58: Instantaneous Technique

The two ascended the steps, the wooden staircase on the second floor of the Jizhou General Demon Suppression Headquarters emitting a long, slightly aged creak.

Pushing open the heavy, carved wooden door, a scent mixed with rich ink and a faint hint of sweat wafted over them.

In the outer hall, more than a dozen scribes were hunched over their desks, writing furiously, the rustling of red pens across scrolls continuous and dense, like silkworms eating mulberry leaves in autumn.

Zeng Jie, with Xiao Zhuo, walked straight through this busy area of paperwork without batting an eye.

Pushing open the inner door, they saw a wide ebony desk, where a heavy jade paperweight held down a half-unfurled map of Jizhou's mountains and rivers.

A middle-aged man in the standard black uniform of the Demon Suppression Division was leaning over, brush in hand, meticulously marking Devilish Qi outbreak points on the map.

Hearing footsteps, he subconsciously looked up, and a full drop of cinnabar from his brush tip fell at that moment, blooming into a dazzling crimson spot amidst the mountains and rivers on the map.

"Zeng Heizi?" Xie Yi, the black-clad middle-aged man, put down his wolf-hair brush and stood up, the Xuan Tie Token (Profound Iron Token) hanging at his waist clinking crisply with his movement. A hint of surprise was on his face. "Aren't you stationed in Yongning City? When did you come back to the Headquarters?"

"Haha! Old Xie, I wouldn't come to the temple without a reason. Of course, I'm here with good news!" Zeng Jie laughed heartily as he stepped forward, unceremoniously patting Xie Yi's shoulder. He then stepped aside to reveal Xiao Zhuo. "Let me introduce you to an extraordinary brother, the Genius Prodigy of Yuyang Sect, Xiao Zhuo!"

He then turned to Xiao Zhuo and winked, "Younger Brother Xiao, this is Xie Yi. He's in charge of Guest Elder registration. You can't go wrong with him! Old Xie and I once fought side-by-side, chopping off the heads of demon spawn. Unfortunately, his Foundation was damaged later, and now he manages the Internal Affairs Pavilion here at the Headquarters."

"Greetings, Elder Brother Xie!" Xiao Zhuo understood and saluted with clasped fists and a smile.

"Heh heh, since he's a brother Zeng Heizi vouches for, then he's my brother, Xie Yi's brother. No need for formalities between us." Xie Yi's smile was genuine, and his gaze quickly swept over Xiao Zhuo, carrying a subtle hint of scrutiny.

"Then let's not beat around the bush, Old Xie," Zeng Jie took a step closer, lowering his voice with a hint of mystery, "Younger Brother Xiao has to rush back to Yuyang Sect tonight, so quickly get his Guest Elder token processed. He's still using a temporary token right now!"

He paused, then winked mischievously, "The tasks recorded in that temporary token, hehe... when you register it later, don't let your jaw drop."

"Oh?" Xie Yi's curiosity was indeed strongly piqued. "How many?"

"Hehe! Want to know? Finish up quickly, and we can go to the Merit Pavilion together to see for ourselves!" Zeng Jie kept them in suspense, proudly raising his chin.

Xie Yi raised an eyebrow, no longer asking further questions.

He picked up his wolf-hair brush again, invited Xiao Zhuo to the desk, and personally wrote, his brush strokes flowing like Dragons and snakes, smoothly entering Xiao Zhuo's identity information.

He then summoned a Demon Suppression Guard and ordered him to quickly send Xiao Zhuo's file for archiving.

After only a moment, the Demon Suppression Guard hurried back, holding a silver-glowing token.

Xie Yi took the token and solemnly handed it to Xiao Zhuo: "Younger Brother Xiao, this is your Guest Elder token. To receive a silver token upon entering the Divine Sea Realm shows your extraordinary talent. This token not only records the details of your completed tasks and accumulated merit, but it also allows you to mobilize Demon Suppression Guards below the Thousand-Household level to assist you in missions."

"Many thanks, Elder Brother Xie!" Xiao Zhuo took the token.

The token felt warm to the touch, not the coldness of metal, but rather the smooth, lustrous feel of jade. It was exquisitely crafted, with the unique emblem and runes of the Demon Suppression Division engraved on its surface, making it quite peculiar.

