200: The Taste of a Witch

A low, dark city.

Countless hunched, small green-skinned Holy Race members, dragging shackles, were laboriously moving giant stones, stacking them to build a colossal altar.

The altar was carved with strange demonic patterns, and wisps of pure Devilish Qi drifted out from a hole in its center.

Crack! A sharp sound of something tearing through the air rang out.

A dark long whip sliced through the air, accompanied by a scream. The back of an elderly green-skinned Holy Race member was instantly ripped open, revealing a clearly visible bloody mark.

“You lowly slaves… If you delay the construction, I’ll sacrifice your entire family, old and young, to Holy Ancestor Jialan.”

A burly, three-zhang-tall single-horned Holy Race member, holding a long whip covered in barbs, said viciously.

‘They’re all just small fries…’ Gu Changsheng’s gaze swept across them. The small green-skinned Holy Race members in his sight showed no significant Devilish Qi, at most comparable to a Contemplation Realm Dao child.

The single-horned Holy Race member standing on the altar, who seemed to be the leader, also only had an aura comparable to a True Core.

Indeed, even in the Holy Realm, weak beings still made up the majority.

Whoosh! Gu Changsheng’s body merged with the wind, and the space next to the altar rippled like water.

A palm suddenly shot out, grabbing towards the single-horned Holy Race member’s head.

“This… Great Saint, spare my life!”

The single-horned Holy Race member’s face was filled with terror. He couldn’t move his entire body, and in his perception, the aura of the person before him was as unfathomable as an abyss.

This feeling, he had only ever experienced from the city lord of a Great City.

‘Great Saint? So the Holy Realm calls Profound Cave Cultivators Great Saints…’

Gu Changsheng was expressionless.

It was not surprising that the Holy Race member before him did not recognize his Human Race identity.

In fact, the Holy Race encompassed a myriad of strange and varied races, and there were many humanoid races.

The only way to identify a race was by the Devilish Qi, which was as conspicuous as a firefly in the dark night.

Coincidentally, after Gu Changsheng arrived in the Holy Realm, the Devilish Qi originally sealed in the blood sac within his body began to stir. He simply unsealed a trace of it, simulating the Holy Race’s aura to deceive others.

“I want to ask you a few things…”

“This humble one will tell you everything, holding nothing back.”

“Oh, then can you keep a secret?”

The single-horned Holy Race member nodded frantically, his face covered in a fawning smile.

“Unfortunately… only dead men can put my mind at ease…”

Gu Changsheng’s eyes sharpened, and a faint glow bloomed from his claw tips. The single-horned Holy Race member convulsed all over as a vast amount of his memories were wantonly ransacked.

“Holy Ancestor Miefan… Demon Subduing Mountain… True Devil Qi…”

Three breaths later, Gu Changsheng’s eyes were complex.

In the memories, the Holy Realm was divided and ruled by Yang Spirit Holy Ancestors.

For example, the Miefan Domain, where he currently was, was ruled by Holy Ancestor Miefan.

And Demon Subduing Mountain, where the demonic spirit flower grew, was located in the Jialan Holy Ancestor Domain, also known as the Holy Domain.

It was ruled by one of the oldest Holy Ancestors in the Holy Realm—Holy Ancestor Jialan.

“Holy Domain… In the memories, it’s countless billions of miles away from the Miefan Domain. One needs to use the teleportation arrays between Great Domains to get close.

The nearest city with a teleportation array is… Yuan Du City…”

Gu Changsheng’s eyes cleared, and his gaze swept down, looking at the thousands of terrified green-skinned Holy Race members.

“However, before I leave, I might as well make a sacrifice and gain some benefits as resources…”

Whoosh! Dark Qi spread through the Void Realm. The surrounding space seemed to solidify, and a sky-covering giant hand descended, grabbing a vast number of green-skinned Holy Race members and tossing them into the altar. The Devilish Qi of the altar writhed, like a fierce tiger choosing its prey, frantically coiling around and devouring the Holy Race members who fell into it.

In the blink of an eye, a vast number of green-skinned Holy Race members were devoured, leaving not even bone dregs.

In the center of the altar, a wisp of pure Devilish Qi drifted out, like a dark venomous snake, merging into a piece of jade next to the altar.

The altar was also known as a Demonic Spring.

