Primordial Era: Starting with slaughtering all the gods and Buddhas in the sky

Huang Chen weighed the dominoes in his hand; they were light and brittle, yet felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

The half-mark of the Demon Market, illuminated by the firelight, resembled a mocking eye.

The transfer number indicates that this batch of "live goods" should have had a next destination.

Without saying much, he put the dominoes into his pocket and looked up into the depths of the dry ditch.

"Stay close."

Huang Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a calming needle, instantly silencing the restless crowd behind him.

He led the way, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness.

The firelight of the Moonlit Pool was completely left behind, and all that remained were the sound of the wind and the rustling of footsteps on the gravel.

This area is now outside the direct control zone of the Demon Market, but the danger has not disappeared. The remnants of the Bone Market and the stray demons that have come drawn by the smell of blood are all deadly threats.

Instead of choosing the main road, Huang Chen activated his Mountain and River Boots, leading everyone into an even more rugged, miasma-ridden ridge. He used a concealment technique to suppress everyone's aura to a minimum, moving silently among the rocks like a shadow.

Half a day later, the sky began to lighten.

The group finally crossed two miasma-ridden ridges and arrived at a secluded valley pass.

At the pass, several boulders disguised as ordinary rocks slowly moved aside, revealing guards wielding black iron swords behind them. Leading them was Old Tie, his weathered face filled with anxiety.

"grown ups!"

Upon seeing Huang Chen, Lao Tie visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, his gaze fell upon the group of ragged, terrified humans behind Huang Chen, and his eyes widened in shock.

The old man in the prison and the rescued woman A, among others, finally broke down when they saw their kinsmen with the same faces and resolute eyes as themselves behind the pass. Their nerves, which had been taut all night, were finally at ease.

The woman, holding her child, collapsed to the ground, her legs giving way beneath her, and she could no longer suppress her sobs.

Huang Chen stepped aside to make way.

"Hey buddy, take some men and settle them in."

'

"Yes, sir!"

Lao Tie nodded emphatically and immediately waved his hand behind him. Several guards quickly stepped forward and began to help the weak survivors.

The old man in the prison cell walked up to Huang Chen, his lips trembling. He wanted to say something, but he was too excited to utter a single word. In the end, he could only bow deeply.

Huang Chen supported his arm.

"Go inside, it's safe here."

He watched as the group, surrounded by Lao Tie and his guards, passed through the disguised entrance to the formation and disappeared into the valley.

The boulders at the pass closed up again, as if nothing had ever happened.

night.

The deepest part of the Firewood Valley is the core of the Zhou Tian Firewood Array.

Huang Chen sat cross-legged on a warm stone platform, with the core of the pulse fire pulsating incessantly in front of him.

He closed his eyes and focused his mind on the system panel.

[Host: Huang Chen]

[Realm Level: Late-stage Earth Immortal]

[Cultivation Technique: Primordial God and Demon Technique (Incomplete)]

[Battle Body: Intermediate Witch Clan Battle Body]

Karma Value: 783500

Merit Points: 125000

Overturning Bone Lamp Slope and slaughtering the entire Skeleton Moon Pool brought him a massive amount of karma.

Rescuing hundreds of humans also caused my merit points to increase dramatically.

With his cultivation at the late stage of Earth Immortal, Wu Zu Zhan's dark gold patterns within his body became increasingly solid, and every move he made contained explosive power.

But he was not at all relaxed.

The outer city of Ten Thousand Demons... that place is far more terrifying than outlying strongholds like Bone Lamp Slope and Skeleton Moon Pool.

The White Bone Fang Master is merely a manager; there must be a much stronger protector behind him, perhaps even a demon king-level being.

Forcing your way in would be tantamount to suicide.

We need to add another trump card.

He opened his eyes and heard footsteps behind him.

"grown ups."

Old Tie walked over, holding several rolls of animal hides in his hands.

"Everyone has been settled. A total of 173 people were rescued this time. Several of them were seriously injured, and the batch of purified water and salt medicine that Xinhe sent came in handy."

'

Huang Chen nodded.

"What's the situation in the valley?"

'

"Everything is being reinforced according to the drawings you left."

