Way of the Devil

In the private sanctuary,

Lu Sheng surpassed a chasm of time that was unimaginable for most people in his cultivation with the consumption of merely a few dozen units of Yin Qi.

The intense tremor prevented him from gathering even his thoughts. All he could do was sit still and bear the overwhelming waves of pain surging and coursing through his five bowels and six viscera.

Still, Lu Sheng could plainly perceive that his body was growing in density and firmness in the midst of the mind-boggling and powerful tremors.

Instead of releasing Yang Extreme Mode, he stayed in his present form, enduring the scourging pain in his five organs. Waves of intense pain lasted for a full hour before it finally dissipated gradually.

“Hoo…”

Lu Sheng breathed out heavily, conjuring up a gust of wind in the entire sanctuary.

All around the spot on which he sat, on the ground, there were bloodied water and flakes of dead skin. In just a short span of time, he had molted and shed his entire layer of skin completely!

‘It’s over just like that?’ Lu Sheng looked at the Modifier, fatigued.

Indeed, a new change had occurred on Yang Extreme Dao’s row.

‘Yang Extreme Mode: Full Mastery of Yang Extreme Dao Grade One. Special Effect(s): Augmented Strength Level Eight, Anti-Tremor Level Five, Reinforced Defense Level Six, Scorch Level One…’

‘Full Mastery of Yang Extreme Dao Grade One? Doesn’t that imply that the Modifier recognizes the possibility of future upgrades to this Yang Extreme Dao?’ Lu Sheng’s eyes lit up.

This meant that the Modifier had sorted out the subsequent further levels based on his present martial art foundation.

In that case, there was no need to worry about the path ahead after Yang Extreme Dao.

His body cracked all over like popcorn popping in a microwave as Lu Sheng stood up.

He clenched his fist. Instantly, an unparalleled strength rebounded from his palm which felt incomparably dense.

‘Although I’ve no idea how much stronger my body has become, I’m sure all that Yin Qi wasn’t wasted. Now, I can further liquefy inner Qi as well.’

After acclimatizing to the changes in his body, he quickly took out some Golden Fragrance Ointment and several types of body tempering pills from the hidden drawer.

He consumed the medicine, then stripped and stepped into a tub filled with medicinal bath, soaking his whole body in it.

The medicinal bath had been specially concocted to ameliorate the hidden injuries left in his body after his upgrade, so as to drastically reduce the interval from now till his second upgrade.

Otherwise, even Lu Sheng would find it unbearable to upgrade continuously. The toll it would take on his body was too great; even if it could be replaced with Yin Qi, Lu Sheng was worried that it might not be enough.

“Szzzzzz…”

The moment he entered the water, wisps of steam billowed out of the wooden tub. A thick medicinal smell filled the entire sanctuary.

The upgrade and reconstruction of Lu Sheng’s body had consumed so much energy that even the residual heat in Lu Sheng’s body evaporated the medicinal bath at an alarming rate.

After immersing himself in the bath for awhile, Lu Sheng got out of the tub, wiped himself dry, rested for a moment, then took out an intricate white pill box from the hidden drawer.

The pill bo contained a Grade Four Tiger Cloak Pill. It was an extremely high grade nourishing elixir concocted according to ancient recipes by the pill masters in the sect.

“Ka-cha.” He opened the box gently and was immediately greeted with a faint, refreshing herbal aroma.

Compared to the Golden Fragrance Ointment he usually used, this pill’s effects were more obvious and lasting. Its comforting coolness would penetrate through his lungs to his heart in just the short span of several breaths.

Lu Sheng gently pinched the shiny white pill between his fingers and took it out of the box gingerly.

‘Just one pill like this expended eight percent of the most valuable nourishing herbs in the sect’s stocks. The original ingredients cannot even be found on the market anymore… Over ten years of stocking up of medicinal herbs in the Northern Lands produced only one pill…’

In terms of value, this Grade Four Tiger Cloak Pill was a priceless gem. In order to concoct this one pill, Crimson Whale Sect’s pill masters had put in their all. Be it aged ginseng, cordyceps, deer antlers… etc., they were all used up.

