devil

'I haven't received news on the Yellow Springs Planet. With Mi Guangying there, there shouldn't be much of a problem. However, there isn't much time left.'

Lu Sheng recalled what he'd heard recently about the great battle between the Green Branch Sect and the Mother of Pain. Both sides were having a truce right now, but this seemed more like the calm before the storm.

It was said that many Confusion Realm experts from both sides had died. Even Void Underworld beings had been heavily injured.

Both sides were being serious.

However, that was not all that was happening. Libra City was very far away from the Yellow Springs System; hence, the focus was on something else.

The nearby Yujue Empire officially formed a military alliance with Libra City.

Libra City's status rose greatly. The Yujue Empire started sending men over to Libra City to man the garrisons.

The Yujue Empire was a strong nation. Its borders virtually encompassed the entire stellar zone which it was located in. It was a real mammoth nation.

Since Libra City was capable of entering into a military alliance with the empire, Libra City's own strength was evident. In the eyes of the local stellar zone's forces, Libra City had already become the Yujue Empire's target.

Such gradual invasions were the most troublesome to deal with. When word of this got out, Libra City's reputation for being fair was quickly eroded.

Lately, Lu Sheng had seen many shops and stalls closing down for good. It was said that the branches of various organizations moved out from the main city every day.

However, the upper echelons of Libra City insisted on having relations with the empire.

'Looks like there's no real safe haven anywhere. The real safe place is one where I can rely on my own fist,' Lu Sheng exclaimed with emotion in his heart.

"Please, have some tea. This is a platter of dim sum."

Toram Bach brought him hot tea and some dim sum.

Her origins were best kept a secret—she was a rare Silverblood. She could not even go out as she wished. She could only stay within Lu Sheng's house and hide.

Otherwise, if she was captured by another person, she would once again be used as a blood production machine for the benefit of others.

"I'll need to go into seclusion to cultivate one of these days. Wear the disguising jacket I bought for you. Be careful when you're buying vegetables or preparing meals. Buy an edition of the Far Star newspaper every now and then. Keep an eye on news about Yellow Springs Planet Number Three. Also, please dust the formation in the courtyard, but do not touch the black gemstone in the middle."

"Understood." Toram Bach nodded seriously.

Lu Sheng had her take care of his meals. For one thing, he could have a helper dealing with the trivial matters. At the same time, he was hoping to research the silver blood which flowed through her veins. He would like to see if he could incorporate her blood into his own power system and improve his own strength.

He was an unorthodox person to begin with. He would try anything that caught his attention without reading up on the possible consequences first.

Lu Sheng gave it some thought before giving another order. "Also, from my robbing of the rich to give to the poor recently, I've earned quite a bit of ice money. Pile it up in that small room for me and activate the formation. Don't let anyone get near the room."

He could not let these ice monies become public knowledge. It was best for him not to save it all into his card.

"Understood." Toram Bach nodded.

"That's all. Carry on." Lu Sheng gave it some thought, and decided that there was nothing else for him to order. Hence, he dismissed her.

After Toram Bach cleaned the room, Lu Sheng walked over and re-examined the Arrival Formation.

Naturally, he would not let anyone else handle this crucial formation.

If he wanted to carry out an Arrival, he would have to be quick and save time.

This time, he picked a world with the greatest difference in time flow as well. After all, his main objective was to gain insight into the reincarnation heart.

He would have ample chances to replenish his spirit.

Lu Sheng prepared the materials, changed the damaged parts, switched out the spent black crystal, filled in the missing formation veins, and inspected the controlling restriction he imposed upon Toram.

Lu Sheng went about doing his tasks. He only managed to finish all of them by nine o'clock at night.

"Dong… Dong…"

Lu Sheng sat cross-legged in the center of the formation. He could hear faint sounds of a heavy bell tolling far away.

"Two rings. Is that a welcoming toll? Looks like some great individual has arrived in the main city…"

"Bzzt!"

The formation slowly glowed red. The red lines lit up along the formation veins on the floor. With the passage of time, the black crystals wedged into the formation started vibrating. Numerous red lines wound and flowed out from below the black crystal.

"Pchht!"

All of a sudden, all of the black crystals shattered. Red lines shot into the air. They weaved together and formed a massive diamond-shaped frame in midair.

In the center of the frame, a gray spot swiftly expanded and enlarged. In no time, it formed a gray rift entrance which was exactly the same as before.

'There seems to be something different about my Confusion Realm Yang Essence. It's much easier to open up the rift. Also, the passage is much more stable…' Lu Sheng judged, not slowing down the movements of his hands.

