The next morning, the two of them left Echo Valley together.
After two days of travel, they had passed through all the demon strongholds and were now very close to the Wolger black market.
Before them lay a forest shrouded in mist, dense with twisted branches, vines, and numerous poisonous insects unique to the abyss lurking within.
As they approached, Luo Ren’s voice sounded in their ears.
“Be careful going in. Don’t get injured by the poisonous insects or vines here, it would be very troublesome.”
Su Sheng cast a protective magic barrier around himself, glanced faintly at Luo Ren as if to say, “Do you really need to tell me something so obvious?” and was the first to push aside the vines and enter.
Luo Ren shook his head with a smile and followed closely behind.
True to its name, the black market was hidden deep within the misty forest. After winding their way through for a long time, they finally found it.
A massive, mist-enshrouded castle with sharp spires stood deep in the forest. The castle was entirely built of gray bricks and tiles, and if one wasn’t paying close attention, they might walk straight into it.
At the castle entrance, a giant demon stood guard, and beside it was a blood-stained skull flag, with a string of severed heads impaled on its tip, creating a gruesome and terrifying sight.
It seemed meant to intimidate visitors.
However, they didn’t approach immediately. Instead, they stopped in unison. Su Sheng frowned, looking somewhat troubled as he said, “We don’t have the local currency here. Even if we go in, we won’t be able to buy anything.”
Luo Ren drew the sword from his waist, running his fingertips along its blade, and smiled slightly. “Think bigger, my dear Norton. If demons can rob humans, can’t humans rob demons too?”
Su Sheng: “…”
Fair enough.
He hadn’t expected this human prince, who appeared so courteous, to have such a violent approach to things.
And so, two hours later…
Each of them carried a bulging small pack on their backs. As they walked, Luo Ren explained, “This is the only exit from the castle, and humans are forbidden from entering here.”
Hearing this, Su Sheng furrowed his brow. “Then how are we supposed to get in?”
Luo Ren turned to him with a slight smile. “That’s where you come in.”
Seeing Luo Ren’s expression, Su Sheng immediately understood what he wanted him to do. But to concoct a potion for disguise, he would need the blood of a high-ranking demon.
After a moment of silence, he said, “I don’t have the materials.”
“What if I have this?” Luo Ren produced a vial of crystal-clear green liquid in his hand.
Su Sheng glanced at it, somewhat surprised. “Fallen elf blood? You actually have this?”
It was no wonder Su Sheng was shocked. Fallen elf blood was the best material for crafting disguise potions, realistic in effect, long-lasting, and, most importantly, capable of altering one’s physical form, making it extremely difficult to detect. Moreover, fallen elves were exceedingly rare in the world today and highly wary of both humans and demons. Even the Holy Temple possessed only half a small vial. Su Sheng had no idea where Luo Ren had managed to obtain their blood.
“I think that will work,” Su Sheng said, beginning to prepare the potion.
Half an hour later, two vials of potion were ready. Su Sheng handed one to the prince and drank the other himself, saying, “This potion lasts for one hour in total. We must act quickly.”
For a place as vast as the Wolger black market, this timeframe was quite tight.
Logically, with Su Sheng’s skill, nothing should have gone wrong. Yet, when the two of them tried to enter, they were still stopped by the guards.
When stopped by the guard, Su Sheng’s heart instantly leaped to his throat. He didn’t turn around, only secretly tightening his grip on the dagger in his hand.
Had he been discovered? That shouldn’t be the case.
Su Sheng didn’t know that the guard wasn’t actually trying to stop him, but rather Luo Ren, the Demon King standing beside him.
Luo Ren clearly noticed this. He subtly shifted his position, moving out of Su Sheng’s line of sight, and gave the guard a cold glance. The guard immediately knelt down.
The sound of the guard kneeling was rather loud, startling Su Sheng. Thinking he had truly been discovered by the guard, Su Sheng prepared to turn around and start a fight. But just as he was about to turn, Luo Ren pressed down on his head.
