Way of the Devil

Lu Sheng’s expression grew strange as well.

“Explanation?”

He gripped the Earth Lake Sword. The bluish radiance of the seawater behind him thickened. The Sea-overturning Orb rose slowly from the sea behind him.

Countless spots of blue light boiled and shook. Lu Sheng wielded the sword with both hands, and his eyes shone with glaring, bluish light.

“Boom!”

The Earth Lake Sword suddenly turned into a lingering shadow. In an instant, it seemed to have split into a thousand sword images which went one circle around Lu Sheng and finally merged as one as they slashed downward in a straight line.

“Divine Might!”

The sword’s radiance transformed into bluish lightning and struck down loudly.

“This is your explanation! If you can’t accept it, then you might as well die!” Lu Sheng laughed maniacally.

“Holy Spirit!”

The Vital Energy Sect’s sect master wielded his sword with both hands as well. His expression was serene, and the crescent between his brows shone with faint whitish glow. The thread-like radiance twirled around the blade in his hand. A blurry image of a pure white chimera slowly appeared behind him.

“Heaven and Earth Righteous Art, Nine Turns of the Universe!” He moved swiftly, and surprisingly split himself into two individuals.

The two long swords were directed forward at the same time. Their tips met, and a dash of gold instantly burst forth.

The golden radiance was as pure as it could be. It was like a light in the midst of a storm. It resembled a light and a pea; it flickered but was not extinguished. It unleashed a ring of golden radiance which covered the surrounding area.

“Righteous Qi of heaven and earth, try my heart, light my will, focus my spirits, protect me from all harm!” The Vital Energy Sect’s sect master suddenly glared. His supernatural power boiled and flared.

The crescent between his brows was acting like his third eye right now, and a golden eye actually opened on his forehead.

“Pcchht!”

The eye shot out a beam of golden light, which shone on the golden light in front of him.

For an instant, it was as if the entire world stopped.

“Rumble!”

A formless wave erupted from the golden light.

“My name is Qing Yuanjun. I have been at the helm of this sect for 1362 years, and I’ve watched it grow into greatness from nothing. I have a clear conscience!”

The Vital Energy Sect’s sect master glared at Lu Sheng. His entire person was focused in this sword attack.

Amid the golden flame’s radiance, a huge sword’s image suddenly stabbed outward. It was divine and immense, and its aura in the form of golden light instantly spread across and fixed the entire blue sea in its place.

“The karma of heaven and earth follows a cycle of the great path. I have submitted to the Heavenly Path, and settled my karma. Those who stand in my way are those trying to stop me from achieving the great path!”

Lu Sheng laughed maniacally. He infused the Earth Lake Sword with all his supernatural power as well. He even combined it with the force of the Sea-overturning Orb.

“Those who try to stop me achieving my path shall die from 10,000 Tribulations! Die!”

In an instant, the blue and golden sword gleams finally clashed in the air.

There was no sound or explosion.

There were only patches of pitch-black snowflakes that scattered around like ashes.

Where the sword gleams went, the golden and blue radiances were furiously whittling away at each other.

The quality of the golden sword gleam was terrifying. It cut and clashed away at the blue sword gleam. However, there was too much of the blue sword gleam. Although every blue sword image was extremely fragile, the heavy hits every instant brought managed to dim the golden sword gleam little by little.

The two forces of gold and blue annihilated each other, and their remains formed the pitch-black snowflakes which filled the skies.

A formless and contorted sphere enveloped the area where the two of them fought with their lives. The other cultivators around them, Liu Sicheng included, could only observe from afar. They were powerless to do anything.

This battle would determine the Vital Energy Sect’s fate for the next few hundred years. No matter who emerged victorious in the end, the situation of the central plains and the overseas region would be greatly impacted.

“Sect Master…” Liu Sicheng felt a lump in his throat. After the battle to suppress the Ancient Demon many years ago, the sect master’s cultivation base had been damaged—he was gravely injured. The sect master had not completely recovered even now. However, he had to fight against the terrifyingly powerful enemy who was the Four Seas Sect’s sect master head on.