The old man unfolded a piece of animal hide, on which was a map of the defensive fortifications of Firewood Valley.

"The outer three-layered sentry posts and the tracking array have all been activated. The rescued miner B, along with his men, has transferred the food and equipment you brought back last time into the No. 3 backup warehouse."

The newly recruited guards have also begun their rotations for patrolling the mountain.

Old Tie paused for a moment, then took out a new roll of animal hide.

"Also, Li Chenshuo sent another batch of things through Xin He's channels, saying it was a return gift for our help in clearing out the Abyss Eye sacrificial site last time. Besides some pills, there's this too."

'

He handed a folded piece of parchment to Huang Chen.

Huang Chen unfolded it and saw a simple map, marking the rotation routes and times of several demon scouts on the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Intelligence is more useful than elixirs.

Huang Chen put the map away.

"Well done."

Old Tie scratched his head, a simple and honest smile on his face, but a ruthless glint in his eyes.

"It's all thanks to you, sir, that we had this opportunity. If it weren't for you, we'd probably be some kind of mine dust by now."

'

Huang Chen didn't say anything more, but just patted him on the shoulder.

"Take good care of your home."

'

"yes!"

The old man bowed and withdrew.

Silence returned to the center of the formation. Huang Chen looked at the pulsating flames, and with a thought, he connected with the system.

"System, use one Golden Merit Lottery draw."

"System, use one Golden Merit Lottery draw."

[Merit Points -100000]

[The Golden Merit Roulette is in operation...]

A phantom golden wheel covered with ancient divine patterns appeared before Huang Chen's eyes and slowly rotated.

The roulette wheel is divided into countless sections, each containing artifacts, supernatural powers, bloodlines, and talents, their shimmering light dazzling the eye.

The pointer began to spin rapidly, and finally came to a slow stop in a chaotic area.

A burst of light flashed.

【Ding!

】

[Congratulations, host, on obtaining the powerful artifact—the Humanity Prison-Suppressing Stele (Incomplete)!]

A palm-sized, dark yellow stone tablet covered in cracks floated silently in front of Huang Chen.

It looked unremarkable, even somewhat dilapidated, but the moment Huang Chen's soul touched it, he felt an overwhelming and profound aura of humanity that suppressed all ages rushing towards him.

[Humanitarian Prison Monument (incomplete)]

[Category: Humanitarian Artifact (Fragment)]

Effect 1: Suppressing the prison.

It can actively suppress, disrupt, and even shatter soul-binding, coordinate, and blood pact-type array runes within a designated area. It has a natural ability to restrain demons and ghosts.

】

Effect Two: Transformation into Weapons. It can draw upon the blessings of human fortune for a short period of time, transforming into a massive, indestructible army.

It consumes a great deal of resources.

[Note: This monument resonates naturally with the host's Pulsefire Battle Domain and Karmic Fire Red Lotus, and can amplify each other's strengths.]

】

Huang Chen's breathing paused slightly.

Suppression coordinates, blood pact-type array patterns!

This was practically a weapon tailor-made for him to infiltrate the outer city of the Ten Thousand Demons City!

The reason why the Demon Market can accurately capture and sell humans as commodities is because of those ubiquitous blood pact coordinates.

Destroying it would be tantamount to severing the claws and teeth of the demon market.

He reached out his hand, and the illusory image of the Xuanhuang stone tablet slowly fell into his palm, transforming into a physical form.

It feels extremely heavy in your hand, as if you are holding a small mountain.

On the surface of the stone tablet, within those ancient cracks, it seems that the indomitable cries of countless human ancestors are echoing.

With a thought, Huang Chen sent a wisp of pulse fire coiling around the stone tablet.

hum!

The stone tablet trembled slightly, and the dark yellow light emanating from its surface instantly intensified, reflecting the pulse fire. At the same time, the karmic fire lotus in his sea of ​​consciousness also rotated, scattering rays of red light that merged into the tablet.

The three auras were connected, and the overwhelming sense of power that suppressed heaven and earth increased several times over.

nice one!

Huang Chen gripped the stone tablet tightly, feeling much more at ease. With this item, his chances of success on this trip to the City of Ten Thousand Demons had increased by at least 30%.

