Way of the Devil

The support from Empress Wa’s Essential Essence reduced the strain he had to bear greatly. For the first time, Lu Sheng had the leisure to look at his surroundings within the space-time vortex.

He felt as if he was shuttling past a colorful cylindrical tunnel. The inner wall of the tunnel was full of weirdly contorting lines of radiance.

The entire tunnel would turn and bend constantly. If he was not careful, he would crash into the inner wall of the tunnel which suddenly bent toward him.

Lu Sheng clearly knew that if he collided with the contorting inner wall, it was highly possible for him to directly charge into an alien world of unknown coordinates and dangers.

In the past, he would set formation lines on both sides, so all he’d have to do was to stay on course. However, he had stayed for slightly too long in this world. Only a faint remnant of the lines connecting the formations could be picked up. Most of the time, he could only continue flying based on his instincts.

There was no sense of time at all in the tunnel. It seemed as fleeting as an instant, and it seemed as long as a few years.

Lu Sheng soon saw a gray spot of light appearing before himself. The spot of light was emitting the familiar aura of the Heavenly Devil World.

He felt invigorated, and hastened toward the gray spot of light.

“Boom!”

There was a sudden jerk. Lu Sheng’s sight blurred. When he could focus his eyes again, he found himself sitting in the bed chambers of his own manor. The battered remains of the Arrival Formation were all around him.

Shards of the shattered black crystals scattered everywhere.

“I’m back. I’m surprised that it went smoothly.” He sighed with relief. He stood up among the formation. The clothes on his body were also burnt to a crisp while he shuttled through space and time. He quickly took a set of fresh clothes from the hidden compartment in his bedroom, gave them a few good shakes, and wore them.

‘Although I didn’t assimilate his spirit because the karma remains unsettled, gaining insight on the reincarnation heart and entering the semi-Void Underworld state was already an unprecedented and huge reward. Next, I’ll have to gather reincarnation power, absorb it, and evolve my Heart World so that I can completely stabilize my Void Underworld tier.’

Lu Sheng opened the door and walked out of his bedroom in which he was conducting his secluded cultivation.

The Silverblood whom he unintentionally came across, Tora Bach, was anxiously standing guard outside the door. However, she could not get in because of the formation.

When she saw Lu Sheng stepping out, she sighed in relief.

“My Lord, are you alright!?” Toram Bach had been sleeping. When she suddenly heard a loud noise, she hastily got to her feet. When she found out that the sound came from within Lu Sheng’s room, she was instantly flustered.

She could not remember anything about her past, nor could she remember who she was. However, she was very grateful to Lu Sheng, who took her in.

If Lu Sheng had not instructed her not to go in, she would have barged into the room right away. After all, she was an Anomaly. It would not be a problem for her even if she was slightly hurt.

“I’m alright.” Lu Sheng made a grabbing motion. The trash scattered within his room flew out, and was compressed into a black ball which dropped beside the courtyard’s door.

“Dispose of it later. How long have I been in seclusion this time?” he casually asked.

“My Lord, it has been slightly more than two months,” Toram Bach hastily answered after adding the days up. “The Zhao Family have come for you during this period. It seems that they were interested in hiring you for treatment. Also, some Red Moon Disciples were here for you, they looked as if they wanted to learn about something.”

“Oh?” Lu Sheng nodded. He sat down in the dining room, and had Toram Bach serve the food and drinks. He had stayed too long in the Mystic World. He liked the taste of the dished here better.

“What about the daily and monthly reports for these two months?”

“They’re all here.” Toram Bach placed a stack of newspapers for the past two months on the table.

Lu Sheng ate the food as he scanned through the important headlines.

There were not many changes within Libra City. The Green Branch Sect and the Mother of Pain were still locked in a stalemate. The general situation was almost the same as when he’d left.

The Red Moon Cult was the one that had experienced some changed. The mission which Men Fa led the other day had some progress, and many disciples were attracted by it.

Lu Sheng placed the papers down and heaved a long sigh.

In hindsight, his recent Arrival experience was slightly illogical. There was no way that the flow of time in the Mystic World could be that much quicker than in the Heavenly Devil World.

