Way of the Devil

Bai Songzi walked out of the garden. He gave the guard some instructions in a soft voice, and left in a horse carriage.

The carriage was gloomy, and Bai Songzi’s expression was dark. There was not even a hint of a smile.

“Have you thought about it? Why are you willing to protect a mere mortal for such a long time? What meaning is there to it?” A similarly gloomy voice sounded in the carriage.

“That’s my principle,” said Bai Songzi drily.

“You should know that there’s a limit to our patience. The crown prince of the Moon Prince is a mere mortal, yet he was capable of rising to prominence in such a short amount of time. He surely harbors some great secret on him. Now that he’s gone, we can still study the secrets of his lineage if we can lay our hands on one of his kin. If you’re intending on stopping the Indefinite Cult with your Crane King Cave, it’s just like stopping a cart with a mantis’s arms,” the voice continued.

“I know.” Bai Songzi’s expression was calm.

“Then what are you hesitating for? The deadline is upon you. If the Indefinite Cult actually sends someone here, your little demon cave can’t even take one hit,” advised the voice earnestly.

Bai Songzi knew that the voice intended to convince him to surrender on its own so that it would get all the credit.

He also understood that against the immense Indefinite Cult, his meager strength was all too weak.

Though he had abandoned a sect before, he did not wish to do it a second time. For him to have reached this height, the young and mysterious crown prince of the Moon Prince had helped a lot.

Hence, he would not give up.

“You should think about it some more. A while later, Taoist Huanshan might pay us a visit. If you haven’t reached a decision when he arrives, that’ll be too unfortunate,” said the voice in a deep tone.

Bai Songzi kept quiet.

Taoist Huanshan…

**********

**********

Indefinite Cult. Wankong Island.

A huge greenish rock ball turned slowly in midair.

Dozens of rock balls formed a disc-shaped formation. In the center of the formation hovered a middle-aged Taoist in yellow Taoist robes.

“I have no idea why the respected one decided to involve me in secular affairs.”

His expression was one of impatience. With a wave of his hand, dozens of rock balls fell toward the ground.

Within the Indefinite Cult, the number of Taoist Masters who actually became immortals was low, but he was one of them. Once a cultivator became an immortal, the cultivator would be able to look down upon all life. The difference was as great as between the clouds and mud.

This was what Taoism meant by cultivating one’s Nascent Soul into spirits and return to the heavens.

Taoist Huanshan did not become an immortal early on in his life. He barely achieved this breakthrough in the final years of his lifespan.

He’d initially thought that he would be able to enjoy a peaceful life for several centuries after achieving this breakthrough with painstaking effort. He did not expect the fated battle of the West Cliff Dynasty would break out.

He was also sent to the Inferior World to become one of the 13 immortals who suppressed the Taoist sect’s destiny. He was also one of the 13 most powerful Taoist Masters in the Indefinite Cult.

“May I know where is Master Immortal Huanshan?” Suddenly, a clear female voice reached him from the distance.

Huanshan’s expression changed slightly. If she was capable of projecting her voice here, her cultivation base would have at least been at the peak Nascent Soul level.

A Taoist Master of this level deserved an audience.

“Who are you?” he asked drily.

“This humble Taoist is Chun Yangzi. I’m here for the matter of Spring Autumn Sect’s Huasheng Brush, which happened some time ago.”

Taoist Huanshan had heard about this incident. The Spring Autumn Sect had used the dynasty’s destiny to cultivate an Artifact, the Huasheng Brush.

This incident caused a great hubbub before he even descended to the Inferior World. The conflict between the two great sects arose from the conflicts between their disciples.

In the beginning, a Spring Autumn Sect disciple whose cultivation base was not prominent had unintentionally destroyed the clan and lineage of an Indefinite Cult member when he used the West Cliff Dynasty’s destiny to cultivate the Huasheng Brush.

