Chapter 22 Encounter

Xu Jingming and Clan Leader Qi Chen both suddenly looked towards the high altitude. A stream of light descended from the high altitude, and it was a simply dressed old man.

"Killed Dongming's city inspector?" The simply dressed old man looked at Xu Jingming and smiled. "Mister Wu Ming intends to refine this earth demon?"

"Of course." Xu Jingming nodded.

He came to the Subduing Demons World to subdue demons and temper his heart!

"You have guts." The simply dressed old man nodded with a smile. "Those of us who have suffered from refining demons are becoming more and more cautious. Without sufficient preparation and determination, we don't dare to easily refine earth demons, but we have also lost our sharpness."

When they first entered the Subduing Demons World, they were all full of fighting spirit, killing and killing! Refining one demon after another. But as long as they failed once! Their hearts were injured, and the eighth-order cosmic lifeforms became much more cautious.

"The obsessions of human demons are fragile, but the obsessions of earth demons… are much stronger." The simply dressed old man reminded, "You must have sufficient preparation and be in the best state of mind before refining."

"This is Lord Liu Chang of the Demon Subduing Division of Cheng'an Prefecture," Clan Leader Qi Chen introduced. "The many demon subduers of the Demon Subduing Division are all under the command of Lord Liu Chang."

"Lord Liu." Xu Jingming bowed.

The demon subduers of Cheng'an Prefecture can mainly be divided into four categories.

First, official demon subduers; second, local family demon subduers; third, sect demon subduers; and fourth, freelance demon subduers. Xu Jingming belonged to the latter category.

This Lord Liu Chang, the chief of the Demon Subduing Division, commanded all the official demon subduers of Cheng'an Prefecture, so one could imagine his power. His personal strength was also no less than that of Clan Leader Qi Chen; he was also a fifth-realm expert.

"Lord Liu is right. The newborn human demon is nothing, but refining earth demons must be done with the utmost caution," Clan Leader Qi Chen also reminded. "After all, once your heart is injured, it will take several years to recover at best, and it may affect you for the rest of your life at worst."

"I understand," Xu Jingming nodded.

If the mind suffered a very serious breakdown, it could indeed be trapped for life.

However, with the guidance of the *Primordial Star Conjecture: Ray Chapter*, resolving mental weaknesses was relatively quick.

"The earth demons have deep friendships with each other," Lord Liu added. "This city inspector demon, Zhang Xiu, is indeed on good terms with the Green Lake Demon God, and he has some other earth demon friends. You have to be careful."

Clan Leader Qi Chen also frowned. "I've fought the Green Lake Demon God before, but I couldn't do anything to him."

"Oh?" Xu Jingming's heart tightened. He couldn't kill the city inspector demon Zhang Xiu, but Clan Leader Qi Chen could destroy him with a flip of his hand. And Clan Leader Qi Chen couldn't deal with the Green Lake Demon God?

"The Cave Manor Lord rarely shows himself," Lord Liu said. "The ones who are truly infamous in Cheng'an Prefecture are actually the five great demon gods. Each of the five great demon gods has slaughtered countless people and committed heinous crimes! We have also set up ambushes to kill them, but they still escaped."

Clan Leader Qi Chen nodded. "The five great demon gods are powerful, but the prefecture city is ultimately a place where we demon subduers gather! Even if the five great demon gods sneak in, they do so furtively. Once exposed, a large number of demon subduers will rush over to form a siege after a long time."

"So, if you encounter danger, just stall for time," Lord Liu also said.

Lord Liu was also willing to befriend Mister Wu Ming, who had reached the fourth-realm demon subduing strength.

At this time, everyone outside entered the residence.

"Lord."

"Lord."

Two official demon subduers bowed to Lord Liu.

Master Yu Feng, on the other hand, had tears in his eyes and bowed to Xu Jingming with extreme excitement. "Thank you, Mister Wu. That demon killed most of my Yu Feng family. My Yu Feng family has a blood feud with her. Our Yu Feng family doesn't have any valuable treasures, so we can only offer some silver. Please accept it, Mister Wu."

As he spoke, he took out a stack of silver notes from his pocket.

Wu Qi glanced at Xu Jingming and immediately stepped forward to accept the stack of silver notes.

"My Yu Feng family's dead can rest in peace now," Master Yu Feng said with tears streaming down his face. The other members of the family were also sad and crying. The demon had killed too many people in the family.

With the demon successfully subdued, everyone soon dispersed.

