Way of the Devil

“Oh? Is this sect master Aurora Polaris’s intention as well?” Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow. Although these gifts could not be compared to the Divine Weapons, they were already very generous in and of themselves. Many of them he could give to his subordinates as gifts. That was thoughtful of him.

“Yes. The sect master has never held anything back facing the members of the sect who had accomplished great deeds,” the red-haired man said with respect.

“Thank the sect master for me. I’ll go back to recuperate. When I’ve recovered, I’ll repay the sect’s kindness,” said Lu Sheng with a smile.

The red-haired man smiled as he offered more polite responses. His task was done, and so he turned and left.

Lu Sheng swept his gaze over the boxes. He could sense the strength of the auras from the Divine Weapons in these boxes. It was truly as the man had said: three Golden Leaves and two Jade Stars.

It appeared that his current journey was not a complete loss, after all.

“It’s been a couple of years. I should head back now. I wonder how my son is doing…” A rare gentleness rose within Lu Sheng.

At first light the next day, he summoned his black cloud, brought the five Divine Weapons along, and shot into the skies. He flew toward the mainland. He even brought back some objects for Aurora Polaris and the others.

He traveled at considerable speed. It took him three whole days before he saw the mainland on the horizon.

He landed on the shore and went into a town to eat. After washing himself, Lu Sheng continued his journey on the next day.

As he flew, there were a thousand things waiting to be done everywhere. The businesses were completely destroyed by the Devil Disaster. The only business that flourished was transportation. Resources had to be traded and processed in various places, hence the need for quick transport services provided by the transportation sector.

Along the way, Lu Sheng saw many farmers starting to sow seeds for their crops.

It was now spring, and it drizzled every few days. Even after being polluted by the Devil Disaster, green sprouts started showing up in many plots of black soil.

Lu Sheng asked for directions as he went. After a few stops at the Thousand Sun Sect’s branches, he quickly returned to the Nine Bright Province.

Compared to the other provinces and prefectures, Nine Bright Province’s damage was clearly more thorough. After all, this was the first place the Devil Army had struck.

The people lived on the edge of starvation wherever he went. Bodies of the starved and bodies of the dead filled the streets. Many villages were sparsely populated. The surviving villagers were either staring blankly, dead inside, or simply wore blank expressions as they seemed to have lost all hope.

Some of them were so hungry that they started stripping tree bark for food, or they ate rotting bodies of animals and other people.

This continued on until Autumn Moon City. The vast lands surrounding Autumn Moon City were protected by the Prime Devil Sect and the three sects. They were thus spared the fate of being invaded by the Devil Army. The Prime Devil Sect’s forces expanded exceptionally quickly. Ordinary Devils were no match for them.

Lu Sheng took a slight turn. When he confirmed that there were no other Devils in the vicinity, he adjusted his direction and flew straight toward the Lu Family in the city.

After he arrived, the people in the Lu Manor whom he had not met for years broke out in cheer. The manor was decorated with lanterns and ribbons. They invited their friends as guests at the feast to celebrate the return of the head of the Lu Family, Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng’s position of power was second to none in the entire Nine Bright Province. News of his return spread across the province like wildfire. Heads of families, clan leaders, and even sect masters came to pay him homage.

An expert at the rank of a Divine Lord could protect the Nine Bright Province for a thousand years—there was no doubting that. Even the province’s governor, the highest-ranking official in the province, sent his sons and nephews to attend the Lu Family’s feast.

However, Lu Sheng took no heed of such matters. Other than his own cultivation base, the only thing he cared about was his family.

***

Lu Manor. Central Garden.

The four-year-old Lu Ning sat under the old gum tree. He was listening to the old children stories which Elder Huai told him. He had just turned four this year. He was fair and chubby, and his eyes were like slits on his face. His entire body was as round as a ball. It was a wonder whom he took after as he was as fat as a piglet at the young age of four. When he walked, he looked like a rolling ball.