He absorbed the Prison-Suppressing Stele into his body to nurture it, and his gaze fell once again on the two items seized from Bone Lamp Slope and Skeleton Moon Pool.

The fragment of the "Record of Ten Thousand Bones" and the "suspected coordinate fragment of the Valley of Fire" that was tainted with the aura of the Bone Market's celestial compass.

He placed them side by side on the stone platform.

The "Record of Ten Thousand Bones" records the names of countless human strongholds, most of which have been crossed out with blood, signifying their destruction.

After absorbing the power of the Heavenly Disc, the bone patterns on the back of that fragment became exceptionally clear.

Huang Chen stretched out his finger, dipped it in a little of his own blood, and gently touched the end of the bone pattern.

As the blood seeped in, the bone patterns on the fragment glowed briefly, then projected a line of tiny demonic runes.

"The general market will be held three days later, at midnight, at Black Wind Pass."

'

At the same time, a page of "The Record of Ten Thousand Bones" also moved on its own without any wind. When it was turned, the four blood-red characters "General Account Night Market" were also displayed.

All the clues came together at that moment.

Three days later, at a place called "Black Wind Pass," the outer market of Wan Yao City will conduct a summary and settlement of all "live goods" coordinate orders.

That place will be the nerve center of the entire human trafficking network in the demon market.

Huang Chen slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his eyes filled with killing intent.

He stood up, and the phantom of the dark yellow Prison Suppression Stele flashed past behind him.

Three days.

enough.

Deep within the Firewood stronghold, in a specially carved-out stone chamber, Huang Chen slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

The airflow, like an arrow, struck the opposite stone wall, producing a dull thud.

He opened his eyes, and the bloodshot in them had mostly faded. The internal injuries he had sustained in the deadly battle with the White Bone Fang Master of the Skeleton Moon Pool had recovered to about 80% after a night of recuperation.

However, the cracks in his left arm bones caused by the shockwave from the Bone City Heavenly Plate still throbbed faintly, a reminder of the danger of that battle.

A full recovery will require several days of painstaking work.

But he didn't have that much time.

"System," Huang Chen murmured to himself.

A cold panel unfolded before my eyes. In the Karma value column, after the frenzied harvesting in the Battle of the Moon Pool, the number had become quite considerable.

Without the slightest hesitation, he opened the shop and quickly scanned the dazzling array of items.

Offensive talismans and pills are enough for now; what he needs now are things to deal with more complex environments.

The outer market of Wan Yao City is not a purely evil cultivation den like Hai Yue Tan.

The place is a melting pot of all sorts of people; demon cultivators, evil cultivators, and even scoundrels from the immortal sects might appear there. Forcing your way in is the worst possible strategy.

His gaze eventually settled on two props.

【Myriad Forms Bone Pact】: A one-time-use disguise item. Consumable.

It can simulate the identity, aura, and causal connections of a designated target for twelve consecutive hours. It is ineffective against those whose cultivation level is two or more major realms higher than the user's.

Karma required for exchange: 8000.

[Low-level Causal Mist Talisman]: A one-time auxiliary item.

After use, it can slightly obscure the cause and effect of one's own actions, interfering with tracking and reversal spells, lasting for one hour. Karma required for exchange: 5000.

Huang Chen's eyes flickered slightly. This [Myriad Manifestations Bone Contract] was practically tailor-made for infiltration, while the [Causal Mist Talisman] could provide an extra layer of protection when he was in action.

"exchange."

His karma points were instantly reduced by 13,000, and two beams of light entered Huang Chen's body.

He could sense that a phantom bone contract and a gray mist rune were quietly floating beside his soul, ready to be activated at any time.

After doing all this, he examined himself again.

The [Intermediate Witch Clan Battle Body]'s blood and energy remained powerful, and fragments of the [Prison Suppression Stele] floated in his sea of ​​consciousness, radiating a heavy humanistic pressure. This trump card was incredibly powerful, but in a place like the outer market of the Ten Thousand Demon City, once used, it had to be a fatal blow, otherwise the consequences would be endless.

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and his joints cracked and popped.

it's time.

into the night.

