I am becoming the ultimate demon.

Chapter 22 Night Clash, The First Appearance of a Cult; Blood Lotus Token, A Mysterious Hand

"I want to sign up!!"

"I was here first, let me go first!! I haven't eaten for three days!!"

Large numbers of ragged, disheveled migrants rushed to the recruitment office to register for jobs.

Those behind kept pushing and shoving those in front, the crowd surged and squeezed together.

"Line up, take your time, everyone gets some!" shouted the soldier in charge of distributing porridge at the city gate.

Ji Lin and the county magistrate led their men and performed their respective duties.

The soldiers were responsible for grouping and assigning tasks to the refugees, while the night patrols were responsible for investigating the cult members among them.

"Listen up! Anyone who reports a member of the Blood Lotus Cult will be rewarded with meat; anyone who knows about a member but fails to report it will be punished the same way!" the soldier shouted.

Ji Lin observed from the side and found no awakened individuals among them; they were almost all ordinary refugees.

However, it is difficult to determine at this time whether the people among them are members of the Blood Lotus Cult.

He had already dispersed the night patrols and joined their ranks.

If they continue to behave themselves, just pretend they were never here.

Anyone who dares to openly challenge order within Xiong'an County will not be tolerated.

Even after everyone had left by evening, no clues were found.

The moonlight was hazy, and snow was falling heavily.

After observing for a whole day, Ji Lin felt extremely exhausted, but he still did not leave.

He simply ordered the night patrol and soldiers to retreat first, while he continued to hold his post.

Prior to this, he ordered people to prepare many temporary tents so that the refugees would have a place to sleep at night.

There were still many refugees resting in groups within the city.

Although they lay around freely inside, the boundaries between the groups were still very clear.

He stood in the shade under the tree, waiting for those who thought they were safe to slip up.

Even as many of the refugees had fallen asleep, there was no strange noise, only the clamor of the refugees themselves.

"Sigh, I wonder when dawn will break. Then we'll have porridge!"

"Yes, yes. Just thinking about that porridge, especially with salt in it, makes my mouth water."

The refugees also knew that salt was extremely precious in this world and was sold under a government monopoly.

Ji Lin put salt in their porridge not because he was rich or kind, but simply to give them more strength to work.

At this moment, a lean man peeked out, his movements quite strange.

"Hey hey hey! I've learned something new recently, let me show you all, just to lighten the mood."

"What good stuff do you have? Bring it out quickly!" Everyone looked on expectantly.

The lean man took out a copper coin from his pocket.

He pretended to chant a spell, but no one knew what he said. However, Ji Lin heard the last sentence clearly.

"...Bless the Holy Mother, please show your power quickly!"

The copper coin rose into the air and spun around him as he waved his hand.

He then gave it a hard push, and the copper coin flew towards the tree, rustling and knocking down a pile of leaves.

This move drew applause and cheers from the crowd.

"Impressive! You've really got some skill. What kind of magic is that? Can you teach me?"

The lean man looked at him with disdain.

"What magic?! This is a miracle!! It's a blessing from the Holy Mother!"

Upon hearing the words "Holy Mother" again, the refugees immediately remembered something, as if they had encountered some plague god, and scattered in all directions, fearing that they would get into trouble.

"Da, da da".

The lean man suddenly heard footsteps coming from the darkness behind him.

His face immediately showed fear, and seeing that the city gate was already closed, after a struggle in his heart, he actually wanted to escape into the crowd.

However, all of this was already under Ji Lin's control.

He had already analyzed the information about the lean man.

[Martial Artist: Lin Fan]

[Level: Top-tier expert]

Martial Arts: Hunyuan Dart, Tiger-Taming Fist

Even without using his demonic powers, Ji Lin, with his 50 points of agility, arrived in front of the lean man in an instant.

He reached out and grabbed Lin Fan's neck, trying to capture him and take him back for interrogation.

Unexpectedly, the man suddenly turned and retreated, sending out three copper coins that flew out with a metallic clang, heading straight for Ji Lin's face.

Ji Lin was very agile; he simply turned his body slightly to the side and dodged his Hunyuan Dart.

Ultimately, the difference in attributes was too great. Even if Ji Lin hadn't been demonized, didn't know martial arts, and didn't use skills, he could still easily deal with this person.

The refugees nearby were mostly ordinary people. When they saw two masters fighting, it was like gods battling. Their first reaction was to flee in terror.

"You audacious madman! Our Holy Sect is here to spread its teachings, why are you obstructing us!" Lin Fan shouted.

"Judging from your appearance, you are just an ordinary Blood Lotus Cult member. What qualifications do you have to preach? You keep calling yourself a holy sect. Shouldn't you be doing this openly and honestly? Why are you hiding here and there?" Ji Lin said, without stopping, continuing to capture him.

Upon hearing this, Lin Fan was filled with rage and anger. He retorted, "Since I can't escape anyway, I'll fight you to the death!"

As he spoke, he immediately launched an offensive, his lower body in a stable stance, his fist whistling as he threw a punch straight at Ji Lin's heart.

Ji Lin was not afraid at all. He already knew that this person had not yet stepped out of the Grandmaster realm and his attack power was only about 10 to 20 points, just over the limit of an ordinary person.

So he threw a punch straight out, an ordinary punch, without any internal force, only 35 points of external force.

Snapped!

He originally thought he could send Lin Fan flying with one punch, but he didn't expect it to only slightly push him back.

Both of them were very surprised. Lin Fan was a first-class expert, yet he was able to unleash strength above the Grandmaster level.

Ji Lin vaguely saw the blood patterns on his hand and immediately realized that it must be the reason for the so-called "blessing".

Lin Fan was surprised that this person, who clearly did not know martial arts, had no internal energy, and looked like an ordinary person, possessed such formidable external strength.

Taking advantage of Ji Lin's momentary lapse in attention, he turned around, took a step, and quickly ran into the darkness of the city, hoping to escape Ji Lin's pursuit.

Ji Lin simply smiled faintly and slowly walked into the darkness, his face showing no sign of urgency.

Almost instantly, a huge black shadow was already close to Lin Fan's back.

"Da da da".

No matter how hard he ran, he couldn't shake off the guy following him. Fear was written all over his face, and his heart almost stopped beating.

Suddenly, he felt as if something had pierced his thigh, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud. Dark purple blood gushed out, flowing onto the ground and rising in wisps of smoke.

It was Ji Lin who made the move.

However, he was quite surprised by what he saw. This person was not abnormal, yet he was oozing such strange and corrosive blood, which meant that this person was no longer a normal person.

"Hahaha, believe in the Virgin Mary and you'll gain eternal life!!!"

Lin Fan shouted, then swallowed a blood-red pill. His body quickly withered and died, turning into ashes, leaving only a token.

Before Ji Lin could react, the person had already disappeared.

He picked up the token and felt that its surface was rough, made of wood, and he could vaguely make out the words "Blood Lotus".

He has confirmed that the cult has infiltrated right under his nose and is using insidious methods.

The aura emanating from the wooden plaque differed from that of the bone flute and the artifacts from the Huai River; it belonged to the "strange" category...