The commotion quickly alerted the guards of the Black Market, as a burly man wearing a Red Demon Mask stepped out from the second deck of the ship. The furrow beneath the mask deepened slightly, and he promptly gave an order to those next to him.
"Save her first."
It was a matter of fate once you left the Black Market, but nothing could happen to a person before leaving, as that would dishonor the Black Market organizers.
"Understood!"
Soon several guards threw down ropes, and the woman seeing this as her lifeline grabbed onto one of them tightly.
"She’s caught it, now pull her up."
Anyone guarding on the Black Whale was no ordinary person, and currently, the one rescuing her was a Seventh Grade Muscle Strengthening Realm Martial Artist, with the strength of a thousand jin in one arm, quickly pulling the woman up onto the ship.
"This person... her aura is peculiar!"
Su Mu’s eyes flickered slightly, his gaze fixed on the rescued woman, a sudden alertness rose in his heart causing him to murmur.
"What’s so peculiar?"
A deliberately low voice of confusion emerged from behind him, as a woman in green appeared behind Su Mu. He stayed silent, his brow furrowing under the White Ape Mask.
The woman who narrowly escaped death had her long hair disheveled across her face, hiding her features, dressed in a blood-red outfit, strikingly vivid.
"Th-thank you... for saving my life."
The red-clad woman tremblingly expressed her gratitude, a scene all too normal, but abruptly, someone noticed something wasn’t right.
"Something’s wrong... When did a woman in red board the ship?!"
A guard’s eyes narrowed, staring at the indistinct features of the red-dressed woman in confusion. They were responsible for maintaining order and ensuring silver taels received from each guest, preventing anyone from sneaking onto the Black Whale.
Most visitors to the Black Market wore masks, often opting for low-profile attire, like black, gray, or pale yellow, all colors that didn’t stand out.
Even those wearing green or blue were rare, and such individuals were usually members of great factions, accustomed to arrogance.
In such an event, the guards would secretly take note and report, and if someone in a striking red dress boarded the ship tonight, the guards would certainly have remembered.
"Miss... are you alright?"
A guard spoke up, and the burly man from the second deck signaled, leading two guards forward, hands resting on their blades, ready to draw upon necessity, though words expressed concern.
"Drip, drip—"
Constant droplets fell from the woman’s damp hair, the sound merging with the two guards’ boots on the deck.
One step.
Two steps.
Five steps.
Just then, the red-dressed woman sat limply on the ground, drenched and shivering as if cold, slowly lifting her head, her disordered hair parting slightly to reveal a fair face displaying a pitiful expression.
"Watch out!"
At this moment, the burly man on the second deck of the cabin shouted a warning.
On that delicate face that radiated sympathy, her lightly pursed lips lifted subtly into a grim and bizarre arc.
The next instant, a rancid and eerie gust rose.
"Oh no!"
The two guards near the red-clad woman instantly felt their scalps tingle, a strong foreboding of death surfacing in their hearts, quickly reaching for their blades.
But it was too late.
"Splatter!"
Within the vile, foul wind, a red figure moved far faster than the two could draw their blades, like a scarlet lightning bolt across the sky, followed by the sound of tearing flesh and bones from the bow.
The two Seventh Grade Muscle Strengthening Realm guards froze, eyes wide in horror, unaware of how close the red-clad woman had gotten. Looking down, their pupils shrank, seeing a pale, slender arm now protruding into their chest.
"Splash!"
The next moment, the red-dressed woman drew back her hand abruptly, a ghastly bloody hole opening in their chests, blood spraying out, their bodies collapsing heavily.
After killing the two guards, the woman stuffed something still pulsating into her mouth, then viciously tore and swallowed it into her belly, followed by a spray of fresh blood.
"Murder, murder!"
Even among those at the Black Market, who were mostly ruthless bloodthirsty types, many were still shocked by such a bizarre and brutal scene, and after a brief silence, the bow of the ship quickly fell into chaos and confusion.
