Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Chapter 12 – The coming storm

As Altar Master Yuan managed the main hall, he had the most contact with Wenren È and was the best at guessing his intentions. Seeing the Venerable look at them with an expression of ‘I can’t believe you’re all so useless’, he hurriedly said, “Is the Venerable speaking of a woman? There won’t be much use in asking Protector Shu or Altar Master Qiu about women. The Venerable should ask this subordinate instead.”

Shu Yanyan and Qiu Congxue looked at Altar Master Yuan. What do you mean, not much use in asking them about women? Aren’t they women?

Altar Master Yuan paid no attention to those two needle-like gazes on him and continued, “If this subordinate may be so bold, what does the Venerable need this woman to do?”

“Not much, just forget a man,” said Wenren È.

Altar Master Yuan was short and plump, like a jolly next-door uncle. His eyes squinted when he smiled, making him look kindly, but his next words were anything but. “This subordinate sees two methods. The first, kill that man. The second, find another man, and make this woman fall in love with him.”

Wenren È thought for a moment. The first method wouldn’t work for now. Baili Qingmiao loved Hè Wenzhao deeply, and if Hè Wenzhao died now, Baili Qingmiao’s heart would be stuck on him forever, and she would be trapped by her obsession and unable to pass her inner demon tribulation at the Nascent Soul stage. The second method, though, had some merit. But where to find that man?

Abusive Romance‘s love interest number one Hè Wenzhao, number two Wenren È, and number four Yin Hanjiang were already struck from the running. Number five was currently less than a week old and couldn’t qualify, so the only one left was number three, Zhongli Qian.

But Zhongli Qian had debuted even later than number five. It had been the day Hè Wenzhao wedded the Violet Spirit Pavilion Master. He came to offer congratulations on behalf of the number one cultivation clan, the Zhongli clan, and met Baili Qingmiao, who had been confined to the back mountains by Hè Wenzhao and was trying to escape. That was still fifty years in the future.

Wenren È didn’t have the patience to wait fifty years. He decided that after he recovered from the injuries he would sustain in the Great Sect War, he would go kidnap Zhongli Qian from the Zhongli clan and throw him at Baili Qingmiao, to wait for them to slowly develop feelings for each other.

“This method might work.” Wenren È gave Altar Master Yuan an appreciative look. “Avoid discussing this matter for now. Right now, we should focus on the Great Sect War. After the war, everyone will be rewarded appropriately for their efforts.”

“Understood!” said the five in unison.

For the rest of the meeting, Shu Yanyan revealed the righteous sects’ plans, the Altar Masters offered their own ideas, and they finally settled on a battle plan. After they had each been assigned their duties, they went their separate ways.

After leaving the meeting room, Altar Master Yuan came up to Shu Yanyan and asked, “Protector Shu, is there a woman who has caught the Venerable’s eye?”

“What?” Shu Yanyan gave him a sideways look. “Do you want to take advantage of his weakness of heart to harm him?”

Shu Yanyan spoke very frankly, but Altar Master Yuan waved his hands and said, “No, no, how could that be?”

While they were talking, the other three Altar Masters also walked up. Even the frosty Qiu Congxue had a look of “I heard someone plotting against the Lord of Demons and I’m interested” on her face. Four pairs of eyes watched Shu Yanyan intently.

Shu Yanyan sighed. “You’re overthinking it. Trust my years of experience. The Venerable probably isn’t interested in that girl, he just wants her as a disciple. He’s set on having a righteous sect disciple switch to cultivating the Path of Indifference, and I have no idea why either.”

The four Altar Masters’ enthusiasm vanished immediately. Taking a disciple was nothing interesting. Demonic cultivators didn’t worry about continuing a heritage like the righteous sects. They stole their cultivation methods, and would pass them on to their underlings if they felt like it. Did that count as disciples?

“Why does the Venerable want to take a disciple, then?” asked Altar Master Yuan. “He cultivates the Path of Slaughter. Does he want his disciple to kill him?”

“How would I know? In any case, that girl’s aptitudes really are exceptional. She established a foundation at eighteen and formed a golden core the same year. It’s just that her brain is filled with a man,” Shu Yanyan said with a shrug, then left quickly. She still had a feast waiting for her!

The other Altar Masters all nodded as they heard Baili Qingmiao’s speed of advancement. That kind of talent really was worth paying attention to. It wasn’t too strange that the Venerable would be tempted to take on a disciple for fun.

After all his subordinates left, only Wenren È and Yin Hanjiang were left in the meeting room. “There should still be two or three months before the Great Sect War,” Wenren È said. “In this time, you should do your best to break through to Void Boundary stage, so as to add to our combat strength.”