The final furious howl the sect master released had made him feel uneasy. However, he dared not entertain the thought.

“Don’t worry, the sect master is the most powerful expert in the central plains. He was unrivalled in suppressing the Devil Path for a thousand years. He’ll definitely be fine,” the First Peak Master comforted him softly.

“He’s right. Sect Master is equipped with a myriad of skills and skill formulas. In addition to that, he’s wielding a divine sword. There won’t be a problem.” The other Peak Masters voiced out their opinions as well. However, the sect master’s furious shout seemed to have vaguely resounded within their hearts at the same time.

Nobody expected that the Four Seas Sect’s sect master whom none of them had given a second thought had actually forced the Vital Energy Sect into such an awkward position.

The leaders of both sides were facing off against each other. They had seemingly entered a stalemate in a fight of life and death from the outset. The formidable ripples of their battle did not even allow them, True Lords and Godly Lords, to butt in.

Amid the rumbling, there was a noise that sounded like thunderclaps which was continuously resounding in the skies.

Lu Sheng and the Vital Energy Sect’s sect master had exchanged heaven knew how many blows within the bicolor sphere of light.

The two of them currently had the support of ceaseless Nascent Qi. They were evenly matched in every aspect, and were well-matched in strength. The only thing that they could contest in was their determination.

Vaguely, Lu Sheng felt that something was off. In the Vital Energy Sect’s sect master’s apparently flourishing aura, there seemed to be a weak Death Qi lurking beneath the surface.

He had lost count of the number of times he swung his sword. Under the push of endless Nascent Qi, all Origin Qi was pushed out of the bicolor sphere. This way, no natural disaster would be triggered. The only thing that was happening was the wild contest between the two opponents’ supernatural power.

The Vital Energy Sect’s sect master was wildly swinging his sword as well. He unleashed his sword skills as if it was the most natural thing to do. He had no need to think before casually unleashing them. His sword skills were already at the grandmaster level. He had regained the natural state of the sword skills, and made them a part of his natural reflexes.

In this aspect, he was much more powerful than Lu Sheng. If this were not the case, Lu Sheng would have won from the gradual advantage he gained from the whittling down of supernatural power.

The current scene would not have occurred.

“Pcchht!”

Lu Sheng gripped the golden sword which pierced his chest on the right. He smiled viciously as he slashed the Vital Energy Sect’s sect master’s left shoulder.

“Are you risking your life with me?” He licked his lips and his gaze grew ice cold.

The Vital Energy Sect’s sect master said nothing. His body was already covered in blood; it was not as powerful as Lu Sheng’s. A huge amount of his blood was squeezed by the wild flow of his supernatural power, and seeped out from his pores.

His life was also evaporating and elapsing with the blood. He had borrowed the might of the divine sword and the Spiritual Power which the Yuling Lake had amassed for thousands of years to grant himself his current immense Nascent Qi supernatural power. However, all this did not come without cost.

“Fool!” Lu Sheng took a step forward. His blue sword gleam turned into thin lines which slashed mercilessly toward the side of the Vital Energy Sect’s sect master. However, it was parried by the golden sword.

“Clang!”

Countless black snowflakes flew out again.

The Vital Energy Sect’s master kept quiet. His entire body burned with golden flames as he charged toward Lu Sheng, and the divine sword in his transformed into thousands of sword gleams which stabbed out while blotting out the sky.

Lu Sheng unleashed Infinite Spirit Slaughter to fight against it. Thousands of blue sword gleams met the golden sword gleams, tit for tat, and the golden sword gleams were cancelled out.

Neither of them took half a step back. In a situation such as this, the first person to retreat would die. Two forces of unimaginably immense supernatural power Nascent Qi were completely intertwined together. The two of them had been forced to unleash their greatest strength. Once one of them let down his guard for a bit, it would be as if a dam was broken—the weaker opponent would instantly be reduced to ashes and die without leaving a complete corpse, disintegrated and destroyed by the terrifying torrent of supernatural power.

