In the deep hall, only Qin An and Guo Jinfa stood facing each other.

The night breeze gently blew, bringing the moist chill into the hall.

After Guo Jinfa spoke, the silence in the hall became even deeper.

Qin An squinted his eyes and lightly stroked the black knife at his waist: "It was forged by Ge Feng."

Upon hearing this, Guo Jinfa shook his head with a bitter smile: "You brat, even now you refuse to admit it. I've already erased the traces for you; you should be thanking me."

Qin An slightly raised his sharp eyebrows but remained silent.

Seeing this, Guo Jinfa, regardless of whether Qin An admitted it or not, continued, "I can cover for you for a while, but it's hard to conceal forever. This matter might bring disaster."

Qin An asked in a deep voice, "Why?"

Guo Jinfa sighed heavily: "Do you know why the main province insists on refining the Yang Elixir?"

Qin An pondered briefly and said, "To break away from the shackles above."

He had mentioned this several times during his study of the Alchemy Dao with Ge Feng.

Lingzhou lacked the method to refine the Yang Elixir, relying each year only on the limited quotas distributed from above.

Ge Feng once said that if the Yang Elixir could be produced locally, it would both enhance Lingzhou's strength and alleviate the shortage of pills.

Guo Jinfa nodded: "Exactly, this is the means by which those above control all the states."

"Though the Evil Extermination Bureau was established to slay demons and eliminate devils, it ultimately resides in the court, unable to escape the court's machinations."

"Using the Yang Elixir as a shackle allows those above to firmly control each state city."

"And now that someone can refine the Yang Elixir, do you know what this means?"

Qin An considered for a moment, his eyes narrowing, and lifted his gaze: "Death."

The simple two words were spoken, and the hall once again fell into silence, a dead silence.

If those above knew Lingzhou could produce the Yang Elixir independently, they would certainly focus their attention here.

This was one of the important means to balance the state cities; if they lost this means, those above would not be at ease.

Whoever refined the Yang Elixir would die without a doubt.

Guo Jinfa opened his wine jug, poured a mouthful of strong liquor into his mouth, and wiped away the wine stains from the corner of his mouth: "Ge Feng won't die; he has the support of the Alchemy Dao Alliance, the largest Pill Master organization of Daqian, also the source of Daqian Court's pil supply."

"At most, he'll be closely watched, and even the main province will be under strict surveillance."

"But you're different, you're not a Pill Master; you're a mountain patroller, traveling everywhere daily."

"One Lingzhou may not attract much attention from those above, but if you spread the method of refining..."

"You don't need me to tell you the outcome."

Qin An nodded: "How to break the deadlock?"

Having said this, everything was already self-evident.

Since it was all laid out, Guo Jinfa naturally had a solution.

The tone of Guo Jinfa gradually became serious, his expression stern: "Reputation."

Qin An looked up, his gaze sharp: "Explain."

Guo Jinfa sat upright: "Even if you have reached the Gui Cang Realm, there will still be people above daring to touch you."

"But if with the identity of a mountain patroller, you accumulate enough reputation among the Lingzhou world and even the common people."

"Then even if those above are willing, they won't dare act recklessly."

Qin An pondered: "How much time do I have left?"

The solution was out, but exactly how much time he had to carry it out, he did not know.

Guo Jinfa shook the empty wine jug: "I don't know either, who can time it precisely?"

Qin An lightly stroked the scabbard: "In that case, I will take my leave first."

Guo Jinfa nodded: "Go."

The words were clearly stated; he knew what Qin An would do and didn't want to waste Qin An's time.

As Qin An stepped out of the hall with the knife, he suddenly remembered something and stopped to turn back: "Who found out my information?"

Guo Jinfa sensed the cold killing intent on Qin An and waved his hand: "There was a boy by Ge Feng's side, named Xiaoyuan, a spy from above. Rest assured, I've already sent him to the netherworld."

"In the future... try to do things cleaner."

Qin An nodded coldly: "I'll try to eradicate thoroughly."

With that, Qin An's figure vanished from the hall.

Guo Jinfa was slightly stunned.

He had intended to remind Qin An not to leave any handles, but unexpectedly, the other took it as a cue for slaughter.

"Forget it, let it be."

