Chapter 723 - 469: Annual Evaluation: The Title of Grandmaster! (Double - )

Chapter 723: Chapter 469: Annual Evaluation: The Title of Grandmaster! (Double Chapter)

The Nine Netherworlds, a region of poisonous miasma and marshland.

A group of Demons, covered in mud, came and went within.

Their forms varied; some transformed to resemble the Human Race with little difference, while others appeared half-Demon, half-human.

There were even those towering over five or six meters high, dragging a long iron cage.

Inside the cage, it was packed with a heap of living people.

These people still had breath, and many retained their consciousness, but they seemed poisoned by Demonic toxins, lying motionless in the cage, forced to be dragged along by the Demons like fish waiting to be slaughtered in an abattoir.

"Ah, such fresh human flesh," a burrowing Snake Demon emerged from the swamp beside the group, its over ten-meter-long serpentine body revealing cold, greedy eyes upon the cage’s occupants.

"Are they all Martial Artists?" the Snake Demon asked.

"Martial Artists and mortals both," replied the Demon dragging the iron cage, speaking in a muffled voice as it walked.

"Give me five Martial Artists, ten mortals, not too poor in quality," the Snake Demon instructed familiarly.

The Demon stopped dragging the cage, reached in with its thick fingers, picked out several fitting individuals, and tossed them out casually.

The Snake Demon flicked its tongue and spat out a bag of Spirit Crystals in exchange.

In Demon trade, bartering or using Spirit Crystals akin to human currency was common.

Living people were particularly sought after among the Demons.

It’s for this reason that Demon incursions into Human territories remained unceasing, with the looting of Humans becoming a vast industry in the Demon Realm, with many Demons willing to pay Spirit Crystals for human flesh.

Soon, the scent of human flesh from the cage drew Demons from the swamp, not just the Snake Demon.

As despair gripped the humans in the cage, their vacant eyes rested upon the sky above.

The poisoned miasma-shrouded sky suddenly pierced by a streak of red light.

The next moment, a figure landed atop the iron cage imprisoning the Human Race.

Thud!

The iron cage emitted a muffled sound, and the Demons dragging the cage found themselves unable to move it further.

Alarmed, the Demons looked closely and saw a member of the Human Race had arrived.

They sensed he was unfathomable, impossible to judge in strength.

"Dare to intrude into this swamp, what a willing prey!"

The Snake Demon was the quickest to act, seeing only one Human, it lunged immediately, fearing others might devour this human before it could.

"Stop." Song Changming muttered a single word.

Hum!

Strange, intangible energy emanated from the Witch Soldier Seal on his throat.

In an instant, the Snake Demon’s assault abruptly halted, frozen in place.

Its massive open mouth stopped, poised before Song Changming, yet it could not bite down.

"How is this happening?!" Unable to break free, the Snake Demon panicked.

"Human!" The Demons dragging the cage quickly unleashed Demon Power, charging Song Changming from all sides.

A joke, the humans’ flesh and blood in the cage were worth a fortune, how could they let this man ruin their business?

"All, stop." Song Changming said nonchalantly.

On his neck, a colorful depiction of a Spider Beast fully emerged, emitting an eerie aura.

Soon, all the attacking Demons were frozen in place without exception.

From beginning to end, Song Changming hardly moved a finger, easily subduing these Demons.

The surroundings quieted instantly, save for the occasional popping bubbles in the marsh, and the gusts of hot wind mixed with poisonous miasma blowing back and forth.

Song Changming surveyed the immobilized Demons, satisfied with his newly refined Witch Soldier Seal.

"Fight each other to the death, relentless battle." Song Changming continued.

His voice carried a magical power, controlling the Demons’ every move like puppets on strings.

The previously immobilized Demons’ eyes turned blood-red, following Song Changming’s command, they began frantically tearing into one another.

In an instant, Demon Blood splattered, Demon Flesh flew, and casualties piled high.

The Demons seemed to forget their use of Demon Power and Techniques, resorting only to biting like primitive beasts.

Song Changming remained unfazed, unleashing the Master’s Power beneath his feet, he stomped and shattered the iron cage, freeing the trapped people within.

These were individuals kidnapped from the Cui Bai Dao domain.

His mission was to rescue this batch of people while also testing his newly acquired ’Sound Spider’ Witch Soldier Seal.

Additionally, to destroy the Demons’ lair here, preventing future threats.

Before long, the swamp was littered with dismembered corpses and Demon carcasses.

Among dozens, near a hundred Demons, only a single Toad Demon remained.

It possessed the Tao Practice of a Top Demon General, its deadly venom enabling its survival, though it was already heavily scarred.

Its bloated visage and pestilent, warty face stretched into a crazed grin reaching its ears.

Only it survived.

Only it...

"Rip out your heart and intestines, eat them."

Its ecstasy vanished, and in its bewildered gaze, it unhesitatingly thrust its claws into its own body, tearing out its heart and tangled intestines, stuffing them into its mouth, devouring greedily.

Before it could swallow, its life force drained away completely.

The blood qi of all the Demon Beasts drifted out, threading into Song Changming’s body, rapidly refined.