Way of the Devil

“Absolute sense of justice and fairness?” Lu Sheng was stunned. ‘What kind of condition is this?’

“Most of the people there believe in the principle of fair trade. As for absolute justice, I think it refers to the more rigid doctrines. If you’re one of these, you can choose to join them.”

Lu Sheng shook his head slightly. It was not a good fit.

“I’ll choose the Green Branch Sect, then. When can I depart?”

“In five days. I’ll make the arrangements, and someone will come for you. The person will bear my mark; be careful not to mistake him as an enemy,” Zhuang Jiu stated simply.

“Alright.”

When their communications ended, the gray crack immediately dispersed.

The gemstones on the formation exploded as well. Only a few of them were left unexhausted.

‘After communicating with Zhuang Jiu, most of my problems can be solved. If everything goes well, this predicament will be resolved on its own.’

Lu Sheng swung his arm and released some Devil Qi. He cleared away the traces of the formation.

He glanced at his remaining Mental Energy while he was at it. He had 190,000 units left. He had spent some in the previous world, but he managed to replenish it as well. Somehow, the resupply and expenditure were balanced.

‘I’m already ranking up at a sufficiently quick pace. I won’t need this for now. I should use it to master the cultivation methods when I’m at the Green Branch Sect.’

Up until now, he had realized the problem in his way of using his modifier.

He had attracted too much attention and exposed his cultivated strength that surpassed ordinary expectations. That was why it caused such a great commotion.

For the modifier, the more he progressed, the more Mental Energy he would need to improve by one rank. Hence, the role of the modifier should mainly be a tool during the periods of breakthrough.

He should accumulate Mental Energy while he could and use it to improve and complete his foundations prior to a breakthrough. Then, he would shoot up the ranks in one go.

After all, as long as he fulfilled the conditions for ranking up, all he had to do was push a button in the modifier.

His Infinity Technique had more complicated conditions to fulfil at every stage and consumed a lot of Mental Energy. Hence, he was not able to unleash the modifier’s true potential.

However, if he had a detailed skill formula to cultivate on, he could save up his Mental Energy and use it only during the crucial times. This way, he could guarantee that he would be far superior to his peers.

When he thought about this, Lu Sheng walked out of the small hall. Five days was enough for him to make the necessary arrangements for the Lu Manor and the Prime Devil Sect.

Who would go with him, how many could he bring with him… those were all points that he had to consider.

….

In the next few days, Lu Sheng made the arrangements for personnel and started giving it some serious consideration. On his departure, other than his son and Chen Yunxi, he would not bring anyone else.

As long as he could stand firm in the sect, there would not be a big problem even if there were conflicts in Great Yin.

However, before he left, he had to deal with some enemies and prepare some backup plan…

Lu Sheng contacted Li Shunxi again. This time, he was successful in locating this fellow who had just exited his secluded cultivation. He seemed to have gone through various ordeals. He appeared frail.

When he heard Lu Sheng’s request, he agreed almost immediately. He would take care of the people of Lu Manor and the Prime Devil Sect after Lu Sheng’s departure.

He had also heard about the incident with the First Sacred King. However, since the First Sacred King was not on good terms with his master anyway, and with the First Sacred King injured now, it would not be difficult to ask his teacher to protect Lu Manor and the Prime Devil Sect.

Actually, Lu Sheng had only contacted him as a form of insurance. His real reliance was not Li Shunxi.

Five days passed by in the blink of an eye. Lu Sheng made all the necessary arrangements. He did not tell anyone directly that he was leaving. He merely hinted at his departure.

On the evening of the fifth day, the person sent by Zhuang Jiu finally arrived.

….

A barren desert somewhere in the Nine Bright Province.

The yellow sulfuric rocks were scattered all around and rolled down the slopes. Several sand vultures flapped their mutated black wings and cawed shrilly from a faraway wilted tree.

The skies were devoid of clouds, while the land had a dark yellow tone. The air distorted as it rose along with the moisture from the ground.

At the side of a huge hole-filled yellow boulder stood Lu Sheng with his black cloak around his upper body. He looked toward the horizon.

Time passed slowly. The yellow sunlight grew dimmer and dimmer.

Before he realized it, some fragmented black dried leaves started to fall all around him.

Gradually, the dried leaves increased in number and density.

The black dried leaves slowly formed the silhouette of a person before Lu Sheng.

“I am here for you, as ordered by the Fifth Heavenly Devil King. Are you Wolf King?” The newcomer did not seem to have a form. It was a humanoid figure constructed purely from the dried leaves, and spoke through the rustling of the leaves.

The language with which it spoke was the Language of E.

“Yes. How long will it take to reach the Green Branch Sect? Can I bring someone else along?” Lu Sheng asked a simple question. The newcomer’s strength was at the rank of a Divine Lord at most. He was no threat.

“The Green Branch Sect has no jurisdiction here. It’s best if you leave immediately. Also, whether the Green Branch Sect values you highly will depend on your own potential and strength,” replied the leaf man.

“Understood. I have another question. Can I remove myself from the Green Branch Sect after I join them?” Lu Sheng asked again.

“If you’re a core disciple, you cannot. Those who inherited the core art cannot leave the sect. As for the others, it’s up to you. Most of the time, traditional sects like these are a large trading market. You’ll understand once you get there,” said the leaf man casually.

“Understood. So, if I leave now, when can I return?” Lu Sheng posed his final question.

“As long as the Transportation Formation is working smoothly, you can return at any time. The Green Branch Sect is very close to this planet,” replied the leaf man casually. “If you want, you may go have a look and come back later. The skills available here don’t have any restrictions on Transporting in or out.”

