A Demon Suppression General had come to the demon-hunters’ guild hall — which was surprising enough in itself.
Even more surprising, however, was that vial of blood essence, vivid crimson and carrying the presence of a blue-faced lion.
“Another Core-Nurturing demon lord from Qingzhou?”
“Another Jade Liquid-realm cultivator?”
“Hold on — this Silver-bell demon-hunter is also called Shen Yi?”
The woman overseeing things at the guild hall found each detail she heard more familiar than the last, and finally just asked directly.
Chen Qiankun gave a dry cough. He hadn’t realized Shen Yi had made such a name for himself in the capital — barely two months out of Qingzhou, and even the demon-hunters’ guild hall could drop his name without blinking.
The woman gave a resigned smile. “No need to wait in line. Head right in.”
“Ah?”
Chen Qiankun walked back out of the hall in faint bemusement. Since when did Qingzhou have this kind of pull at the War Temple?
He cupped his fists apologetically toward the colleagues who’d been waiting far longer.
Every one of them returned the gesture with a cheerful smile, not the slightest trace of resentment.
Ever since word of the Song Prefecture business had gotten around, every province was quietly dreading the day its own crisis came knocking — and when that day arrived, they’d all be counting on that Inspector.
By comparison, jumping a queue was nothing.
“Strange.”
The old general couldn’t quite work it out, but turned back to the carriage and passed the news to Lin Baixi.
“Then I’ll go in…”
Lin Baixi looked rather deflated.
Chen Qiankun glanced back on instinct, and sure enough — those two figures from before had long since vanished.
“Never mind. You go do the refinement first. Once it’s done, this old man will take you to find him.”
“I don’t want to go.”
Lin Baixi rubbed at her face, working to look normal, and walked into the main hall with a sullen air.
Right now, all she wanted was to go back to Qingzhou.
Looking up at the thirteen glorious golden dharma forms, Lin Baixi lowered her head and settled down on a meditation cushion as usual, her thoughts beginning to drift.
Now he was gone, the blood essence he’d left her was gone, and she didn’t even have anything to hold onto anymore!
A dense white mist sealed off the hall’s entrance.
“Stop daydreaming. Focus.”
A long, pale hand gave her head a casual ruffle, and a voice sounded from behind her — familiar in its calm, unhurried warmth.
Lin Baixi went still all over. She turned back in stunned disbelief.
The handsome young man had already drawn his hand back and stood straight again, those clear dark eyes looking quietly at her, his silk blue-green robe shifting gently around him, setting off the straight lines of his posture even more.
Lin Baixi’s cheeks flared red in an instant.
She’d had absolutely no expectation of seeing Shen Yi here — not so much as a scrap of mental preparation — and it had caught her completely off guard.
“Hm.”
The remaining three Custodians watched the young girl with considerable interest. She and Junior Brother Shen seemed to be on fairly familiar terms.
“What are you doing here?”
Lin Baixi’s voice had shrunk to something barely audible. She turned to look at the Custodians. “I…”
“No need to mind us. Take your time. We’re not in any rush.”
The Custodians arranged pleasant smiles on their faces, the picture of patience.
Last time Lin Baixi had come for War Temple refinement, she’d encountered these same people — aside from the ugliest of the grandfathers, the rest had all worn frozen expressions. Nothing like this warmth now.
Wait—
She finally placed why she’d found the blue-green robe on Shen Yi so familiar.
Anywhere else, it would have been entirely unremarkable.
But inside the War Temple, a person who could wear that robe was a Temple Custodian — someone who held authority over the War Temple itself.
Smack!
The golden booklet in Shen Yi’s hand came down lightly on her head. “Focus.”
She should be seizing the chance to break through to Condensate instead of letting her thoughts wander.
“Mm.”
Lin Baixi closed her eyes obediently.
Shen Yi casually formed a hand seal. He’d been serving as Custodian for enough days now that something at least this basic had stuck.
At the gesture, the elderly figure on the altar, lost in his own fog, slowly opened his eyes.
