Way of the Devil

“Ignore him. Leave at full speed,” Lu Sheng ordered in a lowered voice.

With this, the two of them sped off.

Yun Ye was not moving fast. Coincidentally, Liu’er’s forte was in the Escape Arts. She had lowered her guard just now, while she was going off at full speed at this moment. The distance between them did not shorten, but had increased instead.

Yun Ye was slightly flustered when he saw this. It was not easy for him to catch up to the heavily wounded Four Seas Sect’s sect master. If he could gobble up the two of them in one go, the time he needed to recover and improve his strength would have been greatly shortened.

He displayed a greedy expression on his face, and black Devil Qi rolled out of his body. He used it to accelerate.

“Brother, can you wait up? This poor Taoist has no ill intentions.” He put on the guise of an innocent passerby. He wanted to numb the two of them, but they did not fall for his trick.

“I am rogue cultivator Si Yuan. We have passed by each other just now, and I could see from afar that you’re in some sort of pain. I think you need some magical pills to return your condition to its peak. It just so happens that I have many of these pills at hand. The prices are negotiable. Why don’t the two of you stop and take a look?”

Yun Ye had randomly thought of an identity as a disguise. There was actually a real rogue cultivator Si Yuan, who was also a True Lord of the Devil Path. He was also a middleman among the True Lords. He was fond of oddities, and liked to sell an assortment of strange pills.

Unfortunately, this True Lord was immediately devoured by him not long ago when they met. The various pills he had on him naturally became Yun Ye’s property.

His idea was that the Four Seas Sect was based overseas, and should not be privy to the happenings in the central plains. That was why he disguised himself as the rogue cultivator Si Yuan.

Rogue cultivator Si Yuan’s cultivation base was only at the Early stage Nascent Soul tier. The cultivation base aura which he was revealing right now was also of the Early stage. Liu’er was also at the Early stage. In truth, he did not pose much of a threat.

When she heard him say those words, Liu’er started to hesitate slightly.

She had heard of the rogue cultivator Si Yuan before, but she had never met him. That person was always wearing various masks, and brought various Instruments with him. From the rumors, she knew that he had many wonderful treasures and pills. If they could actually obtain some pills that could temporarily replenish their cultivation bases through trade, it should be very useful to the sect master.

“Rogue cultivator Si Yuan?” said Lu Sheng, puzzled. “Who’s that?”

“A rogue cultivator True Lord who loves oddities. His greatest hobby in life is to do business with others and collect all sorts of strange objects and pills,” Liu’er explained. Then, she told Lu Sheng everything she knew about rogue cultivator Si Yuan in detail.

After Lu Sheng listened to the introduction, he muttered to himself.

“Are there any more secluded locations nearby? It’ll be best if the location is a Forbidden Land isolated from Origin Qi of heaven and earth.”

“Uh…” Liu’er gave it some thought. “There is one place like that. Around a hundred kilometers to the west, there’s the Dragon Miasma Swamp. That place is filled with miasma throughout the year. Origin Qi of heaven and earth couldn’t even enter that place. Does that suit your requirements, Sect Master?”

“That’ll do.” Lu Sheng nodded. Then, he closed his eyes to recuperate again.

The two of them flew swiftly in front, while Yun Ye gave close chase from behind. The grayish-green miasma in the surrounding air slowly thickened and increased in density. Even a whiff of the air would fill their nostrils with a clear and pricking sensation.

After they entered the Dragon Miasma Swamp, Liu’er flew slower and slower. Yun Ye finally caught up to them as well. The two of them went forward together.

“Shall we make a stop, friends?” He suddenly flung out a patch of black Devil Qi which precisely blocked the way of the white cloud which Lu Sheng and Liu’er were on.

Liu’er hastily dispersed the white cloud, supported Lu Sheng with one arm, and jumped down. They landed in a forest filled with fallen leaves.

It was a dark green forest with a yellow grassland around it. Dark crimson sunlight shone down from above at an angle in fragmented rays. The two parties swiftly came to a stop in such an environment.

Yun Ye landed slowly with a genial smile on his face.

“Why did the two of you run faster when you saw me? My business has always been consensual and fair. I don’t recall ever having a bad record.”

As he spoke, thick black goo oozed from his fingers behind his back. The goo seemed alive. It tunneled into the ground and vanished in an instant.

“Hack, hack…” Lu Sheng supported himself with a tree trunk and coughed twice. He stood up straight, and his gaze fell onto the Taoist who was landing slowly. “Seems like your cultivation base is slightly too weak. Oh well, it’s better than nothing.”

Yun Ye was puzzled. He did not understand what he meant. However, the heavily wounded Four Seas Sect’s sect master before him was definitely the greatest chance he would ever get. The terrifying supernatural power which was so immense that it made his heart fill with irresistible itch was definitely the greatest tonic he had encountered to date.

The ground under his feet was slowly turning black. A huge patch of Devil Qi silently emanated in all directions from under the ground like a shadow, and quickly claimed the area under their feet.

“Wait, you’re…?!” Liu’er was suddenly stunned. She noticed that something was off, and quickly took two steps back. However, she noticed with fright that her legs were being fixed in place. She could not move an inch from where she stood.

“Heh…” A black mass of rolling and contorted Devil Qi started appearing behind Yun Ye. Two dark red dragon eyes glowed within the Devil Qi, and he stared at Lu Sheng and Liu’er with malicious, violent, and greedy eyes.

“I’ve been found out so quickly… What sharp senses you have…” He licked his lips, and slowly inched closer to them.

