Way of the Devil

Blue lightning suddenly flashed across the night sky. With a rumble, there was a slight delay before the thunder reached the people on the ground.

The land was covered in darkness as there was no moonlight. Withered trees spread out their dried branches as they stood on the cracked ground, while cold wind picked up the fallen leaves and dregs with crisp sounds.

A few men in coarse blackish-gray clothes were making their way forward with difficulty on the cracked ground. They were of an assortment of height and sizes, and left footsteps of different depth on the ground.

“We’re almost there! Hang in there, everyone!” The skinny man in the lead panted heavily. He took a water bottle which hung from his belt and gulped down mouthfuls of water.

“F*ck this weather! Thunder and strong winds, yet it just won’t rain.” The skinny man cursed.

“Ah Jin. Are you sure it’s here? Why am I getting the feeling that something’s off here?” The muscular man Chen Li, who had worked as a bailiff for the government’s office before this, was hesitant when he saw this peculiar-looking ground.

The others were already having this thought long ago. However, they kept it to themselves all this while. It was only now that someone spoke up about this.

The skinny man Ah Jin chuckled.

“I know. When I first fled to this place, I was also scared out of my wits. It was only when it occurred a few more times and nothing happened that I thought that my chance to make it big has come!”

“After the Devil Disaster, the lands around here turned fertile. This is the only thing that remained unchanged. Perhaps there are bad things here. If we bump into them, maybe we’ll all be…” A young man among the group whose face was slightly pale could not help but wonder out loud.

“Save your bullsh*t! I’ve come to this place more than ten times! If you try to jinx us again, I’ll kill you!” When Ah Jin saw that even the young man dared to question him and even said that they might end up being affected by bad luck, he was immediately infuriated.

The others also looked at the young man with unfriendly expressions. He could have spoken about good omens, yet he chose to say that. Was he not trying to curse them?

The young man also knew that he had said something bad. He quickly lowered his head, and dared not make another sound.

“That’s enough. Let’s move on.” Ah Jin continued to lead the way. The others followed closely behind him.

The group continued onward on the cracked ground. After walking for an hour, Ah Jin finally found the largest crack in the area. He walked up to it, bent his back, and went into it.

The crack was more than a meter wide. It was pitch-black, and its bottom could not be seen.

The stone walls of the crack were lined with wooden piles fixed with thick nails. They were wedged into the hard earth. The wooden piles appeared like stairs that were arranged there, continuing downward.

“Quick! Come in! Quickly!” Half of Ah Jin’s body had disappeared into the crack when he quickly called out to the others.

“One of you stay outside and keep watch. The others, come follow me!” he ordered. “If you want to make it big, it’s now or never!”

The others had no other choice. They had no other way to turn to, and that was why they came here to try and make a fortune. When they heard these words, their eyes turned bloodshot, and they rubbed their palms together. When Ah Jin descended, the others lined up and went into the crack as well.

“You stay here and wait. When the older brothers have dug out everything, we’ll give you some!” A fat man patted the shoulder of the cowardly young man and left him on the surface of the ground.

“I…” The young man wanted to say something, but stopped mid-sentence. However, when he saw the eager expressions of the others, he immediately felt intimidated, and could only nod helplessly.

The group quickly went down the crack. Ah Jin held up a lamp, and was already standing on level ground inside the crack.

This crack was more than 100 meters deep. There was a bronze-colored underground pathway which was connected to it. The right side of the path was a big and tall rock door.

The rock door was huge, as much as seven to eight meters big. In the light of the yellow oil lamp, countless ancient yet detailed patterns could be seen.

These patterns seemed to have come to life under the flickering of the lamp’s light. They contorted and wriggled.

“Don’t look at those patterns, look at the bottom!” Ah Jin hastily ordered them.

The others quickly averted their gaze, looking in the direction which Ah Jin pointed.

What they saw were several black cracks that were as wide as fingers under the stone door. A huge number of spiderweb-like cracks spread everywhere from the cracks.

Ah Jin whistled and quickly lunged. He inserted his fingers into the cracks and pulled.

“Clack.” A rock slab was pulled down from the door by him. The other side of the slab was coated in a brilliant gold.

“It’s gold!” The cowardice the group of men felt before this instantly vanished under the temptation of the gold. They were quickly filled with greed as they lunged forward.

They quickly pulled down slabs after slabs of rock from the door. On the back of every slab was a thick layer of gold.

“We’re rich! We’re rich! Hahaha!”

“We’ve done it this time!”

“I can change my fortune! I can finally change my fortune!”

The others, Ah Jin included, removed the rock slabs in a frenzy. The crack on the stone door gradually grew larger and longer under the work of the group of people.

The fat man suddenly realized something. He looked at the mysterious patterns on the rock slab in his hands with some worry, and said, “This place… Could it be that we’ve stumbled upon some ancient ruins that sealed a monster?”

“You’re overthinking it. Those ancient ruins that sealed monsters and whatnot are all protected by layers of formations. If ordinary men like us could break the seals, those monsters would’ve broken free of their own accord already,” said Ah Jin nonchalantly.

“That’s true.”

The few of them suppressed their uneasiness, and continued to remove the rock slabs in a frenzied manner.

Behind the rock door.

With the removing of the rock slabs, the crack grew larger. Within the darkness, a gray mist that floated in the air gradually churned. The frequency at which it moved increased…

*********************

Yin Capital.

In the flourishing and majestic imperial capital of Great Yin, light red houses and buildings formed unbroken chains and extended as far as the eye could see. Under the shine of the evening light, the city resembled a perfect and serene painting. It was magnificent and exquisite.

