Way of the Devil

‘Gossamer can be controlled at will and weaved into different weapons. It can even be weaved into a web. This will allow my supernatural power to be expanded to a greater area.’

After Lu Sheng decided on that, he looked toward the second skill.

‘The Art of Refining Corpses is somewhat similar to conventional cultivators’ steps.’ Lu Sheng recalled the records of this technique in the Collection.

‘The Art of Refining Corpses Mu Yun recorded can create five kinds of corpses. Normal corpses, black corpses, bronze corpses, iron corpses, and silver corpses.’

A silver corpse was already on par with a Core Formation cultivator. However, the main material needed to create it was the corpse of another Core Formation cultivator. Besides that, refining it would require many other extremely rare materials which were difficult to obtain. This was an ordeal that required huge sums of money.

Fortunately, the actual thing Lu Sheng was interested in was one of the special techniques which purely used Yin Chill Qi and Corpse Qi to refine a silver corpse. This skill could be completed in a short time and had good results. However, it required a huge amount of supernatural power to speed up the silver corpse’s maturing.

As for the other materials, he was confident in being able to gather all of them if he went out marauding. However, it was not easy searching for an Art that could completely unleash the advantage of his supernatural power.

If he could fully utilize this Art, he could overcome the problem of his followers being too few.

“And I have just the right Core Formation corpse for me to experiment on.” As he had that thought, Lu Sheng stood there at the bottom of the sea, closed his eyes, and started to operate his Deep Blue. He started cultivating the two Wicked Arts.

***

“From a mysterious stage to understanding all, from highest ranks to impetuous pest fall. When you’ve obtained a shocking tier, a complicated painting will naturally be clear.”

Deep within the mountains, a white-whiskered Taoist swayed with a wine gourd in hand. He walked along the uneven mountainous path and sang in a resounding voice.

Nobody had heard the poem he sang before. However, it contained some strong sentiments. In this vast barren land, even a fool knew that this old man was no ordinary person.

The mountains were green with lush vegetation, and the chill of the forest penetrated the bones. The old man took a sip of wine and sang another line of poem. As he swayed, he seemed to be making slow progress, but every step he took covered the distance of a few hundred meters. Those who witnessed this were struck with fear.

The old man walked past the mountainous path and went into the dense forest. He slowly came to a halt in the permease forest filled with great trees.

“Where’s my junior apprentice brother? Why’s he not here to welcome me yet?!” the old man shouted loudly. He looked up at the canopy of one of the big trees.

The tree was so thick that three people were needed to link their hands around it. A white-haired old man in white robes sat among the branches.

The old man lowered his head and looked at the drinking old man.

“Senior Apprentice Brother, what’re you doing here? My store of booze have already been exhausted by you. The new stock isn’t here yet.”

“Do you think I look like the kind of person who goes around to ask for booze?” The drunk old man waved his hand with a smile as he said, “This time, I’m here for my poor disciple, Du Guangchi. The sect master has ordered Yun Ye to make a move, and he’s not the kind of person who cares about the lives of others. If he attacks, the target will either die or be crippled. If I want to keep my disciple’s life, I’m afraid I’ll have to borrow your Golden Gong Chart, Junior Apprentice Brother.”

“Golden Gong Chart?” The white-haired old man frowned slightly. “How long do you need it for, Senior Apprentice Brother?” Although he had many Treasures, the Golden Gong Chart was his most precious one. In truth, if his senior apprentice brother did not personally come to ask to borrow it, he would not agree to lend it out.

This was his most powerful Treasure which he sacrificially refined. It was also his Natal Treasure.

“Not long, not long at all. I only need it for a couple of days,” said the drunk Taoist with a smile.

“If that’s the case, I’ll approve.” The old man’s brows relaxed.

The drunk Taoist sighed again.

“Junior Apprentice Brother, you know that I’ve cultivated the Qiushen Divination for many years. I can’t shake the feeling that my disciple is in some sort of grave danger this time. That’s why I feel so uneasy.”

“You worry too much, Senior Apprentice Brother. Junior Apprentice Brother Yun Ye has a profound cultivation base and shocking combat strength. Although he had just recently attained the Nascent Soul tier, with the Heavenly Rights Sword of the Three Divine Swords, he’s only intending to build a name for himself before he journeys to the Divine Sword Door. This is all done to prepare himself for the battle with the Divine Sword Door’s master. If it’s actual combat, our combined strength might not even be a match for Junior Apprentice Brother Yun Ye’s,” the old man said with a calm expression.

