Baiyun Ridge, Flying Tiger Mountain, inside a hidden but very spacious cave.

"Is everyone here?"

The Demon King of Baiyun Ridge was a tiger demon missing one eye.

The demon tribes in this area basically all followed his orders, respectfully calling him Tiger Boss.

The title 'Demon King' here was just a form of address, not the same concept as the Demon Kings within the Great Wastes.

Tiger Boss's cultivation level was only at the Soul Tempering realm.

Tiger Boss's single eye swept across the cave, seeing that the main active demon forces within Baiyun Ridge were all present.

There were snakes, bulls, and wild boars.

"The county has already sent word, we all need to lay low for a while, the Inspector from the Prefecture has arrived."

The leader of the Bull Demons was dismissive.

"What Inspector? Aren't they just going through the motions every time they come, putting on a show? Those pampered officials aren't used to coming into the mountains, am I right, folks?"

A group of demons roared with laughter, the atmosphere was quite lively.

Tiger Boss spoke seriously.

"The one in the county said, this Inspector who's come is different. This guy called Zhang Miao is meticulous in his work, he won't let any corner of Baiyun County slip by!"

The laughter in the cave diminished considerably.

An Inspector descending from the Prefecture city would have a martial arts realm of at least the Golden Body Realm.

The demon tribes entrenched in Baiyun Ridge were no match for that.

Tiger Boss stood up, fiddled with the armrest of his stone seat, turning it left and right; it looked quite complex.

"Rumble..."

A section of the inner cave wall opened up, revealing a pitch-black, deep passageway.

"For the next period of time, until that Inspector leaves, we'll hide in here first."

Looking at the dark, damp underground passage, a group of demons showed bitter expressions.

Even though they were demons, a wild race that crawled and rolled in the wilderness, that didn't mean they liked staying in a place devoid of sunlight.

Helpless, urged on by Tiger Boss, they could only line up and walk into this passage, heading towards the underground cavern deep within the tunnel.

"Rumble..."

Tiger Boss walked at the very front. The stone wall behind the demons closed with a loud bang after they had all entered.

Suddenly, a bull demon walking at the very back stopped, its cow ears twitching.

"Seems like someone's coming?"

Tiger Boss turned his head.

"The Inspector's people are here already?"

"Doesn't sound like the Inspector..."

"It's fine, no matter who it is, they won't discover this secret cavern."

The old bull heard footsteps from the outer cave, and the sound of a person talking to themselves.

"What's it to you what I'm doing here? I go wherever I want!"

"Nag, nag, nag! All you know is nagging me to go find some stupid Earth Vein, aren't you annoying?"

"Do I have to shout three times, 'The Number One Ancient and Modern Evil Artifact is Here'?"

The old bull pressed its ear against the mountain wall; it felt this person's footsteps were getting closer and closer to them.

He lowered his voice, speaking to the demons in the passage.

"Tiger Boss, something's not right, this person seems to be heading straight for this mountain wall..."

Tiger Boss remained confident.

"Probably just a passerby, casually looking around the cave. This mechanism was custom-made for the mountain by a human mechanism master I captured, borrowing the fortune of the earth. No one can break through it..."

"BOOM!!!"

Before Tiger Boss could finish his sentence.

A fist shimmering with golden light smashed through the mountain wall!

Massive rocks shattered, flying in all directions!

The golden light from outside the passage shone in, giving the demons the illusion that a deity had arrived!

Tiger Boss cursed in his heart, "Shoddy construction," then immediately gave the order.

"Kill him!"

The demons surged out one after another from the passage leading to the underground cavern.

They bared their fangs and brandished their claws, their faces ferocious, unleashing a variety of demonic arts.

Chen Yi didn't even look at them directly, just kept busy arguing with the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

At the same time, he extended a finger, continuously firing "Shattering Star Ripple Finger" at the charging demons.

"Biu! Biu! Biu!"

The demons shattered all over the ground.

"See? What did I tell you? There's a bunch of demons here."

"Bro, you have a dog's nose? I didn't even sense them! But then again, with my current broken main body, not even a Spirit Artifact, it really affects my performance."

"Stop making excuses. If you're weak, practice more."

"Waaah yah yah yah... You infuriate me!"

Chen Yi killed while the Ten Thousand Souls Banner collected the demon souls.

This thing muttered to itself while collecting souls.

"I'll collect you first, then you, then you! Yes, yes, yes, just you bunch of demon souls! The situation is under my control! It's your turn to enter the banner soon, I have no reason to keep you waiting any longer!"

The passage to the underground cavern was relatively narrow, only wide enough for two or three demons to walk abreast.

The demons in front charged out, were killed by Chen Yi with a single finger tap, not even a grunt.

The demons behind thought their brothers in front were fighting desperately, shouldn't they go out and lend a hand?

Thus, they charged forward one after another.

Only after rushing out of the passage and seeing Chen Yi's demon-slaying, unblinking demeanor did they realize.

They'd run into a living nightmare!

Tiger Boss had been at the very front when entering the passage.

Therefore, he was the last one to charge out.

"Little ones!! This person has seen us, we must not let him leave!! Follow me..."

Tiger Boss slammed on the brakes, stopping ten paces away from Chen Yi.

One man and one tiger, three eyes met.

Tiger Boss looked at the shattered corpses littering the ground. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"They're... they're all dead..."

Chen Yi spoke unhurriedly.

"Big tabby cat, do you know our Great Qian has a Demon Suppression Tower?"

"I know, Senior."

"From what I know, this Demon Suppression Tower is used to imprison demons who, although they committed evil in the past, are willing to provide information and assistance to the Demon Slaying Division. Life inside isn't easy, but at least you don't die."

"That's right."

"Do you want to go to the Demon Suppression Tower, or fight me to the death?"

"I've always yearned for the Demon Suppression Tower. The demons inside are all old seniors, they speak so nicely, I super like it inside. Please, Senior, give me a chance."

Tiger Boss was now as docile as a kitten.

He walked upright like a human, but had a tiger's fur, claws, fangs, and tail.

This three-meter-tall hulk now stood before Chen Yi, looking exactly like a pet cat standing up and acting cute.

"Do as I say, I won't kill you. I'll have the Demon Slaying Division send you to the Demon Suppression Tower to retire."

"As you command!"

...

Several days later.

Baiyun County Town.

The inspection team from the Baling Prefecture Demon Slaying Division, led by Zhang Miao, entered the city.

A group of officials from the county magistrate's office and the county's Demon Slaying Division prepared a grand welcome banquet for Zhang Miao and his team.

Zhang Miao did not attend.

The county's gentry and prominent families sent various gifts to the posthouse where Zhang Miao was staying.

Zhang Miao did not accept them.

As night fell, Shen Qingshan, busy all day, passed by the county posthouse. Seeing the pile of rejected gifts at the door, he couldn't help but sigh.

"I didn't expect this Lord Zhang to truly be a man of principle."

A voice suddenly appeared behind Shen Qingshan.

"Then let's help this Lord Zhang out."

Shen Qingshan was startled, turning around to see Chen Yi carrying a long sword and spear on his back. His face immediately lit up with joy.

"Fourth Brother, you're finally back. Your Third Sister has been nagging in my ear every day, almost wearing it out."

Chen Yi took out a letter, which recorded all the hiding places of the demons in Baiyun Ridge.

Of course, now those places only contained corpses that were very hard to piece back together.

"Brother-in-law, I have a plan to expose the collusion between Baiyun County officials and demons. Would you like to be a part of it?"

A certain light ignited in Shen Qingshan's eyes...