Way of the Devil

When Lu Sheng estimated this speed himself, he felt worried as well. He had only cultivated the skill formula of sacrificially refining the metal ball’s interior into a storage space. The only difference was that he had used much more Core Qi than an ordinary cultivator would. Then, he assimilated seawater into his Core Qi. This way, it had become the simplest way to sacrificially refine a Treasure.

Lu Sheng focused and looked at the metal ball. He felt a terrifyingly, extremely heavy pressure rocking forth within it. The ball was clearly the size of a fist, but it gave off the feeling that it was the size of a bathtub.

After an unknown period of time, Lu Sheng finally felt the gradual stabilization of the Core Qi released from his Golden Core and the Core Qi consumed by the metal ball. Then, he made the hand sign to retract his Core Qi.

The speed at which the metal ball absorbed seawater slowed down swiftly, coming to a stop. Finally, it became an ordinary bluish-golden ball, which hovered before Lu Sheng.

If someone paid close attention to the ball’s surface, they would faintly see some strange distortions on it.

‘… It has at least taken in a million tons of seawater…’ Currently, the gaze with which Lu Sheng looked at this ball was different as well.

‘The skill formulas in this world aren’t inferior in might to those in Great Yin… It seems that I’ll have to dig around more here. Maybe I’ll reap better benefits than on my previous trip.’

Lu Sheng reached out a hand and grabbed the metal ball. He felt the ice-cold chill and smoothness of its surface. It was slightly moist from the slow trickle of water, which isolated the ball from the external environment, coming out of it.

‘After absorbing a million tons of seawater, it’d be enough to instantly cause a small area flood in a small town if it was completely released in an instant. However, this might not be enough firepower to use against ordinary cultivators. Well, I can use it as a heavy object to throw at someone.’ Lu Sheng grabbed the metal ball and put it away in his sleeve. He swept his gaze around him.

Giant fishes and squids of the deep sea were already attracted by him. They were eyeing him with hostility from afar.

He could faintly sense Demonic Qi from these creatures. They were clearly not dumb and wild.

Although the number sounded great, the actual amount of seawater stored within Lu Sheng’s metal ball was only equivalent to a mini-sized pond. If he spread it all out, the seawater would not have any significant effect. However, if it were concentrated on a small ball and thrown at somebody… The effects would be largely different.

‘Also, maybe I can try some physical compression on the seawater absorbed by my Golden Core,’ Lu Sheng pondered. Even with the technology on Earth, there was no way to compress water or turn it into any other form. He planned to have his main body, which was extremely powerful, attempt compressing the seawater. His main body had already adapted to some of the rules here gradually. After he adjusted his Yang Essence’s structure, his main body could make a move with Infinity Technique in a small area.

However, even if he used only ten percent of his strength, he would probably be rejected by this world.

‘I’m lacking something to compare with right now. I still can’t measure the effects of ten percent of my main body’s strength in this world. Fortunately, this body of mine can protect itself for now. Middle-stage Core Formation and whatnot, it’s not enough at all. I’ve yet to see the tiers after this, but they shouldn’t be weaker than Late-stage Core Formation.’

Lu Sheng hovered in the sea as he hesitated. Eventually, he decided to head back and meet the old man from the Vital Energy Sect. Although he could continue to achieve breakthroughs, he would need quite some time to do that. If that old man thought that he had fled cowardly and took his anger out on his subordinates, that would be bad.

He had not decided to completely give up on his status as Wood Martial Abode’s master yet.

When he thought about this, Lu Sheng floated up the water column and went back the way he came.

***

Currently, thousands of miles away from the Wood Martial Abode, in an empty part of the sky above the seas.

A black cloud hovered above the sea, staying less than twenty meters above the waves. The black cloud covered a huge area, and as much as thirty meters square of sea surface was shaded.

Some peculiar-looking Taoists sat atop the cloud, facing each other. They seemed to be waiting for something in silence.