“Every person has a field of the Art which he specializes in. Junior Apprentice Brother can already be regarded as one of the top Nascent Soul cultivators in the Vital Energy Sect. If it’s slaughtering other people, he’s definitely the first, I’ll admit that much. However…” The drunk Taoist shook his head; he was still uneasy.

“Senior Apprentice Brother, since you’re not completely at ease, why don’t you go and take a look yourself outside the mountains? In recent years, the Devil Cultivators in the overseas cultivators’ realm are becoming more and more rampant. We True Lords have been living in seclusion, and did not trouble ourselves with the world’s matters. Why don’t we head out from the mountains and show the buffoons what power really is? Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?” said the white-haired old man drily.

“Junior Apprentice Brother, you’re finally thinking about moving after staying silent for so long. Is this because of that?” The drunk Taoist’s expression suddenly became serious.

That incident had involved the entire central plains before this. If the sect master did not repel the forces of evil alone back then, the current situation of the world would have been…

Because of that matter, the sect master could only stay within the valley in seclusion, and could not leave.

“You can say that. I can’t say that I don’t see an opportunity lying in wait with the devil cultivators running rampant currently,” said the white-haired old man drily.

“I understand…” The drunk Taoist nodded. “If we run into any situation, I’ll back you up completely.”

“Thank you, Senior Apprentice Brother.”

***

In the overseas cultivators’ realm, the North Sea’s Wood Martial Abode’s master had suddenly rose to prominence, and his sect was like the sun at high noon. When the Vital Energy Sect did not do anything about this, the Wood Martial Abode quickly recruited various wicked and demon cultivators that had come to submit themselves to it. A huge number of islands rallied under the Wood Martial Abode.

Even the forces that had no intentions of submitting themselves to the Wood Martial Abode would not go against it openly.

Everyone was waiting for the clash between the Wood Martial Abode and the real experts from the Vital Energy Sect.

October seventh. The flowers blossomed.

Lu Sheng sat up straight at the highest position in the cavern. Underneath him was a wide and heavy chair adorned with the head of a dragon and equipped with armrests.

The area below him was brightly lit with torches. The eight elites who had just submitted themselves to him sat in two neat rows. The weakest among them was a Complete-stage Foundation Building cultivator, while the most powerful among them was at the Middle-stage Core Formation tier. Some of these men knew about the true strength Lu Sheng had displayed the other day.

However, most of them were forced to submit after Lu Sheng personally saw to the matter. They were the leaders of their respective forces.

“Currently, the Wood Martial Abode has already conquered half of the North Sea. We can basically say that other than a few untouchable sea clans, the other areas are under the jurisdiction of the Wood Martial Abode. This is great.” The one who spoke was a strong-looking bald man with a tangled red serpent on his chest.

He was the strongest of the eight elites, a Middle-stage Core Formation cultivator. His name was Lin Chaolei, and he was a fugitive that had been wanted by the Vital Energy Sect for many years. His Taoist title was Taoist Master Wind Serpent. When he spoke, he seemed slightly jumpy as if he was extremely uneasy.

“The momentum is great, but we’d do well not to be so thorough in some matters. With the Vital Energy Sect around, the Abode will never be free from its troubles. As the subordinates, we can’t help but feel slightly uneasy.” On the other side, a man in red robes with light red makeup on the edges of his lips and eyes spoke with a smile that was neither masculine nor feminine. “Abode Master, can you say something about this? At the very least, you can put our minds to rest before we risk our lives for you on the front lines.”

When he said this, the others dared not make another sound. In truth, everyone had the same concern. It was still unknown if the Abode Master could endure the Vital Energy Sect’s pressure.

They were already prepared to flee at any moment. All the necessary arrangements were also made.

The pairs of eyes quickly fell onto Lu Sheng.

At the center of their attention, Lu Sheng rested his arms on the armrests, his expression calm.

“Fu Jin, I’ve ordered you to send someone to notify the Xuan Turtle Clan, what’s the news on that?” He did not answer the question, but posed one of his own instead.

Fu Jin was also one of the eight elites. When he heard this, he was slightly startled. Then, a wry smile appeared on his face.

“Abode Master, you know that the Xuan Turtle Clan has a mysterious force backing them. In addition to that, they’re not a weak sea clan as well. If they stay hidden, nobody can do anything about them.”

Lu Sheng nodded slightly. He had already established his Nascent Soul, and was surprised to clearly feel that Nascent Qi had nourishing effects on his main body and spirit. This made him happy.