“Understood,” Yin Hanjiang said.

“This Venerable will take you someplace.” Wenren È stood and led Yin Hanjiang to the back mountains of Xuanyuan Sect.

There was a ravine running through the mountains, the bottom of which was obscured by blackness and could not be seen. This was quite illogical. Even an ordinary person should’ve been able to see the bottom under sunlight, not to mention a cultivator could use their spiritual cognition to sense something even their eyes couldn’t perceive.

Wenren È stepped into the ravine and Yin Hanjiang followed, with no sign of hesitation at the foreboding depths.

After he flew for what felt like several dozen meters, he landed on a flat, hard surface which didn’t feel at all like solid ground.

“Where are we?” Yin Hanjiang said hesitantly.

“Under your feet is the Burning Sky Drum,” said Wenren È. “The legendary treasure of the Xuanyuan Sect. If back then the old Sect Master hadn’t tried to defeat this Venerable using it, this Venerable would never have known where it was hidden.”

This was the demonic artifact of the Xuanyuan Sect, only authorized to be used by the Sect Master. Yin Hanjiang hadn’t thought the Venerable had so much trust in him that he would lead him to its location.

“The Burning Sky Drum may be called a demonic artifact, but it has also absorbed much blood from immortals. Whether it’s celestial or demonic in nature depends on how cultivators use it. For these next few months, cultivate on the drum by using the demonic energy of the demon sword to invigorate the immortal energy inside the drum, and raise your own sword cultivation with the clash of the two forces. At the same time, you can weaken the demon sword’s essence,” Wenren È said.

Yin Hanjiang had used the demonic sword to forcibly increase his power, and was already closely linked to it. Even if he created a new weapon, he would have a hard time bonding with it due to it being unable to overcome the demonic sword’s remnant power.

Only by slowly whittling away at it could he free himself from its influence.

“Venerable…” Yin Hanjiang stood on the Burning Sky Drum, gazing at Wenren È.

In all the years Xuanyuan Sect had had the Burning Sky Drum, no one had been allowed to see it beside the Sect Master. Wenren È allowing Shu Yanyan to cultivate on it was already quite an exception. Yin Hanjiang had never thought he’d stand here before Shu Yanyan.

He didn’t say anything about whether or not he was worthy or whether or not he dared. The Venerable had already said, that whether or not he was worthy was up to the Venerable to decide.

Yin Hanjiang firmed his expression, cupped his hands together, and knelt on one knee. He said solemnly, “This subordinate will put every effort toward breaking through to Void Boundary stage, to sweep away all in the Venerable’s path come the great war.”

“This Venerable doesn’t need you to be so desperate.” Wenren È raised a hand slightly, and a force lifted Yin Hanjiang to his feet. “Cultivate well. This Venerable will be waiting for you to treat his injuries after the war.”

Wenren È didn’t want to be saved by Baili Qingmiao this time. It was enough to owe her for starting his cultivation; he couldn’t afford owing his life to her too. In the book, Wenren È was saddled with two heavy debts, which triggered a love tribulation and made him want to give up everything for Baili Qingmiao.

Speaking of which…

Wenren È took out the book, tapping his fingers on the cover, suddenly remembering that the book foretold something else, the arrival of his love tribulation.

Were it not for every factor being right, how could Wenren È fall in love with Baili Qingmiao? He had met her quite a few times by now, but never had the slightest feeling toward her.

He didn’t know whether this love tribulation would still arrive, and who would be the target.

Wenren È tried to guess but only came to the conclusion that the mysteries of heaven could not be comprehended by mortals, and even he didn’t know what would come in the future.

Putting away Abusive Romance, Wenren È said to Yin Hanjiang, “You focus on cultivating. This Venerable will protect you.”

Yin Hanjiang, hearing that he would be protected by his Venerable, felt deeply touched. He stared at the demon sword in his hand. If it weren’t for him being so weak that he could not suppress the demon sword, the Venerable wouldn’t have to expend so much effort on him.

Wenren È left the ravine and sat cross-legged on a mountain peak, closing his eyes and entering meditation as well, as he sensed Yin Hanjiang’s aura below.

Before long, he faintly heard the sounds of war drums, clashing blades, and roars that shook heaven and earth. The memories of the Demonic War within the Burning Sky Drum had been reawakened by the demon sword, creating an illusory realm.

Yin Hanjiang’s sword aura was vanishingly weak within the illusion, like something was obstructing it. Wenren È opened his eyes and raised the Seven Killing Halberd. Killing intent surged around him, like a beacon to illuminate a path for Yin Hanjiang.

