「Sanming County Town.」

"What’s going on? Was that an earthquake?"

"Run! The Demon Fiends are attacking the city!"

"Shut up! Stop spreading rumors! Which one of your eyes saw a Demon Fiend?"

"It’s coming from the direction of Lu Shou Pit! Something big is happening over there!"

"..."

Cries of alarm rose throughout the city.

The already suppressed and on-edge citizens grew even more frantic. They wanted to flee but found there was nowhere to run.

But soon, the tremors and loud noises vanished, and the formless energy that had permeated the air slowly dissipated along with them.

"Is it over?"

"What was that just now?"

"What happened over at Lu Shou Pit?"

"..."

Discussions broke out all over the county town.

But no one dared to leave the city to investigate Lu Shou Pit.

「In an ordinary courtyard.」

"Boss, what are Gu and his people up to?"

"Yeah, Li Shangjia and Xing Zhilong are here too. They must be up to something."

"Could they have found out we’re plotting against Gu Zheng?"

"What are you talking about? Unless we leaked the information ourselves, how could they possibly know we exist?"

The five men plotting to capture Gu Zheng alive gathered together, questioning their leader while discussing amongst themselves.

"It’s unclear what happened at Lu Shou Pit. All our people have pulled back."

The plain-faced leader said calmly, "The good news is that Gu Zheng doesn’t have a treasure to resist the toxic miasma. Now we just have to wait for Li Shangjia and Xing Zhilong to leave, and for Gu Zheng to act alone!"

"That’s good."

"I hope Lord Gu is okay."

"Right, nothing can happen to Gu Zheng. He’s only valuable alive!"

"Hahaha!"

The five of them burst into excited laughter.

...

...

「The Lu Shou Pit Tunnel.」

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH~

The sound of rushing wind echoed one after another.

Gu Zheng, Li Shangjia, Xing Zhilong, and Gao Liezhan returned to the high wall one by one, then vaulted over it to hover above Lu Shou Pit, looking down at the former location of the Tunnel Between Two Realms.

"The tunnel really disappeared?" Gao Liezhan panted, his face slightly pale. His eyes were wide with excitement as he stared at where the swirling vortex of the tunnel entrance used to be.

"It hasn’t disappeared."

Li Shangjia said calmly, "The tunnel is still in the same place. It’s just that the entrance has been completely covered and sealed by the Earth Spirit Cover. The yellow sand has fallen on top of the Earth Spirit Cover, making it look as if the tunnel has vanished."

"Hahaha!"

On the ground below, a burst of hearty laughter suddenly rang out.

It was Song Biao, lying sprawled on the sandy ground without a care for his image, laughing up at the sky.

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH~

Gu Zheng descended, landing beside Song Biao.

Xing Zhilong, Li Shangjia, and Gao Liezhan followed, landing as well.

"Master Song, how long can this seal last?" Gu Zheng asked, surveying the sand-covered area where the tunnel entrance had been.

"As long as no one destroys it, it’ll hold for a hundred years, no problem!"

Song Biao panted, not bothering to get up. His clothes were soaked with sweat, but he was ecstatic. "And to destroy my Four Seasons Rotation Spirit Suppression Array, you’d need a Heroic Body Realm expert at the very least!"

"Breaking the array would cause a huge commotion, just like when we set it up—the earth would shake and the mountains would sway."

"And it wouldn’t be quick, because they would first have to destroy the power of the earth’s ley lines!"

"So, even if someone tried to cause trouble, they’d be noticed immediately?" Gao Liezhan asked, summarizing.

"Exactly!" Song Biao said definitively.

"Good!"

Xing Zhilong laughed loudly. "Now that’s what I’m talking about! We have nothing to worry about for a hundred years. After that, this tunnel will probably have disappeared on its own anyway."

"Gu, you’ve achieved another great feat, sealing a Rank 2 tunnel!"

PAT, PAT~

Xing Zhilong couldn’t help but raise a hand and clap Gu Zheng on the shoulder a few times.

"This was the result of everyone’s combined efforts. I couldn’t have done it alone," Gu Zheng said, waving his hand dismissively.