It could mass-produce Demonic Crystals through sacrifice.

“High Grade Devilish Qi… It seems to be of much poorer quality than the wisp in my body…”

Gu Changsheng frowned slightly.

In the memories, the single-horned Holy Race member had highly praised the altar.

Logically, the Devilish Qi produced after sacrifice should be of good quality.

“Could it be… that the wisp of Devilish Qi in my body… is True Devil Qi…”

It seemed highly possible.

After all, the entity that polluted Shu Mountain back then was a Yang Spirit Realm Holy Ancestor.

True Devil Qi was a great spiritual tonic for Holy Ancestor Cultivators.

Human Race Cultivators, however, avoided it like the plague.

‘No wonder I couldn’t get rid of it despite using various methods…’

Gu Changsheng understood, his gaze falling upon the jade that had merged with the Devilish Qi and turned as black as ink.

“Three feet square, it should be able to be cut into a hundred High Grade Demonic Crystals… Besides using them for teleportation arrays, perhaps I can also purchase some spiritual Materials in the city.”

The Materials for refining the demonic heart crossing, besides the main ingredient, the demonic spirit flower, also included many Materials unique to both the Human Realm and the Holy Realm.

Heaven knows how the Cultivator who originally developed the demonic heart crossing Medicinal Pill managed to create the Pill Formula.

Clang! Several sword lights shot from his fingertips, precisely cutting the three-foot-square Demonic Crystal into standard blocks.

With a flick of his sleeve, the Demonic Crystals entered his sleeve.

Gu Changsheng shot towards the due east, which was Yuan Du City, ruled by a Profound Cave Late Stage Demon.

Yuan Du City.

A market.

“Shopkeeper, what is the price of this Ice Blossom?”

Gu Changsheng asked, pointing at an ice-blue flower emitting cold Qi on the stall.

This flower was one of the Materials for refining the demonic heart crossing.

Along the way, he had already purchased many consumables, enough to refine several hundred demonic heart crossings.

Besides the demonic spirit flower, most of them were ordinary Materials from the Holy Realm.

After all, the Cultivator who originally created the Pill Formula mostly used Human Realm Materials.

The Ice Blossom was considered a relatively rare type.

“Twenty High Grade Demonic Crystals…”

The Holy Race member with long, narrow ears and a wrinkled face replied, then silently took a puff from his bronze pipe, exhaling smoke.

‘Twenty pieces…’

Gu Changsheng fumbled for a moment, his brow furrowing.

Just now, he had bought many consumables, and now he only had twenty-three High Grade Demonic Crystals left in his storage.

He had already inquired; taking a teleportation array to another domain would cost at least twenty High Grade Demonic Crystals.

Should he… just kill the other party directly?

Gu Changsheng looked at the stall owner, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

‘Forget it… This is a Holy Race city after all, with a Profound Cave Late Stage Great Saint guarding it. It’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble…’

Gu Changsheng retreated disgruntled, walking towards the center of the city.

That was where the teleportation array was located.

Suddenly, exclamations and the sound of galloping horses came from afar, accompanied by screams of people and horses falling. A beautiful woman in a red robe galloped on a fiery horse.

“Oh no… the jinx is here…”

“Quick, hide, hide…”

In an instant, many Holy Race members’ expressions changed drastically, and they scattered in all directions.

Gu Changsheng was puzzled.

Crack! A loud whip crack echoed through the sky.

“Today, you shall serve this young mistress in bed…”

The beautiful woman in the red robe held a long whip, gazing greedily at Gu Changsheng, and licked her lips with her soft pink tongue. Her gaze was as if she was staring at a delicacy.

Whispers filled the air.

“Darn it, another unlucky soul.”

“Sigh, Young Mistress Yuan Du is beautiful, and skilled in bedroom arts… but she’s too demanding. After a night of passion, before sunrise the next day, she transforms into her true form and devours her bedmate.

The number of innocent ghosts is countless…”

“Who told her to be the City Lord’s darling… Just accept your fate.”

‘So that’s how it is…’

Gu Changsheng smiled faintly.

A new bride every day?

This woman’s fetish was quite unique.

He didn’t mind experiencing the taste of a demonic woman.

However… being forced, he’d rather not.

Gu Changsheng’s smile faded, and his eyes gradually grew cold.