The three wasted no more time, leaving the Internal Affairs Pavilion and heading directly towards the Merit Pavilion, the largest building within the General Demon Suppression Headquarters.

The front hall of the Merit Pavilion was the office for task handover and merit calculation, while the back connected to a vast exchange treasury, where the Demon Suppression Division's accumulated rare resources and Legacy treasures were stored over the years.

Xiao Zhuo had no specific goal for this trip.

He had previously asked Zeng Jie about the approximate merit points gained from slaying demons, and estimated that the merit points he had earned from slaying demons were still far from enough to exchange for a Heaven-rank Cultivation Method.

Therefore, he planned to see if he could find some practical and powerful secret arts, or Earth-Grade Cultivation Techniques with distinct characteristics as a supplement.

If he really couldn't find anything to his liking, exchanging for some high-quality Medicinal Pills would also be a good option.

The three entered the Merit Pavilion office. The civil official responsible for registering merit immediately stood up and respectfully saluted Zeng Jie and Xie Yi.

The two waved their hands casually, indicating they were excused from formalities, and directly stated their purpose: "Calculate the merit for this Guest Elder Xiao and exchange his points."

The civil official quickly sat back behind his desk and took the temporary token Xiao Zhuo handed him with both hands.

On the desk in front of him, there was a square bronze base, its surface carved with intricate and profound runes, and at its center was a hollowed-out slot, perfectly sized to embed a token.

The civil official carefully placed Xiao Zhuo's temporary token into the slot.

Buzz!

The runes on the base instantly lit up with a faint glow. The next moment, clear and heart-stopping images of demon slayings were projected onto a large, smooth mirror hanging behind the civil official.

In the mirror, light and shadow flowed:

Blood rained down on the bluestone street, the young man's figure darted like a ghost, a flash of saber light, and the demon's head flew high, disintegrating into countless fragments before it even hit the ground!

The footage continued to play, countless similar scenes of slaughter flashing by in fast-forward, until it finally settled on two earth-shattering duels—

Mo Tian's giant ape's roar was deafening, then it was split in two by a saber light that divided heaven and earth!

Bull Demon King's massive demonic body, harder than steel, exploded with a roar, the thick black blood splattering as if to burst through the mirror and rush towards the viewer's face!

The civil official watched, trembling with fear, retreating three steps. His back hit the chair with a "bang," almost knocking over the inkstone on the desk, his face ashen.

Even though Zeng Jie had already witnessed Xiao Zhuo's terrifying combat power with his own eyes, seeing it again through this almost immersive playback still made him gasp in cold air.

In the footage, Xiao Zhuo was only in the Gui Zhen Realm at the time! Yet, slaying demons was truly like slicing melons and dicing vegetables!

Even two King-rank Demons of monstrous power seemed... insignificant before him!

If Zeng Jie was so affected, Xie Yi and the civil official, who were witnessing it for the first time, were even more flustered.

Their eyes were wide with disbelief and shock as they looked at Xiao Zhuo, as if they were staring at a primordial Vicious Beast in human form.

Especially the civil official, even though reason told him that the person before him was a Human Race hero who slayed demons, that pure, efficient, Soul-shaking violent slaughter still made an indescribable fear rise involuntarily in his heart.

"Nightmare-rank Demons, ninety-eight heads... nine thousand eight hundred merit points; Calamity-Grade Demons, twenty-one heads... ten thousand five hundred merit points; King-rank Demons, two heads... six thousand merit points..." The civil official's voice trembled noticeably as he reported the numbers and shakily recorded them in the ledger.

After all this, he took out a reddish-copper merit transfer token and lightly swiped it against Xiao Zhuo's temporary token.

"S-sir, all merit points, totaling twenty-six thousand three hundred, have been transferred to your token." The civil official handed his token back to Xiao Zhuo with both hands, his voice still a bit tight.

Xiao Zhuo took the token and smiled kindly at the civil official.

The civil official managed a strained response, then quickly lowered his head, not daring to say more.

"Younger Brother Xiao, first transfer all these merit points to your silver token," Zeng Jie reminded him from the side. "The exchange treasury is just ahead. You can go in and pick slowly yourself."