“Alright.” Lu Sheng had a rough idea how this person viewed the Yellow Springs Planet.

When he thought about it, he found that it made sense. As the Mother of Pain’s colony planet, there was no way that the Yellow Springs Planet would have any high-level cultivation methods. Those that circulated on the planet were only the ones allowed by the World of Pain. Besides, all of them were flawed in one way or another. They were skill formulas that would make it easier for the World of Pain to reap its harvest.

Under such circumstances, Great Yin and Great Song were no different from each other. Both of them had no power to resist the World of Pain. They were both beef.

“Alright, let’s not dally further. Let’s go and make this quick. The Green Branch Sect is just nearby, I’ll bring you there.” The leaf man extended a palm and placed it on Lu Sheng’s shoulder. He leapt slightly.

“Pcchht!”

Lu Sheng’s vision blurred for a short while. Then, a retro-looking pathway with countless black screens on each side appeared before Lu Sheng.

He looked back and all around him. Other than the pathway before him, he could see nothing but pitch-black darkness in the other directions.

“Welcome. This is the fundamental initiation corridor of the Green Branch Sect’s disciples. What you have to do now is to cross this corridor using the shortest time possible. Your results here will determine your rank in the sect after your initiation.” A sweet girlish voice sounded from all around him.

“At the end of the corridor is one of Green Branch Sect’s secret lands, the Cloud Sky Pavilion.”

Lu Sheng glanced at the two rows of black screens at the side. There was nothing on the screens save for a white cloth.

“The Heavenly Devil King has already made the preparations for you. Go ahead. No matter what results you get, the examiner will give you a distinction grade.” The leaf man projected his voice to Lu Sheng.

“Alright.” Lu Sheng nodded slightly. He could vaguely feel the gazes coming from behind the screens around him. It was apparent that there were many eyes on himself.

Lu Sheng gave it some thought before walking forward slowly. He took a few steps and entered the corridor.

“This is a unique test. The Heavenly Devil King looked after the Green Branch Sect. They are somewhat informed of your strength, so don’t hide anything. Let it all out and let them see your value,” the leaf man reminded again.

“Understood.” Lu Sheng nodded.

…..

Green Branch Sect. Cloud Sky Pavilion.

In a classic-looking faint red pavilion. Within the formations main control room on the third floor.

Immortal Ta Yu yawned. She propped her feet lazily on the Thousand Mirror Console, ignoring the plethora of runic and inscription buttons.

“What a grand scale this is. The disciple recruitment fair was more than a year ago. All of a sudden, they want me to activate the Trial Formation on my own. Who’s this bigshot?”

She had just returned from a peripheral planet when she saw this unique mission with the handsome reward. She accepted it quickly.

On the side, a handsome, bald scholar glanced at Immortal Ta Yu’s half-exposed, voluptuous breasts. He gulped before speaking softly, “Big Sister, there’s quite a number of connected Awarenesses. Looks like it’s some core tribesman who has the attention of many prominent figures. Should we cut him some slack in secret?”

“Cut him some slack? Are you kidding me?” Immortal Ta Yu smacked the scholar’s head.

“Do you see what’s written on this guy’s face? I’m rich! I’m filthy rich! With someone like this who clearly has ‘I have a backer’ written all over his face, you’re thinking of pulling some strings?” Ta Yu spoked impatiently. “If there’s no special directive from the upper echelons, we must conduct this fairly without bias. Alright, activate the standard formation.”

“Wait!” Suddenly, a gentle male voice came from beyond the door. The door was opened. The Formation Locks disassembled on their own.

A man completely covered in black and red armor walked slowly into the control room.

“Sorry for being late. By the way, there’s some unusual activity with the Mother of Pain. This is no ordinary person, he bears the Pain Mark!” said the man with a straight face.

“Pain Mark? So what? We can just erase it as long as it’s not of the highest grade,” said Ta Yu, irritated.

“That’s not the point. The point is, this person holds some great secret. In a dozen years, he went from being an ordinary person all the way to the Army Raising realm.” The man narrowed his eyes as he stared at the screens of the Thousand Mirror Console which showed Lu Sheng’s current situation. “This person did not mention this prior to joining our sect. Instead, he wants to join our sect with the intention of relying on our sect’s ability to resist the World of Pain. He’s harboring unfathomable motives, motives that are filled with selfishness.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Immortal Ta Yu was stunned. She put her feet down, sat up straight, and tidied her long silver hair. “So, what do the higher-ups say?”

“The master uncles of the Confusion Realm are already waiting for him at the end of the corridor. He must surrender the secret on him. It is permissible for him to join the sect, but if his secret is taken away from him, he’d surely harbor some grudge against us. Even if he manages to grow in strength in the future, he’ll surely hold a grudge against our sect.”

“So… you’re intending to devour him, man and treasure?” Immortal Ta Yu broke out in laughter.

“Of course not.” The man shook his head slightly. “This person is entering on the personal recommendation of Ghost Borneo World’s Fifth Heavenly Devil King. The Heavenly Devil King’s intentions were to split his treasure evenly between us. Also, we’re not to kill him. He wants his spirit intact… However, what if the World of Pain suddenly comes killing, and we’re unprepared, hence our hands slipped, and we let him get what he wants? Isn’t this pushing the boat along the current as well?”

“Junior Apprentice Brother, you’re as devious as ever. After all these years, you never change.” Ta Yu could not help but shake her head.

The man cupped his fists together with a smile, and said, “You flatter me, Senior Apprentice Sister.”