After countless failures, they succeeded in producing just this single pill.

Lu Sheng sighed gently. Then, he put it into his mouth and slowly chewed it.

The Grade Four Tiger Cloak Pill tasted very much like the peppermint candy he used to eat in his previous life. It was sweet, yet mixed with the taste of many different medicinal herbs.

The pill dissolved into thick herbal syrup in his saliva and slid down his throat.

Gradually, the heat in his body dissipated at a pace that was neither fast nor slow—just enough for Lu Sheng to take out another large box from the hidden drawer.

It was a large black box.

Lu Sheng opened the lid. A messy ball of white hair was placed in it. Some scraps of flesh were still attached to ends of the hair, and a thick acrid raw stench assailed him.

Lu Sheng held his breath and bit hard on his finger, then pressed it on the ball of hair.

It was the hair of the Ashoka Manor Officiator whom he had killed. One look at the Officiator told Lu Sheng that his hair was where his power lay. Noticing that the hair remained after the Officiator was smashed into pulp as well as the thick Yin Qi on it, Lu Sheng collected it immediately and brought it back to the sect.

“Szzz….”

There was no smoke; only the sound of something being corroded.

Lu Sheng felt a massive volume of Yin Qi surging into him from the index finger he laid on the hair.

The feeling persisted for more than ten breaths before disappearing. Yin Qi from the ball of hair trickled down to total depletion.

Lu Sheng pulled his finger away, feeling a sense of pity.

‘I guess it’s impossible for it to be like that item previously. That volume of Yin Qi doesn’t seem like it can be carried by just any item.’ He suspected that that piece of metal from previously was a Divine Weapon shard. But since he had no way of telling for sure and he did not dare to ask anyone about it, he left it lying in his private sanctuary.

‘The Yin Qi from previously has all been spent. Even if there’s any left, it’s not much. But now there’s more than twenty units on this hair. Not bad.’

Feeling the Yin Qi coursing through his body, Lu Sheng wiped his finger on a handkerchief and looked at his Modifier screen again.

His gaze landed directly on Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill’s row in the pale blue screen.

‘Now that my body’s strength has been boosted, I probably should upgrade my Yang-attribute skill first. I killed the Officiator in Twin Eagle City, but didn’t see anyone from Scarlet District. If Scarlet District realized that I was the culprit, then sh*t will hit the fan.’ An inexplicable worry crept into Lu Sheng’s mind.

‘Shangyang Jiuli might not think much of Ashoka Manor, but she’s not going to provoke such a deep feud for my sake without strong motivation.

Two Officiators and several Emissaries. I guess you can consider that a deep feud. I’ve got to prepare myself and make myself stronger as soon as possible. Only then can I make Ashoka Manor underestimate me. Then, even if I were to be exposed, I’d be able to handle them easily.’

He really wished he could upgrade Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi, but the present situation left him with no choice but to upgrade his combat prowess first.

‘It’s a good thing I’ve resolved the Yin Yang equilibrium in me. Once I find more Yin Qi, I can upgrade Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi to balance out my cultivation and inner Qi immediately.’

Reassuring himself, he looked at Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill again.

The three drops of liquefied inner Qi in his body spun slowly, absorbing and releasing massive amounts of diluted inner Qi. It seemed to have the effect of purifying his inner force.

‘Three drops of liquefied Qi… if I make more, then I can last longer in my explosive mode,’ Lu Sheng calculated.

If he detonated his liquefied Qi under Yang Extreme Mode, he could last a joss stick’s duration. One drop of liquefied Qi could boost his strength up to one or two levels. If he were to detonate two drops of liquefied Qi at one go, he could easily attain the power of Six or Seven-Vein Level.

That was how he defeated the Officiator the first time. But after detonating two drops, the toll it had on his body was too great; his meridians were damaged and his wounds severe.

But now, with this upgrade to his body, Lu Sheng could feel that detonating two drops of liquefied Qi would certainly no longer damage his body.

