Way of the Devil

Xu Chui trembled all over, resisting the urge to kneel and kowtow to the brilliant radiance on the cliff peak.

“Who are you bowing down to!? Have you forgotten the monsters earlier? Are you waiting for your death?”

Fortunately, several Intent Proficiency experts who weren’t as rashly blinded helped him muster the sect disciples and continue on away from Twin Eagle City.

As they rushed along, they passed by many hunters and farmers. They were all young men and women with their eyes red. They had been crying.

Instead of chasing them away, however, he brought them along with him.

They continued rushing out of the canyon until they arrived on the plain. Only then did the streak of light dissipate gradually.

“Alright, this place is safe,” Li Shunxi finally reminded loudly, fatigued.

“Halt!” Only then did Lu Sheng lift up his hand. The entire company halted.

The moment they stopped, many of them fell on the ground, their legs exhausted. Behind them, the hunters and farmers sobbed.

But no one prayed.

Lu Sheng could not help but turn around and gaze at that dissipating white streak of light. In his mind, he recalled the fire in Nine Links City.

‘This is much more powerful than that fire caused by Scarlet Dragon Tribulation… is this the power of a Divine Weapon…?’

Gazing at the column of light, countless messy thoughts surfaced in his mind.

Li Shunxi maneuvered his horse till it approached him. Like him, he also gazed in the direction of the beam of light. Seated in front of him was the tear-streaked Bai Qiuling.

“That’s the power of a Devil Blade…” He sighed. “Divine Weapons and Devil Blades will choose their own master of choice.

Bai Zhenming obtained and possessed the evil jade all these years, dreaming of becoming its Divine Weapon Master. Unfortunately, he never won its recognition. Someone activated the evil jade without his notice, sending his years of hard work down the drain and even implicating the entire Twin Eagle City, destroying it overnight.”

“You mean you can’t become a Divine Weapon Master even after obtaining a Divine Weapon or Devil Blade?” Lu Sheng asked in curiosity.

“This is a secret of the Noble Families,” Li Shunxi whispered. Only he and Lu Sheng were close together in the vicinity. Towards his friend who had lent him assistance so many times, he withheld no information.

“There’s nothing I’ll hide from you. To master a Divine Weapon or Devil Blade, there’re only two conditions—Ritual Offering and being chosen by it. Those who’re not recognized by the Divine Weapon or Devil Blade can never become a Divine Weapon Master and wield its power.”

“How can one be chosen then?” Lu Sheng asked again, his face turning darker.

“Very simple. Firstly, it’s to be similar in personality and attribute. Secondly, it’s to devote oneself entirely to the Divine Weapon or Devil Blade and place their demands as one’s first priority,” Li Shunxi said helplessly.

Silence.

Lu Sheng had once thought of seizing a Divine Weapon and harnessing its power. But now, it seemed like that was no longer possible.

‘Devote oneself entirely to it? You’ve got to be kidding me!!!’

“How do you know so much?” Lu Sheng stared at him, as if he was coming to know Li Shunxi for the first time all over again.

“Because…” Li Shunxi pointed at his chest. “Although I’m not a Divine Weapon Master, I’m also a bearer of a Divine Weapon…” A hint of a bitter smile surfaced on his face.

Without waiting for Lu Sheng to ask further, he continued gloomily,

“The Jade of Secrets on me is the heirloom Divine Weapon of the Liu Family from Yun Province, inherited by Liu Qin and Liu Caiyun. It possesses the power of prediction and foresight. I have access to many secrets through it.”

Lu Sheng fell into momentary silence. “Aren’t you afraid I might rob you of it?”

Li Shunxi shook his head.

“Firstly, I trust Brother Lu’s character. Secondly…”

He paused, then sighed. “The Jade of Secrets has no material form in the first place. Ashoka Manor has been pursuing it for a long time. Apart from forcing its bearer to transfer it voluntarily, they’ve had no way to seize it. Besides, the price they must pay for using the Jade of Secrets is too high. That’s why what they’re really trying to do is using the Jade of Secrets to locate the Spirit Giant Blood.”

