Way of the Devil

Secret Area.

Among the sea of green trees, a pale yellow stone pillar shot up from the ground, standing still. It was slightly slanted, looking as if a huge finger over a thousand meters long had stabbed itself into the ground.

Su Ningfei landed lightly on top of the pillar. Wearing a long, purple robe, her gaze was sharp as she walked toward the gravestone in the center of the pillar.

The setting sun separated the gravestone into two parts, the top lit up and the bottom dark.

Su Ningfei stood in front of the gravestone and read the words on it silently. The gravestone was white and taller than a person, but only a few characters were written on it.

“Su Xiaoxiao told me that there has been news over at Peacock Mountain. Maybe the prediction was true,” she murmured. “Yun Suixian from Compass Ocean would not let this chance pass by.”

She fell silent as if waiting for the gravestone to respond.

But the gravestone was just a stone, and didn’t make a sound.

After a while, Su Ningfei closed her eyes.

“Do you want me to kill her? Or let her go?”

“Ningfei, do you have to attack? After all, Yun Suixian is his daughter.” A beam of light landed next to Su Ningfei on the top of the pillar. It was a young man clothed in white linen, his aura pure and innocent.

There was a green dot between his brows, and four almost transparent insect wings floated behind his back.

“You come here every year to see him. Why do you have to force yourself to make such a decision?” the man asked softly. He was extremely beautiful, and didn’t look like a man at all. Instead, his presence was gentle and soft like water.

“I love him, but I also hate him.” Su Ningfei opened her eyes calmly. “If someone makes a mistake, they must pay for it. Mingshan, you know my personality.”

Resignation appeared in the gentle man’s eyes.

The sky slowly darkened. He looked toward the sky, where stars were already appearing.

“Do you still remember the promise we’ve made?

“Under that grape vine, the beautiful sun. He gave you the Violet Ring that had a violet crystal. At the time, I didn’t know how to create the Heavenly Wine yet, only the most basic fruit wine, but we still had a great time…”

Su Ningfei was quiet.

The man sighed.

“She shouldn’t have, he shouldn’t have, the relationship between them should never have happened. I just received notice that her elder sister… has escaped.”

Su Ningfei’s pupils dilated.

“What do you think she would do once she gets the news?” the man asked in a low voice. He then stopped talking and walked toward the gravestone, bending over and laying a bouquet of half-transparent flowers in front of the gravestone.

***

Lu Sheng and Elder Zhang Shilong quickly passed through Black Bell Valley and hurried toward the prefecture.

Behind the Black Bell Valley was a wide river known as Red Sand. To make sure no strong person flew across the river, there were a huge matrix at the bottom and powerful demons in the water that held positions in court.

In the nearby settlement, Red Sand Village, Zhang Shilong was about to hire a ship to cross the river. However, he ran into a group of wealthy businessmen who were also about to cross it.

These businessmen recognized Zhang Shilong as they had made friends before when he’d pretended to also be a wealthy businessman. They were also heading to Moling City, so they invited the two to join them.

So, Zhang Shilong and Lu Sheng joined their group.

***

Outside the ship, waves crashed continuously into the hull.

Lu Sheng and Zhang Shilong stood on the deck, enjoying the view.

“After crossing, we’ll reach Moling Prefecture. It’s different over there.” Zhang Shilong watched as they got closer and closer to the opposite shore, smiling. “You would probably love it over there.”

“Oh? Why do you say so?” Lu Sheng was a little curious.

“There’s much freedom over there. Apart from cultivating, practicing, eating, and other daily activities, you don’t do anything else. You don’t hang out, gamble, play with girls, drink, or make friends… you don’t do anything except cultivate.” Zhang Shilong pointed out how Lu Sheng seemed to everyone else.

“Calling you a hermit who only cultivates is light. Even hermits sometimes make friends, but you don’t care about anything at all.

“Before, when we were trying to figure out if you were a spy from the Devil World, that attribute gave you extra points. A spy would at least try to make friends to find out information, but you…” Zhang Shilong shook his head wordlessly.

Lu Sheng laughed.

“Since you say so, I guess you’re right.”

“You’re still young, only thirty. How can you not have normal hobbies? At Autumn Moon City, there weren’t many who were as talented as you, so it’s okay that you didn’t have any friends. However, over here, don’t be the same.” Zhang Shilong really didn’t know what to do. “I don’t want you to stop moving forward because of mental issues.”

“Don’t worry, I promise that won’t happen.” Lu Sheng smiled. “Elder, you haven’t said why it was different across the river yet.”

“Ah, that…” Zhang Shilong stroked his beard. “Autumn Moon City is completely under the control of the three main sects and the royal family, so it’s very safe. But that’s only because it’s a tiny area under layers of control.

“Most places, however, are like Moling Prefecture. The three main sects and the royal family cannot completely control every single acre. Other sects and noble families thus rise. Apart from the three main sects and the three main noble families, there are still tons more. They survive in areas other than cities like Autumn Moon City.”

Lu Sheng understood. “That’s why we didn’t even see a single dangerous beast on this whole journey.”

“Yes. Because the royal army comes and kills them all every once in a while.” Zhang Shilong smiled.

As they were talking, another large ship appeared to their left. It was also a three-story luxury ship.

At the head of the ship was a middle-aged man in a turquoise robe. A white tiger head was embroidered on his shoulder. One of his hands was behind his back, while he held an arm-length black hammer in the other.

“Han Linjun!” The man’s expression was dark and his gaze like lightning. “Show yourself! Otherwise, I won’t have mercy!”

His voice was sharp and piercing, echoing even though they were still over ten meters apart.