Su Sheng was forced to bend over, now extremely close to Luo Ren, giving him a strange feeling of being pulled into Luo Ren’s embrace. At the same time, a peculiar thought gradually began to rise in Su Sheng’s mind.
But now was clearly not the time to dwell on such things. Su Sheng forcibly suppressed the odd feeling in his heart, allowing Luo Ren to act, and softly asked:
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
Only after Luo Ren spoke did Su Sheng realize just how close Luo Ren was to him. Luo Ren’s head was resting against the right side of his own, his voice seeming to sound right beside Su Sheng’s ear. With each word, waves of warm breath brushed against the back of Su Sheng’s neck, causing a tingling sensation.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Su Sheng shifted slightly to the side. Noticing this, Luo Ren only held him tighter, pushing Su Sheng forward as they ran.
“They seem to be fighting. Let’s make a quick escape!”
Luo Ren’s voice was light and carried a hint of laughter, momentarily reminding Su Sheng of the times before he became the Saint, when he and Fei Meng would skip class together.
Those were somewhat happy times.
…
The castle was bustling with demons. All sorts of precious magical materials were displayed for sale, along with some forbidden magic scrolls. But these were nothing noteworthy. What was even more disgusting was that they were actually selling demon body parts here!
All kinds, a dazzling array.
When Su Sheng saw a somewhat thick “rod” placed at the center of a stall for sale, with the demon vendor energetically hawking it to passing succubi, he found it offensive to the eyes and silently averted his gaze.
Luo Ren said beside him, “They sell representative items from various city-states here. Let’s look for them.”
Su Sheng suggested, “Let’s split up. It’ll be faster that way.”
Luo Ren agreed with the suggestion, and the two immediately went their separate ways.
Su Sheng weaved through the various stalls. There were still fifteen minutes left before the potion’s effect wore off, and he had already obtained three city-state representative items, from the first, third, and seventh city-states. After informing Luo Ren of the situation here via magic, he continued his search.
A cool breeze brushed against the back of Su Sheng’s neck, causing his Adam’s apple to involuntarily bob. He subtly glanced around before quickening his pace.
His figure darted swiftly through the crowd of demons as Su Sheng tried to shake off that gaze. But no matter how fast he moved or where he hid, the feeling of being watched clung to him like a shadow.
“Time to go.” A bad premonition rose within him, and Su Sheng hastily sent a message to Luo Ren.
After receiving Luo Ren’s reply, Su Sheng quickened his pace even more on the way back.
“Where are you planning to go, little elf?”
At some point, all the demons around had turned to stare at Su Sheng with ill intentions.
Some wanted to dismember him, while others had… other kinds of thoughts about him.
Su Sheng scanned his surroundings; those sticky, lingering gazes clung to him like an unremovable slime, utterly revolting.
His expression turned cold. After securing his belongings, he sneered contemptuously, “I advise you not to make a move.”
The demons clearly paid no heed to his words, their tones lewd and vulgar. Some even brazenly approached, reaching out to touch him.
“Let us have some fun with you, and we’ll let you go. How about it?”
“Fools who won’t listen to reason.” Su Sheng let out a cold laugh, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. He drew a short, razor-sharp dagger, which traced a graceful arc through the air. With a series of thud-thud-thuds, the demon hands reaching toward him instantly fell to the ground.
The demons screamed in agony, stumbling backward a few steps as they stared at Su Sheng with a mix of shock and uncertainty.
Just then, the magic of the potion wore off, revealing Su Sheng’s true human face.
The demons present seemed momentarily stunned, their expressions blank. But within moments, their eyes turned feverishly obsessive and fanatical.
“Such a beautiful face… and it belongs to a human!”
“Even the human Saint probably doesn’t compare to this.”
The first to react were the demons whose arms Su Sheng had severed. Initially wary of his identity due to his strength, they now realized he was merely human, and thus no longer a threat.