The devil shadow behind him swelled and enlarged. From the height of a person, it swiftly grew until it was two meters, three meters, four meters, five meters…

With the infusion of Devil Qi, the enlarging devil shadow’s outline gradually grew clearer.

It was a humanoid devil with dark red flames for its hair. It wore thick, heavy, and fierce spiked armor. Its shoulders seemed to be covered in streamers as well.

The devil entrenched itself behind Yun Ye. Its eyes were blood-red, and it unleashed a bone-chilling cold wind as if it was the eye of a storm.

“But that’s alright… It doesn’t matter even if you’ve discovered my identity. After all, the two of you will become one with me anyway. Rejoice, for you’re able to merge as one with me, the supreme Ancient Devil. This is a grace that even the high-ranking Devil Clans of the Devil World can only dream about.”

The devil behind him was growing in size; it grew in ferocity and contortion as well. Many small black eyes started appearing on the muscles of its body as well.

The densely packed eyes were concentrated at the center of the devil shadow’s chest, and they blinked in patches.

“I’m sure you never thought about this, Four Seas Sect’s Sect Master. For you, who only went to the Vital Energy Sect to acquire justice for yourself, to be gravely wounded, and now targeted on your way back. Initially, I thought that the fate which the Vital Energy Sect so fondly talks about is only an illusory figment, but now it seems that there is some credibility to it.

“Humans always come up with some baffling and weird yet logical things. You were this close to completely destroying the Vital Energy Sect, yet you allowed that sect master to turn the tables on you. That’s why you’re in such a sorry state right now.”

His main body slowly merged with the devil behind him. Then, he turned around slowly and looked up at the skies. He expressed his thoughts while sighing with emotion.

“How sad. Such are humans, the race that can never look at their own defects in the face. Promise? What farce is that? Life is meant to evolve amid mutual slaughter. Promise, trustworthiness, commitment, oath? These are unimportant. As long as I can grow stronger, I’m willing to give up anything. Or maybe, these things can be done without in the first place. These are merely tools which humans bind themselves with. Sometimes, you can only understand this after you’ve freed yourself from all these shackles. The nature of these things is only to restrict you. Now, let me see, as a human, what’s your final resolve…” Yun Ye turned around and spread his arms out. His expression suddenly froze.

Not far from the side of his devil shadow, a colossal and savage-looking devil who resembled a small mountain covered in bony outgrowths was looking down on him from its high vantage point as Yun Ye blabbered away.

The devil was up to 70 meters tall. As it sat cross-legged on the ground, it was subconsciously releasing a distorted and peculiar aura.

Its huge and thick tail was swaying subconsciously as it sat there. Meanwhile, its colossal shadow covered Yun Ye and enveloped his entire person.

“Go on. This is my first time hearing a devil having such deep thoughts,” Lu Sheng (main body version) said with a smile. He was looking down on Yun Ye, who, compared to him, was about the size of a hamster.

Yun Ye’s expression froze. He stared at Lu Sheng for a while. Then, he slowly and stiffly shifted his gaze toward the Mount Qi’s chief, Liu’er, who was already sprawled on the ground. Beads of sweat trickled slowly down his forehead.

“I… s-suddenly… r-remembered… There’s… some… something important… that I’ve y-yet to accomplish… G-great Sect Master, aren’t you in a hurry to go back? I’ll… take… my leave…”

“Bam!”

His seven-meter-tall devil’s body was pressed down with a single thumb. Yun Ye was mercilessly crushed into the fallen leaves and black soil on the ground.

The ground in an area of few hundred meters sunk, while Yun Ye’s body grew limp. Lu Sheng pulled him out by the head with two fingers and shook him.

“Weren’t you giving a great speech just now? Go on. Those were very interesting arguments. I’ve eaten many devils, but this is my first time encountering a devil that’s as opinionated as you.” Lu Sheng shook off the dirt on Yun Ye’s body with interest.

‘So, even a vegetable can think.’ This was Lu Sheng’s current thought. ‘Interesting.’

The Ancient Devil’s Devil Qi on Yun Ye’s body was being completely suppressed by the terrifying distorting force field on Lu Sheng’s body. In Lu Sheng’s eyes, the so-called Devil Qi on his body was but the most ordinary Devil World’s Devil Qi’s diluted version in the Great Yin.

He had lost count of how many such devils he had devoured in the past. Although this particular one was impressive in terms of quantity, quality didn’t change still.

His Eight-Headed Devil Art had practically become the Devil Clan’s bane.

“I… I… I…” Yun Ye’s body was limp. The Devil Qi on him did not even seem to belong to himself. He was trembling violently as if he had met his natural enemy. His nerves were frantically sending out signals of fear and terror, and his entire system screamed for him to flee.

“Are you shocked dumb from fright?” Lu Sheng was slightly disappointed. He could manifest his main body in this world for a short time now. However, his limit was two hours. Otherwise, he would be facing the natural repulsion of this world.

When he saw that Yun Ye was completely scared out of his wits already, out of helplessness, he could only lift him up and plop him into his mouth.

“Forget it. Although he’s slightly stupid, he’s filling enough.” This three rows of sharp teeth clicked shut. He chewed and swallowed.

“Gulp.”

Blood, water, bones, and flesh were mixed with slight black Devil Qi. Some of it leaked out from the edge of Lu Sheng’s lips, and he licked it with his barbed tongue.

With that mouthful, there was one less Ancient Demon with the name of Yun Ye in the world. The world would see one less terrible disaster.

Lu Sheng smacked his lips. He shifted his gaze toward Liu’er, who was feigning unconsciousness.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he did not eat her. This little snake demon knew her place, after all.