Shortly after, a thread of golden light peeled free from the dharma form and settled over Lin Baixi.
Time flowed quietly by.
Then half of it surged back out, returning to the golden body.
The three Custodians gave small nods. Leaving aside extraordinary cases, this level of talent could genuinely be called exceptional.
One blue-faced lion’s blood essence had purchased eight refinement sessions.
Shen Yi wasn’t in any particular hurry — he formed hand seals occasionally, but spent most of his attention watching the War Temple’s Ancestor on the altar.
The same Golden Body method, and yet the Ancestor’s skin showed none of the crimson markings.
It must come down to the difference in what was being suppressed.
He himself had suppressed the wandering wills within a demon soul — naturally, a trace of demonic presence had seeped in alongside.
Day turned to night, and back again.
All eight refinement sessions concluded.
Shen Yi sensed the presence on Lin Baixi — just one step away from Condensate at Perfection — shook his head, raised a hand, formed a seal, and roused the Ancestor, who had only just drifted back to sleep, once more.
A ninth thread of golden light fell.
Lin Baixi opened her eyes in surprise, then looked faintly uneasy and gave a small shake of her head.
She didn’t want Shen Yi using his official position to bend rules for her sake.
“Condense your core.”
Shen Yi shot her a glance.
He’d taken a little silver back from the Lin household that one time, and this woman had suspected him of robbing the neighbors. Now she was getting anxious about this. Was his reputation really that bad?
The other Custodians smiled and shook their heads.
Never mind the fact that Junior Brother Shen had one unused refinement session left over from last time — even if he hadn’t, he had the golden booklet. Was one more refinement session really the issue?
The white mist at the War Temple’s entrance dispersed.
The young man in his long robe strolled out, a well-behaved girl following at his heels.
“Did you come alone?”
“Old General Chen is with me.”
At that, Shen Yi nodded, and led Lin Baixi over to the neighboring Demon Suppression Division offices.
A sword-carrying woman was still waiting there.
Shen Yi cupped his fists courteously. “Madam Lin, I’m sorry to have kept you.”
He’d made the acquaintance of a couple from Lizhou’s Implement Sect while in the Yi section — and this was precisely Lin Qingyang’s wife.
“Not at all, Inspector.” Madam Lin returned the courtesy hastily.
Inspector? Lin Baixi stood quietly behind Shen Yi and stole a glance at his back.
He seemed to become something remarkable wherever he went.
Even after knowing him this long, Lin Baixi still found it faintly difficult to get used to.
This was the imperial capital.
And yet everyone she’d seen here treated Shen Yi with unmistakable deference.
He was no longer the small-time constable who’d sat in that cramped little room, chewing on a baked flatbread alongside her…
“I’ve been living in the War Temple for years, so there’s a great deal I’m not current on — but if you want to know more, Inspector, I can have people go back to Lizhou and make inquiries.”
This visit had been Madam Lin’s own initiative in coming to find Shen Yi.
Lizhou’s Implement Sect was a well-known power within Great Qian, their methods for forging treasure artifacts something close to divine.
But for all that, a superlative-grade artifact had always seemed to represent the ceiling of what they could achieve.
“I wasn’t in favor of working with Qingqiu in the first place.” Madam Lin shook her head.
In their pursuit of breaking through that ceiling, the Implement Sect had sought out Qingqiu’s fox demons — whose knowledge spanned the widest range of disciplines — for assistance.
There was nothing particularly secret about this.
Qingqiu, however unusual for a demon faction, occupied a special position — even if they came to the imperial capital, the War Temple would in all likelihood open its doors. No one wanted to needlessly offend a powerful neutral faction.
But the problem was precisely that they couldn’t be controlled.
The fox demon in question — no one knew what it was thinking — had sent an invitation to Qingzhou under the Implement Sect’s name entirely on its own initiative.
Once the Implement Sect’s Ancestor found out, he sensed something was wrong, but didn’t dare offend the fox demon either, so had hurriedly sent people to the capital to pass the news along.
(End of Chapter 238)