The robes on his body suddenly slid off, and his entire person shrunk into a cluster of black light. With a swoosh, he shot into the rift and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

**********

The thick scent of booze filled his nostrils.

Lu Sheng slowly opened his eyes. He felt that his eyes were wet, and his eyeballs were hot and swollen. It was as if he had just been crying.

He was sitting in an empty and extravagant hall. He was sitting on the main seat. He was wearing a purple robe embroidered with a prancing black dragon which appeared exceptionally fierce.

There was an unexplainable sense of lethargy and desolation in his heart. A stubborn thought kept resounding within his head.

'The West Cliff Empire can surely be strong for thousands of years! Surely!'

'This is certainly interesting…' Lu Sheng was feeling slightly speechless. This time, the identity of his host was of noble descent—he was a relative of the emperor.

This world completely exceeded his expectations. He clearly chose the world with the greatest difference in time flow.

Although he did not set the range for the energy rank, it was actually related to the time flow. The greater the difference in time flow, the greater the difference in energy rank would be.

Normally, the faster the time flow of a small world, the weaker its energy rank would be. However, Lu Sheng felt that something was not right this time…

The identity of this host he Arrived in was Huang Jing, the crown prince of the West Cliff Dynasty's Moon Prince.

In his memory, the West Cliff Dynasty had vast territories with abundant resources. It had a long history of 1000 years and dozens of generations of emperors. Its borders were so vast that it would take decades to get from one side to the other on horseback.

However, the difference was that after 1000 years of glory, the West Cliff Empire was currently sliding down the inevitable slope of deterioration.

The entire empire was content with the pleasures of life. The people valued literature more than military might. They did not care that the empire was slowly progressing toward its own destruction.

The clans outside the borders were rising up, while various undercurrents were flowing within the empire itself. The people had no way of making a living. The harvests were bad, and the pay of the civil servants was low. On top of that, the empire was struck by disaster upon disaster. The local lords were all but ready to start a rebellion.

The entire empire was like a turreted junk that could fall apart at any moment. It could be sunk by waves or vermin at any time.

What surprised Lu Sheng the most was that there were immortals in this world.

Moreover, they were not ordinary immortals.

It was Empress Wa!

In the Cathay Civilization, Empress Wa was another name for Nüwa.

'Nüwa exists in this world!?' While Lu Sheng felt shocked, he carefully organized the memories of his host, Huang Jing.

Throughout history, the emperors of the West Cliff Dynasty would offer sacrifices to Empress Wa when they ascended the throne to pray for peace in the nation and good weather.

What made him feel even more speechless was that aside from Nüwa, there were also two great sects with great influence in this world—the Spring Autumn Sect and the Indefinite Cult.

These two sects had spread their influence throughout the entire West Cliff Dynasty. They enticed the dynasty with their so-called immortals and immortal arts to pick up arms. However, nobody knew what their objectives were.

These two sects refused to pay tithes to the imperial palace, and rejected any offers of office and salaries. They moved mysteriously and secluded themselves in the mountains and forests. They would not be found unless they wanted it.

They did not place themselves among the common populace. Their mysterious ways were only known via the occasional disciples whom they dispatched.

Lu Sheng picked up a cup of wine casually. He stroked the fine celadon patterns on its surface.

'There's more to this world than meets the eye…' Although he was confident, he still felt hollow if he had to go up against a primordial god such as Nüwa.

After all, as a Cathayan, he grew up listening to legends of Nüwa.

'If it's really the great god Nüwa, then I'm afraid that this world's energy ranking far surpasses my imagination. However, the time flow here is clearly much faster than in the Heavenly Devil World…' Lu Sheng's brows were tightly knitted together.

'Could it be that this Nüwa isn't the Nüwa that I know of?'

He carefully recalled his knowledge. These immortals and Taoists truly had powerful Capacities. Some of them could behead a person from a thousand miles away. Some of them were immune to water, fire, or blade, and could walk naturally through a furnace.

Some of them could fly through the skies, spit out five-colored rays, or shatter mountains and streams.

However, these were powers that only cultivators had. Mere mortals had no means of coming into contact with such things. Even if they did, it was only during their encounters with ghosts and demons.

Any mortal that was being accepted into any cultivator's abode as a disciple would have to sever their ties to the world. They would have to sever their ties with their families, become Taoists that were unruffled by sentiments, and utterly immerse themselves in the Path and free themselves from the material world.

