Yang Palace

Her consciousness oscillated between chaos and clarity. She seemed to see Mo You lying on the ground, covered in blood. She desperately pressed on his chest, but the blood continued to gush out, more and more, a shockingly red sight.

"No...no!"

Ren Xiangxiang suddenly opened her eyes, scaring away a group of small fish fry.

"Snap, snap..." The round-faced girl with pearls on her head looked at her indifferently.

Ren Xiangxiang was in a daze for a moment, then slowly sat up and saw Mo You lying on another bed.

"Mo You!" Ren Xiangxiang exclaimed excitedly, even forgetting that she still had an injury on her leg.

"Crunch crunch..." The girl rolled her eyes and continued to chew the seaweed dryly.

Mo You's injuries were very serious, and it was unclear how he had managed to hold on until now. Previously, he had been poisoned, which had disrupted his meridians and prevented him from using his demonic power.

As a result of the Gu woman, he forcibly absorbed the demonic power of the Ice Nightmare. This demonic power was vast and powerful. Although it temporarily restored his demonic power, it ultimately damaged his meridians. Furthermore, he was also poisoned.

The toxin is spreading rapidly and is now almost invading the heart.

Ren Xiangxiang accidentally touched his bandaged right hand, which was still covered with a layer of frost, and Ren Xiangxiang's face darkened again.

"Crack, crack..." The girl finally couldn't take it anymore, "Cough cough..."

Ren Xiangxiang then came to her senses and saw the girl sitting opposite her. The girl had a pearl on her head, a round face, and a pair of dark eyes. She was eating seaweed with a crunching sound. "Who are you?"

“You are…” Ren Xiangxiang hesitated.

“The Lord of the Wilderness Lake brings calamity,” the girl replied bluntly.

“My name is Ren Xiangxiang, and his… his name is Mo You.” Ren Xiangxiang glanced at the unconscious Mo You, her spirits low.

"Is he the one you love?" Bu Zai asked, tilting his head.

Ren Xiangxiang wasn't in the mood for teasing her, so she just nodded.

"Old Turtle's medicine is still somewhat effective; he won't die for now." With that, Bu Zai shoved a bottle of medicine into Ren Xiangxiang's hand.

"However, he couldn't make an antidote. This is a substitute made from that dead rat, which temporarily delays the onset of the poison."

After saying that, Buzai continued to speak to himself:

"I knew that the madwoman was responsible for his injuries as soon as I saw them. That woman is terribly insane; even the demon masters of Yang Palace can't do anything about her. Fortunately, those dead rats are afraid of water, so I haven't been harmed yet."

"Wait... who did you say you were?" Ren Xiangxiang suddenly realized something.

"Calamity!" Buzai looked bewildered.

"No, those first few words," Ren Xiangxiang reminded her.

“Wilderness Lake…” Buzai stammered.

Ren Xiangxiang grabbed the girl's shoulder and asked excitedly, "Is this the bottom of the Wilderness Lake? Is this within the territory of Yang Palace?"

"Didn't you notice that you all have waterproof covers over your heads?" Bu Zai was so dizzy and speechless from being shaken so much.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Yang Palace, the events that occurred in Koujia Town that day quickly attracted the attention of the Demon Tamers, who immediately sent a message to the Demon Taming Ancestor, Kou Qiyu.

However, Kou Feng...

The Monster Garden is located in a lush area to the west of Wenzhangmao, where many young monsters are tamed.

At this moment, in the pavilion at the entrance, an elderly man with white hair and beard was drinking tea while gazing into the distance.

He is the manager here, named Yi Xin. He was once a demon tamer, but after his own demon servant died, he did not choose a new one. Instead, he stayed here to guard the huge demon beast garden.

Without demon servants, he lived and died just like any ordinary person, growing old, getting sick, and dying. The older he got, the more open-minded he became, and he was very satisfied with his current life.

"Master, when can I leave?" A weary voice called out from not far away, "I'm a demon tamer too, why can't I go? Why do I have to stay here and shovel poop?"

Yi Xin withdrew his gaze, looked at the black-clad youth in front of him who was covered in excrement and looked defiant, and sighed, "Hasn't Kou Feng's incident made you realize something?"

"Why not?" the young man exclaimed excitedly. "That's why I'm even more determined to help, even he..."

At this point, he suddenly didn't know how to continue.

On that day, Kou Feng, along with his demon servants, chased after the escaped Rat-Head Flower, only to discover that the creature was so cunning.

Kou Feng was seriously injured and nearly died. In the end, the demon servant saved his life with his own demon core, but the demon servant was reduced to ashes.

Moreover, the demon core can only temporarily save his life; if he is not detoxified in time, he still won't live for more than a month.

"Wu Fei, tell me yourself, in what ways are you better than him?" Yi Xin sighed.

"You two should have entered the Demon Tamer's sect in the same period, even the opportunities you chose for the demon beasts are so similar. He wanted to eat eels, while you impulsively caught wasps..."

"Master!" the young man in black interrupted him, "Can we not talk about the past? Who could be more unlucky than me? Getting stung all over my head by my own wasps on the very first day?"

"You deserved it," Yi Xin sneered, continuing regardless.

"If you ask me, he's better than you. At least he's learned the water demon formations in the Demon Control Book to a mediocre degree. What about you? You're just a diligent servant demon, but you're not as hardworking as a novice disciple. You only know two insect formations. How dare you say you're helping? You should at least not drag him down."

"Master, can't you give me some face? I'm a proper demon tamer now, after all!"

The young man looked around and, finding no one nearby, sighed helplessly.

"I want to learn too, but those formations are too hard to remember, they make me sleepy just looking at them... Besides, the commander is amazing, remembering two formations is enough for him!"

