Forever Sky, Demon Country.
On a pitch-black cliff filled with skeletons and withered trees.
Whoosh!
As a Yin Wind blew past.
The skulls on the ground collided and jangled crisply.
Two towering, burly demon figures also appeared above the cliff.
They conversed while looking down at the Purgatory Scorched Earth below the cliff.
These two demons.
The one on the left with a human body and a wolf's head was called Kui Lang Star Lord.
Barefooted, he held a machete in his left hand, his face wore a playful smile.
His tattered robe wrapped around him, his facial hair was messy. Only his eyes were exceptionally bright, like stars, intimidating to look directly at.
The other demon on the right was much more imposing, adorned in a noble purple robe embroidered with cloud patterns, a crown on his head, and auspicious shoes on his feet.
At a glance, he appeared as a mortal prince. But what rested on his shoulders was a fierce dragon's head, his broad, narrow lips curled in a cruel smile. Two meaty tendrils hung down, and his scaly, fierce hands toyed with three shrieking skulls.
This person was Tuo Long, whom Su Heng had met before.
"This time I need Star Lord's help out of necessity," Tuo Long took the initiative to say, "There are some strong people in Jiangzhou, and I wish to descend in true form, which will certainly take some time to prepare. I need to borrow Star Lord's methods to help me deceive them."
"No problem!" Kui Lang Star Lord waved his hand, "Since this involves the master's plans, I'm also happy to contribute my strength."
"The echo of Forever Sky is deepening, Emperor Da Zhou was ambushed while exploring it and was seriously injured. The conflicts within the empire are also deepening and becoming irreconcilable. This is our opportunity."
"Noble families, Cultivation sects, demon forbidden zones..."
Tuo Long slightly nodded, "In this grand age-old conflict, he who enters the arena first will feast until his mouth is oily. Those who enter late will only get leftovers. One step too late and you're late in every step. We, the Corpse Mountain Demon Country, must not lose this advantage."
"Exactly," Kui Lang Star Lord agreed with a playful smile.
"Our opponents have always been these equally ancient powers, each with death-level entities at their helm."
"As for the Demon Suppression Bureau established only a few hundred years ago..." Kui Lang Star Lord laughed out loud, waved his hand dismissively, and said, "They are merely a tiny pebble on the grand highway, the matter in Baihua County shouldn't concern you, I can easily handle it after descending."
"That would be for the best," Tuo Long nodded.
At this moment, the two lords had come to the edge of the cliff and looked down, able to see the ancient ruins of the old imperial capital. Beyond the iron-like high walls flowed pitch-black soils imbued with sulfur and magma. On the barren scorched earth below, more than a dozen figures desperately tried to escape.
Kui Lang Star Lord raised an eyebrow, interested, "These little ones, are they hunting humans again?"
In this dilapidated imperial city.
Many humans were penned like pigs and dogs by demons.
Among them were rebels, some even managing to escape from Corpse Mountain.
In turn, demons from Corpse Mountain would pursue them, and this activity was called "human hunting."
"Each of these escaping humans thinks they are the chosen ones, the liberators, who can bring so-called light and salvation to their fellow humans."
Kui Lang Star Lord watched as the tattered human Martial Artists were caught by demons, tackled down.
Pinned to the ground and savagely bitten, the earth was quickly soaked red.
"But in reality, the Cultivation Techniques they practice, the miracles they learn about, are all given by us. It's merely to give them some hope, watching them struggle, resist, then sink into numbness and despair."
"Humans are such incomprehensible creatures, just a sliver of hope will make them struggle desperately," Tuo Long said calmly.
"But in the end, they merely add a trivial bit of amusement to us with their own blood."
While the two conversed,
on the wasteland.
A young girl sent a chasing demon flying with a hefty blow.
After a period of waiting, finally, someone boldly walked past Su Heng and stepped outside.
Then, braving the heavy rain, they ran away without looking back.
This seemed to signal the others.
The remaining people pushed and shoved to get outside as fast as they could. The mother who had just stood up was shoved to the ground by those behind her.
In desperation and fear, she tightly protected her child, looking up to see a large foot about to step over her.
The woman closed her eyes, her thin shoulders trembling.
But the anticipated pain did not come; an invisible force field separated her from the outside world.
Moments later,
every living person had left the room.
The woman cautiously stepped outside, hesitated for a moment, and then heavily accented in her local dialect, she thanked Su Heng.
"You're welcome," Su Heng nodded, glancing at the child in her arms.
Rip!
He grabbed the hem of his robe and tore it forcefully.
A large piece of soft and highly waterproof fabric was ripped off, draped over the woman like a black raincoat.
The woman carefully protected her child and thanked Su Heng again.
This time, there were some tears in her eyes.
He watched the woman leave.
Whoosh!
Su Heng turned around, a slender figure tore through the rain and appeared not far in front of him.
"Didn't expect you to have such a gentle side," Zhao Meiying said with a surprised expression on her face. She wanted to joke further, but seeing Su Heng's increasingly dark expression and vividly remembering the brutality of nearly being crushed to death by a casual gesture, Zhao Meiying felt a twinge of fear, stood at attention, and dared not speak further.
"There are a few more prisons. Let's release the people inside," Su Heng said, having sensed a powerful presence arriving at the earthen stronghold.
Now that the outcome was decided, he was in no hurry.
First, let the people inside leave to avoid accidental injuries when the fight starts; that wouldn't be good.
"No problem," Zhao Meiying obediently complied.
She was naturally good-looking and had a high affinity, making her much more effective in such matters than Su Heng.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, the remaining people were organized by Zhao Meiying and had left. After the chaos, besides the corpses, only Su Heng and Zhao Meiying were left in the large stronghold.
Su Heng's expression was grim, his brows furrowed, faintly forming a "川" shape.
Although she knew the anger wasn't directed at her, being beside Su Heng, Zhao Meiying still felt a suffocating pressure.
Bang!
In this heavy and oppressive atmosphere,
Su Heng and Zhao Meiying reached the cliff where the ritual was held, with Su Heng smashing his fist down ferociously – the thick, hard rock wall tearing apart inch by inch.
As countless huge rocks collapsed, amidst the dust-laden, earthy yellow smoke, a streak of blood light tore through the air, shooting outward rapidly.
At the same time!
Thousands of meters away, on a cliff overgrown with weeds,
Pang Chong and Wei Hong also excitedly watched the scene unfold.
Pang Chong's face turned dark red with excitement, while Wei Hong, losing his usual refined demeanor, clenched his left fist and swung it fiercely into the air!
"The great lord descends, and this fellow's time of death has come!"