'Those are two different levels.' Lu Sheng shook his head slightly. He stood up and shook the dust off his robe. A gentle maidservant immediately came up to him and supported him.

"Crown Prince, be careful!"

The maidservant's voluptuous breasts brushed against his arm casually, though it didn't seem intentional.

However, Lu Sheng had no time to entertain this. His mind was completely filled with information regarding the sects, cultivators, and Nüwa.

The maidservant supported him all the way to his bed chambers. Lu Sheng lay down on the bed. He recalled this host's karma and wishes.

'To extend the West Cliff Dynasty's good fortunes? This is quite difficult…'

If it was just an ordinary dynasty, all he had to do was recover some of his main body's strength, and he would have easily subdued it.

However, this was a world where immortals and gods existed. If he wanted to extend this great dynasty's good fortunes, the strength he required would be greater.

Before he understood the strength of these so-called immortals of this world, Lu Sheng did not intend to make any rash moves. His main priority was to conceal his abilities, bide his time, and improve his strength.

'Firstly, I'll have to learn about the main cultivation system of this world…' Lu Sheng swiftly filtered out the related memories from Huang Jing's memories.

Although mortals could not reach the level of immortals and gods, they could still cultivate the martial path. However, these methods were heavily reliant on natural endowment.

On top of that, there were still the immortals and gods who were more superior than them. No matter how powerful they were, they were only mortals.

Lu Sheng did not forget that his main objective for this Arrival was to gain insight on his reincarnation heart. Fulfilling karma was secondary to this.

He lay on the bed and carefully sensed this body's condition.

Overindulgence in wine and women, unstable Spiritual Essence, absent-mindedness, and insufficient vigor. The age of his bones was about 18 years old, but his internal organs were about 50 years old.

'This is troublesome. I'll have to carefully nurse this body back to health. It's no wonder that I was able to Arrive in this body this easily. This body is too weak. If this goes on, I reckon that even if I hadn't Arrived in his body, he'd've suddenly died in no time.'

He carefully repaired his body with Yang Essence. After switching between a dozen energy types, he quickly found the vigor structure compatible with this world's rules. Then, it swiftly circulated and patched Lu Sheng's body up.

'I'll meet Moon Prince tomorrow. I'll have to think of a way to contact the cultivators of this world. Let's see if I can bring some of their talents to my side.'

As the only biological son of the imperial prince, he should at least have this authority.

The night went by without a word being said.

Lu Sheng did not make any unnecessary movements. He merely replenished his body with Yang Essence gradually to prime it for the cultivation that would ensue.

He woke up early next morning before the sun was even up.

With the maidservant waiting on him, he freshened up and tidied himself. He brought his spice bag and walked slowly out of the bed chambers.

There was a small landscape garden outside his bed chambers. There were artificial hills and a little stream. There was even a red square-roofed pavilion.

When Lu Sheng came out, he ran into a handsome young lord. His hands were rummaging through the bosom of a female guard. They flirted like nobody else was there.

Lu Sheng searched Huang Jing's memories, and instantly recognized this young lord.

Yuan Jikong, the eldest son of the prince mansion's garrison general. Like Huang Jing, he led a life of debauchery without the slightest scruple, and spent his days in a drunken stupor.

Huang Jing would stay sober for a day or two sometimes, and be filled with grief and indignation over this colossal empire which was slowly approaching its end. However, this other person was completely different.

Yuan Jikong was dissolute in nature, handsome, and with a father who was of a high office. Naturally, he had trampled countless ladies.

He, Huang Jing, and another Shi Tonghao were notorious for their behavior in the Huan Jiu area around the prince's mansion. Everyone knew about them.

Lu Sheng understood that Yuan Jikong and Shi Tonghao were actually acting without scruples by using the Moon Prince mansion's name.

However, compared to the two of them, Huang Jing did not often indulge in women—he was more of a man of booze. His body was in the red only because he was led further astray by these two while in a drunken state.

"Oh? Big Brother, you're awake? I was surprised to learn that no maidservants did you any service last night. I heard that you've had quite a drink. Pray tell, is there something bothering you?" When Yuan Jikong saw Lu Sheng, he immediately pushed the female guard away and walked over.

"What brings you here this early?" Lu Sheng mimicked Huang Jing's dry tone.

"Didn't we make a promise? Have you forgotten, Big Brother? The Jiusang Mansion's General Chen Kai has sent a huge gift over. He's hoping the crown prince will show mercy and let his daughter go." Yuan Jikong walked over and giggled.

