128: Chapter 128 Deep Within the Sea of Blood, a Pureblood Blood Demon
On the day the team set out, black rain fell over Black Iron City.
The rain fell onto the black stone slabs, making a sizzling sound like water in a frying pan.
A Fu held up a tattered umbrella and escorted Chu Sheng to the city gate, his face smeared with snot and tears.
Chu Sheng waved him away in disgust and gave him a stack of Demon Stones, enough for him to cultivate to the Demon Warrior realm, telling him to hurry back.
The Arena Master led the team, consisting of about a dozen people in total.
Aside from Chu Sheng and Flower Consort, the rest were the Arena Master's confidants, all of them Demon Warriors. They looked at Chu Sheng as if they were looking at a pile of cow dung.
Chu Sheng didn't bother with them; he carried his battle-axe and walked in the middle of the group, happy to be at leisure.
After walking for two days, Chu Sheng finally figured out the lineup for this trip.
Huang Gula and Fake Name were helpers invited by the Arena Master.
Huang Gula was naturally friendly and started calling Chu Sheng "brother" by the second day.
Fake Name was completely different; she walked at the very front of the team and ignored everyone.
The Arena Master was very respectful toward her, bowing his waist slightly whenever he spoke.
"A Pure-blooded Blood Demon," the Old Grandfather's voice echoed in his mind. "One of the top Bloodlines in the Demon Race, countless times more noble than that Arena Master."
Chu Sheng asked, "How noble?"
"Let's put it this way: in front of her, the Arena Master is just a gatekeeper."
Chu Sheng nodded, now understanding the situation.
They encountered several groups blocking their path on the way, but they were all just stragglers and remnants. The strongest among them was only at the Late Stage Gu Zhen Realm.
The Arena Master finished them off with one slap each, as if swatting flies.
Chu Sheng was happy to watch the show and didn't even draw his axe.
But he noticed that Fake Name had been observing him.
That look wasn't one of curiosity but of scrutiny, as if she were judging whether an item was valuable.
Huang Gula leaned in, his loud voice making Chu Sheng's ears ring.
"Brother, are you really a Human Race Cultivator who fell into the demonic path?"
Chu Sheng nodded.
Huang Gula's eyes lit up. "Then don't you know the Cultivation Techniques of both sides? That's amazing!"
Chu Sheng said modestly, "I know a little, just a little."
Huang Gula became even more excited. "Then do you know those Spells from the Righteous Path? Like Palm Thunder or Five Thunder Strike?"
The corner of Chu Sheng's mouth twitched.
"I don't."
"Then can you perform Sword Flight? The kind where 'one sword's light freezes nineteen provinces'?"
"I'm... not very familiar with that."
"Then what can you do?"
Chu Sheng thought for a moment. "I can fight."
Huang Gula was stunned for a second, then burst into laughter, doubling over and slapping Chu Sheng on the shoulder. "Brother, you're an interesting guy!"
Chu Sheng winced from the slaps, thinking that with this guy's strength, a single palm strike could probably blow up a small hill.
On the third day, the team encountered a swarm of Blood Bats.
They covered the sky in a dense black mass, each one possessing the strength of the Essence Gathering Realm stage.
The sound of their wings flapping was like thunder, making one's scalp tingle.
The Arena Master took action, swatting down a whole patch with one palm, then another.
With the overwhelming strength of the Spirit Spring realm, the Blood Bats fell like rain.
But a few broke through the blockade and charged straight at Chu Sheng.
Chu Sheng didn't use his axe.
He stood his ground, waiting for the first Blood Bat to pounce before exploding it with a single punch.
The second one charged immediately after, and he exploded it with another punch.
Blood mist erupted, splashing across his face.
Fake Name watched him act, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
Huang Gula charged forward with a roar, taking them down one punch at a time, even more ferociously than Chu Sheng.
"Brother! Back to back!"
Chu Sheng leaned in; with one facing left and the other right, they fought hand-to-hand for fifteen minutes.
The corpses of the Blood Bats piled up into a small mountain at their feet.
As the last Blood Bat screeched and fled, Huang Gula, covered in blood, grinned at Chu Sheng, revealing a row of white teeth.
"Refreshing!"
Chu Sheng smiled as well.
The Arena Master glanced at Chu Sheng but said nothing.
While camping at night, Chu Sheng sat by the campfire chewing on dry rations.
Fake Name suddenly walked over and tossed him a waterskin.
"Drink."
Chu Sheng pulled out the stopper and took a gulp, nearly spitting it out.
He coughed twice and handed the waterskin back.
Fake Name didn't take it and sat down across from him.
"You're a human; why did you come to the Demon Realm?"
Chu Sheng thought for a bit. "I couldn't survive elsewhere."
Fake Name sneered. "It's even harder to survive in the Demon Realm."
Chu Sheng didn't respond.
The campfire crackled, its light flickering across her cold face.
After a long silence, Fake Name suddenly stood up, left a sentence, and walked away.
