Way of the Devil

“East Sea branch sect, huh?” Lu Sheng squinted his eyes. “Have you notified the main branch with your formation?”

“I have. You need not worry, Divine Lord Lu. The Emergency Jade Talisman is the highest level report of the three sects. The instant I saw it, I have activated the formation and notified the main branch,” replied Chen Siti respectfully.

“Something bad has happened here. I want you to be on your guard and increase the strength of the formation. Cordon off the East Sea’s coastline and wait for reinforcements from the main branch,” Lu Sheng quickly ordered.

“Understood.”

“Alright, I need some place to rest. Make the arrangements for me.” Lu Sheng nodded.

“It has already been arranged. If you would kindly follow me, Divine Lord Lu.” Chen Siti dared not ask about the other Divine Lords. If Lu Sheng did not speak about them, he would not be so bold as to ask about them.

The group led Lu Sheng, and they flew low for a while. They quickly arrived on an island with a diameter of a dozen kilometers. Settlements were sparsely scattered over it.

Lu Sheng was given the tallest spire-shaped stone building.

An assortment of seafood, soup, meat, seaweed, vegetables, and fruits was served. After quickly settling his stomach, Lu Sheng showered and changed. Accompanied by a maidservant, he checked on the documents about the latest information on this island. He did not have to wait long before he felt an immense mass of peculiar Spiritual Essence closing in from the Other Worlds’ skies.

Lu Sheng quickly went out of his room and leapt into the skies above the island. He promptly saw a pure white ship a hundred meters long hovering in the air. Lined with silver, the ship was making a nosedive from above the clouds. It was quickly closing in on the small island.

Chen Siti and all the others who could fly leapt into the skies as well. They came to welcome the incoming party.

Lu Sheng noticed a great flag on the ship. The words “Aurora Polaris” were written on it.

A chill ran down his spine. Among the three sects, there was only one person who could wear the title Aurora Polaris. He was Thousand Sun Sect’s Divine Lord, Su Ningfei’s elder brother—an inhuman being called the Aurora Polaris Divine Lord.

There were others who wanted to give themselves the title of Aurora Polaris, but they all gave up on their own accord because of this person.

The great silver-lined white ship was like a galleon which sailed on the sea. Other than the flag, the most eye-catching part was the three main masts. Huge white sails hung upon them as they were tugged on by the wind.

The sails whistled as the gale blew on them. The embroidered words “Thousand Sun” could clearly be seen on them.

When the great ship was about a kilometer away, it swiftly decelerated. Faint bluish ripples spread out from it. Amidst the ripples, countless dense charms and runes disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

When Chen Siti and the others saw this, their expressions were slightly excited.

Lu Sheng, on the other hand, appeared calm. He was also curious. Up until now, the most powerful experts he’d encountered were Divine Lords. Although he had encountered a Devil Emperor before, Devil Emperor Vera had only possessed a weak little host. He could not even unleash much of his might.

‘Weapon Grandmaster… What kind of power will they possess? I’m really looking forward to it…’ Lu Sheng felt that his current power was already at an extreme bottleneck of the mortal world. He could not understand why terrifying beings such as Weapon Grandmasters would be that much different from him.

The great ship got closer and closer.

“Pcchht.”

Transparent gas was suddenly released from the ship’s aft. The entire ship completely stopped moving and hovered in midair. It was less than twenty meters before Lu Sheng.

A set of wooden stairs was lowered from the side of the ship, and formed a structure that resembled steps. A flash of bluish radiance shot past the wooden stairs from the bottom to the top as if it was cleaning the wooden stairs.

After that, some big and tall figures clad in pure white cloaks made of fine hair slowly walked down the stairs.

Lu Sheng raised his head and sized up these men.

The one in the forefront was a middle-aged man with a mustache and blue hair tied back in a ponytail. The man appeared mature and steady, and had gentle eyes. He appeared to be an ordinary young noble.

Two people followed behind him. One of them was a big, tall, strong-looking man. He was bald and wore a simple black vest. There was a blood-colored tree-pointed mark between his eyebrows. He appeared fierce.

