settle down in the prefecture city after you come to the prefecture city?"

"I have this plan," Xu Jingming said.

"Then you can consider joining my Qi family," the old man said with a smile, trying to win him over, "The Demon Slayers of our Qi family are actually some friends we know in reality. In order to take care of each other, we were all born in the Qi family."

Xu Jingming nodded in understanding.

It was normal for some primitive civilizations that their eighth-order and seventh-order members would be born into the same family in the Demon Slayer world! Unite together to deal with the dangers of the Demon Slayer world.

"My Qi family is still very powerful in Cheng'an Prefecture," the old man winked and said, "If you join the Qi family, everyone can cooperate with each other, and it will be much safer when dealing with demons."

"I will consider it," Xu Jingming said.

In reality, on an extremely prosperous life planet, in a towering building that was more than ten thousand meters high.

Top floor of the building.

A black-clothed woman was sitting at her desk. She had ice-blue eyes, silver hair draped over her shoulders, and her eyes were cold and without fluctuations, looking at the information on the light screen in front of her.

In the front of the half-air was a dense array of virtual images, a full three hundred and twenty-six virtual images.

"What's going on with the Anfang Star System?" The black-clothed woman looked at the data and frowned, "The performance has dropped by 37% in just one cycle! Immediately send the law enforcement team to arrest Monto, the director of the Anfang Star System, and interrogate him thoroughly!"

"Yes, Seventh Executive," a virtual image stood up and respectfully responded.

The black-clothed woman coldly reviewed other pieces of information, and the participants in the meeting were nervously waiting for the command of this female monarch.

"Hmm? A message from my brother? Isn't he in the Demon Slayer world?" The black-clothed woman was a little puzzled, and clicked on the message to take a look, and her expression froze.

She looked at the message, silently.

"Chi Tong?"

The black-clothed woman's heart trembled slightly.

She thought she could forget this name.

She left the Demon Slayer world in order to cut off emotional influences, and it has been nearly twenty years since then, but she still occasionally thinks of it. Every time she thinks of it... intense emotions surge in her heart.

"I thought you wouldn't care, thought you would only treat it as a dream in the virtual world, I didn't expect you to come looking for me first," the black-clothed woman said silently.

She was silent for a long time.

The three hundred and twenty-six virtual images waited silently, and no one dared to say a word.

"Meeting dismissed." After the black-clothed woman finished speaking, she lightly tapped her finger, and all the virtual images of the meeting participants disappeared.

In the Demon Slayer world.

Cheng'an Prefecture, Qi Family, Xu Jingming and the Qi Family Patriarch were chatting idly.

"After becoming an eighth-order, it is getting harder and harder to improve one's mental power," Patriarch Qi Chen sighed, "It is said that the mental demon refining effect of the Demon Slayer world is very good, but this is already my third time descending into the Demon Slayer world! The effect is getting weaker and weaker, look at me... I have cultivated to the fifth realm, but I can't improve at all!"

"It is not easy to improve mental power," Xu Jingming agreed.

His combat ability improved so quickly, but in terms of mental power, it was much slower in comparison.

"I have thought of too many ways."

Patriarch Qi Chen looked up at the sky, "In the virtual world network, I have tried eight virtual worlds with better effects. I have also been fortunate enough to have a Source Lifeform personally guide me! In reality, I also went to find a job in disguise, and I did three completely different jobs..."

"But the improvement is still slow," Patriarch Qi Chen said. "You are still young, only a little over a thousand years old," Xu Jingming comforted.

"Yes, I am still young."

Patriarch Qi Chen nodded, "Mental power should not be rushed either. In fact, there are some peerless geniuses in the Human Alliance of the Universe. I heard that many of them became Source Lifeforms in less than a thousand years. I don't know how they cultivated."

When Xu Jingming heard this, he muttered to himself.

He knew those geniuses very well! In addition to being extremely talented and having the best inheritance, they can also take 'Ice Flower Spirit Liquid' for a long time. Without Ice Flower Spirit Liquid, those peerless geniuses would also need a long time to become Source Lifeforms.

"Hmm?" Xu Jingming and Patriarch Qi Chen both noticed and turned their heads to look.

A tall, black-clothed woman walked over in the distance. There were some wrinkles on her face. After all, she was fifty-one years old in the Demon Slayer world. However, judging from her current appearance and temperament, Xu Jingming could be sure that this woman must have been a peerless beauty when she was young.

"I am Qi Xiao," the black-clothed woman said directly, looking at Xu Jingming, "Did Chi Tong ask you to come?"

"Yes," Xu Jingming nodded, "My senior brother Chi Tong asked me to come and give you his contact information for the virtual world network."

When Qi Xiao heard this, a rare smile appeared on her cold face.