Time progressed slowly. The black snowflakes increased in quantity and density.

Almost all of the Vital Energy Sect’s disciples were being evacuated by the remaining True Lords out of the Swaying Gold Mountain. This was the best chance for them to retreat as the seawater was still frozen in place.

In midair, the Vital Energy Sect’s sect master was using his entire strength to hold Lu Sheng down so that his disciples would not be harmed and the Vital Energy Sect’s foundations greatly damaged.

Liu’er had not expected things to progress the way they did, either. Without Lu Sheng by her side, she was powerless against the various True Lords of the Vital Energy Sect. She could only wait silently for the outcome of the fight.

The sun sank and rose again. Night came and went.

Four days and four nights passed by in the blink of an eye.

The number of black snowflakes in the air was decreasing.

On the Swaying Gold Mountain, only the seven Peak Masters and Liu’er remained. The others were already evacuated and settled down.

Finally, the day neared dusk again.

The bright sphere in the air finally split open.

“Pcchht!”

Two figures dropped down from the skies. Trails of flames like the tails of comets were left behind. In no time, they crashed heavily onto the ground.

“Boom!”

Dust flew, while soil and rocks scattered. Very quickly, a crater with a diameter of a hundred meters appeared at the foot of Swaying Gold Mountain’s Seventh Peak.

“Sect Master!”

“Sect Master!”

Liu Sicheng, the other True Lords, and Liu’er dashed and flew toward the pit.

However, they had not even got close when their paths were barred by a formless scorching hot force. They could not get any closer.

The Vital Energy Sect’s sect master, who was covered in blood, lay on the wall of the crater. The third eye where the crescent was on his forehead was already closed, and golden liquid trickled out from it. It was apparent that he was no longer in any condition to use it.

His limbs, torso, and neck were filled with sword wounds so deep that his bones were visible; his entire person seemed like a puppet that was about to be torn apart. He was extremely battered.

The most shocking part was the Death Qi that leaked out from his eyes. It was a withering aura that would only be seen on a person well advanced in age where one’s lamp ran out of oil.

“Sect Master!” Liu Sicheng suddenly shouted. He could not help but feel distressed.

The other Peak Masters kept quiet. Sadness and helplessness flashed past their eyes as well.

“Sect Master!” Liu’er exclaimed in surprise at the other side as well. She fixed her eyes with fright on Lu Sheng at the other side.

A fist-sized bloody hole could be seen in Lu Sheng’s chest. One of his eyeballs was blown out of its socket, leaving a gaping and bloodied hollow. His right arm was nowhere to be seen as well, while a small portion of his left leg was missing. A split the length of a palm was on his scalp. The wriggling of his brain could even be seen through the opening.

“Hahahaha!” Lu Sheng was also lying on the ground. He had no strength to stand up.

“It’s been a long time since I fought my heart out like this! Old man, you’re supposed to die soon, but I didn’t expect you to bring me down in the end with you. I must say, this doesn’t feel good at all!” He was completely nonchalant about the wounds in his body. Instead, he was expressing his admiration for this person of the Vital Energy Sect.

When he said this, the people from the Vital Energy Sect glared at him angrily. However, due to the interference of the invisible force, they could not move forward.

The Vital Energy Sect’s sect master shifted his Death Qi-filled eyes stiffly. He was truly at his end. He had poured his entire being into the recent fight. Staying alive until now had taken everything out of him. This would be his final effort.

“I thought that I could pave a great path for my sect in my final days…” He shook his head and smiled bitterly. He turned to look at the seven Peak Masters who were waiting for him outside. His gaze was calm and peaceful. After comforting each and every one of them with his gaze, he returned it onto Lu Sheng.

“Sect Master, with this, do you think the karma between us is settled?”

The smile on Lu Sheng’s face slowly faded. He fixed his eye on the Vital Energy Sect’s sect master.

“What a wishful thinking, you old fart.”