Way of the Devil

As the others started to sleep, Lu Sheng turned to face White Face.

“I believe this is our second meeting, Senior Apprentice Sister White Face.”

“Yes.” White Face looked at the other four people and one ghost. Her eyes focused on the boy Du Ye and Li Shunxi. “Everything I have has been passed on to them.”

Lu Sheng was surprised. He knew White Face was definitely not weak. Even if she wasn’t at Snake level yet, she would be infinitely close, and Miss Mi was in a similar situation. This was obvious from the fact they weren’t afraid of his mind-confusing force field at all… even though this power only worked for people below Snake level.

He never would have thought that Li Shunxi would be mixed up in the whole ghost spirit heritage situation.

He examined both Du Ye and Li Shunxi in detail, and increasingly felt like there was something off about the two. Both were surrounded by a scent of death that was rippling outward wave after wave.

“Alright, I understand.”

“We thought about it for a long time, and decided the Prime Devil Sect in the night must integrate with the Prime Devil Sect in the day…” White Face said slowly.

Lu Sheng listened carefully, and understood the gist of the proposal. White Face and the rest of the supernaturals had taught everything they knew to Du Ye. Now that he had nothing else to learn, they hoped the kid could start coming in contact with the Prime Devil Sect during the day.

Lu Sheng thought about it, but still decided to let his master Liu Shanzi work it out with the ghosts.

The special training for Li Shunxi and the rest was easy. Lu Sheng just needed to sit in place and start some illusionary Secret Art, and make sure the field wasn’t too intense.

The process repeated for a few days, and both Li Shunxi and Du Ye benefited a lot from the experience. Both respectfully bid goodbye to Lu Sheng and left.

The Prime Devil Sect’s delegate to Red Boiling Palace was finally ready too. Though this was technically just a visit, the purpose was to form an alliance against the Devil Disaster. The Prime Devil Sect was safe because of Lu Sheng, but there was more than just one Devil Spirit. If they split up, Lu Sheng couldn’t protect everyone; hence, he needed more powerful individuals to assist him.

The Scarlet Boiling Palace was filled with survivors from the Nine Cities right now, some of them quite powerful. Even there weren’t many that were at the top of the top, but they had the numerical advantage.

This was a great opportunity for them to cooperate.

The purpose of this expedition led by Lu Sheng was to take advantage of that and gather more resources with the people at the Scarlet Boiling Palace.

The Scarlet Boiling Palace was hundreds of li away from the Prime Devil Sect. Normally, that wasn’t that long of a trip, but in the midst of the Devil Disaster, the road would be much more dangerous.

Luckily, Lu Sheng was powerful enough. He used a Yin Devil to clear the road—all while absorbing and condensing Devil Qi. The group arrived at the Scarlet Boiling Palace within two hours.

***

The remains of an enormous scarlet palace complex reflected a shade of pink under the setting sun.

Lu Sheng and his followers arrived just outside of the palace complex. A crew of temporarily selected leaders of the palace were already greeting them.

The four people in the lead of the crowd to greet them were Shangyang Jiuli of the Shangyang Family, Kong Lu of the Heaven Lotus Sect, Divine Lady of the Earth from the God of Halberd Sect, and a high-level expert that was not attached to any sect—a wanderer.

The four people were obviously the leaders of the Scarlet Boiling Palace. The ten or so people behind them were the mid- to high-level managers. Beside the gates stood two rows of maidens in half-clear chifon, the looming form of their breasts and legs perfectly showing off the openness of the Central Plains.

“Lu Sheng…” Shangyang Jiuli was the first to come up, staring at Lu Sheng with a complicated expression. She didn’t know what to do with him; this man whom she thought her strongest asset had quietly climbed to a height she didn’t dare to even imagine.

She didn’t even know how she should address him right now.

“Jiuli, our friendship shouldn’t be this awkward, right?” Lu Shen smiled. He decided to establish the basis of their exchange.

Shangyang Jiuli smiled along, nodding.

“You are right. It’s just that you advanced so much that I thought you would have forgotten your old friends. Come, I’ll introduce you to the others.”

She led Lu Sheng to the three people behind her.

“This is the great Mr. Kong Lu of the Heaven Lotus sect. His Secret Tome of the Seven Moons is second only to the sect master.” Kong Lu was a scholarly-looking middle-aged man with a gentle smile. Upon hearing his name, he nodded slightly towards Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng had a very deep impression of the Heaven Lotus Sect. This leading sect among the Leaf Sects was ultimately for the normal masses, and they even tried (unsuccessfully, however) to recruit him.

“Over here is the Lady of the Earth from the God of Halberd Sect, Lian Xiu. Even though she just entered Snake Level, she has massive potential. She is very proficient in music-based techniques.”

The Lady of the Earth was a pure and beautiful woman with an air of a Buddhist practicioner around her. For her greeting, all she did was smile at Lu Sheng as a sign of respect.

“The third person here is a powerful independent cultivator who usually lives in seclusion, Gudu Ping.” Shangyang Jiuli only briefly touched upon the last man.

He didn’t seem angry at all, however, and instead kept wiping off sweat with his handkerchief. This “independent cultivator” seemed to be below par compared to the rest.

“It’s fortunate to meet you all.” Lu Sheng nodded nonchalantly. A greeting was all he said, considering who he was.

The others didn’t care, and welcomed him.

Shangyang Jiuli then brought everyone into the Scarlet Boiling Palace. As they were walking between red buildings, she explained the history behind the complex. Finally, she arranged for people to admire the scene with the guests.

