Way of the Devil

It turned out that the coming together between Pang Yuanjun and Tang Qingqing was purely a business tie.

 Pang Yuanjun wanted to use the organization behind Tang Qingqing to further his agenda, whereas Tang Qingqing wanted to cultivate the supreme tier of abandoning her emotions. Hence, she cultivated the greatest martial path Pang Yuanjun cultivated, the Divine Heart Divine Will Sword Technique.

 When Pang Sicheng was born, Pang Yuanjun had accomplished his objectives and Tang Qingqing had succeeded in achieving a breakthrough. The two of them, who had stuck together like glue, instantly parted ways as if they were strangers.

 It could be said that from the very beginning, Pang Yuanjun had entered into this partnership for his ambition, whereas Tang Qingqing did it for her cultivation base. This bond was wrong in the first place.

 The birth of Pang Sicheng was merely the remnants of their respective bloodlines in their eyes. There was no emotional attachment.

 Pang Yuanjun was the only one who valued him slightly. After all, as a despotic overlord, having a descendant was also an important method of maintaining morale.

 After understanding the truth, the difficulty of accomplishing Pang Sicheng’s karma dawned on Lu Sheng.

 There was never an ounce of true feelings between his parents. They merely married for the benefits that came with it. If he wanted the family to reunite under these conditions… This was no easy task.

 Karma and wishes were not things that could be accomplished through forceful methods. He had to ensure that his parents genuinely and naturally return to each other.

 “Well? Even so, do you want to meet your mother?” Mu Rong looked at Lu Sheng with slight pity in her eyes. This fat boy was only in his teens. Although he was larger than a grown man, he was only more than 10 years old.

 “Of course.” Lu Sheng nodded. “I’ve never seen my mother all this while. Since I’m here, I have to see her.”

 Mu Rong closed her eyes slowly and spoke in a lofty manner, “Very well. Since you insist. Xuan Xin, bring him to Qing Tang.”

 “Understood.” Another Taoist kid appeared and led Lu Sheng to the courtyard. They walked to the yard at the very end.

 Soon enough, the two of them reached the yard. Tang Qingqing was sitting there calmly with her legs crossed.

 The kid left them quietly. The doors to the yard were closed, leaving Lu Sheng alone with Tang Qingqing.

 Tang Qingqing opened her pointed eyes slowly. She stared at Lu Sheng, who was standing nearby.

 That face which resembled Pang Yuanjun greatly swiftly reminded her of the sweet moments she had when she and Pang Yuanjun were a couple.

 “You’re… Sicheng?” she asked softly.

 “That’s me.” Lu Sheng nodded. “Mother, I’ve come to bring you home with me.”

 “…” Tang Qing Qing fell silent for a while. “Home is where the heart is. My child, you’re still young. You don’t understand.”

 “Save it. No matter the issue, as long as the three of us sit down together as a family and talk it out, I know that we can resolve all conflicts.” Lu Sheng sighed. “Let’s go, come with me. Let’s go home.”

 “…” Tang Qing Qing was silent again. “My child, there are many things you don’t understand. There was no love between Pang Yuanjun and I. Now that it has been 10 years, it’s more impossible for us to get back together. You tell your father, tell him… I’ve forgotten everything about how it was back then.”

 “I say, I’m trying to reason with you calmly here. Can you cut it out now?” Lu Sheng was feeling mentally tired. “Even if it’s for me, can’t the two of you spend your days in peace? Isn’t that a good thing?”

 Tang Qingqing found it difficult to process what she just heard. This child… She could not put her finger on it, but there seemed to be something wrong with his tone.

 “I’ve told you before, go back. This isn’t a place that you should be. The past in the secular world is bygone for me.” After her final reply, Tang Qingqing closed her eyes and resumed her meditation.

 “But you’ve loved Pang Yuanjun before, right?”

 “Love stays in the heart. The past is but a fleeting shadow in the present, a little ripple in one’s life,” said Tang Qingqing drily. “Since I love him no more, what meaning is there for Pang Yuanjun and I to get back together?”

 “That doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I feel that it’s meaningful.” Lu Sheng waved his hand. “Pack your things quickly. I’m telling you now, I’m not here to reason with you. Three days. I’ll be back in three days. By that time, you should have your things packed, Mother, and we’ll descend the mountain together.”

 After he finished, he did not wait for a reply from Tang Qingqing as he turned and left the courtyard.

 Tang Qingqing was dumbstruck as she sat in the courtyard. However, she quickly regained her peace as if nothing had ever happened. She resumed her meditation.

 She had attained the Divine Will tier several years ago. Emotions could no longer rock her heart.

 Three days was not a long time for cultivators to whom meditating was second nature. Three days felt like burning an incense stick.

 Coincidentally, this was the day where the method was taught to the disciples in the pagoda.

 As the teaching elder, Tang Qingqing got up early. After the morning sutra class, she brought the disciples to the empty ground between the pagodas.

 The disciples practiced the sword techniques, while their seniors corrected their mistakes. After this, it was time to evaluate the fruits of their studies and cultivation.

 Tang Qingqing wielded her white sword and sat on the elevated stage. She looked at her own disciples scattered among the other disciples, pointing out their mistakes and helping them improve.

 Xiao Honglei was the great disciple of Taoist Qing Shui. Her Divine Heart Sword Technique was cold and merciless. She was as agile as a dragon. She inherited the mantle of Taoist Qing Shui. At a young age, she was already a Martial Grandmaster expert.

 She was monitoring the disciples of the pagoda. She was a strict teacher who corrected every single mistake the others made.