"No, the primary credit for sealing the tunnel this time belongs solely to Lord Gu."

Gao Liezhan said with a serious expression, "If Lord Gu hadn’t brought the Earth Spirit Cover back from the Demon Realm, we couldn’t have done anything, let alone seal the tunnel."

"That’s true."

A slight smile appeared on Li Shangjia’s face. "Lord Gu, you don’t need to be so modest. We’re all on the same side here. Your contribution is clear for all to see, and no one can take that away from you."

Gu Zheng blinked but didn’t say anything.

He appeared calm on the surface, but deep down, he was indeed a little excited.

This was sealing a tunnel, and a Rank 2 one at that.

Ever since the Celestial Change, once a tunnel formed, an endless stream of Demon Fiends would pour through from the other side, causing countless deaths and injuries.

Now, with Gu Zheng leading the way, they had sealed a tunnel. Not only was this a pioneering achievement, but it would also undoubtedly be a huge boost to their side’s morale.

...

And in fact, when the news of the successful sealing of the Lu Shou Pit tunnel spread through various channels, it caused an uproar throughout all of northern Fengzhou!

"What did you say? Are you sure? Positive? A Rank 2 tunnel has been sealed? The Demon Fiends can’t get through anymore?"

"It’s been confirmed. Thousand Households Li Shangjia and Thousand Households Xing Zhilong were both on site and helped out. But the one who contributed the most was Thousand Households Gu Zheng. It was Mr. Gu who found an Earth Spirit Divine Stone in the Demon Realm..."

"I’ll be damned, an Earth Spirit Divine Stone? The Earth Spirit Cover!? No wonder they could seal the tunnel. So they used the Earth Spirit Cover."

"This Gu Zheng, Mr. Gu, is incredible. He just pacified the Old Dragon Bay tunnel, and now he’s sealed the Lu Shou Pit tunnel. Out of the four Rank 2 tunnels in Dahong Prefecture, he’s actually taken care of two of them in one fell swoop!"

"Haha, two down, two to go. I bet the garrisons at the other two tunnels are getting antsy now."

"..."

From Lijiang Prefecture all the way to Kaiyuan Prefecture, the Commanders, Hundred Households, and Thousand Households of the Demon Suppression Guard in every region erupted in discussion after receiving the news.

Some were amazed, some were filled with emotion, and some were envious.

In Dahong Prefecture, at one of the two remaining Rank 2 tunnels—the Yan Gui Ridge tunnel, located deep in the mountains of Longxi County.

The Garrison commander, Luo Yi, paced back and forth at the entrance of the temporarily constructed wooden cabin that served as the Command Headquarters, a glint in his eyes.

"Incredible, just incredible."

"This Gu Zheng, Gu Ping’an, is just too amazing!"

Luo Yi muttered to himself as he paced.

The other Demon Suppression Guards nearby exchanged glances.

"Sir, is there a problem?" a Commander couldn’t help but ask.

"There’s no problem. The only question is, how do we invite Gu Zheng over here?"

Luo Yi stopped pacing and looked at his subordinates. "All of you, put your heads together and think of a way to get Gu Zheng—Mr. Gu—to come here."

"This place is a godforsaken shithole, and defending it is a massive pain. If we could flatten the tunnel, we could all pack up and leave."

Luo Yi revealed his plan.

"Huh?"

"Flatten the tunnel?"

"Pack up and leave?"

The group of Demon Suppression Guards was stunned and confused.

Seeing their reaction, Luo Yi realized his subordinates didn’t know the situation yet.

So, he recounted the intelligence about Gu Zheng pacifying the Old Dragon Bay tunnel and sealing the Lu Shou Pit tunnel.

After hearing this, the Demon Suppression Guards gasped in amazement.

"This Lord Gu is a total badass!"

"More than a badass, he’s practically inhuman."

"He charged right into the Demon Realm? Isn’t he afraid of Rank 3 or Rank 4 Demon Fiends?"

"..."

"Ahem." Luo Yi coughed lightly and explained, "Lord Gu is the student of Grand General Meng and Grand General Xie... no, that’s not right. He must be their disciple!"

The scene fell silent.

"Well, that explains it."

