Way of the Devil

Strong. This was also the reason why Jonah followed Lu Sheng with increasing determination.

She was broke and pretty. If she did not find someone who exuded pressure to protect herself, she reckoned that she would surely run into trouble on her own.

When she'd cross-dressed before this, she could somehow freeload off other people. When she'd met Lu Sheng, the bloodline she'd inherited gave her a feeling that this man harbored no ill intentions for her.

Or perhaps, she could feel that Lu Sheng treated everyone around him, including Yuna, as if they were all little animals or plants.

Everyone else was insignificant. If he was in the mood, he would look at them more often. If he was not, he would just ignore them.

That was exactly the feeling she got from Lu Sheng. That was what made Jonah interested in Lu Sheng. After running away from home for so long, she had met all kinds of people. There were good people, bad people, people with ulterior motives, and even those that were after her money and body.

There were also those who could see through her disguise. They nearly knocked her out with some drugs and took her virginity from her. Fortunately, she had a special bloodline which woke her up just in time, and she escaped from the demons' den.

Through her own intuition, Jonah could clearly tell that while Lu Sheng might not be some great noble, he was certainly rich.

This was because no matter the amount he forked out, there was no trace of his emotions fluctuating.

It should be known that even the great merchants would feel a slight pang when they tossed out some gold or gemstones.

However, Lu Sheng did not.

This made Jonah suspect that her intuition might have gone haywire. However, she quickly regained her confidence after testing it out on some random people. Her intuition was still working; it was just that Lu Sheng truly did not mind.

While freeloading off the other people, she could feel it when their patience was almost at their end. However, with Lu Sheng, she could freeload all she wanted.

This was because she clearly felt that Lu Sheng had no interest in money. He tossed out gold pieces like they were rocks.

After their meal, the mansion prepared tea and held a dance party for them. Some of the guests even started playing cards and chess. These were their after-meal activities.

Lu Sheng was not interested in the least. After finishing his meal, he left the mansion. He walked toward the slums.

The guards advised him against it, but he dismissed them with a wave.

Jonah and Yuna gave it some thought before following him. One of them had nowhere else to go, while the other was worried that she might lose her meal coupon.

The three of them walked toward the slums.

After walking for about a kilometer, they could start seeing the silhouettes of the people lying around or sitting on the dark yellow sand in the distance.

Lu Sheng did not get too close. He stopped walking while the slum was still some ways away.

He ignored the two girls behind him. He did not come here to take pity on the poor people. He came here because he clearly sensed that there was a large number of souls who died because of their natural end or some illness.

Souls kept departing from this land at every minute and every second. At the same time, souls were being reincarnated as well.

Death and new life formed a vague state of balance here.

Compared to the cities with an intact ecosystem, the cycle of life and death turned more quickly here.

A mysterious power with slight Yin attribute emanated from this constant cycle of life and death. It lingered in the air.

Lu Sheng looked up.

The skies were clearly boundless with a cloud in sight. However, in Lu Sheng's eyes, it was covered by thick gray clouds.

'Such a vast amount of reincarnation power will only be retained when life and death are cycled together.' Lu Sheng sighed inwardly.

The poor people here numbered more than 100,000. The slums had more than 100,000 residents to begin with, and with the war going on, the refugees from the Light Church Nation and the Shadow Church Nation came flooding in.

Lu Sheng was only standing at the edge of this vast slum.

He was standing on the edge, but what he saw when he looked up was the vast reincarnation power which had been accumulated here for 100 years.

"Nature's path, the cycle of the heavenly rules. If I absorb this reincarnation power, I'll have to shoulder the karma and wishes contained within." Lu Sheng knew this. This was just like the time when he was living in the town.

However, he had already gained enough insight on the rules at this moment. The only thing he lacked to improve his Heart Image World was sufficient reincarnation power.

This power before him was just the right amount to help him rank up.

Lu Sheng had been in the Void Underworld tier for quite some time now. However, he was still stuck at the first stage, Initiation.

If he absorbed this reincarnation power, he would have completely filled the gap, and he would be able to enter the next tier.

Lu Sheng stood where he was for a while. The two girls behind him were starting to get impatient.

He suddenly took a step forward.

"Fuh…"

There was a breeze.

Lu Sheng stood silently where he was. In the skies invisible to the eyes of the mortals, the gray clouds started rolling. Countless tendrils extended out of them and shot toward the ground.

"Hiss…"

The reincarnation power morphed into gray clouds which came crashing down. The clouds surged wildly into Lu Sheng's mouth, nostrils, ears, and eyes.

His Heart Image World started shaking violently. The living souls within it originally had a hard time being reborn as new life after their deaths. However, with the influx of this reincarnation power, every death of a soul would trigger the birth of a new soul.

The path of reincarnation was finally completed with the supply of this vast energy.

Lu Sheng's first stage of his Void Underworld tier was completely stabilized now.

His insights about the Godhoods in his mind began surging into his Heart Image World as well.

On the surface, there did not seem to be much change in his Heart Image World. However, on a deeper level, with the improvement of his gathered insights, the rules of his Heart Image World became more refined and complete.

'There are three great stages in the Void Underworld tier. They're the Void Wheel, Materialization, and Underworld Net. Every stage is further divided into four minor tiers. Currently, I reckon that I'm at the second tier of the Void Wheel stage.'