"Swift and decisive killing is also good; such a disposition aligns with the way of a mountain patroller."

The jug of fine wine was already emptied, and Guo Jinfa's figure swayed and disappeared without a trace.

...

Fire Crow Mountain, with picturesque scenery, was full of growth.

The usually crowded Fire Crow Mountain was now devoid of people.

The reason was although Fire Crow Mountain had beautiful mountain scenery, the entire mountain was filled with scorching magma, deterring approach.

At this moment, deep within the sea of fire under the mountain.

A burly middle-aged man, with a massive physique akin to a tower and donning red feathers, sat cross-legged.

Gold and iron gleamed on the feathered raiment, reflecting with the surrounding flames.

Suddenly, the calm sea of fire surged, roaring like angry waves.

The man abruptly opened his eyes to see the flames congeal into an image.

In the image, Qin An raised his knife, and Mr. Lv's head rolled to the ground; Qin An sheathed his knife, his eyes chilling as ice.

The middle-aged man's eyes widened as a terrifying evil qi erupted from his body, his mouth suddenly stretched and sharpened, turning into a beak in an instant, with evil qi surging skywards.

"Those bastards from the Evil Extermination Bureau, daring to kill my son!"

The roar was like thunder, shaking the sea of fire into towering waves.

A few fiery crows, trembling, flew near the middle-aged man and bowed down, trembling: "Six Elder, calm your anger!"

The Six Elder's eyes swept over them, causing their bodies to tremble like sieves.

"Investigate!"

The Six Elder's claws pointed straight at the image of Qin An, saying: "Find out his origin! I will tear him into pieces!"

The fiery crows exchanged glances, timidly accepted the order, and hurriedly flew out of the sea of fire.

After the crows disappeared, the Six Elder took several deep breaths to suppress his overwhelming rage.

"This is my only son; under my knees, there's only this one son. No matter who you are, once I catch you, I will skin you alive!"

The sea of fire fell quiet once more, and the Six Elder closed his eyes tightly again, returning to his cultivation.

...

Evil Extermination Bureau.

A state official from the Internal Affairs Department carefully placed a human skin mask and simple clothing in front of Qin An: "Sir, please inspect."

Qin An stood, pressing his hand on his sword, and after verifying everything, he nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping the surroundings.

At this moment, from time to time, patrol officials passed by.

When they saw the copper badge at Qin An's waist, they all displayed expressions of awe.

The rank of the mountain patrol officer is inherently higher than that of the same level patrol official, and, coupled with the solitary task of hunting demons, it is even more perilous.

Hence, the patrol officials all hold the utmost respect when they see him.

This respect is genuinely heartfelt.

Today is the last time Qin An will come to the Evil Extermination Bureau for a while; he's here to collect the human skin mask.

This human skin mask is not ordinary; it is an extremely valuable item of the Evil Extermination Bureau, known as the Thousand-Faced Illusion, capable of altering appearance and aura.

Only the mountain patrol officer may receive it.

The reason being, the mountain patrol officer ventures alone through the remote areas of Lingzhou to subdue demons, and if his true form is exposed, he might be surrounded by countless demons.

It is precisely the Thousand-Faced Illusion that allows the mountain patrol officer to avoid many dangers.

Returning to his room, Qin An changed out of his dark clothes, placed the mountain patrol copper badge in his chest, and then took out the Yang Elixir that shone as brilliantly as the blazing sun.

He still had three demon essences remaining, with another nearly depleted.

But Qin An did not intend to use them.

Currently, his achievements are not enough to exchange for a Cultivation Technique.

Instead, the Yang Elixir, Qin An needed to use immediately.

This Yang Elixir came from Mr. Lv's treasure chest, which Mr. Lv regarded as a treasure, but now it benefitted Qin An.

Qin An circulated his internal True Qi, then transitioned it into the Yang Elixir.

The abundant Yang energy within the Yang Elixir rapidly vanished.

In just a few breaths, the Yang energy was completely absorbed by Qin An.

The fierce Yang energy drilled into Qin An's body, enveloping his liver, causing it to immediately become vigorous with Yang energy.

Qin An opened his eyes, sensing that his True Qi had become even more pure.

Now that both his heart and liver are nourished by Yang energy, even if he encounters Mr. Lv again, he would not need to use the Blood-Burning Heaven-Cutting Hand.

