Chapter 81: Breathing Techniques and Undercurrents

...

Late at night, Chen Huaian turned over in his sleep.

"Hmm, I wonder if Qingran is being bullied in her new sect?" He took out his phone and glanced at it.

In his drowsy state, he saw that Li Qingran was still cultivating, so he casually tossed the phone aside and went back to sleep.

On the windowsill, Ba Ji, curled up in a ball, broke into a cold sweat.

Only after confirming that Chen Huaian was asleep again did it finally relax. It released the aura of the Taotie under the moonlight and the Nine-Turn Spirit Orchid. Its body seemed to extend countless dark tendrils, connecting with the shadows in the room, and an evil aura emanated from it.

[This green carp is really lucky.]

Ba Ji snorted coldly as it looked at the green carp in the basin, basking in the spiritual energy.

In this era of scarce spiritual energy, being able to live in an environment rich in spiritual energy alongside a big shot was an incredible opportunity. As for how it learned about this era, it mainly picked up information from Chen Huaian watching TV. Later, when Chen Huaian went out, it would even turn on the TV itself to gather more information.

It now knew that the iron box that nearly killed it last time was called a semi-trailer truck.

It wasn't a human weapon but a means of transportation.

Human weapons were things called guns and cannons, somewhat similar to hidden weapons, capable of killing enemies from a distance.

After learning all this, it became even more convinced that the big shot was here to comprehend the Dao.

The big shot traveled through countless worlds, sealing his power and memories to experience the Dao principles of different worlds, thus perfecting his own Dao. But one should never think that the big shot, with his power sealed, could be easily bullied. Since the big shot dared to seal his power and memories, it meant he had a way to protect himself. Ba Ji guessed that the thing called a "phone" was the big shot's contingency plan!

This phone was completely different from human phones.

Human phones could display images on the screen, but the big shot's phone was just black.

What was on it was something only the big shot could see—the secret to his Dao comprehension!

At first, Ba Ji had some covetous thoughts, but after the appearance of the Purple Sky Divine Thunder Talisman, it completely settled down.

[This green carp must have been intentionally left by the big shot. Since the big shot wants to keep it, I'll give it a chance too!]

As one of the four ancient ferocious beasts, the Taotie could be considered the ancestor of all demons.

Enlightening a creature, allowing it to gradually become a demon and even possess a stronger bloodline, was just a trivial matter for it.

Ba Ji pressed its cat paw on the green carp's head, and a drop of dark red blood seeped into the carp's forehead.

[At this rate, it'll take at most two months for this carp to become a demon.]

Ba Ji retracted its paw, its round eyes filled with cunning.

If the green carp became a demon, it would serve as a shield. As long as the big shot's memories hadn't returned, his attention would surely be focused on the demonized green carp. That way, some of Ba Ji's un-cat-like traits wouldn't be so noticeable.

[Hehehe! I'm such a genius!!!]

...

"Stupid cat, what are you doing in the middle of the night..."

Chen Huaian casually threw a pillow, and his hand brushed against the phone screen as it returned.

In the game, Li Qingran was still cultivating.

A game prompt popped up.

[Your remaining lifespan: 57 days]

[Today's fortune: Small luck, suitable for marriage]

...

Tianfu, Demon-Slaying Bureau.

"Three Zero, are you sure you're telling the truth? And not just spinning a story to fool me?"

The bearded man looked at the girl in a school uniform in front of him, his face full of disbelief.

What did this girl just say?

That a big shot casually used seven or eight talismans that could summon thunder and fire, and that he lived with a Class A demon?!

Is this even Chinese??

"Brother Wu, although I'm not a formal member of the Demon-Slaying Bureau, you should know my character." Lin Lingling had already received basic first aid, and after using the bureau's special wound medicine, her injuries had improved significantly. However, she still needed to lean on her spear to stand properly.

She added, "Moreover, I suspect that demon might not just be a Class A demon—it could even be a Demon Fiend!"

This was getting more and more exaggerated. The bearded man was speechless.

Currently, the Demon-Slaying Bureau classified demons into Demon Generals, Demon Fiends, Demon Beasts, and Monsters.

Monsters were demons that had just emerged due to the spiritual energy resurgence. Their evolution mainly involved consuming flesh and blood and devouring each other. Demon Fiends could only be dealt with by Soldier-level awakened individuals. Anyone below that level would be cannon fodder, as these demons possessed intelligence comparable to humans and couldn't be outsmarted.

If what Lin Lingling said was true and it was indeed a Demon Fiend, then they were in trouble.

Because the C Province Demon-Slaying Bureau didn't have a single Soldier-level awakened individual. Both he and Old Li were only top-tier Masters, nowhere near capable of handling such a Demon Fiend.

"By the way, you just said this demon lives with a mysterious awakened individual, right? And this person can use thunder talismans?"