"If you ask me, you should take the gift and that Chen Qiuhan! You've seen that girl, Big Brother. With those looks, even in the small Jiusang Mansion, she'll be coveted sooner or later. It's better for you to take her as a concubine as soon as possible!"

"We'll talk about this later. I'm on my way to meet my father. You coming?" Lu Sheng said drily.

"No thanks…" When Yuan Jikong heard that he was going to meet the Moon Prince, the smile on his face immediately froze, and he dared not speak nonsense.

Just because the Moon Prince doted on his son, it did not mean that he was lenient to others.

This prince had one of the shortest tempers among the dynasty's nine princes. Although he was not skilled in martial arts, he had three great generals leading tens of thousands of soldiers under him. He held control over the several great provinces and zones in the surroundings. He could be said to have strong soldiers, sturdy horses, and a great force.

The princess Ning He hailed from a rich family. The Ning Family was in charge of almost half of the perfume and cosmetics supplies of the dynasty.

With his strength in men and money, even the emperor paid attention to him, let alone ordinary forces.

"That can't be right, didn't the prince go on a punitive expedition against the other clan to the west the other day?" Yuan Jikong was suddenly stunned.

"Is that so?" Lu Sheng smacked his own forehead. His memories were foggy. There was not much about what had transpired yesterday. It was clear that when the Moon Prince left, this host was in a drunken state, and could not even think straight.

"Well, what do you say, Big Brother? Do you want to go and see this great gift the Jiusang Mansion has brought?" Yuan Jikong started smiling again.

"I'll pass." Lu Sheng frowned. "Don't even mention this. By the way, can you find out if there were any Taoist skill elites in the city recently?"

In his memories of Huang Jing's connections, although this Yuan Jikong was not a wonderfully capable person, he was trustworthy enough.

In two past assassination attempts, Yuan Jikong had thrown himself before him as a human shield.

"Taoist skill elites?" Yuan Jikong was stunned. When he finally processed the request, Lu Sheng had already left him.

The crown prince's abode was a detached and separate building. Lu Sheng crossed a wide road and walked into a larger park.

According to customs, he had to pay his mother Ning He a visit first. However, this custom existed in name only.

Ning He had always been cold. Although she was the princess, she did not care much about the Moon Prince and her own son. She filled her days with playing the zither or reading books.

Lu Sheng went into the yard and saw a sweet, fair, and graceful woman standing under the eaves far away. Two servant girls supported her weight carefully between them.

Since he could not meet the Moon Prince, he settled for meeting this biological mother of his who oversaw the internal affairs. Lu Sheng could not shake the feeling that this world resembled the Investiture of the Gods which he had read on Earth. There was Nüwa, immortals, and two great sects that were going against each other.

However, his current priority was to find a way to come into contact with this world's main system.

In other words, Taoist skills.

"Greetings, Mother." As he got near, Lu Sheng mimicked Huang Jing's manner and bowed respectfully toward the princess Ning He.

"Arise. This is unlike the sloppy you, being up so early. Is something the matter?" The princess glanced at Lu Sheng, and returned her gaze to the book in her hands.

Lu Sheng sized this biological mother of his. Her seductive body aside, her facial features were dignified and beautiful, her skin tender, and her hair was black. From a distance, she did not resemble a princess at all. Instead, she resembled a young lady of the noble families who was steeped in the four arts[1. Probably zither, chess, painting, and calligraphy (in their Chinese versions).].

She did not have the imposing manner of a princess.

It was said that Ning He fancied another man of a noble family before this. They both loved each other. However, the Moon Prince chanced upon her one day. To appease those with higher power, the Ning Family sent Ning He to the Moon Prince's mansion the next day.

Unexpectedly, Ning He was pregnant with the crown prince after merely a night of special favor from the prince. Huang Jing was born. The mother's honor increased as her son's position rose. In addition to that, with the head of the Ning Family's strategic planning on embarking on punitive expeditions, they finally made Ning He a princess.

However, since Ning He was forcibly torn away from her past love, she was very cold to her own son and the Moon Prince. She was not close to them.

The Moon Prince merely treated her as a plaything and the marriage as a business deal. If Ning He had not born him a son, she would not have been able to become the princess.

"It's true that I have something to ask of you, Mother." Lu Sheng went through the information about this woman in his mind.

"Tell me, which family's daughter caught your eye this time?" The princess put her book down. She looked at Lu Sheng with a slight look of scorn.

