Heaven's Devourer

He Taozi didn't seem to want to introduce the team members to Wu Yu. 

It was likely that in his eyes, Wu Yu was just a person who had managed to join the team to get some cheap merit points through connections.

Wu Yu didn't have a good impression of this group of people either. However, for his 500 merit points, he disregarded his personal feelings. 

Among the five people, the young sword cultivator in the white robe with white clouds embroidered on it took the initiative and started introducing the members to Wu Yu. He pointed to He Taozi and said, "This is Senior Brother He Taozi. I believe you should recognize him, so I won't delve too deep. He is the hall master of He Tao Hall and someone at the seventh tier of the Jindan Dao Realm. He ranked in the top-20s on the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals in the past. He is also my senior brother. Our master is a Heaven sword rank disciple. Let me introduce myself first. I'm Ye Jingming. You can just address me as Senior Brother Ye." 

Among the five of them, only Ye Jingming was a little more amiable and approachable. 

After which, he introduced the other man. "He is Gu Hongming. He's a really skilled sword cultivator and I'm not a match for him. He is also a genius-level character. You can just address him as Senior Brother Gu. Senior Brother Gu is a little direct. Just don't interrupt him when he's speaking. You will get used to it." 

Just as he finished his words, Gu Hongming sneered. "I'm indeed direct. This mission is really important. What we need is an important helper and not a burden that is assigned in due to connections. You aren't even a Huang sword rank disciple! I'm ashamed to be in the same team as you!" 

His words directly attacked Wu Yu. 

Indeed, there were people who felt that Wu Yu wasn't qualified. Moreover, they were part of the team. 

Naturally, this was to be expected. Gu Hongming was clearly a proud person and hated those who relied on connections to get their way. 

Wu Yu remained composed and answered, "It seems like Senior Brother Gu has concerns about my strength. What Senior Brother Gu might not know is that if we really fight, Senior Brother Gu might not be a match for me." 

He said it in an apathetic way, but his words were extremely arrogant. He instantly shocked the crowd. Gu Hongming was completely stunned when he heard Wu Yu. Soon, it was as though he had suffered the greatest shame of his life. He slapped the table, stood up, and was prepared to flare up. He Taozi stared at him from his seat and remarked, "Gu Hongming, if you disregard rules and start a fight with the other team members, I'll have to ask you to leave." 

"Tsk. Don't you dare push your luck with me. Otherwise, I'll make sure you have a horrible experience!" Gu Hongming growled angrily. 

It seemed like he didn't want to give up on this opportunity either. 

Wu Yu smiled faintly and didn't say another word. However, his previous remark made the other five understand that he wasn't willing to be bullied by others. 

Although He Taozi was cold, he was one who held up the rules firmly. This was a good thing. 

Ye Jingming smiled awkwardly and continued introducing the other two ladies. Wu Yu learned that the orange attire alluring lady was Su Qing. The other cold-looking lady was Gong Yangxue. They were all disciples of Heaven sword rank disciples and had illustrious histories within the Common Sword Domain in the past. 

"Oh, Wu Yu, your Senior Sister Su has witnessed your performances at the Mountain of Swords and Immortals. You are indeed incredible and shocking. However, Senior Brother Gu is your senior after all and is older than you. You shouldn't offend him. After all, we are a team," Su Qing said in a coquettish tone. 

Wu Yu smiled faintly and replied, "Senior Sister Su is right. I was wrong just now. However, I would like to make a point clear. Since I'm here, I will definitely contribute my strength and won't simply hope to take advantage of you guys. You guys can just wait and see." 

The crowd pursed their lips and didn't say another word. However, Wu Yu knew that they definitely still saw him as someone who had gotten here through connections to gain experience. 

An ordinary dan disciple who wasn't even a Huang sword rank disciple couldn't really help them out. Yet, he was going to take up 500 merit points! 

He Taozi was the leader of this group of five people. Ye Jingming, Gu Hongming, Su Qing, and Gong Yangxue were all outstanding Huang sword rank disciples. Their futures would very likely lead them to become Heaven sword rank disciples. In the worst case, they would at least be Earth sword rank disciples. 

At this point, He Taozi waved his hand impatiently. "Alright, don't argue in front of me. Listen up!" 

He coughed a few times and put on a strong front. After which, he remarked, "The Path of Immortals is boundary-less with countless sects, cities, and clans in the vicinity that are affiliated with our sect. A while ago, we received news from a city called Qingsang City from the city lord. That city lord was a cultivator that went under the umbrella of our sect. Therefore, this piece of news is definitely accurate. 

"On a night half a month ago, a horrifying demon arrived in the city. In just one night, over 2,000 cultivators were massacred. Only a few lucky survivors escaped. Based on their account, those who had died with grievances had their hearts dug out in an extremely brutal way. That scene looked like it came out of the depths of hell and was extremely pitiful! Up to this day, no one has dared to enter Qingsang City!" 

This was mainly for Wu Yu, since the rest probably knew about this information. 

Wu Yu listened quietly. Although he had made some preparations, he was frowning right now. He had not expected such a massacre to happen on the heavenly continent. Obviously, this was because of his lack of experience. Such events were, in fact, not rare. 

