A change of pace?
Hearing this, the Two-headed Black Lion’s interest was piqued. It turned to the other Demon Beasts and asked, "Brothers, how do you want to eat these two?"
"We’re Demon Beasts, so of course we eat them raw. Let’s just tear them limb from limb."
"I think they’d taste better marinated."
"Barbecue them! Sprinkle on some cumin and chili powder... tsk, tsk, tsk, that flavor would be amazing."
"Let’s just make a stew."
The Demon Beasts all grew excited.
Thanks to Su Mo, they hadn’t gotten to eat a single hair off a human during this Holy Spirit Assembly, and they were full of pent-up frustration.
Now, they could finally get a taste of something fresh.
The Two-headed Black Lion laughed. "Whether we marinate them, barbecue them, or stew them, we have to kill these two first."
With that, the Two-headed Black Lion grabbed the two by their necks and lifted them into the air.
CRACK!
It crushed their necks with a powerful squeeze.
Su Mo commented, "Isn’t it nice to be alive? Why did you have to come looking for death? Alright, I’m leaving now. Don’t see me out."
After speaking, Su Mo vanished.
The crowd of Demon Beasts all wiped away cold sweat.
’He’s finally gone.’
With Su Mo standing there, they hadn’t even dared to breathe too loudly.
The Ink Flood Dragon also breathed a sigh of relief.
It was the most terrified of them all.
’What if Su Mo got angry and decided to grind me into the dust?’
The thought alone left it traumatized.
After leaving the cave, Su Mo directly activated his Soul Power.
In an instant, it covered the entire Holy Spirit Secret Realm.
"Who—who’s peeping on me?!"
"Damn it, which shameless bastard is watching me bathe? Have you never seen a woman before?!"
"There’s no one here... Don’t tell me I’m being targeted by something unclean? I should get out of here, fast."
Hearing the incessant curses in his ears, Su Mo couldn’t help but blush.
He was just trying to find someone.
Who would have thought someone would be bathing in the Holy Spirit Secret Realm? Weren’t they afraid of being seen?
"Huh, why can’t I find Wu Hao, Mu Qing, and the others? Could they have left already?"
Su Mo wondered aloud.
Just then, a ray of rosy light descended upon Su Mo.
It was the power of a Teleportation Array.
Su Mo didn’t resist and allowed the light to teleport him to a large square.
In the square, everyone looked gloomy and dejected.
Even the geniuses like Bai Luoxue, Hua Tianmen, and Xiao Fan had sullen faces, looking as if they had suffered a great injustice.
Xiao Fan and Hua Tianmen were covered in bandages, clearly having been beaten half to death.
Bai Luoxue’s clothes were tattered and torn, as if someone had ripped at them.
The sword that hung from Ye Langtian’s waist was gone.
Chen Ge was silent.
Ren Fan was covered in black mud, with only his eyes showing, darting around. He looked like he had just climbed out of a coal mine.
"What happened? Everyone looks like they’ve been through a disaster."
Su Mo was completely bewildered.
If he hadn’t recognized a few of them and known this was the square of the City Lord’s Mansion, he would have thought he’d been sent to the wrong place.
"Wu Hao, Mu Qing..."
Su Mo scanned the crowd and finally found a few familiar figures. He strode toward them.
"Elder Su..."
Seeing Su Mo, Man Mountain threw himself forward, hugging Su Mo’s thigh. "Elder Su, we finally found you!"
"Boo hoo hoo!"
Man Mountain burst into aggrieved tears.
Su Mo looked at Man Mountain, whose face was black and blue and swollen like a pig’s head, and exclaimed, "Holy shit, who are you? Let go of me!"
Man Mountain looked up. "Elder Su, you don’t recognize me? It’s me, your loyal little brother, Man Mountain!"
"Man Mountain? How did you get beaten into this state?"
Su Mo asked, puzzled.
Wu Hao explained, "He was robbed by a few Demon Beasts. He wouldn’t let go of an Iron Essence Ginseng, so they beat him until his head swelled up like a pig’s."
"What? You were robbed by Demon Beasts?"
Su Mo’s face was a mask of astonishment.
Wu Hao said aggrievedly, "Mu Qing and I were also robbed by those ball-less Demon Beasts. They took all our treasures and our Storage Rings."
Fortunately, he hadn’t been like Man Mountain, clinging to his treasure, so he had luckily escaped a vicious beating.
Mu Qing added gloomily, "I had it the worst. My Storage Ring had my sweetheart’s personal garments inside..."
"Personal garments?"
Wu Hao cursed, "Holy shit, Mu Qing, you damn pervert!"
Mu Qing rolled his eyes. "My sweetheart gave them to me specifically! She told me to take them out and smell them whenever I miss her. How does that make me a pervert?"
Listening to the three complain, and then looking at the filthy, dejected state of everyone in the square, Su Mo understood instantly.
’Those treasures in my Storage Ring...’
Mu Qing summarized, "In short, we all had a miserable time."
Su Mo sighed to himself.
’How could they not have a miserable time, being targeted by the Ink Flood Dragon and those few Demon Kings?’
Man Mountain said, "Tell me about it! I was robbed three whole times. The last time, I had no more treasures to give them, so they called me trash for not being able to find anything decent."
"Calling you names was getting off easy. They spat on me! One of the Demon Beasts even wanted to stomp me to death. Luckily, the person behind them had given an order beforehand not to kill anyone, so I escaped with my life," Wu Hao complained.
"Don’t you guys think the person behind them is even more despicable?"
Mu Qing asked.
Man Mountain said furiously, "That person is definitely despicable! Of all the things to teach, they taught a bunch of Demon Beasts to be highway robbers! They’re insane, morally bankrupt, ball-less, and I hope their son is born without a—"
BAM!
Su Mo sent Man Mountain flying with a kick.
Man Mountain was stunned. "Elder Su, I was cursing the villain behind the Demon Beasts, not you! Why’d you kick me?"
Su Mo said flatly, "I am the mastermind behind those Demon Beasts."
"Huh?"
Man Mountain froze.
He had considered an Ancient Fierce Beast, an Outer Heaven Demon, even the Saint Spirit Manor Master, but he had never once considered Su Mo.
Yet, the person he thought least likely was, in fact, the mastermind behind the Demon Beasts.
Su Mo explained, "I only told them to help me find treasures. I never told them to rob anyone. So, you’ve all misunderstood me."
"So I took that beating for nothing?"
Man Mountain said, dejected.
Mu Qing laughed. "What else do you want to do? Beat up Elder Su? Go on, try it if you’ve got the guts."
"I wouldn’t dare!"
Man Mountain was so scared he shrank back.
With a wave of his hand, Su Mo took out all the Storage Rings. "See if you can find yours. Take them back."
"This... Thank you, Papa!"
Their faces filled with pleasant surprise, they each found their Storage Rings and clutched them tightly in their hands.
They never imagined that their stolen Storage Rings would one day be returned to their rightful owners.
Su Mo put away all the remaining Storage Rings.
He didn’t return them.
He didn’t know them well enough.
At that moment, Li Nan, who was at the front of the square, asked, "Has everyone been teleported out?"
The Middle-aged Steward replied, "The teleportation was done in three batches. That was the last one. Everyone who’s still alive is here."
"Not bad!"
Li Nan nodded in satisfaction.
During the last Holy Spirit Competition, nearly a third of the disciples had died. This time, only two had perished.
’It seems the truce was effective after all.’
Fairy Jinghong asked doubtfully, "Elder Li Nan, have you noticed? Something is off about these disciples."