Master Yu Feng looked at the large residence and nodded slightly. "The residence is back." The reason why he was so active was not only to avenge the blood feud, but also for this large residence! This large residence was located in the heart of the prefecture city, and it occupied a large area, worth more than 100,000 taels!

As for it giving birth to a demon? As long as they lived there for a few years without any problems, they could still sell the residence. Because demons appeared in the entire prefecture city every now and then, and there were too many places in history where demons had appeared, it wouldn't affect the price of the land.

Xu Jingming and Clan Leader Qi Chen walked side by side.

"Brother Qi Chen, I have something I need your help with," Xu Jingming said.

"Based on your Senior Brother and my younger sister's relationship, why are you being so polite?" Clan Leader Qi Chen said with a smile. "I said long ago, feel free to speak up if you need anything."

Xu Jingming smiled slightly and handed two 10,000-tael silver notes to Clan Leader Qi Chen. "I want to buy half a kilogram of Mysterious Light Cold Iron and a sturdy spear! The spear should be three meters long, and the shaft should be of normal thickness."

"20,000 taels; you're giving too much," Clan Leader Qi Chen said.

"Just prepare it," Xu Jingming said.

"Are there any requirements for the weight of the spear?" Clan Leader Qi Chen asked. "There are many materials with extremely heavy weights, and you might not be able to wield them."

"The weight should be around 5,000 kilograms," Xu Jingming said.

Clan Leader Qi Chen's eyes lit up. "I'm impressed. I didn't expect you to have such achievements in the aspect of Demon Subduing God Body."

Xu Jingming smiled.

He couldn't wield a 5,000 kg spear for the time being in the Subduing Demons World.

However, the magic art, *Aura of Starlight*, was about to transform into a divine power. Once he broke through, he would cultivate the divine power, *Star Cosmic Body*. This cosmic body's physical body was like a star, possessing infinite strength and being very suitable for close combat.

Xu Jingming naturally had to prepare a good spear in advance!

There were many rare materials in the Subduing Demons World! It was relatively easy for a spear to reach a weight of 5,000 kilograms. It would be more difficult to find a spear that weighed 15,000 to 25,000 kilograms; it couldn't be bought with that amount of silver.

"Don't worry. I have a suitable spear at my place. I'll send it to you tomorrow," Clan Leader Qi Chen said readily. He and his younger sister's lineage had been born into the Qi family for generations, so the Qi family naturally had a deep foundation.

If they angered the Qi family, some powerful demon subduers like Qi Xiao—who had already left the Subduing Demons World—might descend again.

This was also why Cave Manor dared not openly kill their way into the prefecture city. They simply couldn't figure out… how many powerful demon subduers there were in the prefecture city!

"Thanks," Xu Jingming nodded. Buying materials and weapons wasn't difficult, so he took the initiative to ask Clan Leader Qi Chen for help, which was also to promote their relationship. If it was a big trouble, he wouldn't easily speak up.

Night fell.

In the room, Xu Jingming sat cross-legged on the bed and took out a jade bottle from his pocket.

"I'll refine the smaller demon first," Xu Jingming pried open the bottle stopper, and with his demon-subduing magic power, he swallowed the weaker wisp of demonic aura. The other wisp of earth demon's natal demonic aura was still sealed in the jade bottle.

"Let's begin."

Xu Jingming could already feel wisps of memories pouring into his consciousness. He personally witnessed everything about the newborn demon.

"I'm the mistress! I'm the mistress of the Yu Clan!" A sharp voice roared in Xu Jingming's mind, and scenes appeared.

Half an hour later, Xu Jingming opened his eyes. "People must control their desires."

"Appropriate desires can fill people with fighting spirit and make them strive for it. But desires that exceed one's ability will only destroy oneself," Xu Jingming muttered. "If her desires were smaller, her life might have been much happier."

Although the newborn demon's obsession was very stubborn, it was only at the human demon level at the beginning, which represented the degree of threat to a certain extent.

Xu Jingming still easily understood the reason for this woman's tragedy. Even after personally observing everything she experienced, he was not affected by it. When the demon's obsession could not shake Xu Jingming's heart, Xu Jingming was invincible.

In just half an hour, Xu Jingming had shaken and collapsed the demon's obsession. Although she shouted that she didn't believe it, that he was a liar, they were all liars… Her heart was moved, and her obsession naturally began to collapse.

"Controlling desires; these four words are easy to say, but too many people fall on this," Xu Jingming shook his head. People must understand their own capabilities.