Other matters aside, with an expert at the level of Empress Wa in that world, the energy rank would certainly not have been weaker than the Heavenly Devil World’s. Also, judging by the Indefinite Cult Master’s words, he reckoned that the Mystic World was vaster and more formidable than the Heavenly Devil World.

Lu Sheng had never thought of the Heavenly Devil World, in which he was born, as the center of the universe.

‘My current priority is to bring my family out. Then, I’ll search for reincarnation spirits to absorb…’

The galaxy of the Heavenly Devil World was gradually progressing toward war. Even the impartial Libra City was showing intentions of joining in the fray.

Lu Sheng was unsure how long this peace would hold. However, he would have to find a refuge before time was up.

‘I wonder how Mi Guangying is doing on her side…’ He took out the Iron Flag Council’s origin stone and attempted to contact Mi Guangying.

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Yellow Springs Planet Number 3.

Black net-like lines appeared all across the dark yellow planet’s surface.

The planet had several yellow rings. Beams of black flowing light could occasionally be seen shooting past it as well.

On the side of the planet shaded from the nearest star, it was late at night in the vast black barren desert.

A black flying ship in the shape of a 100-meter-long fish parked itself silently in one corner of the desert.

There was a steady flow of human traffic at the stern of the flying ship as the passengers boarded it.

Mi Guangying’s silver armor only covered her crucial parts. She wore a strange-looking hat with a tall, standing black feather.

She was standing beside a fair-skinned maiden with an exquisite face and wearing black robes.

“Little Sister Anza, thank you for your help.” Mi Guangying was slightly filled with emotion. If it were not for the help of this little sister who called herself Anza, it would not have been this easy to search for the flaw in the Black Measure Web.

“That’s alright. Lu Sheng and I are friends. I do not have many of them, but each and every one of my friends deserve my help.” The way Anza spoke was slightly eccentric, but she was slightly getting used to it after spending a dozen days here.

“Actually, another person has helped us from the shadows to find the flaw in the Black Measure Web, but she doesn’t want to be known. So, I’ll be representing her as well here. After all, I intend to leave this place as well,” Anza added.

“Is that so?” Mi Guangying smiled, and did not ask further. After all, what she cared about was fulfilling the promise she’d made to Lu Sheng. Other matters were not of her concern.

“Are you sure that you want to leave with this cohort?”

“Of course. This is as much me helping Lu Sheng as my helping myself.” Anza nodded. “I’ll be bringing two others. That won’t be a problem, right?”

“It’s not a big deal. Once we’re out of the Yellow Springs Galaxy, my uncle will personally take over. We’ll be safe by then,” Mi Guangying said with a smile. “Don’t worry, my uncle owes that guy a favor as well, so he’ll definitely do his part this time, even if it means being found out by the Mother of Pain.”

“That’s good to hear.” Anza nodded.

If they actually succeeded this time, their days of struggling on Yellow Springs Planet would finally come to an end.

“At this point, should I be rejoicing that the Mother of Pain doesn’t really think much about us?” Anza smiled bitterly.

“The Mother of Pain is only considered a great being in the Yellow Springs Galaxy, which is quite a remote place. Beyond this part of the universe, she’s at most a slightly powerful Void Underworld being,” Mi Guangying spoke with a relaxed smile. “When you’re at Libra City, you’ll see just how great the differences can be.”

“Mm-hm.” Anza nodded heavily.

“How long do we have until the star tomb hour?” Mi Guangying asked softly.

“About 26 hours,” Anza replied.

“Mm-hm. Have everyone from the Prime Devil Sect and Lu Family get ready. They should only be bringing rations, no space-time treasures or powerful Artifacts are allowed. Those that must be brought with them will have to be surrendered to the ship’s sealed room for safekeeping…”

Mi Guangying was no stranger to inter-galactic migrations. She spouted a series of requirements that the passengers should look out for. She made sure her hundred-man team was working seamlessly.

**********

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Lu Sheng burned an incense stick and sat down slowly.

He was alone in a silent room which had no windows. There was only a fist-sized hole which served as the entrance.

