Way of the Devil

“Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!”

A white bell tolled crisply as it was blown by the wind.

The hermit Yuhong observed the fight between the two wolfrats he reared.

He reared many wolfrats before. His intention was to find the most powerful and outstanding animal to become his host in the future.

“Haih…” After seeing the victorious wolfrat that was now smiling smugly, the hermit Yuhong touched the pointed ears on his head.

“I’ve tried many times. Alas, can’t I find a tribesman similar to myself? All of these tribesmen were only fit to be my scapegoats…”

This was not his original intention.

Within the Taoist sects, there were many Arts that could be used to make scapegoats. However, the most famous of them all was certainly the Art of the Indefinite Cult’s Lord Thousand Mountain God.

The hermit Yuhong had once had the opportunity to listen to Lord Thousand Mountain God’s teachings. Since then, he awakened with intelligence and obtained unparalleled and powerful cultivation knowledge from the teachings.

In the blink of an eye, thousands of years had passed. He had finally grown from a small mountain wolfrat into a recluse with no fixed abode who was capable of having a piece of land all to himself.

He had always been on the lookout for someone like him. Alas, no wolfrat was like him. Lord Thousand Mountain God had also mysteriously vanished long ago. He could never find another sermon as brilliant as the one he’d heard.

“Dang! Dang! Dang!”

Suddenly, knocks were heard on the doors of his courtyard.

His old wolf demon servant came in, and announced, “Master, you have a guest.”

The hermit Yuhong was slightly stunned.

He had been living in seclusion here for 100 years. Those who visited him were only the few people from the nearby Clear Crane Sect.

However, they were superficial relations. They were only here to have a discourse on cultivating medicinal herbs.

He knew about the Clear Crane Sect. It was an ordinary minor sect which mainly cultured cranes. When the disciples of this sect were bullied by some slightly bigger demon outside, he would occasionally come to their aid.

“Could it be a guest from the Clear Crane Sect?”

“The guest claims that he’s the disciple of the Clear Crane Sect’s master, Hezhen,” the old servant explained.

“Let him in,” said the hermit Yuhong drily.

He wore a fiery red long robe. His features were handsome, and his dark crimson hair reached the floor. His skin was as fair as jade. If it were not for the two rat ears on his head, the others would have taken him for some noble, and not a rat demon of the mountains.

He was the Wolfrat King who ruled over this land, though.

The courtyard’s doors swung open slowly. A big, tall, and strong-looking young man in dark gray robes slowly walked in.

The hermit Yuhong sized this person up casually.

His Taoist robes seemed plain and simple. However, the little basic ornaments and his delicate skin which was the product of living like a prince for a long time clearly told him that this person was of high birth before he joined the Clear Crane Sect.

The young man was handsome, and he had a composed air about himself. He did not seem to worry about travelling into a land where demons gathered.

However, although the hermit Yuhong was a demon, he had some relations with the Clear Crane Sect.

“You must be Hezhen. Is there a message from your master you’re bringing?” he asked drily.

“Are you the esteemed hermit Yuhong? This humble Taoist’s name is Hezhen. The purpose for my current visit is to strike a deal with you,” Lu Sheng spoke softly with a smile.

“A deal?” Yuhong looked at this person. He could faintly sense something abnormal about him.

This was not something a normal Clear Crane Sect disciple could say to him. He was immediately interested.

“What kind of deal is this? Are you the one who wants to do it, or are you representing your entire sect?”

“Both,” Lu Sheng responded. At the same time, he produced an item from his sleeve.

“I heard that the major sutra you’re skilled in is called the Rock Path’s Mountain-moving Art. I wish to exchange it with our sect’s greatest major sutra, the Great Clear Crane Enlightened Skill.”

He slowly removed the parcel, revealing a light gray book within.

The hermit Yuhong was stunned.

Major sutras were extremely precious. A disciple would have to undergo a long trial before he was taught one.

However, cultivating major sutras entailed extremely great restrictions. If a person’s temperament was not perfect, it was extremely easy for an accident to occur and the person would die.

Hence, the preciousness of major sutras was subjective.

Ordinary cultivators would not have the chance to trade cultivation methods at another person’s doorstep like this.

After all, trades involving major sutras were rare. Firstly, it was because of the high value. Secondly, major sutras were unlike ordinary sutras. Major sutras required detailed explanations and demonstrations for the cultivator to master it.

Owning the secret tome alone merely equated to a rough understanding of the sutra.

What many masters of the sects liked to do was to use some vague terms that could easily create misunderstanding in the tomes. They would usually switch out some of the key terms.

This was equivalent to encrypting the key points.

The hermit Yuhong frowned slightly. He stared at this young man. It seemed as if this young man was no different than the run-of-the-mill Clear Crane Sect Taoists.

However, there was a concealed and peculiar aura about this person. This caused him to raise his guard.

“Why do you think that I’d trade with you? The Great Clear Crane Enlightened Skill? Is this an improved version of your Clear Crane Enlightened Skill? What good will this exchange of major sutras do me? Do you think that I’ll actually cultivate the major sutra you’re about to give me?” He stated his thoughts without reserve.

“Of course not, but I had to try. If this doesn’t work”—Lu Sheng smiled—”I have other ways.”

“What way?” asked the hermit Yuhong, puzzled.

“In truth, the Great Clear Crane Enlightened Skill is not a major sutra, but a minor sutra. If we made this exchange, you would’ve gained a huge profit,” Lu Sheng added.

