Way of the Devil

“Forget it, it’s getting late. I should deal with this issue first.” Lu Sheng looked at the sun. Then, he looked around himself at his surroundings.

 He noticed with shock that the underground cave this Abomination was hiding in was on an intersection point of the cursed land’s ley lines.

 This was the center of the cursed land.

 ‘Legend has it that Abominations were born from the hatred of the fallen gods. Some legends say that they’re immortal monsters that arose from the corpses of the gods.’ Lu Sheng held Enifers as he leapt into the pit again.

 Thud.

 He landed firmly on the bottom of the pit.

 He was standing within an underground palace hewn out of rock. The spot where he stood was coincidentally the top of the underground palace.

 However, when Enifers leapt out moments ago, he had crashed through the top of the palace and left a hole there.

 Lu Sheng carried Enifers and leapt into the underground palace.

 “Ah! Oh, sun! Your radiance has made me lose my light. You’ve given warmth and illumination to all things, yet I alone have you forgotten.”

 Lu Sheng had barely the time to look at his surroundings in the underground palace when he saw a colossal monster which was a round mass of faces and arms rolling toward himself at speed.

 “Another Abomination?” Lu Sheng immediately sensed a similar aura from this creature.

 “I am Duma. I was born to exact revenge on the light!” the faces on this monster spoke at the same time. Their voices formed an eerie symphony that sent shivers down the listeners’ spines.

 Any mere mortal would have lost all control over his body when he heard this voice, and he would become this monster’s slave.

 The round mass more than 10 meters tall came to a stop before Lu Sheng. The ball opened itself up as if it was a flower bud with layers of petals. The innermost human face was revealed.

 “Looks like I’ve come to the right place…” Lu Sheng looked at the fleshy ball before him, and then he looked at Enifers in his hand. He gave a satisfied smile.

 ***

 Two years later…

 After long years of trudging, the seven-colored dragon queen Eernie finally settled her tribe on a small island with extremely suitable living conditions.

 This island was hence named Seven-colored Dragon Island.

 However, soon after they settled down, an octopus-like deep-sea monster started appearing in the seas around them. The monster had sneaked up upon and even killed two young seven-colored dragons.

 The Seven-colored Dragon Tribe had been a small tribe to begin with. Now, their numbers dwindled even more.

 With a mix of rage and sadness, the dragon queen Eernie led her tribesmen to slaughter the monster. They eventually succeeded in killing the deep-sea octopus.

 However, they had committed a grave mistake.

 The deep-sea octopus was actually one of the most powerful children of Sardine.

 As the overlord of the deep-sea region, the demigod Sardine ruled over the vast oceans in the area, including the Seven-colored Dragon Island, with his colossal body.

 Even among demigods, Sardine was at least more than 10 times stronger than ordinary human demigods.

 He was an ancient being that had lived for 10,000 years. He had also gained insight on and mastered Divinities related to the ocean. On top of that, his enlightenment regarding Divinities was the most profound among demigods.

 The nature of a Divinity was an extreme understanding of natural laws which gave rise to transformations in one’s body to better suit the pattern of the rules. Then, one would obtain and be able to unleash greater natural powers.

 When one’s body was modified by a Divinity, one would obtain incredible strength. Sardine’s modified body was far greater than any other living being’s. Naturally, the power he obtained would also be much greater.

 Ever since he defeated the shark demigod Urdala 3,000 years ago, he had never met his match.

 Besides engaging in his hobbies in his base, he would occasionally head out to catch some prey and feast on delicacies.

 Hence, when he heard that his most beloved son was killed by the seven-colored dragons, the newcomers, the rage that surged within Sardine’s heart could hardly be described.

 He immediately took on human form and charged toward Seven-colored Dragon Island. However, he was met with nothing.

 The dragon queen Eernie had already brought her tribe away from this island. They searched for a new place to migrate to.

 Sardine immediately sent his subordinates to intercept them.

 However, aside from himself, the highest ranks of his subordinates were only legendary. They were no match for the seven-colored dragons.

 Within these two years, two of Sardine’s trusted generals were also assassinated while pursuing the seven-colored dragons.

 Enraged, Sardine gave to order to wipe out the Seven-colored Dragon Tribe. At the same time, he offered a handsome reward in money and treasures for the bounty hunters to hunt the seven-colored dragons.

