“Where’s that kid? Did he escape?” asked Yu Cangsheng doubtfully.
Uncle Lai spread his senses around and found nothing. He said, “Probably. Looks like he’s scared of us.”
Instantly, Xiang Shaoyun appeared beside Uncle Lai. With one hand, he chopped at Uncle Lai’s arm while his other hand grabbed for the ruler. The sharp pain caused Uncle Lai to release his grip, allowing Xiang Shaoyun to snatch the ruler. At the same time, Xiang Shaoyun released the Imperial Nether Domain again, trapping both Yu Cangsheng and Uncle Lai inside.
The two were greatly alarmed. By the time they tried to resist, it was too late. Countless chains shot out and tied them up. Everything had happened too fast. The two couldn’t understand what had happened.
“You really think the likes of you are qualified to kill me?” said Xiang Shaoyun with a sigh.
A voice seemed to be screaming in Xiang Shaoyun’s heart for him to kill the two. The chains continued tightening around the two, causing them to wail in pain. When they tried to break free of the chains, they found that their strength had been suppressed. They could only display half their original strength. Thus, their struggles were pointless.
They finally believed that Xiang Shaoyun could really slay Great Saints. It seemed like they had truly delivered themselves to their deaths. As the chains continued tightening, their skin cracked, and their blood spilled. If Xiang Shaoyun applied more force, both of them would be squeezed to death.
“R-release us or we’ll self-detonate and die with you!” threatened Uncle Lai.
“Give it a try,” said Xiang Shaoyun.
His soul power surged forth and suppressed the two. In the Imperial Nether Domain, even their souls were greatly suppressed. As a result, they didn’t even have the strength to self-detonate.
Xiang Shaoyun’s soul had been greatly affected by the destruction of his stars. His soul clone could no longer utilize astral energy and could only utilize devilish energy. However, his soul’s compatibility with the Nether Soul Dragon Headband had also increased. With the headband’s strength, he could easily suppress anyone he wanted. Even a third-stage Saint like Uncle Lai was rendered incapable of self-detonating. With that, their lives became firmly within Xiang Shaoyun’s grasp.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
With the activation of Xiang Shaoyun’s devilish energy, the fiendish nature within him surged. His killing intent soared as his chains continued to tighten around the two. Yu Cangsheng and Uncle Lai could feel that death was getting nearer and nearer.
At the final moment, Xiang Shaoyun saw the look of despair in their eyes. He recovered some of his reason and hurriedly chanted the heart calming mantra, forcefully suppressing his killing intent. He then withdrew the chains and the Imperial Nether Domain and released the two.
“Scram,” said Xiang Shaoyun coldly.
Yu Cangsheng and Uncle Lai naturally didn’t dare to wait around. They resisted their pain and hurriedly tore space apart and fled back to their clan.
“Clan leader, the Sky Measuring Ruler…” said Uncle Lai in an unresigned manner.
“We were almost killed. What’s the point of thinking about that ruler?” said Yu Cangsheng with lingering fear in his heart.
He greatly regretted his act of provoking Xiang Shaoyun. He still deeply remembered the taste of death from earlier. He couldn’t understand why Xiang Shaoyun had ultimately spared them, but he didn’t want to stay around to get an answer either. He only hoped that the terrifying devil wouldn’t be attracted to their clan.
The Yu Clan people were filled with fear when they saw the two returning with heavy injuries. Yu Qing and Yu Ling were greatly saddened to see their father injured. They walked toward him with tears dripping from their eyes.
“Father, did that devil do this to you?” asked Yu Qing as he gnashed his teeth in anger.
Yu Cangsheng smiled bitterly and said, “That devil is too strong. I underestimated him.” He was suddenly startled as he roared, “Activate the defensive formation!”
Even though Xiang Shaoyun had released them, he still feared that Xiang Shaoyun would come to their clan. A massive barrier enveloped their entire clan, and all their members braced themselves to face the greatest enemy they had ever faced.
When the many experts in Icecross City sensed what was happening at Yu Clan’s residence, their expressions turned solemn. Some even left the city to seek help from other superpowers.
High in the sky, Xiang Shaoyun was seated cross-legged. As he chanted the heart calming mantra, his killing intent slowly faded away, and his devilish energy returned to his body.
After a good while, he opened his eyes and muttered, “The devilish energy is truly something that will stimulate one’s evil tendencies. Looks like I need to reduce my usage of devilish energy.”
Looking at the Sky Measuring Ruler in his hand, he could sense how extraordinary it was. However, greed was not present in his heart. After all, nothing could compare with his Yin Mother Sword.
“Should I return this weapon?” muttered Xiang Shaoyun to himself. He then laughed in a self-mocking manner and muttered, “Forget it. I’ll consider this my spoils of war.”
Since he was a devil, there was no need for him to return a weapon he had snatched. Instead of returning to the city, he flew away. He had had enough in Icecross City. It was time for him to continue on with his business.
Once again, he returned to the desolate wilderness and headed toward the Central Region. He did not use any teleportation formations, but he was much faster than before. As he traveled, he started comprehending the Desolation mantra and the dao of devils.
The more he studied the Desolation mantra, the clearer his heart became. He found that the Desolation mantra could complement the dao of devils as well. Since the dao of primal chaos, the dao of yin and yang, and the dao of life existed, the dao of devilish energy must exist as well. What was the dao of devilish energy, then?
The devilish energy was a kind of turbid spiritual energy originating from numerous negative emotions that had fused with the neutral spiritual energy of the world, becoming a unique energy different from astral energy. That energy was known as devilish energy while those who cultivated it were known as devils.
Mercilessness, slaughter, ruthlessness, bloodthirst, and so on were embraced by the devils and represented the power of evil. The dao of devils was basically the art of venting one’s negative emotions, and only then would one be able to obtain greater strength from the dao of devils.
After understanding that, Xiang Shaoyun broke out in cold sweat. He did not even dare to attempt to comprehend the profundity of the devil dao. If he did, he would probably become a true devil. He would not be able to undo it even if he tried.
“A so-called devil is someone who cultivates and absorbs the power of evil. As long as I can resist the evil within me, I will never become a devil,” said Xiang Shaoyun. “Master is right. Studying the Desolation mantra allowed me to comprehend what a devil entails.”
