Way of the Devil

At the foot of the mountain near Yuchen Palace, there was a sparsely inhabited town.

Lu Sheng led his black horse and sauntered past the town’s memorial arch. The guards glanced at him. When they saw his outfit, they decided that he must have been someone special, and let him pass without an inspection. They continued chatting away lazily.

Lu Sheng walked around the town. Before he knew it, he was holding 70 to 80 kebabs and a dozen pork buns in his hands. After emptying two barrels of rice at a stall, he kept munching at the snacks in his hands as he asked around about his mother Tang Qingqing’s whereabouts.

“Taiyi Path’s Hequan Set?”

Lu Sheng was standing before a glutinous rice cakes stall. As he ate the cakes, he listened to the stall owner telling him what he knew.

The owner was a young and handsome man. He turned the glutinous rice cakes on a pan with familiar movements.

“I’ve heard this from my grandfather. Yuchen Palace is now under the Taiyi Path. The person you’re looking for has the surname Tang. I’m sure she’s a member of the Tang Family in the Hequan Sect, near the Taiyi Path,” he explained with a smile.

“How can you be so sure?” Lu Sheng asked him. He stuffed another rice cake into his mouth.

“That’s because the Tang Family is famous there. That’s a big family we’re talking about. The family is also directly related to the Taiyi Path. This is just my guess. It’s fine if you don’t believe me,” the owner said and chuckled.

“Can you tell me where Tang Family is?” Lu Sheng asked again.

“The Tang Family is quite far from here. However, Hequan Sect’s Taoist pagoda is not far away. I suggest you climb up the mountain and have a look. They’re a peaceful bunch. If you’re lucky, no matter how great of a pinch you’re in, you’ll meet some Hequan Sect disciples lending you a helping hand,” said the owner with a smile.

“Very well. Thanks, sir.” Lu Sheng nodded. After obtaining this piece of information, he brought a big bag of rice cakes and walked toward the end of the town as he ate.

The path onto the Yuchen Palace on the mountain was at the end of the town.

There was a little river on the right of the mountain path. A few scholars were sitting on the riverbank and chatting away. Several female farmers were tending to their crops on the nearby farm.

Lu Sheng retracted his gaze. He took in Yuchen Mountain, on which the Yuchen Palace was.

It was not tall. There were many people heading up and coming down the mountain.

He tightened the sash containing his food on his back. Then, he began climbing the mountain path’s stone steps.

Two old Taoists with gray-white leg wrappings were climbing upward with a spring in their steps.

“Master Taoist!” Lu Sheng hastily shouted.

A white-bearded Taoist stopped. He turned around to look at Lu Sheng.

“Something the matter, son?”

“I’d like to ask of the Taoist, is pagoda of Taiyi Path’s Hequan Sect on this Yuchen Mountain?” Lu Sheng asked.

Lu Sheng knew that it would be better to ask a local here than explore the place blindly.

“That’s right. The Hequan Sect is right beside the ruins of Yuchen Palace,” said the Taoist with a smile.

“Thank you, master Taoist.” Lu Sheng hastily bowed with his hands in front of himself.

“You’re welcome. I’m afraid you might find it difficult to conquer the mountain with your body size…” The old Taoist sized Lu Sheng up; he looked bewildered.

He had seen fat people before, but none of them were as fat as this.

Although Lu Sheng had lost much weight from all the training, he was still two sizes larger than an ordinary person. He was twice as big as an ordinary person.

“It’s true that it’ll be difficult, but when there’s a will, there’s a way,” Lu Sheng said with a smile.

The two of them began conversing. The old Taoist had the surname Wang. He was a traveling Taoist who intended to visit the sect on this mountain as well.

Lu Sheng gave him a simplified version of his history. He left the part about his parents’ statuses out. He told the Taoist that his mother had come here to cultivate and did not return home. Hence, he traveled all the way here to bring her back.

