The City Lord’s Mansion underground prison.
The Blazing Flame Demon Lord strode in, unconcerned by the filth and scattered white bones along the way. The place was dark and damp, exuding a scent of decay and rot. Even though torches burned on the walls, darkness still clung like a shadow.
At every checkpoint, the guards bowed respectfully to the Blazing Flame Demon Lord, murmuring, "My Lord."
The Blazing Flame Demon Lord walked without looking left or right, proceeding to the depths of the prison. It was pitch black inside, and the inch-thick, heavy iron door couldn't silence the low whimpers and gnashing of teeth coming from within. Even he felt a sense of caution whenever he came here.
At this moment, the Blazing Flame Demon Lord's excitement outweighed his caution as he asked in a deep voice, "How much Human Food have we prepared?"
The Prison Warden, following behind him, quickly replied, "Reporting to my Lord, yesterday we had five hundred and eighty-nine. This morning... over twenty more died. Currently, we only have..."
"Feed it immediately. This Dark Kun should taste some blood too!" The Blazing Flame Demon Lord let out a sinister laugh.
Within the prison pit below, an ancient divine beast, the Dark Kun, was sealed. It had been captured by the Demon Lord from the Soul Burial Abyss, one of the Four Forbidden Lands, and had been carefully fed with Human Food.
Now, it was finally time to unleash this terrifying Dark Kun to hunt down Li Tianjue.
Soon, all the enslaved people held in the dungeon were brought out. They were ordinary people from Dayuancheng, arrested without reason and imprisoned here, subjected to all sorts of torture, long having lost their vitality and hope.
"Hurry up, do you want to die?"
*Crack!*
With the crack of whips, the numb-looking slaves quickened their pace, entering the deep, foul-smelling dungeon.
Finally, over five hundred slaves were herded to the entrance of the dark and damp underground prison. As the Blazing Flame Demon Lord personally stepped forward, the heavy iron door finally creaked open.
An unbearable stench of blood mixed with rotting odor assaulted them, along with the smell of mildew and decay. Even the Blazing Flame Demon Lord himself almost choked, while the guards and slaves behind him coughed violently.
"It's so unbearable, what is this smell?"
"My head hurts so much, I can barely breathe... Cough, cough, cough..."
"My Lord, please release us, I beg you..."
Listening to the slaves' pleas and cries of agony, the Blazing Flame Demon Lord showed no mercy. Instead, he coldly ordered, "Guards, throw them all down."
A group of guards immediately raised their whips. "Move, move! Go inside!"
The barbed whips swung, lashing at the slaves, driving them into the deep, dark prison. Cries and pleas filled the air, a scene of utter misery, but no one could resist.
One by one, the slaves were forced to enter, suddenly finding the ground disappear beneath them, their bodies plummeting.
A terrifying roar suddenly echoed, and the gust of putrid wind that rushed towards them made everyone scream. Eardrums were filled with chilling roars, shouts, the sound of bones cracking, and the gnawing, swallowing sounds, like a nightmare. Some were scared to death and fainted on the spot.
From above the cavern, the guards continued to drive the remaining slaves. Any who tried to escape were executed on the spot.
Their corpses were also thrown down.
Finally, all over five hundred slaves, not a single one left, were thrown into the pit.
"My Lord, what... what kind of demonic beast is that below... It's so terrifying!" the Prison Warden stammered, his body trembling, and asked cautiously.
"Demonic beast? Why don't you go and see for yourself?"
The Blazing Flame Demon Lord had no interest in explaining. With a sinister grin, he grabbed the Prison Warden and shoved him down.
Fierce screams gradually weakened and faded...
A dark smile on his face, the Blazing Flame Demon Lord transformed into a ball of flame and vanished from the spot.
At this very moment. https:/
Su Luo and Li Tianjue could already see the City Lord's Mansion, visible in the distance.
As they had journeyed, countless drops of blood had splattered onto their bodies, blooming like plum blossoms. Along the long street behind them lay countless corpses, scattered haphazardly, the air filled with a burnt stench. Scattered flames, still unextinguished, crackled.
The Dragon Hound strode with a mighty gait, its divine beast aura fully displayed.
"Twenty-nine." Su Luo collected another head, earning another two million eight hundred thousand.
There were simply too many wanted criminals on the run in Dayuancheng, an endless supply. In just over an hour, she had collected nearly thirty heads. A trip to the black market exchange would surely bring in over a hundred million.
Li Tianjue smiled faintly, "I only have twenty-five, but this is as much as I would earn in one or two years."
The Dragon Hound gave a mighty howl, "I killed the most, one hundred and thirty-six."
Su Luo couldn't help but laugh, "Da Hei, you bite everyone you see, regardless of whether they're on the wanted list. Killing more won't earn you spirit coins... Hmm, why has the sky darkened?"
As she spoke, she suddenly felt something was amiss.
The two looked up, only to see that a thick black cloud had enveloped the sky at some point. It was oppressive, a black line connecting heaven and earth, its source continuously pouring out from the City Lord's Mansion ahead.
The black cloud grew larger and larger, spreading in all directions.
Though it had only just passed noon, the sky gradually grew dark, as if night had fallen.
"Looking at this black smoke, there must be some arrangement in the City Lord's Mansion. It seems they already know we're here," Su Luo said calmly.
"There's something wrong with this black smoke..." Li Tianjue's expression became solemn. He sensed a powerful malevolent intent spreading from the City Lord's Mansion ahead, continuously expanding.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake, as if an earthquake.
Fentian watched his surroundings vigilantly. He had been to Dayuancheng countless times but had no idea what was happening.
He quickly transformed into sand and burrowed into the ground, wanting to investigate.
But in the next moment, *boom!*
Earth and stone shot into the sky, and a violent explosion lifted the street surface, also flinging Fentian out.
Li Tianjue instinctively protected Su Luo, embracing her slender waist and flying up. More and more black smoke poured from above the City Lord's Mansion. In a short while, Dayuancheng was filled with a decaying black mist, chaos, and continuous wailing.
"Senior Brother, look!" Su Luo suddenly stared at a few people below.
These people had run out of houses and were writhing on the ground in agony. Black smoke emerged from the cracks in the ground, and soon, their bodies began to mutate.
Their heads kept swelling, developing pustules that squeezed their eyes and noses shut, leaving only a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth, and a long, scarlet tongue that twisted and flickered. Their limbs grew thicker, their muscles bulging and expanding, becoming utterly unlike human. They were like grotesque monsters made of rotten flesh.
Li Tianjue frowned, "How could this happen? They're changing so fast, could it be that black smoke..."
Su Luo wanted to use her Divine Eye Mirror to scan, but the distance was too great, and she couldn't observe.
"Senior Brother, let's go down and examine those... monsters. Let's see what exactly happened to them," she said cautiously, not wanting to approach the black smoke. By observing these mutated humans up close, they could get a general idea of the problem.
Li Tianjue pondered for a moment, then brought Su Luo down.
He used his spiritual light to shield himself and Su Luo, isolating them from the black mist, and stood vigilantly about ten feet away from the monsters.
Su Luo's eyes sharpened, and she activated her Divine Eye Mirror.