Rong Jiaojiao used her divine sense to look at the young man. On the back of his neck, a strange black rune was faintly visible, emitting a faint aura of bloodlust.

This person was difficult to record. Zhao Yuntian condensed a ball of soft white light in his palm and gently flicked it onto the young man's forehead.

He chanted a spell, and the black runes on the young man's neck melted away like ice and snow. The young man trembled and felt as if his body had become much lighter.

Rong Jiaojiao looked at the young man's talent and said, "His talent for mystical cultivation..."

“It must be abolished.” Zhao Yuntian said firmly, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes. “He was marked by a demonic spirit. If we don’t abolish his talent, he will be targeted by the demonic spirit sooner or later, and then it may not be as easy to cultivate him slowly.”

Rong Jiaojiao said, "What I mean is, he has some talent, could we train him?"

Zhao Yuntian shook his head: "His talent is not yet worth cultivating."

"All right!"

After crippling the young man's talent for cultivation, Zhao Yuntian continued forward, searching the southern area of ​​the city and recording more than twenty people. Among those still on the move, he found two more.

Zhao Yuntian found Leng Muya and said, "Daytime investigations might have loopholes due to people working or traveling. Let's stop here for today and continue tonight."

Leng Muya nodded; she knew Zhao Yuntian was right.

The daytime investigation is indeed subject to many interferences, and they also need time to process the discovered demonic marks.

“Okay, let’s deal with the people we’ve already marked first,” Leng Muya said. “We’ll continue our investigation tonight.”

Zhao Yuntian and Rong Jiaojiao joined the operation to remove the marks. By the time they had cleared all the demonic marks they found, it was already late afternoon.

Back at the inspection team's temporary base, everyone quickly went to rest, preparing to be fully refreshed for the evening's operations.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the streets of Haishi were already quiet, devoid of the daytime hustle and bustle.

Zhao Yuntian led the group onto their flying swords once more, heading towards the northern part of the city.

In the darkness of night, the city's streetlights twinkle like stars, but hidden beneath this tranquil night lies an unknown crisis.

Arriving in the north of the city, at the place where Zi Ling found the first demonic spirit mark, they dropped off Leng Muya and the others.

Zhao Yuntian, Rong Jiaojiao, and Ziling once again boarded their flying swords, concealed themselves within the barrier, and began their nighttime search.

A night breeze blew by, carrying a hint of coolness, but Rong Jiaojiao's heart burned with anxiety.

Zi Ling stood on Rong Jiaojiao's shoulder, her golden pupils gleaming faintly in the darkness, her little nose twitching as she carefully sensed the surrounding atmosphere.

Its body trembled slightly, as if it sensed some powerful threat.

"Squeak!" Zi Ling suddenly pricked up her ears and pointed to an old tenement building. "There! The leftmost room on the third floor has a very strong demonic aura!"

Zhao Yuntian's eyes narrowed, and he quickly moved closer by maneuvering his flying sword.

Rong Jiaojiao released her divine sense to investigate, and her expression changed drastically: "Not good! That person's soul has already begun to be devoured!"

Without a word, Zhao Yuntian's flying sword shot straight towards the window of that house. The air rippled slightly as they silently passed through the window, descending like ghosts.

Inside the room, a middle-aged man was kneeling on the ground, clutching his own neck with both hands. His face was bluish-purple, his eyes rolled back, and he was making gurgling sounds in his throat.

The black runes on the back of his neck had fully appeared, writhing like living things and slowly devouring his life force.

"It's too late," Zhao Yuntian said in a deep voice, with a hint of helplessness in his tone. "His soul has been mostly devoured; there's no way to save him."

Rong Jiaojiao bit her lip, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes: "Then..."

Without hesitation, Zhao Yuntian raised his hand and a golden light flashed. The man's body trembled slightly, and then he collapsed to the ground.

At the same time, the black runes on the back of his neck twisted violently, as if trying to escape.

With a squeak, Zi Ling pounced forward, waving her little paws. A flash of purple light appeared, and the black runes were instantly purified, turning into a wisp of green smoke and dissipating.

"This bloodthirsty aura... is much stronger than the one I encountered during the day."

Rong Jiaojiao frowned, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes, "Could it be that the demons are more active at night?"

Zhao Yuntian nodded: "Very likely. The demon spirits are stronger at night, so we must speed up."

They left the apartment and continued walking through the night.

Zi Ling's senses were even sharper than during the day, and she discovered several targets that had been deeply corrupted.

Some people's souls have been completely devoured, leaving only empty shells of bodies;

Some people have just been marked and can still be saved.

Rong Jiaojiao's mood grew heavier and heavier.

Each recorded name signifies the passing of a life or the end of a cultivator's talent.

She gripped the notebook tightly, feeling utterly powerless.

As night deepened, the investigation in the northern part of the city continued.

Rong Jiaojiao had already given the notebook in her hand to Leng Muya and the others once, and this one contained the names of more than a dozen people.

"Squeak!" Zi Ling suddenly bristled.

Zhao Yuntian immediately took out an ancient bronze compass, its surface covered with intricate runes, and the pointer was spinning wildly.

“There’s a demon spirit.” Zi Ling and Zhao Yuntian said at the same time.

The compass needle suddenly stopped, pointing to an abandoned church in the northeast direction.

The church spire gleamed a pale white in the moonlight, shrouded in a faint black mist.

Zhao Yuntian flew swiftly on his sword, arriving above the church in the blink of an eye.

From above, the entire church was shrouded in an eerie black mist, within which crimson runes could be faintly seen flowing.

Zhao Yuntian's expression was solemn, and the compass in his hand trembled violently, as if drawn by an invisible force. He whispered, "Such a strong fluctuation of bloodthirsty energy. This demonic spirit is quite powerful. Be careful later!"

"yes."

Rong Jiaojiao gripped the Lingyuan Sword tightly, the blade emitting a slight hum, as if responding to the distant threat.

Zi Ling's fur stood on end, and its golden pupils shrank to slits. It growled, "Master, there are demonic spirits there... there are many demonic seeds there!"

"Go!" Zhao Yuntian put away the compass, and his flying sword shot towards the church like an arrow.

As they drew closer, the stench in the air grew stronger and stronger, making them want to vomit.

The iron fence surrounding the church was rusted and covered with withered vines. The cross above the main entrance was crooked and mottled with corrosion from some black substance, as if telling the story of the horrors that had once occurred here.

"Barrier." Zhao Yuntian stopped in the open space in front of the church, gathered a point of golden light at his fingertip, and gently touched the void.

Ripples spread through the air, as if an invisible barrier separated them from the outside world. "A high-level concealment barrier; there must be something strange inside."