I Slay Gods and Demons in the Deceit Night
Chapter 72 - 70: Silver Turns into Gold, More Terrifying Blood Money

Chapter 72: Chapter 70: Silver Turns into Gold, More Terrifying Blood Money

Outside the courtyard wall of Linjiang Station, a brocade pouch was hanging.

Inside was the Spirit Talisman that Lin Yan had just handed to the young girl of the Zhou Family.

As Lin Yan had predicted, the Spirit Talisman made by Mr. Lu apparently had a significant restraining effect on the lantern.

Therefore, he handed the Spirit Talisman to the little girl to pass it on to Chief Clerk Yang.

Once he had handed over the Spirit Talisman, indeed the lantern, following the "life-buying money," barged into Linjiang Station.

Even the willow branch Night Lamp hanging by the door couldn’t contain the ghostly wind of that sinister lantern.

"I thought it was much stronger; it’s just based on ten strands of Evil Qi, stronger than ordinary restless spirits but far inferior to an evil spirit."

Thinking this, Lin Yan tucked the brocade pouch into his chest.

He considered himself a cautious person, steady and meticulous, pondering carefully before taking action.

So, he wasn’t overly confident but instead had the little girl tell Chief Clerk Yang to hang the Spirit Talisman on the wall.

If the strangeness behind this "life-buying money" exceeded his ability to cope, he could rely on Mr. Lu’s Spirit Talisman to escape the dangerous situation.

But that was just a precaution; in fact, Lin Yan didn’t believe that without Mr. Lu’s Spirit Talisman, he couldn’t handle the oddities behind this life-buying money.

First, if an overly powerful demon entered High Willow City, even if the Observatory Tower failed to detect it, Liu Venerate would certainly sense the threat.

Thus, the demons that managed to enter High Willow City posed no real threat to Liu Venerate.

Second, when Mr. Lu’s Spirit Talisman was on him, the oddities behind the life-buying money didn’t even dare to show themselves.

That is to say, with just one of Mr. Lu’s Spirit Talismans, he could suppress It!

This proved that although this thing might be extremely terrifying, for those in the Refining Essence Realm, it wasn’t powerful enough to be hopeless.

"This lantern is indeed extremely strange; although it doesn’t have much Evil Qi, even less than an evil spirit, the way it takes human lives is completely different from how most evil spirits harm people."

Lin Yan recalled the confrontation he just had.

For him, destroying this lantern didn’t take much effort.

But for someone else, even a peak internal strength Martial Artist would have probably succumbed here, drained of their essence.

Moreover, the light from the lantern turned the air into vine-like tendrils that attacked.

Facing the gaseous tendrils, Lin Yan used the Demon Suppression Divine Power to extinguish them.

For those in the Refining Essence Realm, it would have required sacrificing a mouthful of vital essence, using the energy of yang to break free!

"It seems this lantern is not weak, it just met me."

Thinking this, Lin Yan walked towards Linjiang Station.

However, just as he was about to enter, he suddenly felt a breeze above his head.

He stepped back half a step; this time he did not reach out to catch it.

He saw two pieces of gold fall in front of him, making a sound as they rolled to his feet.

"..."

Lin Yan was silent for a moment, his eyes cold.

He glanced left and right, but saw no movement on either side of the street.

A moment after, Lin Yan picked up the two ingots of gold and scoffed, "Does it never end? Bloody hell, are they still using fake gold?"

One ingot of gold wasn’t enough to buy a life, so now they used two ingots of gold?

And they were still fake!

Lin Yan weighed the gold, then tucked it away, murmuring, "Fine, let’s see just how many cursed lanterns there are in High Willow City!"

Initially knowing the gold was fake, he subconsciously thought to just kick it aside.

But he suddenly thought that if someone else picked up this gold, it would be like picking up a Death Sentence.

More importantly, since they picked up the gold, lanterns would come for them, and each lantern carried ten strands of Evil Qi!

Converted to the price of a medicinal bath, that was eighty taels of silver!

Two pieces of gold, perhaps for two lanterns!

"One hundred sixty taels, that’s worth Liang Hu’s entire fortune," he mused.

Lin Yan thought this as he hung the brocade pouch containing Mr. Lu’s Spirit Talisman by the door.

He turned and walked out into the street, drew his sword from its sheath, and slowly said, "Come again! I am waiting for you!"

But after a moment, the mysterious lamp did not appear.

Instead, a team of City Defense Army soldiers hurried over.

This anomaly on the street had been detected by the Observatory Tower, which then signaled with smoke to alert the City Defense Army.

Because it involved a strange creature and due to the encounters the night patrol had previously, tonight’s City Defense Army soldiers each held a Night Lamp in their hands and wore incense ash at their waists.

A large number of Night Lamps brightened the street.

Lin Yan immediately realized that the mysterious lamp would not come again tonight.

"It seems that it’s not that the Night Lamps are useless, but just that the ordinary Night Lamps are not enough to deter that one mysterious lamp," he pondered.

"When there are many Night Lamps together, they can barely suppress it."

"If the Night Lamps were made from the actual branches of Liu Venerate, probably just one lamp would be enough to completely suppress that mysterious lamp."

This thought rose in Lin Yan’s mind.

——

Dawn broke.

Mr. Lu’s carriage actually arrived in person at Linjiang Station.

Knowing that Lin Yan was unharmed, he visibly relaxed his aged and weary face.

"What exactly happened?" Mr. Lu approached the hall and asked Lin Yan.

Seeing his fatigue, Lin Yan was about to speak when Mr. Lu gestured with his hand.

"I will not rest until things are clear."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan narrated the events of the night in detail to Mr. Lu.

"Do you mean that taking the ’death money’ will attract the mysterious lamp?" Mr. Lu’s gaze grew somber as he spoke, "And this ’death money’ invisibly draws essence from a person, causing the flame of the mysterious lamp to grow stronger?"

Lin Yan nodded, saying, "Indeed, that was my encounter last night."

Mr. Lu’s expression darkened slightly, then he recounted his conversation at Liu Zun Temple with the Twelve Temple Priests to Lin Yan.

"Do you think, old sir, that the ’death money’ from the past has resurfaced?" Lin Yan asked.

"But I heard from Chief Clerk Yang that the initial ’death money’ was silver, and now it has turned into gold," Lin Yan said.

"Silver turning into gold, in the eyes of the world, is more valuable, showing that this ’death money’, after more than a decade, has become even more powerful," Mr. Lu said slowly.

"This kind of ’entity’ has a ’true form’ but is not a demon or an evil spirit, though it closely resembles an evil spirit... it’s called a strange creature!"

"The origin of this strange creature is still not fully understood by Qifeng Prefecture even now."

"But they are not inanimate objects and, as time passes, they also grow and strengthen."

"Like you said, if this ’mysterious lamp’ has devoured too many people, then its flame will grow stronger, and it will become more powerful and terrifying."

At this, Mr. Lu’s expression became extremely grave.

Ever since Lin Yan had gotten to know Mr. Lu, this old man had always been calm and composed, appearing to have everything under control.

This was the first time Lin Yan saw such a complex and heavy expression on his face.

"The specifics will have to wait until the Observatory in Qifeng Prefecture transfers the archives over," Mr. Lu said, but looking at Lin Yan, he added, "But it has completely targeted you now."