"Yes, I tested him, and he didn't seem to know about the Demon-Slaying Bureau."

Lin Lingling rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I have two suspicions. First, this awakened individual is a wild awakened person who doesn't know about the bureau, but it's suspicious that a wild awakened person could already control his powers so freely. Second, he's also a member of the Demon-Slaying Bureau or another civilian demon-slaying organization, but he's on a secret mission, which is why he ignored my probing."

"No, there's a third possibility." The bearded man's expression turned grave. "Have you considered that he might be an out-of-control awakened individual?"

"Out-of-control?" Lin Lingling recalled Chen Huaian's video account and his stupidly clear, innocent eyes.

How could an out-of-control individual have the eyes of a college boy?

She hadn't even considered that possibility.

The bearded man had also seen Chen Huaian's video account, but he believed it wasn't enough to draw conclusions.

After all, people could pretend.

"This matter must be taken seriously!" The bearded man slammed the table and stood up, his eyes burning as he stared at Lin Lingling. "Right now, you're the only one who's had contact with this mysterious awakened individual, and he hasn't attacked you. So, your mission is to continue monitoring him. If he or the demon in his room shows any abnormalities, report it immediately. I've already requested a Soldier-level individual from headquarters. You just need to buy time."

"Me?" Lin Lingling pointed at herself, her lips twitching. "I'm just a top-tier White-level. You want me to monitor that big shot?"

"Do this well, and I'll promote you to Master-level." The bearded man clasped his hands and smiled. "You know the Demon-Slaying Bureau is short on manpower, and most civilian demon slayers are cowards. Three Zero, you're different. You're the bravest. I've always had high hopes for you. Just delay until the Soldier-level demon slayer arrives, and not only will I promote you to Master-level, but I'll also make you a formal member!"

"Doesn't promoting to Master-level automatically make me a formal member?" Lin Lingling glanced at the bearded man.

"It's different!" The bearded man opened a drawer and pulled out a file.

"This is the latest breathing technique developed by headquarters. If you get promoted through me, you can receive the first three volumes!"

Breathing technique! They've actually developed a breathing technique!?

Even Lin Lingling's usually expressionless face couldn't hide a flicker of excitement. She touched the spear behind her, looked up at the bearded man, and said firmly, "Deal!"

"However, I'm out of money. I need to take on a simple demon-slaying mission."

"No problem." The bearded man pointed to the densely packed mission board on the wall. "Great, pick any one you like!"

...

Lin Lingling left.

The bearded man propped his left foot on his right knee, placed them on the desk, and looked at the mission board on the wall, leisurely lighting a cigarette.

When he returned in the afternoon, he had been in a panic, but after receiving the document from headquarters, he instantly calmed down.

As the number of demons increased, the Demon-Slaying Bureau was also making progress.

The breathing technique—that was the good news he had heard today.

It was a technique developed by the Demon-Slaying Bureau headquarters, similar to ancient internal martial arts. However, this technique didn't cultivate internal energy but instead captured the sparse high-energy particles in the air and converted true qi into these particles. When these high-energy particles attached to the body, they could significantly increase the power of attacks and enhance physical strength. The effect was similar to internal energy but hundreds of times more powerful.

Headquarters had named these high-energy particles—spiritual energy.

Ten years of grinding a sword, and they had finally achieved a breakthrough!

With the breathing technique, the official Demon-Slaying Bureau would completely surpass civilian demon-slaying organizations.

Demon slayers would no longer be like headless flies in their cultivation. The stagnant levels since the resurgence now had the possibility of improvement. Most importantly, they finally had something valuable to attract awakened individuals to take on missions and join the ranks.

Before this, due to limited control over awakened individuals, the Demon-Slaying Bureau had adopted a hands-off approach to civilian awakened individuals. When they tried to invite them to join the organization, the response was always, "What does the Demon-Slaying Bureau have besides money?"

Now that they had the means, it was time to strike hard.

It was foreseeable that with the appearance of the breathing technique, awakened individuals would gradually gravitate toward the Demon-Slaying Bureau, leaving only one voice in the end!

"As long as humanity unites, what are these demons but ants?"

The bearded man sneered, taking a deep drag from his cigarette until it burned out completely.

He stood up and took the top mission from the wall—another Class A demon reported by his subordinates.

[Mission Location: Kuanzhai Alley Sewer]

[Mission Difficulty: Class A - Demon Beast]

[Information: Suspected to be a demonized stray dog. Its saliva can infect people into 'madmen.' So far, it has caused 17 deaths, including two White-level civilian demon slayers.]

"Damn demon..."

The bearded man narrowed his eyes, clenched his fist, and muttered to himself:

"Tonight, I'll reach the first layer of the Guiyuan True Technique.

I'll just use this demon's head to test whether the breathing technique is strong enough!"

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