123: Chapter 123 Demonic Cultivator Chu Sheng, Buried in the Wasteland

[When Chu Sheng crawled out of the Duanhun River, there wasn't a single patch of intact flesh on his body.]

[The only thing still functioning was the Heavenly Demon Body.]

[It wasn't that he didn't want to soak for a while longer, but the Duanhun River contained more than just remnant souls; there were also some wandering Spirit Sea existences.]

[The Devilish Qi he had absorbed at the bottom of the Duanhun River was now crashing wildly inside him, like ten thousand wild bulls stampeding through his blood vessels.]

[Chu Sheng rolled on the ground in agony, his head slamming against the bones of the dead with a series of cracks.]

["Aaaaah—!"]

[He rolled for an unknown amount of time before finally coming to a stop.]

[The charred blackness covering his body began to crack. The Devilish Qi in his Meridians stopped its wild rampage and began to flow obediently according to the path of his Cultivation Technique. In his Dantian, his spiritual power had completely turned a blackish-red.]

[Chu Sheng sat up and stared blankly at his hands.]

[It seemed he had grown accustomed to the Devilish Qi and had become a demon cultivator?]

[Late stage of True Transformation.]

[Only one step away from the Spirit Sea.]

["Exchanging one death for one rank," he murmured. "This deal isn't a loss."]

[Just as he finished speaking, a 'clatter' sounded from behind him.]

[A member of the Demon Race was pushing a handcart. He was roughly at the level of a High-grade Demon Soldier, which would be classified as around Qi Guiding Rank 8 by the Human Race. He stood ten paces away.]

[He had two curved horns, dark green skin, eyes like two boiled eggs, and a mouth large enough to fit his own fist.]

[At this moment, fear was written all over that face. He hadn't even noticed the corpses from his handcart rolling all over the ground.]

["You, you, you, you... are you human or a ghost?!"]

[Chu Sheng looked down at himself.]

[The charred skin had just fallen off, revealing glowing white flesh underneath. With tattered strips of cloth hanging off him, he truly didn't look much like a person.]

["Take a guess?"]

[The demon fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing like a pestle pounding garlic.]

["Mercy, Great One! Mercy! I'm just here to scavenge corpses; I didn't see anything!"]

[Chu Sheng stood up, walked over to him, and grabbed him by the neck.]

["I'm asking you, what place is this?"]

[The demon's eyes rolled back as he was choked, and he struggled to spit out a few words.]

["Bone... Bone Burying Wasteland..."]

[The Bone Burying Wasteland was the place where the Demon Race discarded their fallen compatriots. For a thousand miles around, it was nothing but skeletal remains.]

[Chu Sheng stood on a high slope. Looking out, he saw white bones everywhere.]

[Some were human, some were demon, and some belonged to species he couldn't even identify.]

[The sky was a dark red, like coagulated blood. In the distance were several pitch-black mountains, bald and devoid of life.]

[The low-level demon crouched at his feet, trembling.]

["Great One, what... what are your orders?"]

[Chu Sheng looked at that face and suddenly felt like laughing.]

["What is your name?"]

["I am called..." He sniffled, a string of shiny mucus hanging from his lip, "called Slug."]

[Chu Sheng took a step back in disgust.]

["Change it. From today on, your name is Ah Fu."]

[Ah Fu was stunned.]

["Ah... Ah Fu?"]

["What? Unwilling?"]

[Ah Fu hurriedly kowtowed.]

["I'm willing, I'm willing! Thank you, Great One, for the name!"]

[Chu Sheng took Ah Fu and headed in the direction of Black Iron City.]

[They hadn't gone far before they ran headlong into a squad of Demon Warriors.]

[There were five of them, all at the Essence Gathering Realm stage. The leader was at the Late Essence Gathering Realm stage. When they saw Chu Sheng, their eyes lit up.]

["A human?!" The leader licked his lips. "This kind of thing is a rare commodity. Sell him to the Gladiatorial Arena, and he'll be worth at least a hundred demon stones!"]