At the center of the black cloud sat a muscular Taoist clad in pitch-black clothes. His skin tone was as dark as coal.

“Esteemed Bai Sha, is everyone here?” The black Taoist suddenly broke the silence.

The shark-headed demon Taoist beside him shook his head, and in a raspy voice replied, “Most of them are here. We’ve notified those who need to be notified. For those of us who are willing to come here under such circumstances, it’s apparent that we have feelings of gratitude toward True Lord Nine since we’re willing to risk our safety.”

“Well said.” The black Taoist nodded. “Alas… Taoist Master Yueyao of the South Sea isn’t here. She had gone to the far seas, and has not returned to the clan for five years now. We only get the occasional message from her. If Taoist Master Yueyao was here, our current mission would be much easier with her Calm Sea Mirror which she’d sacrificially refined for a thousand years.”

“Don’t worry, Elder Black. Although we don’t have the Calm Sea Mirror with us this time, we still have Taoist Master Wang She’s natal Treasure, the Ten Thousand True Essence Poison Streamer. With our schemes against our unsuspecting enemies, we’re sure to be able to kill the two core disciples of the Vital Energy Sect and snatch the Earth Lake Sword,” said a short fish-headed Taoist reverently with a chuckle.

Taoist Master Wang She, who was being praised, raised his huge purplish-black snake head and flicked his forked tongue. A haughty look flashed across his eyes. “I was about to let you know, Brother Black, that I’ve found a special treasure for my streamer and assimilated it. Since then, it has grown greatly in strength. Currently, it’s not inferior to the Calm Sea Mirror, so I’m sure it won’t let everyone down.”

“If that’s the case, then we’ll leave it to you, Brother Wang.” Elder Black raised his joined hands toward him in salute.

“I’ll do my best.”

“The two Vital Energy Sect disciples are armed with precious treasures. They’re bound to be watched by some elites. We have received information that their entourage includes the Vital Energy Sect’s Seventh Peak, Taoist Die Shazi. That old man is skilled in using his Tri-soul Black Wind. Combined with his natal Treasure, the Furious Wind Blade, he’ll be a formidable foe in battle. I’ll use my Soul-Binding Ring to hold him down, and the rest of you will use all your strength to take care of the two core disciples. Retreat as soon as you get your hands on the treasures.” Elder Black made the arrangements.

“Don’t worry, Elder Black. We’re greatly indebted to the True Lord. We’re ready to dash our brains on the ground if need be!”

“That’s right. The fiends from the Vital Energy Sect wantonly slaughtered us from the demon clans, this will be upholding justice for all our oppressed brethren!”

“That’s the spirit!”

“After we kill them, we’ll flee far overseas. F*ck the Vital Energy Sect!”

A bunch of demon clansmen started to hurl curses and insults.

Elder Black, Bai Sha, and Wang She exchanged glances. Each could sense what the other two were thinking about. The three of them were demons who had formed Cores. No demon that was capable of cultivating to this level was a simple being.

“We’ll make our move after three days, for a long night is fraught with dreams.” Elder Black set the schedule.

“It’s said that the two disciples are in the area under the Wood Martial Abode’s jurisdiction. Should we go and notify the Wood Martial Abode’s master?”

“Notify my a*s. That Wood Martial Abode’s master is also human. He’s not the same as us demons! It’s fine if he doesn’t make a move, but if he interferes, with that grade-one Inner Core of his, even if I, old man Huang, go up to him, I’ll be able to sever that dog’s head from his body with a swing of my axe, let alone the three Taoist Masters here.”

The group of demons discussed the details of their current mission without a care in the world.

***

‘According to the patterns on this world’s skill formulas, the longer the sacrificial refining lasts, the purer and more perfect the Treasure’s quality will be. The more supernatural power is contained within it, the stronger it is. A cultivator may also infuse ceaseless supernatural power into materials that are able to contain a huge amount of supernatural power to form a powerful Treasure.’ As Lu Sheng swam in the sea, his mind kept working. He thought about the theory behind this world’s Treasures.

