No one could dissuade him, so Chen Nianzhi finally let the old man come along, only reminding the younger clansmen to watch over him carefully.
Counting everyone—young and old—the Chen Immortal Clan had gathered more than forty Qi-training cultivators. Together with the twenty stationed in Pingyang City, their force numbered nearly seventy.
The last time the clan had mobilized so many was sixty years ago, during the Great Beast Calamity. Back then, almost a hundred cultivators marched to the frontlines… and not one returned.
Though everyone now bore the title of "cultivator," their levels varied. It took them four full days to reach Pingyang City.
Upon arrival, they were met by Grand Elder Chen Qingxu, who stroked his long beard and spoke gravely:
"Ten days ago, I ordered the city's protective array activated. No one enters or leaves.If any demonic cultivator still hides within, they're now a turtle trapped in a jar."
Fourth Elder Chen Qingyuan stepped forward eagerly.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's flush them out."
Chen Nianzhi shook his head.
"Pingyang City has tens of thousands of people. Finding a single hidden demon will not be done in a day.And if we press too hard, they may lash out like cornered beasts and cause needless bloodshed.We must act carefully."
He looked over the assembled elders and continued calmly:
"Grand Elder, you and twenty cultivators remain to guard the city's grand formation. Do not move lightly.The search will be carried out by our team from Qingyuan Mountain."
And so, within a few brief exchanges, the plan to hunt the demonic cultivator was set.
Those guarding the formation would remain in place. The others would divide into groups of five, each led by a late-stage Qi cultivator to ensure safety. The remaining four would conduct the inspection itself.
Even if the demon had mastered a concealment art, such cross-checking would expose any trace of demonic qi in their body.
It was a slow, methodical method—likely to take a month to complete the entire city—but safe.
Chen Nianzhi and two other ninth-layer elders would patrol personally, ready to strike should any demon be found.
Once the plan was set, the Grand Elder issued orders: the city guards were to cooperate, maintaining order and escorting the populace to be examined.
At dawn the next day, Chen clan cultivators stood across the great plaza, screening mortals one by one for demonic taint according to the city registry.
From the high platform, Chen Nianzhi watched the bustling crowd below and murmured, brows slightly furrowed:
"It's said that powerful immortal clans possess Demon-Refining Treasures—artifacts capable of exposing corruption in an instant.If we had such a treasure, we wouldn't need to move heaven and earth like this."
Beside him, Chen Qingwan smiled softly, eyes filled with longing.
"They say the Hao-Tian Mirror of the Qingyang Sect is such a treasure.Its divine light drives back all evil; even Purple Mansion demons can't resist it.Weaker fiends are annihilated the moment its reflection touches them.A treasure like that would make even Golden Core clans envious. I wonder if our Chen clan will ever see such fortune."
Old Uncle Chen Changyan chuckled and glanced at Chen Nianzhi, his eyes warm with hope.
"Little Nianzhi, your spiritual affinity is the highest in our family—you may well be touched by the Heavens themselves.I won't live to see it, but if you ever obtain a Demon-Refining Treasure, bring it to my grave so I can take one last look."
Everyone laughed lightly, taking it as a joke. Only Chen Nianzhi's eyes grew solemn.
A Demon-Refining Treasure… Someday, we will have one.
The first few days passed smoothly. By dusk of the first day, they had inspected nearly five thousand people—no trace of demonic qi found.
No one was surprised. Demonic infiltrators were everywhere in the world, even among immortal clans, but never in great numbers.
For several days, all went according to plan—until the fourth day.
That morning, among the crowd waiting in the square, one man looked especially nervous. As the guards brought him forward, his expression twisted, and in a flash of madness he hurled out a blood-red skull toward the examiner.
But Chen Nianzhi had sensed something amiss long before. The golden blade in his hand flashed like lightning—one arc of light, and the demonic cultivator was cleaved in two.
The fifth elder, Chen Qingwan, stepped forward, peeled a human-skin mask from the corpse, and revealed an unfamiliar face.
The city guard captain arrived quickly, saluting before reporting:
"This man's name was Chen Dabao, forty-seven years old.Lived alone, nothing strange about him until now. His parents died more than ten years ago, after which he became reclusive.I never thought a demon would have stolen his identity and lived among us all this time."
Chen Qingwan's face turned cold.
"Ten years… so this fiend has hidden in Pingyang under a mortal name for more than a decade."
Pingyang sat atop a second-rank spirit vein. Though most of its aura was drawn into the defensive formation, for a low-tier demonic cultivator it was still a perfect cultivation ground.
Chen Nianzhi sheathed his golden blade, eyes narrowing.
"Take us to his home."
Led by the city guard, they moved swiftly through the narrow streets until they reached a small courtyard.
The moment Chen Nianzhi stepped inside, his expression hardened. He strode to the woodshed, kicked aside a pile of firewood, and tore open the trapdoor to a hidden cellar—only to find dozens of severed human heads stacked below.
"This… this is for refining Skull Demon Heads," muttered old Chen Changyan, face pale.
He explained to the gathered cultivators that such skulls were used to forge a type of demonic artifact.
"A hundred years ago, the 'Withered-Bone Demon' of Chu Kingdom forged his infamous Bone Skull this way.To do so, he massacred several Purple Mansion clans and harvested tens of millions of mortal heads.When that abomination was unleashed, the wails of ghosts could be heard for hundreds of miles—it turned the land itself into a realm of the dead."
"With that artifact, the Withered-Bone Demon was nearly invincible across Chu.It took the former Sect Master of Qingyang himself, wielding the Hao-Tian Mirror, to destroy him.That battle shattered the sect master's life force; he passed away not long after returning to his mountain."
Chen Nianzhi stood silent before the grisly cellar, the air heavy with blood and memory.
A Demon-Refining Treasure… the Hao-Tian Mirror.Someday, he thought, his clan would wield one not to destroy—but to protect.