[Ah Fu hid behind Chu Sheng in terror, his legs shaking.]

[Chu Sheng sighed.]

["Why are there always people who lack eyes?"]

[The leading Demon Warrior rushed forward with a cruel grin.]

[Chu Sheng exploded his head with a single punch.]

[Red and white matter splattered everywhere. The remaining four Demon Warriors froze in place, their legs turning to jelly.]

["Gr-Great One, have mercy!"]

[Chu Sheng looked at them and suddenly smiled.]

["Lead the way. To Black Iron City."]

[Black Iron City, the largest slave trading center on the border.]

[The city walls were black, cast from an unknown metal, a hundred zhang high, and lined with patrolling demon soldiers.]

[A long queue stood at the city gate, most of them at the demon soldier level.]

[Ah Fu whispered an introduction to Chu Sheng.]

["Great One, Black Iron City is jointly managed by three Demon Generals. Private fighting is forbidden in the city; anyone caught is thrown into the Gladiatorial Arena. But outside the city, you can kill as you please, no one cares."]

[Chu Sheng nodded.]

["How do we enter the city?"]

[Ah Fu scratched his head.]

["Either you have money, or you have fists."]

[Chu Sheng felt his pockets. The demon stones he had scavenged from those Demon Warriors totaled less than ten, and they were all of poor quality.]

[Ah Fu took a look and said with a bitter face.]

["Great One, this small amount isn't even enough for the city entry tax."]

[Chu Sheng sighed, his Devilish Qi erupting as he made himself look a bit more like a member of the Demon Race.]

["Then I'll just have to rely on my fists."]

[At the city gate, two guards blocked his path.]

["Entry fee: ten demon stones."]

[Chu Sheng spread his hands.]

["No money."]

[The guard drew his blade.]

[Chu Sheng threw a punch, and the blade shattered.]

[The guard froze, still holding the hilt while the blade's fragments lay scattered on the ground.]

[The other guard instinctively took a step back, his face pale.]

[Chu Sheng withdrew his fist and looked at them with a smile.]

["And now?"]

[The guard captain ran over from behind. Seeing a ruthless man who could shatter a Profound Iron Blade with one punch, his face was immediately covered in smiles.]

["So it's a High-grade Demon Warrior. Sir, please come in. The entry fee is waived, waived."]

[Chu Sheng nodded and led Ah Fu into the city with a swagger.]

[Ah Fu followed behind him, his back straight as a poker, even forgetting to wipe his nose.]

["Great One, you are too amazing!"]

[Chu Sheng ignored him, his gaze drawn to a poster on the wall.]

[The poster depicted a muscular demon roaring with a bloody mouth.]

[Beside it were several large characters—'Black Iron Gladiatorial Arena: Life or Death is Irrelevant, Winner Takes All!']

[Ah Fu leaned in.]

["Great One, the arena is recruiting. Win, and you'll have money and status. Lose..." He swallowed hard, "lose, and you're gone."]

[Chu Sheng looked at the poster, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.]

["Isn't this tailor-made for me?"]

[He tore down the poster and walked toward the Gladiatorial Arena.]

[Ah Fu followed behind, both terrified and excited.]

["Great One, are you really going?"]

[Chu Sheng didn't look back.]

["Nonsense. Without making money, how am I supposed to survive in this dump?"]

[He looked up at the dark red sky, then at this black city, and suddenly laughed.]

"Starting in a mass grave, leveling up in an arena—I'm familiar with this plot."

"Demon Realm dungeon, start!"

Chu Sheng watched this scene.

He took a sip of tea.

"But then again, he's in the Late stage of True Transformation now. In a small border city like Black Iron City, he should be able to walk tall. The arena? Isn't that just sending him money and experience?"

He looked at the figure in the image walking toward the arena and smiled.

"Next, let's see how I, Chu Sheng, stir up trouble in the Demon Realm."

"Maybe next time we meet, this guy will have already become a High-grade Demon."