Chapter 2158 - A Rain of Blood, Wind Laden With the Stench of Death

Su Yi smiled and asked back, “What about you? I’m a complete stranger. Why take such good care of me?”

A’Ling froze. “I...”

“You don’t need to answer,” Su Yi said softly. “All I can tell you is that there’s a special relationship between us, and that you’ll naturally understand when the time is right.”

“A special relationship?” A’Ling’s brow furrowed, but she couldn’t wrap her head around it.

“That’s enough for now. Go to bed early. Tomorrow, we’re going to Fire Cauldron City to visit the Sky Fire Yao Sect,” said Su Yi.

A’Ling’s expression shifted. “Are we really going, Big Brother Xiao?”

“If we don’t, they’re sure to seek retribution, and that will implicate everyone in Grassy Creek Village. Better to just go there and kill them first,” Su Yi said calmly.

A’Ling was instantly solemn. “I understand.”

Su Yi smiled. “While we’re at it, I’ll ask around for information.”

After his conversation with Li Changqing, he knew that Fire Cauldron City was the closest major city to the Demon Crow Mountains. Even though it was located on the outskirts of the Billowing Blue Realm, numerous yao and demon cultivation factions had territory there.

The city also had numerous trading companies. Of them, the most exceptional was known as Heaven’s Net. So long as you could afford it, you could buy all sorts of information there.

......

The following day at dawn.

As the sun rose, Fire Cauldron City quickly livened up.

The city was enormous, and its streets extended in all directions, like the threads of a spiderweb. It was just one city, but it was even bigger than some of the kingdoms of the mundane world.

Everywhere you looked, there were yao and demon cultivators.

There were also human cultivators, but they were all employed in lesser roles. Most were servants.

The Sky Fire Yao Sect stood on Solitary Moon Mountain, which was located within city limits. By the standards of Fire Cauldron City, it was a first-rate cultivation faction!

The streets were lively and crowded with carts. A clamor of voices filled the air.

When A’Ling pushed Su Yi’s wheelchair into the city, she couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. She’d grown up in a remote village, and in all her years of life, she’d only accompanied Elder Li Changqing to Fire Cauldron City once. The crowds and noise made her inexplicably uncomfortable, and she felt deeply out of place.

Moreover, she was human. The sight of so many yao and demons put immense pressure on her.

From a young age, her seniors had told her that in the Billowing Blue Realm, humans were the lowliest race of all. Yao and demons dominated and enslaved them. As a human, if she wanted to live, she had to resign herself to adversity and learn to endure.

Their teachings had planted the seeds of awe and dread for yao and demons in A’Ling’s heart.

Su Yi could sense her nervousness, but he didn’t say anything. Some things, she’d have to face for herself. She’d need to handle today’s battle on her own.

Before long, A’Ling stopped in place. She saw numerous slave merchants further down the street.

The slaves confined in the densely packed cages were almost all human! Moreover, the cages marked their names, cultivations, and prices.

It was as if they were objects.

Many of the enslaved human cultivators had numb looks in their eyes, and they just sat there, unmoving, even as passing yao and demon experts looked them over and made purchases.

When A’Ling saw this, she stiffened, and her heart filled with indescribable grief.

“Ee? That girl looks quite spunky. Pretty, too. How rare! How truly rare!” A voice suddenly rang out.

A tall man gazed greedily at A’Ling from further down the street. He was a yao expert accompanied by two human servants.

A’Ling frowned in disgust and pushed Su Yi’s wheelchair away.

Since entering the city, she’d sensed numerous demon and yao cultivators brazenly looking her up and down, and she found it repulsive.

“Stop! Who said you could leave?” The stalwart man grinned, then shifted positions to block their path.

His two human servants exchanged glances and chuckled. They knew that their master had set his sights on his next prey!

“Big Brother Xiao...” A’Ling instinctively looked at Su Yi.

“If he dares block our path, just kill him,” Su Yi said airily. “No matter how much of a commotion you cause, I’ll help you face it.”

“Aiyo, you’ve got quite the mouth on you, you cripple! How dare you treat our master with such disrespect? You’re courting death!” One of the stalwart man’s servants laughed hideously, raised his fist, and punched Su Yi.

Splurt!

A bone spear pierced the servant through the throat, splattering beads of scaling red blood.

When A’Ling shifted her wrists, the servant’s corpse fell into the dirt.

The nearby streets were in uproar. Numerous gazes turned their way.

Many of the onlookers were flabbergasted. “That human girl actually dared kill someone on the streets of Fire Cauldron City!?”

It had been years since anything like this had happened.

But the stalwart man’s eyes lit up. “She dared kill one of my dogs? The girl’s got spirit! I’ve just got to have her warm my bed tonight!”

The other servant hurriedly cried out, “Master, watch out! The girl’s ruthless. If she hurts you...”

“Hahahaha!” The stalwart man threw back his head and laughed. “This is Fire Cauldron City. What human has ever dared act wantonly here?”

He suddenly took a step toward A’Ling. “I’ll be interested to see if she dares to kill me!”

Splurt!