Yin Hanjiang was trapped in the illusion. He felt tiny among mountains of corpses, turning over bodies and searching for his Venerable, panic rising in his heart. As he was on the verge of despair, Polis shone in the sky, and a familiar aura called him back to awareness.

That’s right, the Venerable was protecting him while he cultivated.

Yin Hanjiang made a hand seal and the demonic sword appeared. He gripped the sword that had tried to drive him toward madness with this illusion and raised it toward the sky, a bloody aura surging around him. With a single slash, he dispersed the illusion around him.

Wenren È, feeling that familiar unwavering aura, showed a barely perceptible smile. Resting his halberd against the ground, he stood on the summit, silently watching over Yin Hanjiang.

He stood there for three months.

He stood there until a message came from Shu Yanyan, reporting that the righteous sects had made their move. Their Core Formation and above disciples had gathered and were now heading toward Xuanyuan Sect.

“You confront the enemy first. This Venerable will need a few more days,” Wenren È said, not acknowledging Shu Yanyan’s urgency, the halberd in his hand remaining perfectly still.

The Great Sect War would last for ten years, so a few days would make no difference.

Shu Yanyan received the Venerable’s response and wanted to rip her hair out. As the master of the demonic sects, shouldn’t he be eager to personally massacre the righteous sects right now? What was worth waiting for? Shouldn’t they take their chance before the high-level experts showed up to shred the Deity Transformation and below cultivators and show off the power of the demonic sects?

After fuming for a while, she sent a talisman with Wenren È’s order to the four Altar Masters, then picked up a veil and placed it over her face.

One of her underlings came and wrapped his arms around her waist, nibbling her ear. “Protector, why are you wearing a veil? It’s a shame to cover such a pretty face.”

Shu Yanyan chuckled. “I’m going to break the Spirit Severing Array with Qiu Congxue. There’s someone there who I don’t want to see me for now.”

“Eh?” the subordinate said, puzzled. “How could there be someone who the Protector is afraid to face?”

Shu Yanyan held his chin, her smile fading and the look in her eyes becoming sharp. “It’s not fear. Sometimes, it’s more fun to save a dessert for last.”

After Shu Yanyan met with Qiu Congxue, they headed to the location of Xuanyuan Sect’s spiritual veins. Before long, a horde of righteous sect disciples approached, led by a Body Unity stage elder. Shu Yanyan, seeing them approach, said warily and somewhat frantically, “The Xuanyuan Sect lies this way. You are forbidden to advance!”

The elder said, “This is the wicked temptress who practices seductive arts. Everyone, recite the Clear Mind Spell and concentrate on the array. Do not fall for her temptations!”

The disciples obeyed, taking their places according to their plan. The 108 disciples carried 108 demon subduing flags, inserting them into the spiritual veins’ intersection points and circulating their spiritual energy, forming the Spirit Severing Array.

Hè Wenzhao was reciting the Clear Mind Spell in his mind, but he still felt irritable. 

Baili-shimei had been bickering with him for three months now. No matter how he tried to explain his relationship with Shu Yanyan, no matter how he tried to win her over, Baili Qingmiao always shook her head with disappointment and said she wanted to be alone.

If he sucked up to her too much, she would give him a pained look and say, “Aren’t you sad at all that Miss Shu died?”

Of course he was sad, she had a rare nine yin body and Hè Wenzhao could raise his cultivation at incredible speeds with her. How could he not feel dejected? But right now whether he said he was sad or not, it was a lose-lose situation. If he said he was, his shimei would say, “you really were involved with her”; if he said he wasn’t, shimei would say, “you’re too cold, not feeling sad at all when a woman you knew died in front of you.”

Hè Wenzhao understood Baili Qingmiao. She was a cute girl, just sometimes she really was quite a hassle. So he answered her, “I was acquainted with Miss Shu and she died so brutally in front of us. I’m not a heartless person, so there’s no way I couldn’t be saddened. But we must look to the future, shimei. This is the path of a cultivator, and we’ll probably have to face many more deaths in the future. We must learn to let go of life and death.”

He cleverly turned the problem from Baili Qingmiao’s suspicion of him to her weakness in the face of death. His shimei always listened to him, so she really did start to consider her views on life and death instead and let go of the matter over time.

Unfortunately, she still hadn’t forgiven him. He hoped that by the end of the war, after shimei had experienced the fear of losing him, she would treasure their relationship more.

Hè Wenzhao wasn’t concerned about Baili Qingmiao’s safety. She was at the rearmost lines with Yao Wendan, preparing to tend to injured disciples, the safest place she could be. Hè Wenzhao was also quite safe. After the Spirit Severing Array was set up, the demonic sects wouldn’t have access to natural spiritual energy and would soon be routed. The 108 demon subduing flags would raise barriers to protect the disciples in the array. This was an immortal-level array, and even if the Lord of Demons himself came, he might not necessarily be able to break it.