‘Practically speaking, three drops of liquefied Qi is enough… but my body’s still the limiting factor now… it’s not quite able to take the intense density of liquefied inner Qi.’ He hesitated. If he continued to upgrade his Yang-attribute inner force skill, he was worried that his body would collapse under its toll once more.

Some inexplicable instinct told Lu Sheng that it was not a good idea to upgrade Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill again now.

‘Yin and Yang need to remain in equilibrium. Twenty units of Yin Qi can at most upgrade Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill by one level. But that same amount can upgrade Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi by two levels. Perhaps I can even create Yin Extreme Mode…’

After some deliberation, Lu Sheng set his mind on Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi’s row in the end.

‘Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi: Level Seven. Special Effect(s): Accelerated Qi Replenishment, Augmented Poison Resistance, High-Speed Healing, Yin Yang Suppression, Qi Transfer, Assimilation.’

In his mind, he clicked on the Modify button behind it.

The Modifier blurred. Within his body, icy tentacle-like threads instantly spread out in all directions from Lu Sheng’s heart.

At the same time, the effects of the Grade Four Tiger Cloak Pill he had just consumed were fully evoked. Two streams of icy cool sensation rapidly seized Lu Sheng.

“Szzz…”

His skin heated up swiftly as Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill resisted this icy cold sensation by reflex.

However, Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi ignored Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill, extending its tentacles into every inch of Lu Sheng’s muscles and skin.

Icy coolness and scorching heat clashed, resisting each other. As time ticked by, they gradually fell into an equilibrium.

After some unknown length of time, Lu Sheng shut his eyes and entered a deep meditative zen. Somehow, he felt that this breakthrough was extremely crucial for Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi; perhaps it was a radical transformation of it.

He dared not put down his guard; holding his breath, he waited and observed quietly.

Gradually, however, he sensed something was amiss.

Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi’s tentacle lines was unexpectedly solidifying in his body!

It was as if a new web of inner Qi passageways was being built from nothing in his body.

‘This… this isn’t merely an inner Qi web. It’s more like… a new network of meridians!’ Lu Sheng was shaken to the core.

Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi was a mutated martial art produced by the integration of life force skills and Yin-attribute inner force skills. Its effect had chiefly consisted of healing and recovery. But what surprised Lu Sheng was that this skill started becoming rather twisted towards its later stages of evolution.

The two newly emerged special effects of inner Qi Assimilation and Qi Transfer left him rather baffled. And now, the fact that his inner Qi was creating a new network in him that resembled meridians alarmed him.

But as this Yin-attribute inner Qi network formed and solidified, Lu Sheng felt as if his body was now equipped with an entirely new web of meridians. This network of meridians was extremely compatible with his body, just as if it had originally existed in him. It integrated into his body seamlessly.

Massive volumes of cool Yin-attribute Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi gushed ceaselessly into the new meridian network, rapidly reinforcing the inner walls of the meridians. At the same time, the medicinal effects of the Grade Four Tiger Cloak Pill permeated them, nourishing and supplementing his inner Qi.

Finally, Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi’s row came into focus again on the Modifier screen.

Lu Sheng anxiously looked at it.

‘Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi: Level Eight. Special Effect(s): Yin Crane Web, Yin Extreme Mode.’

These were the only two special effects left of all the previous ones.

The previous Accelerated Qi Replenishment, Augmented Poison Resistance, High-Speed Healing, Yin Yang Suppression…etc., were all gone, leaving behind only these two category-level labels.

Lu Sheng sensed the change in him and quickly figured out what on earth the Yin Crane Web was. After all, it was a new level extrapolated from the systems already familiar to him.

It was a network of meridians formed purely by Yin-attribute inner Qi. All the previous special effects of Augmented Poison Resistance, High-Speed Healing, Qi Transfer, Assimilation and the crucial Yin Yang Suppression… etc., were all merged into this single label.

‘What it basically has done is to avoid the congested public highway and build its own bridge!’

Lu Sheng’s face was filled with marvel and surprise after he figured out the function of this thing.

The Modifier had creatively used the concept of a bridge on the movement of inner Qi!