Xiao Zhuo nodded, and as instructed, brought the two tokens close. With a slight thought, the merit points from the temporary token instantly transferred to the silver-glowing Guest Elder token.

He nodded to Zeng and Xie, and the civil official immediately understood, humbly scurrying over to press a mechanism on the wall.

A heavy clanking sound echoed as the massive, rune-covered stone door of the exchange treasury slowly slid open to one side.

Xiao Zhuo stepped in, and in an instant, the dazzling array of treasures almost blurred his vision.

At the entrance, two rows of weapon racks stood solemnly, their blades, spears, swords, and halberds gleaming coldly. Even though they were polished brightly, they still couldn't hide the bone-chilling scent of blood and Evil Qi emanating from them.

These weapons had clearly drunk the blood of demons, true instruments of slaughter.

A wide passage formed between the weapon racks, extending straight into the depths of the treasury, estimated to be a thousand meters long, showing the astonishing scale of this Demon Suppression Division's exchange treasury.

On the left side of the passage was the Cultivation Technique area, where rows of Jade Slips floated within a pale blue energy light screen, exuding an ancient and profound aura; on the right was the Medicinal Pill area, where a rich medicinal fragrance subtly wafted; and further in, there were areas displaying various rare treasures and Heaven And Earth Treasures, with faint glows of treasure.

Xiao Zhuo first walked towards the Cultivation Technique area.

The protective Restrictions here were even more exquisite and complex than those he had seen in the Yuyang Sect's Scripture Pavilion.

If he found something he liked, he only needed to pay the corresponding merit points with his Guest Elder token, and the light screen covering the Jade Slip would automatically be removed.

He spent over half an hour just to roughly browse through this vast Cultivation Technique area.

The treasury had Formations that suppressed Divine Sense detection; otherwise, with his Divine Sense strength, it wouldn't have taken him so long.

"The General Demon Suppression Headquarters truly has unfathomable Foundations," Xiao Zhuo sighed inwardly, shaking his head with a hint of helplessness. "There are fourteen Heaven-Grade Cultivation Techniques alone... Unfortunately, not a single one I can afford right now."

The cheapest Heaven-Grade Cultivation Technique here started at eighty thousand merit points, far exceeding his current savings.

In contrast, the Yuyang Sect, with its thousand-year Legacy, only had one Heaven-Grade Cultivation Technique. The strength of the Great Chen Dynasty's Foundations was evident.

Xiao Zhuo ultimately noted down three Earth-Grade Cultivation Techniques:

Purgatory Demonic Body (fifteen thousand points): An extremely powerful Body Refining Cultivation Technique, allowing practitioners to temper a terrifying Physical Body comparable to a demon's, with theoretical potential reaching the Peak of the Dominator Realm!

Nine Slashes of Wild Thunder (ten thousand points): An Earth-Grade saber art of astonishing destructive power, with a lightning attribute that perfectly matched Xiao Zhuo's lightning Divine Ability. If mastered, its power would likely surpass even the Heavenly Dipper Transformation to Zenith Saber Technique.

Void Instantaneous Art (twelve thousand points): A Divine Thought evasion technique designed specifically for Cultivators at or above the Divine Sea Realm. Its description was captivating—when cultivated to the Transcendent stage, one could even touch the fringes of the "teleportation" Divine Ability!

Teleportation, that was a supreme Divine Ability rumored to be mastered only by Peak grandmasters who had entered the Shattering Realm.

Even if he couldn't achieve full teleportation, in terms of speed alone, it was absolutely incomparable to his current Profound-Grade Azure Light Evasion.

After much deliberation, Xiao Zhuo finally chose the Purgatory Demonic Body and the Void Instantaneous Art.

The two Cultivation Techniques totaled twenty-seven thousand points, and he was still seven hundred points short.

He had no choice but to go out and shamelessly borrow seven hundred merit points from Zeng Jie, incurring a favor.

After completing the exchange, all three were in good spirits, so they decided to go out for a drink together.

After eating and drinking to their fill, Xiao Zhuo returned to Prince Kang's residence.

He spent the entire afternoon immersed in the profound insights of the Void Instantaneous Art, until dusk, when Butler Yao rushed in to report:

"Young Hero Xiao, Young Master Xiao is back!"