Coincidentally, the heart devil of this Taoist had manifested at this point. When he sensed the destruction of his bloodline, he was immediately infuriated, and lost control of his Taoist heart. He first flayed the Autumn Spring Sect disciple alive, then gouged his heart out, and fed it to his demon mount.

However, although that Spring Autumn Sect disciple’s cultivation base was not profound, he had great talents. His master was the Heavenly Lion King, Taoist Zhenlin, who was known within the Spring Autumn Sect for his short temper.

As a result, the cycle of vengeance never ended, and the grudge deepened. On top of that, there were those who added to the mess intentionally.

Friends of both sides joined the fray, and the situation worsened.

Now, the matter had already escalated to the point where both sects were clashing head-on.

The two sects had no shortage of past misunderstandings to begin with. With this, all hell went loose.

There were 13 immortals in the Indefinite Cult. In the Spring Autumn Sect, there were 13 Heavenly Masters.

Although both sects were not interested in the resources and riches of the world, nor were they interested in fame, as the great leaders of the Taoist sects, both sides had a fair share of conflicts as they fought over paradise.

“Haven’t we dealt with this already? What trouble is the Spring Autumn Sect bringing this time?” Taoist Huanshan was an impatient man. When he heard this matter being brought up again, he felt annoyed.

“After the West Cliff Dynasty crumbled, many of the previous dynasty’s remnants have survived. Many of them were agents left behind by the Spring Autumn Sect. There’s a need to clean them up,” said Chun Yangzi softly.

“You guys should think about this. Stop pestering me with such matters,” said Taoist Huanshan impatiently.

“We intended to settle this ourselves in the beginning, but there’s a demon king among the agents, and he’s in charge of a sect… Our cultivation bases aren’t all that great, and I’m worried that we might hinder the sect’s grand plan…” Chun Yangzi’s tone was slightly uneasy.

“Demon king?” Taoist Huanshan was slightly stunned. “Of what tribe?”

“Legend has it that it’s a crane.”

“What a coincidence.” Taoist Huanshan had coveted the demon king mounts of his seniors and teachers for a long time now. However, despite his efforts, he could only find demons of the demon general rank. It was not easy to find demon kings.

When he heard about this, his heart was moved.

“A demon king-ranked crane… I’m coincidentally in need of a mount. Tell me about this demon king in detail!”

Chun Yangzi was immediately delighted. She knew that the Clear Prince’s request was as good as completed. The Jingling blood jade was also as good as hers.

**********

**********

After the West Cliff Dynasty crumbled, the empire split into five lands. Three of them were feudal lords under the Indefinite Cult’s control.

One of them was controlled by the recently defeated Spring Autumn Sect. The remaining one was the Moon Prince Mansion.

The Moon Prince Mansion was neutral and independent. It did not side with the Spring Autumn Sect or the Indefinite Cult.

Within the Crane King Cave.

The 12 crane demons were assembled. They sat cross-legged in an empty space within the cave. A few candles in the corner gave off a dim yellow light.

Bai Songzi sat on the tallest rock seat. His expression was grim.

“It has been several weeks since the people from the Indefinite Cult’s visit. The deadline given to us is almost up as well,” he spoke in a deep voice. “Tell me what your thoughts are.”

The crane demons fell silent.

Little Yun stood up. He was the little crane demon who’d followed Lu Sheng from the start. He was also the one who had the greatest right to speak among the crane demons.

“It has been many years, and the Moon Prince Mansion has become one with us. If they’re targeting the Moon Prince, they’re targeting us. Let’s fight with our lives on the line!”

Little Yun was irascible. When he spoke these words, he was filled with emotion, and had not thought this through.

“Fight? What will you fight with?” said Little Zhen coldly. “Do you know just how powerful the 13 immortals of the Indefinite Cult are? Even as a demon king, our big brother might not even be able to withstand a single blow from them. How do you plan on fighting them?”