Taoist Wang shook his head, and mumbled, “I can tell that you’re a person with great filial piety. I’m touched. Compared to you, my ungrateful excuses of children are as bad as they come.”

“Sigh. I can’t help it. Perhaps this is the duty of a son.” Lu Sheng tried hard to pinch the excess flesh under his chin. “It was hard, coming here. I couldn’t eat much, couldn’t stay warm much, and I’ve lost 10 catties.” As he spoke, he produced a chunk of beef and took a bite.

The Taoist felt his eyelids shivering at the sight.

“By the way, do you know if your mother has a Taoist title? Perhaps I’d run into her later.”

“I’m not so sure about that myself, but my mother’s very pretty,” Lu Sheng shook his head, and said, “If you see one that’s exceptionally beautiful, master Taoist, you can go and ask. She might be my mother.”

He finished the beef with a few more bites. He felt that he had the strength of another ox now. He immediately sighed with relief.

Strength always came to him when he least expected it. He always believed that if he kept at it, he would eventually be rewarded.

The Taoist’s eyelids jumped. He did not know how he should respond to that.

The old and young traveler continued up the mountain. They were soon at the halfway point.

There was a Taoist pagoda on each side of the path. The one on the left was the Taiqing Pagoda. The one on the right was the Hequan Sect.

Lu Sheng and the Taoist parted ways here. They proceeded down separate forks.

The Hequan Sect opened its doors early, and there were many who came up here to offer incense sticks and pray to the gods. Lu Sheng seemed insignificant as he walked among the crowd.

Following the example of the visitors, Lu Sheng bought two high-grade incense sticks, lit them, and offered them up. Then, he worshipped the statues of the Three Purities before directing a question to a mouse-eyed Taoist beside him.

“Excuse me, is there a Taoist by the name of Tang Qingqing in this Taoist pagoda?” A red gleam flashed across Lu Sheng’s eyes.

Initially, the little Taoist felt irritated to be disturbed by a stranger. However, when he saw Lu Sheng’s half-pleading expression, he suddenly found himself feeling tender affection for him, though he could not quite understand why.

His thought, ‘A man as fat as him went through the ordeal of climbing the mountain to pray to the gods. I’m sure that he’s a pious man who’s dedicated to the Three Purities.’

As he thought about this, he immediately liked him more. When he heard Lu Sheng’s question, his expression softened.

“Tang QIngqing? I do not know of the person you seek.”

“What about Taoist Qing Tang?” Lu Sheng mentioned his mother’s Taoist title.

“Oh, you’re looking for master uncle Qing Tang? I’ll fetch him for you.” The little Taoist immediately snapped back to his senses. He turned around and headed to the hall at the back.

Lu Sheng waited silently in the temple.

***

Another small Taoist pagoda in silent isolation behind the main Taoist pagoda.

This pagoda did not keep the statues of the Three Purities. Instead, there was a heavy-looking statue of a black opened book.

An old Taoist sat cross-legged before the statue. It was an old woman who seemed capable of dying of old age at any moment.

She was wielding a horsetail whisk and her eyes were lightly shut. Her skin was as wrinkled as old tree bark. Her plain white Taoist robes could not conceal her emaciated body which suggested that she had one foot in the grave.

If someone knowledgeable from the martial world was here, they would perhaps instantly recognize her as one of the famous masters of the 14 clans. She was Xuanzhao Pagoda’s master—Taoist Jue Yi, Mu Rong.

At the same time Lu Sheng mentioned that he was looking for someone to the little Taoist, Mu Rong opened her old eyes. Her lips moved slightly.

“Xuan Qing.”

“Yes, Master.” An extremely lucid and elegant Taoist girl hurried over.

“Call your master uncle Qing Tang here. There is some unfinished business, and it’s up to her if she wants to settle it now,” said Mu Rong calmly.

“Understood.” The girl retreated quickly.

Soon enough, a cold, beautiful, and seductive figure floated into the pagoda.