A’Ling’s bone spear flashed through the air and pierced the stalwart man’s skull, pinning him in place.

Silence descended over the crowd. Even the birds fell silent.

Everyone nearby, be they human, yao, or demon, was completely gobsmacked. Even if you’d hit them over the head, they would never have guessed that a young human girl would dare to kill a yao expert in public!

“Finished! You’re finished! According to the rules of Fire Cauldron City, any human who dares kill a yao or demon in city limits is put to death!” shrieked the dead man’s remaining servant.

He was quivering from head to toe with fright.

Splurt!

A’Ling killed him, too. Her movements were crisp and direct, and her beautiful face was utterly cold.

She wasn’t sure why, but she was no longer afraid or uneasy. It was as if fire were burning in her chest, and it threatened to burn her up if she didn’t vent it.

“That’s right. Come on, then. Let’s find Heaven’s Net,” said Su Yi calmly.

“Alright.” A’Ling pushed the wheelchair ahead as if there were no one else around.

Three corpses lay strewn across the streets, still gushing blood. The nearby experts were still in shock.

Even the human slaves confined to cages couldn’t help but follow A’Ling with their eyes.

She’s human, just like us. How... could she be so daring?

“Stop!” A group of yao experts charged from further down the streets and surrounded them, all of them seething with murderous intent.

Su Yi ignored them completely.

A’Ling said nothing either. She just swung her spear and attacked.

Moments later, several new corpses lay across the streets, the pooled blood staining the ground red. It was a striking sight.

There was blood on A’Ling’s beast skin robes, too, but none of it was hers.

Numerous people had witnessed it all, and they were unwittingly gobsmacked. Their eyes were wide. Some were even in uproar.

The demons and yao who’d looked down on A’Ling with lofty superiority moments prior were now panicked and ill at ease.

Many of the human cultivators were wide-eyed, tongue-tied, and bewildered. It seemed they dared not believe it.

A’Ling took all of this in, but she was inwardly quite satisfied. It was as if... she’d broken through some kind of mental barrier!

“It’s easy to kill bandits in the mountains, but hard to kill the thieves of the heart. A’Ling, you’ve done well,” Su Yi said approvingly.

A’Ling pursed her lips and said softly, “Big Brother Xiao, I’m finally starting to understand what you told me earlier. When you overcome your fear, enemies like them really are no different from the wild beasts in the mountains.”

As they conversed, they continued further ahead. Su Yi remained seated quietly in his wheelchair while A’Ling pushed him along.

The two of them traversed the streets of Fire Tripod City. Numerous yao and demon experts stepped forth along the way in a bid to arrest them, but without exception, A’Ling killed every last one of them!

This caused an enormous commotion throughout the city.

“Where’d that lowly human come from? She’s simply sick of living!”

Suddenly, a voice boomed like thunder. A World-King-level yao cultivator appeared, drawing numerous gazes.

In Fire Cauldron City, yao immortals represented the pinnacle of power, but they were rare and elusive.

Experts of the Path of Transcendence were second only to immortals. All of them were high-ranking authority figures.

World Kings were next in the hierarchy! Even in a place like Fire Cauldron City, they were respectable experts, pillars of their sects.

Now, one such World King yao cultivator had stepped forth to stop Su Yi and A’Ling. It was thus obvious that their actions had drawn the attention of some of the city’s prominent experts.

Boom!

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, the World King attacked.

A’Ling didn’t even look at him. She just tossed a talisman at him.

A streak of glittering silver lightning flashed through the air.

Bang!!!

The World King was still mid-charge when his body was torn to shreds, killing him on the spot.

The crowd was completely gobsmacked. A World King yao cultivator had been killed, just like that!?

A’Ling, meanwhile, just kept pushing Su Yi’s wheelchair. She was entirely unperturbed.

No more yao or demon cultivators stepped forth, but everyone had a strong premonition that a storm was brewing. The young woman and the man in a wheelchair had repeatedly shed blood in city limits, and they were sure to face retribution!

Soon, A’Ling stopped in front of a thousand-foot-tall, ancient tower. “Big Brother Xiao, we’ve reached Heaven’s Net.”

A group of guards stood outside the gates, and when they saw Su Yi and A’Ling, they bellowed, “Scram! Heaven’s Net is no place for the likes of you!!”

The guards knew what A’Ling and Su Yi had done, but they were fearless, and they weren't the least bit polite.

“Is that how Heaven’s Net does business?” whispered Su Yi. “Forget it. We’re leaving.”

A’Ling pushed Su Yi’s wheelchair, and the two of them were just about to leave when a burst of charming laughter rang out.

“Here in Fire Cauldron City, there’s no business too great for Heaven’s Net to handle. I just can’t help but be curious. You left a string of corpses in your wake just to get here. Just what kind of business are you hoping to do?”

A fragrant wind spread following this question, and an enchanting, full-figured, mature beauty emerged from Heaven’s Net.

“Allow me to get the unpleasantness out of the way first. If you’re just here to seek refuge, I’m afraid Heaven’s Net cannot accommodate you.”

The mature beauty smiled charmingly as she looked first at A’Ling, then at Su Yi.