Yi Xin shook his head. Even their naming styles were so similar; no wonder the two had such a good relationship.

However, Wu Fei's worries were not unfounded. He was the first to discover it that day, and in the end, he forced his way into Banshanju and even got into a fight with He Wenwen.

Where is your demon servant?

The young man looked around and replied matter-of-factly, "I don't know, she's probably hiding somewhere to cultivate again! Kou Feng's matter has really affected her."

Yi Xin looked at him with a disappointed expression and sighed earnestly, "Wake up! If you keep being so hopeless, you'll be the next Kou Feng."

The young man's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.

Yi Xin took a sip of tea, waved to him, and said, "Go if you want! Remember what I said."

The young man was silent for a moment, then cupped his hands to the old man and said, "Yes, Master, I will follow your teachings."

Wu Fei changed back into the green robes of a demon tamer and left the demon beast garden. Since the formation of Yanshi Ridge had malfunctioned, Kou Xiaobai had been temporarily sent there to try to repair it and keep watch over it.

Meanwhile, many martial arts practitioners also came to the town. The selection of demon slayers is the opposite of that of demon tamers. Initially, they were called "Unwavering Lords". Only those who could not be bewitched by the demonic energy on the demonic artifacts could pass the test. Those who were bewitched would be manipulated by the demonic artifacts.

Even after acquiring their own demon weapon, one cannot use it immediately. To fully master a demon weapon, one must undergo a period of training, progressing from initially wielding it as a mere weapon, to using it for simple killing moves as a martial arts master, until finally being able to unleash the demonic power inherent in the weapon itself, only then can one become a true demon slayer.

Nowadays, the number of people in Lanjia Town who have truly become demon slayers can be counted on one hand. Although demon slayers are powerful and are the only demon masters who can kill demons on their own, in the end, they all consume their own life fire to drive the demon-slaying weapon, so most of them do not live long.

Killing rats is hardly the job of a demon slayer; Wu Lizi is more than capable. The others are busy preparing the wedding room and arranging security for the other two towns. They are all extremely busy, since the other party is the senior sister of the demon slayer ancestor Lan Fengguang, and She Liuying, one of the Six Palace Immortals, a fearsome demon feared by all the demons on Qiling Mountain.

Inside the Yang Palace at this moment.

"I've temporarily put the matter of Koujia Town on hold. Kou Feng is just a warning. You've all been to Yanshiling. What are your thoughts?"

Kou Qiyu frowned slightly, looking mature and experienced. His demon servant was hidden in the shadow beneath him.

He looked young, but was actually over fifty. He only appeared very young because he was a demon servant. He looked at the middle-aged man sitting on his left.

The man was relaxed, holding a cup of tea. He felt Kou Qiyu's gaze and helplessly lowered his hand, straightening his sleeves. He seemed to have no patience at all.

He was none other than the Demon-Slaying Ancestor, Lan Fengguang. He looked to be around thirty years old, with graying temples and a dignified appearance, but his words were never pleasant.

"That place is close to the turtle's den. Could it be the work of those demons? Or that snake den? Why not just burn it down?"

"It was burned, but not completely." He spoke slowly, pausing to catch his breath after a few words. He was pale and weak, and sitting at the back, he looked thinner than the other three.

The Demon Refining Elder lineage has declined to this day. Because of a mistake he made when refining pills in his early years, he developed health problems and was often bedridden. He passed on all his skills to his two disciples.

One was deep-thinking and eccentric, while the other was simple, timid, and incapable of taking on great responsibilities. When asked to take on more apprentices, he simply couldn't find suitable candidates.

"And Wenwen also gave me the poison sample, which is a bit troublesome." Xu Jinnian, the Demon Refining Ancestor, shook his head.

"Even you can't solve it?" Kou Qiyu's expression became even more solemn.

Xu Jinnian was silent for a moment. “It’s not that it can’t be cured, but that we can’t find the key ingredient. Those who are poisoned all show signs of resurrection after death. Unless we burn them all, they will disappear. But those rat-head flowers will disappear when burned. However, they don’t look like demons. Senior Brother Lan, are your demon-slaying weapons not very effective? Aren’t they no different from ordinary weapons?”

"Well... a bunch of rats wouldn't need a demon-slaying artifact!" Lan Fengguang replied vaguely.

“Those are no ordinary rats,” Xu Jinnian corrected. “They are a group of poisonous rats of unknown origin, and this has never happened before. Have you ever seen any records of rat-head flowers in ancient books?”

"That's why I said it might be those demons outside who are behind this. They've been eyeing the Yang Palace for a long time!" Lan Fengguang rudely interrupted Xu Jinnian.

Xu Jinnian coughed a few times and then fell silent.

"I'll go take a look." The woman, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly spoke. The sunlight behind her blurred her expression. She stood up, and her presence seemed to weigh heavily on everyone. Even the tall and slender Lan Fengguang bowed his head beside her.

The Demon-Slaying Bow, as tall as an ordinary person, seemed perfectly suited to her, exuding a menacing aura that inspired fear in all who beheld it.

"Senior Sister, it's not necessary to use your Divine Annihilation yet," Lan Fengguang interrupted. "You still have to busy yourself with Xiangxiang's wedding preparations. Speaking of which, how are your disciples doing?"

Lan Fengguang deliberately steered the conversation towards marriage, but Xu Jinnian glanced at him and shook his head, "I'm afraid Xiangxiang..."

“It’s an arranged marriage, and judging by the time, she should be here soon,” She Liuying interrupted Xu Jinnian.

Just then, Kou Qiyu's shadow suddenly stretched long and thin. He frowned and murmured, "Xiangxiang is back?"

Everyone snapped back to their senses. The slender shadow condensed into the shape of a thin woman before them, who calmly replied, "She's back, and she's brought a heavily injured demon with her."