Way of the Devil

“Heheh… There won’t be… There won’t be…” Wind Serpent gave a burst of strange laughter.

When he had decided to join Lu Sheng’s cause, he had done it on a whim. After all, he cultivated a cultivation method which would render him immune from most cultivators’ Secret Arts which controlled their targets. He was never worried about falling prey to some special controlling skill.

He had initially joined the Wood Martial Abode for fun and to have a pretext for killing others. However, Wind Serpent was liking what he saw now even more. He liked an organization that had the guarantee of powerful martial strength. This way, he felt safer after he had done some killing.

Lu Sheng let him go. With swift movements, he returned to his seat.

The reason why he accepted Wind Serpent was because he had the most powerful cultivation base, albeit he also had a few screws loose.

After all, an ordinary Middle-stage Core Formation cultivator would not have rashly joined the Wood Martial Abode before its showdown with the Vital Energy Sect was concluded unless his head had been kicked by a mule.

They could definitely make their choice after the situation was clear.

“So, after this meeting, give me the list of the islands that are still resisting. I’ll handle them later. As for the other matters, stick to the plan,” Lu Sheng said with a cold smile. “Now, meeting adjourned.”

“Yes, Abode Master.”

The others clasped their hands together and stood up. Then, they flew out of the stone hall.

Lu Sheng walked out of the stone hall and saw Wind Serpent and Fu Jin, who were already waiting for him outside.

“Let’s go.”

One of them had a strange smile, while the other was reverent. After exiting the Wood Martial Abode, Lu Sheng brought the two of them onto a cloud and flew into the air. Under Fu Jin’s directions, they swiftly flew toward the Xuan Turtle Clan’s region.

***

Amidst cries of slaughter, thousands upon thousands of sea clan demon soldiers charged out from the sea and onto the Xuan Turtle Clan’s land, the Ice Demon Island.

The Ice Demon Island was more than 40 miles long and 32 miles wide. The entire island was oval, and the terrain was covered in furry blackish-gray grass-like plants.

With the appearance of the fish-headed sea clan demon soldiers on the island, a siren blared across it as well. A protective formation the shape of an overturned bowl appeared over the island. It covered the few hundred demon soldiers who had just made their way onto the island and enveloped them.

A huge number of men and women with turtle shells on their backs ran out from the interior of the island.

Some of them controlled strange beasts as they joined the fray and slaughtered the demon soldiers. Some of them wielded arts and conjured up bolts of blue water lightning.

As for others, they relied on pure martial arts as they bulldozed their way into the demon soldiers’ ranks and engaged them head on.

In the skies above the island, Lu Sheng, Fu Jin, and Wind Serpent hovered silently. They looked down on the situation on the Xuan Turtle Clan’s island.

“I didn’t expect that their territory was an island, and not the deep seas,” said Lu Sheng, intrigued.

“The Xuan Turtle Clan likes warmth by nature, but the ice blood in their bodies can only be maintained in the deep seas. It isn’t something unacceptable for them to establish their territory on an island,” said Fu Jin with a smile.

“Kill!” Currently, a few Foundation Building elites had entered the battlefield. Nobody among the demon soldiers could fight against them.

Taoist Master Wind Serpent waved his arm, and countless shark demons and demon warriors surged out of the seas. They varied in appearance, but were all Foundation Building experts. The two forces quickly clashed together. For a time, the outcome could not be determined.

“Fu Jin? Wind Serpent? What boldness. You dare invade my lands so openly?” A beam of blue light rose from the distant formation. From the beam of light, a magnificent-looking demon general emerged, clad in bright golden armor, armed with a red-tasseled spear. A long red sash floated about him.

He was different from the other Xuan Turtle clansmen. His turtle shell turned slowly in the air behind him like a formation’s circle. It was already completely detached from his body, refined into something that resembled a Treasure.

“Bing Shenzi, I, Wind Serpent, am not the one who is looking for trouble. You should make sure that you’re addressing the real master of the operation.” Taoist Master Wind Serpent had suffered a great loss fighting against this Xuan Turtle Clan’s elder before. However, he was slightly insane to begin with. Now that he was standing behind Lu Sheng, he did not fear anything.