Relying solely on the Ice Flame Extinction Saber, a three-strike consecutive attack could kill the opponent.

"Although it's not Returning to Storage, it far surpasses Jade Bone Realm Perfection. My idea was correct; only by perfectly tempering the five organs can I enter Returning to Storage and forge the supreme foundation."

As Qin An contemplated inwardly, he rose and stretched his limbs, taking out the mountain patrol copper badge from his chest.

"It's time to do tasks."

Having previously discussed with Guo Jinfa, Qin An was well aware of his current situation.

Now not only is there a crisis with the pseudo-god demons, but there's also the threat of the Yang Elixir.

The solution Guo Jinfa mentioned is just one option in Qin An's view.

He needs to proceed in two steps.

Accumulate reputation with the Evil Extermination Bureau through tasks and increase his own strength through tasks.

Only this way can he ensure his safety.

And no matter which one, they are inseparable from the tasks of the mountain patrol officer.

As Qin An communicated with the mountain patrol copper badge using True Qi, a screen of light appeared before him.

On the screen of light, endless tasks appeared.

After a brief consideration, Qin An sorted them by distance and difficulty, then found a particular task.

——Birthday Banquet of the Casting Valley.

Qin An rubbed his chin, and with a thought, understood the entire contents of the task.

In a remote part of Lingzhou, there is a county town named Red Tree County.

To the northwest of the town, there is a valley called Casting Valley.

The so-called Casting Valley is one of Lingzhou's top forces, dedicated to crafting various weapons, and is Lingzhou's premier weapon forging site.

Recently, as the Valley Master of the Casting Valley's birthday approached, an anomaly suddenly occurred in the valley.

Members within the valley have been stricken by an unidentified illness, bedridden.

The specific cause is unknown, but even amid such events, the Valley Master still extensively invites forces from Lingzhou to host a birthday banquet.

For this reason, the Evil Extermination Bureau listed this matter among the mountain patrol officer's tasks.

The reason Qin An chose this task is twofold: firstly, because it is the closest to Lingzhou.

Secondly, because the term "casting" caught his attention.

The task states that anyone participating in the Casting Valley's birthday celebration can obtain a piece of precious casting material.

The black saber Qin An currently uses is somewhat outdated, and if he could acquire a piece of casting material, he could have the black saber reforged.

Thinking of this, Qin An raised his hand and pointed in the air, accepting the task.

After accepting the task, Qin An also took out the Thousand-Faced Illusion and put it on.

As the mask and his face merged, a cold sensation spread over it.

But soon the cold sensation vanished entirely, as if it were indeed Qin An's own skin.

Qin An took out a copper mirror from the room, injecting True Qi into the mask.

The mask began to squirm, and within a few breaths, Qin An transformed into the image of a normally-featured young man, even his aura had altered.

Even if acquaintances met Qin An, they probably wouldn't recognize him.

With a bit of tidying up, Qin An left the Evil Extermination Bureau and boarded a carriage heading to Red Tree County.

The wheels of the carriage rolled over the official road, gradually leaving the buildings of the Evil Extermination Bureau behind.

...

Red Tree County was originally a remote county town, but thanks to the presence of Casting Valley, it actually uplifted the economy of Red Tree County.

For both cultivators and court officials, weapons are always the most important means of self-preservation.

Every day, many people linger in the Casting Valley, indirectly making Red Tree County increasingly prosperous.

Today, Red Tree County is even more bustling because the Valley Master of Casting Valley will be hosting a birthday banquet.

Any cultivator who comes can obtain a piece of casting material.

Even though there are three more days until the start of the banquet, cultivators have already arrived, making Red Tree County overcrowded.

Street vendors were all smiles, earning far more income than usual.

However, the constables of the yamen were overwhelmed with worry, running about daily to maintain order.

At this moment, several miles from Red Tree County, a carriage gradually came to a stop at a relay station.

People descended from the carriage one after another.

The carriage naturally couldn't enter the city, but since it wasn't far from Red Tree County, no one complained.

Qin An was the last to alight from the carriage, already transformed into the guise of an ordinary young man.

As he just stepped down, the mountain patrol copper badge in his chest suddenly emitted a slight tremor...

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