Su Mu silently took a step back, falling behind the crowd. With his extraordinarily heightened senses, he saw clearly that what the woman had just devoured were the hearts of the two Black Market guards.
After devouring the hearts, the woman’s gaunt body rebounded at a visible speed, and her almost bloodless skin took on a tinge of ruddy color.
"Somewhat similar to Wang Xuantian..."
The scene reminded Su Mu of the epic battle outside Changfeng City against Wang Xuantian, who had once displayed the shocking Demon Technique of consuming human flesh and blood to restore himself to his physical peak, and even rejuvenate.
Moreover, the aura of this woman in red was also somewhat similar, but Su Mu thought to himself and quickly shook his head.
If the previous Wang Xuantian was full of Demonic Qi, then in Su Mu’s eyes, this woman in red now resembled a Humanoid Demon Beast; the foul demon wind similar to what he had smelled during a previous encounter with a Demon Beast in the Qifeng Mountain Range.
At the same time, Su Mu also sensed that the flow within the woman’s body was not Taoist Spiritual Qi or Confucian Vast Qi, but the Power and Qi Blood of a Martial Artist, though both emitted an eerie vibe.
"Has she cultivated some kind of Demon Technique?"
While Su Mu was contemplating, the other Black Market guards at the bow, seeing the two men die miserably, were instantly enraged.
"Old Hu, Old Zhang... you, you’re courting death!"
In a furious roar, over a dozen guards drew their blades in unison, launching an attack at the woman in red who stood still, tearing into a heart with both hands.
The cold gleam unsheathed, sharpness breaking the air.
"Hoo hoo hoo!"
The dozen or more cold flashes cleaved through the long sky, their blades sharp, slicing simultaneously. The Black Market guards moved skillfully, and even for an ordinary Sixth Grade cultivator caught among so many attackers, caution would be necessary.
However, in the face of the impending swords, the woman in red acted as if she saw nothing, maintaining her calm while gnawing at the heart, not activating her Qi Blood or Power in the slightest.
"Damn, die for me!"
As the blades were about to strike, a shocking scene unfolded. The dozen or so swords, infused with Power and exploding in Tendon Power, capable of piercing Iron Armors, landed on the woman’s neck, throat, and other vital parts, but it was as if they hit an iron wall.
"Clang clang clang—!"
A string of metallic clashing sounds resounded, followed by a succession of crisp "ka ka" snapping sounds; the dozen or so swords broke, and upon closer inspection, the woman’s neck and throat were unscathed.
"Gulp—!"
Numerous sounds of swallowing echoed throughout the scene; she endured such powerful sword strikes with just her flesh, her body terrifyingly robust.
"Some kind of Cross-Training Martial Arts?"
Su Mu, having retreated behind a woman in blue, squinted his eyes; he caught a glimpse of something no ordinary person could see. The woman’s flesh was formidable, but her lack of injury wasn’t entirely as it seemed.
Su Mu clearly saw that at the moment of contact, a strange crimson hue flowed where the swords struck, absorbing the full impact of the blows.
"This, this..."
The dozen or so Black Market guards stared at their broken blades, dumbfounded, unable to believe their eyes.
At this moment, the woman in red finished eating the two hearts in her hands, lifted her head suddenly, her black hair billowing wildly, and the tips dyed with an eerie crimson.
Her eyes were even more terrifying, slitted pupils glowing with a bloody light in the dark.
The woman in red slightly raised her gaze, fixating on the burly man wearing a Red Demon Mask on the second floor of the ship, like a merciless Demon Beast targeting its next prey.
Upon seeing this, the dozen or so Black Market guards trembled violently, their expressions changed drastically, while the eyes beneath the mask of the man on the second floor narrowed.
"Demon Martial Artist..."
The woman in red stepped forward, the bow instantly filled with gasps of surprise, and in the next moment, she uttered a soft "hmm" from her composed face.
"Hmm!"
She slowly withdrew her gaze from the burly man, searching the chaotic crowd for something, her eyes soon landing on a figure, her crimson tongue licking her bloodless lips.
"Such a delicious scent!"