“Bing Shenzi, the elder of the Xuan Turtle Clan in charge of the clan’s lands. 34 years ago, you’ve participated in the battle in the South Sea. It’s suspected that your cultivation base is of the Middle-stage Core Formation tier. You have two Treasures: the Wind Thunder Spear and the Red Sash. You’re roughly more than 600 years old.” Lu Sheng calmly sized up the most powerful elite of the Xuan Turtle Clan. When he spoke, he slowly listed the information about his opponent.

“So it’s you, the Wood Martial Abode’s master, Taoist Master Mu Yun.” However, when the Xuan Turtle elder Bing Shenzi saw Lu Sheng, he was not shocked, but rather happy. “Seems like that man wasn’t wrong. The Wood Martial Abode is made up of a pack of wolves with wild hearts. Even if my clan hides its abilities and bids time because we don’t want to get involved in all this, we still can’t escape the fate of being coerced by you. As such, there’s no longer any need to hesitate. Come out, my dear friends.”

He jerked his Red Sash behind him, and three different figures slowly appeared above the formation.

The Taoist on the left was clad in black robes. He had a growth on his forehead, and his looks were unbearably ugly. Although his hair was long, it was as dry as hay. His thick and messy hair was randomly clasped with a metal pin behind his head.

The two on the right were a man and a woman. The man was also clad in full silver armor, and had sabers in both hands. He wore long pointed boots decorated with cloud patterns. Wisps of light blue mist surrounded him, and his face was not clearly visible. His identity could only be judged by looking at his tail slightly swaying behind.

The woman appeared normal. She wore a pink lace dress and held a white flower basket in her hands. However, there were no flowers inside the basket, but rather colorful corals. This woman’s looks were bewitching, and her body was enchanting. Her skin was as supple as it could be, and her gaze seemed capable of drawing a person’s soul out. She was so beautiful that it was almost impossible to shift one’s gaze away from her.

“Island Master Chi Jue, the Merpeople Clan’s chief, and the Sea Serpent Clan’s chief? The three of you have banded together?!” When Fu Jin saw the three of them, his expression immediately soured.

The overseas cultivators’ realm was vast, and its inhabitants few. However, it was not as if it was devoid of elites. It was just that they had fewer elites than other areas.

The three individuals before them, with the addition of the Xuan Turtle Clan’s elder, were actually among the few famous elites. They were all rare experts of the Middle-stage Core Formation tier.

The number of cultivators at the Core Formation tier in the overseas cultivators’ realm was low to begin with. Those that were able to attain the Middle stage of that tier had the support of great sea clans behind them.

In other words, the three individuals before them represented the collective stance of the three great sea clans.

Nobody could blame Fu Jin for wearing such a sour expression. The Xuan Turtle Clan was one of the greatest even among the great sea clans, especially when they had the backing of the Clam Shark Clan.

Currently, the formation under them was providing various enhancements to the Xuan Turtle Clan’s demon soldiers, while at the same time suppressing the other demon soldiers who entered it. Although there was still an endless supply of demon soldiers surging out of the sea, the scales were gradually and firmly tipping in the Xuan Turtle Clan’s favor.

“We’re well prepared for the Wood Martial Abode’s move. Taoist Master Mu Yun, although your tier is greater than ours, if we really go at it, we won’t be afraid of you,” said Bing Shenzi as he guffawed.

“It’s just like you to brag without shame!” Taoist Master Wind Serpent was also laughing. At the same time, he glanced at the calm Lu Sheng beside him.

“Do you guys think that Abode Master hasn’t expected you guys to have made these preparations?” He made a slight movement with his hand, and a blood-colored triangular messenger talisman shot into the skies. The red spot of light erupted and formed a triangular pattern of a red flying serpent.

Very quickly, three figures walked slowly out of the waters. They wore black robes and white masks which covered their faces.

The most eye-catching point was that these three figures were giving off Core Qi waves of the Core Formation tier. Two of them were at the Early-stage, while the other one was at the Middle-stage.

The three of them and Wind Serpent and Fu Jin, who both stood beside Lu Sheng, numbered five in total. There were four Core Formation cultivators above them. Although their cultivation bases were slightly inferior, they still had Lu Sheng on their side.

With this most powerful Seven Tribulations cultivator here, the Xuan Turtle elder and the others felt their scalps tingle, and felt as if their hearts were hanging by a thread. They did not even dare to actually fight with their full strength.