He Taozi continued, "The city lord of Qingsang City reported to Shushan, and Shushan has listed this as a mission. I've managed to snatch it first. We definitely must capture the demon culprit and bring it to justice in memorial to the 2,000 cultivators' souls." 

The mission was easy to understand. However, Wu Yu understood that the hardest part of the mission was to investigate who this demon was, to look for it, and eventually kill it. 

He had doubts in mind and questioned bravely, "I would like to ask Senior Brother He. There must be survivors who had seen the demon, right? Do we have any intelligence on that demon? For example, what kind of demon it is? Is it well-known or a new demon that no one has seen previously? The next question would be what's the strength level of this demon?" 

He felt that this information would be crucial. 

However, He Taozi stood up and didn't answer him. He simply instructed, "If no one is dropping out, let's set off." By leaving Wu Yu hanging, it was clear that he did not really hold Wu Yu in his eyes. Wu Yu finally understood that although He Taozi had told others not to look down on him, he had determined that Wu Yu was not qualified to participate in this mission. After all, this was a mission he had received. It was just because this was a request from his senior brother and he had no other options but to let Wu Yu participate. 

His senior brother was a Xuan sword rank disciple and a good friend of Baili Feihong. 

Therefore, he only wanted Wu Yu to follow along. As for discussing the details, he was too lazy to explain. He Taozi was known to be a man of few words in Shushan after all. He rarely spoke about things or people he didn't care about. 

"Hey brat, our sword riding speeds are fast. If you lag behind, we are not waiting for you!" Gu Hongming mocked sarcastically as he walked past Wu Yu while following He Taozi out. 

Su Qing commented in a coquettish way, "Senior Brother Gu is really rude. Don't bully the kid. He's already incredible to be walking alongside with us at his age." 

Gu Hongming snorted. "I know that he's young. He should just be staying at home and sucking milk. What has he got to do here? I despise those who get merit points despite not deserving of it." 

"What a boor!" Gong Yangxue added annoyingly before following behind He Taozi. 

"Junior Brother Wu, let's go together." In the end, only Ye Jingming stayed behind and said a word to Wu Yu. 

"Yeah." 

Wu Yu followed the team out. Just as they got out, He Taozi and the rest had already taken off on their swords. They were indeed not very willing to wait for Wu Yu. 

Wu Yu knew how they thought. Since he was ostracized, he wasn't in the mood to try to get closer to them. His objective was to support the completion of the mission. After all, he wasn't the main force of the team.

Following closely behind Ye Jingming, he took off on his sword too. He combined his Yin Yang Dao Sword together, split through the clouds, and shot to the skies at full speed!  His Jindan was honed using the Great Way of Immortality Art. It had the effects of yin-yang fusion that enabled the quick recovery of his Jindan essence after exhaustion. Therefore, although Wu Yu was slower in speed, his endurance might be even greater than that of He Taozi. 

The group wanted to leave Wu Yu behind. When they turned back, Wu Yu was right behind Ye Jingming. Even as they accelerated, Wu Yu would only disappear for a short while. The five of them looked at each other and were surprised. 

"It seems like we can't shake this burden off." 

"Demons can be vicious. He’s an ordinary dan disciple and yet he dares to accompany us to slay demons. All I can say is that don't blame it on me when he loses his life!" Gu Hongming snorted. 

"This little brother is pretty cute in my opinion. Don't bully him! What if he cries?" Su Qing covered her mouth and laughed lightly. 

Soon, the group arrived at the gates of Shushan. This was the exit from the Violet Sun Sword Palace. For Huang sword rank disciples, they just had to do a simple registration when leaving. However, as Wu Yu was an ordinary dan disciple, he still required He Taozi to explain the situation to the guards. 

The guard was familiar with Wu Yu and quickly let him go. This was the first time since Wu Yu arrived in Shushan that he left. He was heading to the endless Heavenly continent that was not under the protection of Shushan! 

He had headed south last time, but he would be heading north this time! 

"At the depths of the extreme north, there is a region shrouded in black miasma all day. The miasma and poisonous gases form tumultuous black clouds that span endlessly. It is commonly known as the Endless Demon Seas. The area of the Endless Demon Seas is much greater than the Common Sword Domain. Rumor has it that the strongest demons on the heavenly continent have all gathered there. That is the biggest camp of demons and is a forbidden ground for all orthodox martial cultivators! Obviously, the demons are more fond of calling it the Gloomy Dreams Seas." 

For Wu Yu, he still felt that the Endless Demon Seas was a more apt name. 

Rumor had it that the closer one got to the Endless Demon Seas, the more demons one would encounter. There were many regions where demons and martial cultivators co-existed. Fatal clashes erupted from time to time. 

"However, from the map, the small city called Qingsang City is still very near to Shushan and far away from the Endless Demon Seas. Which demon is so daring to gouge the hearts of humans on land under the protection of Shushan? Over 2,000 cultivators were killed in a single night! How strong is this demon?" 

Wu Yu was still a little annoyed. That He Taozi had seen him as one who was here only for the rewards and refused to divulge the details of the mission to Wu Yu. This made Wu Yu clueless about the mission. 

After leaving Shushan, the crowd accelerated. Their Jindan essences were ample. Wu Yu had to maintain his top speed in order to follow them amidst the endless white clouds. 

The view in front of him was unpralleledly grandiose.