“In the past six months, two high-level Demon Vanquishers have come to me,” Xu Jingming said. “They want to track down the Heaven Demon. I’m certain that I didn’t see the Heaven Demon, nor do I know where he is.”

“You never saw him?” The middle-aged woman frowned slightly. “Could it be that Cheng’an Prefecture’s Mountain Lord Dongming really lied on purpose before his death?”

“I don’t know.” Xu Jingming shook his head. “Perhaps he’s lying. Perhaps Heaven Demons are too good at hiding.”

“When I learned that you and your servant arrived in the prefecture capital, I had already investigated all the suspicious people around you.” The middle-aged woman shook her head. “I didn’t discover any Heaven Demons.”

The middle-aged woman smiled. “I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Liu Yinshu, an eighth-realm Demon Vanquisher. I’ve established an organization for high-realm Demon Vanquishers to help each other, and it’s called the Listening Library. High-realm Demon Vanquishers can join. After joining, be it Dharmic Artifact materials, news of Heaven Demons, or some business dealings in reality, you can get help from one another.”

“The high-realm Demon Vanquishers in Listening Library are mainly active in the Scarlet Cloud State,” the middle-aged woman said. “I’ve checked your dossier, Mr. Wu Ming. You should be at the limit of Lv. 8 in reality, right? After entering the Demon Vanquishing World, you became familiar with the Demon Vanquishing technique and quickly reached the sixth realm.”

Xu Jingming smiled.

“Many peak Lv. 8s from countless civilizations in the universe come to Demon Vanquishing World to give it a try,” the middle-aged woman continued. “Not only Demon Vanquishing World, but all kinds of possibilities will be tried.”

Xu Jingming nodded. “It’s all for that sliver of hope to break through to become an Origin lifeform.”

“Many people leave after trying for decades,” the middle-aged woman said. “But there’s one good thing about the Demon Vanquishing World. From the Demon Vanquisher’s realm, one can determine how far their mental strength is from that of an Origin lifeform.”

Xu Jingming was stunned.

It was true!

The Primordial Research Institute could accurately determine his mental strength index. Ordinary Lv. 8 cosmic lifeforms didn’t have the chance, but they could use the Demon Vanquishing World to determine the approximate level of their mental strength.

“The seventh realm is considered ordinary at the limit of Lv. 8. Eighth-realm Demon Vanquishers represent very high mental strength. The ninth realm… isn’t far from an Origin lifeform,” the middle-aged woman said.

Xu Jingming knew very well.

According to the statistics of the Primordial Research Institute’s peripheral members, one could reach the seventh realm with a mental strength index of 6,000. One could reach the eighth realm with a mental strength index of 9,000. A mental strength index of 9,500 meant the ninth realm.

With the help of Ice Flower Spirit Liquid, the threshold could be slightly lowered.

“Mr. Wu Ming, if you reach the seventh realm, you’re welcome to join Listening Library,” the middle-aged woman said with a smile. “It’s not that I’m writing you off as weak, but you have to be a high-level Demon Vanquisher to deal with a Heaven Demon.”

“I understand,” Xu Jingming said. “It’s because I’m not strong enough.”

“I believe Mr. Wu Ming will reach the seventh realm very soon. When that happens, I can be contacted via any Listening Library in Scarlet Cloud State,” the middle-aged woman remarked.

Xu Jingming nodded. “I’ll consider it.”

“Then, I won’t disturb you.” With that said, the middle-aged woman’s figure gradually faded and disappeared.

Xu Jingming frowned slightly.

The Demon Vanquishing World provided the greatest help to one’s mental strength; it did gather a large number of Lv. 8 cosmic lifeforms. Those who could become high-realm Demon Vanquishers were at the limit of Lv. 8.

Every peak Lv. 8 usually had very powerful influence in reality.

A faction established by peak Lv. 8s can also do trade in reality? Xu Jingming thought to himself. There are many Lv. 8s in Demon Vanquishing World, so it’s completely possible to form a very large corporation in reality.

Of course, that wasn’t his goal! His goal was to become an Origin lifeform.