The sky above the Ten Thousand Mountains was as if it had been splashed with thick ink, not even a ray of starlight was spared.

Huang Chen moved swiftly through the miasma-filled mountains and forests, his movements as fast as a ghost. He didn't head directly towards the City of Ten Thousand Demons, but instead took a large detour, cutting into a rift valley in the southwest where the demonic energy was most mixed.

He had already donned the [Gray Bone Mask], concealing all his facial features and human aura. Then, with a thought, he activated the [Myriad Forms Bone Pact] he had just exchanged.

"Simulated target: Moonlit Lake, Accounting Steward, the remnant of the accountant's memory in the Rat Demon Scout's memory."

A peculiar rhythm emanated from the illusory bone contract, enveloping Huang Chen's entire body.

His aura began to subtly change, becoming cold and cunning, carrying a hint of the bloody and decaying smell unique to the Skeleton Moon Pool. It was as if he truly was that low-level person from the demon market who dealt with bones and bloody accounts year after year.

Half an hour later, the outline of a bizarre "city" appeared on the horizon.

Calling it a city is an understatement.

That was clearly the skeleton of a colossal beast that had been dead for countless millennia, lying across the earth. Its mountain-like ribs formed the natural walls of the city, and its stark white skull served as the highest watchtower.

Countless broken city walls and crumbling pavilions clung to the skeletons, forming a twisted and chaotic architectural complex.

This is the outer market of the City of Ten Thousand Demons.

Rows of dim, yellow lanterns hung high and low among the animal bones and buildings, emitting a nauseating smell of grease. Huang Chen's pupils contracted; he saw clearly that the lantern shades were actually human skin, completely peeled off!

Human skin and bone lamps—this is the "goodwill" of the demon market, illuminating the way for all night travelers.

Suppressing the killing intent in his heart, Huang Chen slowed his pace and blended into the groups of demon cultivators entering the outer city.

He hunched over, mimicking the image of the rat demon scout from his memory, appearing cautious and timid, perfectly blending into this torrent of evil.

On the street, the stench of blood and the smell of inferior medicine wafted through the air.

The stalls on both sides displayed all sorts of bizarre "goods".

One of the stall owners was a wolf demon missing half its head. In front of it was a pile of human fingers that were still twitching slightly, and next to it was a sign that read: "Fresh goods, can be used to refine 'Wraith Pill'".

At another stall, a snake demon was selling several scales that shimmered with a black, eerie light to a customer. Huang Chen recognized them at a glance as being made from the remnants of the Black Scale Demon King's scales; the aura was unmistakable.

He even saw a sneaky, wicked cultivator selling a few talismans in an inconspicuous corner. The soul-binding golden patterns drawn on them were clumsy copies of spells commonly used by the passing-through earth immortals.

The collusion between immortals and demons is no secret here; it's an openly priced business.

Huang Chen's gaze passed over the stalls and went deeper into the area. There, towering stone tablets, several meters high, stood, forming a somber corridor of steles.

【Coordinates Stele Corridor】.

Each stone tablet is densely engraved with blood-red runes, recording the precise coordinates of a discovered human stronghold, village, or even escape route.

Whenever a demon army follows the map and wipes out a stronghold, the corresponding stone tablet will emit a bright red light to signify "victory".

That place is a death knell hanging over the heads of all humankind in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Huang Chen withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at the glaring blood-red words. His destination was clear—the tent tower.

According to the memories of the rat demon scout and the information extracted from the soul of the White Bone Fang Master, all the transactions of "live goods" in the outer market will eventually be settled in the accounting office, where the black-faced contract officer will handle them uniformly.

That place is the heart of the entire human trafficking chain in the outer city.

He lowered his head and walked along the gaps between the bones, soon arriving at a three-story stone building built on the spine of a giant beast. The stone building was completely black, and there were two heavily armored bear demon guards at the entrance, their auras fierce, clearly at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

"Who goes there?" a bear demon asked in a deep voice, his large, bell-shaped eyes filled with vigilance.

Huang Chen hurriedly pulled out a blood-stained waist token he had stripped from the rat demon from his pocket, humbly handed it over, and said in a hoarse voice, "Sir, from Haiyue Pool... come and settle accounts."