‘In other words, to create a powerful Treasure, I must first obtain good materials. Next, I’ll have to fill them with ceaseless supernatural power and various kinds of natural energy. Finally, I’ll have to sacrificially refine them over the course of years.

‘If the majority of the content of the Treasure is uncontrollable natural energy, the main objective of the sacrificial refining will be to let it adapt to and warm up to my own supernatural power and subdue it. The advantage of this method is that it’s powerful and takes less time to complete. However, the shortcoming is that it’s difficult to perfect and improve on.

‘If the majority of the content of the Treasure is my own supernatural power, it’ll be natural for me to be able to use it easily. However, it won’t be as powerful as the former. The only way is to infuse it with supernatural power over the years. However, this method is superior in its purity and ease of control. It’s also easier to improve its level. The shortfall is the amount of time needed to accumulate strength.’

Lu Sheng roughly organized his understanding about this world’s Treasures according to the two skill formulas.

‘So, I’ll call my Treasure the Sea-overturning Orb. The best way for me to increase its powers is to use the latter method. I have Mental Energy, after all. I can swiftly improve its level and increase the overall volume of my Core Qi. This way, I can quickly increase my might in a short period of time and it won’t affect my future improvements.’

Lu Sheng clearly felt that the Sea-overturning Orb’s materials were almost at their limit. The materials had limited the possibility of this Treasure’s growth.

Hence, he needed better materials to be assimilated with it and improve the Sea-overturning Orb’s quality and strength.

Among the materials he sought, the Black Cloud Pearls he’d requested from the Mist Clam Clan’s Fu Jin were precisely for this purpose.

The Black Cloud Pearls had cooling properties and were hard. They were formed in the bellies of dead giant clams which absorbed Death Qi and Cold Qi. Only the bodies of giant clams at the Foundation Building tier or higher could be used to nurture them. Only ten pearls could be produced at one time, and every batch took ten years to produce.

Their rarity was apparent from this.

It should be known that even within the Mist Clam Clan, there were very few old clams which were in the Foundation Building tier. The clam demons had always been known for their longevity. It was clearly impractical to wait for their death.

Hence, the usual production method to obtain Black Cloud Pearls was to use old corpses.

These treasures were much more precious than the sum of the materials and metals Lu Sheng had used to make the Sea-overturning Orb.

‘When I get back, I’ll assimilate the Black Cloud Pearls. It should greatly improve the Sea-overturning Orb’s quality.’ Lu Sheng made a mental note to himself. As long as he had good materials, he could sacrificially refine domineering Treasures of terrifying might.

In no time, he could see the black cliff on which the Wood Martial Abode was situated far away from his position in the sea.

Lu Sheng had a thought, and sea water gushed forth from his Sea-overturning Orb. The powerful reaction force pushed him out of the sea. He leapt lightly over the distance of a few hundred meters.

“Bang.”

He dropped right in front of the entrance to the Wood Martial Abode.

The little demons guarding the entrance were startled by the great commotion. When they saw that it was him, they immediately relaxed, and the two little wolf-headed demons quickly walked up to him. They knelt and greeted him.

“Reporting to Abode Master, a skinny white-haired old man has come, and mentioned that he has an important matter to discuss with you!”

“I know about that already. Continue guarding the entrance.” Lu Sheng nodded and strode into the abode. He walked through the abode’s tunnel and entered the parlor. He quickly saw the white-bearded Taoist Die Shazi, who was enjoying his cup of tea as he lounged on the seat.

“Master Die Shazi, long time no see. Your bones are as pronounced as ever.” Lu Sheng changed his expression and greeted Die Shazi calmly.

“It’s difficult to judge who’s in the wrong or right for a matter that’s happened so many years ago. Now that we have such a good opportunity for you to clear your name and become one of the Vital Energy Sect’s Outer Path Spirit Generals, it’s a good thing for you and me,” said Die Shazi with a smile.

“Brother, I’m sure you know why I’m here.”