Just when the four of them had sour expressions on their faces…

“Hahahaha!”

…a laugh suddenly broke out from the skies to the left of the Xuan Turtle Clan’s lands.

A valiant man clad in light yellow robes decorated with golden lining and Eight Trigrams motif suddenly appeared. He seemed to be glowing with a golden radiance.

“I see you’re living up to your reputation, Wood Martial Abode Master. The three of them are refined corpses, are they not? For you to be able to control three corpses of the same tier at the same time, you really deserve the title of the Wicked Path overlord who can cover the skies with one hand in the North Sea.” This person had a sincere expression. His gaze was calm, but seemed lofty as well.

“However, the situation is dire here in the overseas region. Our patriarch was also shocked by the death of the True Lord, and has already exited his seclusion in the depths of the Huai Sea, and met with the patriarchs of the two other sea clans. They’re discussing a plan to fight against the Vital Energy Sect from the central plains as we speak. At this crucial time, you have suddenly showed up to attack us and bring trouble, Abode Master. Aren’t we making fools of ourselves before those ox noses who claimed to be the proper cultivators?”

“The Clam Shark Clan’s Patriarch is still alive?!”

When everyone heard this person’s words, their expressions changed. Even Taoist Master Wind Serpent retracted his wild expression slightly.

The Clam Shark Clan’s patriarch was said to have entered secluded cultivation many years ago. The outsiders guessed that the elder had been dead for a hundred years already. Nobody expected him to have exited his seclusion at this time.

A hundred years ago, he was already a Seven Tribulations expert. Today, nobody knew how powerful he was.

“I didn’t think that there’d be any other Seven Tribulations cultivators surviving in this world.” Bing Shenzi heaved a long sigh. Although the Clam Shark Clan was largely related to his Xuan Turtle Clan, their relationship was not completely positive. The outsiders had no way of knowing the intricacies of their relationship.

“Since it’s the will of the Clan Shark Patriarch, we’ll naturally follow it,” said the Sea Snake Clan’s chief in a sweet and loud voice.

“It’s only natural,” Island Master Chi Jue and the Merpeople Clan’s Patriarch chimed in as well.

From this moment on, everyone’s eyes were focused on Lu Sheng. As the Wood Martial Abode’s master, he was also one of the keys to this current affair.

Lu Sheng glanced at the Clam Shark Clan’s demon general.

“Continue.” He projected his voice, and the three corpses on the sea’s surface suddenly charged forward. They unleashed their Core Qi which was filled with the cold air of death and charged into the ranks of the Xuan Turtle Clan’s soldiers. They were like wolves that made it into the group of sheep. They were met with no resistance.

The collision between the Core Formation corpses and the ordinary Qi Refining demon soldiers was tragic from the outset. The demon soldiers were mowed down like stalks of wheat during the harvest. Huge swathes of demon soldiers were tainted by the black Core Qi as well. In a few breaths, they slumped to the ground and turned into pus.

After a slight moment’s shock, Wind Serpent quickly displayed a vile smile on his face. He slowly walked up to Bing Shenzi.

Fu Jin walked forward helplessly as well. He found his target.

Bing Shenzi and the others did not expect to face an outcome such as this. Their expressions changed drastically. They stood in midair, stupefied. Their minds could not process the turn of events just yet.

“You!!” The Clam Shark Clan’s demon general’s face flushed red. He started howling as if he had just been humiliated.

“Mu Yun! You forget your place! This is the Xuan Turtle Clan’s land, and it’s also one my Clam Shark Clan’s lands! This is not a place you human cultivators can trespass on!”

However, all he got in response was endless sounds of slaughter. Helpless, Bing Shenzi and the others quickly descended to stop the three corpses that were wantonly killing their men. They were also entangled with Taoist Master Wind Serpent and the others.

The Clam Shark Clan’s demon general was so furious that his body shook. Finally, he could not stand it anymore and produced a black jade talisman from his pocket.

“You made me do this! Activate! Sea Dragon Light of the Rising Sun Formation!”

“Click!”

Suddenly, a bolt of electric light shot toward the heavens from his chest.

The entire Xuan Turtle Clan’s island was suddenly covered in shining blue patterns. These patterns crackled with electricity and were converging at the center of the island, where they quickly formed a blue ball of electricity that was swiftly enlarging.