The Three Great Families’ living quarters formed a perfect square with the imperial palace. The palace was situated at the upper right corner of the square.

White streams of light the size of ants would occasionally shoot into the skies from the Yin Capital’s skies. They drew slanted arcs and shot toward the distant horizon.

It was only then that the light yellow formation barrier which covered the Yin Capital would reveal its contours for an instant.

The instant the flowing light left, a small curved area appeared.

It had been more than a month since the assassination attempt on and the subsequent disappearance of the imperial concubine.

The feud between the Three Great Families which represented the royal family was currently at a stage where a breakout was inevitable.

Chinese Cinnamon District. The Seventh Street.

The Seventh Street was filled with pubs and taverns. People and carriages passed through the streets. This area was right next to the pleasure quarters, a debauched and corrupted environment with a bevy of young girls. Alcohol and pleasure were never really separated from each other.

“Ding-ring-ring…”

Among the various carriages on the road, a smallish horse carriage with black tiger stripes slowly stopped before the largest and most extravagant Drunken Dreams Tavern.

The tavern’s waiter quickly went up and opened the door. A long-haired man with a dark purple headband who wore black muslin clothes slowly walked out of the carriage.

“Dear customer, have you made a reservation?” the waiter asked softly with a smile.

“Masters Situ and Wang of the Weaving Crane Tower, are they here?” This man wore a plain expression. He posed the question in a casual manner. “I’m supposed to meet them here.”

“They are. The two masters are having a drink here. Master, might you give me a name… so that I can inform them of your arrival?” the waiter ventured respectfully.

“They’re here? That’s nice.” The man grinned.

“Pccht! Pccht! Pccht!”

In an instant, a huge patch of silver sword shadows appeared behind him. Countless blades were layered on top of each other, formed wings, and then extended to the sides for a few hundred meters.

Then, they converged in front of him with a scissor-like movement.

The waiter was instantly cut in two.

The entire tavern was cut in the middle like paper, reduced to shreds in an instant.

“Arrghh!”

Wails, screams of fright, and of fury continuously spread outward with the flustered crowd. Some of them who knew martial arts quickly fled the scene. Those who were left were individuals with no martial skills. Some of them were paralyzed from fear on the ground. Some of them hid themselves in the corners, while more of them charged outward while howling furiously.

“You’re bold!”

The rubble and planks of the tavern scattered everywhere as a dozen beams of flowing lights shot into the skies and charged toward the man in black muslin clothes.

There were still people who looked on from among the ruins below. They were prepared to make a move at any time.

“Mu Jinchun, today is the day you die!” The man in black muslin clothes had no fear. He drew out a black long sword from his back and charged toward the flowing light.

“Boom!”

In seemingly the same instant, a tall tower far away crumbled with a loud sound as countless golden flames erupted from it.

The two brilliant gold figures shouted and tried to kill each other. They leapt into the air and went further as they fought.

Fights to the death also broke out in a dozen other locations in the Yin Capital.

In a mere hour, the entire Great Yin’s Yin Capital completely fell into chaos.

Because of the assassination attempt on the great imperial concubine and in the absence of the Weapon Grandmaster Patriarch’s suppression, the Three Great Families finally turned on each other.

Two platinum-colored figures of the Yuanguang Family shot into the skies. They flew toward the dozen brilliant red beams of light which flew toward them from afar.

Yuanguang Yuan gritted her teeth. She stood in her own courtyard and looked up at the battlefield in the skies. She had a feeling that things would not turn out well.

*****************

Nine Bright Province. Autumn Moon County.

“Dong! Dong! Dong!”

The great bronze bell which signaled alarm was sounded.

Within the county executive’s residence, representatives from the Three Sects and the various departments gathered together with grim expressions. The Yangming Army, Yinfu Army, and the other armies were preparing to march out on a campaign.

The newly appointed county executive Chen Xun was already 79 years old. The reason he was appointed to the Autumn Moon County was so that it would be easier for him to enjoy a life in retirement. However, he had not foreseen that a Devil Disaster would break out and result in the tragic situation they were in now. His initially grizzled hair was growing paler with the recent, worsening conditions.

After all, he was only an ordinary person who was distantly related to an aristocratic family.

“The 19 villages and towns near Green Fish Village have suddenly sent out warnings last night. We’ve lost all contact with them since then. We also haven’t heard from the scouts we’ve sent out. According to the Turquoise Conch Agency’s intelligence, all signs of life in the huge fields around the Green Fish Village have vanished as well. This includes the humans, Demon Tribe, normal beasts, and insects,” said Chen Xun with a tired expression. He quickly swept his gaze around him.

“Divine Lord Lu isn’t here right now. Has the representative from the Prime Devil Sect arrived yet? Which great lord is it?”

“No one from the Prime Devil Sect came…” The elder who represented the Thousand Sun Sect said helplessly. “Just now, a dangerous situation occurred near the Prime Devil Sect’s Devil Palace. Dozens of disciples had suddenly disappeared. The Prime Devil Sect had gathered their people and went to investigate this. I’m sure that this matter will be resolved quickly.”

“Disappeared?”

“Even the Prime Devil Sect is affected, huh?”

“Just how bold can they be? Who dares to act so boldly?!”

The expressions of the elder representatives of the Youyin Sect changed as well.

Currently, in the entire Nine Bright Province, the Prime Devil Sect was the greatest overlord which lived up to its name. If they claimed to be second, nobody would dare claim to be the first.

If the enemies were bold enough to harass the Prime Devil Sect’s base, the Devil Palace, it was equivalent to scratching the buddha’s head.