Just like the situation facing Blue Star civilization now, Xu Jingming thought. His best method was to endure it, even if Blue Star civilization suffered a little at the beginning, he had to endure it. As long as he became a lifeform of the origin, Blue Star civilization would naturally rise.

This was the simplest and most stable method.

But many people knew the simplest and most stable method, but they were unwilling to wait! They would rather take risks, ultimately ending in utter defeat.

"Although my talent is high enough to be recruited by the Primordial Research Institute, I need to be more vigilant. I am only a seventh-order cosmic lifeform, still a little short of eighth-order. My strength is still very limited," Xu Jingming also advised himself.

The heart is like a clear mirror stand; it should be wiped diligently!

Even if you understand a principle, you need to remind yourself again and again, because people will forget, and it will slowly blur with time, forgetting everything.

Therefore, some people were once wise and powerful, but after too long of success, the clear mirror stand in their hearts had not been wiped for too long and had long been covered in dust. On the contrary, they would make some outrageous mistakes, losing their reputation for life.

Tempering the heart through demons was to imprint some cognitions more deeply in the heart. It also made the heart more firm and powerful!

"I need to rest and prepare before I can refine the earth demon." Xu Jingming looked at the jade bottle in his hand. "This is the first earth demon I've encountered in the Subduing Demons World, so I must be cautious."

Failing once and injuring his heart would delay him. And what he couldn't afford to waste the most was time!

"I'll relax first." With a thought, Xu Jingming's consciousness left the Subduing Demons World and returned to reality to accompany his wife and daughter. This was also the best way for him to relax.

In the prefecture city, a portly man got off the carriage with a drunken stagger.

"Master, be careful," a maidservant helped him, and guards followed, escorting him into the residence.

In the residence, an old butler hurried over and whispered, "Master, the second young master is in a bit of trouble."

"What did that good-for-nothing do again?" The portly man waved his hand angrily. "You can leave first."

The others retreated.

The portly man and the old butler entered the study together.

"What's the matter up on the mountain?" The portly man's eyes were clearly much clearer.

"I just received the news today," the old butler whispered. "Lord Zhang Xiu, the city inspector on the mountain, is dead."

"What?" The portly man was shocked. "Lord Zhang Xiu is dead?"

The city inspector was his direct superior.

"A demon appeared in the Yu family, and many demon subduers were able to subdue it. Later, a demon subduer named Mister Wu Ming came and killed the demon! Lord Zhang Xiu took action in secret, but who would have thought that Lord Zhang Xiu would also be suppressed by him and eventually killed."

The portly man said, "Lord Zhang Xiu's death may also be related to the Qi Clan Leader."

"The Qi Clan Leader?" The portly man's heart tightened.

Serving Cave Manor had its benefits, but he also had to be vigilant. The Qi Clan Leader was definitely a big shot he dared not provoke.

"Lord Zhang Xiu was suppressed by the demon subduer Wu Ming for a long time! Lord Zhang Xiu only died after the Qi Clan Leader arrived," the old butler said. "I don't know the details."

"Mm."

The portly man nodded. "The city inspector's death is a big deal. I have to report it to Cave Manor immediately."

Soon, a flying bird spread its wings in the night and flew out of the city towards the east.

Only half a li away from Xu Jingming's residence, in a residential house.

"I'll be living in seclusion here for a while," Qi Chen said, holding a fan and sitting leisurely in the courtyard, drinking wine. "If a demon god really comes and Brother Wu Ming can't resist it, I'll take action to save him at the critical moment, and he'll naturally remember this favor."

Clan Leader Qi Chen smiled and poured himself a cup of wine, enjoying himself.

With his strength, he could reach the area within half a li in a single breath as long as the demon's aura was exposed.

"Sister, oh Sister, I'm trying my best to befriend Brother Wu Ming as you said," Qi Chen thought.

Upon reaching the eighth-order cosmic life stage, the hope of breaking through to a lifeform of the origin was slim. Naturally, he had to find a way to pave the way for his future!

The Demon Cloud family was powerful, but that was the result of a long period of management by countless clansmen. His power in the Qi family was limited, even inferior to his sister's. From his sister's words, Qi Chen realized… this Brother Wu Ming might be a big shot!

"I'm really looking forward to Brother Wu Ming's true identity, but I can't force him to tell me if he doesn't want to. Everything… requires patience," Clan Leader Qi Chen thought, waving his fan.