 He even swore that he would kill every seven-colored dragon he could find.

 This resulted in the tribes that were previously friendly to the seven-colored dragons hesitating to offer them assistance now. The Seven-colored Dragon Tribe was placed in more dire straits.

 “Kill all seven-colored dragons… What a haughty fellow!”

 Within the cursed land’s underground palace.

 Lu Sheng sat with his back straight on the only throne in the underground palace. He read the letters containing information collected by his subordinates. A smirk appeared on his face.

 He had been in this world for quite some time now. Although his main body was human, the seven-colored dragons had treated him well.

 “What do you guys say about this?” He tossed the letter casually, and the parchment floated toward a man clad in black to his left.

 “The information is only sent by the fringes of Devil Shadow, we can’t be sure of its authenticity. Perhaps we can make a decision after we’ve ascertained if this information is true or not,” replied the man in black in a dull tone.

 “Although I’m no longer involved in Devil Shadow’s management, the precision of their information can still be trusted,” Lu Sheng explained.

 Within the darkness to his right, a blurry black shadow with a huge size squatted. At this moment, the black shadow spoke up as well. Its voice was as deep as a middle-aged man’s. “The issue at hand is that Sardine’s whereabouts are unknown. With them on the run from Sardine, it’ll be harder to locate the seven-colored dragons. Even if we wish to help, there’s nothing we can do if we can’t reach them.”

 Lu Sheng looked around at the other subordinates spread out to his sides. The others said nothing. It was clear that they had no intention of voicing their opinions on this piece of information.

 Throughout these two years, he had swiftly subdued 12 powerful beings of different styles and established the most powerful group here.

 This time, Lu Sheng planned to nurture them into becoming a trusted force. He did not merely wish for them to be his trusted lackeys here, he wanted to shape them up into a terrifying army capable of waging war for him in the various worlds.

 However, to achieve that, he would have to overcome many obstacles.

 “Well then, we shall put this on hold and wait for more—”

 Lu Sheng had not finished when a pillar of black flames suddenly appeared to his right.

 The pillar of fire only stayed for a short moment before fading into oblivion. A black letter flew out of it and reached Lu Sheng’s hands.

 He picked it up and took a glance.

 “Oh? They came all the way here?” Lu Sheng shook the letter in his hand slightly. His expression was one of surprise.

 “Eni, you’re in charge of the Black Rock Plan now. I’m going out to meet two tribesmen who have traveled far.” Lu Sheng stood up and quickly made arrangements.

 “Understood.” The man in black to his left hastily nodded.

 Lu Sheng waved his arm, and a purple oval Transport Door opened up before himself. He took a step into it and vanished before his throne.

 When he reappeared, he was already standing in a valley behind Dawn City.

 The chirping of birds and aroma of flowers filled the air in the valley. The air was refreshingly cool. The rocks on the ground and walls of the valley were covered in moss and vines.

 The aura of spring seemed to be everywhere.

 Lu Sheng hastened his footsteps as he gradually made his way deeper into the valley. He soon stopped before an abandoned mine.

 A white-haired old man in red robes and a staff in hand stood before the entrance to the mine.

 When he saw Lu Sheng, the old man hastily bowed and saluted.

 “My Lord, they’re in the cave. I have already placed a magic formation that conceals auras. There shouldn’t be a problem for the time being.”

 “Mm-hm. You can rest now.” Lu Sheng nodded.

 “Understood.” The old man casually conjured a Transport Door and stepped into it. The door vanished and closed behind him on its own.

 Lu Sheng strode into the cave. Before long, he saw two young seven-colored dragons who were not very large. They were resting against the wall, covered in wounds.

 “Keboye? Sari?” Lu Sheng was stunned. He did not expect the two young dragons to be the ones that hatched at the same time as him.

 1His voice immediately awakened the two exhausted young dragons.

 “Rargh!”

 Keboye abruptly brought his body to its full height. He glared at Lu Sheng with his dragon eyes.

 “Sari! Get behind me!” he shouted.

 Sari obediently and swiftly made her way behind Keboye. The two young dragons were only more than three meters in height. A dozen years or so for dragons were like a couple of years for humans.

 As seven-colored dragons who only matured after 300 years, the two of them were some ways away from being adults.