The old gum tree stretched out a branch to flip the page of the book, and it continued reading. “…After the little shepherd girl went back home, she took out the shell which she had picked up not long ago. She placed it into fresh water and kept it as a pet. Day after day, she gazed at the shell. She hoped that the shell would grow bigger and prettier, just like the old goat said—”

“Daddy!” Suddenly, the little chubby kid’s small eyes beamed. He leapt and lunged forward as he ran toward Lu Sheng, who was just walking into the courtyard.

“Have you done today’s homework?” Lu Sheng carried his son in his arms and pinched his chubby cheeks.

“No.”

“And yet you’re here, having Elder Huai telling you stories? You’re asking for a beating, aren’t you?” Lu Sheng’s expression darkened.

“I think that homework isn’t as helpful for me as stories,” the plump kid replied loudly.

“Who taught you that? Homework is the best way for you to expand your knowledge!” Lu Sheng’s expression darkened again.

“Mother says that there’s no need for me to increase my knowledge. After all, I’ll surely die before you,” said the plump kid nonchalantly.

“Why would you listen to your mother?” Lu Sheng suddenly suffered a case of headache. “Go do your homework! Don’t disturb Elder Huai.”

“Okay.” The plump Lu Ning pouted and left, discontented.

After he left, a slender girl dressed in blue clothes appeared slowly from the corridor behind him. The girl wore tight-fitting long-sleeved clothes and pants. A black whip was curled up on her waist. She wore a cool expression, and she looked beautiful and clean with her bright eyes and white teeth. Her black hair was tied up behind her like the pony tail which Lu Sheng wore.

“Jueqing, come here.” Lu Sheng beckoned the girl over.

This girl was the only disciple he ever had, Mu Jueqing. After Lu Sheng returned, he was filled with slight regret. He had been too negligent as a master. He had not taught her anything since he took her on. Hence, he started keeping her around himself lately.

“Understood.” Mu Jueqing walked quickly toward the old gum tree. She stood up straight and held her head high, her expression cool.

“Jueqing is a disciple whom I’ve taken on. However, I’m not too experienced with Wood Spirit Bodies, hence I asked her to come here and learn a thing or two from you, Elder Huai. For a body like this, what’s the best way and best type of Path of True Essence to teach her?” Lu Sheng asked.

The old gun tree scrutinized Mu Jueqing. “I have seen a few of the Wood Spirit Bodies which you’ve mentioned, Sect Master. These physiques are naturally gifted in cultivating Essential Essence and True Essence. They often make quick progress, and their cultivation will go on smoothly before they reach the Earth Prime level. Hence, you may teach her some Wood Attribute True Essence skill formulas.”

“Wood Attribute True Essence skill formulas…” Lu Sheng did not expect it to be this simple. He knew of a few Wood Attribute methods, but he did not know of any that would enable her to attain the rank of a Weapon Master.

Naturally, this was not a problem to him.

When he made the journey to the Spiritual Power World, his entry and exit had consumed much of his Mental Energy, but he had obtained much Mental Energy as well. He had more than nine thousand units remaining.

With that much Mental Energy, it was a piece of cake for him to deduce the skill formula of a Weapon Master’s level.

This was especially true in his current condition. His power was enough, his Divine Lord level spirit was powerful enough, and the True Essence and Yang Essence within his body were extremely rich. The amount of Mental Energy consumed while he deduced the skill formula would be greatly reduced. He might just be able to do it with a hundred or two hundred units.

“Understood. I’ll take care of that.” Lu Sheng nodded. “Alright, Jueqing, go and cultivate basic True Essence first. I’ll come back to you later.”

“Yes, Master,” Mu Jueqing responded respectfully. She turned around and left with quick footsteps. She did not dawdle.

However, for a girl, it was surprising to see her walk with the gait of a dragon or a tiger. While Lu Sheng looked at her receding back, he could not help but think that it felt familiar.

“That child likes you very much,” said Elder Huai with a smile after Mu Jueqing left. “She’s even copying your style of speech and gait.”