With a move of his finger, the radiant disc of his Heart Image World immediately appeared before him. The same marks were still embedded on his radiant disc. However, the color of his radiant disc was now more solid than it had been before. Previously of a pure white color, it was now of a light bronze hue.

'When the radiant disc, or the Void Wheel, turns pitch-black and starts turning on its own, it signifies that I'm officially in the second stage, Materialization…'

Lu Sheng was gradually understanding more and more about his cultivation path after this. With the rapid improvements in his readings and martial path knowledge, he was no longer the confused and lost minor character who knew nothing about the world back then.

"Let's head back." He snapped back to the present. Then, he turned around and walked toward the mansion.

"Eh? Aren't we going to the slums?" asked Jonah, surprised.

"I'm not feeling up to it anymore," Lu Sheng replied.

If he was not going, the two girls dared not go as well. Only a strong burly man with an extremely formidable appearance such as Lu Sheng could give them a sense of security.

After returning to the mansion, Yuna and Jonah got to know each other better. Yuna no longer feared the latter. She knew that she had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. The two girls stuck together and chattered away. They had a good time.

Jonah always seemed capable of finding something to talk about. Her words would always reveal just how extravagant and noble her family's lifestyle was.

This made Yuna envious of her.

Lu Sheng, on the other hand, sat on the couch in one of the side halls. He appeared to be closing his eyes and resting, but he was actually communicating with Deep Blue. He was organizing his improvements and cultivation base.

Deep Blue required some form of organization and simplification. Otherwise, it would become a mess, like a pulled ball of yarn.

Lu Sheng organized the martial paths which he had no use for now into categories and swiftly streamlined Deep Blue's interface.

After accomplishing all that, he calmed down. Then, he sensed the karma and wishes contained within the reincarnation power he'd absorbed just now.

"End it…"

"End the war, end it all!"

"Pain… sickness, war… Home destroyed… family dead…"

"So painful… hungry… My stomach hurts…"

More than 100,000 thoughts merged into a vast collective will. The instant Lu Sheng touched it, it boiled over wildly.

Negative emotions surged into his mind, attempting to influence his intelligence. However, there was no use.

Lu Sheng was a Void Underworld-tier Heavenly Devil. His spirit was so powerful that it was not in the least affected when he used his Heart Image World to devour the living beings of an entire planet. This bit of negative thoughts of the souls was child's play.

'A karma to end the war, huh?' Lu Sheng opened his eyes. He sighed with slight helplessness.

All the intentions and karma eventually formed a will: to eradicate the war.

'As long as humans live, wars will never end… As long as there are struggles in life, the wars will never end.' Lu Sheng knew this well.

The reincarnation power accumulated in this world was terrifying. Perhaps it was because nobody could use this power here. Even the gods could not sense this power related to karma.

This served Lu Sheng well. He could absorb this reincarnation power without a care. However, he would also have to accept the karma contained within it.

"Uncle, are you troubled?" Before he knew it, Jonah had sat beside him. She was languidly enjoying her fruit juice.

"You can tell?" Lu Sheng was slightly startled. He knew what tier he was at. Could Jonah, a mortal, sense his emotions? Emotions of him who was akin to a godly spirit?

"Isn't it written all over your face?" Jonah laughed to cover up the awkwardness. "Since you've treated me to a meal, I'll tell you this. Never cower in the face of a problem. In this world, since the problem has found you, all you have to do is just to do whatever your heart tells you to. If you succeed, good job, well done! If you failed, the world is a huge place. You can always start over somewhere else. If you took on another identity and established another territory, no one would know who you are. Isn't the world this big to allow everyone to do as they wished?"

Lu Sheng was between laughter and tears. However, when he thought about it, since the universe was that huge, it should not matter even if he wrecked a single plane. After all, there were plenty of other planes. For the universe, a single plane was just a small slit that was no more significant than an ant's nest.

"Although your argument is crude, after thinking about it, I think you might be getting at something there." Lu Sheng stroked his chin and seemed to be lost in thought.

"I'm telling you, just do whatever you want and think about it later. You can deal with whatever happens next when it happens. The most important thing is to ask yourself this: are you comfortable now? That's what's most important," Jonah spoke while waving her hand.

"Take me, for example. My family was influential and so rich that it could topple a whole nation. I could've stayed at home and be the little lady for my whole life, but I can't be content with it. I'm not content that I had to be cooped up inside my house while there's so many interesting things happening in the outside world." She made a face as if she did not want to remember any of those days.

"So, you're saying…" This was the first time Lu Sheng found someone else's words this pleasing to his ears. He was even feeling a rush of excitement.

"Let loose!" Jonah said stylishly. "Do what you must when you face a problem. How can a man cower?!"

"So, I should let loose?" Lu Sheng asked with slight hesitation.

"You should! Do whatever you want!" Jonah said with impatience.

"…You have a point!" Lu Sheng made the decision.

Since they were this far into their argument, he decided to make a gamble.

In the worst-case scenario, this entire plane would be destroyed. Since this was not his home, he could not have cared less. Since the universe was huge, all he had to do was start over in some place new.

When he thought about this, he reached out and tapped Jonah's shoulder.

"You're good. You're quite enlightened. If you have nowhere else to go in the future, you can look for me."

Jonah was slightly stunned. Before she could react, Lu Sheng had already stood up and was already leaving.

"Are you serious?"

Before she could react, Lu Sheng's back was already barely visible.