And then the host invited Lu Sheng and his followers to the dinner feast. Liu Shanzi wasn’t present, and everyone around was actually about the same age.

Shangyang Jiuli immediately started to talk about her experience in the Northern Lands, occasionally getting a laugh out of the crowd. Compared to the time when she had just arrived in the north to rest, she could handle everything on her own now.

After the feast, most of the disciples of the Prime Devil Sect had gotten drunk. Shangyang Jiuli had already prepared everyone’s living quarters, so she instructed the servants to lead them there.

Lu Sheng’s was in an independent courtyard, and Shangyang Jiuli was leading him herself.

The stars shone brightly underneath the night sky as the moonlight draped down like a veil. The two slowly walked beside the river.

“You’ve gotten more mature,” Lu Sheng said lightly.

“A necessity of this life.” Shangyang Jiuli shook her head wearily. The tall headdress she wore was gone; now, she wore her white hair in a long ponytail. Between her sharp brows and her delicate face, she still looked intimidating, but also more womanly now.

At least you could tell that she was a woman from a distance away.

“What do you plan to do in the future?” Lu Sheng asked casually.

“The Shangyang Family lost a lot during this battle. We’ll think of the future when we get out of the Devil Disaster zone.” Shangyang Jiuli sighed heavily. “If it weren’t for you, our great elder would have been in immense danger. Thank you.”

“You helped me a lot in the past too, not to mention I also have my own agenda. There’s no need to thank me.” Lu Sheng shook his head.

The two walked around without a set destination. They soon left the garden and came near the bank of the river.

The Scarlet Boiling Palace used to be a giant complex of ancient ruins. The name “Scarlet Boiling Palace” was only spread out when a sect established its headquarters here and named it the Scarlet Boiling Palace.

As they talked about the current situation, both agreed that they had to move out of the Nine Cities area. The Nine Cities had now become the forefront of the Devil Army’s conquests. Shangyang Family only had so many resources, and now, 90% of it had been lost. Only a few Judges remained, while almost all of the Painters were eradicated. Other powerful individuals within the family had also suffered great casualties. Luckily, the great ancestor survived; otherwise, the whole Shangyang Family would be facing its demise.

The two continued along the brook, chatting along the way.

The complicated situation at the Scarlet Boiling Palace also became clear to Lu Sheng. In the span of the time it would take for an incense stick to burn, they met at least one hundred refugees, all of them living in tents beside the river.

Even though there was a lot of room within the actual palace complex, most of it was reserved for sect disciples and officials. The common people couldn’t even dream about going there.

Occasionally, a patrol would walk by. While they were around, everything was quiet. As soon as they would leave, people would start to fight for food, drinks, for tent spots, and some even for women. Fighting, killing, and all kind of other chaos would explode when the patrols were absent.

Shangyang Jiuli watched everything with a stern face. Lu Sheng was about to clean up the mess, but decided against it when he saw the person in charge of this place not even remotely concerned.

Technically, he wasn’t a good guy; he just occasionally did some good when he was in a good mood and it wouldn’t bother him. Most of the time, he was neutral.

They chatted for a while, but then noticed that it was late into the night. Shangyang Jiuli started to lead Lu Sheng back to his quarters. Right before they entered the gate, she turned and narrowed her eyes slightly at Lu Sheng.

“Lu Sheng, I hope you consider our offer. Even though we suffered great losses in this battle, we still have more than enough to support you.”

Lu Sheng smiled. True, even though the Shangyang Family suffered greatly during the Devil Disaster, a camel that died of starvation was still larger than a horse. As one of the Nine Families of the Central Plains who controlled vast areas, they had to have resources he couldn’t imagine. An invitation to join its core level was an attractive offer, but he already had his own plans.

“So be it. I’ll leave you alone to let you consider it.” Shangyang Jiuli saw that Lu Sheng didn’t talk, and wearily waved her hand. “Rest well. Lead Master Lu to his quarters.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The servant on the side obeyed hurriedly.

Lu Shen didn’t talk, either. He smiled at Shangyang JIuli, then turned to leave with the servant.

The servant leading the way didn’t talk, but he was visibly shaking the whole way. Clearly, he knew who Lu Sheng was and what he was capable of.

The servant quickly brought Lu Sheng in front of a palace hall, and pushed open the door. There was no one inside. The servant immediately turned and fled.

Lu Sheng look at him curiously. This Scarlet Boiling Palace was strange. All palace halls within the complex were extremely hard and had excellent soundproof quality. He wasn’t sure which civilization it was built by.

He sighed, then walked into the palace hall. He found his bedroom, and opened the door.

“Squeak…”

He was left speechless by the scene in front of him.

A familiar beautiful girl was kneeling naked in the room. Her back was turned to him with her butt lifted high off the ground, like a dog b*tch without dignity.

“Shangyang Ruo?” Lu Sheng asked wearily. Of course, this must have been the new plan of the Shangyang Family. That was why Shangyang Jiuli’s “rest well” sounded so strange.

“Sob… sob…” Shangyang Ruo’s face was covered in tears, her eyes swollen from crying. She knelt there, unable to move. Her whole body shook when she heard Lu Sheng, and she slowly turned her head.

“Go.” Lu Sheng took off his black robe and covered Shangyang Ruo. Unless he wanted to kill someone, he wouldn’t fall for any kind of seduction.

After her whole body was covered by the robe, he waved his hand. After a few crisp sounds, the invisible force holding Shangyang Ruo’s body was removed.

She stood up hurriedly, then wrapped herself tightly with the black robe, looking at Lu Sheng with hatred, and finally ran out of the room.