“Really?” Lu Sheng smiled.

Elder Huai was not finished. “Actually, just now—”

“If there’s any kid that I, Mu Jueqing, want to beat up, nobody in the entire Nine Bright Province will dare to stop me! Let me go!” Mu Jueqing’s furious howls suddenly reached them from afar.

“Beat him up! Beat him up! My dad’s Lu Sheng! Who dares touch me?!” A plump child’s voice shouted as if his only worry was that the world was at peace.

Then, it was a cacophony of noises. Sounds of children crying and wailing filled the corridor.

Lu Sheng and Elder Huai looked at each other, speechless.

Elder Huai could not help but add, “These two children… They’re so like you…”

“You’re wrong. I’m not as wild as them…” Lu Sheng shook his head.

‘You’re much wilder than them…’ The old gum tree’s lips twitched, but he dared not utter his thought out loud.

“Alright, back to the topic. Elder Huai, do you know any demon clan Wood Attribute skill formulas? If you can, can you help me list down a few? The best would be those that extend all the way to a Weapon Master’s level,” Lu Sheng said.

His Infinity Technique contained all kinds of skill formulas anyway. Even if he cultivated Wood Attribute skills, he could assimilate them into his Infinity Technique and make them one.

The Infinity Technique’s concept was broad. With Yin and Yang as its foundations, it could fuse with everything. Lu Sheng defined Yang as anything agile, light, wispy, and floating, while anything heavy, solid, sunk and murky was Yin. In other words, Yang was the heavens, while Yin was the earth.

“I do know some demon clan Wood Attribute skill formulas. Since you want it, Sect Master, it’s best for me not to present you with lower grade products,” said Elder Huai with a faint smile. The Prime Devil Sect had been more respectful to him than was necessary. His every need was attended to, and all kinds of high-grade resources he needed were provided to him to the best of their abilities.

Because of this, his cultivation base had increased by leaps and bounds. Hence, he had a good impression of the Lu Family and the Prime Devil Sect.

When Lu Sheng returned this time, he even brought back dozens of Wood Attribute Divine Weapon fragments to him. Elder Huai was pleased.

“Sect Master, I assume that you want to make preparations for the young lady with the Wood Spirit Body. Speaking of Wood Spirit Bodies, there was a powerful demon from the demon clan who created a clear and transparent method after thoroughly studying the Wood Spirit Body’s underlying nature. He was able to cultivate a demon’s body at the Weapon Master tier into a Divine Lord Great Demon Body,” explained Elder Huai.

“That must be very difficult.” Lu Sheng was unmoved.

“It is. If you’re unwilling, we can try another one. The Nine Zero Heavenly Demon Subduing Devil Scroll. This is also a supreme demon clan Law which can lead you directly to a Weapon Master’s level. It’s a Heavenly Demon’s path of the stars. It has a strong suppressive property against the devil clan. Its advantage over other cultivation methods is that one’s Natal Star will always be high upon one’s head. This means that there’ll be an endless supply of True Essence, which translates to a greater endurance compared to other skill formulas,” suggested Elder Huai.

“That’ll do. Let’s go with that.” Lu Sheng was slightly worried due to the current situation. There was much conflict between the worlds of men and devils. It was highly probable that things would escalate and a great battle would break out.

He quickly managed his domestic affairs. After he handed down the cultivation method to Mu Jueqing, he directly devoured the five Divine Weapons given to him by Aurora Polaris under the pretext of tending to his wounds at home. He obtained more than thirty thousand units of Mental Energy from this exercise. Added to his existing pool, he had more than forty thousand units of Mental Energy now.

Then, Lu Sheng started to study the Spiritual Power skill formula and the Shamn Jade Records in detail. He started making preparations for his second voluntary possession in the Other Worlds. At the same time, he continued his research on the Death Blaze and Yin Flame. He hoped that he could complete Obtaining the Law and Combining with the Law as soon as possible.