Immortal-Exterminating Divine Venerable

"Ah! The pain! It hurts so much!"

A blood-red tongue pierced through their bodies.

The wretched screams were endless, erupting from everyone's mouth.

That bloody tongue was terrifying and grotesque.

It impaled every single person in the village, yet none of them died.

Aside from cries of pain, there was also terror.

They were just ordinary villagers. While each had learned some rudimentary martial arts, the strongest among them was a mere Martial Artist. There wasn't even a single Martial Master to be found.

How could they possibly be a match for the black-robed man, the incarnation of the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable?

But even with such weak creatures, the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable was still enjoying himself immensely.

"Although the Divine Race blood within you is quite muddled, as if it contains the bloodlines of every Divine Race, its flavor is truly excellent. So fragrant, so pure, without a single trace of impurity. This is why I, Netherworld Erosion, am most fond of you members of the Human Race. Especially the beautiful women... tsk, tsk, truly tempting."

The handsome, black-robed man licked his red lips. What he loved most was seeing the food before him—his victims—show expressions of pain and terror.

Especially terror.

Despair.

These emotions truly delighted him.

Yet among these people, while most reacted just as he desired...

...a small few still held a glimmer of hope in their eyes, alongside the agony.

They were even muttering softly.

As if praying for something.

This greatly displeased the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable.

"Death is upon you, yet you still cling to hope? What a bunch of fools. But then again, what I love most is shattering hope and witnessing despair."

He began to laugh again.

And he didn't need to listen closely.

He could already hear the words spoken by those who held onto hope.

"A demon has descended upon the world! Saint Prince on high, please save us!"

Almost everyone who harbored hope...

...was muttering these very words.

"A Saint Prince? Could there truly be an heir to the Human Emperor here? Tsk, tsk, not bad at all. To think that my, Netherworld Erosion's, luck is this good. A single heir to the Human Emperor is worth tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, of ordinary members of the Human Race. His bloodline must be incomparably pure. I just wonder... is this Prince a man or a woman? Well, even if it's a man, as long as he's handsome enough, it's not like I can't have some fun with him. Haha."

The black-robed man, the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable, began to laugh.

It was a wicked laugh.

He instantly lost all interest in toying with the people before him.

With a flick of his blood-red tongue...

...the hundred or so villagers, whether they had satisfied him or not...

...were all swept into his gaping, bloody maw.

They became his food.

"Tsk, tsk, not bad. It's been over a hundred thousand years since I've tasted such a delicacy. Now then, should I, this Venerable One, go find that delicious Saint Prince? Or should I toy with these common members of the Human Race a bit longer? Tsk, tsk, what a dilemma."

The black-robed man chuckled to himself.

His figure flashed...

...and he vanished without a trace.

「In the days that followed.」

He clearly became more focused, but wherever he went, any members of the Human Race he encountered became his food—food to be devoured only after he had toyed with them.

Gradually, people in the Celestial Cloud Region began to notice something.

Inexplicably, entire villages, small towns, and even a small city were being discovered completely devoid of people.

This series of events quickly sparked a wave of panic.

News of it eventually reached the ears of the Carefree Sect.

"Elder Yun, we've recently received reports from below. A lot of people have gone missing. It's as if they've vanished into thin air. There are a great many of them, and no one knows what's happening. They're hoping that we, the Carefree Sect, can dispatch someone to investigate. What are your thoughts?"

「Carefree Sect, Affairs Hall.」

A middle-aged man dressed in the uniform of a White-robed Steward spoke to a young man wearing the silver and gold-trimmed robes of an Elder.

The young man's aura was extraordinary, having already reached the Martial Grandmaster level—or, by the current nomenclature, the Heavenly Gang Stage. Those who knew him were even more aware of something else.

Elder Yun's cultivation, impressive as it was, paled in comparison to his wisdom.

If Yang Xiao had been present, he would have recognized this young man as Yun Huan, the very same person Cheng Boxuan had once painstakingly mentored.

This young man had since come into his own.

Yang Xiao had a good impression of him and admired him greatly.

He was part of his direct lineage of subordinates.

At that moment, however, hearing the White-robed Steward's report, Yun Huan's brow furrowed slightly. "You're saying that many people have disappeared without reason?"

He was clearly taking this very seriously.

"Yes, Elder Yun. This has already happened in many places—some remote villages, some small towns, and even an entire city. I believe it was called Celestial Mountain City."

The White-robed Steward replied respectfully.

"Celestial Mountain City? Isn't that the city near the Nine Nether Earth Rift? The Saint Prince once warned us not to approach the Four Great Forbidden Lands. He said they concealed dangers that not even he fully understood. Could it be... has something happened at the Nine Nether Earth Rift?"

As the thought occurred to him, Yun Huan immediately ordered, "Go at once and find out exactly which locations have lost their populations. I need to cross-reference them with a map."

"Yes, I'll see to it at once."

The White-robed Steward hastily departed.

Yun Huan's expression, however, grew extremely grave.

He had numerous theories, but until the investigation yielded results, he couldn't be certain what had happened.

'I hope my guess is wrong,' Yun Huan thought. 'Otherwise, if some monster really has escaped from the Nine Nether Earth Rift, it would be an absolute catastrophe.'

But he didn't know that at this very moment, a black figure had suddenly appeared just outside the Carefree Sect.

It was none other than the culprit behind the disappearances: the black-robed man, the incarnation of the Netherworld Erosion Demon Venerable.

'So this is the Carefree Sect? Pathetically weak!'

A grotesque smile played on the black-robed man's handsome face.

His peculiar eyes surveyed the entire Carefree Sect.

He watched the people milling about and couldn't help but lick his red lips. Surprisingly, however, he didn't strike immediately and devour everyone in sight as he had before.

Although each of these people appeared to possess extraordinary strength, in reality, they were still only at the level of Mortal Martial Artists. There wasn't even a single being in the Small Divine Ability Realm.

To him, there was little difference between them and ordinary people who had never cultivated at all.

The reason he hadn't made a move...

...was because this was the Carefree Sect.

'The memories of those humans told me this is the Saint Prince's Sect,' he mused. 'If I want to meet him, or rather, get close to him and play a little deadly game, I'll have to start here. In that case, time to take the first step.'

The black-robed man smiled faintly.

With a flicker of his form...

...he vanished.

When he reappeared...

...he was already inside the Carefree Sect.

He materialized right in front of Yun Huan, who was diligently handling other Sect affairs.