With the protection of a Body Unity stage elder, the two demonic sect women were unable to stop them. The formation was complete in no time, and all the spiritual energy of the Xuanyuan Sect’s mountain range vanished.

Hè Wenzhao looked at the two women being beaten black and blue by the elder and thought the one in the veil looked somewhat familiar. Perhaps he had bumped into her once while fighting demonic cultivators.

Realizing he was spacing out, he hurriedly recited the Clear Mind Spell and concentrated on maintaining the array.

The elder noticed the array was complete and quickly retreated, planning to fall behind its barrier. However, the black-robed woman who he had been beating so handily suddenly smiled ghoulishly at him. Her black robe blew open, exposing an eerie set of white bones and countless hungry ghosts winding around her body.

The woman only had a head. Below it, there was no flesh at all.

Qiu Congxue extended a hand and seized the elder’s shoulder with bony fingers. Hungry ghosts leapt onto his body from her fingertips, their ghastly wails chilling his very soul. He tried to disperse them with a spell, but a wave of wicked energy entered his dantian and he found himself unable to use any of his spiritual energy.

“The Asura Path… you—you’re Qiu Congxue, the Mahayana ghost cultivator!” The elder tried to shout for the disciples behind him to retreat, but a hungry ghost bit down on his tongue, preventing him from speaking.

How could a Mahayana stage cultivator be beaten by him, and how could one let them successfully set up an array? The demonic cultivators had planned this!

This was bad…

That was the elder’s final thought. Surrounded by countless hungry ghosts, his consciousness gradually faded, and he was pulled into the hungry ghost path.

The elder was from Biluo Valley. Seeing him die, the Biluo Valley disciples were horrified, yelling, “Shishu!”

“Shh…” A white bone finger was placed against a crying disciple’s mouth across the barrier. The pale woman bared pure white teeth in a smile and said, “Take care with the array. Don’t let your shishu die for nothing. And don’t even think about abandoning the formation and running. Right now, the array is protecting you, but if even one flag is removed, each and every one of you will die. I won’t let a single person escape.”

She still had many hungry ghosts under her robes, and before long they had surrounded the area in all directions. The Spirit Severing Array was enveloped by a bloody haze that the disciples could no longer see through. They could only maintain the formation.

They were the ones who severed the spiritual veins, so why did it feel like they had fallen into a trap instead?

The 108 disciples heard Qiu Congxue’s voice resonate through the bloody mist. “If the righteous sects want to incite war, our Xuanyuan Sect welcomes them with open doors. But we’d rather you come at us in a straightforward battle. I’m not a fan of underhanded tricks like severing spiritual veins.”

Hè Wenzhao immediately said, “Nobody panic! She can’t break through the Spirit Severing Array. We just need to maintain it, and after our elders win, they’ll come to save us! Even wandering immortals have mobilized, so a mere Mahayana cultivator is nothing! Her words were trying to shake us and prevent us from maintaining the array, so she can win without raising a finger. Don’t fall for it!”

His words reassured the group of disciples, who immediately sealed their senses and focused on the array. The power of the barrier strengthened, preventing the vengeful ghosts from approaching.

Shu Yanyan had one of her subordinates bring out a couch and lounged on it, watching Qiu Congxue scare the righteous sect disciples. She couldn’t help letting out a yawn, and said, “We really are huge villains, huh?”

“What?” Qiu Congxue’s ice-cold gaze swept over Shu Yanyan’s body.

“Nothing,” Shu Yanyan said, propping her chin in one hand. “This is the true nature of us demonic cultivators. I like being the bad guy.”

“Be patient, don’t ruin the Venerable’s plan,” Qiu Congxue warned. “He wants to lure out the high-level experts of the righteous sects to fight them face-to-face.”

“Tch, he himself has no idea what he’s doing,” Shu Yanyan said, rolling her eyes in an unattractive manner.

Said Lord of Demons stood guard at the top of the ravine. The Spirit Severing Array had not affected the energy of the Burning Sky Drum, so he stood patiently for another forty-nine days, until he saw a sword aura pierce through the black fog of the ravine. Yin Hanjiang flew up on his sword, stopping in front of Wenren È.

The demonic energy of that restless demon sword was very weak. Yin Hanjiang held it tightly in his hand, and it was unable to rebel anymore.

“Second level of Void Boundary.” Pleased, Wenren È clapped Yin Hanjiang on the shoulder. With a flick of his sleeves, he turned around and called, “Join this Venerable in battle!”