The effects of the [Myriad Forms Bone Pact] are perfectly displayed at this moment.

The bear demon took the waist token, sniffed it, and glanced at Huang Chen. The cold aura belonging to the Skeleton Moon Pool made it frown, but it ultimately found no flaw.

"Crescent Moon Pool?"

"Didn't I hear it was taken down?" another bear demon muttered.

"There are always some who slip through the net. Go in, the Contract Officer is on the top floor." The first bear demon waved his hand impatiently and threw the waist token back.

Huang Chen bowed and scraped as he accepted the gift, then quickly walked into the tent building with his head down.

Upon entering, an even stronger stench of blood and resentment assaulted the senses.

The lobby on the first floor was empty, except for a few demon cultivators dressed as accountants who were busy organizing rolls of ledgers made of special animal hides.

Huang Chen did not linger and went straight to the stone steps leading downstairs.

He needs to confirm a few things first.

The stone steps were dark and damp, and the deeper you went, the heavier the resentment in the air became, mixed with the sobbing of children.

The ground floor of the tent tower was not a warehouse, but a temporary prison.

Under the dim light, a dozen or so wooden cages were crammed into a corner.

In several of the cages, a group of children, no more than seven or eight years old, were locked up. They were all emaciated and their eyes were filled with fear and numbness.

They are the so-called "Children of the Sinners," who have decent potential and are sold to some demonic sects to be refined into furnaces or assassins from a young age.

On the other side, in several larger cages, a dozen or so adults huddled together. They wore tattered hard labor clothes, their hands and feet were bound by heavy shackles, and their expressions were filled with despair.

Huang Chen's gaze swept over them, and his heart sank.

He recognized him!

The tattered clothes and the unique meridian-suppressing runes on the shackles... were clearly the same style I had seen in the Meridian Severing Camp!

These people were actually the surviving laborers who had escaped from the clutches of the Xuanjia Witch Supervisor!

They escaped the clutches of the Gonggong tribe, but failed to escape the Ten Thousand Mountains. They were eventually captured by the slave-hunting team of the Demon Market and were about to be sold as goods to another hell.

One of the laborers seemed to notice his gaze, raised his head, and a faint glimmer of hope flashed in his cloudy eyes. But when he saw the cold aura of the demon market on Huang Chen, that glimmer of hope quickly dimmed, and he lowered his head again, like livestock waiting to be slaughtered.

Huang Chen clenched his fists tightly inside his sleeves, his nails almost digging into his flesh.

A violent killing intent, like a volcano, brewed in his chest, almost breaking through the shackles of reason.

He wanted to immediately unleash the Prison-Suppressing Stele and grind this evil treasury, along with the entire outer market, into dust!

But he can't.

He took a deep breath, forcibly calming his boiling blood. He saw that the four corners of the prison were engraved with warning runes that connected to the entire outer city's grand formation. If any disturbance occurred here, it would instantly attract countless demon cultivators.

He can't save them alone; he'll only get himself killed.

Huang Chen slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were met with a cold, calm silence.

He didn't glance at the prisoners again, as if he were just a passing bailiff, and turned to walk up the stone steps.

But in the instant he turned around, a barely perceptible trace of humanity quietly escaped from his sleeve, attaching itself to the foundation stone at the bottom of the prison, transforming into an almost imperceptible prison-suppressing monument mark.

This is the signpost, and also the starting point of the trial.

He walked out of the dark underground, back to the lobby on the first floor, and then headed towards the stairs leading to the top floor.

Just as he stepped onto the last step and was about to see the so-called "black-faced contract officer," a cold voice exploded in his mind.

【Ding!

】

[Key causal nodes detected: Human trafficking ledger, human stronghold coordinates gallery, large number of humans awaiting rescue.]

[Side quest triggered: "Cut off the main account in the outer city!"]

】

[Mission Objective 1: Seize the coordinate ledger that records all transactions.]

[Mission Objective 2: Completely destroy the coordinate monument corridor.]

】

[Mission Objective 3: Rescue all humans imprisoned in the tents.]

[Task Rewards: 38000 Karma, 18000 Merit]

】