The other person, a woman, appeared insignificant. If Lu Sheng did not pay attention, he would miss her completely. She wore tight-fitting white clothes which did not showcase any contours. Her eyes were lifeless as if nothing in this world interested her.

“Divine Lord Lu, I believe this is the first time we’ve met?” Aurora Polaris looked at Lu Sheng with a smile. The three of them descended the wooden stairs, and the great ship slowly released white mist from the aft. It quickly enveloped the entire ship and vanished in no time.

Lu Sheng nodded reverently.

“It is. Since I’ve become a Divine Lord, I’ve yet to venture to the Golden Waterfall. I’ve been negligent.”

Aurora Polaris waved his hand in dismissal, smiling, and said, “You’re my little sister’s informal disciple, there’s no need to be so formal. Tell me about the things here on the Island of Illusive Sky.”

When he said the final sentence, his expression quickly grew serious.

Lu Sheng was silent for a moment before he slowly recounted the happenings on the island. When he mentioned himself, he replaced the black crow figurine with a secret life-saving object that enabled him to leave instantly. It could only be used once.

Aurora Polaris and the two others listened intently. However, when they heard about the black arm, Aurora Polaris’s expression turned grim.

“Are you sure that’s what you saw? Surely there were various marks of the Divine Lords’ Divine Weapons on the palm of the black arm?” The bald brawny man could not help but interject with a question.

“This is Blood Sun Sect’s Divine Lord Wuxin,” Aurora Polaris introduced the man.

Lu Sheng nodded respectfully toward this person.

“I’m sure. In a short amount of time, the other Divine Lords were being sucked away by the black arm and vanished. I’ve instantly left the area with the life-saving object and hidden myself. After that, I suffered grave wounds and fell into a deep slumber. I’ve only recovered recently. I’m not even sure if that black arm left the area. Sect Master, may I ask about the identity of that black arm…?” Even when he merely remembered the black arm, he felt a lingering fear within himself. The being of that level was able to kill Divine Lords in the blink of an eye. This made him feel as if the Divine Lords were mere cabbage.

However, a Divine Lord was considered the greatest expert even in the Great Yin, where experts were as numerous as clouds. There were only so many Divine Lords in the entire Great Yin. Once a few of them were lost, even with the three sects’ firm foundations, they still felt the pain.

Aurora Polaris’s expression was slightly sour.

“Qi Xiu, Xingyun, and the others, they… Sigh… This is my fault.” He snapped back to his senses; there was a worrisome look in his eyes. “Divine Lord Lu… Please keep this matter a secret. I suppose there’s no harm in telling you about the origins of that black arm. It is…”

“It’s Sanru Blood Arhat’s fifth arm,” interjected the bald Divine Lord from the Blood Sun Sect, his expression sinister and ruthless. “Many years ago, Sanru Blood Arhat could not be killed—he was immortal. Hence, the Weapon Grandmasters cut him up into many chunks, and suppressed his body parts separately. This arm was suppressed in the Gate of Illusion on the Island of Illusive Sky. The former sect master, Kongheng, set up a formation to use this arm’s power to suppress the Evil Spirits’ power within the Fate of Illusion. I didn’t expect it to break free of the formation’s shackles.”

“Sanru Blood Arhat…?” Lu Sheng had never heard of this name before. He knitted his brows together tightly.

“It’s normal if you’ve never heard of it before. I’ve waged invasive wars for the Great Yin for thousands of years and conquered countless Other Worlds, it’s only natural for me to encounter some extremely powerful world. This Sanru Blood Arhat is one of the two most powerful monsters I’ve encountered in my many years of expeditions for the Great Yin,” Aurora Polaris explained briefly. “Old Sect Master Kongheng had suffered grave injuries to kill this Sanru Blood Arhat. It’s after that that he…” He sighed.

“Alright, let’s have a look at the Island of the Illusive Sky,” Aurora Polaris suggested.

“Alright.” Lu Sheng nodded.

The four of them did not dawdle. They ordered Chen Siti and the others to be on their guard. The experts from the three sects on board the ship would take care of the rest.