Not just that, but numerous figures leapt up from the man’s ship and flew toward their ship.

The owner of the ship was a chubby man. He rushed out of his cabin, sweating. A few guards followed him out. Seeing this scene, their legs almost gave out.

“Let’s talk first! Let’s talk first! Sirs, I’m Chen Kaojun, and all we have on this ship is some silk and wine. We don’t have Han Linjun…!” In the cabin behind the fatty, two little girls were hiding. They seemed to be his daughters.

Soon, the people who jumped over took control of the ship and started inspecting it inch by inch. Groups of people dressed in the white tiger head clothes pulled out everyone from their rooms and set them up in lines on the deck for inspection.

“See? This is the difference.” Seeing this, Zhang Shilong sighed slightly. “Inside Autumn Moon City, the Yangming army is always on patrol to ensure peace and safety. But outside it, killing and murder are nothing at all. As long as it’s not too bad, you won’t get into trouble.”

“So this is the difference you’ve mentioned.” Lu Sheng finally understood. From where he was standing, he could see the fat rich man talking with the people wearing white tiger heads. But among the two little girls hiding behind him in the cabin, the one wearing a green dress seemed nervous and frightened, but the depths of her eyes showed resistance, pain, and depression.

“This is the free land, the free land of the Great Yin.” Zhang Shilong shook his head.

“I’ll count to ten. If you don’t come out, I’ll burn the ship.” The man’s voice sounded clearly from the other boat.

Lu Sheng saw the girl in the green dress tense and grab her skirt tightly. The girl beside her, the one clad in white, was also frightened, but seemed to be comforting her.

At this time, Zhang Shilong’s rich friend scurried over.

“Brother Shilong, please help! This is the Fierce Tiger Tribe, one of the four main tribes in the Moling Prefecture! You have lots of connections, so please help us!” This wealthy merchant’s last name was Wang. At this moment, his chubby face was dripping with sweat.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I have plans. Just leave it me.” Zhang Shilong didn’t seem worried at all as he gently patted the merchant’s hand. “Go find the others and tell them to keep their cool. It would be bad if something happened.”

“Brother Shilong, you really have a plan?”

“Don’t worry, this is on me.” Zhang Shilong was the picture of relaxation. As an elder of a large sect like the Thousand Sun Sect, even though he came from a branch, a small tribe would have to back down.

The middle-aged man had started counting.

“One.

“Two.

“Three.”

Han Linjun didn’t know what to do. Her heart beat faster and faster as she kept her head lowered, gripping the edges of her dress.

The Fierce Tiger Tribe actually followed her all the way here. That meant that they knew she was the one who’d taken the item. Otherwise, they wouldn’t block a merchant ship under the risk of being caught and questioned by the Moling Prefecture’s authorities.

‘ What do I do? They really dared to attack so close to Moling!? ‘ Han Linjun looked at the floor as she listened to the counting outside. All her blood seemed to be frozen and her mind blanked out.

Suddenly, she remembered what her father had said at the final moment, when he handed her the item.

“Don’t let the Fierce Tiger Tribe get ahold of it no matter what! Once they have all the fragments, they will be unstoppable and terrorize the entire East River!”

Han Linjun smiled bitterly. She looked at her best friend, Lin Xin, who was comforting her. She didn’t want to affect her best friend, but as of now…

“Six!

“Seven!

“Eight!

“Nine!”

Lu Sheng reached for the sword at his waist, about to step out. But Zhang Shilong blocked him.

“Let me do this. You kill too much.” Zhang Shilong smiled bitterly.

Lu Sheng let go and smiled.

Zhang Shilong took a step forward, and spoke clearly, “I’m Zhang Shilong from the Thousand Sun Sect. May I ask which leader of the Fierce Tiger Tribe I am speaking to? Seeing that I am here, please let the ship pass.”

His voice was like thunder as it rolled across, shaking the entire ship. Looking over, some people even lost their balance from his rumbling voice.

When the people on their boat heard the three words “Thousand Sun Sect”, they immediately started exclaiming, then shouting in joy. The Thousand Sun Sect was one of the three main sects of Great Yin for a reason. Now that there was a strong person from the Thousand Sun Sect here, they and their ship should be safe.

This was especially true for the fat, wealthy ship owner. Just now, he was soaked in sweat and crying. Hearing this sudden turn of events, he started laughing, but couldn’t adjust his expression fast enough, so it looked extremely weird.

Behind him, both Han Linjun and Lin Xin paused, then exclaimed in joy and let out a breath. They thought it was be over for sure; they hadn’t expected this sudden save.

Han Linjun’s heart finally dropped. Dizziness overswept her and she almost fell to the ground. Luckily, Lin Xin caught her.

“The Thousand Sun Sect?” The middle-aged man’s expression didn’t change as he slowly moved his gaze over. “So it’s Elder Zhang from the Autumn Moon City branch.”

“That’s me. May I ask your name?” Zhang Shilong cupped his fists.

The middle-aged man looked at Zhang Shilong and frowned.

“I’m Yuan Yingxiao, the vice-chief of the Fierce Tiger Tribe.”

“Chief Yuan, looking at my presence, please let the ship pass,” Zhang Shilong said with a smile.

Yuan Yingxiao stopped frowning and his eyes glinted. “Elder Zhang, no need to be so formal. But you don’t deserve enough respect for me to let this ship pass yet.”

Zhang Shilong had originally thought that if he lowered himself, they should easily pass. But the other person refused.

His expression froze. He stood on the spot, not knowing what to do for a second.

With his identity and position, a vice-chief of the Fierce Tiger Tribe dared to not respect him?

Not just him, everyone else on the boat were also shocked.