“You’ve called, Great Senior Apprentice Sister?” The woman who entered was attractive and voluptuous. However, she had a cold and impeccable air as if she regarded herself above everyone else. Her white attire accentuated this cold and lonesome feeling.

“Years ago, you have cultivated the Divine Heart Divine Will Sword Technique, without success. To understand your own heart and denounce your own will, you have entered into the world. It has been a decade since then, and now, the ties you have left in the secular world have come looking for you,” said Mu Rong calmly.

“Senior Apprentice Sister, don’t you understand my Taoist heart by now?” The woman’s expression was as calm as ever.

“Your heart is yours. There’s no way another person can understand it.” Mu Rong shook her head slightly.

The woman’s expression was cold.

“I have entered the secular world with emotions and sought the path afterwards while denouncing those very emotions. The others might not understand what I’m after, but surely you, Senior Apprentice Sister, understand? My heart is turned unwaveringly at the path!”

Mu Rong fixed her gaze upon this junior apprentice sister of hers whom she once loved. Her heart faltered.

“Looks like you’ve attained a level of divine heart and consciousness…”

“Please turn the person away for me, Senior Apprentice Sister.” Tang Qingqing’s expression was cold as she turned and left the pagoda.

***

“I’m sorry. The master uncle has asked me to tell you that he has no interest in any matters of the past. You’re free to stay or leave as you wish,” a little Taoist boy gave Lu Sheng his reply with a helpless expression.

“No interest in the past?” Lu Sheng repeated. He stood up from his seat on the rush cushion and brushed the dust off his buttocks. He placed the pork leg in his hand down and spat out the salt-baked chicken drumstick in his mouth.

“You’re saying that she’s not willing to meet me?” he asked again.

“Yes. I’d suggest that you leave,” the boy replied with a nod.

Lu Sheng calculated the distance. The Green Dew Altar’s branch was more than 50 kilometers from here.

He looked up and spoke in an unfriendly tone, “But I’ve traveled far to get here. All I get is one sentence and I’m asked to turn back? I can’t even see her face?”

“Please go back, dear sir. Master uncle, she… The cultivation method she cultivates is of this nature… It’s normal for most things in life not to go as planned.” The Taoist boy had taken a liking to Lu Sheng because of the psychological guidance art. Even so, he was still persuading him helplessly now.

Lu Sheng would not take that.

“Forget it. I’m telling you, she’s saying that because she hasn’t seen me yet. If she sees me, she’ll surely change her mind and follow me back.”

“Sir…” began the Taoist boy helplessly.

“Let’s go. I’m going in to meet her myself.” Lu Sheng did not care. He strode toward the inner hall.

The little Taoist put out a hand to stop him, but he was pushed to the side by a surge of invisible force.

Currently, Lu Sheng had the strength of 30 oxen. It could be said that he now had the strength of a Martial Grandmaster.

At this level, he could be considered an elite even among the 16 clans. The Taoist boy could not hold a candle against him.

He shook the little Taoist off effortlessly as he strode into the hall at the back.

There was nothing there. Several strong Taoists came up to stop him.

Suddenly, a voice reached their ears.

“Let him pass.”

The Taoists slackened and made way for him silently.

Lu Sheng’s heart skipped a beat. He followed the voice out of the hall and went straight to another small pagoda behind the one he was in.

Mu Rong sat up straight inside the pagoda. She slowly scrutinized Lu Sheng who was walking in.

“It’s been 10 years, and you have grown so big…”

“You are?” Lu Sheng asked in a polite tone.

“My name’s Mu Rong. I’m your mother’s senior apprentice sister,” Mu Rong replied with a smile.

“In that case, may I know where my mother is? I’m here to bring her home.” Lu Sheng requested politely.

The woman before him was a true Martial Emperor expert, while he was only a Martial Grandmaster. There were two ranks between theirs, the Martial Arhat and the Martial King. The disparity in their strengths was huge.

“Your mother…” Mu Rong mumbled to herself before slowly telling Lu Sheng the truth.