“Oh? A minor sutra?” With this, the hermit Yuhong’s interest was piqued. It should be known that not many were brave enough to cultivate major sutras that were related to the root. However, minor sutras were different. Because they were not related to the root, it was possible to try to cultivate them without harming one’s own core and test its authenticity.

The killings in the world were done by using minor sutras. That was the basis for the cultivators to settle down and get on with their pursuits.

Yuhong mused to himself for a while before saying, “What kind of effects does this minor sutra have?”

Lu Sheng immediately smiled. When he heard that, he knew that the hermit Yuhong was moved.

He first told half of the Great Clear Crane Enlightened Skill to him as a show of good faith. The hermit Yuhong had always been on good terms with the Clear Crane Sect. When he saw this, combined with Lu Sheng’s cultivation base, he immediately knew that this person was not an ordinary person in the Clear Crane Sect. At the same time, he secretly sent someone out to contact the Clear Crane Sect and inquire if Lu Sheng was indeed affiliated with them.

The results pleased him very much. From the feedback he received, not only did he truly exist, this person was the greatest genius of the current Clear Crane Sect. He was regarded as the most important disciple of the sect master and the few master uncles.

Even after the departure of the three seniors, the Clear Crane Sect was now managed by this Taoist Hezhen.

Dealing with such a person made the hermit Yuhong feel slightly relieved.

After obtaining half of the Great Clear Crane Enlightened Skill, he was slightly awed. It was completely different than the Clear Crane Enlightened Skill which he’d secretly learned about before.

It was more than a rank greater than the Clear Crane Enlightened Method and his own minor sutra, the Triad Life Spirit Sutra.

After having most of his questions answered, the hermit Yuhong gave it some consideration, and eventually agreed to trade major sutras with Lu Sheng.

His major sutra’s name was the Rock Path’s Mountain Moving Art. It was a cultivation method which mainly absorbed the Qi from rocks and ores. However, it was only suitable for demons that were active underground such as the wolfrats and pangolins.

He was not sure if it would work for humans.

Lu Sheng did not mind it, though.

The two of them had a lengthy overnight conversation in the hermit Yuhong’s little thatched hut. The next day, Lu Sheng bade his farewell and left. He also obtained the complete volume of the Rock Path’s Mountain Moving Art given to him by the hermit Yuhong.

The hermit Yuhong did not hold anything back in that regard. Trading his ordinary major sutra for the Great Clear Crane Enlightened Skill was a loss for the other person.

Since the Clear Crane Sect was honest, he would not play any tricks.

Lu Sheng barely made two steps away from the thatched hut when he heard someone calling him from afar.

He was still on the slope. He turned back to look, and saw the old servant of the hermit Yuhong.

The old servant waited until he was close enough before softly advising, “I pray that you have a safe journey, master Taoist. My lord has forgotten to tell you that recently, some Clear Crane Sect disciples have been injured in the Yellow Valley when they were passing by. Then, some passersby have been captured by the Jade Fox Tribe there, and are now butting heads.”

“Oh?” When Lu Sheng managed the Clear Crane Sect, he occasionally heard about these trivial matters. As a Taoist sect, the Clear Crane Sect had been in some kind of conflict with the various demon tribes in the area. These incidents would occur from time to time.

He did not mind it then. However, now that he was close enough, he felt different.

“Thank you for reminding me.” He nodded to the old servant. He turned around and hurried toward the Yellow Valley.

The Clear Crane Sect’s original motto was to keep the peace and exercise forbearance wherever possible. However, it was clear that it was not the case under his management.

‘This is a great opportunity to see just how strong they are. Let’s see what rank they’re at.’

Lu Sheng gave it some thought, and could not help but hasten his pace.

After walking for a dozen minutes, Lu Sheng saw a greenish little winding path extending into the jumbled yellowstone forest.

Four Clear Crane Sect members were already gathered on the small path. They were standing off against several sallow-faced men dressed like hunters.

Lu Sheng’s arrival brightened up the expressions of the Clear Crane Sect members. On the other hand, the hunters started frowning.

When Lu Sheng got close, he recognized that these were his third master uncle’s outer disciples. He immediately asked them with a stern expression, “What’s the matter?”

“It’s lord Hezhen!”

The Taoists were immediately excited. For ordinary outer disciple Taoists such as themselves, they could rarely see the direct disciples within the Taoist temple.

Outer disciples and direct disciples enjoyed completely different treatment from the three teachers.

Lu Sheng, who was also called Hezhen, was the most highly regarded among the direct disciples.

“This is what happened…” One of the young Taoists in his early twenties hastily stepped forward and started explaining.

Apparently, there was a cold spring in this area suitable to cultivate the ice vine which the cranes loved. However, the location of the cold spring was coincidentally between the territories of the Jade Fox Tribe and the Clear Crane Sect.

Hence, a conflict ensued. The Clear Crane Sect began using this cold spring. When the Jade Fox Tribesmen found out, they started fighting for it against the Clear Crane Sect.

Most of the cold spring fell within the Jade Fox Tribe’s territory. However, the Clear Crane Sect’s position was that they discovered it first. If they did not discover it, the Jade Fox Tribesmen would not even have the luxury of using the cold spring.

Hence, both parties stubbornly maintained their own stances.

Through the jumbled voices of the individuals present, the entire series of events was finally made clear.

After Lu Sheng listened to all of it, he looked at the Jade Fox Tribesmen before him.

The Jade Fox Tribesmen were not morphed from the Fox Tribe. Instead, they were an ancient tribe which worshipped a Jade Fox totem.

However, the elder of this Jade Fox Village possessed several mystical qualities. Legend had it that his lineage originated from the joining of the demon fox and a human.