But this didn’t mean he thought Divine Techniques were useless.
The Soul-Splitting Silk Thread Guide was never a detection-type Divine Technique in the first place; it was meant to control Magical Treasures and physical bodies.
He had been able to operate with such ease before because the Cultivators here had no methods for training their Divine Souls.
In fact, even the Vice Generals and Captains of the Demon-slaying Bureau wouldn’t have been able to detect his split souls.
The real trouble was the Magical Artifacts and Immortal Talismans from the Qi Family.
This time, the imposter had met the genuine article.
’This is turning into a headache.’
Lin Shu was already on the fence about getting involved in this matter.
Now that his split souls couldn’t get near the Demon-slaying Bureau’s constables, he was effectively deaf and blind to their activities, losing a major advantage.
Besides, since that group was so well-prepared, they were bound to have other powerful techniques at their disposal.
This bounty of Merit and Sin Coins was proving much harder to earn than he had imagined.
’I’ll just have to wait and see for now.’
Lin Shu closed his eyes. As he exerted his full power, five distinct split souls surged forth from his body.
This was his limit without affecting his own consciousness.
His split souls couldn’t spy on the Demon-slaying Bureau, but he could at least send them to the vicinity of the Demon Mountain to gather what little information they could.
It was better than nothing, he supposed.
"Lin Shu, are you in trouble again?"
Yu Sheng put down her rice bowl. Perhaps it was their Essence Blood connection, or perhaps it was because she always kept most of her attention focused on the young man.
The little fledgling was always the first to sense a change in his mood.
She hesitated for a moment. "Maybe I should..."
"Don’t do anything foolish."
Lin Shu shot her a look.
He knew what the little one wanted to say.
If Yu Sheng revealed her adult form, she would immediately gain more authority at Yongzhou Pass and be able to get truly involved in these matters.
But he knew full well that disaster was set to strike in two months.
If the little one were to take on such a position, it wouldn’t be so easy for her to escape when the time came.
That was why Yu Sheng’s current position was perfect.
She had a firm grip on Shihu City, but she didn’t have to directly confront Demons or the Great Shun Dynasty like Yu Duchuan.
"It should be fine."
Lin Shu went back behind the counter and sat down.
’If worst comes to worst,’ he thought, ’I just won’t earn this bounty of Merit and Sin Coins.’
Given Elder Xu’s cautious nature, this Demon-cleansing operation wasn’t likely to reach his group of Little Demons anyway.
He mulled it over for a moment.
With nothing better to do, he simply took out his Storage Bag and began to inspect his Magical Artifacts and Elixirs.
「Yongzhou Pass, the sprawling Demon Mountains.」
Because the Yu Family garrisoned this area, the mountain range itself remained nameless, despite being home to countless Demons.
A Demon Monarch named Cloud Dragon once sought to rule over the mountains.
At the time, a member of the Yu Family, the Immortal Family Qiheng, had just attained Golden Core Magical Power. Aided by the might of the Mountain God Mirror, he grievously wounded the Cloud Dragon Demon Monarch.
And that was the end of that.
No other Demon Monarch was willing to risk coming here.
WHOOSH.
Among Xu Zhonglin’s many Captains, he was the only veteran to have reached the Core Formation Realm.
All he needed now was to personally slay a Demon General to accumulate enough merit for a promotion to Vice General.
A Plain-Clothed Disciple swooped in from the sky, dropping a secret message.
"Thank you, Junior Brother."
Although the Captains of the Demon-slaying Bureau had no formal master-disciple lineage, they were all considered disciples of the Qi Family.
They were all disciples of a Half-Life Immortal Family.
Since he had already reached Core Formation, there was nothing improper about him calling this Yu Family Disciple ’Junior Brother’.
"You’re too kind, Senior Brother." The Plain-Clothed Disciple clearly didn’t want to linger on the Demon Mountain. He forced a smile and swiftly flew away.
"Heh."
Seeing the other man’s timid expression, Gong Yue couldn’t help but let out a soft sneer.
There was a reason the Demon-slaying Bureau Captains looked down on ordinary Immortal Disciples.
Only by using brutal methods to slaughter enough Demons could one erase that lingering fear of them from their heart.
"With over thirty Demon Generals, there’s bound to be one in there for me."
He scanned the secret message, his gaze pausing on the final line of text.
When he read that this particular Demon’s aura had yet to be detected...
The sneer on Gong Yue’s lips widened. He completely ignored the name "Moon-Devouring," his eyes skipping to the Demon General listed above it.
Only these gutless fools, sheltered by their Masters and with no real experience of life-or-death battles, would fall for such a crude trick.
"Duan Yue?"
’Could it be fate?’
’It’ll be you.’
Gong Yue noticed that the Demon General’s name, Duan Yue, shared a syllable with his own.
The feeling that his promotion was imminent grew even stronger.
He casually put away the secret message, changed their original route, and led his men toward the area where Demon General Duan Yue was most frequently sighted.
"You haven’t forgotten what I taught you earlier, have you?"
As they traversed the perilous landscape, Gong Yue spoke slowly. "When tracking Demons, the most important thing is to find an opening. Once you find the first one, it’s easy to follow the trail to the source."
"Understood!"
The thirty-odd new recruits cupped their fists in unison, their expressions a mixture of nervousness and excitement.
Chang Yi blended into the crowd, his expression identical to everyone else’s, revealing nothing out of the ordinary.
He looked just like any other naive rookie, eagerly hoping to earn enough merit for a promotion.
Though he wanted to do something for his aunt, this was definitely not the right moment.
’My Cultivation is too low,’ he thought. ’I might only get one chance.’
’For now, I have to follow orders and avoid arousing suspicion.’
"Alright."
Another veteran Captain surveyed the surroundings. "If you remember, then spread out."
Just then, Gong Yue suddenly waved a hand toward the new recruits. "Chang Yi, come here."
"Senior Gong, your orders!"
Chang Yi quickly jogged over, and then, under the envious stares of the others, Gong Yue slung an arm around his shoulders.
"You know, I’ve always thought highly of you. In fact, even if you hadn’t asked, I would have taken the initiative to bring you to the Border Region."
Gong Yue patted the young man—Blackhead—on the shoulder with a broad smile. "And do you know why?"

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