19: Demonic Horror

"Devilish Qi?!"

Hearing those two words and seeing Gu Fan's terrified expression, Zhou Wannian's eyelids twitched wildly.

In the current Qinghe Market, "Devilish Qi" was equivalent to a death warrant. The Chen Family Enforcement Team was scouring the streets for "Demonic Cultivators." If anyone was found hiding something with Devilish Qi in their home, it was like yellow mud falling into their pants—even if it wasn't feces, it would be treated as such.

"Better to kill by mistake than to let one go" was Chen Li's motto.

"Shut up! Don't shout!"

Zhou Wannian growled in a low voice, grabbed Gu Fan, and dragged him into his own courtyard. Then, his hands moved like lightning as he quickly cast several hand Seals.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The "Cloud Mist Formation" on the perimeter of the courtyard was instantly pushed to maximum power. White mist surged, wrapping Courtyard Jia 16 tightly. Immediately after, the "Lesser Five Elements Maze Formation" underground was fully activated, and an invisible barrier rose, firmly locking in the internal fluctuations of aura.

Only after finishing all this did Zhou Wannian let go of Gu Fan's collar.

"What exactly is going on?" Zhou Wannian's face was as dark as water. "How could there be Devilish Qi in your pile of junk? Do you want to die?"

Gu Fan slumped on the ground, trembling all over, and pointed toward his own courtyard next door. "I... I don't know either! I bought that pile of scrap from the 'Old Black Junk Shop.' They said it was a broken Formation base picked up from the outskirts of Black Wind Ridge. I originally wanted to refine some Materials, but as soon as I burned it with spiritual fire, a puff of black smoke came out, and then... then it became like that!"

"Old Black Junk Shop?"

Zhou Wannian's heart stirred. Wasn't that the place where he had just sold his Talismans?

That place was indeed a mixed bag, and Loose Cultivators often brought back unclean things from Black Wind Ridge.

"Is that thing still smoking?" Zhou Wannian asked.

"It's still smoking! And... and that black smoke seems to be alive, trying to burrow into my body!" Gu Fan's teeth were chattering as he recalled the scene. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, have I been targeted by a Devil Head? Will the Law Enforcement Team be here soon?"

"What's there to panic about!"

Zhou Wannian snorted coldly, and his Divine Sense carefully reached out toward the neighboring courtyard through the Formation.

As expected.

Deep within Gu Fan's pile of scrap, there was an inconspicuous piece of black wood emitting wisps of black Qi. That black Qi was extremely cold and violent, indeed carrying a hint of the Demonic Path's bloodthirsty scent, but it wasn't intense. It was more like... a long-term contamination.

"It's not a Demonic Cultivator's Magical Artifact; the material has been contaminated."

Zhou Wannian quickly made a judgment.

This thing had likely stayed near that so-called "Ancient Cultivators Cave Mansion" for too long and had been tainted by blood-red baleful Qi.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, what should I do? Should I go turn myself in?" Gu Fan was at his wit's end.

"Turn yourself in?" Zhou Wannian looked at him as if he were an idiot. "You're going to tell Chen Li that there's Devilish Qi in your house? Do you believe he'd just refine you directly to hit his quota?"

"Then... then what should I do?"

"Shut up and watch."

Zhou Wannian took a deep breath.

Since he had stumbled upon this, he couldn't just ignore it. If something happened to Gu Fan, as his neighbor, he would definitely be investigated by association. His identity couldn't withstand close scrutiny.

Therefore, the spark had to be extinguished at the source.

"I'll go get that thing. Don't move."

Zhou Wannian slapped a "Scabby Vajra Talisman" onto himself, and a dusty, lumpy light shield instantly protected his entire body. Then, with a flash of his figure, he used the low wall connecting the two courtyards to leap directly into Gu Fan's yard.

He arrived in front of the pile of scrap.

The black Qi seemed to sense a living aura; it suddenly expanded, transforming into a hideous ghostly face that lunged at Zhou Wannian.

"Hmph, just bluffing."

Zhou Wannian didn't retreat but Advanced instead, raising his right hand.

"Go!"

A previously prepared "Earthworm Version Cleaning Talisman" shot out, accurately sticking to that piece of black wood.

"Suck!"

With a low shout from Zhou Wannian, the strange spiral patterns on the Talisman instantly lit up.

What was the principle behind a Cleaning Talisman?

It was to strip away dirt and absorb Impurities.

For this mutated Talisman, dust was dirt, bloodstains were dirt, and this ownerless Devilish Qi attached to the surface of the material was also dirt!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

A miniature whirlwind kicked up in the courtyard.

Before the clawing black Qi ghost face could show its power, it was forcibly dragged back by that domineering spiral suction, twisting as it was sucked into the Talisman paper.

In just three breaths.

The originally bright red Talisman paper turned completely pitch black, like a sponge saturated with ink, emitting a nauseating bloodthirsty smell.