 “How did the two of you find out that I’ll be here?” Lu Sheng released some of his dragon might.

 The two young dragons suddenly shook. This familiar dragon might reminded them of their companion Lu Sheng, who had gone missing many years ago.

 “You… Could it be…” Sari widened her eyes and jumped out from behind Keboye.

 “It’s me…” Lu Sheng smiled. He was ready to reconcile with them.

 “Wait up!” Suddenly, a gender-neutral female voice resounded throughout the cave.

 A silver figure quickly planted itself between Lu Sheng and the two young seven-colored dragons.

 It was a beautiful woman with long silver hair. However, her beauty was similar to Hongye’s—they were gender-neutral.

 Unlike Hongye’s ever-changing air, this woman had a solemn and heavy air about her.

 “Sister Tia?” The two young dragons looked at the woman with surprised looks.

 “Do not believe someone else just because of a few words. How many times have I told the two of you this? Can you still not remember this?” The woman produced a silver short spear from behind herself. “Since I’ve promised to send the two of you back, I won’t let you come to any harm.”

 As she spoke, she radiated silver light spots which gathered on the short spear in her hand. A heavy and powerful might started filling the entire cave.

 Lu Sheng was first stunned. Then, he gave a casual and genial smile.

 “Lady Tia, was it? Thank you for taking care of Sari and Keboye. My name’s Lu Sheng. I’m also a seven-colored dragon. I’m not the one you should be guarded against.”

 He slowly released the dragon might unique to a seven-colored dragon. At the same time, he restored his eyes back to a seven-colored dragon’s with vertical pupils.

 The woman was stunned as she felt this similar dragon might. When she saw the transformation of Lu Sheng’s eyes, she caught the surprised looks on the two young dragons behind her with the edge of her vision.

 “Big Brother Lu Sheng!”

 The two young dragons cried and shouted as they bounded up to Lu Sheng. They embraced him and cried their hearts out.

 “Big Brother… the tribe leader… She…” Sari seemed to have finally found an outlet for all the bottled-up emotions she had. She seemed to be sobbing so hard that it was difficult for her to speak.

 “There, there… It’s alright now…” Lu Sheng patted their backs lightly.

 Tia sighed with relief. She remembered the scene where she had rescued these two young dragons back then.

 Nobody had dared to help the Seven-colored Dragon Tribe for fear of crossing Sardine.

 However, she’d already been a wanted criminal to begin with. Since she had owed the others a great deal, it was not difficult for her to offer assistance to some young dragons she’d happened upon on the road.

 “A person who carries all hatred.” This was her motto.

 While the two young dragons were happily reunited with their kin, she quietly made her way to the cave’s entrance. She looked up at the skies.

 Through the thick layers of clouds, a golden beam of sunlight shone down on her like a straight arrow.

 She vaguely remembered the night when her tribe was wiped out.

 Because of her capriciousness, cover up, and vanity, her entire tribe had been impaled by silver spears onto crosses.

 From that day onward, her world changed.

 Getting revenge became her sole purpose in life.

 She gave up on everything she had in order to exact revenge, even though she knew just how slim the chances were.

Her target was too powerful. Even if she gave it her all, she would not have a chance of coming back alive.

 “Where are you going?” Suddenly, the voice of that Lu Sheng reached her from behind.

 “To do what I’m supposed to.”

 Tia waved her hand without even turning back.

 “If you need any help, you can find me in Dawn City. To thank you for bringing these two here safely, I’ll help you once. That’s my promise,” Lu Sheng said with a smile.

 “There’s no need for that. I’m only following my heart and doing what I want to.” Tia paused before freely replying, “See you… no, goodbye forever. It’s best if you guys aren’t involved with me.”

 She quickly vanished deep within the valley. She had no idea just how powerful the promise she obtained from an unintentional act of good deed was.

 Lu Sheng looked at her receding back from the cave’s entrance. He only made his way back after she vanished completely from sight.

 “Investigate this. Help her take care of any trouble she’s facing.” Lu Sheng instantly sent out an order with his spirit. It seemed that she had no idea just how meaningful a favor from him could be.

 In a slightly darker corner of the valley, several pitch-black shadows suddenly wriggled and vanished. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from the spot as if they had never been there.