The four of them were the most powerful individuals here. They were led by Weapon Grandmaster Aurora Polaris and went straight toward the Island of Illusive Sky.

After they landed on the island, Lu Sheng brought them to the square and the pond to take a look. However, they could not find anything wrong.

Aurora Polaris could only make a rough guess that Sanru Blood Arhat’s arm had most probably escaped. However, the Island of Illusive Sky’s Formation was still intact, which meant that the arm still had to be nearby.

Aurora Polaris asked Lu Sheng about some detailed information; then, he started setting up some objects around the island.

Shortly after, some Formation Grandmasters from the Thousand Sun Sect arrived. They started working together with Aurora Polaris to set up the formation.

Allied teams of elites from the three sects came in succession. They worked together and surrounded the entire foggy area with hovering airships like a metal bucket. Not even a drop of water could leak out.

With the appearance of the old Divine Lords from the three sects, there were even two Rogue Divine Weapon Divine Lords from the Blood Sun Sect who came to the island personally. There were also three Divine Lords from the Youyin Sect. The might of the entire martial force on the Island of Illusive Sky was unprecedented.

Lu Sheng had also earned a fair amount of praise from his work in guarding the island. Aurora Polaris gave him special permission to return to his family and rest while he tended to his wounds. Although he could tell that Lu Sheng was not greatly harmed, he had still narrowly escaped death. His mental state had to have suffered quite a blow. It was normal for him to go back and recuperate.

Lu Sheng had initially thought that Su Ningfei’s elder brother was not human and would also be a hot-tempered relative; hence, he’d assumed that he would be a difficult person to be with. However, throughout the time he spent with him, he noticed to his surprise that this person was very gentle. He handled matters evenhandedly and generously. He was genuine and polite toward others. He never put himself on a pedestal.

Lu Sheng could understand just by thinking about it briefly. If Aurora Polaris did not possess such charisma and affinity toward others, as a Weapon Grandmaster, it would not have been probable for Sect Master Kongheng to appoint him as his successor, and he would not have been able to occupy the position of the sect master of the Thousand Sun Sect for so long.

The situation in the East Sea calmed down somewhat. Lu Sheng rested for a while on the branch sect’s island. Before he left, he heard that there seemed to be some clues around the Island of Illusive Sky and a bloody battle had erupted. There was a huge commotion, and two Divine Lords lost their lives in the process. Even Weapon Grandmaster Aurora Polaris was wounded in addition to his existing wounds.

It was only now that Lu Sheng remembered hearing about Devil Emperor Vera making a move with his main body. He was intercepted by two Weapon Grandmasters from the three sects, and both sides suffered great losses. Weapon Grandmaster Aurora Polaris had suffered injuries during that time.

After spending a few more days on the island, Lu Sheng made preparations to return to the Prime Devil Sect. However, he was held back by someone under Weapon Grandmaster Aurora Polaris.

“These are personal gifts from the sect master to you, Divine Lord Lu. They’re compensation for your effort in the East Sea. Kindly accept them, Divine Lord.”

A strong-looking man with short red hair stood in the hall on the first floor of the small building on the island where Lu Sheng stayed. Five black treasure boxes which were just brought in were placed behind him. The boxes were half-opened. Strangely shaped unique weapons were clearly visible within the boxes.

Different parts of the weapons were marked with patterns unique to Divine Weapons.

“There are five Divine Weapons here. Three Golden Leaves, two Jade Stars. They’re taken from our sect’s weapons stock, and are presented to you as remuneration for your suppression mission here,” said the red-haired man reverently.

Initially, Lu Sheng was slightly dissatisfied with the Thousand Sun Sect. However, since Aurora Polaris was a person who knew how to please others, and this payment was rich, he decided not to dwell on his misgivings.

“Also, a thousand Goldfish Stones, two thousand bolts of Hundred-flower Silk, five hundred Divine Weapon fragments, five hundred kilograms of Nine Mountain Ore, five hundred kilograms of Meteorite Ore, ten World-breaking Stones, a selection of rare artifacts, books, and paintings, and a few thousand gemstones will all be sent to an address of your choice within one month,” the red-haired man continued.