 After improving the overall quality of the disciples, she turned to look at the stage. Even though Tang Qingqing, who sat on the stage, was the teaching elder, she was rarely seen outside.

 The second phase was over quickly, and the third phase followed. The elders demonstrated the sword techniques while explaining the core concepts and essence of the techniques.

 On the elevated stage, Tang Qingqing stood up slowly. A lanky old Taoist leapt up the stage from her right. It was the other teaching elder of the pagoda, Piao Muzi.

 “Today, we are fortunate to have elder Qing Tang with us. Usually, she’d be secluded in cultivation, yet she has agreed to practice the Divine Heart Sword Skill with us today. Elder Qing Tang is a peak Martial King expert second only to the pagoda master. She once challenged the Sleeveless Mountain and the Red Mountain King’s seven bases, winning her the title of Seven Swords of the Divine Heart.”

 Tang Qingqing shook her head slowly. She drew her sword and formed a hand sign with her free hand.

 “The Divine Heart Sword Technique puts more emphasis on the heart than the form. The opening form, Misty Mountain, is the greatest opening defensive move under the heavens. Once your force is in position, connecting your entire body, and you’ve become one with the sword, even an elite much more powerful than yourself can’t easily shake your stance. I’ll demonstrate this…”

 She lifted her sword and thrusted. She produced a sword flower and closed with a defensive stance.

 “Press your force down, connect your body, point your sword up, and combine the strength of both arms. This is the opening move, Misty Mountain! Once it’s set, you’ll be as immovable as a rock, as still as a mountain, unshakeable!”

 As she demonstrated on the stage, Xiao Honglei’s attention was fixed on her. She was inwardly impressed. The loud thuds she heard when Tang Qingqing stepped on the stage were a clear sign of the stability of her footwork. She might not even be moved by large elephants.

 All of a sudden, Xiao Honglei’s ears seemed to have picked up a sound, but when she tried to focus on it, she could not hear it.

 It sounded like the wind, or the whistle of something sailing through the air.

 “What’s—”

 “Fuh!”

 Xiao Honglei did not even have the time to react when a large black tree trunk flew across the air. She stared at it with her jaws dropped.

 The huge tree trunk was more than one meter thick. With a terrifying whistle, it shot past the heads of the disciples and crashed toward Tang Qingqing, who was demonstrating the sword technique.

 Tang Qingqing’s expression was cold. She lashed out with her sword with lightning speed.

 “Look closely. This is the true secret of the Divine Heart Sword Skill. The sword leaves without returning! The heart is tainted without recovering! Misty Mountain! Fix!”

 “Boom!”

 There was now a pit a meter deep filled with rubble on the stage. Tang Qingqing was nowhere to be seen.

 In her place was a big and tall man who was muscular beyond reason.

 He was bare-chested. The only garment he wore was a pair of black trousers. He seemed to resemble Pang Sicheng, or even Tang Qingqing. His short black hair was rising and falling like waves being blown by the wind.

 “Mother, I’m here for you!” Lu Sheng pulled an unconscious Tang Qingqing out of the pit and slung her over his shoulder.

 “Right, time to go home. After all these years, the three of us are finally reunited.” He removed the sword from Tang Qingqing’s grasp. “Let’s go.”

 With Tang Qingqing on his shoulder, he leapt and shot into the distance like a big bird.

 “May the gods have mercy. Dear sir, are you looking down on the Taiyi Path’s Hequan Sect with your reckless actions?” Suddenly, a figure appeared before Lu Sheng as if it was a projection.

 “Bam!”

 The two of them exchanged blows over an instant in midair and then parted.

 “What, you’re trying to stop my family from being reunited, old hag?” Lu Sheng landed firmly on the ground with a hostile expression. He unleashed a blast of air around him. There was a faint buzz as if an ancient bell had been hit.

 “Junior Apprentice Sister Qing Tang has cultivated our Supreme Indifferent Divine Heart Divine Will Path. She cut her ties with the secular world 10 years ago and has devoted herself to cultivating the path of the heavens. Now that she’s left the secular world behind, why do you force this upon her?” The pagoda master Mu Rong’s expression was bland as she barred Lu Sheng’s way. She landed on the ground softly.

 “I’m not forcing her.” Lu Sheng wore a helpless and pained expression. “Is it wrong, as a son, to want my mother to give up something for me? All I want is for our family to be reunited. I want to experience the joys of being with my family, something that I’ve never experienced before! Is that so wrong?!”

 “Boom!”

 He could not help but punch the wall beside him. A hole more than two meters in diameter was blasted open.

 “I’m only 10!” he growled. “Are you so cruel as to see a 10-year-old kid grow up without the love and care from his mother?!”

 1“…”

 Mu Rong glanced at the limestone wall that was more than a meter thick. Then, she glanced at Lu Sheng, who was more than two meters tall and more than a meter wide. She felt her mouth twitch despite herself.

 ’10… Can a 10-year-old possibly be this huge? Are you taking me for a fool?!’ Xiao Honglei gazed at Lu Sheng from the distance. She swore in her mind.

 “I’m telling you, back off, old lady. Besides, if mother’s Supreme-Indifferent-whatchamacallit is powerful enough, it doesn’t matter where she’s at. In that case, wouldn’t it be better for her to come home with me and spend time with her family? When I’m done having good times with my family, I’ll let her go and she can come back here to cultivate her path. Isn’t that the same?” Lu Sheng growled. “Move away. I haven’t killed a person in a long time. Don’t force me to…”

Mu Rong’s cheek twitched. She hesitated.

 “Pang Yuanjun won’t agree to this.”

 “That’s alright. It doesn’t matter what he thinks. The important thing is that I agree with this,” Lu Sheng said nonchalantly.