“Spirit Giant Blood?” It was another new term for Lu Sheng.

If Li Shunxi was telling the truth when he spoke about the Divine Weapon and Devil Blade’s right of choice, then undoubtedly he would never be able to master any Divine Weapon or Devil Blade.

After all, his appearance in this world and his Modifier were his greatest secrets. Once it was exposed, it was hard to imagine how a Divine Weapon or Devil Blade with its own will might react.

This definitely broke his hopes of advancing in this world via the regular route.

The path of the Divine Weapon Master was this world’s most orthodox as well as only path of advancement and transformation. But to Lu Sheng, it was a path forever closed to him. Although he had been mentally prepared to rely entirely on himself right from the beginning, he could not help but feel a sense of desolateness when reality struck home.

“Let’s talk more when we’re back.” Li Shunxi was low-spirited. Gently, he patted and comforted Bai Qiuling who was in his embrace.

With the help of Li Shunxi, the company from Crimson Whale Sect easily avoided many troublesome spots and quickly arrived back in the Northern Lands.

Lu Sheng was nearly indirectly killed by Ashoka Manor this time. Had he not escaped Twin Eagle City in time when it exploded, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

At least Lu Sheng did not think that he had the strength to resist that near-apocalyptic raw might. And he killed an expert of the Ashoka Manor. According to Li Shunxi, it was yet another Officiator.

Now, he too had a feud with Ashoka Manor.

Once he got back into the Northern Lands, he immediately sent Shangyang Jiuli a letter, summarizing his encounter on this trip.

Although he made no mention of Li Shunxi or the matter of him killing the Officiator, he described the explosion of the evil jade and the matter of the Ten Spears of the Evil Jade Crystal. It had caused such a great commotion… Shangyang Family was bound to have other channels of intelligence apart from himself, so if he could be the first one to report it, he would win himself some brownie points.

As expected, Shangyang Jiuli reply came quickly. Regarding Ashoka Manor, Lu Sheng was to handle it as he pleased. She was about to go into solitary confinement for cultivation and was not to be disturbed. Then, she also asked him for some random assorted materials and medicinal herbs.

Truth be told, that was the outcome Lu Sheng desired.

Shangyang Jiuli’s innate talent and strength of cultivation were both terrifying. At her young age, she had been able to awaken her bloodline and attain the highest limit of the Bind realm—Seven-Vein Level. Her confinement this time had to be for the purpose of breaking through the realm of Bind and stepping into the next realm.

When that time came, it would no longer matter if Shangyang Jiuli herself was able to take on Ashoka Manor or not; the Shangyang Family behind her would bestow her with status, position, and resources.

Upon returning to the sect, Lu Sheng put all his energy into gathering resources and medicinal herbs amounting to several million taels of silver and sent them to Shangyang Jiuli’s hidden quarters. He had almost used up all of the sect’s resources. After that, he began arranging lodgings for the duo including Li Shunxi.

***

In the Sect Master’s secret chamber aboard the Crimson Whale.

Lu Sheng and Li Shunxi sat opposite each other. Beside them was the gloomy Bai Qiuling.

Only the three of them occupied the entire secret chamber. A table had been newly added to the chamber, on which were placed three cups of steaming fruit tea.

The oil lamps on the walls released a gentle and mild flickering yellow glow.

“Brother Lu, if not for you, I’m afraid I and Qiuling would not be able to escape our original fate of fleeing Twin Eagle City with grave injuries.” Li Shunxi held up his cup earnestly. “You’ve saved me time and again from danger. I, Li Shunxi, have no way of repaying you. I’ll substitute wine with this cup of tea. Bottoms up!” He emptied the contents in his cup down his throat.

Lu Sheng lifted up his tea too.