"When we reach the Blood Sea tomorrow, don't wander off. If you die, no one will collect your corpse."
The team finally arrived at the Netherworld Blood Sea.
Standing on the shore, Chu Sheng was stunned by the sight before him.
The Blood Sea wasn't red; it was black.
It was as black as a giant ink pool, or like an open eye staring coldly at the sky.
Black waves surged on the surface, and within every crest, one could see twisted faces.
Those were the Resentful Souls of Cultivators who had died here, their mouths open in silent screams.
In the center of the Blood Sea, a massive skeleton half-submerged and half-floated.
It was hundreds of feet long, its bones covered in black moss that looked like a layer of rotting flesh.
Even more shocking was the giant hand beside the skeleton, its five fingers splayed as if trying to grab something from the sea.
Even though it had been dead for countless years, it still emitted an aura that made Chu Sheng's heart skip a beat.
The Dao Palace realm.
Huang Gula's mouth hung open. "Can that thing be refined into a Magic Treasure?"
No one paid him any attention.
Hundreds of people had already gathered at the edge of the Blood Sea.
Pure-blooded demons, half-demons, Demon Cultivators, and some races Chu Sheng couldn't name crowded the shore like a school of fish waiting to be fed.
The auras of many Demon Generals were mixed together—Spirit Spring, Spirit Lake, and even a few that Chu Sheng couldn't quite figure out.
Several Demon Generals whistled at Fake Name.
"Hey girl, come over here, big brother will protect you!"
Another Demon General's expression changed, and he tugged on the whistler's sleeve.
"Are you crazy? Don't you know who her sister is?"
The one who whistled turned pale instantly and ducked his head, hiding in the crowd.
Chu Sheng curiously asked Huang Gula, "Who is her sister?"
Huang Gula scratched his head. "I don't know. But I heard she's very powerful, extremely powerful."
The atmosphere was subtle.
Hundreds of people crowded the shore, yet no one wanted to be the first to go down.
That giant hand submerged in the Blood Sea was like an enticing bait, but everyone knew there was a hook hidden beneath it.
The Arena Master's expression was grave as he whispered to Chu Sheng, "When we go down later, stay close to me."
Chu Sheng nodded, but thought to himself: Stay close to you? Wouldn't that be waiting to be used as cannon fodder?
The Old Grandfather's voice suddenly rang out, filled with a hint of disdain.
"This? This is worthy of being called a Blood Sea? I saw the true Blood Sea back in the day; that was what you'd call..."
Chu Sheng quickly interrupted, "Could you wait until we get back to brag? I'll set up a stage for you then and invite some spectators."
The Old Grandfather was so angry he couldn't speak.
The first one who couldn't hold back was a Demon Warrior.
At the Early Stage of Gu Zhen, he paced the shore for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and jumping into the Blood Sea.
The black waves swallowed him up before he could even let out a scream.
The water surged a few times before returning to calm.
The entire place fell silent.
Hundreds of people stood on the shore, staring at that black sea, none daring to move.
Fake Name suddenly stepped forward.
She took out a Jade Talisman and crushed it, a blood-red light enveloping her entire body.
She leaped into the Blood Sea and stood steadily upon the surface of the water.
The black waves parted beneath her feet as if pushed aside by an invisible hand.
Huang Gula shouted, "I'm coming too!" and jumped straight in.
Without a Jade Talisman or protection, his background as a Body Cultivator allowed him to endure the Blood Sea's corrosion as he sank.
The black water rose past his knees, waist, and chest; he gritted his teeth, veins bulging, as he walked forward step by step.
Chu Sheng took a deep breath.
He said to the Arena Master, "I'll go down first to scout the way."
Without waiting for the Arena Master's reply, he leaped into the Blood Sea.
The moment he entered the water, Chu Sheng felt as if someone were squeezing his throat.
Cold, viscous, and suffocating, countless Resentful Souls shrieked in his ears, trying to burrow into his mind.
The Heavenly Demon Body activated automatically, and black-red Devilish Qi seeped from his pores. Those Resentful Souls shrieked and scattered as if they had seen a ghost.
Chu Sheng steadied himself and found that he was standing on the surface of the water.
The Devilish Qi of the Heavenly Demon Body condensed beneath his feet, giving him the sensation of solid ground and supporting him.
He looked down; the black water surged around his feet but didn't dare to approach.
On the shore, the Arena Master was stunned.
Fake Name looked back at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
Huang Gula poked his head out of the water, black smoke rising from his body as he shouted at him, "Brother! You can stand on it too?!"
Chu Sheng smiled.
"I can."
He started walking toward the depths of the Blood Sea.
Beneath his feet, the black waves automatically parted.
Behind him, the people on the shore were still hesitating, but a few bold ones had already begun to follow and jump in.
Chu Sheng didn't look back.
His gaze fell upon that giant hand.
An arm of the Dao Palace realm, a skeleton of the Devil King level.
If he could get his hands on any one of these things, it would be enough for him to turn his fortunes around.
He quickened his pace.