Seeing himself about to be overwhelmed by the horde of demons, Su Sheng pushed off the wall, leaping lightly into the air. Grabbing the edge of a wall-mounted lantern, he flipped out of the encirclement.
But this only provided a temporary escape. Ahead, more demons were continuously arriving, drawn by the commotion.
They swarmed in, forming thick, impenetrable walls that trapped Su Sheng inside. Countless eyes fell upon him, viewing him like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Realizing escape was impossible, Su Sheng’s expression darkened. He flicked his wrist, sending the dagger spinning out with lethal precision. It pierced through several demons in succession before returning to his hand.
Yet this was no long-term solution. Facing so many demons, his stamina would eventually run out. If that was the case, he had no choice but to resort to magic.
Although using magic here would attract even more demons, it was the only option left.
Su Sheng silently recited an incantation. Above him, a massive golden magic circle appeared, and a ball of magical light, blazing like the sun, rapidly expanded to the size of a castle.
Some smaller demons couldn’t withstand the radiant magic and let out piercing, agonized screams.
One demon seemed to recognize the spell, its mouth hanging open in shock. After a moment, someone cried out in disbelief:
“He is the human Saint!”
Upon hearing this, some demons paled, their legs trembling, and they turned to flee without hesitation.
Yet a few, a very small minority, looked at Su Sheng with even greater fervor.
As Su Sheng pressed his fingertip downward, the ball of light descended with thunderous force. The surrounding demons’ shrill, agonized screams nearly shattered eardrums.
The impact caused the castle to crumble rapidly.
Su Sheng turned and fled, with a handful of demons still pursuing him relentlessly. But he no longer paid them any mind.
Meanwhile, outside the collapsing castle, the giant demon that had been guarding the entrance stood silently behind Luo Ren.
“Ah… what a pity for my black market.”
Though his words expressed regret, Luo Ren’s expression told a different story.
Seeing that Su Sheng was about to emerge, Luo Ren tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the demon.
The demon seemed to realize something: “I offer my life to the great Lord of the Abyss.”
“End yourself. Make it convincing, don’t let him notice,” Luo Ren said coldly.
“Yes.”
With a resounding thud, the demon collapsed. At the same time, the castle completely crumbled, and from the overwhelming cloud of dust emerged a young man, covered in grime yet exuding an air of elegance.
Luo Ren stepped forward, patted Su Sheng’s shoulder, and offered a faint smile. “I knew you’d be fine.”
Su Sheng’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly, but his gaze sharpened as it shifted to Luo Ren’s side. “Was it the one who tipped them off?”
Luo Ren replied, “So I’ve already killed it.”
The giant demon’s body indeed bore several sword wounds, and both the angles and marks appeared perfectly normal. Thus, Su Sheng paid little attention to the demon’s serene expression in death.
He said, “Using magic here will surely draw the attention of the demon city-states. Let’s leave this place first and talk as we go.”
Luo Ren nodded. “Alright.”
“How many tokens have you collected?” Su Sheng asked as they walked, watching Luo Ren pull items from a cloth bag.
“Hmm, three in total, from the second, fifth, and sixth city-states.”
“It seems we’re only missing the token from the fourth city-state.”
Su Sheng frowned. Coincidentally, he had heard rumors about the ruler of the fourth city-state, a high-level succubus known for her extreme fondness for handsome humans, with a notorious reputation for a certain overnight “achievement.”
But the thought of what that achievement entailed filled Su Sheng with disgust.
As they walked, Luo Ren suddenly stopped.
Su Sheng halted as well and asked, “What’s wrong?”
The prince turned around, pointing at the map with a smile. “Look where we’ve reached.”
Su Sheng’s gaze fixed on a point on the map. This place…
Seemed to be the border between the Abyss and the human towns.
“Do you want to go back?” Luo Ren lowered his head, his voice gentle.
Su Sheng glanced toward the direction of the towns and unconsciously took a step forward, unaware of the obscure, unreadable look in Luo Ren’s lowered eyes.