"That's not it…" Lu Sheng hastily shook his head. "I've been reading some novels recently and I admire the immortals very much. I wonder if our Moon Prince Mansion is capable of inviting one or two of these immortals?"

"Immortals?" The princess was slightly stunned. Although she was steeped in the four arts, she was not an ordinary woman who knew nothing about other matters.

Although there were not many immortals, as the emperor's relatives and the Moon Prince Mansion's forces, they should be able to invite one or two of them.

She muttered to herself for a while. Then, she carefully observed Lu Sheng's expression.

"If you're really interested, there's a Taoist in your maternal grandfather's place. It's said that he has quite the cultivation base. I'll see if I can send him over here for you."

Lu Sheng was delighted. His maternal grandfather's family would get on the prince mansion's good side in various ways. In addition to that, they were rich merchants to begin with. Their network was shockingly wide. If they said they could find them, they certainly could.

"Thank you, Mother!" Lu Sheng immediately cupped his fists and offered his thanks.

"If you're really interested in Taoist skills, you should read more Taoist books when you head back." The princess seemed to be tired. She started to ignore Lu Sheng as she turned around and went into her room.

Lu Sheng maintained his posture where he stood. He only turned and left after the princess had entered her room. He went back to his own courtyard.

'Being the crown prince is really convenient.'

With his request being settled this easily, Lu Sheng felt the weight lift from his shoulders. When he was crossing the road between two courtyards, he suddenly heard faint shouting sounds from afar.

'Are those the prince mansion's guards doing their morning training?' Lu Sheng guessed in his heart.

Lu Sheng walked along the road, and soon saw a spacious field. Dozens of people stood scattered in the field as they carried out their own training.

Some of them lifted rock weights; some of them stabbed their hands into a basin of sand; some of them rammed themselves into trees bare-chested; some of them sparred with weapons; last but not least, some of them threw punches in the air.

There was a variety of styles, but Lu Sheng roughly understood the mainstream martial art of this world with a single glance.

These were the personal guards of the Moon Prince Mansion. They were cream of the crop. However, these people were only cultivating ordinary outer skills. Immortal skills and Qi aside, they were not even seen cultivating inner skills.

'Either they're being suppressed by the gods, or…' Lu Sheng's heart was slightly heavy.

He returned to his own yard. He had someone set up a table and serve some nice dishes and wine, and then someone else delivered the relevant information to him.

He browsed through the information and waited for a little while longer. A servant girl of the princess quickly brought a white-haired old Taoist over.

This old Taoist wore bluish-black robes and sported a long beard. His face and skin were a healthy sheen of red. With an exquisite, silver handle horsetail whisk in hand, he appeared to be a learned and erudite person with the perfect appearance.

"Greetings, Crown Prince. This humble Taoist is Zhuang Wuyou. My Taoist title is Wu Youzi. I hear that the crown prince is interested in learning about Taoist skills. May I know what aspect of the skills are you looking into?" When the old Taoist saw Lu Sheng, he immediately showed his true colors, and was all smiles.

Lu Sheng sized this old Taoist up. He smiled ingratiatingly, and was full of careful flattery.

The information in his hands clearly outlined the background of this old man. It seemed that he was a deserter from a small sect. The only thing he knew about was the spitting and swallowing art which was used to strengthen the body. He knew nothing else.

When he was employed by the Ning Family, he exaggerated his own skills. He told them that he could spit the essence of the world and harvest the Spiritual Essence of the sun and the moon.

However, as the years gone by, everyone knew that the only thing exceptional about this old man was that his constitution was better than ordinary people's. At most, he could wear less layers when it was cold outside. Besides that, nobody ever saw any of his other skills.

'Oh yeah, I think this old man knows a Bronze Hill Longevity Fist. It was a health-maintenance cultivation method similar to the Five Animals Art. Although it's not very useful, this old Taoist is quite eloquent. He's familiar with the Taoist books. Also, as a person from a Taoist sect, he should know much insider information.'

"I see, it's Taoist master Wu Youzi. Taoist master, to tell you the truth, I'm recently interested in Taoist skills. I wonder if you're familiar with these legendary magical Taoist skills?" Lu Sheng asked directly.

"Taoist skills?" Wu Youzi was all smiles just a few moments ago. However, when he heard the words Taoist skills, his face scrunched up.

"Crown Prince, you might not know this, but the Taoist skill this humble Taoist cultivates in cannot be displayed to another person. Also, my Taoist skill is weak. At most, I have better tolerance to heat and cold. If you're asking about the legendary and magical Taoist skills, I'm afraid my master is the only who…"