"A disciple taken on by both Grand General Xie and Grand General Meng. No wonder Lord Gu dared to charge into the Demon Realm."

"Even so, even with treasures from the two Grand Generals, an ordinary person wouldn’t dare enter a tunnel. Just look at our Princes..."

"Ahem, ahem!"

Luo Yi coughed again, stopping some of the more outspoken individuals from continuing. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, save the rest for later. For now, think about how to invite Lord Gu over. I’m talking about when the situation *isn’t* critical. For instance, right now, if Lord Gu were here, he probably wouldn’t be able to wait and would have already charged into the tunnel."

"Well..."

"If the situation isn’t critical, we have no reason to request reinforcements."

"Does anyone here know Lord Gu personally?"

"..."

The men discussed amongst themselves, frowning and scratching their heads.

The penalty for falsifying intelligence and delaying rescue efforts is severe.

At best, you’d lose several years’ worth of resources and merits. At worst, they’d cripple your True Skill and kick you out of the Demon Slayer Bureau.

How could they invite Gu Zheng over in a way that was both reasonable and legitimate?

This was the same problem Xiong Zengming, the Garrison commander of the Rank 2 tunnel at Fish Scale Town in Youmen County, also part of Dahong Prefecture, was pondering.

Just like Luo Yi, he had also summoned his subordinates, informed them of the situation, and told them to put their heads together.

"Everyone, think. How can we get Lord Gu to come to our post?"

"The sooner the tunnel is pacified, the sooner we can go home!"

...

「Kaiyuan Prefecture.」

「Grand Canyon Mountain Tunnel.」

"General Meng, General Meng, great news!"

A Thousand Households ran excitedly into the Command Headquarters’ wooden cabin and reported to Meng Taiqi, who was seated in a chair, "Reporting, General Meng! The Rank 2 tunnel at Lu Shou Pit in Sanming County, Dahong Prefecture, has been successfully sealed by our people! With this seal, Demon Fiends won’t be able to come out of the tunnel for a hundred years!"

"Mm, I know."

Meng Taiqi nodded nonchalantly and went back to reading the True Skill manual in his hands.

"Huh?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The Thousand Households was taken aback. "General Meng, you already knew."

"Of course."

Meng Taiqi glanced up at him. "The Earth Spirit Divine Stone used to seal the tunnel was found by my student in the Demon Realm. Song Biao, the one who set up the sealing array, was also sent by me to support my student. Do you think I wouldn’t know?"

The Thousand Households, "..."

"Alright, if there’s nothing else, you can get back to your duties," Meng Taiqi said with a wave of his hand.

"This subordinate takes his leave!"

The Thousand Households bowed awkwardly and departed.

Once he was a good distance away...

Only then did Meng Taiqi stroke his chin, his eyebrows dancing with delight. He said with satisfaction, "Ping’an is really something else. As expected of my student!"

"Oh, right. I have to tell that Old Scoundrel Xie about this and make him jealous!"

Saying this, he took out a High-level Communication Token. Divine Wondrous energy surged, and he transmitted a message.

BUZZ BUZZ~

Soon, the Token vibrated, having received a message.

Meng Taiqi quickly read it, but his expression suddenly turned ugly. With a grunt, he tossed the Token aside.

Because Xie Bisheng had replied with a single sentence.

"He’s my student too."

...

...

News of the Rank 2 Lu Shou Pit tunnel being sealed continued to spread.

While the morale of the Demon Suppression Guard was boosted, the frequency of Demon Fiends emerging from various locations was increasing.

Because of this, everyone’s happiness was short-lived, and they soon returned to the busy state of hunting and killing Demon Fiends everywhere.

Gu Zheng didn’t rest either.

The Lu Shou Pit tunnel was sealed, but there were still many Demon Fiends roaming within the borders of Sanming County.

The Guerrilla General Order hadn’t received any calls for help from other tunnels.

So, at Gao Liezhan’s invitation, Gu Zheng temporarily remained in Sanming County to hunt Demon Fiends, killing them to earn Demon Points.

One afternoon, Gu Zheng followed the aura of a Demon Fiend into a valley.

Suddenly—