Although the nourishing effects were weak, they could endure the passage of time and were very gentle.

Currently, his second objective was to consolidate the overseas cultivators’ realm, refine corpses, recruit elites, and officially fight against the Vital Energy Sect. After all, he was not powerful enough to do so at the current moment.

The overseas cultivators’ realm was too vast. However, there were a few nearby forces which he could try to subdue. They were all demon and sea clans that followed after the strong.

The demon and sea clansmen were born with a tendency to admire the strong, and thus were easier to subdue compared to humans. This was also Lu Sheng’s main objective.

“The Xuan Turtle Clan’s backer is the Clam Shark Clan. They’re the largest of all sea clans. I’m afraid they won’t compromise easily.” Fu Jin knew about Lu Sheng’s intentions.

“That’s alright. Where’s the Xuan Turtle Clan’s located? I’ll personally pay them a visit after this.” Lu Sheng drummed the armrests lightly.

“Also, I have some trouble with the Fufeng Clan on my side… They’re willing to join the Wood Martial Abode, but they have two conditions,” said another Early-stage Core Formation cultivator. He was a muscular man with blue skin.

Lu Sheng shifted his eyes onto this person. “Conditions?”

“Yes, Abode Master. They want the rights to mine the biotite and dacite on the three islands around them. At the same time, they wished to have a—”

“Bam!”

He had not finished his sentence when Taoist Master Wind Serpent moved quickly and appeared behind him in an instant. He grabbed the muscular man’s hair, and, with an instantaneous eruption of explosive force, he smashed his head into the stone wall on the side.

With a loud sound, the stone wall cracked open. The blue-skinned muscular man spat out fresh blood and slumped to the ground. He curled up with a frightened look in his eyes. Protective Core Qi vibrated all about him, but it could not do anything to his attacker.

“The islands around the Fufeng Clan are under my charge… Taoist Master Silver Blue. You’ve disappointed Abode Master very much, being unable to deal with even the Fufeng Clan…” Taoist Master Wind Serpent’s gaze was peculiar. He wore a vicious smile on his face as he lifted the blue-skinned muscular man from the ground.

“To think that trash such as yourself is under Abode Master’s wing as well. Heheheheh…” He loosened his grip easily and let the blue-skinned man drop freely onto the ground.

“Pcchht!”

A beam of black light suddenly shot out from his right hand. It stabbed directly into the blue-skinned muscular man’s belly where his Core was. Hints of despotic madness flashed across his eyes.

“Die! Die! Die! Hahahahaha! Trash should just die!”

“You!” Out of fear, the blue-skinned muscular man quickly made a hand sign, and a mass of blue light erupted before him. Countless wasps flew amidst the radiance, and the buzz of their wings filled the air.

However, it did nothing to help him. The black radiance easily broke through the blue light’s defenses. It had seemingly touched the blue-skinned muscular man’s belly.

“Stop it,” Lu Sheng said all of a sudden.

“Die!” Taoist Master Wind Serpent laughed maniacally as he pushed the black radiance forward without mercy. In truth, he could not have cared less about some Abode Master. The sole reason he joined the Wood Martial Abode was so that he could kill people.

As long as he could kill someone, he would gladly hop from the Wood Martial Abode to any other organization of any reputation.

“I said, stop it!”

“Rumble!”

A mass of blue air erupted. The dense blue radiance formed countless huge hands that grabbed Taoist Master Wind Serpent and pressed him firmly against the stone wall behind him.

The loud sound made the hearts of the other elites who remained seated race. They lowered their heads and dared not take a second glance.

“Abode Master! Oh, Abode Master. Although I, Wind Serpent, am insane, but everything that I do is for you! Everything I do is for the sake of the Wood Martial Abode. You must be clear on this. It’s that Taoist Master Silver Blue, it’s his fault! He can’t even deal with a mere Fufeng Clan. He even allowed those scum to propose conditions. This is just…” Taoist Master Wind Serpent’s thoughts shifted quickly, and he was now wearing a thick and contorted smile as he tried to suck up to Lu Sheng.

“I don’t care if you’re really insane or just faking madness.” Lu Sheng grabbed Wind Serpent’s collar. His eyes were cold.

“If you do this again”—he slammed Wind Serpent’s head into the stone wall—”I’ll kill you.”

Wind Serpent’s pupils constricted. He could feel that Lu Sheng’s words were not meant as a joke. The feeling of fear which he had not felt for a long time started to well up slowly within him.