"Naturally. I wouldn't feel wrong." The man glanced at the still-doubting giant snake. "If you don't believe me, you can also taste her blood."
As for why not smell it?
The area below was filled with sulfurous and terrifying heat. Even the most sensitive nose would be overwhelmed by the constant scent of other blood in the air, so one could only discern it by taste.
The giant snake impatiently flicked its tail. The thick, long tail slapped the surface of the lava, splashing up sparks that turned into scorched, solidified rocks as they fell upon contact with the air.
"Of course, I believe what you say... but... why do I still sense the aura of a soul beast from her?" This was what truly puzzled it.
At first glance, this human seemed a little off.
He smelled her, oh, not human.
Still seemed not quite right, he sniffed again, and hey, why was there also the aura of a soul beast?
The giant snake didn't understand; the giant snake was greatly shocked.
"You didn't by any chance pick up a half-breed with impure blood?"
As its thoughts swirled, it blurted out the truth.
The man pondered for a moment, spread his hands, and looked at his own body, which contained terrifying power. "It's possible. Ever since I took over the primary consciousness of this body, I've been able to move freely. Before that, I was suppressed by the laws and couldn't budge."
"What I sense is that the little one's body seems to share a trace of familial bloodline with my current body. It should be a half-breed, as you said."
Upon hearing this, the giant snake's eyes revealed palpable disgust, and its tail stopped beating the lava.
"Bad luck, why is it a half-demon!"
The man didn't like hearing this.
"Besides you, including myself, have you ever seen any demon come over here and remain completely intact? This little one has grown to this point under the suppression of the laws, which is already not easy. Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, this little one is still a cub."
"Although she doesn't look like she's from my clan, she's still a precious cub in this world."
The giant snake looked at the man's protective stance and snorted, "Fine, I'd like to see which clan's demon she is, so useless as to be forced into a corner by human soul masters!"
Although the demon race valued strength above all else, there had always been bloodline discrimination and class stratification, especially towards half-demons with impure demon blood. Only a few demons were not discriminatory; generally, they were despised by the masses.
The man knew that the giant snake had accepted Tang Sui's existence.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes gazing with anticipation at the churning lava, and said in a low voice, "I'm also very curious about her story before she came to this world."
...
The City of Slaughter was known as the City of Hell, a place where all sins converged.
Here, slaughter was not restricted by anyone. As long as one had the strength, they could obtain anything they desired.
Of course, the price paid each time was not necessarily someone else's life, but it could also be your own.
Here, everyone was unable to use soul skills or soul power, relying solely on their physical prowess and various means to survive.
Here, there was no kindness, no warmth, no sunshine, only the path of slaughter remained.
In such a special capital city, surrounded by sin and blood, deep beneath the ground, under the legendary Hell Road, an energy sphere that had been soaking for over ten days suddenly stirred.
The first to sense it was the giant snake dwelling underground.
Its massive, cold snake eyes opened in the darkness, gazing intently at the surface of the now-boiling lava.
"Gulu, gulu..."
Bubbles of steaming lava popped, releasing distorted heat waves.
Suddenly, the entire surface of the lava began to cave in from within, as if a space had emptied out. A cocoon of black and red energy was revealed, completely intact. The giant snake's eyes blazed with anticipation, and its tail unconsciously swayed.
"She's waking up."
As soon as the words fell, a spatial rift tore open in the void.
He was now the king who governed the entire City of Slaughter. Whoever entered or left the city, and what everyone was doing, he could sense it if he wished.
Naturally, the stirrings underground did not escape him.
"Ka ka—"
The surface of the black and red cocoon began to crack, like hard rocks slowly crumbling. The hardened, falling black and red fragments sank into the scalding lava, but they didn't melt at all, sinking directly into the lava that could melt bones, plunging to its depths.
"Demon power crystal!"
The discerning giant snake's eyes lit up. It extended its long tail, stirring the scalding lava. Carefully, it wrapped its demonic power around the fractured pieces, and with a flick of its tail, it swallowed them without the slightest hint of disgust.
The man stood with his hands behind his back, glancing at the giant snake smacking its lips, and did not stop it.
When demonic power reaches a certain density, it forms tangible crystals.
Tang Sui herself did not possess such immense demonic power.
It was thanks to being placed here, absorbing the Yellow Springs Dew, which was filled with the abundant energy of countless soul masters who had died in combat arenas over the millennia.
It was also the energy core of the entire City of Slaughter.
It was harmful to humans for two reasons, one of which was that human bodies were not as tough as those of demons, and could not even bathe in scalding lava. Naturally, they could not accept the Yellow Springs Dew, which was equivalent to poison for a human body.
This was also the best way to identify Tang Sui's identity.
If she were human, she would have been reduced to ashes the moment the man threw her into the lava.
Only demons, upon arriving here, would feel as if they had returned "home," able to draw a continuous supply of energy from it.
But that was in the past.
As for now, it had become somewhat poisonous to both demons and humans, but demons could purify the toxins with their demonic power.
The City of Slaughter did not allow the use of soul power or soul skills, but it did not restrict demonic power.
In the center of the lava, the outer demonic power crystals had all fallen off.
The man looked at the small figure that appeared in his vision and exclaimed, "Huh?"
The giant snake's chewing motion of the energy crystals also paused, and a look of surprise appeared in its snake eyes: "Eh? Why is this cub even smaller?"
—Author's notes—
Fan-made settings begin √
PS: The snake is a tsundere snake (.-w-)
See you tomorrow~