I’ve never seen high-realm Demon Vanquishers in Cheng’an Prefecture before! But in the past half a year, including this person today… three high-realm Demon Vanquishers came to me. They were all investigating the Heaven Demon.

From this, it can be seen how difficult it is to find a Heaven Demon, Xu Jingming thought to himself. Thankfully, I’m only in my thirties and have limited experience. Earth Demon obsessions… are still quite helpful to me.

It probably won’t be easy for me to find a Heaven Demon in the future. Xu Jingming also learned this from the intelligence gathered.

Ordinary demons were constantly produced in every prefecture capital. Members of the Demon Vanquishing Division often killed them.

Many Earth Demons ruled over a territory and reigned supreme. They did whatever they wanted, and it was easy to find them.

The exception was Heaven Demons!

Heaven Demons are hidden among countless humans, Xu Jingming thought. And the few Heaven Demons who dare to publicly reveal their identity and occupy an area have reached an unimaginable level.

Even ninth-realm Demon Vanquishers, who were close to becoming an Origin lifeform, wouldn’t dare claim that they could deal with all the Heaven Demons.

A ninth-realm Demon Vanquisher like Redeye suffered a setback.

“Young Master.” Wu Qi walked out of the house. “Has she left?”

“Another one who’s trying to track down the Heaven Demon again,” Xu Jingming said. “She couldn’t find him, so she came to ask me.”

“There are so many Earth Demons in the world causing trouble everywhere. Instead of dealing with them, they are trying their best to track down a Heaven Demon?” Wu Qi shook his head and sighed.

At this moment, a waiter from the inn delivered the food and drinks.

“Young Master, let’s have dinner first,” Wu Qi said.

Xu Jingming sat down and thought to himself, I wonder if there are really Heaven Demons watching me.

Forget it. I’ll focus on studying Light Rays and perfecting my divine powers. The stronger I am, the more confident I am in dealing with Heaven Demons. Xu Jingming didn’t think too much about it. He had improved very quickly in the past half a year.

Every Lv. 8 cosmic lifeform improved very quickly in the beginning, but they slowed down as time passed until they came to a standstill.

For example, Xu Jingming’s Eldest Senior Brother Gu Shan had a mental strength index of 9,123 when at the age of 500, but he remained a little short of 10,000 in the subsequent 500 years.

Senior Sister Kabuya—who was ranked seventh—had joined the Primordial Research Institute not long ago. At the age of 155, her mental strength index exceeded 5,000.

My mental strength has improved quite quickly in the past six months. With the help of Ice Flower Spirit Liquid, I’ve broken through to the sixth realm, Xu Jingming thought, but my divine powers aren’t perfected yet.

He learned divine powers very quickly. However, it was too difficult to create one.

…

The next morning.

Xu Jingming went out for a stroll, and Wu Qi also went out to inquire about the local Earth Demons.

How lively. Xu Jingming arrived at a market.

At the market, many vendors were selling their wares. Xu Jingming watched many people bargaining and saw some vendors with their children. In the past half a year, he had refined many Earth Demon obsessions.

The experiences of every Earth Demon would fuse into Xu Jingming’s consciousness, and a strong obsession would attack his mind. The lives of these ordinary people resonated with Xu Jingming.

It’s like reincarnation in Earth’s myths, he thought. Ordinary people in this world live here for decades. They work hard, get married, and have children… Isn’t it just a life in the cycle of reincarnation? What’s virtual?

Decades of devotion; that’s reality.

In the past half a year, Xu Jingming had traveled everywhere and observed the lives of the people. He refined the demons’ obsessions and experienced their encounters.

He knew that these demons were too stubborn and had taken the wrong path, but he could understand them.

The human nature I see in reality isn’t as complicated as the human nature in the Demon Vanquishing World. Xu Jingming was also growing. He felt that the benefits of the Demon Vanquishing World weren’t limited to demon refinement.

Seeing all living beings and comprehending them while refining demons was also another benefit. The growth in this aspect was very obvious for the young Xu Jingming.