Soundproof Formation veins were carved all over the walls in densely packed rows. The construction of this room had cost Lu Sheng most of his ice money.

After attaining the Void Underworld tier, Lu Sheng did not value ice money as highly anymore. All he needed it for was to carry out Arrivals.

He used the remaining amount of ice money to buy materials for the formation. With the money, he converted a storeroom in his manor into an absolutely sealed room.

Two sets of soundproofing and a great formation for protection. This was the highest level of a great formation he could afford with all his available materials.

Lu Sheng had only finished setting everything up after six hours. Then, he entered his state of secluded cultivation.

He had gained much from this recent Arrival. After gaining complete insight, he attained the Void Underworld tier. It was now a whole new beginning.

Whether it was in Libra City, the Yellow Springs Planet, or among the Red Moon Disciples, with his Void Underworld tier, he could become a domineering presence, establish his own sect, and form his own organization.

The only issue would be the size of the territory and amount of resources he would be able to take control of depending on his strength.

‘At this stage, I have more than 17,000,000 Mental Energy units. It’s time for me to spend them.’

Mental Energy units would only serve a purpose after they were converted into strength. Lu Sheng intended to spend all his Mental Energy in this secluded cultivation session.

“Deep Blue.”

He summoned the modifier’s interface.

At this stage, the Infinity Technique which the modifier had derived before this was not too suitable anymore.

‘The basis of the Infinity Technique’s creation was a possibility drawn out of thin air while my experiences were scant back then. However, with what I know now, the Infinity Technique seems to be too perfect. In truth, there are many parts of it that are no different than ordinary cultivation systems. There aren’t any advantages as well.’

Lu Sheng weighed some of his options.

‘Even now, my Yang Essence can still serve its healing and nourishing purposes. However, it’s not as convenient to use as spirit-prompting threads. Also, its contributions aren’t as great as spirit-prompting threads’. However, the amount of Mental Energy I’ve invested in the Infinity Technique far surpassed that of my spirit-prompting threads.’

He closed his eyes, deep in thought.

He had experienced many worlds, universes, and countless skill formulas.

‘Now that I’m in the Void Underworld tier, and I’ll be able to get my hands on Void Underworld-tier cultivation methods, if I used the East Park Autumn Dew Fertilizing Method as the base and continued to derive that, with my current stash of Mental Energy, I might just be able to…’

Lu Sheng’s train of thought was interrupted. He shook his head.

‘No. Deriving a cultivation method will take too much of my Mental Energy. It might be doable for a rank or two, but if I were to derive it all on my own, the expenditure will be too great. It’s not feasible. If I can cultivate an available Void Underworld cultivation method and raise its rank, the Mental Energy I’ll have to spend will be much less than when deriving it… In any case, I should put all the powers I’ve learnt about so far together. I’ll separate the wheat from the chaff and purify it completely.’ He had transmigrated to many worlds, and had retained the essences of the worlds within himself.

This way, it was actually helpful to himself. It was the equivalent of having more ultimate moves. However, the more the he did this, the more moves he would have, which would inevitably turn into impurities that impeded his improvements instead.

Lu Sheng gave it some thought. He decided to use the East Park Autumn Dew Fertilizing Method as the core and derive that.

After gaining insight and achieving a breakthrough to the Void Underworld tier, he easily raised the ranks of the fertilizing method to the highest rank, rank-9. Lu Sheng easily converted all his Infinity Technique’s competence into the fertilizing methods unique, Void Underworld-tier Pure Qi, the Land Qi.

“East Park Autumn Dew Fertilizing Method, rank-9. (Special traits. All-nourishing effect. Fertile Radiance. Civilization Transition.)”

The names of the three special traits made Lu Sheng instantly understand their uses. They were all applied onto the external environment.

There were no improvements applied onto himself.

‘With this as the foundation, derive it again. Let’s hope I can assimilate the essence of all my Arrivals into it.’

He focused his mind and pushed the modify button on the modifier slowly.

Also, he wanted to see if he could substitute the reincarnation spirit with Mental Energy and rank up his cultivation method’s tier.