“Among the current feudal lords, our Moon Prince Mansion is the only one without immortals backing us. If we want to evade the threat of the Indefinite Cult… it’ll be difficult,” said Little Rong helplessly with a sigh.

“What about the Clear Crane Sect?” one of the crane demons asked.

“They don’t even know anything. Their cultivation bases are too weak. It doesn’t make a difference even if they knew,” Bai Songzi replied as he shook his head.

“Then the current plan now is…” Little Zhen asked with a frown.

“Little Zhen, why don’t you bring the Moon Prince and the two mistresses away from here? I’ll stay back and deal with this,” said Bai Songzi in his deep voice.

Little Zhen stood up, and sternly said, “No! Big Brother, you won’t be able to deal with them alone! If we die, we die together!”

“Wow, what’s this about dying together?” Suddenly, a thunderous voice boomed throughout the entire Crane King Cave.

A middle-aged man in yellow Taoist robes had appeared at the entrance to the Crane King Cave before anyone noticed.

The Taoist wielded a black wooden sword. A half-meter-long yellow jade ruyi scepter was tied to his back. He looked calm and casual.

What caught the attention of Bai Songzi and the others was the character “shan” sewed onto the left shoulder of his Taoist robe.

“What a chivalrous bunch!” The Taoist raised his leg and slowly stepped into the cave.

“Boom!”

The instant his foot touched the cave’s floor, a heavy, thick, and terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from him with a loud boom.

The 12 crane demons, Bai Songzi included, felt their bodies sink at the same time. Then, their demonic powers and muscles were shackled by some invisible force. They could not even move.

“This is… Spiritual Pressure!” Bai Songzi immediately remembered this term.

The peak combat strength of an immortal was being capable of controlling the Spiritual Power of their surroundings. They could use it to exert an extremely powerful and heavy Spiritual Pressure on their opponents.

Although they were demons that did not use Spiritual Power but demonic power, however, when Spiritual Power was everywhere around them and used to create such a grand pressure, even the demon generals could not bear this weight.

“You’re only a small Demon Tribe organization that’s been formed several decades ago; do you know that there’s always someone more powerful than you in the outside world?” The Taoist was Huanshan, who hurried here from the Indefinite Cult.

A demon king-ranked crane was right before his eyes. If he did not make his move quick, the demon might be snatched away by someone else.

Under this Spiritual Pressure, Bai Songzi could still stand up and speak normally. “Master Taoist—”

“Kneel!” Suddenly, there was a loud shout.

Bai Songzi’s body shook from the reverberations. His face paled, and he almost lost his footing.

The entire Crane King Cave started shaking. The air was contorted in many places. Taoist Huanshan sneered, and took another step forward.

“Kneel!” Another shout.

Bai Songzi seemed to have been struck by lightning. He swayed, and his feet almost gave way. However, he managed to stand his ground.

“I… Bai Songzi…”

“Kneel!” The third shout.

This time, blood started flowing from the crane demons’ orifices. They sprawled limply on the ground and could not move.

Bai Songzi’s face was red from exertion. He shook greatly again. He tried desperately to suppress and withstand it.

“Kneel…”

“No!” Bai Songzi suddenly roared. His arms morphed into wings, and he hurled them toward Taoist Huanshan.

However, the moment he moved, the immense Spiritual Pressure which was as thick as goo instantly held him back. Taoist Huanshan’s expression went cold. With his right hand, he stabbed at Bai Songzi with his sword.

Unexpectedly, Bai Songzi did not even bother about the wooden sword that was aimed at his head. He launched his entire body toward Taoist Huanshan. He intended to trade life for a life.

“If you want to kill me, I’ll devour you first!”

“If it’s death you wish for, so be it!” Taoist Huanshan was also infuriated. He increased the speed of his sword, and stabbed at the point between Bai Songzi’s brows.

If he killed this demon, he would just have to refine it into a demon king-ranked puppet.