Demon Market

Lin Jun had hired someone specifically to tend to that White Deer. The moment he heard the news, he hurried over to investigate.

By the time he arrived, the wall had already been smashed open, and the White Deer was racing toward the city gate.

Lin Jun immediately gave chase and finally caught up with it outside the city.

What astonished Lin Jun was that another deer stood outside, a pitch-black sword clenched in its mouth.

"Lord Lin, it has been a long time."

Amid a burst of white light, the deer transformed into a young gentleman in flowing azure robes, radiating an immortal air.

"Lu Ling? What did you come to see me for?"

Lu Ling handed the sword to Lin Jun.

"The situation is urgent. My lord, have you heard of the Demon Market?"

The Demon Market?

Humans had human markets; demons had demon markets.

The so-called Demon Market was a bazaar held by demons. Under the Demon Exorcism Bureau's all-out suppression, the Yin Dynasty had not seen demons holding a Demon Market for a very long time.

The Demon Market traded in people, something the Demon Exorcism Bureau would never permit.

In other words, if demons in a certain place had begun holding a Demon Market, it meant there were already so many demons there that it was horrifying—and that they were bold enough to disregard the Demon Exorcism Bureau.

At that thought, Lin Jun's expression immediately turned grave.

"My lord, the one holding this Demon Market is a Fox Spirit... I have never seen that Fox Spirit before. It was as though it had appeared out of thin air."

A Fox Spirit?

Lin Jun instinctively thought of Zhang Ju, but quickly dismissed the idea.

"This sword of yours? This is He Jing's sword? Why is it with you?"

Lin Jun found the pitch-black sword quite familiar. He himself had made the notch on it.

"My lord knows this person? To be honest, I saw that Fox Demon capture a cartful of people. This sword fell there at the time. I thought it was a fine sword, so I brought it to you."

Lin Jun's heart sank at once. He had not expected He Jing to meet with misfortune after only three short days.

"Rest assured, my lord. That Fox Demon captured people to hold the Demon Market. It will not harm their lives anytime soon."

The main attraction of a Demon Market was often human flesh, and higher-grade goods were martial artists' flesh.

Demons cared about freshness too. Generally, before the actual transaction, they would do everything possible to keep the humans alive.

But just then, several voices suddenly sounded beside Lu Ling.

"So you really were here. You made us search high and low."

"Traitor!"

A huge net suddenly rose from the ground, ensnaring both Lin Jun and Lu Ling.

Who knew what material the net was made from? No matter how Lu Ling struggled, he could not break free.

"Well, well, there's another person too. Perfect—our lord is holding the Demon Market tomorrow. With such tender skin and soft flesh, he'll fetch a good price."

A red-furred fox came before Lin Jun, sniffed him, then licked its lips.

"For three years, we've had to sneak around even to eat human flesh. This time, we can finally eat our fill."

"Hehe, Lord Zhang has prepared for so many years. Success is nearly in sight now, so we ought to celebrate too."

"Take them away!"

Lu Ling stared at the motionless Lin Jun, stunned for a moment before suddenly realizing something.

"My lord, could it be that you intend to..."

"Shh..."

Lu Ling nodded, indicating that he understood.

Lu Ling and Lin Jun were taken to Phoenix Forest Mountain, which had long since changed beyond recognition.

As far as the eye could see, the mountain was packed with demons. Lanterns and colored banners hung everywhere, making it look like a festival.

Quite a few humans had also been swept up among them, driven by the demons and forced to build the market for them.

Many people had already become white bones, their flesh and blood long since swallowed into the demons' bellies.

Human screams rang throughout the forest. The tranquil mountain woods had become a living hell.

If demons had previously eaten humans only in secret, now they had completely thrown off all restraint, as though nothing in the world could limit them.

"My lord?"

Lu Ling sensed that Lin Jun's body beside him was trembling continuously, his fists swollen red.

Threads of red light had already begun to emerge from Lin Jun's body.

The moment Lu Ling touched that red light, a burst of pain shot through his body, as though he had been cut by blades.

How long had it been since they last parted? Had his lord grown stronger again?

Wasn't that speed utterly outrageous?

Lu Ling and Lin Jun were brought to what seemed to be a man-made cave. Outside it stood an enormous stone slab serving as its door.

"Get in, traitor. The young lord has plenty of ways to torture you!"

"For the sake of you still being a demon, go find our lord and beg forgiveness yourself!"

"As for this human... forget it, throw him in too."

Lin Jun and Lu Ling were roughly hurled into the cave. Then, seemingly to prevent them from escaping, the heavy stone door was shut directly behind them.

The demons' laughter and chatter drifted in from beyond the stone door.

"How long do you think they can last in there?"

"Hahaha, I'd say half a shichen at most. The young lord loves tormenting these humans. This is the first time he'll be tormenting this traitor, though."

"Oh, that human looks pretty sturdy. Maybe he can endure for a whole shichen."

Lin Jun cleaved the huge net apart with one stroke of his sword, his face so dark it seemed ready to drip water.

From beginning to end, those demons had not regarded Lin Jun, a mere human, as worth noticing. The sword had remained in his hand the whole time.

"My lord, have you already reached the Transcendent Realm?"

Lin Jun did not answer. Gripping his sword, he headed deeper into the cave, and Lu Ling had no choice but to follow.

The cave was extremely long. White bones and mangled human bodies littered the way, with horrifying wounds visible across those broken corpses.

Cages lined both sides of the cave, each holding a human with a numb, vacant expression.

"Lin Jun? Why are you here?"

Lin Jun actually found He Jing among those cages.

But He Jing looked terrible, and a scar so deep that bone showed ran across his chest.

"Your friend?"

A bald man beside He Jing asked. He was extraordinarily burly, like a little giant, and the cage could barely contain him.

"He's the Demon Exorcist from Green Forest County, the one I told you about."

He Jing explained. The brawny man grinned when he heard that.

"Kid, what are you holding that sword for? Don't tell me you're still thinking about slaying demons at a time like this?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You Demon Exorcists are all stubborn as mules. At a time like this, instead of thinking about running, you're still thinking about slaying demons. Though it's not like anyone can run now."

The brawny man turned back to He Jing and laughed.

"This is the Demon Exorcist you told me about? Didn't you say he was impressive? How did he still get caught by a pack of minor demons and thrown in here?"

He Jing had no time to waste words on the burly man. He frantically signaled for Lin Jun to leave at once.

"Quit making eyes. How could he possibly get away?"

The brawny man seemed to be mocking himself as he let out a sigh.

"How many people have they killed?"

He Jing froze. He could not understand why Lin Jun was asking such a question at a time like this.

"There's a village not far from here. Now the village is gone. How many people do you think that was?"

The brawny man spread his hands.

They had slaughtered an entire village.

No joy or anger showed on Lin Jun's face. He turned to Lu Ling and said,

"Don't come in."

With that, he walked deeper into the cave.

"I really misjudged you. You've got guts. In my Hongyan Sect, with courage like that alone, you'd be a personal disciple at the very least."

After saying that, the brawny man closed his eyes again.

"Why did I ever think to come fetch you home? This damned place has so many demons, and I ended up getting dragged into it too."

He Jing gave a derisive snort.

"Serves you right."