Meanwhile, the piece of black wood stopped smoking and lay quietly in the scrap pile, revealing its original material—a dull, lusterless wood that was as hard as iron.

"Seal!"

Zhou Wannian was quick-eyed and nimble-handed. He immediately pulled out a jade box specifically for containing filthy items, used a Talisman brush to pick up the spent Talisman filled with Devilish Qi and tossed it inside, applied a Spirit Sealing Talisman, and closed it tight.

The world became quiet.

Zhou Wannian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, picked up the piece of wood, and quickly jumped back over the wall to his own courtyard.

"Done."

Zhou Wannian threw the wood on the ground and looked at the stunned Gu Fan. "It's fine now."

Gu Fan's mouth hung open as he pointed at Zhou Wannian, unable to speak for a long time.

"Fellow... Fellow Daoist Zhou, what kind of Talisman was that? It can even absorb Devilish Qi?"

"An ancestral dirt-removing Talisman, specifically for treating difficult and complicated cases."

Zhou Wannian lied casually, then pointed at the wood on the ground. "This thing is the root of the trouble. How do you plan to handle it?"

Gu Fan glanced at the wood as if it were a poisonous snake and waved his hands repeatedly. "I don't want it! Not even if you kill me! Fellow Daoist Zhou, if you have a way to handle it, just take it and destroy it! Just don't let it appear in my house again!"

"Fine, then I'll handle it for you."

Zhou Wannian wasn't modest either and directly put the wood into his Storage Pouch.

"Remember, nothing happened today." Zhou Wannian stared into Gu Fan's eyes, his tone serious. "Your furnace just exploded, and the black smoke came from the explosion. Understand?"

"Understand! I understand!" Gu Fan nodded like a chicken pecking at grain. "I will never forget Fellow Daoist Zhou's life-saving grace! In the future, if there's anything Fellow Daoist Zhou needs from me, just say the word!"

After sending away the shaken Gu Fan, Zhou Wannian reactivated the Formations and returned to the house.

He took out the piece of wood he had "handled" and examined it carefully.

After removing the surface Devilish Qi, the wood felt ice-cold to the touch, even carrying a chill that pierced straight through the Divine Soul. When his Divine Sense probed into it, there was actually a feeling of being nourished and warmed.

Zhou Wannian's eyes gradually lit up.

"This isn't ordinary scrap."

"This is... yin chen wood!"

It was recorded in the Miscellaneous section of "The Hundred Arts of Cultivation" that yin chen wood was formed from spiritual wood sinking into a place of yin baleful energy and remaining uncorrupted for ten thousand years. It was an excellent material for making ghost path Magical Artifacts or breath-concealing formation plates!

Because it was naturally capable of absorbing and masking aura!

"No wonder it could absorb so much Devilish Qi; it's a top-grade 'container' in itself."

Zhou Wannian fondled the wood, unable to put it down.

"That ignorant Gu Fan actually burned it as scrap? What a waste of a heavenly treasure!"

With this piece of yin chen wood, two uses immediately sprang to Zhou Wannian's mind.

First, to create a more Advanced Formation core. If he buried it in the core of the "Lesser Five Elements Maze Formation," the Formation's concealment would be improved by a level. Even if a Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator scanned it with Divine Sense, they would only think it was an ordinary piece of empty land.

Second... Zhou Wannian looked at the jade box on the table that sealed the "Devilish Qi spent Talisman."

That Cleaning Talisman was saturated with Devilish Qi and had now become an unstable "poison Talisman." If he threw it and it exploded... it would be a biochemical bomb that not only dealt physical damage but also carried "Devilish Qi erosion" and "mental pollution!"

"Sinister."

"Too sinister."

Zhou Wannian chuckled.

"This thing shouldn't be used lightly, as it's easy to be mistaken for a real Demonic Cultivator. But if I encounter a situation where I must kill someone to keep them quiet..."

"Then it's the best Divine Artifact for framing others."

This time, not only did he save his neighbor, but he also got a piece of top-grade yin chen wood for free, and incidentally refined a trump card, the "Devilish Qi Talisman."

"The joy of a scavenger is something you can't imagine."

Zhou Wannian put away his spoils of war and happily took out the "Turtle Breathing Technique."

With the assistance of the yin chen wood, when he cultivated this breath-concealing Spell, he could even use the Yin Qi in the wood to simulate that "dead wood and cold ashes" state. His cultivation speed would surely be a thousand miles a day.

"In less than three days, I'll be able to train this Turtle Breathing Technique to Minor Achievement."

"At that time, even if Chen Li stands before me, he won't be able to see through my depth."

Just as Zhou Wannian was preparing to enter seclusion, he suddenly remembered something.

"Right, since the Old Black Junk Shop could receive this kind of thing, it means the 'Devilish Qi' leakage over at Black Wind Ridge is already very serious."

"The Chen family's so-called 'blockade' seems to be a sieve as well."

"This market... I'm afraid things are about to change."