“Why say such things, Brother Li? Both of us clicked the first time we met. That time at the Song Manor, we talked through the night and regarded each other as brothers. If you meet with trouble, how can I leave you in the lurch?” He said seriously, “Don’t say such things again. Instead, tell me about the Jade of Secrets and Spirit Giant Blood which you mentioned.”

Li Shunxi nodded. He shut his eyes and opened them again.

“Since we’re in a safe place, I won’t hide anything from you, Brother Lu.” He contemplated. “The Jade of Secrets is the Divine Weapon par excellence of Liu Qin and Liu Caiyun’s Liu Family. This Divine Weapon cannot be seized because it has no material form, even if no master exists. So, Ashoka Manor may rack their brains to no avail. They have no choice but to turn their attention to another item—Spirit Giant Blood.

Spirit Giant Blood, as its name suggests, enables one’s spirit to expand and become giant. Ashoka Manor is founded upon demons and devils, which are in turn spirits in nature. Spirit Giant Blood can increase their success rate and reduce their failure rate in advancing their cultivation and strength. Although it’s useless to us mortals, it’s a precious tonic for demons and devils above the realm of Bind!”

“Above the realm of Bind!?” Lu Sheng was moved. “The realm above Bind is…?”

“It’s Snake,” Li Shunxi replied solemnly. “Ashoka Manor’s Manor Lord is of that realm. The Heads of the various Noble Families are also the same.” Seeing Lu Sheng’s serious expression, he paused before continuing to allow Lu Sheng to process the new information.

“Experts who have stepped into the realm of Snake are basically the various Noble Family Heads, the District Mistress of Scarlet District, the Manor Lord of Ashoka Manor…etc. In the entire Northern Lands, the number of such existences will not exceed five. Even in the Central Plains, which is ten times more populous than the Northern Lands, that number will not exceed two digits,” Li Shunxi said.

“Which is to say, experts of this realm are basically qualified to establish their own sect and manor and are considered the lord of a land even among Noblemen?” Lu Sheng was beginning to understand.

“You can say that. Among the various major Noble Families, experts of this realm are few in number,” Li Shunxi explained.

A momentary silence descended on the chamber.

A little while later…

“What are your plans from now on?” Lu Sheng looked at Li Shunxi.

“I’ll continue finding bearers of Spirit Giant Blood. The end is near for the Manor Lord of Ashoka Manor. Without the help of Spirit Giant Blood to achieve a breakthrough, he’ll decline and die. This is also the reason why they’re increasingly hell-bent on finding people like Bai Qiuling. So…”

“So you intend to gather all the bearers of Spirit Giant Blood and hole them up somewhere before Ashoka Manor finds them?” Lu Sheng finished.

“That’s right. I have a way to nullify the Spirit Giant Blood body constitution.” Li Shunxi nodded, hatred seeping out from his eyes. “My whole family died at the hands of Ashoka Manor, and so did Qiuling’s. Our feud with Ashoka Manor is higher than the heavens. Sooner or later, the day will come when I uproot this faction entirely!

Oh, and Scarlet District is actually an ally of Ashoka Manor. You better be careful,” Lu Sheng reminded.

“I know. Don’t worry, Brother Lu,” Li Shunxi took out a piece of paper from his waist pouch and passed it to Lu Sheng.

“Although I don’t know why you want martial arts manuals, Martial League is full of them. Now that Martial League is a pot of mess and with the League Master off the grid, there’s nothing at all that stops you from bringing your men in and swallowing up part of its strength.

Besides that, now that you’ve killed Ashoka Manor’s Officiator, let’s hope Scarlet District does not find out. But if they do…” Li Shunxi did not go on. “Brother Lu can go to the Central Plains and locate a place called Green Freedom Valley.”

Lu Sheng nodded and received the paper. It was a map.

“This is the terrain map around Martial League’s HQ. Brother Lu will be able to find their valley where they’re hidden by following the map,” Li Shunxi whispered.